#7 for Ben!

Ben surprised us tonight with a loose tooth.  He asked Dad to pull it, so Nick tried.  It was concluded that the tooth needed a few more days.  Ben, however, disagreed...  so a few minutes later, Ben announced that he had pulled his tooth all by himself, and indeed, he had!  That is tooth #7 for Ben!

Ben was very happy that the Tooth Fairy had visited and left him some quarters for his bank!

First Graders...

We received school pictures this week! I cannot believe how great these two look...

Benjamin Daniel...

Conner Nicholas...

First Grade has been awesome so far for Ben and Conner.  They are doing great in school and it is fun to see them during the day!  Still can't believe they are first graders...  They are figuring out that they don't particularly like homework, though, and they are definitely tired at the end of every day!

New Game...

When Nana and Gramps visited, they left some birthday gifts for Dad! So, the boys have been waiting very impatiently to try Daddy's new game that he got for his birthday!  Today was the day.  Of course, it started pouring down rain as soon as Nick got it put together, but the boys were able to get in some play time when the rain stopped!

Football Finale!

Tonight was our last flag football game of the season!  We were so happy that Nana and Gramps were able to come join us!  Great game Ben and Conner!!!  (Ben has the blue pants on and Conner is wearing the red pants!)

Daddy's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

Among other things, Nick got a new outdoor fryer for his birthday so he was very excited to get it all figured out and can't wait to prepare some yummy treats!  The boys were inspired by all the food talk so they prepared a whole bunch of food for Mom and Dad!

Happy Birthday to my husband who has gone above and beyond in the last few weeks making sure that we are all taken care of.  I love you so much and appreciate everything you do for our family.  You are the best husband and daddy.  Thank you, my love.  Happy Birthday!  I love you beyond words...

In Twos...

Everything in our household seems to happen in twos (at least)... no matter what it is.  The highs come in doubles, but with that, the lows are also multiplied.  After Ben's seizure, we have all been a little on edge.  Waiting for the next thing... making sure that Ben is okay... figuring out how to change his medication while minimizing side effects...  In the midst of this, Conner had a seizure last night.  He was in bed and he called for me before it happened.  We did call an ambulance because his seizure lasted long enough that we had to give him medicine to stop it and also because, like Ben, he hadn't had any seizures in years.  He slept for a long time when we got to the hospital and the doctors couldn't find any infections after multiple tests that kept us there into the early morning hours.  So we will change Conner's medication dose in hopes that will fix the problem... for now.  We will know more in a couple of weeks after we see the neurologist for both boys and order more tests.  Conner stayed home today so he could rest, but besides being tired, he is feeling good!

I remember what this feels like... calling 911, watching my son's room flooded with police and EMTs, riding in the ambulance, and subsequently sitting beside my son in a hospital bed while he sleeps.  Those hours in the ER... you might think they go by slow.  But not always.  My mind starts to feel like it is not my own anymore and I am numbed by fear.  It's been several years since we have been through this and now we have done it twice in two weeks.  It's amazing how one can pick up right where we left off.  I know what all of this feels like.  I've done it before.  I might have to do it again.  I sat there this morning, watching Conner sleep, and I felt helpless.  As the days go by, I know that it will get easier.  I know that both of our boys are going to be okay.  We will be watching Conner and Ben closely while they adjust to new medication doses.  It could be a long couple of weeks here at the Hedlund household... they are going to get very sick of me asking them if they are okay.  We are all going to be very tired, Nick and I from lack of sleep, and the boys from med side effects.  We will get through it, though, because that is what these guys of mine do.

Conner, Ben, and Nick... I love you guys more than anything.  Please... no more scary stuff for a while, okay?

Swamp Fox...

I took the boys over to Lowe Park for some Swamp Fox Festival fun this afternoon.  They played games, picked a few prizes, and enjoyed a frozen treat.  They even enjoyed sitting for a while and listening to the band play at the amphitheater. 

Later that night, we prepared for the fireworks show with some sparklers and glow-in-the-dark bubbles!

We are ready to watch some fireworks!

The fireworks were great and the boys really enjoyed watching them!  They were definitely ready for bed when the show was over!  Fun night!

Shopping and Lunching...

Daddy got to go to the Iowa football game today, so we needed to go have some fun, too!  We started the day with a long Target list and after we were done shopping, the boys requested Happy Meals, so that is exactly what they got!

Ben just lights up the room when he smiles... 

Conner is still insisting on giving me this smile whenever I take a picture lately!  I can't wait to see what his school pictures are going to look like!

Costumes...

Sometimes after a hard day at school, you just feel like dressing up and laying around...  this was Conner's idea, of course!  He loves his Spiderman costume and would wear it everyday if we would allow him to.  Once it looked like Conner was going to get his way, Ben quickly said that he needed to be Batman for a while, too!

Touchdown!

Tonight the boys had another football game.  The other team didn't have enough players, so Ben volunteered to be on the opposing team for tonight!  He did so good running the ball!  Conner impressed us all with scoring a touchdown.  I wasn't sure if he was going to make it since he was looking at Nick and me and was giggling loudly as he was running, but he made it to the end zone!  It was a great night for some football and we all enjoyed it!  Ben is ready to get started in the first picture and Conner is waiting for the play to start in the second picture!

Conner is taking his "ready stance" to the extreme...

Ben and Conner both had a great game!  It was so much fun watching them tonight!