How many nurses does it take to draw Josh's blood?

Four, and me. It is interesting because we have had to draw his blood at least once a year since he was born and almost every time the answer is his age plus one. If this trend continues I don't want to be a part of it after he turns 6.

Today has been insane. It was Josh's first day of school. He gets on the bus around 7:40 in the morning *blah*. Then I have to get to school soon after *blah some more*. Then I rushed from my school to his school to take him to a doctor appointment in SLC.

Can I just say I love Josh's pediatrician? He is fabulous. He gushes about how much he loves Josh. His last appointment of the day (at this clinic) is supposed to be 11:00 but he let us come in at 12:00 so I wouldn't miss school. He stayed with us for more than an hour without even looking at the clock. He was genuinely concerned about Josh and the best way to care for him. He finds us ways to get free services and even (hooray!) free diapers since Josh refuses to be potty trained. He orchestrates all of Josh's extra care so smoothly and seamlessly. I can count on him to get me into hard to see doctors. He suggests seeing specialists I didn't even know existed to best help Josh. Love.

So we have a wonderful talk and check up. Josh even enjoys himself until they pull out the needles. You can get kindergarten shots between 4-6 years old so I decided to get some of them done now and some done later and get it over with before kindergarten. Josh also needed some blood drawn for some tests (to see if there is a medical reason why the kid can't put on weight).

At first they only had 2 nurses come in. After Josh drew blood from one of them instead of the other way around (I am not kidding), they called for more back up. You should have seen it. So many nurses and one small skinny flailing child fighting for control.

We finally got everything done and I promised Josh we would get him some sort of kid's meal with a toy to make things better. First one we came to was Burger King. Go in and order, get food, start eating, find out Josh's toy is some stupid Moxie Girls thing. I take it to the front and hold it up. I asked the guy if he has a boy toy. Somehow, this guy doesn't realize I am talking about a kid's meal toy. Seriously. He starts talking and I realize he either thinks I am asking if he is gay or he thinks I am coming on to him...or both....which is weirder....

Long day. Strangely good day. I have a headache. I am SO ready to sleep. Gotta go make dinner though.

Trophy Night

Today was trophy night for Freedom Riders. Josh was in the last group of kids. We watched about 15 other kids get on horses and ride, show off what they can do, and then get a trophy. We weren't allowed to clap because one of the horses is afraid of clapping. Then they had to nix the microphone because another horse wasn't liking the way it sounded. It was a little hard to keep your attention on what was going on because of the kids running around and the lack of being able to hear what was going on but even with all of that it was pretty fun.

Josh couldn't wait to get back in the saddle. When his time came he went without even a whine or a whimper when he left my side. He had a great ride. He loved every minute of it. He played with the volunteers and waved at the audience. But the best part of all was when they gave him his trophy. It didn't matter that he had seen every other child get a trophy, it didn't matter that since he has only been there a year his trophy was smaller than some of the other kids'. They handed him a golden trophy with a horse on top and a look of surprise and joy filled his face. He squealed with joy and hugged it to his little chest. Then with a shout of victory he took the trophy in one hand and raised it as high above his head as he could. He pumped his trophy up and down a few times. The grin on his face was so big I don't know how it fit on his little head. I could almost hear him say, "I won! I won!" He was certainly a champion today.

All of the volunteers were tickled with his reaction. I was told things like, "You need to find a way to keep him from getting him any cuter. Every time I see it I don't think it could be possible but he continues to get cuter." They gushed. I was so proud.

My mother once said that when she was first starting out she knew some mothers who sang their childrens' praises all the time, bragging incessantly. She also said that a few years later she realized she did the exact same thing. This is me knowing I am doing that same thing. I still think he is pretty awesome though.

The Zoo!

So this is totally late but that's okay. We had such a good time at the zoo this summer. The boys came with us and we have about a million pictures of the event because some crazy person handed my husband the camera. Okay not a million but about 115 but that was only a 3 hour zoo trip so pretty much every minute is covered. The bats were one of my favorite animals.

They were so darn cute cuddled together.

Of course, tigers were a big hit too. The mom had 3 babies but the babies were so big you couldn't tell who has who.

The carousel was a huge hit. The other boys sat on the inside so I don't have any good pictures of them actually on it but I am sure you can imagine them trying to conceal their delight but not quite covering it. You remember how it was when you started to get older and didn't want to admit how much you liked the carousel. Josh on the other hand, couldn't possibly conceal his happiness. He couldn't articulate his excitement but every time he saw everyone watching him he would snort and pinch his nose and laugh. He pointed and slapped his leg, squealing with delight. He pointed to his lion steed, stroking his mane. The lights, animals, movement, all of it delighted him to no end.

Well, I want to post pictures of the train and other animals the boys liked but for some reason it won't let me so maybe another time.

Summer has been awesome.

This has been one of the most fun summers I have had in a long time. Tyler and I went to Vegas, me and my family went to the cabin. We have gone to tons of fireworks, swam countless times, went to BBQs, and saw a few good movies. We went to Willards Bay, the zoo, and parades. We (all the nephews and Kysa) had a magic show put on for us by my good friend Tyson. We have been taking Josh to Freedom Riders once a week. We have been to the rodeo. We have seen family including Carrie, Sabre, Bekkie, Joey, Trevor and Gavin. Anything and everything I have seen that is free I have dragged Josh along to not sure how he would like it. My weeks are full and we are still planning to go to the Weber County Fair and probably the zoo a few more times not to mention that Josh's birthday is coming up.

I don't want it to end yet. I can't seem to make up my mind with classes. School feels like it is looming over me and I am just not ready yet. Summer, please stay a while longer.