Before the School Year Ended

So I realized that I haven't put anything on here in a couple months.  The winter quarter of school was just moving right along until it wasn't.  When I look back on the posts from this time period it will probably be because I'm looking back on the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020 when most things shut down and our "normal" became anything but.  Before I get to any posts about that, some pictures and thoughts on the last couple of months.

We got to see "Onward" before the movie theaters all closed.  The boys were so excited.

Lego Creations

Panera date with Corban

100th day of school (dressing like a 100 year old man)

Enjoying storytime with Joelle at Wonder Universe

Preschool Valentines Party

Ice Cream Valentines party

Oh the spelling bee.  Gabriel said at the beginning of the school year that he didn't want to learn how to spell because he was afraid he'd have to be in a spelling bee one day.  I think someone must have told him that these are scary.  But, as it turns out, Gabriel is a good speller and so he was asked to go. He thought about it for a while before he decided that he wanted to try it.  He went to "spelling club" after school many times and I was happy to be able to drive him and some of his classmates to the district spelling bee in Roanoke.  I mostly wanted to chaperone because he was so nervous and I promised him that I would be there the whole time.  I even told the STEM teacher who was in charge of the kids from Gabriel's school that that's why I was going.  When we were sitting in the auditorium before they broke off into ages the woman in charge announces that a new rule makes it so no parents can be in the rooms during the bee.  I was shocked and scared for him.  Thankfully his friend Paxton's mom was standing next to me at this time and told me that she was a judge with Gabriel's age.  She went straight to him and said "your mom can't come with you but I have her number.  I will text her right away if you're not ok."  And he was fine with that.  She told me that he went 5 rounds and was clear and confident in his answers.  I could not have been prouder.

First grade representatives

The saga of figuring out Gabriel's cough that started on September has also been ongoing.  He was referred to a group in Roanoke that specializes in pediatric pulmonology and allergy. He saw a pediatric pulmonologist and was diagnosed with asthma back in January based on symptoms, even though his PFT was actually pretty good.  The doctor said that, based on his history and symptoms, he thought that he probably had asthma triggered by allergies and whenever he is sick.  He was able to get him into the allergist sooner than we had originally thought because he thought the allergy piece was important for solving the puzzle.  He went to the allergist about 6 weeks ago and had skin testing (not conclusive) followed by blood work.  He handled both like a champ.  It all came back negative.  Thankfully since he had seen the pulmonologist I got some audio of his cough during the night for the doctor to hear.  She agreed the the nature of the cough was concerning and suggested that we try treated for reflux.  A month of treatment for that and no coughing anymore.  So we are going to keep treating that for another month and stop the asthma medication and see what happens.  The allergist has been wonderful about following up with us and I really appreciate her.  I had been praying for someone that really cared and listened and tried to problem solve and she's doing just that.  When I talked to her a couple days ago she said that with kids the GI, allergy, and pulmonary specialties all overlap with symptoms so she is happy to try and help.  If in another month he's still not coughing we'll stop all medication and see if the situation has resolved, as she said that in kids sometimes 2-3 months of treatment will reset things.

Waiting for a reaction after all the "pricks" on his back at the allergist. 
Daddy took him and they got some Waffle House afterwards.

Boys in a tree

Corban rarely naps anymore but when he does he sleeps hard.  What I find interesting about him is that sometimes he's playing in his room for a while and they thinks "I'm tired."  He'll stop playing and go curl up in a blanket to sleep (with sack of course)

I had to wake him up to pick up Gabriel
("Mommy, carry me to the car and put the blanket back on")

Corban also really loves his "friends".  The mix of the group has changed over time, but since Christmas this is the group that he bundles together and brings to the couch or bed or wherever he's going to sit for a while.  Some mornings he stuffs them all into "sack" to carry them around.
Front row:  Toothless, Snoopy, Rainbow Bear, Sapphire
Back row: Butterscotch, Ming, Rompy, Sam, Owl, Jingle Bear

Jimmy John date with Mommy after the Transportation Museum

The weather is certainly feeling like spring around here and I'm thankful that it started when we've been more confined to the house.  Taking a walk is a great way to spend some time.

Taking a walk on the Huckleberry. 
He was giving Rainbow Bear a "bath" in the creek

Pokey Owl needed a ride on the walk

On this particular walk the boys were talking to everyone that walked or ran by (even if they were running with ear buds in and couldn't hear them).  They would shout "Hey!!  I'm Corban (or Gabriel)!  What's your name?"

One particular group of three college age guys walked by.  They looked like they were from somewhere in the middle east.  Corban said "Hey! I'm Corban! What's your name?"  Two of the guys kept walking.  One stopped and said "Hi, I'm Abdullah.  It's nice to meet you."  He then walked away.  Corban then said "Abdullah?  Abdullah? He must speak Spanish."