Chris takes on Christmas

A few movies from this week as we have enjoyed our Christmas.

Chris on Christmas morning.



Chris sings Rudolph.



Chris takes on the Wii Just Dance Kids. Oh Mickey, Oh My.



I've really been enjoying Chris enjoying his Christmas presents.

Watch out World

Christopher Matthew has hit the road. After a day of 'charging', Chris's birthday present - "The Purple Car with lights and 2 seats so Emily can sit with me" is ready to drive. And so he did. Trying to park in the space Eric created for him in the garage, Chris hit the sodas, the trashcan, and ran over Eric's toe. He's going to be a terror on the roads, good thing we're starting now!

Happy 5th Birthday Christopher!

Happy Birthday Chris! It's hard to believe it's been half a decade since we have been blessed with your amazing presence. We have a lot to celebrate.

To start out the day, you woke in a great mood; the Birthday Pig brought you a Saxoflute, which you loved.



You were very happy to give us a serenade by Saxoflute! I love how much you love it. We so want to foster a Joy of Music within you. I can already tell you have a great ear for music, you're tone is great. I can't wait to hear you practicing piano, or your first recital or band concert ;) which at this point aren't too far away, considering you're already 5.



Then Sam got Chris a Phineas and Ferb Christmas Video, and then we played hot potato to have you find your big present from us. We wanted to make sure you knew it was from Daddy and I. You informed me a month ago, "I want you to wrap for me, a Purple Car with lights and 2 seats so Emily can sit with me." OK. Here you go! Wouldn't you know the purple power wheels was the swankiest truck thing I've ever seen. I am pretty sure your car now has more bells and whistles than mine. And BOY were you surprised. Almost speechless even.



Even though it had yet to be charged, so it couldn't go, you had to climb in and check it out. Little brother wanted in on the action too. We were tickled that you recognized the symbol on the steering wheel, "FORD" and commented that it was just like Mommy's car, and just like Daddy's. Yes, it's a Ford F-150 Power wheels, so it's the best of the little trucks. You loved checking out the buttons, there's a radio, and a cup holder, but of course, none of them were functioning. But you were sure to put your seat belt (made of velcro) as soon as you climbed in...and told Sam to do the same. You did kind of have your first fight about the car, about 5 minutes after you got it, because Sam wouldn't sit down. You're such a good protector, and a great big brother.



Later at your birthday party, we were able to grant you that wish, of a purple car with headlights and 2 seats for you and Emily...even the trunk can fit a bitty Sam!




You're getting so big, and in some cases you really have been acting like a 5 year old. It's a bit scary for me. I was putting some Christmas cards together this morning, as Daddy went out to Shovel. You wanted to Help. And you know what? 5 is a Great Age to help. I let you walk down to the mailbox...all by yourself. I hadn't done that before. Of course, I should've been a little less concerned with my feelings on letting you near the street, and a bit more concerned with whether or not you were tall enough to Open the Mailbox. You weren't, and had to call Daddy for help.



Once you and Daddy were done shoveling, you two decided (mostly Daddy I think) that the snow was the perfect kind for a snowman. You helped by shoveling, and patting. And that snowman is as tall as Daddy!



You played in the snow more as Daddy put the finishing touches on your snowman. This is the first season you really are getting creative out in the snow. You built yourself a "birthday seat" in a drift; to me it looked like a snow throne. But that's fine, you are King of the day.



And this King of the Day, the birthday boy, wanted to go Ice Skating. Bryn wanted to go with you, so we all headed down to the Pan Am Plaza downtown and we all hit the Ice! I forgot how out of shape my ankles are, as they wobbled weakly. And you wanted to hang on Tight, it was hard for me. I'm sorry I wasn't able to go very long before I needed a break. But after my break, we went out to the middle and kind of danced. That was more fun than circling hanging on to the wall.



We even got Daddy to take you around an entire lap. He did a great job! And it was very evident you were having fun. It makes me happy that you like ice skating, and what a fun special treat to do this with friends on your special day.



You wanted Nuggets to eat for your birthday. Big Surprise. So we drove thru McDonald's on the way home, and you ate 10 Nuggets! Crazy, but you are a boy who loves nuggets. So we ordered a tray of Chick Fil-A nuggets for your birthday party.
When I asked you a couple weeks ago, what kind of cake you wanted for your birthday? I was expecting chocolate, you normally love 'black cake'. But Instead you ordered a "Rainbow Train Cake" So I used a train mold and you helped me make a rainbow chip cake. You were blowing out those candles as soon as I could light them, our friends and family had barely started the song before they were out!



Because you like cake better than icing, and aren't a fan of ice cream, I didn't put much icing on your cake either. You were ok with that. But I was tickled at how much you couldn't wait to dive right in to birthday traditions.



You didn't want to wait and play before Cake, you wanted those candles lit as soon as the company arrived. And you didn't want to sit and leisurely eat the cake either, you wanted to open your Presents, like Now! I think your friends barely finished theirs before you were ready for the next step. It was great to celebrate with your friends Emily, Bryn, Shay, and Max.




You were so excited to open your presents. You loved each and every one. Whatever came out of the paper, it was your favorite, and you wanted it opened right now! I bet that made your friends and family very happy to bring you such great Joy. You bring us such Joy, it was good that we could make your day.

It was appropriate that when you opened your gift from Bryn, a Superman costume, you put it on and started posing. You are my hero. My superhero. So brave and so strong.



And I'm so glad that we could give you everything that you asked for, for your birthday. You have been an answer to our prayers. I love you.

Green eggs and Ham

The boys curled up to read Green Eggs and Ham tonight, and it would've been super sweet if there hadn't been the need for a Life Lesson involved.
Chris has taken to whining about mealtime...not that he's ever really been into eating, but tonight, he grumped out the roast Eric made before he even took a bite. I think that's what frustrates us so much, when he whines and complains about something we know he'd like the ingredients in without even trying it.
Eric tried explaining that just as Sam had to convince the nameless guy to try the green eggs and ham and then he liked them. A lot. But Chris won't try them. Not green eggs and ham, or beef and potatoes. It's frustrating. He went to bed hungry...and a bit early tonight.

Pre-Birthday

Chris got to celebrate his birthday today at school.

Since his preschool is off next week, and the Preschool Program is Thursday, and only half the kids make it to Wednesday, we opted to celebrate today, a full week early. What a great start to the Birthday season for Chris.

First his teacher's made him a crown with his name on it. And he put it on towards the end of class today. And they 'made' a cake, first stirring batter in the bowl...



They 'baked' the whole cake before starting to sing to him.



And of course Mommy's favorite part, the guest of honor gets to seat in the Birthday Seat for snacktime.



Chris stood for his birthday song and got 5 pats and a pinch to grow an inch from his teacher. So adorable!



After snacktime, everyone gets their goodies from their cubbies before going to sit in their circle again. Chris made a lovely Santa puppet today at school.



Chris gets to sit on Mrs. Bradley's lap as he distributes his little gifts to each of his 21 classmates. He had little Cars bags with a car, some bling, and a mini-recorder. Great Job Daddy on arranging them!



After all is said and done, the birthday boy takes a brother break and helps little brother put the cups away.



He was so excited about his crown, that it is currently sitting on the dining room table, on top of the advent wreath...he wanted to keep it safe until his birthday next week.

Mad Man

We found Chris had made a drawing yesterday on his magna doodle. It's actually quite good. He told us, "It's Me. I mad. I So Mad."
Why?
"Because Daddy wouldn't let me watch Backyardigans."
So if you look closely, you can see the lips are pursed, and the fists clenched, because he's "So Mad."

Cordless

Oh Happy Happy Day!

We had an appointment at Riley today with Urology. Chris kept saying "I don't want to see Dr. M. She's going to pull my tube and it will hurt." But we kept telling him, she may, she may not, we don't know. I think the unknown is a little less scary to him, than knowing for sure that someone is going to mess with his Business.
Anyway, she'd been having us measure the amount of liquid we could pull off him after he pees, and for the most part we didn't get over 50. Until Sunday night, then we hit 80 mL, then 50 last night. I was worried, but Dr. M said under 100 is Good.

So she took out the tube. 3 quick snips of the stitches and it slid right out. Chris flipped out, but by the time his freakfest was getting good and geared up, it was over. We had to laugh at him a little.

No more Tube!

We're a little excited. He was worried, but when we had him put his hand on his belly, and I made a big show of throwing the secondary diaper away, and telling him, you're only wearing 1 diaper, because No More Tube, then he got more excited. She wants to keep him on the flomax, to keep the path open, and see him back in a month.

Even Chris had to get excited about the prospect of not seeing them until next year!

In other news, we met with a boy, Ethan, (Big Ethan so as to not be confused with the younger Ethans in his preschool class) who has a MACE. We met his family, talked about his experiences, he even showed us his port, it's so much tinier, almost like the feeding tube, but without a button, they rig the appendix inside, and use muscle to keep it from leaking, so it's just like a little puckered hole, kind of where Chris's ostomy used to be. But his routine to 'do his business' is to get up early in the morning, hook up to a bag of water, just plain old tap water, and let it run in, about 15 minutes in and about 15 minutes out, shower and go to school. This 11 year old is just like anyone else, normal all day, even playing soccer. And if they want to try something different, they just schedule it for weekends or summers, when it won't interfere with his social life too much. Just to have that flexibility...They sometimes find he leaks if he hits a growth spurt or eats oddly. He said he wasn't teased much, but he just tells kids that ask, 'It's my Surgery" and they are satisfied, Eric points out they aren't as nosey as we are. ;) But he was a great kid, he's very happy with it, so is the whole family, within a year of getting it, he was taking care of it himself.
I think we're going to go forward with it, when school is out for the summer, so we can allow plenty of time for Fine Tuning. I can't imagine. It's kind of exciting.

Just a Quickie

We had a follow up appointment at Riley yesterday. Chris is doing well! His site looks "great" which is a great compliment to me because it's hard work to keep it clean, he freaks out so much during cleanings. And it's a little red around the edges, which worried me, but they say that's perfectly normal.
Also, she's happy that he's responding so well to this treatment, peeing on his own when he's clamped. The only thing I was worried about what his grumpy mood. Dr. M said that can be a side effect of the Ditropan. Ah...
So, since he was only left on Ditropan and Flomax, we're going to stop the Ditropan. That leaves him on only the prostate relaxer. She's curious to see how much he's leaving in his bladder, if anything, after he pees. So for the next week, she wants us to pull off anything that's still in, and measure it, and keep track for her. So far it's only been between 10-30 mL. She said if the numbers "look good" then next week when we come in we can Pull the Tube! Woohoo!
So, we're praying things go well this week.