Is He Breathing? And Happy Fourth!

Ok, here's the truth: this post has been started and stalled numerous times. Now it has to cover multiple topics (sorry!) ... been living life in the busy lane here.

Is he breathing?

That's the question Tony and I have been asking ourselves every night since Oliver's surgery. It has been nearly one month since Oliver had his tonsils and adenoids removed and *wow* -- it has changed his nighttime breathing dramatically! He went from a snoring machine / heavy breather to being so still and quiet we regularly check to be sure he is, in fact, still breathing.

Pretty amazing. Night time breathing aside, he seems to be fully recovered. I'm sure there is still a little healing going on back there, but he isn't in pain and he's enjoying all the crunchy and hard foods he couldn't have during his recovery. 

His recovery was full of ups and downs -- as expected. There was the "wonderful" 2:30 am wake up morning that I won't forget anytime soon, lots of refusals to eat or drink (a common issue when he doesn't feel well), and approximately 20 viewings of the Angry Birds mini episodes blu-ray. Here are a few moments to share:

Not done!!
Apparently he wasn't quite ready for me to clean those cake batter bowls.

A gift from Nana: a lego set Oliver didn't think was for sale yet. Score!

Said lego fully assembled, mostly by myself (for 7 and older). But Oliver was loving everyone moment!
When did legos get so scary?!

Happy Fourth!
Oliver enjoyed celebrating America's birthday this weekend -- so did we. It was a busy and full weekend. So busy, and focused on enjoying the moment, I didn't really capture it on film. A few highlights though:
- Friday night painting party: painted the new outdoor shed....a color that is darker than we meant it to be (painting party #2 coming soon).
- A night away at a waterpark hotel just north of us. Oliver had a blast playing in the waterpark and the family activity area. He also liked having his own big bed (a pullout). Tony won with this last minute getaway!
- Outlet mall shopping
- Hunting for and finding a caterpillar egg on a milkweed leaf; now we wait
- Fireworks on the driveway
- Grilling two nights in a row
- Playing in the sprinkler, water table and sand box. I did get a picture of that lovely (and messy) combo:

Making sand pants....also filled his hair with sand. Not so easy to get out!

Now that the holiday weekend is over we are getting ready for Oliver's 5th birthday. Oliver has been with our family longer than he lived in Korea, but getting to celebrate his birthday with him HERE is something I cherish. The two birthdays we celebrated without him were bittersweet; now they are just sweet...and crazy!

To celebrate we will have family over on the big day (Thursday) and a small friend party on Sunday. Oliver requested a party with just the neighbor kids and wants a bike theme -- bike races, a cake that looks like a bike wheel, and we will cool off with the slip n' slide and maybe water balloons. Should be a blast!