And it’s June…

It’s hard to believe it’s June. Where has this year gone? And I can’t believe our “babies” are now 4 year olds. And yet, they are still babies in so many ways.

Pre-school was a resounding success. They absolutely loved it. The school we picked was just perfect. It had a great teacher to student ratio and was located on a local college campus. Since the teachers were in training, they really wanted to be there and the kids definitely benefited from their passion. Both Trent and Sophie got to know lots of other kids and made some great friends. I think it was good for them to make individual friends and build independent relationships – and branch out a bit.

The San Jose State lab preschool seems to fit right in with what Aaron and I want for our children. Lots of attention, based on play, no pressure but learning–without HUGE expectations. The funny thing was, I was totally freaked going into the parent teacher conference. I think in my head I thought it was going to be like a performance review (of which I find especially challenging to receive) and anticipated the worst. However, all my worry was for nothing. They got glowing reviews with fair constructive criticism (Sophie mostly – on attention and following instructions etc) but all good to know. It’s been hard for them to understand summer vacation, but the transition came at a good time with Aaron going back to work with J&J (WOOHOO) and Christina, our new baby sitter, starting for summer–and we just flowed right in to it. Childcare can be a drama, but we are so blessed. Mornings with Tia and afternoons with Christina. I just know it’s going to be a good summer.

The medical stuff continues to plaque us. I know I knew this right from the beginning but some how being 4 years into this–it still doesn’t get any easier. In addition, due to professional drama I’m been experiencing, I fast tracked all their medical appointments in the event we’d be losing our medical insurance (that concern has now alleviated itself someone).

Trent continues to struggle with his hearing and, after being diagnosed with mild to moderate hearing loss, had tubes and his adenoid removed. It was supposed to be minor surgery, “no brainer,” they said…But surgery is still surgery, and we both wanted to be there. Unfortunately my parents weren’t able to help us out…so disappointing. My stepmother said they couldn’t come because the cable guy was coming. Needless to say my parents are “fired.” Thank goodness once again for the neighbors. Tia kept them longer and Jean took the day off to hang with Sophie. Truly a blessing since the minor surgery turned out to be not so minor.

Trent had terrible time with the anesthesia both during the procedure and much more so afterwards. His breathing got very shallow, and he just wouldn’t wake up. It was like we were right back where we started 4 years ago–freaking out with the monitors and keeping the oxygen mask close by. Fortunately after several hours, he finally came around. The recovery though took much longer than anticipated. He ran a fever for several days and just wanted to be held. We are now over 20 days post-op and Trent is finally just feeling himself. The doctor had said one in fifty kids has a difficulty with the procedure and, of course, our little man was the one. But now we know, Trent doesn’t do anesthesia well due to his chronic lung disease. Scary, but good to know. In late June he has another hearing test to determine if the tubes resolved his hearing issue. We’re nervous, but we’re hoping for the best.

Sophie continues to thrive. We’re still working on her left side. She skips on that side and hasn’t mastered her bike- but it’s improving. The Keene mantra is FLAT FOOTED. We also haven’t mastered potty training. The doctor doesn’t have any magical ideas- her urologist just said it would take time.

Trent for the most part has mastered potty training although nights are hard. He just sleeps so soundly and forgets to get up. This weekend I finally went out and got a water proof mattress pad. It won’t necessarily help the festival of laundry we’re going through but it will make it a bit less smelly.

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