Learning to Slurp!

When you were young, wasn't it the most fun thing to slurp spaghetti. Brantley is just now trying to slurp and he makes the funniest face when he does it. And yes, his plate does have a hamburger on it. I gave him some of my spaghetti to eat.

What will I be when I grow up...

I forgot to include this on the graduation post. The program that day had a list of the children in Brantley's class. Beside each name was what they were most likely to be when they grow up. Anyone care to take a guess what was beside Brantley's name?

Zoo

Since our daycare had an inservice day today, I took the day off and we went to the zoo with one of Brantley's best friends. We had a blast. The Zoo has really improved since the last time we went and it looks like they are working on a couple of new exhibits. We spent 6 hours there today! It was so hot, we were drenched with sweat. The day was really nice until Brantley had a meltdown in the gift shop which continued into the car on the way home. It's been so long since he has acted that way, it must have been because he was so tired.

Pre-Kindergarten Graduation

Okay, I admit it's silly. Having a graduation for a pre-kindergarten? Who does that? Well, we went today for Brantley's graduation. It was cute and all, but I don't think any of the kids actually wanted to do it. Here is Brantley with his teachers.














And here he is with his friend Alyssa who he has been there with since they were both babies.














And here is the graduate!

Quotable Quotes and Thunderstorms

Brantley has developed a fear of thunderstorms. He really dislikes thunder. It started prior to the big hail storm, but I think the big hail storm topped it off. He's very concerned about the weather and wants to see the radar. He even knows what some of the colors mean. We had a storm with some small hail in Charleston. Brantley was hanging out in the bathroom scared to death. Finally, we hooked up my MP3 player and he started listening to music. That helped. The next night we were out to dinner and it started to lightning again. Brantley wouldn't eat and I kept telling him to eat his dinner. Finally he said "I'm taking my food back to the condo and I'm going to eat it in the bathroom!" Matt and daddy might be able to correct me if I didn't get the quote exactly right. Well, today we are having some thunderstorms with some small hail. Look at where Brantley is....

Vacation pics

More pics. I think I ran out of storage at Kodak and Yahoo is unlimited.

Vacation pics

Here are some pics. Just click on the album - you don't need to log in.

Back from vacation

It's always hard getting back from vacation. We came back a day early so Brantley could go to his last baseball game. It was hot! Now he's in a bad mood. Early bedtime I hope, cause he needs it. Vacation was fun though. We went to the aquarium and hung out on the beach. Brantley learned how to throw a Frisbee and saw live starfish in the ocean. I'll post a photo album as soon as I have time.

Bracken Assessment

I think he's ready for kindergarten.

Mother's Day

Here is the inside of my mother's day card from Brantley:

Battin' a thousand...

Another great game with the Dodgers. Everyone was there to play today and the kids were hitting great. Since the opposing team only had 5 people there we actually got to play 3 innings today. Brantley didn't need the tee at all today. He had some great hits and he's actually running well too, except for looking at me as he is running to first base. And, check out this kid trying to get Brantley out while he's standing on first base. The other coach apparently doesn't know we don't have outs in this level.

The Dentist

Ahh...the dreaded word...dentist. I personally do not like going to the dentist. I can't stand having their rubber hands in my mouth. But, no matter how much we dislike the dentist, we have to go. So, today Brantley had his third dentist appointment. The first time he went was a year and a half ago because I was afraid he had a cavity. He didn't have a cavity, and he also didn't let them clean his teeth. They were able to clean the spot that I thought might be a cavity and the dentist was able to look at his teeth. The second visit he actually got his teeth cleaned. He was very polite and said "No thank you" when they tried to clean his teeth. He kept trying to get out of the chair. But, the hygienist was able to clean his teeth and put on the fluoride treatment. Both times, I was with him the whole time. So, today we were waiting in the waiting room and they called for Brantley. We get up and I follow behind Brantley and the hygienist says "He goes by himself now." Yeah I said thinking she was talking about how he went willingly with me following behind instead of dragging him in. I kept walking with them and she looked and me and said again "He goes by himself now." Huh....what did you just say. She repeated herself again and I of course say I don't think he will do well. The hygienist assured me she would come get me if he didn't do well and sent me back to the waiting room. I was upset. I sat there the whole time thinking I'm finding him a new dentist. The receptionist could tell I was upset. Another child started crying and I knew it wasn't Brantley because I know his cry but the receptionist made sure to tell me it wasn't Brantley. So, they call me back when the cleaning was done and the dentist was going to see him. Brantley was laying in the chair looking at the flat screen tv mounted on the wall. He said to me "Mommy...they have American Idol" and he smiled real big. One of the morning shows was showing clips from AI and he got to watch while she cleaned his teeth. She said he did great and he was covered in stickers. The dentist checked him out and then asked what it was about one of his teeth the hygienist had mentioned. They noticed that one of his front teeth was a little discolored and asked if he had fallen. He did fall 2 years ago. It was on the playground at school and his mouth was bleeding and got blood all over his jacket. We had taken him to the doctor and the doctor just looked at it and said it would heal nicely. Well, apparently it damaged his tooth a bit. They took an x-ray just to check it and the root of the tooth has already started to be absorbed. The dentist said as long as the tooth doesn't bother Brantley, it will probably just fall out sooner that normal which is about age 7. The x-ray was pretty cool because you could see all of his permanent teeth behind the baby teeth. After that, we left and I think Brantley enjoyed it. I realized how silly I was. He probably is much easier to work with without me being there. I just wasn't ready for that. He's only 4!

Another great game with the Dodgers

The weather was nice today, except it was a bit windy. The field was dry so the dust kept blowing in our faces. Here are a few pictures of practice before the game. Anyone see anything wrong in the last picture? That was taken during the game. It may be too small for you to notice the problem.

Baseball bats are dangerous..even the plastic ones....

Well, remember a year ago when Lilli hit Brantley in the head with the plastic baseball bat - right in the forehead. He had a huge swelling pop up from it. Well, Brantley was playing with Ben and his little brother Chase and guess what. Brantley hit Chase in the cheek. He must have hit him hard because he left a huge red mark on his cheek. Luckily it didn't get his nose or his eye. Chase cried for a little while and forget all about it. Very resilient. I think he's probably going to have a nice bruise tomorrow. Brantley was all tore up about it. It was an accident, but you would have thought Brantley was the one hurt. He was so upset that he hit Chase. I of course had to lecture him when we got home. I'm always telling him that Chase is still a baby (he's 2) and that he has to be careful around him. I thought he was going to start crying again when I was lecturing him. He really did feel bad about it. What can you do - boys will be boys.

Bowling gone bad.

Well, today was Brantley's friend's birthday party at the bowling alley. This was Brantley's first trip to the bowling alley. All was great until Brantley got hurt. He wasn't listening, as usual. The lanes they were bowling on were mini lanes. For some reason the balls were not all coming all the way back up so they were staying in between the lanes. So, the boys decided to go and get them. I went in and sent the boys back and put all the balls up in the hopper or whatever you call it. The balls still kept getting stuck, so Brantley decides to go get one and WHAM, gets hit with another one. His pinky finger was smashed between two mini bowling bowls. He cried and cried. We finally had to leave early. I almost didn't take him to the ER but it looked really bad. I decided to err on the side of caution and just make sure that it wasn't broken. We were there for 2 and a half hours. As we were sitting there, other more critical cases came in. A pregnant lady came in. Not sure if she was in labor, I only heard her say her baby wasn't due for another month. They took her right back. Then, a man came in with his daughter, went right up to the desk and slammed down a bottle of tylenol, I think, and told them his daughter just took a bottle of medicine. She went back pretty quick. I sure she's regretting it now - probably got her stomach pumped. Then a couple came in with a baby, and I think I heard them say she had swallowed something, was having trouble breathing and was blowing bubbles. Then the kid started screaming. Obviously not choking - she wouldn't be screaming like that. Then she started turning colors - some kind of rash I guess. I figured she was just turning red because she was screaming so much. The dad was all freaked out and went to the desk saying she was getting worse and they needed to see someone right then. They got her back pretty quickly. Then a girl in a soccer uniform came in with an injury. We got to go in before her. We had to see 6 different people just to get an x-ray of Brantley's pinky finger. While we were waiting for the x-ray, another girl in the same soccer uniform came in. Must have been a rough soccer game. Finally, we got and x-ray and nothing was broken. Just a really bad bruise. They wrapped it up and sent us on our way. I think that baby was still screaming when we left. Hope they figure out what she swallowed.

Mystery solved...sort of...

Remember the patch of red bumps. We saw a dermatologist today and he's pretty sure that it's a molluscum. Right now it's almost gone. He said if the bumps return again, they can freeze them like they do with warts to remove them. It will make it clear up faster, but since it is a virus, there's not really much else they can do except let it run its course. At least the spot is tiny and hasn't spread anywhere else. It looks like it can get pretty nasty. Since it's been almost 2 months since it first showed up, hopefully it will be gone for good this time.

Mommy...give me those poinky things

Huh? I learned a new word today. Brantley is still sick so we are trying to find indoor activities. I really don't know how stay-at-home moms do it. I've been playing this game called Polar Bowler. Brantley thinks it's funny and wants to play. I kept telling him that I would show him how when he gets older - thinking the concept of how to play the game would be over his head. So, I decided to let him try. In the second game he got a cold turkey and scored 175! Granted, the computer game is a lot easier that the game in real life, but I was impressed. Now he is playing with play doh and he has various kitchen things playing with it. I was straightening up his coloring books when he says "Mommy, give me those poinky things you gave me before." Okay. What the heck is he talking about. "I'll show you. Come in here mommy." Can anyone guess what poinky things are? I'll post the answer later. :)

No Sounds game today

Brantley is still sick. He missed t-ball yesterday and the Easter egg hunt yesterday in Cookeville, and today he is missing the Sounds play. He's very upset about it. He laid in his bed and sulked about it. He kept saying he was better now - between barky coughs. He was up about 6:00 this morning and sounded awful. I loaded him up with medicine and he went back to sleep. Since he's coughing now it probably isn't strep, but who know what it is. Gotta love the non-specific viral illness. Those just have to run their course. I have a feeling we'll be home tomorrow. Lawson is going to try to take him to the game Thursday evening. He's so upset because he says that will take so long!

The rash is back...

Well, the small red bumps that Brantley had came back for the fourth time. We noticed it last night. I decided this time not to treat it and to take him back to the doctor. Brantley's pediatrician's office has a walk-in clinic open on Saturdays which is nice. Brantley also started running a fever last night. He said his head hurt and his tummy hurt. Classic strep symptoms. The last time he had strep he had those exact symptoms. We went to the doctor and his rapid strep and the test they sent off were both negative. Not even a week later we were back in the doctor's office and it was strep. So, this morning we went to the doctor. We saw a physicians assistant. I guess they are like nurse practitioners. I like them because they are so thorough. She looked at the rash and said it wasn't a bug or spider bite like the doctor thought a month ago. It can't be because it keeps coming back. She is referring us to a dermatologist to find out what it is. She also did a strep test since he had the classic symptoms. It of course was negative. Brantley hasn't eaten hardly anything today. I'm betting we'll be back at the doctor by Friday. Oh, we also had to miss t-ball pictures and his game. And, we were going to go to Cookeville but decided against it in case he does end up with strep. I'd hate for him to pass it to his cousins.

Sleep

At what point in our lives do we begin to crave sleep? After a very long, full day, Brantley still doesn't want to go to bed. It was 8:00. If he sat still for 2 minutes he'd probably pass out. Yet, he still does not want to go to bed. I listened to 4 songs with him and gave him a hug good night. Daddy went in and gave him a hug. He was out. Sleep. It's a good thing.