Ready for 1st Grade

So today is Charlie’s last day of summer and on Monday he will be starting 1^st grade.  This morning he really played the part by doing some “big boy” things. 

 

When I went in to wake the boys and get them ready, Charlie sat up in his bed and the first thing he said to me was, “I’m going to make my bed!”

 

“Uhh, okay.” I replied. 

 

I must admit I was very taken aback by his pronouncement.  He had never done anything like that before.  Sure enough, before he even got dressed, he patiently pulled his sheets up and tried his best to smooth them out and make it look nice.  My parents will tell you that I never did anything like that.  He even prepped his bed for this evening by putting Daniel’s pillow on it.  The boys try to sleep in the same bed as much as possible and it’s something we permit on non-school nights.

 

I praised him for being such a big boy and turned around to get Daniel dressed.  Charlie disappeared and came back a few minutes later.  In that time, he had completely gotten ready for school, including brushing his teeth, all without even being asked.  He’s usually pretty good about doing things, but it always takes at least some direction.  This behavior may be regular for most kids his age and maybe even some younger than Charlie, but for us it is a very welcome development.  Lately, it has been a struggle to make Daniel even listen to us, much less do something without having to tell him three times.  It is really nice to see results from the same type of struggles we’ve gone through with Charlie in the past.  It really made it sink in that we now have 1^st grader in our family.

Charlie's last ride with Dad to Primrose.  <sniff, sniff>

Overheard

Daniel and Ana saw a picture of Granddadddy this evening and this was the resulting conversation:

Daniel: Ana, that's a different kind of daddy.

Ana: Oh?

Daniel: He's a Granddaddy.

Ana: (Said with amazement) Ohhhhh!

Disneyland!!!

To celebrate the end of Charlie's treatment Angela and I took the boys last week on a weeklong excursion to Disneyland.  We actually managed to keep the trip a secret from the boys for about four months.  We were able to tell them where they were headed the day before we left, at the Leftapalooza event that we spoke at for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  It was exciting to see their reaction.  We were so glad we kept it a secret because for the next 12 hours we heard nothing but, "When are leaving for Disneyland?"

We left Ana with Nana for the week which turned out to be a very good decision.  Sorry Ana, next time you'll get to go.  Daniel, at three years old, was just old enough to enjoy it.  If he was any younger, I think he would have been a complete bear the whole time.

Overall, the boys did great and had a fantastic time.  Check out the album below which has some commentary along with it.  We got to do pretty much everything we could or wanted to.  We did leave a few things for the next visit though.  And if you ever need any advice on taking a three year old and a six year old to Disneyland, we learned a few lessons.

Disneyland Trip

Ana Takes the Dogs for a Walk

Lefta

The Left hand Brewing Company is one of the fantastic companies we have met through our work with the LLS. Left hand coordinator Josh asked us to be part of the Leftapallooza fund raiser this year in Longmont. Chad, Nana, and I are taking all of the kids up there this Saturday for beer, food and fun. I will speak multiple times with the Emcee on the importance of raising money for LLS. Last year they raised over $28k with this event and this year they are hoping to break that record. Here is the ad

 

We also helped with the advertising by writing a quick editorial for their local paper, the Longmont Times Call. The article link is here. Not sure how long they keep things up so I took a snapshot for historical purposes.

The text reads:
Chad and Angela Hooper: Help Charlie help others
Posted: TimesCall.com 7/30/2013
We think Charlie Hooper is a remarkable boy. He can brighten any room. He can charm any person. He isour role model and superhero. He is also our 6-year-old son.

At the age of 3 Charlie was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Over the last three years,
Charlie has endured things no child should ever have to go through. Through it all, he never complained and he even managed to cheer up the people around him. Throughout Charlie's three-year treatment plan, he had some tough times. There were whole weekends spent on the couch and midnight trips to the ER for even the smallest of fevers. With his immunity suppressed by the chemotherapy, we took no chances with things like pneumonia and bacterial infections.

Charlie is now a cancer survivor. He finished his chemotherapy earlier this month and he continues to inspire us as his body is going through a readjustment phase. Our family has been forever changed by Charlie's journey. Today, we are sharing Charlie's experience with leukemia in an effort to help the many organizations that raise funds for researching a cure. We feel that it is important to teach Charlie to give back as much as he can because those who have in the past have done something great for him. Please join him in helping the next family that hears those awful words, "You have cancer."

We're honored to have Charlie as this year's honoree for Left Hand Brewing's Leftapalooza event this
Saturday. Join us as we celebrate life and support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at Leftapalooza.

Oh, yeah, the nine bands are pretty cool, too.
Chad and Angela Hooper
Denver