Yearly Vacation with Grandparents- Gatlinburg

Draik and Regan went with my parents, Nana and Ba, to Gatlinburg the week after school let out. They had a lot of fun! Draik and my dad took a helicopter tour of Gatlinburg and Draik took some great pictures:

The kids spent also spent a lot of each day playing in the lazy river at the hotel they stayed at. There are a couple of indoor pools, and outdoor pool, a lazy river, a couple of water slides...the kids had a blast.

The kids then went to Wonderworks, where Draik and Dad did the Extreme Pedal Machine. Regan and Draik did the exercise of making the ball move across the table by concentration, Dad and Regan both did flight simulator programs (I believe Draik said Regan did better than Ba, which would be extremely hilarious if this is the case since Dad served in the Navy as a jet mechanic), and the kids enjoyed just looking around the cool place.

They also visited the indoor sky diving place where Regan even climbed the rock wall!

RILEY IS 6 MONTHS OLD!!!

It breaks my heart...he's growing up so fast. Pretty soon, I'll be sending him off to school. Here's an update on my little "heartbreaker":

* Riley loves to give kisses, or as we say in the South, "Sugars". He will latch on to your face and not let go! They are very slobbery kisses, which make them all the better.

* Riley has fell in love with a walker at daycare. It's a Graco Tot Wheels and has a spaceship theme. It's the only one he wants. Of course, they don't make this certain one anymore, so I've been ebaying like crazy. I have to get this walker. The ladies at daycare put him in it in the morning, and when they try to take him out, he fights them. Yes, I said fights them. He comes home with black socks (they start out white) from "walking" around all day in this walker...inside and outside. It makes lots of cute noises...one of them being a "beep beep beep" when he goes backwards.

* Riley is crawling. I have to be extra special watchful of him because he has a new BFF, Jester Jingles (pic below). Yes, that's Draik's orange cat. Luckily, Jester has been very understanding of Riley. But poor Riley doesn't understand that Jester does not like to be put in a headlock and given "Sugars". Riley would pin down Jester and suck on him all day if we'd let him. I find it quite disgusting- Adam, though, finds it cute.

* Riley is also starting to pull up...on the couch, on the chair...but he's real bad to reach out and grab the first thing he can latch on to...which is usually Jester Jingles.

* Riley "sleeps" through the night. He's actually very good. And when he does wake up, it's usually just to play. Last night, he slept with Adam and I...and he would wake up and crawl down to the end of the bed and lay down. I was afraid one of us would kick Riley, so I would pick him up and bring him back up to our end. Riley would lay down on his tummy and gaze up and smile at me. I would get into a good sleep and Riley would jump up and go back down to the foot of the bed! This happened several times. I hope it doesn't become a habit.

* Riley's Phe levels are still extremely low...below 1%. They have been this way for over 3 months now. We are hoping on a mild case of PKU. We should know more in a couple of weeks when his genetic testing comes back. He is eating wonderfully...he is allowed so much Phe that I could probably give him a steak! He loves green beans, sweet potatoes, mac and cheese with vegetables and oatmeal cereal with bananas.

* Riley still loves his horsey bouncy. As a matter of fact, he sometimes bounces in it for so long, he exhausts himself and falls asleep in it (below).

Riley's Very Successful Year

OK, Riley is not in school yet, but he is doing so great! We've just had genetic testing ran on him due to his PKU...his Phe levels have been extremely LOW for over 3 months. Abnormally low...as in, so low it can do as much damage as his Phe levels being too high. So, he is now on a diet that a 5 month old with severe PKU (which is what they originally diagnosed Riley as) could never be on...he has over 345 mg of Phe per day. Dr. Singh now believes Riley might be a moderate or mild case. Adam believes Riley might suffer from something called HyperPhe, which is where a child is born with Phe levels elevated (between 7 and 10%) but doesn't have true PKU and therefore does not need to be on a severe vegan diet. The reason he believes this is because at birth, Riley's levels were only 7.3%. We are hoping and praying he might possibly have the last option and can have hamburger and hotdogs soon:)

Other than extremely low Phe levels, Riley is flourishing...he is beyond Draik and Regan with everything they did at 5 1/2 months. He loves to stand (yes, stand) and is already scoot-crawling (pulls up, slides forward, pulls up, slides forward- like an inch-worm). He is a very happy baby (so far)...and I'm hoping the teeth start coming in soon- it seems like we've been teething for 2 months with no results. His favorite toy is his horsie...a contraption you sit him in and he bounches...kind of like the door-frame swings, only this is on it's own frame and it's in the shape of a horse and plays "she'll be coming around the mountain". He bounces so hard Adam's afraid he's going to shoot out of it!

6th Grade CMS Awards Day

Yesterday Adam, Mom and I went to Draik's Awards Day. She has had an amazing year and plans to do even more next year. Draik had all Nerd Classes (or honors classes...I prefer Nerd) this year - even in her dreaded Science - and still made the A Honor Roll for the year. She also got a certificate for having 20+ hours in Community Service.

Regan's Magical 3rd Grade Year

Sometimes in life, when one has multiple kids, it is hard not to have one that especially captures your heart. I guess because Regan was my baby...and my little man...for so long ~ plus the fact that Draik has always been so grown-up and independent ~ that Regan is this child for me. From the time he was born, I knew he'd be extremely special and he and I have always been extremely close. Also, he has always been quite the sickly child, spending time in the ICU at 6 months with fluid around his heart and having severe allergies and asthma since basically birth. So, I have always sheltered him and tried to be encouraging to him. While he has always had good years in school, and made good grades, he has never quite been able to capture the successes that Draik has had due to her outgoing personality and in-your-face attitude (I really have no idea where she gets it from...hehehe). Little Regan has always been just that- little. He is 9 years old, barely over 4 feet tall and barely over 50 pounds. As a matter of fact, 5 1/2 month old Riley is officially half Regan's height. With that being said, Regan has always been extremely introverted and emotional and extremely shy and unsure of himself. I remember the first time my mother-in-law, the psychologist, met the kids, and I was bragging on Draik and how smart she was, my mother-in-law stopped me and said "Her intellegence doesn't begin to encompass Regan's...". And my dear husband, Adoo, has always been a little peeved that Regan somehow always gets overlooked in the accolades, because, understanding the mind himself (my gosh, only half his family are doctors in psychology), he always felt Regan was our retirement plan (that's what we've always called Draik). I have no idea what magical powers 3rd grade holds, but somehow, it has really brought Regan out of his shell this year. He ended up scoring higher than Draik did in 3rd grade on his CRCTs and he also bested her in his average- his is a 99 compared to Draik's 95 6th grade and her 3rd grade average of 96. So it's not too hard to say we are so proud of Regan and all he accomplished this year. Here he is receiving his awards packet, which includes: End of the Year Class Superlatives- voted Most Likely to be President; Math Award for Multiplication; Fitnessgram Certificate of Achievement (like the Presidential Fitness Award that they did not participate in this year- for someone so tiny, he sure is athletic); the Top Jacket Award; "A" Honor Roll; and AR Award for Reading (along with a Six Flags ticket).

Draik's End of Year Debate Banquet

On Thursday, Adam and I attended Draik's EoY Debate Banquet, where she received her Junior National Forensic League Membership Certificate and the t-shirt she won at state that she didn't get because of the infamous sickness episode (see older post). We did find out at the banquet that Draik was the #1 speaker in state going into round 3, where she infamously fought through her stomach virus, just as Judge Bearden encouraged her to. During his introduction of Draik at the banquet, Judge Bearden said "...and after much encouragement, this young lady tried desperately to push on, where, in round 3, both the judges and I regretted encouraging her, I'll save the details due to this being a dinner...". Draik did wonderful in debate this year and her dad and I couldn't be more proud.

Draik receiving her certificate from Judge Bearden (the CMS and CHS debate coach)

Draik and her friend Katie, with their certificates.

Concerts in the Park....

Since dad had to work until late last night, the kids and I went to BB&T Park with Nana and Ba to see the first concert of the season. The boys had a lot of fun, Draik just wanted to get home to see her friends, and I had a huge headache by the time it was all over. Also, Draik and I really don't like country music, so what was the first concert of the season? A country band...but it was beautiful outside and it was nice hanging out for a little while!