What's going on...

It's been a busy week here! Stephen continues to love playing on his slide, and can't wait to go outside every day.

I spoke with Stephen's preschool teacher about summer options, and she said that Stephen is too advanced for their summer school (extended school year) program. This fits with what we've thought all along, but it was nice to hear. Of course, the downside to this is that Stephen will be without therapy for 3 months. His teacher is going to see if we might be able to at least have speech therapy for him while on summer vacation, because he's still struggling with that (although he is making progress at home!). His teacher said that Stephen is doing really well in class, and making a lot of progress, and that he is just a "joy" to have in class! He's also started using the bathroom consistently at school, and not having accidents!!!
On Monday, I took Stephen to the zoo so that we could go to the petting zoo for the first time! I wasn't able to get any pictures of Stephen petting any animals, because he was a bit nervous about it, and wanted to hold my hand the whole time, but he enjoyed himself.

Here's a picture of Stephen exploring a cave at the Children's Zoo. He wasn't too impressed.

He did like the snakes and spiders, though!

But the best part was the cookie afterwards...

On Friday last week, Stephen went to see the cardiologist for his regular check-up on his heart murmur. The good news was that his murmur was undetectable via EKG. The doctor wanted to confirm that it was resolved, and ordered an Echo (ultrasound). During that procedure, we discovered that Stephen has something called an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD). That basically means that there is a hole in the wall between the right and left side of his heart, which can eventually cause heart disease. This is not something that is likely to resolve itself, so our options were to wait a couple of years and have it repaired, or have it repaired now. We have opted to have it repaired now, so that it doesn't affect Stephen's ability to play sports next year (if he wants to - he's showing an aptitude for T-Ball, you know!). So, Stephen is scheduled to have a heart catheter procedure on May 25th, where they will thread the catheter up through his groin to his heart, and will put a small plug in the hole. After about 6 months, tissue will have grown over the plug, and everything will be completely healed! He will have to be monitored still for a while, but after the procedure, he won't have any limitations as to his physical activity (he doesn't actually have any limits now, either). If you can believe it, this procedure will only require one night in the hospital, and minimal recovery time, so after only a few days, he'll be back to normal! So, scary, but good news - we're lucky it was discovered before he was an adult, and had a major problem as a result.

The SLIDE!!!

For the longest time, Stephen has been afraid of the slide. When he was much younger, he would go down the slide on an adult's lap, but even that became a daunting activity for him once he started walking. We suspect that he was nervous when he was walking on play structures at the park, and that's when he decided that he didn't like the slide anymore. BUT, earlier this week, his preschool teacher told me that he happily went down the slide during recess THREE TIMES! Ever since then, Stephen has been wanting to play on HIS slide at home. Today I managed to snap some photos.

He started out just kind of grabbing on to Erik's fingers to get started, and then we would catch him by his hands at the bottom.

Then we would let him go a bit more on his own!

He was all grins after I took this picture!

So I guess there will be even more trips to the park in our future since the weather is nice now - it was never very much fun to go before when Stephen would just fuss at us whenever we tried to get him to do something other than play on the swings. YAY!

Easter!

Since I was sick, we didn't really do too much for Easter, but I did take Stephen to OCU for their annual Easter Egg hunt on Good Friday! Since it had been raining, they held the hunt inside, which wasn't too great for the smaller kids... Stephen had a better time last year when it was outside, but he really enjoyed visiting with the Easter Bunny again! I'll post a picture of that when I can, but until then, this one will have to suffice!

Quick Update...

This has been a rough week, health wise, in our house! Last Saturday, Stephen woke up with lots of congestion, and his left eye was crusted shut. I took him in to the doctor that morning, and he was diagnosed with Pink Eye (of course), an ear infection, and possible Strep Throat, but the doc didn't want to swab him since he would have antibiotics anyways for his ear.

Then Erik and I both ended up with congestion and sore throats, but while Erik has been improving, I seem to have developed a sinus infection with a nasty cough, and will be visiting with the doctor on Monday. So, here are some pictures from our visit with my parents!

This is Stephen going in to Big Boy Preschool in the morning... A teacher aide comes out to meet all of the younger kids (preschool and pre-k) at their cars (or bus), and walks them to their classroom! Don't worry - his backpack is big, but there's very little in it. I think it's just a change of clothes and some pull-ups.
We went to the park one afternoon after Stephen napped, and he went on the BIG swing for the first time by himself. Previously, he'd sat on my lap on it.

My Mom kept trying and trying to get Stephen's picture in the other swing, but he was avoiding it at all cost. Finally, after she stopped trying, he gave in, although I think he was about to stick out his tongue in this one!!

And I just like this picture. We found this sweater on clearance for $5, and since it was chilly the day Stephen went back to school after Spring Break, it was a good chance to wear it! We didn't pose him for this picture, though. He just looks so grown-up...

And in case I only have contact with you through this blog, if you are interested, I'm doing a giveaway on my other blog. So, go check it out!