Mother's Day ...

Well, I'd love to say that my Mother's Day was nothing but sunshine and roses - and it was mostly (literally and figuratively) - but there were also some trying moments. However, even in the midst of the crazy times, I am still ever so thankful that I have been blessed with the gift of being a mother. My boys bring me more joy than I ever thought I had a right to have in this life. Through them I see the world with eagerness, curiosity and fresh eyes. I delight in the simplicities of youth all over again. It is amazing and I love every minute of it. The good times definitely more than make up for the stress that comes along with this motherhood terriorty. Today I have been reminded of that time and time again.

After church my boys took me out for dinner at Chilis.

It was delicious and there were no dishes to clean up. Fantastic!

At home I was presented (and re-presented) my gifts ...

here is Gage giving me his jarred, crushed sidewalk chalk creation he made at pre-school. Very cool!

At church today, they presented each mom with a carnation. It was so thoughtful! Gage really took a liking to the carnation and we ended up with a silly photo shoot of him with it. This first picture was his "sad smile."

He called this on his "angry, growly smile." 

This is his "silly smile."

And finally, here's his "happy smile" = )

Then, in Riley's Sunday School class they made these awesome little flower pots. Riley was not in a picture taking mood, so this is just of the pots. The kiddos cut out tissue paper then glued it on in the shape of flowers, then helped plant the marigolds inside. Written on the brim is this, "If moms were flowers ... I'd pick you!" Isn't that so sweet! Such a great project. I seriously love this so much!!!

Goodness. One of things I really wanted for Mother's Day was a nice family picture of all four of us together. This was one of the trying times. First, Riley decided he didn't want to smile and was being a bit of a pill. Then, we were having some user error issues with the self timer. I finally accepted that the perfect photo wasn't meant to be at the moment and decided to be happy with what we got. Here's the best of the bunch. Yikes!

Later on, my sweet, sweet hubby proved once again how much he really loves me. I have wanted to plant a rose bush for a while now, but he's always vetoed it because he has some literally painful memories from his younger days of taking care of rose bushes at his grandma's house. Let's just say it's a thorny issue for him = ) Anyhow, for my special day Corey and the boys planted this climbing rose bush for me. I was so surprised and excited! Now I just need to figure out what kind of trellis I want for it to climb! I love this picture in front of it - aside from the "thumbs down" Riley is sporting. Once again, he didn't want to take pictures. Oh, that boy!

This photo was taken by Gage. He was supposed to be taking a picture of Corey and I by the rose bush. I think his aim was a little off = ) But, I think it is a really cool picture anyway. It's the surprise ones that I think usually turn out the best!

This was Riley's attempt to catch us with the rose bush. Once again, not quite what I had in mind, but I still really like how it turned out. Again, it's the simple things = )

Well, that's it for the photos. I just want to give a quick shout out to all of the mothers out there - biological, step, pseudo, adopted, etc - thank you for who you are and what you do every day. And an especiallly big thank you to my mom who is always there to listen, ground me when I'm losing my footing, give me advice when I need it, calm me down when I'm freaking out, and who is the absolute best grandma to my boys. Thank you and Happy Mother's Day to you all!

Great News!

We finally got the phone call from Children's Mercy that we've been waiting for ... the Spitz was found to be benign. Thank goodness! Additionally they are confident that they got all of the atypical cells removed during the excision on Tuesday. We can all breathe so much easier now. We'll have a few follow ups to remove stitches and to make sure that nothing redevelops, but everything looks great. We have been blessed. Thank you all for your support and prayers, we sincerely appreciate it!

Excision ...

The excision of Riley's Spitz Nevus (or "yucky mole" as we call it at our house) went extremely well aside from the fact that Riley was a little nervous at first and would not speak directly to any of the doctors or nurses (so I would repeat each of their questions and he would answer me - hey, whatever works!) Anyhow, once the valium that they administered to him set in, his nerves calmed down a bit. During the actual procedure instead of watching the movie he brought along (Peter Pan in case you're wondering = D) Riley decided he needed to watch every step of the process. He was extremely interested in it all just like he was during the original biopsy. Crazy if you ask me. I couldn't even watch it all, I had to keep looking away to get my bearings, but not our brave little tough guy! He was especially into it while the doctor was tying up the stitches to close the gaping hole in his palm. The doctor commented that with his sincere interest in all these procedures with no squeamishness, maybe we have a budding doctor on our hands. You never know, maybe that will be the silver lining of all of this! Anyhow, we are still waiting on the full pathology of the original biopsy sample and they will want to compare that to what was removed yesterday. We will hopefully know something for sure within a week. We're keeping positive thoughts about it in the meantime. Will post more when we know more!

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.