August 2020

Aunt Laurie let us come swim in her pool again. The kids love doing this and we enjoy having it to ourselves most of the time. I'm always surprised at how long the kids can swim.

Painting treasure chests:

Swimming at the Rec Center. I think the kids are getting very good at swimming.

One of my best friends, Jill,  got married in May.  She wasn't able to have her reception until August.  It was a very nice reception at This is the Place Heritage Park.

Playing with the bubble machine:

For the first few weeks of school, Deacon went to school in-person on Mondays and Wednesdays, and had remote school on Tuesday, Thursday, and Fridays. It was extremely difficult to work from home myself and have Deacon do remote school. Luckily the School Board voted to change the structure in late September to have in-person school Mon-Thurs for elementary schools, and then only have Fridays be remote. It is still difficult to have Fridays as remote days, but we're doing much better with it now and we will stay with this schedule through the end of the year. He has had to wear a mask at school all day except when he is eating lunch. He has been pretty good with this change and hasn't complained at all, but it can be tough to keep track of his masks and we have lost a few.

Emerson started preschool this year at Miss Melanie's Preschool. Instead of having 20 kids for 3 hours twice a week, his teacher changed it so that she has 10 kids for 2 hours twice a week. He goes on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 12-2pm and has seemed to like it for the most part. He has not had to wear a mask at school, which I think is good and would be difficult for kids his age. 

First day of school (2nd and Preschool)

Deacon and Livy started playing soccer on a rec soccer team this month. They are the "Golden Eagles." I am so happy that they were able to still play soccer this season, even with the pandemic. Deacon likes it sometimes and hates it other times. He says he likes playing goalie. I have been helping out as an Assistant Coach and going with the kids to help with their practices on Mondays. They play a game each Wednesday at 5pm for 8 weeks. I hope soccer is something Deacon will enjoy playing. 

Emerson's 4th Birthday

 For Emerson's 4th birthday, when he woke up, we gave him one present to open. He got an Iron Man lego set and a bakugon lion toy. Later that day, we went to a new indoor playground in Centerville called Coconut Cove. Deacon, Livy, and Emerson had a fun time playing on all the fun things (slides, swings, ball shooters, climbing wall, etc.). Emerson did not want to go down the big slide at first, but towards the end, he was finally willing to go down with me, and then he wanted to go again and again (: It can take Emer a while to try new things, but once he finally decides to try them, he usually has a lot of fun. As my mom said, it's probably good to be a little cautious at 4 years old. For dinner, he also wanted orange chicken (just like Deacon). We then had a little party with Grandparents that evening and had a brownie cake and ice cream. I think he had a pretty great day. 

(I don't know why he insisted on wearing a long-sleeve shirt in August)

Emerson Tonsils and Adenoids Removal

Emerson had his tonsils and adenoids removed on Tuesday, August 4. His tonsils were really big, so we had him checked out by the ENT doctor who had him wear an oximeter for a few nights to see how he was sleeping. The first time we did it, they didn't get enough information, so he had to wear it again for two more nights. The doctor said Emer had mild sleep apnea and needed his tonsils removed. He had to get tested for COVID the Saturday before his surgery, and then Matt took him to Layton Hospital on Tuesday morning at 6:30am. They got checked in and when it was time to go to the surgery room, they asked Emer if he wanted to go in the bed or in a wagon - he picked the wagon. The surgery went well and the doctor told Matt that Emer's tonsils were huge. After they brought him back to Matt, his oxygen kept dropping, so they stayed there for another 2 hours while Emer slept and they monitored him. Matt and Emer finally got home around 12:30pm. The hospital gave Emer a new blanket and a book. 

When he got home, he watched a few shows and then took a nap. He talks a little different, but I think it's really cute. I had Deacon go to daycare that day so that Emer would have some peace and quite when he got home. Emer didn't eat too much the first few days (ice cream, yogurt, pudding, a smoothie, some noodles, and a Pace's rainbow). He was able to eat a little mac & cheese the third day and we keep trying to get him to drink water. We were told to switch off between acetaminophen and ibuprofen every 3 hours for a week.  It was really hard at night to wake him up and give him the meds, but we didn't want his throat to hurt. Matt was so nice to sleep on his floor for over a week and wake up every 3 hours to give him his pain meds. Sometimes when he woke him up, Emer wouldn't take the medicine for over an hour. Matt had some really difficult nights. There were a few times when Emer would take the medicine easily, but other times when he was super tired, it was much more difficult. After about he week, Emerson refused to take the medicine anymore and seemed to be feeling fine. It really surprised us since the Doctor said to give him the pain meds for 2 weeks. He enjoyed watching lots of movies and taking it easy. Hopefully he'll be able to sleep better once he heals. 

12/29/12 update - he didn't! He was so used to Matt sleeping in his room that he would come into our bed every night for the next several months. This was awful for Me! Finally after a few months of this, I would no longer let him come in our room anymore and he finally started sleeping well and all by himself in his own bed all night in November.

Before:

After: