Andrew - FIVE

 Happy 5th Birthday Andrew John Nullmeyer!

Your birthday today is extra special because you just got home from the hospital yesterday. More on that in another blog post, though. Today we're celebrating how amazing you are! First, a quick trip down memory lane:

Newborn Andrew:

1 year old Andrew:

2 year old Andrew:

3 year old Andrew:

4 year old Andrew:

You are playful, energetic, loud, funny and adorable. When I wrote about you turning 4, there was a lot of emphasis on how mischievous you were, and I'm happy to report that you've matured a little bit in that department. If things get quiet and I can't find you, you may be putting together lego creations in the playroom (or riding your scooter in the kitchen), instead of flooding the bathroom like last year.

Your favorite thing to do is play with your siblings. During the rare time that they're gone, you're really bored without them. You play with Jenna the most, since she's closest in age. Unfortunately the two of you are also arguing a lot more this year!

Top on your birthday wish list is a pokemon binder, because you want to be just like your big brothers.

This is finally your year to play sports like your big siblings! You just started playing t-ball (so far you spend a lot of time diving for the ball in the dirt, but you've definitely got natural athleticism). After practices you say things like "Whew, that was a really tough practice. Did you see how hard I was working? I'm the fastest/best one out there!". And then you love to reenact all your cool moves.

You're still a pretty good eater. You love to eat the white part of a fried egg (no yolks for you!). You adore homemade bread with lots and lots of butter. You will eat 4 bowls of chicken noodle soup. You always eat brussels sprouts when I make them. You do not like ice cream, but you'll eat pizza for every meal.

I haven't started any formal homeschooling with you yet, but you love writing your name and you insist on trying to do everything the other kids do. 

You sit and listen to everything during school, and throw a huge fit if I don't give you a copy of whatever we're doing, even though you can't do most of it. You get really frustrated when you can't write like the big kids!

You are a loud boy, and at all times during the day you are either talking, yelling, singing or humming. Your siblings are constantly asking you to stop humming during school lessons because it gets distracting. But I love hearing your sweet little voice.

We all love you so much Andrew (super-doops) and hope and pray this is a wonderful year for you. Happy Birthday!!

Jenna's Glasses

When Jenna went to her 7-year doctor's checkup, she failed her vision test. I wasn't too alarmed, since Lucas also failed it at this age (and again when he was 8!). They scheduled a follow-up with an eye doctor.

We finally got in for the follow-up in January, and she was unable to read a lot of the smaller letters on the wall. I questioned the accuracy in believing a 7-year old, so the eye doctor dilated Jenna's eyes. This allowed him to gather more information about her eyesight, separate from what she was saying she could/couldn't see. His diagnosis was that Jenna is far-sighted and he wanted her to begin wearing glasses immediately.

I asked if it would be better to wait until she was a little older, so that her eyes wouldn't become dependent on glasses at such a young age. The doctor explained that a child's brain development and vision are closely linked until the age of 8, and it would be beneficial to correct her eyesight now. Her prescription is 20/40, so not too bad at all. This explains why she has never mentioned not being able to see clearly.

We went to pick out her glasses, and she fell in love with this teal pair. I tried to gently steer her towards some more subtle frames, but she was adamant about wanting these. Her favorite part is the rainbows on the inside.

So far Jenna says that her vision is clearer without her glasses, so I'm not quite sure how they're helping her. I'm going to check in with her doctor, because I certainly don't want to make her vision worse!