A place to share our story.

Friday, May 29, 2015

Operation Right Front Tooth

Well, after 3 surgeries, Brady is finally wearing the braces that will hopefully pull his right front tooth into place.
 
 
Surgery #1:
This surgery took place in July 2013. The purpose was to remove a stubborn baby tooth. In the process, it was discovered that Brady had 3 extra baby teeth up in his gum line. They were removed as well.
 
Surgery #2:
This surgery too place in December 2013. The purpose of this procedure was to expose the right front permanent tooth, hoping it would make it's way down and into place. It did not work.
 
Surgery #3:
This surgery took place in May 2015, after waiting a LONG time, hoping the tooth would come in on it's own. The purpose of this procedure was to make sure the permanent tooth was a good tooth, and if so, put a metal band around it, which would later attach to braces. The surgery went well, the tooth looked good, and the metal band was placed!
Then, just a couple days ago, Brady had his first set of braces put on. So far, he has only 5 brackets on, but in a couple of months, he'll get 4 more. The purpose of the braces will be to put gentle pressure on the right front permanent tooth, and hopefully help guide it down and into place, as it should be.
 
This is what my almost 10 year old looks like today.

 
 
Normal Smile with braces. 5-29-15


Goofy face, trying to show off more of the braces, so you can see how the new tooth will be pulled down.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

They've Grown!

Back in September, as a part of our Science class, the boys made growth charts. They measured themselves each month to see how they grow. Today was our last measurement, so I thought I would share the results. We measured height, weight, chest, waist, and foot, but for this post, I will just share height and weight.


Brady:

Sept. Height: 54 inches
Sept. Weight: 60 lbs.

May Height: 55 3/4 inches
May Weight: 63.5 lbs.

Logan:

Sept. Height: 50 1/2 inches
Sept. Weight: 52.5 lbs.

May Height: 52 1/2 inches
May Weight: 57 lbs.

Marshall:

Sept. Height: 41 1 /2 inches
Sept. Weight: 31.5 lbs.

May Height: 43 inches
May Weight: 36.5 lbs.

It would appear, as much as I don't want to admit it, that my boys are indeed growing quickly! I wish someone could slow down time a bit, that's for sure.

MN Zoo

Picnic on the deck (yes, we sill love to eat outside)

Last Day of School

Brady, Logan, and Marshall have officially kicked off their summer vacation!

We finished our first year of homeschool this morning. It included cinnamon rolls for breakfast, a math test for Logan, and a Bible test for Brady and Logan. Marshall joined in for some letter writing and xylophone playing. Brady also spent a little time working on his computer typing skills.

I can hardly believe that we have been homeschooling for an entire school year. All 5 of us still feel this is the best path for school, so we will continue on this road into next year as well. With the freedom of homeschool, both Brady and Logan have been able to advance to the next grade level in math, as well as work together on a few classes, which was fun for them. We have had a wonderful time enjoying sports and activities at Lifetime Fitness, getting out to the park, the store, for walks, and visiting family. For me, I have really had the opportunity to get to know each one of them so much more intimately. I love how much our relationships have strengthened between each other in the past year.
Both older boys scored above the 80th percentile among students their age on our state standardized testing this spring, so I am feeling confident that this change in school has certainly not slowed them down a bit.

We are taking the summer off from most of our school work, and we plan to return to school during the last week of August (allowing us plenty of time for our big Sept/Oct vacation!).

Over the summer, I am planning to have Logan work on his handwriting skills, Brady work on his keyboarding skills, and Marshall work on his writing and reading. We will also be joining the library's summer reading program and tons of art classes too. There is also a small Health class that I am hoping to work through with the boys too.
Brady and Logan have 2 basketball camps this summer and rock climbing classes as well. Marshall will be playing soccer and possibly T-ball as well.
Oh, and let's not forget about our Valleyfair season passes :). We've already been there once.
Needless to say, we'll be keeping plenty busy over the summer.

As I type this, Logan is reading a Minecraft book, and Brady and Marshall are playing the board game Ticket to Ride.

Last Day of School breakfast




Learning to play Mary Had A Little Lamb

5/26/2015



And now, let the summer begin!!