Kindergarten Roundup!

So, Kindergarten Roundup was actually quite fun and very informative! I think after our visit both Riley and I felt a huge wave of relief come over us. The school is very nice and the teachers seem really cool and more than competent. From my first impression I feel that one teacher in particlar would really be a good fit for Riley. When our session started the parents were to go in one room while the upcoming students were to go with their potential new teachers to another room for some assessment and just some general getting to know each other stuff. Riley was a little shy to go on his own and the one teacher just swooped right in, grabbed his hand and said, "Come on Riley, booooy do I have some awesome things to show you!" And just like that they were off! No long drawn out goodbyes, no clinging, no tears. Afterward he was really excited to tell me about the interesting things they talked about (cowboys, the biggest number he recognized on the wall, airplanes, how well he could write his names, etc.) Next we were given  tour of the school by a couple of 5th grade boys. Riley followed the big boys around in awe. It was really cute! He was even a little bummed when we had to leave, he wanted to play with all the kids at recess = )

Riley walking up to the school like a super big boy!

Mooooommmmm, come on, enough with the pictures!

Being silly while excitedly telling me about his time in the other classroom.



 Say cheese!

Wow, August is going to be here before we know it and we'll have our first official Kindergartener! A Woodlawn Riverhawk.Yay!

Hoppy, Happy, Easter!

Wow, what a fun weekend! It was so nice to celebrate Easter weekend at our home this year. My family came up Saturday morning, stayed the day and spoiled the kiddos as usual. Riley and Gage loved every minute of it! Good food, good times and tons of good chocolate! Riley ate 2 whole small chocolate bunnies and a chocolate cross my grandma had stuffed into his Easter basket - and this was on top of all his regular meals - and who knows what other candy he snuck in while I was distracted! That boy has the most amazing metabolism! I can't believe he didn't get sick gorging himself on his beloved chocolate. He definitely did get the sugar crazies, though! That's okay, however, because it gave him extra energy to accomplish a major goal he has been working on - riding his bike without training wheels! He was so happy and proud of himself - the rest of us were as well. It was especially nice that he was able to do this with so much family around to support him and share in his success. Good times!

Gage with his Easter baskets while hunting Easter Eggs.

Riley showing off one of his much searched for Easter Eggs.

We eventually had to start giving hints as Corey hid the Easter Eggs this year. He hid them in some really tough places!

Riley and Great Grandma Galyardt. I tried so hard to get a good picture of them together, but they both kept ending up with silly faces. This was the best one = )

Oh goodness, Grandma Soukup made the boys' day with Pillow Pet presents! Riley and Gage have wanted these for so long! Riley named his bumblebee "Bizzy" and Gage named his doggy "Tiger," then changed it to "Fluffy," then changed it to "Spot" - but it also has the nicknames of "Puff" and "Softie." I think that's all of the names ... who knows, there could be a couple more by now! But, regardless of what these Pillow Pets are called, they will not spend one moment being lonely as the boys love them so much! = )

Riley giving Aunt Tracy a big squeeze. Poor thing, she was so tired after driving all the way from Colorado. All she wanted to do was take a little nap, but my sugared-up boys were having none of that! Plus, they are always so happy to see Aunt Tracy - lots of love there!

We were blessed with pretty nice weather so we got to get outside and have some fun. Papa did a great job of pitching to Riley, who is becoming quite a slugger!

Another angle of the baseball practice.

Grandma Soukup in the clubhouse with the boys = )

Self-portrait of Gage with his Pillow Pet.

Riley cruising on 2 wheels to the delight of his audience!

On Easter Sunday, we spent a relaxing morning enjoying each other's company and a hearty breakfast. We had intended to head to the early church service but relaxed a little too long for that. It worked out just fine, though as the late service wasn't nearly as packed as we thought it would be. Plus, it was so nice to spend the morning together without being rushed. The church service was really nice and the boys enjoyed learning more about this special day in their Sunday School class. Afterwards it was out to the church yard for more Easter Egg hunting!

Gage hanging from a tree while we waited for Riley to go back inside and get his beautiful stained glass cross that they made during Sunday School.

Gage picking up a treasure!

Corey and Riley re-hiding an egg. Riley didn't think these were hard enough to find all scattered in the grass! He's a chip off the old block for sure!

The super duper egg finders each striking their poses of success = )

So, I hope you all had a super Easter holiday as well. We are looking forward to this next week of a somewhat normal schedule. But, I think we are most excited for Friday when we take Riley for the Kindergarten Round-Up! So looking forward to checking out the new school and just seeing how our little buddy will do. Wish us luck!

Children's Mercy Visit ...

Okay, so let's get the important stuff out of the way. Considering the possibilities, I think we got some pretty darn good news today. I'll preface this with an apology if I do not use the exact correct medical terminology. There was a lot going on today and Riley was feeling pretty apprehensive so I know I got the gist of it all, but some of the vocabulary may be a bit off. Anyhow, the doctors at Children's Mercy (3 different ones saw Riley today) confirmed that the mark on his left palm is a Spitz Nevus. At this time, their exact words were, "There is nothing to get real scared about right now." They don't think that it has progressed to melanoma cancer yet, but won't know for sure until more pathology is done on the biopsied sample (again, sorry if those are not the correct medical terms!) Anyhow, we are going back in 2 weeks for them to remove it and will hopefully know more for sure then. However, they did mention it maybe up to a month before their panel of doctors can obtain the original biopsy sample, review it, and discuss it. We'll just wait and see and keep thinking positive! I know the staff here is amazing and are the best at their jobs, so I have faith that everything will work out fine.

Okay, now for the fun part of the trip. Although, we have a couple of friends whose children's lives were literally saved by the fine doctors at CMH, we had never actually visited the hospital. Let me put it this way, it is AWESOME! From the moment we walked in, people were so nice and helpful. And then there is the decor. So fun! It sure helped to give our little guy a much needed distraction! I am sure I looked like a dorky tourist snapping a bunch of photos, but I couldn't help it. This place is a piece of art!

 

Some beautiful, kid-approved sculptures hanging from the ceiling.

Ocean life on the floor.

Wall art made of puzzle pieces fascinated Riley!

Daddy and Riley entertaining themselves in the waiting room.

We even got to see my old office assistant, Savannah, who now works at the hospital.

As fate would have it, another of my old office assistants, Kristin, also works here, but we didn't get to see her as she works nights. 

Riley thought this clock tower in front of the hospital was amazing. He had to climb up to get a picture with it = )

 We had to take a photo of this building across the street since it had Gage's name on it

wanted to let little brother know we were thinking about him, too = )

Riley having a good time riding in a wagon on the way out to the car. He was happy to be getting to go back home and see Grandma and Papa Soukup who were helping out with Gage.

Lots of love for grandma. 

A little love for Papa, too.

So, that's where we are at right now. I am feeling so much relief after this visit. There is still a slight chance that there might be some trouble, so I am keeping that in mind. But, for now I am just so thankful that this is hopefully not nearly as bad as we originally thought. We'll keep you posted as we find out more. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Gage turns 4!

Well, the weather turned out a little chillier than we had hoped for our party in the park, but the birthday boy still a great time and that's all that matters! Gage was spoiled with presents and love on his special party day. He is getting to be such a big boy. He started off the day with creating his own menu for each meal of the day: breakfast was scrambled eggs and bacon, lunch was spaghetti and meatballs, dinner was fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob. Maybe not all of the healthiest fare, but definitely delicious! He's certainly not shy about letting his wants be known! Also, his sense of humor is rivaled by no one - this kid is funny and lives not only to laugh himself, but to make others laugh as well. Gage also loves all aspects of creating art, helping out in the kitchen and he has snuggling down to a science! We are so blessed to have this hilarious, lovable, little red-head in our lives. Happy 4th Birthday, sweet Gager!

Here a few of us are gathering under the shelter in the park getting ready to cut the cake. In all of the craziness this week, this is the only picture of the cake we have. I can't belive it! Anyhow, for future reference for our little super hero foodie, it was a Green Lantern inspired cake with medium green frosting on the outside edges and border with a light green circle in the middle that encased a sparkly Green Lantern symbol. Gage agreed it tasted as good as it looked = )

Gage running up to his friend Dominic.

The birthday boy with frosting mouth.

Little buddines hatching up a super hero plan in their super secret hideout!

 Corey, Papa Soukup, and Riley had a great time kicking around the ol' soccer ball.

Gage being a crazy man and launching off a platform.

Can't believe I caught this shot of him in midair!

Riley and Kohen climbing away ...

Gage and Dominic discussing presents. These two were so cute together!

A shot of Gage at home opening his presents from the family. He was adorable, opening each one and explaining/exclaiming what it was. Gage gets excited over everything = )

I think it was a pretty darn good day overall. The birthday boy got to spend the day his way, with friends and family in tow. He also got all his heart desired - and more - in birthday gifts. But, I hope more than anything, though, that our birthday boy felt that he was loved.

Museum of Natural History ...

After being held prisoner for a couple of days after his adenoidectomy, Riley needed to get out of the house for a little while, so we decided to take a little visit to the KU Museum of Natural History. It was a super fun way to spend a little time out and about without our little recuperating fellow exerting too much effort. It was a great time for all of us. We even got to see our good friend, Savannah, for a moment as she happened to be on campus during our visit. Thank goodness, too! She got this turned around momma going in the right direction - Thanks Savannah!



This here is another reason we were thankful to see Miss Savannah. She showed the boys this working train whistle in the Kansas Union. Riley and Gage loved pushing the button and hearing the whistle blow!

Here the boys are posing with this huge Polar Bear.

Riley and Gage thought he was pretty darn cool.

They named him Bob = )

Out of all of the exhibits, this suspended Mosasaur skeleton was probably the favorite.

It really is awesome. 

Another view.

I sure wouldn't want to meet this guy swimming in the water -

check out those chompers!

Riley especially enjoyed this exhibit on viruses and DNA.

This particular model is of the HIV virus.

It was really interesting. And scary.

Here the dynamic duo is checking out some computer videos on virus mutation and slides of different viruses under the microscope. We spent at least 20 minutes in this part of the exhibit alone.

Hmmmmmm, veeeerrrrryyyyy interesting ....

Possibly a couple of budding scientists?

That would make mommy so proud!

Checking out some fossils. 

Here's Gage popping out from under a dandelion in the simulated "Life a Worm" wormhole.

Another view of the wormhole. Riley is getting all tangled up in some roots, while Gage is petting the giant 5 foot "worm" in the background. Silly good fun!

This was also a favorite at the museum in the bug exhibit.

A mini-movie theatre with kiddo-sized chairs!

They played 3 short bug-themed films that had 3 bugs commenting a al Mystery Science Theatre 3000 style. Not sure who liked this more, the kiddos or me = )

All in all, we had a pretty fantastic and educational time at the Museum. We will have to go back soon as the 6th floor was closed on this trip. That happens to be the Snake floor. Looking forward to going back to check that out!

Scared. More scared than I have ever been ...

Well, Riley's biopsy results are in and they are definitely not what we had hoped for. Far from it. According to the biopsy report I have in front of me, the growing mole on his hand was determined to be a Junctional Nevus, Spitzoid Type, Extending to Lateral Margins. The report then goes on to mention things like Atypical junctional nests of plaomorphic melanocytes with melanophages intermixed and parakeratosis. Sound like jibberish to you? Yeah, me, too. But the few things that did stick out are the words Atypical and the ones starting with the "mela" prefix. As in melanoma. As in cancer. I think I'm going to be sick. Sorry, I'll try to keep composed and coherent here, but I'm making no promises. I am seriously beside myself right now. So back on point, from what I can tell from my conversation with our primary care physician and some extensive internet research, this basically means that if it is not already melanoma, it would most likely progress to that quickly. She said this type can be very aggressive in children. So, they have scheduled an appointment for us at Children’s Mercy on Tuesday the 19^th at 8 am (fun side note, this happens to be little Gage's 4th birthday - Happy Birthday, buddy.) It will depend on the severity of the situation whether or not they excise the lesion immediately at that appointment or if they will schedule a follow up visit for the Spitzoid Nevus to be removed at a later date. Please send your prayers for our little Riley. He's strong and a fighter, but we'll take all the help we can get right now. If any of you have any experience with this, please let me know. Thank you.

All is well ...

First off, Riley had his adenoidectomy and bi-lateral something-or-other (basically piercing his eardrums and removing all the paste-consistency fluid that has backed up behind there.) Anyhow, Riley did pretty great. Although it was obvious he was feeling pretty apprehensive, he complied with what was asked of him and the surgery went extremely well. He is such a big boy! The only real trouble came when he was coming out of the anesthesia. He was a little disoriented and wanted to box everyone around him. Once I got to the recovery room he calmed down and got his bearings and all was right in the world again. This was really a pretty minor procedure, but anytime he goes under I worry like crazy until he is my alert and bright-eyed boy again. Really, I think the hardest part of the whole process is trying to get Riley to chill out during his recovery period over the next couple of days. The doctor was adamant that Riley is supposed to be on strict couch potato duty. Ha! We're trying to keep him entertained with quiet activities, but this boy was just born to move!

Other than that we've just been getting out and enjoying the nice weather. Viva Spring!

This is quickly becoming one of the boys favorite activites -

putting together their own picnic snack.

Unfortunately, the menu is mostly sugary items!

During their picnics they really enjoy chatting with all of the neighborhood people who walk by with their dogs. It's so cute seeing them interact with everyone = )

The boys posing with their best buddy, Kohen, after a play date.

They all had a ton of fun getting all decked out in costumes!

We had a super warm and windy day last Sunday,
a perfect day for flying kites after church.

Gage is prepping for takeoff!

... and getting all tangled up!

Finally, airborne success! He was so stoked to see Batman climb so high!

Here's Riley with his Star Wars kite. He had a ton of fun while it lasted.

Unfortunately, he had a pretty rough crash right away that limited the $1.99 kite's later performances = (

After the flying expo, it was over to the park to let out some sillies = )

They were singing a made up super hero song here.

They are definitely my super heroes!

Here's Gage making his favorite silly picture face.

Somehow he convinced me I needed to do the same -

I'll truly do anthing for these boys!

In other news, we just received our Kindergarten Round-up paperwork. Goodness! I'm still trying to wrap my mind around this. Lots of mixed emotions, but mostly excitement for this next step for Riley. Looking forward to what new and exciting things will come out of this educational adventure! = )