Turning Six....

"When I was One, I had just begun. When I was Two, I was nearly new. When I was Three, I was hardly me. When I was Four, I was not much more. When I was Five, I was just alive. But now I am Six, I'm as clever as clever, So I think I'll be six now for ever and ever." ~ A. A. Milne

If we thought five was great, six is going to be even better. Well if you ask William six is going to be better. He was so excited for his birthday. We had talked about several ideas for invitations and cakes. He ultimately landed on Camo..... He really really loves camo. We found ourselves some camo invitations (more army style) and we actually found a cake (granted at Walmart) that was camo and had a tank on it. The tank actually transforms (he LOVES it!). We actually had a pretty good turn out of kids, which was good considering I almost had a minor heart attack at the lack of RSVP's we got at the beginning. We, of course, ended up at Chuck E Cheese for the 4th year in a row.



They played A LOT and they all enjoyed some pizza. When it came time for presents, everyone was excited and wanted to help. Although, a few friends were pretty shy and wanted to stay close to mom and dad. The picture above (camo boots) was a very special gift from William's best friend Austin. Austin knows William all to well. When his mom RSVP'd for the party she mentioned that he wanted to get William something camo. :) The other kids had great gifts for William too. And there were several that he had been asking for for a long time. The woodworking kit, helicopter, hot wheels, transformers, NERF dartboard, video games, etc. He made out like a little bandit.


Grandma and Grandpa Neet even got him a few special things. A book from Grandma and Grandpa got him a couple tools (hammer, etc) for his tool kit he got for Christmas. He loved it. He also got a few pictures from a couple friends he loved. That was super sweet of them too. I think my kiddo has got some pretty awesome friends. I'm glad he knows how to pick (99% of the time) good ones. Let's just hope that keeps going.

The party went off great and everyone had a good time. I'm sure we'll figure a way to out do ourselves next year. Granted we won't be at Chuck E Cheese. I'm proud of my kiddo. Some of the best moments of him turning six came from his party and the treats we took into his class the day before. From Ocean asking him "IS IT YOUR BIRTHDAY????!??!?!?!" two inches from William's ear and nearly yelling, to Tayler talking with Julie and showing off her Iphone... to all the other kids who came and made it a very special day. It's on his birthday that I'm especially reminded of how truly special my child is. He is an amazing kid, who is smart, funny, rambunctious, sweet, loving, stubborn, opinionated, and most of all mine. I am blessed to have him as my son. I know I don't have to make such a big deal out of his birthday, but I do, because it's his. I want him to enjoy his birthdays. Growing up my parents didn't always have the money to throw parties like what William gets, but we always had fun. I want him to remember just how loved he is and know that each year he's here is a year we celebrate.

I tend to look back on his birthday to when he was born. Holding him for the first time. Celebrating the fact that he was here and healthy. I can reflect all I want on that day, but it doesn't compare to his happiness on his birthday. For me that's all I need. I will always hold those first memories dear and they are as clear today as they were six years ago. But this year it was nice to celebrate with everyone on his birthday. It made it just that much more special. So Happy Birthday to my little.. oh I mean, big six year old! I hope that this year is better than last.. that you grow a little taller, smarter, stronger.... And that no matter what you remember you are loved... and that you give love back to those important to you.

2010 in review

So where did 2010 go??? It seemed like the year just flew by. Seemed to fly by much faster than previous years. So what did we do in 2010 you may ask? Well maybe its time for a review..

January- Well what a busy month January was. In January, William welcomed a new cousin into the family. William turned 5, which was big, turning 5 meant that he was turning into an even bigger boy than he already was. Kindergarten was right around the corner. January was also a time for doctors. Just a week after his 5 year check up we were back for ear infections that caused horrible pain. Just a few weeks later we were back to see an ENT for sinus issues we'd been having for months. My poor kiddo just couldn't catch a break.

February- February was a month for big changes. We moved. And by moving it meant moving out of grandma and grandpa's house, the only house William ever knew, into a new house. A new house with his own room. Much different from what he knew. This change caused some anxiety and some missing grandma and grandpa issues. That changed when he started having fun and realized he still got to see grandma and grandpa every day. February had two big doctor appointments. One with the ENT to see what the issues were with his sinuses. The ENT suggested that his adenoids be removed as they were fairly large and probably the cause of his issues. At the end of February He had surgery (at a very very early hour) to have those pesky adenoids removed. He did great and outside of some residual pain and a left over sinus infection he healed up fast. We also learned this month that William has issues with latex paint... that makes painting our house harder.

March- Spring break and Mommy's birthday. That's right.. March was a month full of spring break and well My birthday. I turned 26. We celebrated in the greatest of ways. I had lunch one on one with my hunny.. Then later we had dinner with my family. The best part..... William and my mommy made me the best dinner ever. I am such a lucky girl! The end of March, however, brought changes in a very painful way. For whatever reason, I can't think of any, my upper back and shoulders started causing issues. I literally went to bed fine one night and woke up the next in horrible pain and hardly able to move. After 2 days of trying my best to deal with the pain, I caved, and went to the doctor. March was also the month that William caught his first fish.

April- Easter, Fishing, and trying to make mommy feel better. That's what April was. We kicked off the month with William catching 3 fish... His second time out and he caught 3 fish. He was so proud of himself. Mommy was still trying to get the back pain to stop.. The doctor thought there was muscle spasming and was not happy about the lack of response from my left arm. That made the doctor suspect there was nerve compression. The medications given to help didn't really help very much and I was left in more pain in the mornings after using the muscle relaxer than when I went to bed. William and Ron both did their best to make me feel better. I don't know what I would have done without them. Easter was just a few days after his fishing trip and he got a ton of stuff. We spent the day partially at home and then with family for dinner. I believe April was also the month that William was helper of the week at school. He was so happy when it was his turn. He waited a very long time for that. He also started t-ball in April.

May- T-ball, allergies, and almost summertime.... May brought some frustrations back with William's allergy issues. He had been doing so well with no sinus issues and then all of a sudden we were back to sniffling and sneezing. After allergy testing in 2009 showed nothing we were pretty sad to see him struggling again. We did allergy testing again at the end of the month. We did blood testing instead of the scratch tests. We were hopeful that it would give us some answers. T-ball was in full swing and it was sad that the weather didn't want to cooperate like we would have liked it to. But he did great and we all had a lot of fun. It wasn't long until there was itching for warmer weather. Summer break was just around the corner and William was ready for summer to begin.

June- End of pre-kindergarten, birthdays, and allergy test results. June brought the class field trip.. This year it was to the zoo. It was a fun time, but the traffic was horrible. We nearly missed it. William had a great time going through the dinosaur part of the zoo and had a blast seeing all the animals. Unfortunately the end of the trip left William with a migraine and he ended up sick to his stomach later on from it. We also enjoyed a very nice pre-k program at the end of the year. This time William actually sang! I was such a proud mommy. This also brought a sad time. The end of pre-k. William made so many friends and had such a good time. The last day was bittersweet. He had a fun time and came home with a "Look out Kindergarten.. Here I come" hat. But it also brought goodbyes to the teachers and friends staying behind there. We also celebrated birthdays for Grandpa, Anna, and lots of other family members at a picnic later in the month. Everyone had a blast.. This was the month where the boys learned that goofing off can hurt. They both ended up face first into a toy bin, leaving each of them with black eyes. The month also brought results from the allergy tests. Again those left us stumped as there was no allergies found. In July he started a new allergy medicine that helped him a lot.

July- Rodeo, the 4th, Trip to dads... July was a fun month.. The beginning of the month brought the Mollala Buckaroo and the 4th of July. Along with Grandma's birthday on the 3rd. We were packed with things to do. This was our first time to a rodeo. William and Marcus each rode on sheep. William held on til the end and well Marcus.. he gave it a good shot. William loved the rodeo. Granted it was long and they both started to get bored, but William really enjoyed it. After the rodeo we went to Grandma's for the 4th of July for fireworks and a barbecue. It wasn't nearly as hot as it was the year before, but we all had a good time. Later that month William took a trip down to visit his dad. He had a good time.

August- Mom's root canal, another trip to dads, and our first eye issue.... This was a month of ups and downs. I had to have a root canal and I have to admit, the dentist was awesome. I expected it to be much worse. But the worst part was the fact that he couldn't get a vein to do the anesthesia like we talked about. William was great and tried his hardest to make me feel better. Near the end of August, William had another trip to his dads. He was there for almost a week. Near the end of his trip I got a call that he had gotten something in his eye. I was expecting him to maybe have some irritation. Nothing like what I saw though.. Poor kiddo. We ended up at urgent care the next day and spent a good part of the morning there trying to get the stuff out. During the appointment we were told he had fluid behind his ear. I fully braced myself for ear infections later on. But we left the appointment with eye ointment.. That, however, lasted less than a day as it burned so bad he cried most of it out in the two doses he had.. I had that changed later that day to eye drops and he did much better. When he followed up with his doctor 2 days after urgent care he had full blown ear infections in both ears. His pediatrician stopped the eye drops and went with oral antibiotics. Now we just had to clear it up before school started.

September- Kindergarten and a love of football.... September brought with it the first day of Kindergarten. He was lucky enough to get a great teacher.. His teacher he told me later is the mom of a kid who was in his preschool class. We dropped him off on his first day and before school started he went in and said hi to his old preschool teachers. One was so cute, she forgot he was in Kindergarten.. They were getting another William in their class this year. She was so sad when she realized he was in Kindergarten.. She asked for a hug and said she'd love for him to say hi or wave if he saw them. They just adored him. He quickly made lots of friends, but also experienced a few issues with another student. Something we weren't used to. Having to explain to your 5 year old that sometimes you won't be friends with everyone was very hard. He also learned of some disabilities that others have. Once football season started though he was all over that. Football became a big thing in our house. The house was divided at times.. people rooting for the Beavers and others for the Ducks. The Ducks prevailed though. Having an amazing year.

October- Halloween, birthdays, and homework... October brought a few changes. He had homework for the first time. I don't remember homework in Kindergarten. We celebrated Marcus' 5th Birthday and the things he was learning in preschool as well. The boys had a great time at Marcus' party. And of course there was Halloween. He had a scary costume for the first time. William also learned to ride his bike without training wheels. He was so proud of himself. However, we all ended up sick in October. There was a stomach bug going around and William, like always, was the first to get it. Followed by me and Ron. It made for a very miserable part of October. William also was evaluated for and started in a reading group. For someone who kept saying it was too hard to read and he couldn't do it, he certainly could. He was one of 5 kids in the morning kindergarten classes to be in a reading group so early. The rest of the kids will start in late January or early February.

November- Thanksgiving, reading, jealousy... November meant starting Christmas shopping. That brought out jealousy issues we had seen glimpses of in the previous months, but nothing like what we got. It was so sad to see my kid who is generally so good about giving be so upset and jealous about getting others things. It was a lesson learning time for him and he's come out better. We continued with reading and he has done so well. He is just flying though those books like they are nothing. I am so proud of him. Thanksgiving was spent with family. I made the turkey for the first time. The boys (William and Ron) made some very tasty brown sugar bacon wrapped little smokies. We all had a good time. However, William and some issues eating and regressed to issues we hadn't seen in months. That made for a very long and miserable weekend and couple days there after. We got our Christmas tree and decorated it with William and Marcus.

December- Christmas, Winter break, New Years, Birthdays, Report cards..... December was a month packed full of things. We celebrated Ron's 29th birthday, Julie's 27th birthday and William's first report card early in the month. William had a great report card and it just further cemented the fact that he is a smart kiddo who is doing great... even when he doesn't think so. Unfortunately the last week of school before Winter break was spent more at home than at school. He woke up with a bout of croup that was horrible. A trip to the doctor the following evening for a dose of steroids.. Later that week we were back due to a severely congested cough. We were told to wait it out over the weekend and see if it cleared up. When it didn't I called back and his doctor gave him a prescription for a steroid liquid that took 4 days to kick in. He had his last doses on Christmas. My wish for a healthy child for Christmas didn't happen, but he had a great time. On Christmas Eve, we tracked Santa, left out cookies and milk for him. He even left out water and carrots for the reindeer. We had our usual fondue dinner with family and we all went to bed early. Christmas morning we woke up to open presents at home early. William got 2 things he had been wanting so bad.... A bow and arrow and a Nintendo DS. After opening up presents at home we went to grandma and grandpas where he got more gifts including a new bike. We had a great morning with them. Then we drove down to Medford for Christmas with Ron's grandparents, parents, and family. We had a wonderful time there too. William again got spoiled with more things. New years was spent at home for Me and Ron.. William was with Grandma Connie and had a great time. Even though he wasn't up like he wanted to be at midnight. He had a fun time.

There were more things through the year that I missed I'm sure. William's first time shooting and getting his BB gun, migraines, Grandma's health issues, and many many more. However, 2010 was a good year. We had a lot of good changes, a few that I'd rather change, and many many fun times. Here's to hoping that 2011 is even better. Hopefully I'll be better at keeping up this blog and sharing even more of the adventures in our lives. :)