Happy 5th Birthday, Joey

As I type these words I am in disbelief that 5 years have passed. My little boy is 5 years old today! Wow those years flew by. I wish that some of those times I could relive the fun, smiles, smells, sights, sounds, and touches. Joey being our first born in many ways was also our guinea pig. We have learned so much about ourselves and about what being a parent truly means and entails.
At birth Joey was always a very happy baby. Never too fussy and always content to be held and loved. I loved the smell of him after a bath with fresh clothes on and remember the hours I would hold him and stare at him and think how adorable he was (is) and how I am responsible for this little human being. In many ways I laugh now at myself about how scared and unsure I was to have a son. If I could have five more boys just like Joey I would in a heartbeat.
Joey is kind, loving, funny, athletic, caring, sensitive, and as he says “my best friend”.
Some memories of Joey~
· Joey weighed 6 pounds at birth
· The first diaper my husband ever changed was Joey’s
· He was a climber and always has had more energy than 5 people put together
· When he started preschool at age 3 he did not really speak more than 10 words. He did not speak in sentences
· His first love was cars, trucks, and trains. I was sad because I know nothing about cars and really wanted him to have an interest in sports. (He does now).
· He is missing one of his four bottom teeth. It is there in x-ray, but has never popped up
· He has cried before when Gabby called him a “peanut head” (I don’t know what a peanut head is or why this hurt his feelings so bad?)
· He loves to snuggle with me
· He comes up to me and says “I need a hug” at random times. Usually when my hands are full. (Washing hands or dishes etc)
· He likes to wear the same clothes as me… Boston Red Sox t-shirts. He likes it when we match
· He gets many comments on his beautiful large eyes and long eyelashes. He has longer eyelashes than most girls
· He loves knock knock jokes
· He loves soccer, baseball, and gymnastics
· He has many friends at school and makes friends easily
· If you ask him his favorite color he will reply “all of them”
· He loves the Cavs, Indians, and Red Sox. Now I am working on getting him to be a Dodgers fan too
· He is easy going and laid back
· He prefers vanilla over chocolate
· He is curious
· He enjoys being outside and riding his bike
· He likes to play tic- tac- toe with me
· He does not enjoy bed time
· He likes spending time with his dad playing X-Box
· He is a great big brother



Although Joey is turning five today as parents Jeff and I had to make a tough decision this year. We chose to keep Joey in preschool for an extra year. He is a smart boy, but he continues to have difficulty with his speech. Joey did go to a speech therapist. We stopped going when the therapist stated that she successfully got more visits approved for us with the insurance company. This turned out to be false and we owed a great deal of money for his speech classes. We then entered him into preschool and from then on being around the other kids he has begun to speak words and now sentences. I would say that he has made leaps and bounds from where we were two years ago. Joey is bright and also has perfect hearing. I honestly feel that when he hears us the message gets sent to his brain and then the words can sometimes come out with different sounds.
For example, if I said Joey go get your socks. He may look at me and say “where are my crocs”. Or when he speaks if he wants to say Taylor it comes out Tawer.
At this point I think we made the right choice for him although I did struggle with it. His main interest was my concern. I would rather him be behind in preschool/kindergarten than in first /second grade. I am also happy that he now calls me “mommy” or “mama” instead of “da”. Once upon a time ago Jeff, me, my parents, and adult figures were called “da”.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE BOY! I LOVE YOU TO PIECES AND AM SO PROUD OF YOU!! VISIT THIS SITE WHEN YOU GET A CHANCE. This is my husband’s blog... http://runningonfaithwithjzapp.blogspot.com/

Getting back into a routine.... The past few weeks

Wow! Since late June our family has been going nonstop. I am just going to recap everything in this post and I know that I have to also do my pregnancy part III story of pregnancy #3.

Sunday June 22nd 2008: We attended church in the morning and then had the kick off to vacation Bible school

Monday June 23rd: Jeff left to go out of town. The kids and I were at vacation Bible school. I was a volunteer and helped with elementary games

Tuesday June 24th: Vacation Bible School. Helped my sister with her kids. Tee-ball practice. Out for ice cream and then my nephew spent the night

Wednesday June 25th: Vacation Bible school

Thursday June 26th: Last day of vacation Bible school. Jeff came home. Gabrielle’s 3rd birthday. Had birthday dinner and cake as well as Little Leapers

Friday June 27th: Started preparing the home and going to grocery to get ready for Gabrielle’s family birthday party. Tinkerbelle theme.

Saturday June 28th: Soccer and Tee-ball. Clean house

Sunday June 29th: Gabrielle’s Tinkerbelle party with family and friends. Received call from Courtney about her father falling and being transported to the hospital.

I asked Jeff to go out and get some pics of Gabby with her sign. Above is what she gave him. I was not thrilled with the result.

Miss "Tink"

"Make a wish"

Monday June 30th: Spent the day on the phone with Courtney. Said many prayers for Mr. D

Tuesday July 1st: Joey had summer camp. Spent time with Gabby and on the phone with Courtney. Cleaned house from the party

Wednesday July 2nd: Courtney came into town. Went to the hospital. Spent time with Mr. D and family. Jeff and the kids drove to Chicago for the 4th of July to spend time with friends of ours. I stayed home to help Courtney and her family anyway I could. We did a lot of shopping for outfits for the services. I must say that Courtney, Joyce, and Tempa all looked very pretty.

Thursday July 3rd: Shopping for the services

Friday July 4th: Shopping and errands

Saturday July 5th: Ran errands and last minute things. Jeff and the kids drove back from Chicago

Sunday July 6th: Calling hours for Mr. D

Monday July 7th: Service for Mr. D

Tuesday July 8th- Friday July 11th: My cousin’s kids were here and spent time with us. They just left and now I am cleaning, unmaking beds, doing laundry, making beds again, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and took a break for some blog time.

My cousin, Megan has four children. She is 33. They all love in Michigan. She is a wonderful mother and has been through some very tough things with her relationship with the father of the kids. She met Dave in high school. She was in high school when she got pregnant with her first child. She then had 3 more with him. The kids are 13, 12, 10, and 9. Dave was into some bad things in high school. At one point he was starting to change things for himself and he and Megan did get married. Things did not work and he went back to his old ways. They ended up getting a divorce. I am proud of her for being so strong and always putting the girls and Nick the oldest first. The kids did not have much of a relationship with him. He would make promises and not follow through. To make a sad story even sadder this past May Dave’s body was found in an abandoned warehouse by a homeless man. The kids did attend the funeral and I am sure as they get older this may have more of an effect on them. Dave had problems, but there are two things I try to keep in mind when I think of him. The first is that Megan must have seen something good in him or she would have never started dating him. Second, is that without him these 4 beautiful, fun, intelligent, caring kids would not be here. The third child Taylor came down over her winter break and wanted to come back down to spend time with us. This time the other two girls wanted to come also. MY home has been filled with many voices, laughing, running, games, smiles, and good times. We all had a great time and the kids did not want to leave to go back to Michigan. So they may be coming back in August.

Bailey & Paige (sisters) ~ABOVE

Taylor, Paige, & Bailey~ BELOW

Cousins. Poor Joey was surrounded by GIRLS! He LOVED it!!

As much fun as it has been to have the girls here I am now ready for things to slow down a bit. We all have been running at a pretty fast pace around here and I like it when things are a bit calmer and we are not constantly rushing around. I am now happy to welcome some normalcy.

A surprise from my son

**Note this was written on Saturday June 21, 2008 but all events occurred on Friday June 20th 2008.**

Our son Joey is four and will be turning five in August. He came up to me yesterday and really gave me a surprise that was much needed and his caring spirit warms my heart. I was on the computer writing an e-mail to Shauna (the girl who will be giving my blog a much needed makeover). I got out the scrapbook that I made that has a few pages filled out of Sam and Sydney’s pregnancy and birth. There are a few cherished ultrasounds, the obituary from the newspaper, and calendar pages that I added written events from the pregnancy on.

I opened the scrapbook looking for some quotes that I wanted Shauna to have in case she could use them for the makeover. Joey came over and crawled up onto my lap. He wanted to see what I was looking at and opened up the scrapbook. We went through the photos of the cemetery and I tried my best to answer his questions. He saw the headstone and was telling me that he wanted to see Samantha and Sydney and then he tried to act out lifting the headstone so he could see what was underneath it and see his sisters. When he talked about lifting the headstone out so he could get to what was underneath the ground I remembered thinking of a mother that I met at the Precious Parents meetings I attended. This mother asked us if we thought it was crazy or if we had ever thought of taking a spoon to the cemetery. She would take a spoon in her purse when she would go visit her child so if she felt like digging up the earth and digging out her child it would be less noticeable to people than using a shovel. When this lady told that story I chuckled to myself because the first time I had gone to the cemetery alone after the girls passed away I remember being there and thinking to myself I wish there was a way I could dig this all up and get my girls out and hold them one last time.

Although a few tears streamed down my face when I was talking with Joey, he was so caring and sweet and I thought how blessed am I to have this boy and have him be so kind and thoughtful when he was asking questions. It was a beautiful day yesterday and it was not too hot or humid. We had plans to go to the park when Jeff got home from work and maybe take a picnic to the park with us for dinner. Well we still did that, but our plans changed a bit when Joey decided that he wanted to go to the cemetery. He was pretty persistent that we go last night. Before Jeff got home from work I took the kids to the store so we could purchase some flowers and some helium balloons. The cemetery probably does not love the fact that I tie balloons onto the vase that holds the flowers, but I have done it ever since the headstone was put in and I plan on doing it still. We take things like large helium balloons of butterflies, ones that say I love you, I miss you, or ones that are holiday appropriate. I would love to take other things and decorate the outside of the headstone, but the cemetery does not allow it. That is why I know that they are not overjoyed by the balloons. I should add that we do not go to the cemetery often. It is not that I don’t like going it is more or less that it is not very close to our home or near any stores or activities that I go to or attend. We also have a garden in our backyard so it is easier for me to go outside my home and talk or be with the girls.

When we go to the store I told the kids that they could pick out the flowers that they wanted to leave for their sisters.

First let me give you a visual as you imagine us at the grocery store. I don’t know if your local grocery store has what I call the “car cart”, but I am not a big fan of this cart. This cart is an oversized grocery cart in the shape of a car to amuse kids at the grocery store.

SAMPLES OF THE "CAR CART" ABOVE AND BELOW
It comes complete with graphics on the side of the cart as well as fake steering wheels and horns. Most of the time the horns are broken and do not toot. So having two kids the fighting then begins. I also do not like that this cart or contraption is so BIG that it feels like you are pushing an elephant down the aisles. I am constantly telling my kids oops sorry mommy is a bad driver as I bump into things on the shelves and they knock onto the floor as well as the fact that sometimes the car does not big enough to fit all the things that I need to buy. I do try my best to avoid this cart all costs, but my son spotted it on the way in and they were relentless that we take this cart.

The kids are in the “car cart” and I am doing my best to maneuver this beast to the flower spot of the store. Joey decides that he wants to take Samantha and Sydney red flowers and Gabrielle decides she wants pink. I started thinking about Gabrielle’s choice of pink. This is her favorite color and she wants pink anything; ice cream, shoes, clothes, and crayons. I began to wonder what Samantha and Sydney’s favorite colors would be and the sadness came over me that there is so much about these two peas in a pod that I will never know. I tried my best to hold it together and celebrate the fact that this was the first time Joey has taken an interest in his other two sisters. He knows the names Samantha and Sydney and he knows that he has two sisters in heaven, but that is about as far as it has gone. He does not talk about them nor does he tell family and friends about them. Joey also found a helium balloon on a plastic stick. This one was of the American flag. Sometimes when we are in the car we have games on finding certain things outside. Normally on the list is finding an American flag. He also knows that his Uncle David is in the military and that we are very supportive of our troops and mommy and daddy have an American flag at home outside that we treat with respect. Gabrielle chose a small balloon of Pooh and Piglet and then we got a large helium balloon of a dragon fly. We gathered our groceries and soon paid. On the way out the door the dragonfly balloon hit the side of the door and we were lucky that it stayed inside the store as it floated to the ceiling. This again goes back to my favorite cart and the fact that the car cart’s size caused me to bump into the door several times as I tried to steer it out into the parking lot. As we bumped into the door the balloon somehow came loose and floated up. The expression on Joey’s face as he watched this balloon float up was priceless. I am glad that the dragonfly was in reach of being rescued by another helium balloon with tape and a very, very, very long string of ribbon. I sometimes wonder if the other customers feel bad for the mommy that pushes around that oversized, enormous, elephant of a cart.
Once Jeff got home from work we ate some sandwiches and fruit and then gathered the four of us plus two dogs into the car and headed out. As normal when the Zapp family tries to do something as a family it can begin as a disaster. This time it began with Gabrielle crying and yelling at the top of her lungs as well as the sound of Joey rubbing his hands all over the dragon fly balloon and the horrible sound a balloon can make. We finally arrived at the cemetery after Joey asked us at least 8 times “how much longer until we are there?”

This was the first time that we went to the cemetery as a family and with the dogs. We had some cookies and talked to the girls as well as talking to Joey and answering his questions. One statement was that he wanted to go to where Samantha and Sydney were. NOT YET was all I was thinking. Not until I am gone am buried. Please God don’t ever let me go through that kind of pain of losing anymore kids. Especially the two that I have that I have so many memories and love tied to.

After the cemetery we went to the park as planned and it was a great family night and time that I enjoyed as a family. To be honest it was just what I needed to be with the ones I love and outside enjoying the beautiful day and the beauty of Kendall Lakes. You never know when your kids will surprise you and yesterday it was all because of my 4 year old little boy. I LOVE that boy to pieces and am so proud of him and his love for others and his sisters.

"MAX" THE NEWEST MEMBER OF OUR FAMILY

GABRIELLE AT THE PARK CHASING THE GEESE

DAD AND HIS SON

THE BIRD CHASER

AFTER HER STICK WAS TAKEN AWAY FROM HER

SEE THE STICK? SHE USED THIS TO POP THE DRAGON FLY BALLOON!

THE WHOLE FAMILY

GIVING KISSES TO HIS SISTERS

Joseph Alex

For the most part I am a very detailed person. I like to blog facts and by helping me with the facts I like to use dates, times, months, detailed events that occurred. When I was in the process of delivering Joey my husband, Jeff wrote down all the details. The paper that he had written everything down on was thrown away by him after he found that our fourth child found the paper and was shredding it to pieces. So now I have only my memory to go by. I also have the ability to forget memories especially those memories that were not very pleasant so I am without times and this may be out of order, but it is the best I have to go by.

Sunday August 3rd 2004
This was a day filled with excitement but at the same time the minutes on the clock seemed to drag on forever. Ever hear of time standing still? This is how it felt time was moving. We knew that in the evening I would be going to the hospital to begin the induction process. We were very excited to get to the hospital and begin the journey that would produce our baby. I was so eager to finally see the face of this baby boy who had been growing inside of me, who had been kicking me, snuggling up high in my ribs, giving me scares if I was unable to feel a move, and this little baby who would be coming home with us and starting our family. This excitement was also present with the feelings of anxiety and not knowing what kind of pain would be felt to bring this baby into the world.
I don’t remember what Jeff and I did all day on this Sunday. I know that we were going to go to a movie. I don’t think we ever made it to one. We did go out for a late lunch early dinner and we were both probably thinking that this would be the last time that we sat here as a childless married couple. Our lives were about to change into something that we had never experienced before and our level of responsibility was also going to go to new heights.
When we did get to the hospital that night I was not on the labor and delivery unit. Instead I was given a private room on the antepartum floor. Once we filled out all the appropriate paper work blood was drawn, an IV was inserted, and soon the first dose of Cervidil was inserted vaginally. I was also hooked up to the fetal monitor and would not be allowed up to use the restroom. A cot was wheeled into the room for Jeff to lie on. It was probably around 10-11 pm when all of this was taking place. At the time I was having a few contractions. They were not painful nor were they very intense. I was asked if I wanted something to help me sleep and I said okay. I was given a little Benadryl in my IV. I had trouble falling asleep even after the Benadryl because of the excitement and anticipation of the unknown.
At some point we probably did get a few hours of shut eye, but as anyone knows sleeping in the hospital can be a difficult task. There is always someone coming into the room, lights, nurses talking in the halls, and the constant beeps, hums, or alarms from all the equipment that one is connected to. At 6 am I was checked vaginally and my cervix had started to soften. I was allowed to use the restroom and then the plan was that the next dose would be administered. When I got back into the bed I felt a gush and my water broke. Still being new to this I called the nurses and the fluid was tested and indeed the gush of fluid was my bag of water. At this point I knew that my risk of infection now increases. That was one thing that I remembered from my OB nursing class. The doctors then came in and continued to strip the membranes. I was no longer a candidate for the antepartum unit and was moved now to the labor and delivery floor. Once we arrived to the floor we were given an introduction to the room and my IV, fetal monitor, and call light were all hooked up or in place. Phone calls were made to the grandparents to be and Jeff and I got familiar with our new surroundings. At this point again I do not think that I was dilated very far along and now it was just a waiting game for my body to begin the necessary steps to deliver a baby. A few things that I do remember were being hot. Very HOT. The air conditioner in my room was probably set at 55 degrees maybe lower and it was never increased throughout the day. Everyone that came into the room would complain about it being cold, but to me it was just right. That is kind of funny to me because I am normally cold. My mom is in this photo with the blanket wrapped around her. The other women is Dee. She is my FIL girlfriend. She is part of the family and just like a grandma to my kids!Another side memory is drugs. Being a nurse I have administered all sorts of drugs to patients. Pain medications really do affect everyone differently. For me 2-4mg of Morphine is more than enough. Normally the Doctor’s orders will state something like 2-8mg every 2-4 hours or something close to that. So I liked to start low with my patients and then check after 30 minutes to see what their pain was like. Some patients would need more pain medication others would be like me and totally knocked out with 2 mg of pain medication. I was given some Morphine and I was out like a light. When I would wake up and hear talking or look around I would be told that my contractions were increasing and can I feel the pain and I was always like no. I was allowed up to the restroom at some point and I know my mom was in the room assisting me. We were both very alarmed when we noticed the trail of blood on the floor as I made my way to and from the toilet. I did not know that there would be bleeding associated with my water breaking. I still don’t know if this was really a normal thing. We did tell the nurse and I think that was my last trip walking before I gave birth. From there on out I was allowed to use a bedpan or a straight catheter was used.
Again not really being able to give correct times and all details of the day, there was one point when I had every Tom Dick and Harry in my room and up in my business. Joey was experiencing desats and a probe was inserted vaginally to prick his head. After having everyone in my room and a lot of commotion and talk of a possible cesarean section being heard they were soon gone. That was a terrifying event and as speedy as they came in my room scrambling around and having extreme anxiety fill the air they were gone just as quick. They never did come back into explain how the baby was doing or if a cesarean needed to be performed. I had to ask a nurse later about that. Turns out baby was doing okay and recovered from whatever occurred.
The day continued to progress and grow later and later and still little progress was made by my body. My dad left and had the gumption to walk into my room later with a pizza. Boy did it smell and look good. I had no appetite to eat, but just knowing that my favorite food (pizza) was in his hands made me annoyed that he would bring it into my room. We have a picture somewhere of him walking over to my bed talking to me with a pizza in his hands. I am unable to find that photo.
It was not until around after dinner time that things began to evolve for me. I was in more pain now and contractions were beginning to increase in intensity and frequency. I knew that I wanted an epidural so I was dilated enough now to have one started. We waited for what seemed like forever to get the epidural. I know that I had pain that I never wanted to feel and still try to block out. It was the worst feeling and pain that I have every felt or experienced before. I do not know how women can give birth naturally. I thing they must have a pain threshold like no one’s business. It hurts…. BAD is all I can say and I only experienced it for maybe 10-15 minutes. I was crying and if someone offered me a gun I may have taken them up on their offer at that point. It was excruciating to say the least.
The epidural was in place and I was now more comfortable. M concern was how I was going o push unable to feel my legs and feet, but I was now also not worrying too much about it. Again with all the drugs I was just tired. I slept mostly and tried to participate in conversation when I was up.
The next event to cause the nurses running into the room with doctors falling in step was that my blood pressure was dropping and my heart rate was increasing. At this point they stopped my epidural. NOOOOO is all I was thinking. That was not part of my birth plan. NOOOOO I just felt that pain. An oxygen mask was placed on me, a new bag of IV medication was hung for my blood pressure, and again the tension and worry filled the room. I was so drugged and tired that really I know this happened but it is kind of like the feeling of seeing things happening, but being unable to speak your thoughts. I do know that I talked to someone and begged and pleaded for my epidural. I knew from nursing that if it was too powerful that they do have a way to decease the epidural as opposed to shutting the whole thing off. At some point it was started on a lower dose and I was much happier. The epidural also helped my body relax so that my body was able to dilate faster. It was not until around 8 or 9 pm that my OB was called and pushing started.
On Monday August 4th Joseph Alex was born at 2154. He came into the world weighing 6 pounds and 1 ounce and was 18 inches long. He came out not making a sound and he was not put on my chest immediately. He was put onto the baby table (don’t know what to call it) they had to rouse him and I remember saying “why isn’t he crying?” There was a moment when we all were very quiet watching the nurses and the NICU nurse that was called in and soon we heard the first noises of Joey. Once he started to breathe and his APGAR scores improved as well as being cleaned up he was swaddled and put into my arms. Jeff did cut the cord and he did great at viewing the whole birth process. Soon the grandparents would be coming into the room but before they did I wanted to make sure that Joey was in his Wisconsin outfit before anyone else saw him. It was important and meaningful to me to have Joey in something Wisconsin to remember my grandpa and to pass on his name.

End of the school year activites

I will soon be back to my regularly scheduled programming…. Pregnancies and the past, but before I get to the past I felt like I needed to do this blog for my kiddos. It has been a very busy week as I am sure it has been all over the country for moms of school aged children. Summer is here and it can be seen by the increased temperatures, the opening of swimming pools, the hanging baskets of bright beautiful flowers, the green grass that is always being freshly mowed, the sight of bumble bees, and of course those pesky mosquitoes. I love summer. I wait all year for the sun to shine and to have the opportunity to be outside watching my kids ride their bikes, play on the swing set, play ball, and enjoying side walk chalk. I can’t express how much better I feel when the sun is shining and the sounds, smells, and feel of summer are felt all around me.
This past week has been hectic to say the least. As I just described all the things we enjoy doing outdoors we have been so busy that we have been unable to most of it. Jeff has been out of town of business and comes home later tonight. (Big smile)So when he is away on business that adds to my late nights and having more responsibility.

Wednesday was Gabby’s last class of Little Leapers. Little Leapers is like a gymnastics class. We have been going there since Joey was about 2. The last session before summer they have an awards ceremony. It is just really fun for the kids. They get a medal and the teachers play the Olympic theme song as the kids get their medal. I was so happy for Gabrielle. Being the younger child she often is too young for some of the activities that Joey is involved in. She has watched Joey get trophies and medals of his own, so this was just a big deal for her.




Running to mommy to show me her medal

Look at me mom!


Thursday was Joey’s last day of Little Leaper’s also. He is in a class with 13 other boys. I give big props to the teachers. It is always fun to watch the boy’s class, so different from the girl’s class. The boys are all 4/5 years. These boys have so much energy and watching them all run around and tumble is a treat. Joey on the balance beam

Joey with the torch


Joey with the group receiving their medals


After Little Leaper’s yesterday we went for kids haircuts and ran some father’s day errands. Then it was time to let the kids unwind and relax before getting ready and going to Joey’s school concert. The concert is all the kids singing various songs with different hand movements. Joey knew that his concert was last night and we would talk throughout the day about singing loudly, smiling, and I even told him if he was nervous up there to picture all of us parent’s and family members sitting there in our underwear. That got a laugh out of him. For those of you that do not know my son he is very picky about his clothes. Last year I let him wear a new Lebron James jersey and matching shorts. I know not very dressy, but it was brand new and the Cavs were in the playoffs and playing that night. So I was hoping that the parent’s would all enjoy his outfit and as most of the men watching their kids at the concert were thinking about the upcoming big game I thought it would be fun for them to see a little boy showing his love for the Cavs and Lebron too. Well this year the Cavs are obviously not in the playoffs so I had picked out a pair of plaid shorts from Gymboree with a matching shirt. No big deal right? Well Joey was not happy when we left the house. He wanted me to go home so he could change his clothes. Normally he likes Umbros, mesh basketball shorts, Indians t-shirts, Boston Red Sox t-shirt etc. You get the picture just not as dressy as mom wanted. I explained to him that I do a lot for him and that I was just asking him to do this for me. As soon as we got home he could change his clothes. Well he then began crying and whining. This was not a god sign. So I did the ultimate bad mommy thing and told him that he would not have a birthday party with his school friends if he did not stop his whining and crying and carrying on. I was out of options. I hate threatening my kids with things. I think that I made a bad choice there, but I didn’t know what else to do. My grown up logic and trying to convince him was not working. So we got to the school he stopped crying after my threat and I dropped him off in his room with all the other kids. The concert started and Joey did not sing one note. He did not do one hand gesture, clap his hands or anything. I went up with the camera to the front row and was making eye contact with him, making funny faces, and mouthing sing. He would just look at me and smile, make a funny face, or shake his head no. This was all over his clothes! You would have thought that I made him go in a shirt and tie with the way he was acting. Maybe next year he can go in his picked out clothes after all. I apologized to his teacher and told her it was my entire fault because of his clothes. She was like he is one of my better singers I was wondering what was going on with him. Enjoy the pictures they do capture Joey and his stubbornness. By the way Joey and Gabrielle got into an argument the other day. Gabby with her long fingernails attacked Joey’s face. That is why he has those scratches.

Joey is the boy in the front row looking at the camera and smirking/smiling. (above photo)

Below I don't know if he is looking at the girls shoes next to him or trying to catch a nap?

I would love to know what he is thinking or pondering here. Maybe look at those fools in the audience. He is suppose to be clapping and singing. I love the boy in the Pooh and Tigger shirt with his hands in his mouth. He looks as excited as Joey being up there.

Joey and his buddies. Left to right Blake (Joey's cousin/ my nephew), Meghan, Joey. Meghan hangs out with these two and there is one boy missing from this group. These 4 kids are together all day long and are the best of buds. Whenever I ask Joey who he plays with at school the answer is always the same "Blake, Meghan, and Jack". (Jack not pictured)