3rd 3rd

Ok. Let's do some more catching up from this past summer.

Let's see, there's no better place to start than at the beginning.  The first thing to happen in June was Stella's birthday. She turned 3. I say it three times a year I know, but I don't know where the time went. 

3 years. My little girl. She has been such a blessing to us and has changed out lives in so many ways. It was one things with boys in the house, but throw a little girl in the mix and all bets are off. She has each of us wrapped around her finger in some way or another. She truly believes she runs the show.  Dealing with her allergies has also been an adventure that has taught us so much. We took a difficult challenge, one that could have been a negative impact on the family, and turned it into something positive. We're all eating much healthier now thanks to this little girl and her diary and soy allergies.  

She's feisty. I maintain that she gets it from her mother. She knows what she wants and she definitely has her way of getting what she wants. But as headstrong as she is, and boy is she ever, she's also a delicate little princess. She's all ruffles and bows, pink and purple, Barbies and baby dolls. She's my little girl. And now she's 3. The 3rd Drosche to turn 3, hence the post title. Our baby.  With every milestone she makes, I become increasingly more aware that we are moving forward in life. Entering new stages. Every first for her is a last first for us. Sometimes that's hard to take and some times it's exciting. One thing is for sure though, with this little girl around there is never a dull moment. 

So she's 3 now. She greeted this age as she does with everything, headfirst and ready for action. 

All is well, another 3rd birthday down, in Drosche Land. 

Back

Ok. I know. It's been a few weeks since the last post. The one where I mentioned a summer-long hiatus. But I am back. I've been here. But, as you know, we've been in full-on back to school mode since August began. Today was the 3rd day of the school year for us all since we all started on the same day this year, Tuesday!  Luckily our schedules and calendars are far more aligned so we shouldn't have any issues like last year's Spring Break debacle. But I digress. I'm back. Here I am. Back to school. I'll take a brief pause from the hiatus catchup to talk about back to school.

Braeden. He's in 4th Grade this year. Yes, 4th Grade. I'm not quite sure how it happened. Time warp maybe?  Regardless, he is.  He and Amy are stoked because this is Amy's first full year in 4th Grade so they have a lot in common and have been bonding over mutual 4th Grade stuff. It's cute and I'm so happy for them. He's very excited because, for literally the first time in his school career, he's away from any family members at school. He's moved out of my hallway and upstairs!  Upstairs?!?!  OMG. He's always been just down the hall or in my class. I see him at lunch, briefly. Maybe in the hallway if I'm lucky and the stars align.  But it's good for him. Independence, but at a slow pace that he can be comfortable with. That's right up his alley. Another huge change for him is that our Athletic Director is allowing 4th Graders to play up to JV sports this year. He's now on the JV Soccer team!  OMG!  He is so excited and is having a blast. He's had 2 practiced already and comes home exhausted but joyful.  Sports his definitely a love language for that kid. It does however bring about changes for the entire family as he has practice 4 times a week until 5:00 pm. That means later nights for us all. But they're growing up and we are experimenting with later bedtimes. So far, so good (fingers crossed). Hopefully that'll continue to be an easy adjustment as we head into the school year. 

Jackson. 2nd Grade. I'll be honest, it was fun having him in my classroom last year. I do miss him but I know he is having a blast in 2nd Grade. He was nervous for the first day, but came home ecstatic and eager to tell us all about his teacher and everything she has planned for his class. This is the same teacher Braeden had for 2nd Grade and he also loved her. She brought out a lot of good in Braeden so I am so eager to see how Jackson grows and develops this year.  He is continuing to manage his ADHD well and we are adjusting to getting back into the school to me routine and schedule. He is also excited because he will be playing on the same Soccer league with his classmates as he did last year for Soccer and for Baseball. He also has grand plans to join them for Basketball. His practices begin next week on Fridays from 5:00-6:00. So late nights are the name of the game here in Drosche Land. But at least I'll get some time to work and plan and grade.  He's grown so much over the summer. I see him in the hallway and sometimes I'm amazed at just how mature he can look. 

Stella. She started PreSchool 3 this year. She's down my hallway now. So far it's been good. I've made sure to not linger and avoid if possible. The few times we've run across each other she has been able to hug and say hi without crying. She loved school, always has, and she is having a blast. She adores her teachers and we are working on not just calling them by their last names, but using Mrs. before. She has some weird aversion to using titles when speaking about people, it's quite hilarious. But she's a trip and is having so much fun.  She will be starting dance this year. Dance. Like ballet. I can't even begin to wrap y head around my little princess being old enough for dance. Her practice is in Wednesdays. So there's the other day of the week. Ha!  You thought I'd gotten at least one day that was extra-curricular free didn't you?  Wrong!  As it turns out we have Faculty a Meetings on Wednesdays so it's not really any inconvenience. Just another stage of life we are entering. The busy stage. As if we weren't already busy enough!  

Amy. It's her 2nd year in 4th Grade and her first time to start the year off that way after stepping up mid-year last year. This is the class she taught back in 2nd Grade a few years ago so that's a fun and unique experience. She's loving it and having a blast. I never would have imagined that she would be so happy and content so far away from Early Childhood.  Who knew?  We'd both always thought of her as an Early Childhood teacher. But after leaving administration a few years ago to step back into the classroom, she's been hopping around and experiencing all the grades. First, Second, Fourth. But
she's great at that.  Again, she's excited to be teaching the same grade that Braeden is in and in fact,
she even worked out a field trip for her class to the same place that his class is attending later this war. That'll be tons of fun!

Me. Last but not least. Me. I'm in 1st Grade. Always. I love it here. Beginning my 12th year and I'm amazed at that. 12 years. Wow. This is a big year for me because at SML we are in the process of doubling our Elementary grades beginning with Kindergarten last year. That class then moved up and we doubled 1st Grade this year. I've never co-taught with anyone or had a teach member who taught the same grade as I did. Luckily for me the other 1st Grade teacher is a good friend who was a PreSchool 3 teacher for a while and has been waiting to step up. She is awesome and we have already begun to build a great team so far this year. It's going to be a lot of fun. New, but fun. The other PreSchool 3 teacher stepped up to teach one of the sections of Kindergarten this year as one of our teachers left. She is also a good friend of ours. Throw in the other K teacher, who I worked with at Trinity for years and is also a family friend and Stella's Godmother, and we have one amazing K/1 team and it is going to be an epic year!  At SML this year we also have a new principal, who is amazing, and several new teachers. So change is the theme for this school year, that's for sure. But it is going to be awesome. He has so much in store for us and I cannot wait to see His plan play out. 

Well, I guess that sums it up. 4th Grade, 2nd Grade, PreSchool 3. They each love school (for which Amy and I are so thankful for) and we are off to a great start. There are a lot of new changes in our lives for this year so we definitely should have many adventures in the coming months. But I am excited and ready for the ride!  Here goes nothing. 

All is well, another school year underway, in Drosche Land.

Another Year Down

Well, summer has arrived in Drosche Land!  Granted, Amy and I still have meetings this week, but school ended for all of us last week.  The kids and I at St. Mark celebrated our last day on Thursday, Amy celebrated her last day of the year at Epiphany on Friday.

What a year it was too.  Busy and hectic, both professionally and personally.  Of course we started the year off with T & L and being foster parents.  That, in and of itself, brought all kinds of back to school adventures.  Then they moved on and we adjusted to life as the 5 of us again.  Then after Christmas Amy stepped up and began teaching 4th Grade after the sudden death of her coworker earlier that fall.  Did I ever mention that?  I feel like I did, but maybe not.  Long story short - the 4th Grade teacher passed away at the beginning of the year.  It was sudden and sad for Amy, her coworkers, and the students at Epiphany.  They continued the semester with 2 subs who alternated days.  Amy began to feel a calling to step up and help.  We prayed, thought, talked, and prayed some more before Amy finally decided He was calling her to serve in a new way.  She'd had a Student Teacher in the fall so it worked out perfectly that she took over Amy's 2nd Grade classroom full time in January when Amy moved into 4th Grade.  She loved it, but it was hard.  The whole situation was unique and crazy, but she did well and is excited to begin a full year as a 4th Grade teacher in August.  Who'd have ever thought she would be teaching that high up?  Not I!  My year was great.  I had a great class and great parents.  I also has Jackson in my class.  That was fine, but was also an interesting adjustment.  So, that's our year in a nutshell.  On to the kids.

Braeden on the first day of school!

Braeden on the last day of school!

Braeden.  Third Grade.  I found it hard to believe that he was in 3rd Grade this year.  Now I find it even harder to believe he is no longer a 3rd Grader!  Crazy!  Our first born.  The one who teaches us about everything.  This was a big year.  At the start of the year, 3rd Grade was out of our territory.  Amy had only taught up to 2nd Grade and I live in 1st Grade.  So, 3rd Grade was a whole new world for us.  No longer could we assume we knew everything (not that we do that).  We were learning the ropes right along with him.  He loved his teacher.  She is a sports fanatic so he was right at home with that and often we would hear about fun conversations they would have at lunch or in the classroom, discussing sports, athletes, etc.  It was great for him to have that aspect to relate to.  He grew so much this year.  He now has a sense of humor and, luckily for him since he is in our family, understands and uses sarcasm (correctly most of the time).  This was also the year when he stopped being a little kid.  Suddenly he acts like a teenager and is vocal about new things such as his hair and clothing (despite the fact we wear uniforms at SML).  The downside to the growth has been the attitude.  Oh wow!  But he has mellowed a lot lately and I think we are getting him back from the land of the pre-pubescent (for now at least).  All in all, 3rd Grade was great for him.  He loves multiplication and thrived with it, and even learned to love and take pride in projects (namely completing a poetry book and report on Uranus (yes, Uranus, and there were MANY jokes make about that, by myself of course)).

Jackson on the first day of school!

Jackson on the last day of school!

Jackson.  First Grade.  Wow!  Growth, incredible growth, was the name of the game for Jackson's 1st Grade year.  He grew academically so much, going from shy and intimidated, not willing to try to read or anything; to reading above level and loving school and learning anything and everything.  I taught Braeden in 1st Grade and it was fine.  Jackson I was worried about though.  We are very different and can sometimes butt heads, but that was not at all the case (very often).  It was a lot of fun and I think it was good for both of us, bonding us and bringing us together.  He also came out of his shell and made friends this year, buddying up with a friend (ironically named Jack) and having his first, and second, sleepovers and planning more for the summer!  Possibly the funniest thing about having him in my class was his insistence on referring to me as Mr. Drosche whenever school matters were being taken care of.  We'd already told the kids to call us that at school, just our family's preference, but he took it a step further and continued that at home during homework times or during school functions!  But that's Jackson, all or nothing!  We also continued to learn and live with his ADHD, changing medicine as he grew and managing his symptoms via diet.  All in all he had a marvelous year and we are so happy that he is thriving.  It is nice to have all the kids back at one school together.

Stella on the first day of school!

Stella on the last day of school!

Stella.  Toddler 2s.  Wow!  She is no longer a baby, that's for sure, and also no longer a toddler.  She is a full-on kid now.  As sad as that is, to have our baby growing up, it is also fun to see her grow and develop her own personality.  And what a personality she has!  She knows what she wants and is sure to let everyone know that.  She is full of spunk and sass (from her mother?) and keeps us on our toes.  It may be hard to handle sometimes, but honestly we would not have her any other way.  She also has grown so much thanks to her two awesome teachers.  Colors, numbers, shapes, songs, etc.  She is a sponge and has learned so much this year.  She is so excited to be in PreSchool next year and is already talking about it.  She will be down my hallway next year so that should be interesting, especially considering that Braeden will be moving out of my hallway and upstairs for 4th Grade!  Gasp!  We just recently (yesterday) celebrated her upcoming 3rd birthday and I am astonished that she is that old.  She reminds us so much of Jackson so we kind of know what to expect from her, sort of.  All in all, she had an amazing year and we will miss the Toddler program so much as she moves into the "big school" but we are ready (as much as possible) for that adventure.

So, there you have it.  A long-winded (do I offer any other kind) retrospective of the kids and their school year.  It was a great year for us in Drosche Land, despite being full of ups and downs.  But then again, every year is.  We grew a lot and learned a lot.  As great as it was though, we are all very happy that summer is here.  Everyone needs a little down time to recharge!  Thanks 2014/2015 school year!  It was a blast!

All is well, Toddler 2s/1st Grade/3rd Grade down, in Drosche Land.

Sleepover

So I'm still here.  Just the usual slow May fresh off of daily posts in April.  #endofyear. Such is life when you teach. But I'm here and I'm posting. 

Sleepovers. Did you have them as a kid?  Host them?  Go to them?  I didn't. I was not the sleepover type of kid. I wasn't antosocial, just more of a homebody I guess. Luckily the same cannot be said for my kids. This year alone, between the boys, they have had more sleepovers than I did in my entire life. Granted that was just one, but still you get the point. 

I credit this newfound fondness for sleepovers to two things. 1 - they are growing up. I'm guessing this is the age when sleepovers begin. It's fun. It's cool to have your friends over for the night and/or go to their house. 2 - St. Mark. It is such an awesome environment. We are so blessed to have it as our church home, my job, and the school for all 3 kids. It's just been so amazing these past 2 years. Sleepovers are big. Especially in Jackson's class. A pair of my students is literally having a sleepover nearly every weekend. They rotate. Sometimes in twos and sometimes larger groups. They're always together in some grouping. It's awesome!  Definitively lends to the familial relationship my class has with each other. 

This year marked the first sleepovers for both Braeden and Jackson. They've each hosted and been a guest. Braeden was the first earlier this year when a friend invited him over for his birthday. Braeden had never been before. He was nervous. He's a lot like me at that age. Just thinner and more athletic. Despite the nerves we encouraged him and he had a blast!  He invited the same friend over to our house last week to celebrate his birthday. It was a lot of fun. 

Jackson followed suit this spring. He hosted first, inviting two friends over. It was a new experience for us having that many people over. I mean we'd hosted the cousins but they're family. This was different. It went very well and was also a ton of fun. Just this past weekend one of the boys invited him over and he was ecstatic and eager to go, not nervous at all. I was though. See, you'll remember, Jackson is the one who wakes up frequently and comes to our room. Randomly. In the middle of the night and often around 9:00-9:30. I'm also not 100% convinced that he isn't sleepwalking at times. But who knows. So I was nervous about that. No parent enjoys being woken up in the middle of th enlighten, much less by some kid that's not their own. We shared this with Jackson and he must have understood because the sleepover went without incident. 

So, it's not a ton of sleepovers but, in Drosche Land, it's a big deal. A milestone of sorts. They're growing up. They're coming into their own and developing and building friendships. Both boys are already planning the next sleepovers so I am confident that this will become a regular occurrence.  And I'm ok with that. It's fun. Different having other kids who aren't your own at your house, but fun. I can on,y imagine how Stella will be.  I shudder to think. Having multiple boys over is one thing, were used to that. But several little girls, that's a whole other kind of craziness. Luckily we have a few years before that begins.  Time to prep. Time to buy earplugs. Girls are loud!

All is well, sleepovers included, in Drosche Land. 

9

Today is Braeden's birthday. He turned 9. 9!  I'm still in disbelief.  He's the one that made Amy and I parents. The one who taught us about diapers, sleepless nights, and fevers. But he also taught us about hugs, silliness, and love. I'm not sure if I've shared the story of Braeden's birth before. If I have, sorry, this may be a repeat for you. But it's a great story and one that we love to remember often, especially once a year. 

I think back to that day, 9 years ago, when I was at work. We'd recently relocated back to Houston due to Hurricane Katrina and found ourselves expecting. We hadn't fully committed to staying, we still wanted to return to New Orleans and the life we'd begun to build there. But then, suddenly, everything changed. It couldn't be just about Amy and I anymore. Nope, we would soon have this tiny little human who would depend solely on us. We had to start thinking about what was best for him. So, we made the touch decision to stay in Houston. It was back home for us, near our families and everything we'd grown up with. We were starting to rebuild. Amy had found another job and I was subbing and working as a teacher aide until I could find a position myself. We were staying with my parents and searching for an apartment.  All was slowly settling. 

May 5. We were still over a month away from the due date.  We had plenty of time to plan. Right?  To pack. To prep the apartment we'd moved into. To sort, wash, sterilize, and learn about all of the baby gear we had been blessed with. We had some time still.  Wrong. I was working Extended Care when I received the call. Amy thought maybe her water had broken. Say what?!  But she thought it might be a false alarm. I decided to head home early anyway, to check on her. Halfway home another call. Nope, this was the real thing. Forget heading home, we would meet at the hospital. It looked as though it was go time.

But things were to take another turn from our plans. He was breech. Yep. Breech. As I'd been  he wouldn't turn and Amy wasn't laboring. So the decision was presented to us: c-section. What?!  As scary as having a baby was, this tripled, maybe even quadrupled that. But here we were and there was no turning back. Not now so we moved forward, no other choice really.  So anxious and praying we went. 

After the surgery all seemed well. Braeden was small but not tiny. He was healthy. Sent to the NICU for monitoring since was considered pre-term. The next day all was well. Here was this tiny little thing that, just less than a day before, had seemed like some distant thing we'd been planning for.  But he was here. Now. Soon we learned that he was having som eblood sugar issues, trouble maintaining it. He was pricked so much on his little foot for testing that he still bears a birthmark-like scar that wasn't there when he was born. We now began to worry. There was a chance that Amy would be discharged before him if they couldn't get it all squared away.  Again, anxious and praying we moved forward, waiting to see what would happen. 

Luckily all worked out and he was able to be discharged with Amy, stabilized and ready for home. So we packed up this little bundle of joy and headed home to our new life as a family of 3.  Visitors came. More gifts were bestowed. Bags were unpacked. We started to settle into our new normal and Amy and I, so very naively, thought that not much has changed. This parenting thing didn't seem so difficult. Yeah, that didn't last long. Little man had his plans to teach us and train us as parents.

9 years. I don't know how I'll feel next year when it will be an entire decade!  He's grown into such an amazing person. Sure, there are rough times, there always will be. But deep down he's a good kid. A loving him brother. A loyal friend. A close cousin. A devoted grandson. A son. Our son. The first one. 

Happy 9th Birthday Braeden. I love you. 

All is well, 9 years and counting, in Drosche Land. 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Yes, technically it's the day after, but still. Merry Christmas. 

How was yours?  Christmas here in Drosche Land was great.  With all the holiday hustle and bustle it did seem to come unusually fast this year though. I seems as though we were just in school preparing for the Christmas Break and now, here we are, one week into it and it's half gone already. But back to the post at hand.  Christmas. 

Our celebrations were the usual here. Last minute shopping, as always, on the 23rd. I love shopping right before Christmas anyway. All of the lights and decorations. All of the people hurriedly preparing for the big day. I just love it.  To me, it wouldn't be the same without this last minute shopping. Luckily we always seem to have something more to get so I don't think we will ever be in the position to avoid the stores so close to Christmas. At least I hope not. 

Christmas Eve involved decorating cookies with the cousins, always a fun time. Amy made some wicked good gingerbread this year and tweaked the recipe for some of the icing so Stella could enjoy it as well. Then it was off to church which is always fun and, of course, family tradition. We go to the family service at 4:00 which is good because we all have young kids so the later services aren't as suited for us. But I am looking forward to the day when a traditional service, complete with hymns and candles, is back on our level. After church it was back to Amy's Mom's house for out usual dinner of crackers and cheese, dips, and cookies. Dang!  I just realized I didn't get any eggnog this year. Not a single glass. Hmmmmm. Then we all opened the gifts with Amy's family. Tons of fun. I love watching the kids. Never ceases to entertain. Then it was back home to leave cookies for Santa and shuffle the kids off to bed so Amy and I could finish wrapping and Santa could make his visit. 

Side note: another year went by with the magic of Santa still intact for Jackson!  Score!  We shall see what next year brings, although I selfishly hope the truth remains hidden. 

Christmas morning came and the kids were excited to see that Santa had indeed stopped by our house. Whew, they'd been good afterall. Dodged a bullet or two there!  After opening our gifts we headed to my parents' house to celebrate with them.  There was more delicious food.  Both of our families opt for a snack-themed Christmas menu. This is fine by Amy and I. I mean, I love to graze all day long!  After lunch it was back home to spend the rest of the day on the couch as the kids began to play with every single thing they'd received. Well, nearly every single thing!  The rest of the day and night went peacefully and we had a great time. 

One of the most fun things about this Christmas is that Stella was actually of the age to understand everything. So, even though she's been through two Christmases, this was the first that she could truly interact with and enjoy. She loves to sing. All the time. Loudly. Most of the time it's "Let It Go" from Frozen. But this holiday season she would cycle through a medley that included "Jingle Bells", "In A Little Stable", and snippets of other tunes. She also loved to wish everyone a "Merry Christmas!"  It was adorable. She had a blast. 

So, here I sit. The day after Christmas. I may have mentioned this before, but it's always a little melancholy for me. The big day is over. You've been gearing up for about a month and then bam!  It's done. Decorations begin to come down. New gifts are put away. Everything returns to normal.  But that's a good thing I guess. Then we can continue to focus on the true meaning on Christmas and the gift He gave us all. 

So. Christmas 2014. I hope it was good for you. I was reminded of the many blessings He has given me. My beautiful wife, children, family, friends. It's been fun. Hopefully the remainder of the holiday break is as relaxing as today was. 

All is well, still in the Christmas spirit, in Drosche Land.