Paris...At Last

After many months of anticipation, we finally made it to Paris today. It's been a very long day though. It started when I woke up at 7 am Saturday morning. Being the procrastinator that I am, I hadn't even packed yet. I was doing ok on time when I realized I couldn't find my cell phone. And the battery was dead so I couldn't even call to locate it. After frantically searching for almost an hour (and Bud digging through the old trash) I finally found it...on my bed. Then it was rush time to finish getting ready and packed.

We headed out the door at 11:30am and got to the airport by 12:30. After about 12 hours in the air (first to Salt Lake City then to Paris) we finally made it. Christy Davis, Kelli's friend since Kindergarten, met us at the airport and drove us through about 2 hours of traffic (bad accident) and let us stay with her in her little French flat. It's such a quaint and cozy little place, perfect for just her and her hubby.

We made a couple calls back home before heading out to the famous Louvre Museum where we got to see the original Mona Lisa painting, which is protected behind bullet-proof glass. It was perfect timing too because entrance to the museum was free today! Then we went to see the Eiffel Tower and ate at a cute little French Bistro before heading back in for the night. Now it's midnight and I've been up about 34 hours straight. I guess I'll turn in for the night.

(Pictures to come!)

Say "Ahhhhh"

After we dropped JD off at school for his first day of 1st Grade on Monday, Ryan and I headed to the Ear Nose & Throat (ENT) doctor. His tonsils have always been really big and Dr. Parsi finally referred us to the ENT at Ryan's 4 year check up last month.  Dr. Moe took one look in Ryan's mouth, listened to my description of Ryan's sleeping behaviors, and didn't hesitate to recommend that we have his little yucky tonsils and adnoids removed. :(

Ryan is a restless sleeper (always has been) and snores like a grown man. He thrashes around all night and our best assumption is that he never really is able to fall into a deep sleep. Because his tonsils are so big all time, they are obstructing his airway, so the reason he moves around all night is because his body is trying to find a position that allows him to breathe more easily.

So by removing his tonsils, he will be able to breathe more freely, and should get better sleep. As a result, will probably feel better during the day, get sick less often, and it may even improve his ability to focus.

Surgery is scheduled for 9am on 10/19 - Granny O'Connor's birthday. I just know she'll be watching down from Heaven and keeping a close watch over him as he goes through the surgery and moves through the recovery process. Please keep our little guy in your prayers that week and the weeks to follow.

1st Day of 1st Grade

Today was JD's first day of 1st Grade! He's in Mrs. Tarr's class, whom he knew of because his friend Kaden Keller had Mrs. Tarr last year. Friday was "Meet the Teacher" day but we didn't go to that. Instead, the boys enjoyed their last day of Summer Vacation by spending the day with Nanie, Bada, Uncle Beau, Brooks and Case. They rode the trains at Brackenridge Park then went swimming at Gary & Barbara's. I was nervous that missing the "Meet the Teacher" might make JD a little nervous about his first day, but I was totally wrong. He did fantastic. Like an old pro! Not nervous at all. He was so excited this morning about going back to school. He walked right into his classroom, found his desk, sat down and was ready for the day. Dad and I had a harder time leaving and lingered as long as we could.

Next year, it's Ryan's turn. He'll be starting Kindergarten!!!

Round 2 -- Ryan's 4-Year Check Up

We went back to the doctor yesterday to re-attempt Ryan's 4-year check up, since last week's appointment turned into a Sick appointment. Today went much better. He is now 37 lbs 6 oz and 41.75 inches tall, which means he's in the 60th percentile for weight and 80th percentile for height. He's "slim" according to Dr. Parsi, which is just perfect since 1 out of 3 kids these days is overweight.

He had his first vision test where he had to cover one eye and identify the shapes on a wall. He knew square and circle so she stuck to those shapes. JD was such a "helpful" big brother -- I had to tell him more than one time not to whisper the answers to Ryan during the exam.

Dr. Parsi looked at the little bump on his shoulder and measured it - we'll go back in a couple of months to check on it again. She also read all the test results from the blood work and x-ray we did last week -- all is good and fine for Ryan. She had to refer us to an Ear Nose Throat doctor though to get his tonsils checked out. They're still pretty swollen even after a week of antibiotics. So we have an appointment for Aug 23rd to see about that. Might need to remove them?? Ugh! Gosh I hope not. That's the worst surgery I've ever had.

Then we did the dreaded vaccines. He screamed bloody murder during the shots and as soon as the last one was done, he stopped crying. Such a tough little kid. It's so hard to hold him down while they're doing that though. He just looks me right in the eye, and all I keep thinking is that he's wondering how his mommy could let those mean ol' doctors do that to him, right there while I hold him down. That's so sad when you think about it. :(    One of these days he'll understand that it's for his own good, but right now, it just seems so cruel.

Because he had 4 shots, he got 2 suckers and 2 stickers -- then his big brother gave him his 2 stickers as well. It made perfect sense to the boys: 4 shots means 4 stickers!!

All in all, we've got a healthy (and quite adorable) little 4 year old. Thank you God!

4th of July Festivites Continue

Our 4th of July was busy. After the parade in the morning, we hung out in the Square and had some popsicles, hot dogs and drinks, and checked out the monster truck. I don't know who is more impressed with it -- the little boys or the big boys. 

Then we went back home and the boys played in the pool for a little while. That evening, we went to Beau & Stacie's for a BBQ. Joe and Rosanne, and Trina & Kory came over too -- all with little ones in tow.

  I just love how sweet JD and Ryan are with their baby cousin, Case.

 We went outside and popped some fireworks too. Well, the girls watched (and held babies) while the men lit them and the boys cheered and ran around like crazy people. Most of the boys. Brooks screamed most of the time. The loud Black Cats scared him to death and he never recovered. He was afraid of all the fireworks after that.

Case and Audriana at their first ever fireworks show!

JD & Ryan experienced fireworks up close and personal for the first time.

They also got to enjoy their first sparklers.

Happy 4th of July everyone.....from The Blairs!



4th of July

Our church had a float in the 4th of July parade and we went up to help decorate it the night before. Cheryl painted the banners then all the kids put their hand prints on them. JD was in rare form that night and really didn't want to do it - he said he didn't want to get his hands dirty. When he said that, it took me back a few years to when he was a baby and he hated to get his hands dirty. If he got something on his hands, he'd hold them out and wimper until someone wiped them down. Even at his first birthday party, when kids are supposed to tear into their cake, JD didn't want to touch it. When Papa (my dad) walked by and stuck JD's hands in the cake to get things started, JD just broke down crying and wanted his hands cleaned.

He's not really like that anymore (thankfully), but his mood about not getting his hands dirty the other night just reminded me of him as a baby. After a little coersion by some of the other moms though, JD finally decided to participate and put his hand prints on the banner.

But you can tell he wasn't really that happy about it.

Ryan loves to paint and get his hands dirty. So he had fun with it - I think there are at least a half a dozen

Ryan prints on those banners. 

He even got me to do it too.

 All 4 boys got to ride on the church's float during the parade. Here they are before the parade started. JD's holding a bag of candy - they threw candy to the kids as they rode past the crowds. He loved doing that, but said he loves watching the parade more --- because he wants to get the candy, rather than throw it out to everyone else.

Ryan's Doctor Appointment

On Monday, July 2nd, I took Ryan to Dr. Parsi for his 4-year check up. Here he is in his exam gown, waiting for the doctor, and holding up 4 fingers to show me how old he is now.

I used this doctor's visit as an opportunity to ask about some things that had been concerning me. Starting with his throat. His tonsils and lymphnodes are always swollen. Even when he's not sick. So she looked at them and thought maybe he had strep. Nah. . . . they are always like that. In 4 years, as many times as he's been sick, and as often as they've swabbed for strep, he's never had it. Well, she decided to swab anyway. Good thing she did, because sure enough, he had strep. Poor little guy. No symptoms though - no fever, not complaining that his throat hurt. So that means one of two things: either we caught it early, or he's a carrier of it like I was.

Moving on, I asked her about his frequent complaints about a tummy ache. She felt his tummy and it seemed fine. Then I asked her to check this bump I noticed on his shoulder blade. It seemed to have just appeared one day about 2 weeks ago. She thought it was probably just bone, but since he had a few things going on, she decided we should do some blood work and get x-rays.

So our 4-year check up turned into a day of prescriptions, blood drawing and x-rays. For 3 hours, we were in and out of doctors offices and exam rooms. I have to say though, he was a real champ. He cried a little when they drew his blood, but other than that, he hung in there for all the tests.

While waiting for the results, we met Aunt Kelli for lunch at Cici's Pizza, then went to Wal-Mart to get Ryan a booster seat. Yep! He's 4 years old and almost 40 pounds - he has been waiting for the moment he could start riding in a booster seat. So we bought him a booster, a new pair of pajamas, and new swim trunks. JD was with us too, and he got new swim trucks as well.

While at Wal-Mart, we got the test results. All CLEAR! All the results came back normal, and they think the bump on his shoulder blade is abnormal bone growth. We are going back in a week for a follow up, and Dr. Parsi is also going to measure to bump so we can monitor it.

On our way home, after a full day of doctors, lunch/games, Wal-Mart shopping and prescription pick up, Ryan crashed out --- in his new booster seat. I know it doesn't look entirely comfortable, but compared to the neck-breaking sleep he got in his carseat, this is as good as a high-quality plush bed to him.