Calling All Saints

As we close out this All Saints Day I have a special prayer to ask as many saints who will listen. Please bless Grandma Lucy.

We found out today that Grandma Lucy has stage IV cervical cancer that has spread to both of her lungs. She starts chemotherapy on Thursday.

I know that God has a plan for each and every one of us. I have faith and trust that whatever road we are now on, it will guide all of us who are touched by this illness to find purpose and meaning to this journey wherever it may lead.

Call your parents, kids, friends, and loved ones and tell them you love them and how much you appreciate them. Now. Life is a gift from God and it is precious.

No pity. Just prayers. I love you Mom and will see you tomorrow. Grab your gloves, put up your dukes, it's time to fight!

Halloween 2010

Who doesn't love Halloween? Candy, pizza, laughing children, trick or drinking- I mean treating! We had another great Halloween weekend this year. On Saturday the Weaver family came to visit and took part in our pumpkin carving adventure. We thought the kids had picked wonderful pumpkins until we tried to carve them. They were filled with concrete- or some other material that can not be penetrated with average household tools. Patrick managed to transform one orange slab of rock into a jack-o-lantern, the other however was negotiated down to a painted face.





Sunday the kids woke up to special Halloween goodies. A new flashlight/disco ball toy and a new Thomas the Train Halloween movie (Thank you Grandma Lucy). Pancakes for all then let the waiting begin. I think Ethan would have started ringing doorbells at 8:30AM if I would have let him. We were able to distract him by informing him Uncle Brian, Aunt Michele and Oliver were coming. That only added to the excitement.



At 3:15 Ethan woke up to find everyone waiting for the fun to begin. An early pizza dinner around 5 and on the costume went. Ethan was so happy with his pirate costume. He loved his sword and eye patch. It is so fun now to see him really excited about all of the holidays. After the pictures were over and he had a full explanation of why it was ok for all of our candy to be in a bowl outside of the front door for other kids to just take, we were off!

Alex wanted nothing to do with trick-or-treating but enjoyed riding on Patrick's shoulders around the block. Oliver wanted nothing to do with trick-or-treating but loved running through all the leaf piles around the block (darn city kids). Ethan however was a man on a mission. I was so proud of him though. He rang the doorbells, waited his turn, and said thank you at every house. A lot of people complimented his behavior. Thank God he is behaved in public. He was very excited when we met up with the older neighbor kids that he loves to play with. They took him under their wing and away they went.

This year he made it the entire way around the block and only asked me to carry his treat bucket for the last four houses. We ended the night emptying the loot on the floor, doing a peanut/safety check, and eating some candy of course! Ethan gave the baby boys one final treat of blowing Halloween bubbles for them inside the house. It was a safe, fun and happy Halloween!

When the husband's away, the wife will play

So this was my accomplishment of the month. I decided to do a little home makeover on our office. I designed a desk and built it myself from scratch. Painted and got a new sleeper sofa. Come one, come all, we now have a real spare bedroom with a full size bed, a door that closes, and shade on the window.


Before


After


New Desk

Pumpkin Pickin

Ethan has a new song that he sings daily in honor of the season and true to the words of his song we went out to, "Pick, Pick, Pick a Fat Pumpkin!" on Saturday. Well sort of. NY style pumpkin picking in a lot like NY style Christmas tree cutting. Go to a parking lot or grassy area and pick the best looking specimen that has been dropped off by a truck. It was great!

Our first set of pumpkins were actually purchased from the grocery store, boo hiss, I know, but Ethan picked the best pumpkin off the table. These pumpkins lasted about 4 days until some unknown creature ripped them off our porch and ate them. Twenty bucks of pumpkins to the garbage. We waited until Saturday and decided the time had come for karma to come full circle so we did it right. Off to the church parking lot, I mean pumpkin patch.

Ethan and Alex were so excited to see all the pumpkins! Alex loved crawling all over them, sitting on top of them, flirting with another little girl, and sitting in the wagon. Ethan was all about the hunt. First he wanted a fat pumpkin, but wanted to lift it himself. Then he decided he wanted a bumpy pumpkin. He searched that lot high and low to find a pumpkin for Alex and himself. Patrick and I tried to help but in true Ethan fashion he found his pumpkin on his own and carried it all by himself to the wagon. In the end he found two pumpkins for Alex and three pumpkins for himself.

The pumpkins are now in the garage until Saturday when they will be butchered.

Great Wolf Get-a-way

We were supposed to go on vacation this week with Grandma Lucy to celebrate her birthday and have a little family time. Tragically, Grandma Lucy's brother died unexpectedly on Monday and Grandma Lucy has a very bad case of pneumonia. We had no choice but to cancel our trip to Niagara Falls including a stay at the Great Wolf Lodge near the falls. Poor Ethan had been looking forward to this trip for weeks. He had it on his calendar, yes, our three year old has his own calendar. He also wants his own clock now because he doesn't believe me in the morning when I tell him it is not time to get up. That's another story... You can imagine his disappointment when I told him that Grandma wasn't coming, we couldn't celebrate her birthday, we wouldn't see the falls, we wouldn't go on the boat ride, and we wouldn't go to the water park. It was too much for the little guy. I found out the next day that he had told his teachers at school the entire story with full descriptions and explanations of what had happened and now what would not be happening. What was amazing was that without us discussing it he related Grandma's brother dying to heaven and even told his teacher that Uncle John was now in heaven with Jack (Grandma's dog). Quite impressive to tie all that together for a three year old. The down side was he started asking questions about death and being sick and about his brother. A little "Mommy lie" cleared that up. For now I told him only old people die. He is a worrier and I don't want him worried about that.

After a quick discussion Patrick and I decided it best to take a mini vacation to the Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos. This would certainly make up for the other disappointments of the week. Although Ethan had been sick this week with an odd virus, fever for 8 days, rash, two trips to the doctor, fluid in both ears but no infection, headache, etc., he was feeling much better by Thursday so Friday after lunch we were on our way. Let the comedy begin.

We arrive in record time with both kids napping the entire way. Bonus. We check in with no line. Bonus. We get into the room to have a quick snack and Ethan refuses to eat. Should have been clue #1 but discount it due to excitement. Pack up to head to the pool. Grab the brand new 5 day old point and shoot camera only to discover it is not working. System check fails. Patrick system check fails- like there would have been a different result but hey, why not try. I had just taken it off the charger at home so we know it wasn't the battery. Great. Just great, no photos of kids. Mom now feels anxious about not having photos but takes a deep breath and focuses on the fun that will be had. Off to the pool, with no camera.

The Pool Experience: The kids were both glowing! What a difference a few months makes! Last time we were there Alex really didn't want to be in the water and spent more time walking the perimeter. This time he was all about the baby water slides! Charging through chest deep water, climbing out of the pool, dashing up the stairs to where Daddy was stationed monitoring the launch zone. He was beaming ear to ear with his big teethy smile as he flew down the slide. As I would catch him at the bottom on every turn he made the sign for "more" and screamed "MORE!" while shaking with excitement. It is truly amazing how happy you can be just from watching the excitement and joy your children are experiencing.

Ethan was in his glory! His little legs and mouth were moving a mile a minute. Patrick and I had to quickly workout an intricate system of hand signals, eye winks and motions to create a zone defense of monitoring the children. It worked out very well though. Our goal this visit was to convince Ethan to ride the BIG slide. It is very tall (several flights up), you can't see Mom or Dad until the end and you have to ride alone. It is an age appropriate and slow slide though so we knew once he tried it he would love it. Day 1 was a bust. Day 2 Dad tried bribery telling Ethan he would buy him a big stuffed animal (like we need more plush). Ethan refused. I decided to take action. I have to admit I'm not a big fan of water slides (childhood trauma) but I'll do anything for my little guys. Besides, if this slide was age appropriate for a three year old what the hell was I worried about?

I coaxed Ethan up the "water playground" that slowly leads up to the stairs to the slide. Then I hijacked him. I grabbed him and carried him up the stairs. He was saying no the entire time. Bad Mom I know but hey, I know my kid! Once we got to the top I convinced him to just watch the other kids and how slow the water was. When I thought he was ready we went for it. With two slides at the top I placed him on the launch zone sat down on the other slide, told him "Let's race" and took off! I prayed like hell the whole way down he would meet me at the bottom. Sure enough 2 seconds after I was down a giggling, beaming, very happy little boy made a tiny splash at the bottom and squealed with excitement. Just like Green Eggs and Ham, you have to try it once! (That's our little saying) He did however hold Daddy to him promise and convinced Daddy to buy him a purple wolf to take home, and Patrick calls me the sucker.

So back to Day 1 of the total experience. After the water park we went to dinner where food allergy issues came into play. The chef made Ethan a special meal which he at 3 bites of (I did start to clue in at this point). Alex however had 2 pieces of pizza, green beans, 2 chicken nuggets, 1/4 of Ethan's grilled cheese sandwich, a mini corn dog and ice cream. Ethan also decided he was hungry enough for ice cream so we let him have a small bowl with the excuse that we were on vacation and not to stress about the food (ha ha ha). At dinner Ethan informed us he wanted to go to the play area after dinner (arcade). His exact words, "Can we go to the play area after dinner, there are chicks down there." WHAT! We about died. We exchanged the look of "did he just say what I think he just said?" and then burst into tears laughing at the table.

After dinner we were off to the arcade. After about 10 minutes Ethan announced to the entire arcade that he had to poop. I gave Patrick the video camera and sprinted 4 floors to our room carrying Ethan. We made it.

Back to the arcade where Ethan won a pink snake, yeah more plush. Back to the room for popcorn and a movie. After settling in for bed, both boys in jammies sitting peacefully eating snacks, watching a movie. Picture perfect memory until, "I'm Gonna PUKE!" and out it came. I lunged to pull him off the white comforter. Ethan puked all over the bed, the floor, the computer, his new snake, the hall, and the bathroom. Ah yes, weekend get-a-way! In the meantime Patrick realizes he has "lost" the video camera and even though puke is everywhere takes Alex to go search the arcade for the camera. Coincidence, I think not. I cleaned Ethan up and called housekeeping. What a mess! While cleaning the mess, I found the video camera. Lost my ___ but credit for creativity in avoiding puke clean up. All is now well, the kids are in bed, Patrick and I crack the beer cans- yeah us for remembering there was a fridge in the room. We settle into bed at 10:30 for a good night sleep.

HA! 10:50 the fun begins! First Ethan, who wakes up Alex, then Alex who wakes Ethan back up, etc. This went on until 2:30AM! We do have a funny video of the morning wake up though :)

We were blessed to have two napping children the entire way home and no wait on the GWB! What a fun get-a-way despite the comedy we call life!

I can't make this stuff up...

I can't make this stuff up... At 4:30PM yesterday a rabid skunk entered our backyard with our two large dogs, both kids, Grandma Lucy and myself in it. It attacked both dogs and came after the kids and myself. When it finally sank in what was going on we scooped up the kids and ran inside to save ourselves. When the kids were safe, but crying hysterically, I ran back outside. I threw a bat at the skunk (I thought about swinging but then realized the proximity I would have to enter to make contact and thought better of it) and rescued my blinded and potentially injured dogs.

Now with two screaming, frightened kids, thank God Grandma Lucy was here, I dialed the number to the vet praying they would take in two skunked dogs for baths. No luck. Poor Emma and Bella. The internet provided a fabulous cocktail for de-skunking which I quickly mixed and administered. Not soon enough. The house reeked of a scent factory.

On top of my house smelling like the last place you would want to be on earth, I made the mistake of trying to call animal control. After being referred to the humane society, then the police department, I was informed that it was now my obligation to contact the health department. Great. Within the first three sentences of the call the "official" threatened to take my dogs for 6 months and force me to get a rabies vaccine. I will never try to be a good citizen again and report such an incident. We were mandated to re-vaccinate the dogs despite current vaccinations and full vet approval. Thank God I lied to the public health nurse and told her I used rubber gloves and a mask when I touched the dogs. After full veterinary examinations and vaccinations, $210.50 later, I hate skunks and the idiots at the health department.


Poor Emma was hit the worst. Direct hit to the eyes, her entire side was yellow and she was bit and scratched on her nose and leg.

Bella was only hit in the side. You would think she would have attacked!

The positives: Ethan saved his soccer ball in the skunk attack and Patrick learned to tend his flock. What a good shepard he is!

Protecting his girls against further attack the night of the incident. Nothing a 5 iron can't take care of!

9 Months

I can hardly believe it but Alex is already 9 months old. He is 25lbs, 29 inches tall, and his head is as big as Ethan's. 95th percentile for weight and head, 75th for height. I don't know where this kid gets his size but, as the doctor put it laughing as she walked in to examine him, he is huge! His look is starting to change though. He only gets cuter. He has brown eyes and lighter hair, with a double cowlick on the top of his head. His new loves are his sippy cup, walking, mac and cheese or any other table scraps you will give him, soy yogurt, and his brother. He is just adorable.



Our only set back was our allergy testing. We have known since he was around 10 weeks old that he had a milk allergy but other things have concerned us over the months. We confirmed with the allergist through testing that beyond milk, he is allergic to strawberries, weeds, and seems to have a sensitivity to wheat. What is it with this family and allergies? More Zyrtec please!

Ethan, oh Ethan! I can hardly believe he will be three in less than two weeks. It is amazing to me how time passes when you have children. You blink and 1/6 of the time they will spend in your house is gone. I don't know if I can handle this. (sip the wine...ok, I'm good) He is doing so well; such a big boy, such a great big brother, and of course Mommy's little helper man. He is such a thinker though. I hope it is not hereditary and that I have not made him into such a little planner. He knows that Grandma Lucy is coming tomorrow for Easter (we can't wait), his birthday is next (he will tell you, April 12), Grandma and Grandpa Hurford are coming to visit, then the waterpark. We are going to Great Wolf Lodge in May. He also just found out today that we are going to ride Thomas the Train after that. He is so excited about all of his events coming up. I just hope he will sleep with all these little thoughts running through his mind.



I had a revelation this week. Thank you Paige for helping me come to this realization. I am tired of living life waiting for what is next. Patrick and I have been very guilty of this over the last six months or so and have reminded ourselves that you can't buy time and you certainly can't get it back. Whatever life holds for our family, I trust in the Lord and the plan that is before us. In the meantime, we are planning our weekends, enjoying our friends, and missing our families.

My week...

Sunday: While Ethan was playing outside, I went to jump the fence to pick up "stuff" on the dog side of the yard. Ethan ran up and caught my foot square in his eye. Nice shiner for the week.

Monday: I returned home from work around 4PM and I realized I had no soda in the house. World stopping I know but I managed to push on. At 5:00 PM dinner was served promptly. Both kids ate a great dinner. I went to take Alex out of his chair and he vomited all over himself, me, the highchair, and the floor. Great. I changed and got the kids rounded up for a bath. As I'm getting ready Ethan announces he has to go potty- and not the easy type. Of course he can't share the bathroom- he needs his "privacy, so just leave!" He is downstairs, I'm preparing the puked on child and bath upstairs. Then I smelled it. Alex had a stinky diaper too. Professional juggling being my career now, I check on Ethan, change Alex, go back to clean up after Ethan and am horrified to find that the temporary babysitter had attempted to clean a blown out diaper/pajama set out in the guest bathroom sink. Not only had she not used the laundry tub, she gave up and left the stinky clothes, now drenched, on the sink still dirty. To top it off the sink was full of what we will call dried bits of unpleasantries. Great. That had to wait until later. I got the boys in one bathroom for a bath. All was well. While the boys are splashing I emptied the bathroom diaper collection- full and now with a loaded stinky one, tie the bag and set it in the hall. Finish with the boys and begin bedtime routine. On the way out I toss the garbage bag down the stairs, like always, except Monday night it explodes at the bottom of the stairs. Diapers everywhere! Then the sharks came for the frenzy. I love my girls but those dogs have their noses in everything! Bedtime is successful. Two beautiful, sleeping boys. Off to clean the bathroom and do the laundry.

Tuesday: The boss was with me. Need I say more.

Wednesday: Although it was windy and only about 50 degrees, the sun was shining so I decided to take the kids outside. We played for a while, had a delicious, actually home cooked dinner and decided to go back out. After running at least five days a week for the last three months I decided that I was ready for the bike. With the new Burley trailer hooked up I loaded the boys up and off we went. If you know where we live, you know there are hills, lots of hills. Who knew that pulling nearly 70lbs of kids behind a bike would be so difficult? Needless to say, the ride was cut short when I turned a corner, saw a huge hill I new I would die on, took a u-turn and headed home. When we returned home I literally picked up the phone and refreshed his 9-1-1 skills. After medicine for the kids and a gallon of water for Mom, off to the bathtub we went. Both kids were in and splashing. I was ready to wash Ethan's hair when I spotted it. Swimming in the water, unseen by the kids, was a 50 cent piece size spider! OMG! I dropped the sprayer, told Ethan to get a toy from behind Alex (other end of tub) and quickly scooped and flushed that disgusting intruder down the toilet. Ethan suspected nothing. Phew! Successful bedtime again. Around 9:45 I am in the office doing work, yes real work, and saw a car pull up in front of the house. Bottom of the hill, right in front of the steps leading up to the house. No big deal. I see a guy get out and start walking up the stairs. Suspicious but no big deal. UPS sucks around here. It is not completely uncommon for other good citizens to drop off packages that were delivered to their door. This car was new though. I went to the living room where I could see the porch and the guy was leaving and jogging down the stairs. After he was gone I checked the porch for my package. NOTHING! No package, no flier, no mail in the box, nothing. Now my suspicion is up. I return to the office. Fifteen minutes later the car shows up again. This time I flip on the office light and stand in the window and the car quickly drives away. For about five minutes I felt like one tough Momma. You don't mess with a girl who works the Bronx! Then I realized how stupid that was. I am here alone with two little kids. I called the cops. One police report later, a phone call to Patrick and now he is on his way home.

What tomorrow will bring, I don't know. What I am buying tomorrow, more wine and soda.

8 Months

I find myself continuously falling behind on the blog, and my work, well, I guess on nearly everything these days. Due to priorities I am skipping my work tonight and blogging. No logging calls, scheduling programs, or typing 2010 performance goals. No changing sheets, washing windows, or cleaning toilets. Blogging is such a great excuse!

Alex is 8 months and two weeks old today and is walking (March 10). He has been walking with one hand support for a few weeks but took two steps yesterday. I don't think that is official but after he took 8 steps unsupported tonight I think we are in trouble. When Ethan walked at 8 and half months we were so proud. I am very proud of Alex but also know the hell of having a baby walking. Baby-proofing nightmare! He has no concept of the word "no", loves the fireplace and dog bowls, is very very quiet, and has an older brother who occasionally throws in a hip check just to see a fall. I may just have to pad a room.


Can't take your eyes off him!


Just teasing!

He is adorable. His chubby little arms and legs lurching in the Frankenstein walk are so precious. He also waves bye-bye with a flailing arm. I call him my little Mush. He is 24lbs (weight at 7 and a half months) and is wearing 18 and 24 month clothes. His little baby face, two front teeth, and peach fuzz hair give him the perfect combination of a handsome and charming little snuggle bug chubb.


Look at my two front teeth.

I have also discovered he does say "Ma Ma" except he says "Na Na". Well, he actually screams "NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA!" when he wants me. It finally hit me one day when we kept saying it and stopping when I picked him up. He is quite the Na Na's boy now too. Ethan now says, "Momma, you can hold/carry/feed two guys." Yes, I can! Although I am due for a vacation...


Mad at Momma face

Ethan is hysterical. The things he does everyday that are hysterical can not be captured in their entirety. I can only highlight...

-At school he made his girlfriend cry by refusing to play with her after they spent the first two hours of the day together. When he stopped talking to her and made her cry the teacher asked him what the problem was. He told the teacher that he was done with her.
-At school they are learning the Pledge of Allegiance. The teacher told them to put their hands over their hearts. He yells out, "That's not our heart, that's our boobies!"
-Ethan throws water on me while I'm getting Alex out of the bathtub and proceeds to do a cannonball in the water. I, of course, start to reprimand him at which point he puts his hands out in front of him and calmly says, "Now, settle down Momma, just settle down." Seriously? I had no further comments.
-Ethan is very frustrated with me not letting him get a giant bowl of water to put on the floor and says, "UHHHHHH...One of these days...You just don't understand!"
-After dinner we are sitting at the table and Ethan reaches over and grabs my purse. He pulls out my little zippered wallet which has a picture of the boys on the front and says, "Momma, I love your wallet." He then fully examines it, turns it around, hugs it, heck, he may have even smelled it. I see this smile creep onto his face and he bursts out laughing and says, "I want your money!"
-Patrick was giving the boys a bath and after pulling Alex out Ethan jumped into Alex's bath seat (Ethan protection device). Patrick told him to get out. Ethan didn't move. Patrick, in a harsh voice, tells him to get out again. After Ethan is out Patrick begins to explain that standing in the seat is dangerous and he could get hurt. Ethan responds under his breath, "If I can't, I can't. I don't care why."

Oh, how the list goes on and on and on...


Brotherly love- It truly is amazing how, at such a young age, these two guys truly love and adore each other. Give them time.

Happy Valentine's Day

February 14 is not just a Hallmark holiday, for us it is an important reminder of all the very special friends and family we have in our lives. Thank you all for everything! Your love and support are truly the greatest gifts. Please know that you are all loved and hold a very special place in our hearts. Happy Valentine's day!

Snowy Days

What a crazy week this week with all the not fun stuff like work, meetings, minor car accidents where crazy women demand cash and threaten to sue but don't want to file a police report all over a 3/4 in scuff mark on a mirror, having the first draft of this entire post become a lost document after an hour of work,etc.! But what a great family week!

On Wednesday we had our big snow storm keeping both Mom and Dad home from work. Mom was completely off but Dad had to work from home (train service was threatened, possibly sleep in office or work from home...not a very difficult decision). Ethan was super excited to get outside the second he saw the snow. The minute after Alex was asleep for his morning nap we were laying on the hats, snow pants, socks and boots. Round one of snow play involved shoveling the white stuff for Mom and building a little snowman for Ethan. Ethan also loved making snow angels, throwing snow and eating eat. Perhaps his favorite games though were throwing the carrots we had brought out for the snowman into the snow to "hide" them and kicking down the snow banks I had just shoveled. Not funny.


Snowman #1

When Alex went down for his afternoon nap we were out for round two. More shoveling for Momma and a bigger and better snowman for Ethan. We then moved on to making a mountain for Ethan to jump off of into the snow, to building an igloo, to turning the mountain into a tunnel. Ethan LOVED the igloo. He kept calling it his new home telling me that his old home (our house) was broken so his new home was more cozy. It was so cozy he even took a "nap" in it. We had a blast!


Snowman #2


My little snow man.


Ethan's new "home"

The depressing part of that evening came at bedtime. Depressing to me that is. As I was tucking Ethan in to bed and leaning down to give him a bedtime kiss, he says, "Momma, I really don't need kisses sometimes." WHAT! I thought this kind of thing happens when little boys are 10, not 2! Momma needs kisses! He did say though, "But I do love you Momma, and here, you can have a hug." Great. Thank you. In the days since he will not let Patrick kiss him either. Occasionally I can sneak in a quick kiss but he quickly remembers his protest and either pretends to wipe it off or pretend to take it off and throw the kiss away. Apparently on his terms we can kiss his cheek. This does not make me very happy but I refuse to make a big deal about it. This is only another test. We are getting used to it.

Another test, battle I should say, that we are winning is the re-potty training battle. Everyone knows of Ethan's past calculated decision on why he did not want to be potty trained and in fact his reasoning for having pull-ups especially for school. I say again I am winning. We started a new charting and ticket system. He gets one ticket for #1 and two tickets for #2. When he gets twenty tickets he chooses a very special activity for us to do. The catch is that for every accident he has, he has to give back the allocated number of tickets. So, he can choose to quit but then he loses everything he earned. Actions have consequences people. Call it real life, call it cruel, it's working. The first two days were a test but in the last five days we have only had two accidents and today he chose to wear big boy pants and gave up the pull-ups. I'm not claiming victory yet but we are definitely winning. So far he has earned a train ride to Daddy's office and a trip ice-skating. He is working on indoor mini-golf. Hey, it's better and cheaper than buying diapers.

Alex just amazes us even more everyday at this age. He got another tooth yesterday, February 12, which brings the count to two. Two adorable bottom teeth. He also started standing unassisted. He is getting very brave with his standing and cruising. Trying to maneuver with only one hand while cruising and of course letting go entirely to stand for several seconds before reaching for assistance has been the big accomplishments for the week. Unfortunately he has now discovered how he can get into things and likes to pull everything out or cupboards and the bookcases. Watch out! Oh the joys of baby-proofing. Living in lock down, gotta love it.


Move along people, there is nothing to see here...

Otherwise, we are happy, almost completely healthy (a few sniffles and coughs), and ready for the long weekend.

A Weekend of Firsts

What can I say, progress is good. Alex pulled himself to standing today for the first time all by himself. Actually he did it twice. Sitting in the laundry basket, up on his knees and standing. One of the best parts was that Patrick and I both witnessed it. Just over 7 months, pulling himself to standing, standing, and cruising... all I can think is let the advanced baby-proofing begin again tomorrow.

First Tooth and Cruising

Alex cut his first tooth today. Lower right front to be exact. He also started cruising. I forgot how cute it was to watch them finally figure out how to get their body to move where they want it to. His motivation is the nebulizer and Ethan's cars on the sofa. If he sees the nebulizer tubing, off he goes. So far he has only moved about 2 to 3 feet but he is definitely side stepping now.

If we could only get well here... both kids have been sick this week. Ethan was first with a high temp, wheezing, runny nose and cough. Now Alex has the horrible cough, wheezing, runny nose, and watery eyes. Sleepless nights with Ethan, now sleepless night with Alex. Poor kids. I'm ready for this winter to be over.

Ice Skating

It's a good thing Stevie Y retired, but Zetterberg should enjoy the time he has left...Ethan "Fast and Furious" Hurford is lacing up for the future of Hockeytown. Ethan had his first experience ice skating today and was amazing!

Ethan was so excited to go ice skating for the first time. Although he was concerned that he did not have his own skates he raced into the rink ready for action. We got his size 8 skates (adorable), Mom had the guys take the rust off hers, and we laced up! Ethan jumped right off the bench and started walking. A little bit of an adjustment but for his first time ever on skates, let alone single blade skates, he strutted with confidence and pride. As we stepped onto the ice he started laughing saying, "It's slippery!" Holding hands he was off! Choppy little steps and glides but he was skating! We had so much fun together. His favorite part was skating fast with Momma. I skated, he glided and laughed as we weaved in between all the other people going as fast as my back would let me! When we were finished we refueled at Old McDonalds where Ethan told me, "We should go again Momma." Priceless.


Ready to go!


Little Super Star

January 2010

Happy New Year! So I'm a little late and a little behind. This has really been a crazy month for us. We were on vacation until the night of January 4th. I flew back to Florida the morning of January 5th for a week long meeting. January 15th Alex and Ethan both got sick. January 17th and 18th Alex was at the hospital. Finally on the 25th I'm ready to record our monthly events.

The first few lines are self explanatory. Patrick and I have been crazy with work. Mine should slow down, Patrick needs a vacation. On Friday the 15th I noticed Alex was not acting like himself and appeared to be getting sick. Saturday morning we woke up to Ethan having croup and Alex having a low grade fever. Manageable. Patrick and I had date night Saturday night but shortly after we returned Alex was hysterical, running a higher fever, and wheezing. By Sunday morning his fever had gone over 102 and he slept the entire morning. After falling back asleep after a small bottle he woke up hysterical and burning up. He had a fever of 104.1. Off to pediatric emergency we go. He was listless, wheezing, and very pale. We were scared. The doctor sent us home with a breathing treatment and told us to manage the fever until morning then go to our doctor for a chest xray. Two hours after we get home his fever is now up to 104.7 and he is limp. We call the pediatricians (ours and the clinics) and we throw him in the bathtub. As the fear of potentially watching our baby have a seizure came into and out of our minds we waited and watched him lying in the tub. It was an amazing sight to see life come back into his eyes the second his fever dropped. He sat up and began splashing. That night was extremely scary alternating tylenol and motrin every 3 hours, putting him in the tub when his fever went above 103, and lying awake just to watch him breathe.

Monday morning back to the pediatricians office. Blood count showed a wbc of 20 (normal between 5 and 10) showing infection. Really? Come on, no kidding! Back to the hospital for a chest xray. Negative. Back to pediatrician for urine culture. Idiot secretary makes us wait in the waiting room despite my pleas to get a collection bag asap. Alex urinates what little he has had the entire day in his diaper. Now the doctor uses a catheter and can't get a drop. I feed him a few ounces and wait. Finally enough urine to culture. We go home with antibiotics and wait. Fever still above 102. Tuesday morning we are back at the doctor's office. More blood and now a throat culture. Urine and throat negative. Wbc count still high. At this point they are looking at my 21 lb big boy and saying, "Well, he doesn't look too bad and is not dehydrated so go home and see what happens overnight." I nearly went ballistic! How about a blood culture or an injection of antibiotics or anything that will give me answers and make my baby feel better! But we went home.

Fortunately by 2:30PM, roughly 24 hours after starting the antibiotics and three doses later, Alex played for the first time in four days. My happy baby was back. Finally by Wednesday we had a normal temperature. When I spoke to the doctor on Wednesday she informed me that she felt he had had blood stream infection that had not settled any where else yet. WHAT!!!! God forbid if I am ever in this situation again I am going straight to the pediatric hospital and having an infectious disease consult. I don't think our hearts can take that again. Alex seems to be doing great now. Still on the antibiotics but doing great.

Otherwise, the big baby turned 7 months old yesterday and is growing so fast. He is in size 4 diapers and 12 month clothes. He loves making the little "Indian" noise when you pat his mouth. His favorite game is dropping things and then helping to pick them up. He started drinking out of a sippy cup on the 23rd. Today when I returned from work he gave me my first kiss. When I asked him for another he gave me a giant open mouth planted straight on mine. I melted. He is standing unsupported holding on to things and is walking well holding hands. Crawling is coming. He can turn himself around on his belly and will army crawl a little (8-12 inches) if he absolutely has to to get something out of reach. No other ambition though to move. Just a happy little guy who adores his big brother and the dogs.

Ethan J is hysterical. We got his first report card home from school. Excellent on everything except personal hygiene (not potty trained- yes, we are still fighting that battle. He told me the other night that he likes pull ups at school because he likes it when the kids say P.U. when he poops his pants. I said it. It's true. That is my son's reason for not ditching the diapers. Entertaining the other children.) No surprise on this one either then. His only surprising make was a needs improvement on works independently. WHAT!!!! Not my kid. This is a mistake. Ethan sits for 45 minutes to an hour at a time working on tasks or projects, playing with cars or trains, this is a mistake. I approached the teacher asking to explain because we just don't see this at home. Her answer was this. "I don't know how to say this..." Me: "You can be blunt." Teacher: "Ethan is the class clown." Nice. She went on to explain how when the kids are doing a project Ethan sees this as his time to shine and begins to perform. His goal is not completing a color sheet, it is to make the other kids laugh hysterically. Other than that he is far beyond his older peers in his educational milestones, has his entourage of girlfriends, and has his teachers wrapped around his fingers. His latest trick- pointing at his teachers saying,"Can I get a...." to which they respond, "Boo- ya!"


Finally feeling better!


Rub a dub dub, two guys in the tub


7 Months


SNOW!


Shaving with Daddy


This is MAN stuff.