Ready to Go Back to School
It’s been such a busy summer with getting the new pergola roof put on and then James’ bathroom renovation. It just flew right by and now James is getting ready to head back to school on Monday. First grade. Two years of preschool done. Kindergarten done. Now he’s off to the first grade. I think it’s going to be a rough adjustment for both Stacy and James. They’ve pretty much been attached at the hip all summer.
James will be at a new school this year with a new teacher. Stacy and James went to the school last week to meet with the principal to put together a drop off and pick up plan so that Stacy can drop him off in the morning and pick him up after school without getting caught by the school buses.
This week we met with his teacher who seems good. Based on what Stacy told me about her meeting with the principal, and her interactions with some of the school staff, and our impression of his teacher, we think James is going to have a good year. Fingers crossed we don’t have a repeat of last year, where they terminated the best one-on-one nurse he had while we were taking a short vacation in April, and then couldn’t find a replacement for the remainder of the school year. We do not want to go through that again. If you want to read about what happened, please see the following posts:
- April 25, 2015 – Getaway to Galena, Illinois
- May 3, 2015 – “He’s Too Complicated”
- May 10, 2015 – Still Looking for a Nurse, Replaced a Light Fixture, and Had a VEEG
- June 1, 2015 – School Update and VEEG Results
Ear Infection
Last weekend Stacy and I got the sense that something was a little off with James. He just wasn’t his normal self. He was a bit crankier than normal, but we couldn’t figure out why. He wasn’t showing signs of having digestion or respiratory issues, so what could it be?
It wasn’t until Tuesday that Stacy realized what the problem was. James sleeps on his belly to help with secretions and normally lays with his right ear down. Tuesday morning when Stacy got James up, she noticed a lot of fluid sitting in his left ear. She used Q-tips to get out as much liquid as she could. It just so happened that James had an appointment scheduled with the pediatrician for a weight check that day. He took a look at his ears and said that it looked like an ear infection and started him on an antibiotic as well as ear drops. I’ll spare you the picture, but if you really want to see it, Stacy posted a picture on James’ Facebook page of the Q-tips covered with ear “juice”, which you can see here:
https://www.facebook.com/fansofjames/photos/a.663562913655372/1064488810229445/
Gifts
James received a couple of gifts this week. There is a volunteer group in Kansas called Feel Better Friends that handmakes dolls for kids with cancer and other illnesses. James received a doll in the mail on Monday, which was kind of weird considering he had an ear infection. Coincidence?
I should point out that the doll Feel Better Friends made for James is the boy, not the monkey. It’s pretty cool that they customize the dolls based on the person they are sent to. James’ doll has red wrist guards and red Converse shoes, just like James.
He also got some monkey socks from his Nana and Papa (Stacy’s parents).
I think that’s all I’ve got for now. James will be turning 6 next weekend, so keep your eyes open for a birthday party post. This year’s them is Minions.
