051814_A day in the park (PICS)

The boys picked out their own clothes and dressed themselves so that they could go collect BUGS in their bug jars. :)

And then... a trip to the Arboretum for the Children's Party in the Park:

Knuffle Bunny!

Family gathering for MAY BIRTHDAYS

I walk with MS

This year, at the MS Walk, people who HAVE MS were given special tshirts.... "I walk with MS" 

My fellow-MSer, Amy, was kind enough to share a picture with me via Facebook. (Isn't her baby BUMP cute?)

AND at our walk, at the START of the walk, we asked ALL of the people who HAVE MS to join together for ONE group picture. 

SIXTEEN PEOPLE came forward 

to pose for this picture!!! 

(And we KNOW there are MORE in our community, not represented here.)

 Here are 

my BIGGEST 

(and littlest) 

FANS!!!

Personally, I raised $1010.00 for Walk MS this year and wore ORANGE proudly. THANK YOU to friends and family for your support and encouragement since my 2002 diagnosis and for working towards a world FREE of MS.

Shopping for SOMETHING SPECIAL to wear to the birSday party

Went shopping with the boys to TJ Maxx for the first time... where they saw hats and handbags immediately inside the door and were TOTALLY CONVINCED that they needed 'something special' to wear to the May Birthday(s) party. I'm sure glad I didn't take them near the underwear... ;)  Perhaps they've seen one too many MASH re-runs with their Daddy.

*For the record, they LOVE the shoe department... where, like most kids, they gravitate towards high heels. :)

LOVE THESE TWO LITTLE GUYS!!!!

WHOA, you have some CRAZY HAIR!!!

Sleeping with gloves on {acky thumb!}

A friendly reminder that his thumb "tastes ACKY"... Silas tries to sleep with gloves on tonight!

Kindergarten School Supplies (ordered online)

And in the {BLINK} of an eye, he turns THREE

Silas is THREE!

He sucks his thumb, but SHOULD have given it up for his third birthday. Somehow, he has re-negotiated and decided that he can continue to suck it until Sydney's birthday, since Sydney's birthday is also IN MAY. (Little stinker.) The OTC product we bought at Target didn't phase him one single bit. He proudly woke on his birthday, announcing "My thumb doesn't taste acky. It's still good... SEE!" (inserting thumb into mouth.) The dentist-approved stuff is NASTY!!! (Silas is now trying to sleep with gloves or socks on his hands at night.)

Silas is potty trained! He has been dry in the night for many, many, many months!!!! *Every once in a while, he will wake with a wet bed, but almost never. He's SERIOUSLY pretty awesome!

Silas wears Sesame Street big boy pants - unless his drawer is empty - and then, he will GLADLY wear some of Sydney's Thomas the Train big boy pants.

Silas likes to pick out his own clothes. He's starting to select SHORTS to wear. He gets mad at short sleeved shirts because he likes the sleeve to go to his wrist. His FAVORITE SHIRT is his green HELER SHIRT, which is too small for him, but has YET to be retired.

Silas still LOVES his monkey!

Silas puts himself to bed when he is tired or not feeling well.

Silas seems to be good at math. He often can look at something and announce "There are six." without having to count "one... two... three... four... five... six!"

Silas loves to READ the family rules sign at the top of our stairway.
The last RULE says SMILE, but Silas announces "S - M - one - L - Y"
He announces that it does NOT spell SILAS because Silas has two S's in it.

"I love you to the moon AND SUN and BACK!"

Wakes us in the night, proclaiming "Mommy? I love you!"

LOVES when his over-easy fried egg POOPS on his plate. He enjoys a runny yolk.

LOVES to start his day with a cup of juice.

Proclaims that the Hy-Vee deli is his favorite restaurant to eat at. (Thanks, Grandpa Lowell!)

100... Birthday Surprise!

Silas woke up to a BIRTHDAY SURPRISE!!!

Mike had called me from work yesterday, asking what I thought of a bunch of balloons all over the bedroom for Silas to discover when he woke up. (We'd seen clever ideas on Pinterest, but thought hat our boys sleep patterns are too unpredictable for some of those ideas.) So, he stopped on his way home to buy a package of balloons at Walgreens, since he forgot to grab them from work.

While the boys and I were at the library last night, Mike started blowing up balloons, reporting that they were VERY HARD to blow up. (Many of them were incredibly difficult!)

After everyone was in bed... when I should have been in bed myself (since I had been woken at 2am by Silas, checking to see if it was time to get up yet and couldn't get back to sleep after that... resulting in me making cards from 2:30 until the boys woke up) but this kid is TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!

Mommy blew up ALL of the balloons... by mouth... while watching tv. (Filled THREE kitchen trash bags to the brim!)

Sydney woke first! He excitedly found me in bed sleeping and told me that there were balloons all over the bedroom and ONE in the hallway. Then, he couldn't wait for Silas to wake up to find all of the BIRTHDAY BALLOON SURPRISE!

They LOVED it! They rubbed them on their hair and decorated our house for a birthday party for a good portion of the morning before school.

Speaking of school.... at breakfast, Sydney asked (like usual) "Is TODAY a school day?"

MOM: Yep!

SILAS: It is?!? Hooray! I'm THREE now! I get to go to school when I'm three!

MOM: You get to go to school in the fall.

SILAS: Is TOMORROW fall?

MOM: No, it's not fall. It's spring!

SILAS: (crying) I wanted to go to school... because I am three!

• • •

 We call Mike at work. Silas asks Mike if tomorrow is fall. Mike explains that it is spring now, and then, after summer - it will be fall. Mike assured him that we want it to be summer so that the weather gets warm(er)... and we can play outside... and go swimming at the pool... 

Silas thought Summer sounded good, but was still disappointed that he can't go to school (yet).