April in a Nutshell

Thank you for the support after the last post on Andrew.  I appreciate having friends/family who care enough to read them.  It's always a hard decision thinking over what to share...what not to share.  But these posts help me keep track of some parts of this process and I do think it's important that those closest to Andrew understand him.  I won't always do these posts as Andrew gets older but for now, it feels okay to share and it's easiest for me to do it this way as people as after him regularly. We are plugging along...I had a meeting with the school today to review Andrew's testing which really helped to clarify things for me.  He's on his new medicine ~ he's not thrilled about taking 4 pills each day, but he's adjusting.  Jury is still out on the effectiveness.  We have 2 appointments with his psychiatrist in the next two weeks...so we're just in a period of transition.   I'll wait for things to settle down/filter out and do a little catch up in the future.

On a lighter note, in an attempt to do some speedy blog catch up, the rest of our April fun is going to be in one post.



Library and movie day!  And this is the problem with being behind on the blog.  I have no idea what movie we went to....but Jeannie, the basket you gave Kitti has become the 'library book basket."  We were heading out to do some returns and head to the movie with Easter candy for movie treats.  Oh, and a little something for me!

I often drink tea in the evenings and Matthew wanted to join me one evening as we were reading The Hobbit together.



We love our reading time.  We've finished The Hobbit and now Dan, Andrew, Matthew and I are all reading "The Lord of the Rings" together.



Matthew loooooves Origami.  At any given time there is a piece of folded paper close by.  There are 5 little ones on the ottoman as I type this.



He made a bunch of Star Wars finger puppets.  These were the beginning of around 6 that he made.





The beginning of Han Solo.  I didn't tell him I thought it was a referee.



Andrew attended Carter's birthday bash.  Which was an Oregon Duck party.  Katie was very brave hosting all of these little boys in her house and did a fantastic job putting together this amazing party for Carter.



The boys were (more than) a little crazy.  They most definitely had fun!



A pinata is always a hit!



It's rare that I bake for leisure these days.  I love to bake.  But this particular day I made maple scones.  Baking is such a comfort for me.  I will never be gluten free (the horror!) I will never give up refined sugar.  I will never give up white flour.  I know this is the "thing" to do right now for healthy eating (I realize some people have sensitivities that require dietary restrictions).  I have no idea how people do it.  I'll keep my treats in moderation thankyouverymuch.



We had sunshine one day when I brought the kids home from school one afternoon and we seized the moment and went on the bike ride.  It's foolish to let a sunny day pass by unused in these parts during spring.  The kitty helmet kills me.



I toured these four little ones which felt like 10 little ones around the World Forestry center for Andrew's first grade field trip.  I had a raging headache by the time I got home and was exhausted from coralling children and running around looking for one little girl's coat that she couldn't keep track of, which was currently missing at the time of this photo, and totally gave up on the educational form I was supposed to guide the kids through and just tried to make it out of the museum with all the kids I was looking after had a fun time.  (I really do love the sweet kids in Andrew's class.)



Woe to the person who tries to bake or clean a bathroom without this little one's "help."



We have been living at the ball park the last couple of months. I'm not going to lie.  I have not had a very good attitude about it.  Little League is a big commitment as far as sports go, and with the busyness at the end of the school year it just felt like a lot.  I did enjoy it once I got there, but there were just waaaaay too many games this season between the two boys (27 to be exact).  I'm sure everyone is glad that baseball is over simply because I'll stop complaining about it now.  I think it would have been different if my boys really loved it.  But they didn't.  Despite having great coaches, Andrew said he didn't want to play next year (too slow for him, I think).  And despite having to drag Matthew out for games, etc. he said he wants to play again.  I actually think I'd miss it if both boys decided not to play.  Just having Matthew involved next year will be much more manageable.

By the way, look at andrew's great stance.  Just looking so much more coordinated.  Yay!



Andrew spent a lot of time climbing this tree while Matthew played.



Kaitlin had a BALL during baseball playing with all her little friends.  That was the great thing about it.  Playmates on both teams!



And I have to say, this is pretty darn cute.



Love andrew's sock half way down in this one.  So Andrew.

The highlight for April was really Winnie's oldest sister Pat coming to town.  She is just such a neat person and we loved having her come and visit.  She lives in North Dakota and so we don't get to see her near enough.  She is just lovely.



I just love this next photo.



The flowers on the table were for Dan.  He lead Matthew's "K2 Live" Youth group this past year, every Wed.  It was a fantastic experience for Matthew and I was so happy that Dan did this with him.  I think it was special for the two of them and Dan has such a great personality for things like this.

Anyway, I loved this of Carl and Kaitlin.  The bug in her cheerleader outfit and the bonnet eating breakfast side by side.  Just so cute.  (And note the random origami on the table?  You can always tell where Matthew has been!) :)

And that wraps up April!