BUILDING BL(ayl)OCKS: Wrapping up the school year, and things in the USA

Jay's last day of school came quickly! It's been a growing year, and growing can be hard and fun. Jay is using two and three words together, and will sit down and focus a little better every day. I enjoyed watching Jay at field day, he was pretty nervous about some of the games and others he was all about. He was my partner for the three-legged race, and wouldn't throw any wet pom poms at anyone. Mrs. Tiffee and Mrs. Ashley (Jay's teacher's) always had eyes on him and would pass him between the two of them whenever the class moved locations. I could tell it was normal practice to ensure Jay was accounted for. We also had lunch at school with Jay, and Amy sat by us. I told Amy that Jay talks about her and I asked if she was his friend, and she said no. I giggled a little, and at the same time my heart kind of broke a little for Jay. He talks about her all the time, but she didn't see them as friends. I hope someday he'll find good friends, where all parties have a mutual understanding of friendship.

Jay's last day of pre-K, he went from toddler to little boy this year! I love him!

Jay grabbing a wet pom pom

The classic parachute game

Jay with his whole class!

Hugh's a climber, and likes to climb all the things. This is how I found him before going to pick up Jay.

Jay preparing for tug of war

Jay's last school work picture

Jay thought it was so fun to wear this mask on his head, and it was so funny!

Jay and his class at recess.

Mid post basement update: Here's the basement the week before we finished. We had to run to a far away Home Depot to get the paint, so I took the boys as soon as they woke up to get there and back before Jay had school.

Jay and Hugh, I was grateful for the "car" cart!

Fresh paint!

Everything looking so good, this is the playroom

Bathroom

Office

Another view of the office, I had to show how the doors were standing up to dry!

The week after school got out, Jay got a little sick. We got sand for our sandbox and it gave him just the right amount of new and exciting for him while he wasn't feeling well. My friend was giving it away, so we drove up there and got some! You've got to get creative when you don't have a truck. When Jay is sick I let him wear jammies all day, and we did sneak in a long walk and a quick trip to an empty park.

Hauling the sand!

Next day when they found the sand for the first time

Hugh and Jay climbing

Hugh, so happy to be outside and at the park

Jay reading while not feeling well.

I snuck in a couple outings with friends right before we left. I went to lunch with my friend Sam aka Auntie to celebrate her birthday and enjoy one last lunch together before Germany. She took a short break from lunch on Friday and we went out while Matthew watched the boys. Matthew took the day off, so we played pickleball in the morning (M smoked me) and then began all the things to prep for Germany that you can do a week in advance. I went out Saturday morning for a little brunch with Renee and Anastasia, which was a fun way to spend the morning while Matthew did yardwork.

Tanner Blaylock, the oldest Blaylock cousin (Mike and Jenna's son), graduated from high school this year! We got to go down to his grad party and enjoy the evening with family. Jay was pretty excited to see Tanner, he likes "Tanner's house" a lot. Throughout the party, I would tell Jay to go give Tanner this football or go give Tanner a hug, and Jay would mostly do it, which was very fun. Grandpa also took a turn chasing Jay which was very helpful and allowed us time to visit with Grandma, Brian and Emily and their family, and Mike and Jenna. I have decided grad parties are like wedding receptions. This was the first one we went to, but there's food, you congratulate the graduate, and visit with people.

The missionaries in our area can now eat any time in the evening, so I finally found an evening we could feed them. Matthew was delayed a little from work so Uncle chatted with them on the doorstep until Matthew arrived. Jay was his usual beyond excited self when Matthew pulled in, and I think that made Matthew feel really good. Daddy still has the number one spot for Jay and Hugh, they both got big smiles and chased him around. I enjoy having the Elders' in our home, and I hope someday people will welcome my children into their home when they are serving missions. During the lesson, we talked about Jesus's love. The missionaries asked Jay, "What can you do to show that you love Jesus?" Jay responded, "Church." I was a proud mom, Jay actually answered a question that someone besides me and Matthew asked him, AND answered a gospel question correctly!

Over Memorial Day weekend, we went to the cabin with Nathan, Michela, Grandpa, and Grandma. It was so much fun! Jay did great in the boat on the lake, even ventured out onto the island. If the water hadn't been so cold, I would have taken Jay on a kayak. We got snow and rain off and on our whole time there, which made our trip a little different than usual. We did get to go on a family walk around the lakes and tossed rocks into the water, picked up sticks, and enjoyed the fresh air. It was beautiful! Grandma was using her cane at the cabin, and the boys LOVED playing with it. One evening we played Chronology, Matthew and I verse Grandpa and Nathan. We barely lost both times, but Matthew had the raw end of the partner deal. The Blaylocks are wired for dates and numbers, and I can barely remember our anniversary and birthdays, let alone years of historical events. One thing I love about the cabin is the time to sit, relax, and enjoy the peace and quiet. There is no cell service or internet, so it enables you to be totally present in the moment and have time for reflection. We had great conversations with everyone, and the next time we see Nathan and Michela they'll have a little baby boy! So exciting! Jay realized Sunday morning that Michela had a baby in her tummy because she was carrying the car seat out to her car. He can't stop talking about "baby in Michela's tummy." It's very sweet, and I like to think maybe he knows the little boy who will be joining them.

Uncle Nathan and Aunt Michela giving us a free tow just for fun!

Nathan and Michela wouldn't let Jay past and he thought that was great

The crew playing Pandemic

Another mid-post basement update. I missed too many weeks of blogging and the progress is impressive and fun to see!

Monday of Memorial Day we joined the Bryce's at Lavern M. Johnson park in Lyons. It was a beautiful day! The boys had a great time exploring, touching the freezing water, and being outside. I asked Jay at the end what his favorite part about the park was, and he said "water jump with Jack." Jack jumped into the creek with Jay and Jay LOVED it. I was so grateful we could enjoy one last adventure with the Bryce's before we left. Lindsay wasn't feeling well, and we missed her! Betty was my buddy most of the time and was a great help with Hugh.

Roxy hugged Matthew, then asked, "Why are you so skinny?" LOL

May 29th was a big anticipated day for us. We went to a neuro-developmental evaluation test for Jay. He'd been on the waitlist since early February, so we felt it was a miracle it got scheduled before we left. I was worried about doing the test, I wondered if they'd really get any helpful information and what the payout of our investment would be. Our pediatrician was pretty insistent we get it, and now after doing it I need to talk to him further. Jay was pretty wired by the time we got there. We had left Hugh sleeping at home with Katey and the kids, and I think he was missing playing with them. They put us in a room with nothing other than a children card table and 4 chairs, and all the evaluators computer stuff. So, of course, Jay wanted to see that and touch and explore. She tried to sit him down for a cognitive test, but he wouldn't engage. During the speech test, he kept touching the iPad and making the pictures go away that she was trying to have him label. It was challenging. Matthew and I filled out tons of questions on the iPad and wrapped up the test in about 3 hours. She called us with the results the next day, indicating he probably has ADHD but that can't be officially diagnosed until six years of age. He also has a speech sound disorder and a speech delay. She didn't tell me anything new, and we are very frustrated. The amount of therapy she wants us to do with Jay as a result is about 12 hours a week, and if we did that on top of his 12 hours of school, he'd basically have a part time job as a 4 year old. It seems intense, and we are truly unsure what to do because it's a big investment financially and a big time commitment. We also don't know what therapists we would use, so we're starting from ground zero. For now, it's on the back burner. We need to learn how to live in Germany and survive, then we'll tackle this bigger issue and concern. We love Jay, he's full of light, joy, energy, and curiosity. I know Heavenly Father is aware of him and knows what Jay needs to grow, learn, and thrive in this world. I also have a new appreciation for the Resurrection, as someday Jay will have no limitations and he will be a powerful force for good.

I was grateful for Katey and the kids coming and staying with us Tuesday night so they could watch Hugh in the morning. They also stayed through the afternoon which was very fun! Tia, Katey, and I played Qwirkle while everyone took naps. The weather was beautiful so we spent most of our time outside. Katey came back with the kids on Saturday afternoon for a quick visit and to take all of our extra food we couldn't eat before leaving. Sneaking one last visit in filled my cup, and I will surely miss them this summer!

Jay and Hope, sweetly dumping sand on each other - they were both happy for bit

When you have big to-do's, it's easy to procrastinate by doing other things. This is kind of how I felt with getting ready for Germany, other things were easier to do. One of these I call pro"craft"inating, meaning doing a craft that sounds more fun. I cut off several of Jay's pants that had gotten holes in the knees and made shorts. I also made a little window balance for Jay's room. We can't have anything that goes to the ground, but I wanted something to help keep a little of the heat out. I used some drapes we got from Grandma, and invented my own pattern and design based off what I have seen online. It was fun, and I like how it turned out! Another thing we did was fix our fence. One of the pieces of wood came off the top, and it gave us some insight into how many other loose boards we had throughout the whole yard. So, we walked around, tugged, tightened, and attached new screws wherever needed.

Fixing the fence

Matthew's action shot

I planted this Peony last year, this is the first it's bloomed, so pretty!

This one was bigger and better than ever!

Jay's window balance.

We had one other grad party we attended this year for Auntie and Uncle's daughter, Hailey. Jay was so excited we got to go to Uncle's house! Jay loved climbing up the tractors and chasing the chickens. He did get a little more uneasy about the chickens once he chased the rooster and the rooster turned on him. We had delicious food and we got to talk to some ward folks one last time before leaving for the summer. Their older daughter, Andrea, took Hugh for most of the time too, which was nice.

Random tid-bits, Hugh fell asleep while eating lunch. This is the first time he's done it, and I couldn't help but get a pic. The second picture is when I came downstairs after a very quick shower. I heard some squawking from Hugh and I knew something was up. I looked down and Jay had gotten all of the diaper stuff out and was trying to get Hugh to lay down for a diaper change. He had pooped, and Jay knew it and wanted to help! Yikes! I was very grateful I found him in time.

My last update the basement. First, we got our final inspection done on the basement and we passed! Wooo!! The carpet was supposed to arrive Friday, then Saturday, so I stayed home from Emery's baptism so I could be there when the carpet was installed. About an hour after they told me they'd be here, I called. She didn't answer and sent a text message with a couple reasons they couldn't make it and she had to reorder carpet due to the storm, etc. I was so upset, I already felt terrible about missing the baptism and then to have them cancel on me. Hopefully within the next week or so they'll install. So far, everything is beautiful and we love it! Jay loved watching Uncle clean up the basement and wanted to help with loading the van, taking out the trash, and anything else he could convince Uncle he was capable of. He and Hugh were very good at waiting at the top of the stairs as he brought up various loads of tools and such. Jay was getting into a little trouble one afternoon, so Uncle took him to the sprinklers next door. Jay thought it was so fun!

Jay loading cardboard with Uncle

Jay and Hugh waiting "mostly" patiently

Uncle scooping up Jay in the sprinkler, Jay got him back by rubbing his wet hands on Uncle's Van

Helping load all the things!

Jay finally got to see the basement! Uncle and Auntie came over on Sunday and we showed Jay and Auntie at the same time. Uncle attached the slide just for the hour or so they were there. Jay LOVED it, he loved it even more than we thought he would. He went down the slide at least 30 times, running up and down and all around. He ran to every door to see what was inside and couldn't get enough of it. Hugh spiked a fever during Stake Conference earlier that day, so he gave Uncle some really good sweet cuddles. Before they left, Uncle and Matthew gave Hugh a blessing. Jay wore himself out on the slide and put himself down for a nap that afternoon. We only let him sleep for about 30 minutes to encourage sleeping on the plane later. We ate all the food we could in our house, and then Jack arrived to pick us up and we began our journey to Germany.