4/25/2010 11:57:34 AM Yesterday we barely managed to make it through the Arbor Day celebration without getting poured on but we were able to be there for the dedication of Ro & JT's memorial trees. Here are the very few pics I got at the ceremony:
Right after I took those pics, the camera flatlined so I was unable to get a pic of the boys together with their brothers' trees (nor of Mimi & Gaga's faces, sadly). Those are the trees in the pics though. It was such a nice ceremony and I really look forward to continuing it every year as a family tradition. I like the idea of Arbor Day being linked to our own remembrance of our first boys. It's all about looking to the future but taking the time to honor the past through doing something for the community (and ourselves!). Those are good lessons for Victor & Erick. And us.
We've had a lot of rain. My cucumber plants are looking miraculously better and I planted some lilies from Gaga that I can't wait to see grow. They are starts from the same lilies that were used in my wedding bouquet. Pretty cool. The boys have stayed mostly inside as of late though:
And we're beginning our sad 6 days without Daddy. Victor doesn't seem like it quite gets it yet but I've got his picture schedule up in the kitchen to count down the days and nights until Daddy's return. So far he's just fixated on the picture of bowling pins (I promised him we'd go to the bowling alley in the next few days.........and frankly, I'm pleased that he even recognized my artist's rendition of pins) and asking exactly when we'll be doing that!
4/23/2010 2:36:47 PM Poor E. He spiked a fever yesterday morning and I thought it was probably a reaction to the MMR vaccine (Dr. L subscribed to that theory as well). But he's just been so fussy and seemingly uncomfortable so I took him to get the ears rechecked since we're heading into a weekend. And yep, they're still infected. First time he ever takes an antibiotic and he's resistant to it (in this case at least). So now he's got Zithromax. Meanwhile, Victor finished his 20 days of Augmentin and is naturally starting to cough again. I'm thinking that he should probably never leave the house again!
I was completely bummed because we were supposed to have a day of fun with Heather, Chris, Jack & Bern today. And today was already a reschedule of our outing we had planned for spring break when Victor was so sick. Victor has, however, thoroughly enjoyed his day off school (teacher's institute today) by playing in the playroom and generally being Daddy's shadow. He is on such a Daddy kick lately and I'm glad he got to really enjoy it today because James will be gone for 5 days starting on Sunday. Don't ask me how I'll survive that because I haven't figured it out yet. Lately Victor gets weepy when James leaves for tennis practice so I'm sure he'll be beside himself for a day or so, probably standing at the window watching for Daddy's car with a terribly forlorn look.
Tomorrow we have the memorial tree dedication at the park. It's a rain or shine event and it looks like there will be very little shining but a lot of raining. I'm inclined to go no matter what because this is our special family tradition for James Thomas & Ronan now but I'm a bit leery of taking Victor so near the playscape if it's too wet to play. I don't want him to think that I'm torturing him by dangling that carrot in front of him with no payoff. We shall see. I'm looking forward to the rain in general though. Just got everything planted for the spring and I'm eager to see things looking greener and happier. So far so good except for my poor cucumber plants.
4/18/2010 9:45:14 AM OK then. Erick gets a free pass for his recent moodiness. Not only has he been dealing with a double ear infection but he also does, as suspected, have 4 new teeth in there. At least. Strangely, 3 are on one side and 1 is on the other. Of course it's hard to tell for sure when he's trying to bite my fingers off.
We're in the midst of Mulch Weekend 2010 here so there is a lot of frantic outside activity. I just went out a little while ago to get the last of the vegetables and herbs in so that James will be able to mulch around them. I took both boys out with me to let them swing while I planted. Victor was such a fabulous big brother and swang his brother nonstop. So much so that he fell asleep in the swing at 10:00. And then I made the miraculous swing to crib transfer. That boy must be super duper tired!
Pictures from the big birthday coming soon. We're having computer issues preventing me from accessing the pictures from the laptop and I'm usually too lazy (and boy-tethered) to go downstairs long enough to do it from the desktop. Soon!
4/12/2010 3:11:19 PM Erick Owen is one! He had a very nice little shindig on Saturday here at home with Mimi, PopPaw, Gaga, Heather, Jack & Bernie (and Victor and Mommy & Daddy, of course). I don't think he was quite as giddy about the swing set as his brother was but he was a bit overwhelmed by it all by that point. He got a lot of fun loot! Just ask Victor - he's claimed most of it for himself. I'll admit that I played with the toys a bit earlier while Victor was at school and Erick went down for his nap.
Turns out that Erick's crankiness over his birthday weekend was for very good reason. Poor guy has a double ear infection! Not surprising given how long he's been congested and how many germs his brother has shared with him during the last 6 weeks. But still! This is his first ear infection and first time to ever have to take any medication besides Tylenol. He's actually been a very good sport about it today, especially considering that he got 4 shots after the ear revelation.
Once he's up from his current nap (I don't think he'd be sleeping now were it not for the shots), I'm going to take the boys on a maiden voyage in Erick's new wagon. Pollen be damned! (See how I feel about that later.) The new wagon has seats and seat belts which will be an improvement for the boys' current needs. We'll go back to the big workhorse wagon again later when Erick can hold his own with Victor in there.
Speaking of holding his own, Erick is not really going to be a bruiser compared to Victor after all. He's just shy of what Victor's weight and height were at one year. They seem to be on the same basic long and lean growth path. I knew Erick had thinned out a lot once he started crawling and cruising so much but I was actually a little surprised that his weight is below average these days. Doesn't feel like it at the end of the day! But aside from the ear infection, he's in great shape across the board.
Erick at one year is fairly similar to Victor at one year in terms of his personality, although Erick is a bit more outgoing in general. He goes out of his way to engage anyone and everyone around him but he gets pretty bent out of shape if Mommy or Daddy is not always in grabbing distance. He likes to clap his hands and wave (backwards) and say "Ow!". It seems like he plays with toys a little more than Victor did but I may be reading too much into that. Much like Victor, he loves the Sesame Street characters and he ADORES Signing Time. And he is just now starting to enjoy sitting and listening to a story at naptime and bedtime. He seems to have some Seuss leanings. Can't complain about that.
We'll do a more proper "What's Up With Erick" list soon, I swear. I want to be sure that we remember all of this stuff. Life's such a blur and he's changed so much already. Erick is the most wonderful surprise we've ever had. As loved and adored as all three of his brothers are, they were so very, very planned. It's so special to have this little boy who just appeared on an ultrasound screen from out of nowhere! He surprised us then and he surprises us every day with his gusto and his expressiveness. Victor adores him 99% of the time, probably for many of these same reasons. He mostly loves Erick's laugh. Can't wait to see what kind of adventures this second year will bring. And for now, you'll excuse me if I still call him a baby.
4/8/2010 3:53:16 PM Victor's better but now Erick's sick. I think Erick has/had roseola because he had really bad congestion, cough and some vomiting and then a fever started. After 3 days of fever, it broke last night and then he got a rash that doesn't bother him at all (and it's already going away). All of this is to say that I THINK he's a lot better at this point and that he's "almost better". He should hopefully be able to fully enjoy his birthday on Saturday, even though he's still pretty snotty. His appetite today was the most robust I'd seen it in about 5 days so that gives me hope.
Erick's big gift for his birthday is a swingset that Daddy built in the backyard. It's been a work in progress for about a week but is now completely assembled with swings hung. We're waiting to unveil it on Saturday post-birthday cake. What I find truly amazing is that Victor hasn't noticed the swingset in the backyard. He hasn't been back there for a while but I would have thought he'd notice it out the window. Usually nothing gets past Victor in that regard. At this point, I hope he can be just as surprised and elated as Erick on Saturday. He knows that it's 2 more days away because he keeps asking when the Cozy Coupe will come down off the high shelf in the garage. That one did NOT get past him!
By the way, the boys did manage to have a nice Easter in spite of all of the maladies and home emergencies as of late. Here they are on Good Friday (prior to Victor throwing up all over his therapist):
Here they are on Easter morning here at home:
And just a few of Erick at Gaga's that afternoon:
(Victor was elusive at Gaga's. Too much prowling around to do while he's there!)
4/4/2010 6:14:00 AM [James here] About a week ago, Victor did something he's never done before. I was upstairs in the bedroom getting dressed and saying "Oh. Daddy's tired. Daddy's very tired," because I had been at tennis practice. Out of nowhere Victor asked, "How come?" I was shocked and didn't say anything. So, he repeated, "How come?" with a slightly different inflection. I answered that it was because I had been playing tennis. That was the end of the conversation, but it was still very exciting to be asked an unprompted question by the boy!
4/2/2010 3:29:13 PM Really thought Victor was well enough to go to therapy today. Thought it would even help him to get some semblance of routine back. Nope. He threw up all over his OT and his SLP. So obviously that session was cut short. No return of the fever yet (36 hours now, knock on wood) but still coughing fits off and on all night long. And puking, apparently.
We're going to go pick up his third antibiotic in a month when Erick wakes up (James has a tennis tournament today, of course). If he's not improving by Monday, he goes in for x-rays again and probably bloodwork. I'm hopeful about the Augmentin. At least it should keep us from going to the ER two weekends in a row, I should think. And my main worry was pneumonia or an ear infection and this should be a good prophylactic measure for either of those.
On the bright side, the drywall repairs and painting in the basement are all done so once the carpet gets stretched back tomorrow and I can give it a good vacuuming, the play room will be open for business again for the first time in more than a month. Fingers crossed that Victor feels better enough to enjoy it!
3/31/2010 9:46:39 PM Victor still has a fever (for the fifth day) and took his last dose of Zithromax tonight. The doctor will be getting a call tomorrow. I'm getting a flu vibe (he looks awful) but I'm worried about his lungs. And ears.
3/31/2010 5:09:30 PM A little picture catch-up. These are from the Yo Gabba Gabba live show which was more than a week ago now. Victor's plague has made this time a complete blur. (He's still sick, by the way - achy, lethargic, constantly coughing). Anyway, let's reflect on a happier time, shall we?..........
Got some good short video clips too but that would involve much more freedom than I'm allowed right now. I'm trying to really enjoy the constant need for cuddles, even if it means I get very little done this week.
3/29/2010 8:34:46 AM Victor is very sick. Eye infection and bronchitis. Fever, chills and sadness. So updates this week might be even more sluggish than usual.
3/29/2010 6:46:04 AM [James here] Erick was imitating me saying "Oww." yesterday. We were in the upstairs, boys bathroom waiting for Mommy and Victor to finish morning hygiene. Erick was pulling my hair and I was saying "Oww" in a high voice. After about 30 seconds he started saying it too. Just like Victor, if he finds it amusing, it will get his attention, and he'll try it. His version was pretty good because he was looking at my face and trying to imitate how my lips were moving.
3/26/2010 2:14:10 PM And today is James Thomas Humphrey's birthday. We met him at 5:38 p.m. six years ago today. Hard to believe it's been that long since we got to see those sweet little cheeks of his.
The sun is out after many, many hours of rain yesterday so I guess it's time for the party to begin. Thinking of the twins today and every day. But especially on their birthday weekend. :)
3/25/2010 3:36:57 PM It was six years ago today at 2:17 p.m. that Ronan Woods Humphrey was born. So much has happened since then, a whole lot of it wonderful. He is so missed each and every day though.
Happy birthday, sweet Ro.
3/17/2010 4:51:57 PM Happy St. Patrick's Day! Here's our little Irishman once he was home from school today:
(Can't believe he actually happily wore that green tie all day!)
Had to go greet his brother at the window:
He'd been waiting there patiently for a while:
That's our new routine for bus dropoff........Erick (if he's not napping inside) hangs out by the front window where I can talk to him and he can see me while I wait for the bus. He jumps up and down and screeches when Victor's bus pulls up. We'll have to enjoy this system now while the weather is perfect for it!
Here are some random shots of Erick from the past several days:
And here is a video montage from the other night while I was gone at autism support group:
3/13/2010 11:36:39 AM Time flies when you're obsessed with whether or not your house is incurring water damage. What a fun week it's been! Ugh. Hopefully we've got a handle on the situation. In the meantime, while we sort this all out the playroom is uninhabitable. That makes another weekend with yucky weather a bit hard to endure. And we're missing the St. Patty's Parade in STL yet again this year because it's just wet and chilly out there. No thanks. We've got corned beef and cabbage in process though, not that anyone but James and myself will eat it!
The boys are good though. Erick is still thinking about walking and doing a lot of recreational cruising. I've decided to wait until he's walking to start Little Gym. I'm financially procrastinating about starting it anyway with his birthday and Easter taking up budget this coming month. We're not doing a big birthday shindig or anything but I want him to have a few cool gifts since almost everything he has is gently used (and sometimes "violently used") by Victor. I'd like to get a modest swing set out back since he's such a huge swinging fan but that might be pushing it, given all of the other pressing home projects. We're definitely ready for spring around here though.
Victor finally had a good day at therapy yesterday. He certainly hasn't been having bad days but as of late, it's been kind of a water treading situation. I'm still not entirely convinced that he's out of his rut but he was certainly more motivated and receptive yesterday than he has been. He's just so easily bored by therapy after 2 1/2 years of it. The Friday schedule is actually working quite well for Victor but having to drag Erick along is wearing on me. The timing of Victor's school pickup (at which point we head straight for St. Louis) completely sabotages Erick's very much established 11:00 nap and then we never quite make up for it. Also, I have to squat in the lobby of the office building V's clinic is at, feeding Erick is his stroller. It's not a lot of fun for either of us. I like to hope it will be easier when he's not so stroller-dependent but every week I find myself wishing I could just leave Erick at home so that he can get a good nap in peace and quiet. Not generally feasible with Daddy's conference calls and tennis practices though. Luckily E's pretty resilient about it all and he always enjoys the attention from all of the therapists.
Happy nearly St. Patrick's Day to whoever may be out there reading these riveting updates. And happy daylight savings! We're actually quite excited about it because we'll be able to take the boys on walks/wagon rides/bike rides after dinner. You know, if it ever stops raining.
3/4/2010 8:59:11 PM First of all, thank you very much to all of you out there who have asked about our March of Dimes campaign for this year. I sincerely apologize for not being more forthcoming about that but we were really kind of on the fence about what we were going to do. Turns out that the walks in both St. Louis and in Edwardsville are on the same day as the regional tennis tourney that James's boys will be playing in here in town. So he wouldn't be able to go. I tried to get used to the idea of doing it without him but then I quickly realized that my heart didn't feel totally in it since we don't have any ties to the local chapters. We're not doing it this year and I don't think that we're probably going to do it in the future as our official family tradition of honoring Ronan Woods and James Thomas. We may do the walk again in future years and we wholeheartedly support the efforts of the March of Dimes and we encourage all of our friends and family to contribute to those efforts. It really does sadden me to not be participating but the truth is that I want to participate in Austin and that's not at all feasible right now.
Our new family tradition, starting this year, is our local Arbor Day celebration. (Ironically, it's also on the same day -April 24- as the tennis tourney but at least it's less than a mile away so James will surely be able to swing a brief attendance.) When we were still in Austin, we planted a tree each year on the boys' birthday weekend. Our yard here is considerably smaller and planting more trees right now would clutter up the landscaping. As it turns out, we can purchase memorial trees to be dedicated and planted at the Arbor Day celebration each year. The coolest part is that they can be planted in the park we can practically see from our yard. The park where we take the boys. Pretty cool. So I think we've found a way to honor Victor & Erick's brothers while teaching them about giving to their community. I just like the thought of them playing there in the park amongst their brothers' trees as they grow up.
I'm actually hoping that we can get the boys to the park this weekend because it sounds like we will finally have warm enough weather for it (barely). Victor has gotten to play outside at school for the past few days but I know he'll still be ecstatic to go to the park. I'm pretty sure Erick might be ready to try out swinging now too. Here he is recently in Victor's therapy swing in the basement:
He did some swinging today too, at his first Play Pals meeting of the session:
Sadly, he spent most of the 45 minutes looking kind of like this:
Baby boy was tired this morning! He must have been awake earlier than I realized or something because usually 9:00 is a really perky time for him. He made the most of it though:
And then he crashed hard once we were home again:
The thumb sucking is getting more and more prevalent, clearly.
3/2/2010 10:22:13 AM Erick and I are missing music class at the moment. He's healthy and happy as can be but I just couldn't even try to take him today. I seem to have food poisoning or a gastro virus. Horrible stabbing cramps last night followed by 4 hours of vomiting. Still not keeping much down so I don't really have the energy or strength to haul Erick around today, sadly. He seems perturbed.
Meanwhile, Victor still hasn't gotten rid of his yucky nighttime cough so I took him to the doctor yesterday while he was off school for Pulaski Day. She thinks it's a sinus infection again since the cough has gone on so long so he's on Amoxicillin. Naturally I didn't hear him cough at all last night but I may have just been too focused on my own pain and discomfort. He doesn't mind taking the medicine though and he's fairly chipper (albeit pretty subdued). The good news was that he's up to 39 pounds now! He's been gaining so slowly for the last year but that's a few pounds in just a few months. I'm not really sure why it happened but we'll take it.
Time to try to get Erick to nap so that I can nap too. It's been a lousy few nights sleep-wise, mainly because we have been trying to get Victor to stay in his own room until at least 5:00 again. We caved in a lot when he was really feeling sick and now it's very hard to break the cycle. He's getting pretty crafty about trying to sneak into our bed quietly.
2/23/2010 8:05:22 PM I forgot to take any pictures in Peoria. That tends to happen when we're visiting other places, unfortunately. Keeping the boys from tearing everything apart seems to require all available hands. We're going back to Peoria for another visit in a few months though!
Erick's very definitely feeling like himself again and has gotten his appetite for solids back and then some. We went to music class this morning and I was so worn out from the Peoria trip and Girls' Night Out in St. Louis last night that I really was feeling pretty negative about driving down there, to the point that I was talking myself out of continuing it in the future. Naturally he had the most fun I've seen him have at class! So yes, I'll suck it up and keep going. It won't be so bad once spring is finally here. It's hauling the boys around in the cold that is such a drag.
I'm happy that we get to stay close to home tomorrow though. I'll get to enjoy lots of these kinds of moments:
That was yesterday after a bath (hence the delightfully curly hair). But not just any bath....the first real big boy bath! We had tried bathing Erick in the big tub with Victor a few months ago and it was quite harrowing but yesterday he acted like he'd been bathing in the big tub forever. His balance is just sooooo much better now. And he certainly loved playing with all of Victor's tub toys. I guess the inflatable duck tub is headed for the weed patch (good thing too because that duck won't hold air for anything!). Maybe I'll get brave and try the two boy bath thing tomorrow night.
2/19/2010 9:38:49 PM We're doing a lot better around here. We still have remnants of this cold (and it must be a cold to be hanging on this long!), mostly a nagging cough, but the widespread misery has abated. I'm the only person still awake at the moment and I intend to change that pretty quickly. We're finally catching up on some much-needed rest now that Erick is sleeping through the night again. Getting his naps back on track and getting him eating more and more solids again has really helped him get through the nights like a big boy again. Ahhhhhhhhhh. That means Victor is sleeping better too.
Victor got big news this week. Next week he gets to start attending school on Friday mornings too. That's kind of a big deal because Friday is a completely non-special ed day. He hasn't been "invited" to attend on Fridays until he was able to get through a whole morning in a blended class without special ed supports. Now that he's gone for a week or so of spending his whole morning Monday through Thursday in the blended room, he's ready for Fridays! It's not much time, really. Just 8:30 to 11:00 but it's more time hanging out with peers at school and it gives me time to take a shower and get Erick fed and ready to haul Victor to St. Louis for his private therapy once he gets out out school.
Erick is probably going to start Little Gym soon. I'm contemplating waiting until early March when he's a little closer to walking. I don't want to overschedule him but I feel like doing these activities is even more important for him than it was for Victor because Erick doesn't have a playgroup or playdates here in our neck of the woods. He really seems to love getting to see some kids more his size/speed. He adores Victor but he needs his own life too! I just have to make sure I leave us some open time for running errands and getting outside come spring. Something may have to give by then, perhaps even music since it's so darned far away. We'll see.
Looks yucky outside at the moment and I was really hoping that we could be spared any precipitation this weekend (as if!). We're driving up to Peoria for the day early on Sunday to visit GiGi and we need clear roads! I'll be sure to take pics.
2/12/2010 5:17:25 PM Sure feels like I'm whining a lot lately and I really don't want to whine anymore. But gee, there is a lot to whine about! We've all been sick as dogs. Victor is the healthiest person in the house and was luckily able to enjoy his Little Sweetheart Dance with his schoolmates last night:
(That's his best bud, Vanessa.)
I'm almost sorta kinda feeling better but still have a lingering cough. Erick is doing much better congestion-wise and is no longer throwing up but still is plagued with diarrhea of sometimes epic proportions. And James is in the early, painful stages of the sinus portion. So probably not a very eventful Valentine's weekend for any of us and Monday's even a "no school, no school today!" day.
Victor's bouncing in his bouncy castle out in the sunroom/echo chamber right now and Erick is screaming his head off in his room (still resisting napping in spite of the fact that he desperately needs sleep). Just another quiet winter day. ;)
2/4/2010 12:33:44 PM It always starts out so sweet:
but things can get ugly so, so quickly. I'm hoping and praying that today is finally the day that Erick will take a very, very long nap so that Victor can have me to himself for a little bit (half an hour even!) once he's home from school. Sharing Mommy is not something he's feeling good about right now. Thank goodness Daddy will be back to double team soon!
Erick and I have had a nice week of outings though. We tried out Little Gym in Edwardsville on Monday. I think we'll probably end up doing it at some point soon but might wait another few weeks or so for budgetary accommodation and also so that Erick can get just a little more sure on his knees because it's a wild, mostly walking group of kiddos. I can already tell that he's going to get into Little Gym a little more than Victor did though.
Music was splendid as always this week. Erick sits right in front on his teacher and bounces and babbles and smiles at her. He may be in love. And Playpals today was also good, even if we barely managed to get there. We'll definitely do that again, especially since it's an unbelievable bargain. So we're assembling a pretty busy calendar. Not surprising for me, of course. Just want to make sure we leave some time open for walking/strolling/playing at the park in a few months!
2/3/2010 3:43:44 PM Well, Victor slithered into bed with me at 1:00 and then Erick was up for a feeding at 4:30. And yet I feel strangely revitalized! This is because I had a visit from the Erick Entertaining Elf today (PopPaw). Things are looking up now that I got to vacuum and change sheets and shower. I rushed downstairs after I was out of the shower figuring that Erick would be frantic with hunger. This is what I found:
So yeah, I went back upstairs and dried my hair. Bonus! Bedtimes are still a struggle logistically but at least tonight I'll go into it a little more rested. Thank you PopPaw. You make me glad I moved 900 miles. :)
12/5/2009 10:51:17 PM What a day. We stayed in today and worked on getting the last of the Christmas decorating done and getting our new TV (Yay! Merry Christmas to us from us!) set up. No small feat. Naturally both boys were super high maintenance on a day when we kinda needed for them to be a little more -how shall we say- self-entertained. Both boys are under the weather. Victor has a runny nose and cough while Erick doesn't want to eat anything solid and he has constant yucky diapers (but he wants to nurse for an hour at a time, including during the night). We managed to get a lot done but not without a lot of headaches due to the endless whining and crying today.
There were bright spots, however. Erick was happiest, as usual, when allowed to prowl around on the first floor. He's no longer even the slightest bit intimidated by the hardwoods and he and his big brother tried to stage their own Levi's commercial while he was on the loose:
And yesterday (feels so long ago now) we bundled up to go to the Snowflake Festival:
And Victor discovered the joys of warming up with a nice mug of hot chocolate:
Now he asks for some every hour. Between that and his new love of candy canes, we've created a sugar monster. Tis the season!
11/29/2009 11:55:15 PM This was a pretty long dry spell for me. Yikes. We've obviously been busy. Very busy. School is going well but it certainly leaves us rushed for time. Victor's really enjoying it though and I think Erick is enjoying the one-on-one time it allows him too. They are always so happy to see each other at the end of the day though! But hey, let's get to the fun stuff. There's been a lot of it.
Erick celebrated his first Thanksgiving with the whole fam up at Gaga's:
And the boys both have both been enjoying the Christmas tree and, even more importantly, the Christmas tree TRAIN:
Over the course of this past weekend, I desperately tried to take a Christmas card picture, with some hilarious and sometimes frustrating results:
And I resorted to a few ridiculous measures (without success there either):
And the biggest excitement of the weekend was heading off to the MO Botanical Garden for the Gardenland Express holiday show. It was really cool:
11/19/2009 2:33:18 PM Victor will be home soon from his first week of full day school! I am pronouncing it a success. By all reports, it sounds like he's done great with all of the changes and transitions and has really only gotten a little concerned when his morning classmates go home and he's kept there for the afternoon. He's done great with eating lunch at school, even! (We'll see how today went though. Quesadillas are hit and miss and that's what was up on the lunch packing rotation.). He's been very tired after dinner and has even initiated going upstairs to get ready for bed. Unfortunately, he's still up at night a lot lately. Maybe it's the excitement about new friends and experiences at school. I think we'll all be happy for a chance to sleep in a little this weekend.
Well, I should qualify that. We'll be happy to sleep in if Erick allows it. He's been waking up quite early himself, with or without Victor's shenanigans. I don't know if it's a growth spurt (he ate a lot at 2:00 this morning and then again at 6:00.........and then again at 9:30....and then again.........., etc.) or if he's getting himself keyed up because he's so into his new form of locomotion. Erick is scooting/quasi-crawling! He gets around quite well, actually. He wears himself out and gets pretty whiny though. And he also seems to make himself quite hungry. He wants to eat more and more solids all the time. His likes yogurt, banana, carrot, sweet potato and oatmeal. Still won't get onboard with anything green though.
Erick's other major new development is some wicked separation anxiety. That seemed to happen overnight. He's always been pretty demanding about getting attention but he now will wail pathetically if you leave his line of vision for more than 5 seconds. I guess it's good timing since we actually do have more time for him now that Victor's at school all day. Speaking of which, it's really sweet to see how happy the boys are to see each other now that they're apart for such a big chunk of the day. They are really quite affectionate with each other. With Erick's new mobility though, he's already going after Victor's toys and Victor is none too keen on that. He's gentle about his hostility but it IS hostility. And thus begins a neverending series of teachable moments about sharing.
11/17/2009 8:42:10 AM [James here] I just witnessed Erick's first sustained crawl across the carpet in the office downstairs! It's definitely a proto-crawl, but he is moving forward chasing after a little plastic lemon that keeps eluding his grasp. Yay! Way to go, baby Erick!
11/10/2009 2:41:14 PM It's a day of celebration! First of all, Erick is 7 months old today. And nearly as importantly, today is the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street and the premiere of the new season. Featuring Michelle Obama. I'm serious. This has been on my calendar for a month! Cannot wait to watch it with Victor when he gets home from school.
There were some tears today too though. It was Victor's last day of therapy with his current therapist over in St. Louis. He won't be able to make Tuesday mornings anymore so he had to say goodbye to Miss Gabby (Abby), his tough-loving SLP:
and his beloved Miss Momica (Monica), his favorite OT, who just came back from her maternity leave only about a month ago:
He was pretty oblivious about how permanent today's goodbyes were but I wasn't. I always have a hard time leaving behind therapists because I get attached to anyone who gives Victor that much of themselves. He'll still be going to therapy there on Friday mornings, at least for a few more months, but with Miss Ashley and Miss Melissa. He knows and likes both of them too and I'm sure he'll work hard for them and give them lots of smiles and high fives.
And the schedule change? It's because Victor starts going to school for a full day (8:30-3:00) starting next Monday. I hope he gets more strength by then because he's still pretty exhausted from his current schedule coming off his illness. He will sleep so well though, I'd bet. He'll still spend all but about 45 minutes of his day in his special ed room with Mrs. Perkins but will be going across the hall to the gen ed room for learning centers and then eventually for circle time and then finally for small group work. It's going to be a shock to his system to be around so many more kids, especially so many LOUD kids. It's going to be so good for him though and he'll have an aide along to shadow him while he assimilates. Mr. Picky even has to start taking his lunch to school! I guess that means he'll be starving by dinner.
11/9/2009 7:11:31 PM Victor's better. Mostly. He's back to school anyway. And yesterday, he got to play in the leaves. Now he wants to "leaf splash" all the time. Here's what started it all:
11/3/2009 8:57:26 PM I'll get a better update together soon, I hope, including some more recent pictures but things are a little too hectic at the moment because Victor has what the farm bureau would rather I called something other than swine flu. (Wow. That was one sentence!). It's really not a lot of fun. He's soldiering through quite valiently, including a chest x-ray today as well as his second blood draw in less than a week. Every night he says "no school" very emphatically which should tell you a lot. So yeah, we're on our 4th night of high fever (comes down and pretty much stays down during the day).
So far no one else seems to have it. I have a very sore throat today but I'm hopeful that it's just because I'm so rundown from the restless nights. The most challenging part has obviously been trying to keep Erick from getting sick. It will truly be a miracle if he doesn't get it because Victor is coughing up a lung all over the place and Erick is putting everything in his mouth. (He just got teeth 4-8, by the way).
The other bad news is that Victor had his big 4-year allergist appointment last week (that's where he had his other blood draw and also where he probably got exposed to H1N1). He's still very much allergic to peanuts. He did test negative to almond, pecan and walnut which is good on some level but it's also barely relevant because he still has to avoid any nuts like the plague due to the risk of cross-contamination. So we are continuing to live nut-free here. We're actually quite used to it and it's hardly a sacrifice since to do otherwise is so dangerous to Victor's safety. The struggle is in existing at other people's houses and out in the world. Of course it feels like we'll never be back out in the world again anyway now that we're quarantined!
Actually, I get released from captivity very briefly tomorrow to attend Victor's IEP meeting regarding him moving to a full school day soon. This is the only good news of the week (OK, that and the news that he doesn't have pneumonia!) because it means that he'll soon be spending time in a blended classroom. That's one step closer to mainstreaming. It's hard to imagine him having the stamina for a full day in his current state but it will be a good thing when and if it happens. I'm going to miss him so much when he's gone for 6-7 hours though. I still can't talk about it without tearing up a little. Apparently I can't type about it without tearing up either. I really like hanging out with Victor. He's kind of wonderful. He loves school though and he craves the structure and the stimulation. I'm blessed to have had him to myself as much as I have. I'll be OK. Really.
And now if you'll excuse me, I have a very hot little head to go soothe yet again.
10/27/2009 3:43:39 PM Over the weekend, we finally managed to get to Pere Marquette for a hike. We've been wanting to get there but it's been so rainy. Finally got a nice sunny day and it just happened to turn out to be what must have surely been the peak of a truly awe-inspiring fall foliage display. Last year was a bit of a letdown but this year did not disappoint. Victor went on his first real hike on his own two feet too! It was funny because when we got the pack carrier out of the car, he started trying to climb into it. Luckily, he didn't seem to mind Erick taking it over. He was a slow, slow hiker but he was tenacious. He passed out cold in the car afterwards though (which is why he missed out on pumpkin patching with Erick that day).
Anyway, enough jibber jabber. Here's a montage entitled "Autumn" but it really should be entitled "Autumn: What Dawn Missed Most for the Past 11 Years While We Were in the Land Without Seasons". I love you, Austin, but you don't have this. And THIS is pretty much the highlight of my whole year:
10/19/2009 9:47:00 PM Erick has been eating more and more solids and while they say that cereal making babies sleep more is an old wives' tale, it's hard to argue with this:
Ah, I kid. He was due for a nap and couldn't wait for me to finish cleaning up. Usually he plays with toys on his highchair tray after he eats (that and he likes to chew frantically on a cold washcloth). Today he was just too tuckered out.
He is enjoying food though. He's a pretty big fan of carrots and while he wasn't crazy about bananas at first (unlike his brother), they've grown on him. Interestingly, he prefers the oatmeal cereal to the rice cereal. So much so that the rice cereal seems to make him break out in a little bit of a rash. Gotta keep it interesting around here, I guess. I'll be curious to see what he thinks of a green vegetable, especially since his brother is still such a green bean fan.
One thing is for certain. He'll happily eat table food as soon as we let him (and NO, we are not letting him just yet!). He wants anything and everything that the rest of us have. I shudder to think of how big he'll start getting then!
10/19/2009 10:24:19 PM Victor is kind of an old pro at the whole Rendezvous scene but I just got to go to my first one yesterday (thanks again to PopPaw, Daddy, Victor & Erick for letting me horn in on the male bonding). It was really cool! It was such a beautiful, beautiful day for it and in such a picturesque setting to boot (right along the river in Grafton). Did I get some pics? Oh yes, I got some pics:
(This pony's name was "Pop Tart". Very authentic, no?)
Still can't quite get Victor onboard with wearing his bear claw necklace PopPaw gave him but I think he'll come around eventually. In the meantime, as you can see above, he is quite taken with the walking stick that PopPaw got for him. He paraded all about the camp with it. Luckily he seems to accept that it's an outdoor thing, however.
Erick rode around in the Bjorn for the duration and so I was chided by several mountain men about the inappropriateness of wearing him in anything other than a papoose! Papoose or no, he was worn out from the sun and the fall air and he sacked out in a chair at Mimi & PopPaw's last night during dinner:
I'm sure that won't be our last Rendezvous but I can't imagine a prettier day for it.
10/17/2009 11:22:43 PM Thomas was mucho fun! Especially since Heather, Jack & Bernie showed up just as we were getting out of the car to go in. It was a happy surprise for all of us. So happy that it called for a long overdue montage:
10/16/2009 10:56:24 PM Had Erick's 6 month checkup on Wednesday and all went well, aside from some still lingering fussiness about the shots (and/or teething). He was 28 inches long (90th percentile) and 19 pounds, 2 ounces (75th percentile). So now he's not only heavier than Victor was at 6 months but is also just very slightly longer. As a result, we switched the carseats out yesterday. Erick went on his maiden Britax voyage today and he was enthralled with the view from a higher vantage point. Victor was cracking up at seeing his baby brother looking around so exuberantly.
They'll get to have some backseat antics tomorrow as we head off to Day Out with Thomas. Cold and rainy, just like last year. We pretty much stayed in today to rest up for the big day (Victor has yet another cold). The boys humored me by posing in their matching firetruck shirts:
That reminds me - I still haven't posted pics from the fire station last week! Here are some shots I took at the Alton Fire Department Open House last Saturday:
More pics to come soon. Tomorrow's Thomas and Sunday's Rendezvous. And maybe, hopefully, some leaves and pumpkins along the way!
10/12/2009 10:16:14 PM Erick is six months now and he seems to know it. He rolls at high speed all over the place. Luckily the novelty of doing that during the night has sort of worn off so he's staying asleep quite a bit better now than he was a few weeks ago. He's getting closer to sitting up but he still just doesn't seem terribly motivated about it. Now standing, that's on his agenda! I predict that once he sits, he'll pull up pretty immediately. He really likes being on his feet in general, including logging quite a bit of time in his Jumperoo, so he's definitely got interest in being as tall as possible at all times.
Speaking of tallness, it feels like he's still pretty much growing length-wise at the same rate Victor did. Pants are getting short at the same rate - I'll put it that way. But shirts and onesies? Yikes. Erick is outgrowing some stuff that Victor didn't even wear until closer to a year. And while Victor always outgrew shirts and onesies because they got too short on his long torso, with Erick it's all about his big shoulders and barrel chest (uh yeah, and that's why he was SO much harder to push out). I will literally go to put a shirt on him that he wore less than a week before and I can't even get his arms to the armholes. I tried his Halloween costume on him earlier today and it would barely zip up!
Erick's definitely his own guy. I mean, I know that's obvious, but it's surprising even to us how different he can be from his brother. He's an extremely happy baby most of the time but he does tend to be pretty impatient when he finally gets hungry or tired and he has some epic crying fits at those moments. He's constantly trying to engage us though and very obviously craves socialization and has a huge, spontaneous smile. That part of him most reminds me of his Great PopPaw. Those two would have been peas in a pod. They'd just sit there smiling at each other and patting each other. He's also a very enthusiastic snuggler, although it usually devolves into him trying to chew on one of our limbs (or face). The teething, my heavens, the teething.
If I do say so myself, Erick is extremely handsome. No really. He's not just cute. He is dashingly handsome. He lost all of that dark, thick hair he had when he was born and after a brief and unfortunate period sporting tufts of 3 different textures of hair, he is now getting a thick but soft coat of real actual hair. It's making him look more and more like a child though (and less like a baby). He's quite obviously keeping the baby blues, thank goodness (not as sure about the dimples though). Gaga was right that it wouldn't be fair if Victor got to have the blue eyes but Erick didn't. I think James is right that Erick is going to look older than he is, in a good way. He's got a certain rugged, individualist quality.
And yes, this is supposed to be Erick's six month update but I can't not talk about Victor because Victor is pretty much Erick's favorite person (except for me and that's because I'm a food supply). Erick pretty much likes everyone but he is definitely prone to overstimulation and will cry at the drop of a hat if someone makes some noise he doesn't like. He also erupts into giggling fits easily, especially for Daddy. But for big bro, he has this special adoring gaze. If Victor's in the room, Erick's eyes are pretty much on Victor and he usually has this expectant look on his face, as though he's just waiting to be kissed/hugged/tickled. And then he doesn't even get all that upset when his brother just comes up and takes his toy away! That's love.
It's still incredibly stunning to me that Erick is really here with us, let alone that he's now halfway to a year. He's truly just the most amazing surprise every single day. It's like every morning we get up and say "Oh wow, that's right. We had that cute little baby merely by dumb luck. Let's go get him up and see what he does today. I hope he still likes us!" And yet I can scarcely recall life without Ericko either. We are truly and utterly blessed.
Postnote: Still just 4 teeth but 4 more brewing. Also, Erick is starting to say something sounding like "da". Yeah. Daddy wins again.
10/9/2009 8:44:01 PM More pictures. Who knew? Today's blog shots feature Victor sporting his new favorite eyewear. These glasses are part of the doctor's kit he got for his birthday from his cousins and today he decided to basically wear them all day.
What glasses? Oh you mean these?.............
Trying to look academic:
And then accidentally just looking impish and adorable instead:
I also finally got some shots of Victor peeling apples. He would peel apples every day if he could but today we peeled 30 of them and he actually seemed to tire of it a bit. He still never took the glasses off though. Here's my apple baking apprentice:
Big weekend on tap. Lots o' fun in store. And tomorrow Erick will be 6 months old!
10/8/2009 12:59:54 PM Thought these pictures deserved their own new post even if they are part of the same catch-up session. Here's Victor waiting for the bus today, excited to be in his rain gear!
This bodes well for how cooperative he might be about his snow gear. He's officially embracing his Midwestern heritage!
10/8/2009 12:35:58 PM Picture catch-up time! My how the time flies here lately. So much to get done around here this week with all of the fall clothes switch-outs and whatnot. These boys grow WAY too quickly! But yeah, anyway, time to get the pictures from the weekend on, eh?
On Saturday, we ventured out very briefly to the Corn Fest at Glazebrook (the park 5 minutes from us). It was our chilliest, windiest day yet this fall and while Victor was undaunted, Erick was not terribly pleased:
I thought Victor would be most excited about the firetruck that was there but he seemed to consider it some kind of diabolical diversion tactic to keep him from his beloved playscape. So the very kind firemen were rebuffed:
He spent a lot of time in the moonwalk and we were impressed with how well he held his own amongst the complete pandamonium. He was the smallest kid in there which is saying a lot because he's not exactly small. He did pay a visit to the antique tractors on display and he checked out their big tires:
And he went into the petting zoo where he was mainly interested in the miniature ponies but since since we had food, the goats tried to intervene fairly aggressively:
He didn't mind much but I certainly wouldn't call him a goat fan (and James is even less of a goat fan since he once again got goat poop on his jeans.......and nearly cried about it......yes, we're talking about an almost 40-year-old man here). There was even a camel there! He wasn't terribly exciting though. The real highlight of the entire trip for Victor was getting to buy some more apples. Victor loves to get apples because Victor LOVES to peel and core the apples with the old cranking peeler Gaga gave me. It's perhaps his very favorite after-school activity now. So we've been eating a lot of apple crisp/cobbler/pie lately. Here he is trying to share his cherished apples with Erick:
Such a sweet big brother, right?
Speaking of apples, Sunday's big activity was a hedge apple hunt up at Gaga's. (Knock on wood, those suckers seem to be dissuading our previous creepie crawly inhabitants. That or it's just the cold weather. But seriously, haven't even seen a spider!). We slept too late to successfully execute our plan for pancakes in Hardin but we did drive up the long, scenic way and took a short and overpriced detour at Pere Marquette. Eventually, we made our way to Gaga's and were so excited to find PopPaw there waiting for us! While I fed Erick, the big boys went on their hunt:
PopPaw even shot a few branches to get some good fresh hedge apples on the ground and I'm not sure if James or PopPaw was more excited about that development. Quite the cavemen, those two. I made the wee boys stay in the car for that phase:
Not a bad weekend for our first foray back into the land of the unsick!
10/2/2009 3:09:55 PM Erick has four teeth now and he's apparently frantically working on 2-4 more. And maybe that's why he's refusing to nurse on one side because his ear was all clear when I dragged him to the doctor today! After this week of quarantine (doc is still not entirely sure whether it was breakthrough chicken pox or hand, foot & mouth but HFM seems more likely at this point), I really wanted Erick seen before the weekend kicked off. He's nursing enough to stay well-hydrated but his appetite sure isn't like normal and he's a bit lethargic as well. Don't worry that he's starving though - he was up to 18 pounds and 10 ounces today. That's about 2 pounds in less than 2 months!
He's doing well though. He has really not seemed bothered by the rash even at its peak. He's got a bit of a naggy cough but he's been able to get some good sleep and while it's meant less one-on-one with Mommy, I think he's enjoyed having his brother around so much this week. I cannot emphasize enough just how much he adores Victor. He always has a smile for his big brother and he tries his best to grab him every chance he gets.
And Victor? He's had an amazing week, especially for a boy that has been stuck at home quarantined from all of his usual activities. There was no whining at all about missing school and therapy and music class. Luckily he's really gotten into painting at school lately so I was able to do an art project with him every afternoon to keep him stimulated. Our favorite was making watercolor leaves to hang up on the kitchen window (he likes the part when we spray the water on the diffusing papers). He's been such a good boy about playing indepedently when I'm needed elsewhere and he's been so verbal in general but especially during storytime.
It sure looks like Victor will be back at school on Monday. We almost sent him on Wednesday but he had some new sores popping up just as he was about to leave so we decided to just keep him out of everything for the rest of the week. His teacher will be gone for 2 weeks starting on Monday and I'm sure that will disappoint him but she will be attending special training at TouchPoint Autism Services (what was Judevine Center until a very recent restructuring) and that is a very good thing for her students. I'm sure he'll be glad to be back and will adjust quickly to a sub. He really does like everyone. Everyone except for the mean bus monitor. And I'm with him on that one.
It's cool and fallish and windy this weekend. Not a whole lot on the agenda aside from resting up for next week and maybe taking a scenic drive. In light of the boys' convalescence and my own ongoing hacking cough, I believe I'll be abstaining from attending my 20 year reunion after all. That and trying to deny that it really has been 20 years.
10/1/2009 8:13:00 AM [James here] For those of you who don't spend all of your free time on Facebook, I've added one of the greatest Victor videos of all time to the site. I give you Rainbow Connections...
9/28/2009 9:07:09 AM Or maybe not......... This is maddening.
9/27/2009 8:21:59 PM I had planned to construct a comprehensive update tonight but it would seem that Victor has chicken pox and it looks as though Erick might be developing it too. My chest cold seems trivial now. But James is back from Austin, at least! I'll update more when I have the opportunity to form sentences again...........
9/19/2009 10:40:19 PM Things are looking up. James finally feels quite a bit better and after a reaction to his antibiotic (yeah, I know, what next?), he's nearly rash-free. Yesterday morning was a complete debacle due to some sleep issues. We missed music class because Victor was up from 3:00 to 6:00 and then wound up sleeping after that until 10:00. Desperate for an outing, I took him to the park since he'd been asking for it all week. Here he is running himself tired (THANK YOU!):
There are a few pictures of the boys together at the park in the pics gallery. And more importantly, I think that maybe we've gotten past the recent sleep troubles (he slept through the night last night and was up at 7:30). We've had a few issues at play. First, Victor's been actually needing to get up and go to the potty once he's in bed lately. This is usually not a concern. Not sure what that's about but basically, he won't come get us or call to us to tell us that's the problem. He just won't sleep until it's rectified. Fun.
Also, Erick has been making a lot more noise at night lately because he won't stop rolling and scooting around his crib and then he screeches when he gets stuck in some undesirable position. Their rooms are next to each other. Pandemonium. Or perhaps solidarity.
At any rate, today was an oasis of sun and family fun after kind of a harrowing week of sleep deprivation. We went to Eckert's for the Apple Fest and everyone's spirits were greatly lifted. There are many pictures from that outing on the pics page but here are some outtakes, including a few from Mimi & PopPaw's house (where we went for a potty break):
Yeah, we took a lot of pictures. We were happy to be among the world of the living. Beautiful, beautiful day.
9/12/2009 10:26:57 PM All is well. Just busy with a bunch of whiny boys. The oldest of the whiny boys is doing well following surgery, although today seemed to be his worst day yet (the dreaded "Scab Day"). He's doing pretty well overall but is only about 1/3 there due to the Vicodin. I'm pretty confident that he will heal well though. I'm actually happy to hear him snoring away right now because he's had such a hard time sleeping due to the swelling. He did brave dinner out tonight though, followed by a quick trip to the park for playscaping and a dash through the corn maze:
Victor was a good sport about going through the corn maze even though he really just wanted to go play on the playscape. He did seem to enjoy the responsibility of carrying our safety flag.
Aside from going out for pancakes this morning, we stayed pretty close to home until the corn mazing. The boys hung out together quite a bit:
And Victor happily helped me water the plants on the front porch. He has recently become my minion when it comes to taking care of the plants (and vacuuming, of course - the holy grail of chores!) but it was truly a special treat to be joined by Fireman Victor:
Oh yeah, and I think that tomorrow marks one year since we left Austin. It sure doesn't feel like it. Illinois very definitely feels like home again but I can hardly believe that it's been a year since I saw some of my dearest friends in the world. And the Zilker Zephyr. And Tacodeli. And Phil's Ice House. And Springwoods Park. And Whataburger. And Deep Eddy. We're loving life here but I never stop feeling like I left a little piece of myself there a year ago and I'm terribly jealous that James gets to go visit AGAIN in just a few weeks.
9/7/2009 9:25:58 PM We had a fun weekend and it served as kind of a last hurrah before Daddy's surgery. I don't think we'll be doing a whole lot of major outings in the next week, for some reason! A big highlight of the weekend was finally taking a trip down to the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis. I think I can safely say that it was Victor's most exciting train experience to date. There are just so MANY trains to see and touch there and he especially liked getting to go through a bunch of passenger and freight cars. Took a lot of pics, enough to call for a montage in addition to the pics I put in the gallery:
9/7/2009 7:51:44 AM [James here] Victor is quite the bike rider, although he refers to it as "ride motorcyle". We have been riding the motorcycle in the street, going around the block for about two weeks now, and he wears his helmet like a pro and has just about mastered braking on hills. These last couple times, he has started to "go fast" enough to force Daddy to jog next to him. Lord help us when Daddy has to sprint to keep up.
9/2/2009 8:47:01 PM It's official. They're pals:
And they both like TV way too much.
8/26/2009 9:24:44 PM Victor went back to school today and not a tear was shed. I took pics, of course, but when you're hauling around a porker in a carrier while trying to take shots and keep a kid from running wildly into the parking lot, you end up with shots of the back of said kid.........
(Really doesn't need me at all, thank you very much.)
(Favorite part of being dropped off? Getting buzzed in! He will stall for time if someone is going in right in front of us that might leave the door open for us.)
(Walking on the right side, just as taught.)
(Headed straight for his cubby where his name is labeled in orange. Of course.)
The day was a success. He really seems to like his teacher quite a lot. When I tucked him in last night, I told him "You are going to have SO much fun tomorrow" but then I suddenly thought better of bringing up school in case it would make him anxious. But he very cheerfully said "Fun at school with Mrs. Perkins!". Indeed. He'll be even happier if the bus starts running Early Childhood routes tomorrow.
The other excitement this week was Erick's first rice cereal. I really wasn't sure if I wanted to try it yet. Waited about a month later than this with Victor but Erick seems so interested in eating, especially since he's fascinated with everything Victor does. It was moderately successful. He wants to eat and he makes little chomping motions but he's still doing the tongue push thing. Might try again tomorrow once Victor's at school (so that Erick's less distracted) although I hate to deny Victor the chance to spectate since he thinks it's the most hilarious thing ever.
Anyway, here's some shots of Erick's first solid food experience:
(Victor just had to eat his pudding with a baby spoon too. Hardy har har.)
It's late. Need to shower and sleep.
8/21/2009 9:12:28 PM James gets his tonsils out on September 8. We were kinda hoping he could just get it over with this week but this will be much better, actually. Now we can better plan for it since it will be a fairly significant recovery (read: I'll have 3 boys to take care of on my own). Luckily the antibiotics have helped him feel much better so hopefully he'll be pretty comfortable for these few weeks before the surgery. I really don't quite know how we'll explain to Victor that he needs to give Daddy a break for a week or two. Thankfully he'll be in school then.
We had a very full but good day today. I took the boys to music class for the first time as a trio. Victor did so much better with it than I would have imagined. I really figured that he'd be bored and start wandering but he was so good about staying close to me and trying to entertain his baby brother. From there we went to the train station because I knew that the train from Springfield would be coming in soon and figured Victor could watch it while I fed Erick in the car. Naturally Erick fell asleep on the drive. Victor loved seeing the train though and we'll have to do that again. From there we went to the park. It was glorious. 75 degrees, nice breeze, lots of shade, big kids back in school........doesn't get any better.
Of course Erick did wake up hungry right as we were getting to the park. So I did the unthinkable and nursed him on a park bench while Victor played on the playscape (the unthinkable part was not directly supervising Victor). That went really, really well for a while until Victor made a friend who he proceeded to push down the slide repeatedly. Granted, this little buddy seemed to think it was hilarious and kept coming back for more but this is an ongoing impulse control issue that always requires my "input". And sure enough, he'd refrain from doing it if I was standing there watching but if I'd sit back down on the bench, it was back to the same thing. Eventually I got sick of it and had to drag him kicking and screaming out of there. But as soon as we started to drive out of the parking lot, he stopped with the tears and immediately said "Where are we going? " to which I said "Where do you think we're going?" The response? "To Steak N Shake". And we did.
Then tonight we let Victor ride his bike all the way around our neighborhood loop for the first time (we've been practicing on the driveway almost every day). We're talking probably 1/3 of a mile. No sidewalk. I think James is probably a bit sore from all of the hunching over to correct steering. And I greatly enjoyed pushing Erick in the single stroller! So much lighter and easier to steer. It was a great end to a fun day but we sure won't be doing that every night.
8/19/2009 9:27:12 PM James & I went to orientation at Victor's school tonight. Honestly, I'm not sure why we had to go since we have a home visit on Monday and a school open house on Tuesday to prepare him for his first day (next Wednesday). It was nice to be back though and the consensus is that his teacher is completely awesome. She's taught with her same aide for 13 years and she has a son with a peanut allergy. I'm not happy that her son has a peanut allergy but that detail sure makes me feel comfortable with her handling of the situation. We were extremely impressed in general. Now to just get him doing well enough to get into a blended room for part of the day!
I really am hopeful that he'll get to that point this year. His language skills have improved so much but there are still so many challenges to overcome. One of the very hardest language concepts for kids on the autism spectrum is yes/no questions so we're constantly working on that but with very little results. Last night, for instance, I knew that he wanted whipped cream for his pudding (he calls it ice cream though) so I got out the can of whipped cream and a container of prunes. I asked him if he wanted the prunes, trying to drag a "no!" out of him. He tried everything he possibly could to make me just put them away but he could NOT come up with just saying "No. No prunes, thanks!". Instead it was more like this:
Mommy: "Do you want prunes?" Victor: "Mommy's prunes". M: "But do you want prunes?" V: "Mommy eats prunes". M: "Victor, would you like some prunes?" V: "Mommy eating prunes?" M: "Not right now. Do YOU want some prunes?" V: "Mommy is eating prunes PLEASE!!!!!!" (with a look of terror and pleading)
Then he started to cry and he looked right at me and said "Sorry". Is there anything more heartbreaking? I told him that he had absolutely nothing to be sorry for but that we both had to keep working at it and I swear that he seemed to understand. But that scene really got at the heart of how many challenges we still face before he's ready for a regular classroom. It's so strange to think that he can express both of our disappointment by saying he's sorry but he can't just say the word "NO" in response to a question. And he absolutely understands the meaning of the words yes and no and will even use them to "argue" about something he does or does not want to do, such as:
Victor: "I want to go ride bikes." Mommy: "No, we're not going to do that right now because it's time for lunch." V: "YES!" M: "Sorry, not right now." V: "Yes, now!"
Meanwhile, he's really coming around about his baby brother. I think he's just unable to resist Erick's smile. And he has a whole lot of smiles for his big bro. Erick watches Victor with great interest these days and only looks terrified now when he has good reason (like when Victor is getting a little too keyed up and careless.......something that often happens when he's getting tired). There's definitely a mutual affection brewing between the two though and they have lately been enjoying a little bit of snuggle time together at bedtime. Tonight Victor didn't want to let go of Erick when it was time to go to sleep and I had to explain that it's going to be a while before they can have any slumber parties in there.
Victor also still thinks that any toy or apparatus in the house is up for grabs so he especially likes to sit in the rocker/bouncy while Erick sits in the Kick & Play. Here are a few shots of that:
Victor was being gentle (thankfully) but Erick eventually decided that if he was going to put his feet all over him, they were going to get used as teethers. Erick is very focused on his teeth. The bottom two are in and I'm not seeing very much on top yet but I don't think they're far behind. I hope that this is the reason behind the constant, unpredictable nursing strikes. Aside from that, he's mostly busy trying to watch his brother, staring at his hands, blowing raspberries and giggling at himself, rolling around and (gasp!) last night he even "crawled" about a foot. He didn't use any arms though. Just ground his head into the floor and pushed with his big, meaty, strong legs!
Oh, and Erick is finally sleeping in his own room. It would probably be going pretty well if it weren't for the teething and congestion. As it stands now though, he has slept through the night in there exactly once. Most of the time, we're back to feedings at 1:00, sometimes again at 3:00 and then always around 6:00. I'm not well-rested, especially since James is all codeined up because he gets so uncomfortable at night himself (tonsils don't come out until next month). This too shall pass. At least he's in his own room now!
8/18/2009 6:08:36 PM I swear that a better update and more pics are coming soon but Erick's on a hunger strike, Victor's trying to dismantle the house out of sheer boredom and James has tonsillitis (so he's less than half a parent right now). I hope this is the worse before better. I also hope that James can get those suckers cut out this week so he can just feel better for good!
8/12/2009 11:39:51 AM Erick is finally differentiating his growth from Victor's! At his 4 month appointment today, he was 16 1/2 pounds (half a pound bigger than V at 4 months) but 25 3/4 inches long (1/4 inch shorter). This puts him in the 75th percentile for height but 75-90th for weight. Head circumference is right at 50 (percent, not centimeters!). I guess his head just SEEMS big. He had a great checkup though. Apparently he's just going to be congested a lot due to his chunkiness. Dr. L was amazed at how much of that tooth has poked through already! And he got his shots. He's sleeping that trauma off right now.
The other outstanding news from this visit to Dr. L's was that Victor's ears are all clear. The ear drum looks like nothing ever happened. So we'll just hope that it was a fluke and this is not something he'll be prone to now. Thank goodness we don't have more ear drops to give any time soon!
I've still got more pics and video from Victor's birthday to process into a montage but it's slow going. Maybe I'll get to that yet today since Erick is so groggy from shots. My guess is that Victor will try to seize the opportunity to make me do a lot of playing though.
8/11/2009 9:46:37 PM Erick was 4 months yesterday. He celebrated by officially beginning to cut his first tooth. The first sharp corner is through the gum! That's had him crankier than normal which is still barely cranky at all. However, we've all had about enough of the explosive pooping. I don't see that improving any time soon as much as he's sticking his hands in his mouth though. He goes for his 4-month checkup tomorrow (and shots too) so there will be an update after that. In the meantime, here's a video of Erick getting "eaten" by PopPaw last Sunday during Victor's birthday festivities:
8/4/2009 5:41:07 PM Victor is 4! He had a fabulous party with the fam on Sunday and then spent his actual birthday yesterday indulging in his new loot. He loved every single thing he got this year but he's especially fixated on The Big Three: his sweet new Schwinn Gremlin (big boy bike!), his play tee pee and his bounce house. I'm currently spending every free moment working on the massive amount of pictures we've taken. I'll have them on soon but it's no small feat with Victor home all day every day for these next few weeks, especially since he wants to ride his bike or jump in his bounce house all the time and both of these things require close supervision. Also, Erick is more congested all the time and I'm having to pump breastmilk about 4 times a day since he's so fussy about eating right now.
But did I mention that Victor is 4? Because Victor is 4!
Also, by way of slowly catching up, here are some pics of Erick waiting for Daddy to get home from the airport the other night:
7/30/2009 8:19:09 AM I'm so proud of my big boy this week. He's on his fifth day in a row in underwear all day without incident (including car trips to St. Louis!). We had recently had to resort back to Pull-Ups temporarily due to his prolapsed colon issues (laxatives and underwear are a dangerous mix until you get the dose just right) but he's really been working hard to get this pottying thing back under control. I seized the opportunity to push the issue a little while I was on my own this week. We needed to be regimented about the routine anyway to ever survive so it worked out well. (Plus, I'm a little more daring about pushing the underwear envelope than Daddy. Sometimes to everyone's detriment but not this time!).
He really must have gotten the memo that he's going to be 4 in a few days because he woke up this morning in a very independent mood. Didn't want his potty insert to sit on the potty and threw aside his step stool instead of using it to brush his teeth. Never mind that he had to stand on his tippy toes! Then when we went out to get on the bus, he refused to hold hands to walk up onto the bus. Just grabbed the hand rail and marched right up there and then turned and said "Bye Mommy. See you later..." in an extremely business-like fashion. I didn't cry until I got back in the house.
7/28/2009 7:35:00 PM Big day for the Humphrey boys! Victor pooped on a public potty for the first time. Actually, it's even more significant than it sounds. That's because it was the first time he even tried to sit on a regular old toilet seat. Until now, he's only pooped on one potty that wasn't here in our house and that was at Bernie & Jack's (with their kid seat). He was pretty proud of himself!
And Erick JUST rolled over from his back to his tummy. As in just a few minutes ago. He practiced it for 15 minutes and covered quite a bit of floor area just spinning around but eventually, he got the job done. He's trying to do it again because he knew it was pretty cool. He'll have to keep working on it so he can show it off for Daddy on Saturday.
Otherwise, we're keeping our heads above water. The days are going really well but the nights are pretty harrowing. It's rough having to completely ditch one boy for the other. And Victor is really thrown off by Daddy not being around come nighttime. It feels like he's stalling around until things feel like normal but they never do. Meanwhile, Erick is always starving and losing patience. It's a barrel of laughs.
Oh yeah, and I got the great news today that Victor does actually get to ride the bus to and from school this fall since he has an IEP. We'll take that freebie, thank you very much. He loves to ride the bus and we love the convenience.
7/27/2009 2:12:49 PM So far we're surviving our time without Daddy. We're only a day and a half in though. Since the swing seems to be broken (due to Victor testing the weight limit repeatedly), I kinda needed another apparatus to be able to pop Erick into today.
He still loves the bouncy seat.......... but I think he's burning out on it a little. So we decided to try out the Jumperoo. He likes it. Well, he likes it as long as I am in view. I think he feels too vulnerable dangling there otherwise. He hasn't actually jumped yet but he's checked out all of the stuff and liked spinning around in his seat.
He was trepidatious at first:
But he quickly came around:
And surprise, surprise! Look who else had to check it out:
And speaking of Victor's shenanigans, I found this scene when I came down into the playroom this morning:
I've been working on beautifying Pru for the past 4 or 5 days (my urgency is that Zoe comes to clean Wednesday and I want to rid the cat of excess hair PRIOR to her cleaning the floors). So Pru's beauty routine included a bath in the kitchen sink a few days ago. Apparently Victor gave his fake cat a fake bath too. He's also been "helping" me brush the real cat every day.
As far as the ear situation goes, Victor is quite obviously feeling pretty much up to full capacity. We're still not doing any of his therapeutic listening right now because I think it would still be irritating to that sensitive ear. It's going to take a while for that ear drum to heal! Other than that though, we're kinda back on track. Even back in underpants for 2 days straight!
7/24/2009 10:51:20 PM Things have gotten so much better around here. Except for the ear drops. Let's just not talk about the ear drops (that we suspect aren't even really helping since they seem to just pour right back out of his ear). Victor has slept through the night very peacefully since his eardrum ruptured. He's still not totally caught up because that was one wicked sleep deficit he had going but he is gaining more energy back every day. And how! We took a celebratory trip to the zoo on Wednesday and Victor giddily rode the carousel and the zoo train (through THREE tunnels!).
Victor's got just one week of summer school left and it's a stroke of luck that our timing turned out that way because James goes to Austin in a few days and I'll be solo parenting with both boys for the first time. I'll be thankful to have those few hours in the morning to rest up a bit. I'm sure glad Erick usually naps for at least an hour of that time. As for summer school itself, it's been a mixed bag. It really stunk that he had to miss almost a whole week of 4-week session, first of all. Also, there is far less structure in summer school from what I can tell and he's really just not as jazzed about it as a result. I've had a hard time with the lack of feedback but then I know that it's such a short session that there's not all that much progress to be had. I think that Victor sees school as an excuse to ride the bus. He loves the bus.
And Erick? He's great. He's more and more vocal every day. James swears that he says hi to him. He's starting to almost develop a discernible napping pattern and I'm trying my best to respect it and not drag him all around when he's overtired. He's certainly had to be a lot more flexible than Victor ever did as a baby though. He's a great sport about just napping in the carseat when we have to go to St. Louis for therapy or when we have to go for a drive so that Victor will stop climbing everything in the house. I'm already cleaning up the bigger carseat though because I know he'll be comfier and my arm can't take much more of the old Graco bucket. The only thing stopping me is the ease of the invaluable portable nap.
And speaking of sleeping, Erick the Sleep Star is not without his foibles. OK, one foible. The boy will not sleep in his own room! He slept through the night at barely past a month but he has yet to get through a night in his own room. He'll sleep a few hours in there and then flip onto his back and flail and grunt until I rescue him and put him in the Pack & Play next to our bed. (Victor, on the other hand, didn't sleep through the night until more like 3 1/2 months but was in his own room before that.) I think the difference is mainly that we did let Victor "cry it out" a little bit to get him to sleep in his own room. It was pretty painless but it was a loud few nights.
That would probably work with Erick too but I'm just never willing to risk waking up Victor once I hear Erick rolling around and grunting in there. When Erick wakes up during the night, it's a quick fix. Milk, burp, done! Sometimes not even that. Perhaps just pat on the back, kiss, done! When Victor wakes up during the night, it's a much bigger, more physically demanding production with music and star turtles and stuffed animals arranged just so. I might have to get brave soon though or Erick will never get used to sleeping in his own room for more than 2 hours (he'll nap in there just fine, of course). Obviously I won't be trying it while I'm on my own though!
7/20/2009 9:06:47 PM Poor Victor. He missed the school bus this morning because the driver was WAY early and she didn't bother to just stop and honk. Not a good start to a Monday. Then once he was home from school, I noticed large amounts of pus coming out of his left ear. Needless to say, we made another trip to the doctor.
Turns out that he DOES have an ear infection, just as I suspected last week. She thoroughly checked his ears last week so I don't know if she just managed to miss it or if he really did have the mystery virus and then the ear infection came along more recently. Seems unlikely to me though. He's had a fever off and on and has screamed and cried during the night for a whole week! And the worst of it is that he ruptured his ear drum as a result. The silver lining is that he seems like he is resting much more comfortably now that the ear drum is blown. But yeah, he has a hole in his ear drum. That's not really something you want.
As usual, he's a champ about taking the Amoxicillin. The boy loves his medicine. The ear drops, however, are pure torture. Getting them in was not even that bad (a two person job, however). Trying to get him to lie still for 5 minutes afterwards was completely impossible. I like to think that maybe we'll all get better at it but it's probably more likely that he'll just get even better at trying to evade it. I can only hope that maybe he'll somehow make the connection that the drops are helping. I'm going to have to have Mimi come help me with Operation Ear Drops next weekend when James goes to Austin!
Victor went to sleep easily tonight and seemed to have a certain aura of peace about him that I have not witnessed in about 10 days. I dream of a restful night for all of us but I especially dream of healing for our sweet boy. He's had a rough stretch and he needs to feel like himself again. Just in time to turn 4 in two weeks.......... and then the tears will be all mine.
7/18/2009 9:27:18 PM Wow, talk about getting worse before it gets better! It's been an extremely grueling week. Victor has been feeling pretty decent during the days but then gets miserable at night. I don't think he's gotten more than 6 hours of sleep in any given night for a whole week now. He pretty much sleeps for a few hours and then screams and cries for an hour. Last night seemed like a modest improvement so we're hoping that maybe tonight he'll finally catch up a little. On the bright side, Erick is nursing well again so he's also sleeping through the night a little better again too. That's kind of a miracle given the chaos this place has been during the dark of night as of late.
Today we finally got Victor out and about a bit. It was a gorgeous day to catch some fresh air. And hey, since there hasn't been a montage for a while, here are some highlights of our trip to the park, hanging on the patio for dinner and then going for ice cream:
7/14/2009 9:02:28 PM Not only is James hobbled by his weekend of tennis but he's now extremely fatigued by a few late and crazy nights around here. Victor is sick. Took him to the doc yesterday and she felt that he had a virus that is going around. It's possibly coxsackie or possibly some random enterovirus. What it means for Victor is a very high fever and crippling headache. We just finished Day 4 of this. It is not fun. When the fever comes down, Victor's in reasonable spirits even if he's quite lethargic (all he's wanted to do is drink water, watch TV and do puzzles). When the Tylenol wears off and the fever spikes again, he's pretty inconsolable. So he's had very, very little sleep these past few nights. And neither have we. The uncharacteristic snuggliness may actually make up for it.
Here is the haggard crew trying to all get along this afternoon:
(Victor demanded a head rub which promptly put him to sleep.)
(Notice how Erick is watching Kung Fu Panda!)
Meanwhile, Erick has been on a quasi-nursing strike. I took him in today because I was worried about his ears and/or his throat. Nothing. (We were especially glad to see no sores in his mouth since he may or may not have some form of Victor's illness). She couldn't even see evidence of tooth buds. So it's kind of a mystery as to what is irking Erick with regard to nursing. I remember a similar issue with Victor, probably even around this same age, but I cannot remember what we ever figured out. Must have been short-lived though because he nursed for 2 more years! Apparently we don't need to worry much about Erick's nourishment though because he was 15 pounds even today which is just an ounce shy of doubling his birth weight.
Right now everyone in the house is asleep except for me. I think I better join them while I can because the Tylenol will wear off soon! Fingers crossed for a more normal day tomorrow.......
7/14/2009 6:50:33 AM [James here] Mother Nature was obliging, but Father Time was not so kind. I was rewarded for my singles and doubles victories on Saturday with 7.75 consecutive sets of tennis on Sunday resulting in two singles losses and being a set down in the doubles finals. From the ribs down I am pretty much a cripple. But, my match with a younger, taller, faster, more talented, better looking serve and volleyer will go down in the Book of James as one of the best and most entertaining matches ever!
7/10/2009 5:56:04 PM It was a big week around here! Victor finished up his speech camp over in St. Louis and said goodbye to his new pals (Thomas, Jonas, Aidan & Brandon). It was sad to have to leave them behind but luckily he started summer school the very next day. Now he hangs out with Austin, Aeden, Angelo, Katelyn, Kierra, Matthew and Elijah every morning. He's taken going back to school in stride but doesn't seem completely overjoyed about it. I think he's just a bit flummoxed about not having his usual teacher/aide/classmates. We have seen his best pal Vanessa at school though, even though they're not in the same class. They have happily embraced a few times. And he took the bus home today without incident so he'll be taking the bus both ways starting on Monday. Such a big boy!
Speaking of big boys, Erick is 3 months today and he celebrated by going to his first ever music class. Obviously I can't realistically claim that he loved it or anything but he did just great. Not one bit of fussing or crying and he seemed really interested in watching the other kids and babies. He even held a pair of maraquitas (they're tiny maracas) and gave them a few good licks. Erick's about a month and a half younger than Victor was when he started music class but I think he's going to take to it quickly. It will be good for him to be around some other kids that aren't insanely jealous of him and I'm really going to enjoy having it as our special Mommy & Erick time.
We've got a busy weekend on tap since James is playing in a tennis tournament (we'll see what Mother Nature has to say about that) and next week is the first full week of summer school and the new therapy schedule (we go to St. Louis on Tuesday afternoons right after school & lunch). And let's not forget the Jersey County Fair next week!
7/5/2009 3:45:10 PM Well, Erick is still a very good sleeper. He really is. But he got me used to that 6:30 or 7:00 wake-up and now he's suddenly revised that to anytime between 5:00 and 6:00. I'm ever so hopeful that it's a growth spurt thing (Friday was 12 weeks!) but that might be grasping. He also seems to either have a bit of a cold or perhaps just congestion from molds since it's been horrifically humid as of late. Oh, and I think he might be starting to teethe. None of this is to say that he's particularly cranky because the boy is pretty much as easygoing as they come but he's snuffly and he gnaws on his hands at times when I know he can't be hungry. Ergo, I think he's an early teether like his brother.
As far as the teething possibility, I don't see buds but I've felt a difference in his gums from a month ago. And how can he be almost 3 months? I want to keep him little. Which reminds me --- he's going to get maybe another week out of his 3-6 month clothes too. Seersee. I feel like it's all passing before my eyes. Then again, I also have a 4th birthday looming in my immediate future and making me wistful.
So yeah, here are some pictures of little sweet Baby Erick in his bumbo seat a few days ago:
Also, here are a few shots of some special father-son moments from the holiday weekend:
And now I must go because my little man is hungry! More to come this week about Victor's first days at summer school............. ahhhhhh, an end to the cabin fever.
6/29/2009 2:41:07 PM We are blissfully tired from a great weekend! We had a visit from Aunt Deb, Uncle Pat and Cousins Sean & Nick on Saturday and then we spent Sunday afternoon up at Gaga's (pics from that visit are in the gallery under "Hammock Monkeys"). Our visit with our Milwaukee loved ones felt too brief, as always, but we packed in a lot of fun, as is chronicled here:
(Sean & Victor playing a round of Crocodile Dentist)
(Nicko: The Hammiest Ham that Ever Did Ham.)
(Lots of time spent hanging in the playhouse.)
(Growing boys chowing down.)
(Erick had lots of attention from Aunt Deb & Cousin Sean.)
(While Victor tried to reclaim the bouncy seat.)
(Sean & Victor tried to negotiate who was in charge of the Thomas puzzle while Nick looked on, sweetly oblivious to big boy head games.)
(And Victor caught a last few moments of bonding with Nick before he hit the road.)
We miss them already! Can't wait for Christmas. Erick will be chasing them down on all fours by then I'm sure. Time to start resting up and stocking up on Tylenol.
6/25/2009 7:52:55 AM [James here]
thought I would chime in about something that is important: Erick is a very, very good baby. I've been afraid to say it, but by God he needs to get some credit. I don't mean this as any slight to Victor or any other babies I've ever known. And, I don't want to jinx us, but it has to be said.
The little guy has been sleeping through the night regularly for the last month. When he's awake he's now usually pretty happy and fun to play with. He really likes the big eyes and smile game, but he also enjoys the kick-and-play and trying to crawl on his little play mat.
Erick likes to sit up; of course, you have to balance him, but he's very comfortable in an upright position. He likes to see what's going on. He watches his brother warily and observes story time with interest. He's a little doll and Dawn and I keep asking ourselves how we got so lucky.
[Now Dawn here]
Also, Erick tries to blow raspberries. It's unbelievably cute. Careful about the bragging about sleeping through the night though, James. Erick & I were up at 4:00 today (after three mornings in a row of him sleeping until almost 7:00).
This seems like as good a place as any to share these tummy time pics from earlier tonight. Behold the many moods of Erick Owen:
6/15/2009 10:07:46 PM It's gotten a little wild around here. Nothing catastrophic. Just some major rainy day boredom/jealousy/acting out stuff. And some potty training issues that I don't feel compelled to discuss at the moment. So that's my excuse for not giving a fuller Erick update yet.
He did have his 2 month appointment on Friday and it went well. He's doing just great and took his vaccinations pretty much in stride. Once again, he's on the exact same growth pattern as Victor. Erick was 12 pounds, 14 ounces (an ounce heavier than V at the same age) and 23 3/4 inches long (1/8 of an inch shorter than V at the same age). He gave Dr. L quite a few smiles but couldn't do the same for the shot-wielding nurse. Great check-up though.
I finally took a bunch more pictures, many of Erick alone and quite a few of the boys together. Here's a montage of the bulk of them:
6/10/2009 5:39:01 PM Time for a post all about Erick. I'm not even going to mention that other guy. OK, so I can't quite manage that. I should at least mention that Victor is spending a whole lot of time with his boy baby doll this week. He calls him Erick and he helps him do all of the things that he sees me do for his real human brother. He changes his diaper and clothes, he "breastfeeds" him, he puts him in his swing, etc. Oh, and he especially likes to put him in his trike basket and give him rides around the house. He's very, very sweet to "Erick Doll". Treats him exactly like we'd hope. But still pretty squirrely and aggressive toward his human brother. He just gets so amped up when Erick makes a noise or flails around. But the play acting is encouraging, no?
So Erick. The man of the day! He's two months old today and he's really pretty amazing. He still spends a lot of time sleeping but when he's awake, he's looking around and checking it all out quite happily. He's downright agreeable as long as he's clean and full of milk. He does take a lot of interest in his brother but is also very anxious when Victor gets very close to him. I think he's ready to grapple with him as soon as he gets the opportunity. He continues to surprise us with his brute strength.
Erick really likes rides in the car as long as we're not stopping at lights. And stroller rides are starting to grow on him too, especially if he gets to just sit in the stroller instead of being in his carseat. He's not a huge fan of the carseat itself. He loves the sound of whistling and he likes to take baths as long as Victor isn't menacing over my shoulder. And his very favorite thing in the world is when we blow on his hair. That usually coaxes a smile/coo/giggle-type utterance.
Erick's a little snugglier in general than Victor was as a baby but when he's not in the mood, he is very belligerent about it and will arch his back and kick for all he's worth. He's a great sleeper (as was Victor) and will sleep 6-8 hours during the night the majority of the time. Still not sleeping in his own room yet though. Might have to try our second attempt at that soon. No discernible nap pattern yet either but he definitely loads up more on sleep in the mornings than in the afternoon (although he's snoozing right now as I type).
I'll report in more about Easy E on Friday after his appointment. And I hope to get some more pics of him yet this week too. He's changing quickly and getting more and more handsome!
6/9/2009 1:39:36 PM I was going to blog this week about how we were going to participate in a WashU study. More specifically, Erick was going to participate in the Infant Sibling Study they are doing as part of their autism research. It would have involved some observations of both boys and a few MRIs for Erick. We were gung ho. I really wanted to do anything our family possibly could to aid autism research and selfishly, I wanted an inside track to resources and information as well as some far, far earlier intervention if Erick turns out to be on the spectrum (we don't really believe he will but it's a real risk).
Well, we're excluded. I've been through a few phone interviews to screen us and this last one apparently sent up the red flag that will keep us from participating. I was worried that we might not have an official enough diagnosis for Victor since he never went back to the neurologist at age 3. Nope. We can't participate because of my gestational hypertension. So that was really a bit of a bummer to find out today. It's one less scheduling commitment but I really wanted to see it through.
But hey, Erick turns 2 months tomorrow! I'll try to construct a proper status report. There's a lot to say about him but just such precious little time. He's pretty wonderful though.
6/6/2009 7:39:00 AM Happy Anniversary Daddy! I was just about to share the straight poop (hardy har).
It was truly a stroke of luck that I caught Victor showing the signs of needing to go and I was thankfully able to capitalize on it. Now the bribery begins. I've got a few more engines awaiting in the roundhouse but hopefully before long he'll catch on that pooping on the potty is preferable whether there are rewards or not. That or we'll end up with Thomas and every single one of his friends.
Meanwhile, Erick is sleeping 6-8 hours for his long stretch now. A few nights ago I decided to try putting him in his own bed but it was somewhat of a disaster. He woke at 2:00 for the first time in 2 or 3 weeks. I think we'll try it again tonight maybe. We all have to get used to it sometime, right? That monitor in his room is SO hyper sensitive though that it's far more distracting to hear it all night than it is to just have him next to our bed. I can literally hear him dragging his hand across the mattress!
6/6/2009 6:58:35 AM [James here] I can't believe Dawn hasn't blogged the fact that Victor has done #2 on the potty 2 times now! Mommy has been his coach both times; she's tuned into when he needs to go and this last time even added some incentive - a wooden train. "Poop on potty then Percy." Too many "p"'s, I'm sorry. Happy Anniversary, Mommy. Although, 11 years is steel - not feces.
6/2/2009 10:07:34 PM Victor had "camp" over in St. Louis these past two mornings and it went very well and he seemed pleased as could be to be back with his therapists again. I'm so glad I signed him up. It's just enough to fill some of the void left with school being out. I'm desperately trying to work with him on some of the things that were brought up in his IEP meeting during our fleeting downtime at home but it's so hard to make that happen. Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy so maybe that will help!
His therapists are really happy with the progress he made while he was gone, even with some setbacks in the feeding area. He was very eager to get to work and didn't balk at anything. Not even finger painting and playing in goo! Those are usually the hardest tasks for him to face. Of course he might just be trying hard to please in the first week back but I'm very hopeful that he's ready to build on his progress. It felt good being back at any rate. And he actually went out of his way to make a friend at camp too. May have had something to do with the fact that the boy was named Thomas! I told his SLP that I hope that the other kids are James and Percy.
I won't lie though. It's brutal doing this early morning thing with both boys in tow. It doesn't start until 9:00 which sounds reasonable and all but that means that we have to leave by 8:00 and Victor usually wants to sleep until around then (this will be good practice for summer school though because it's 9-12). Meanwhile, Erick wakes up around 4:00 and I usually try to grab another our of sleep between that feeding and the next one but with our Monday & Tuesday schedule, I just stay up and get dressed and ready before I work in the preemptive 7:00 feeding.
I literally felt like I was going to fall asleep at the wheel driving over there. I'm going to have to just caffeinate on those days. Mimi is going to help out with some of these camp days throughout June too, thank goodness. I really enjoyed doing it these past two days but I also want to maximize my Mommy-Victor and Mommy-Erick 1-on-1 time when I have the chance.
5/28/2009 9:36:05 PM We survived Victor's IEP meeting today at school thanks to a lot of luck (a sleeping Erick, in other words) and to Miss Marj for entertaining Victor for the entire 2 hours we were there. This meeting was to set his goals and determine his eligibility for fall. We're really hopeful that he'll be able to spend some time in the regular pre-K room by fall but he'll obviously still be spending the better part of his day in his special ed communication classroom. The important thing we need to remember is how much HUGE progress he just made in 3 1/2 months.
He surpassed all but one of his speech therapy goals and he came very close to reaching his classroom goals. Occupational therapy was a whole other story. He was so far below reaching his goals with fine motor skills, pre-handwriting and even gross motor. So I'm feeling even better about him starting his private therapy back up next week. He will still get OT at school during his summer school session in July but it's such a paltry amount and I'm of the opinion that it really pales in comparison to his private therapy. But yeah, all in all, we felt good about his progress this year and his potential for next year. And inadequate OT notwithstanding, we are really happy and impressed with the program.
It was especially gratifying to hear how much everyone has enjoyed Victor's sweet demeanor and his willingness to work hard at school. Likewise, he was so happy to get to see his teacher and SLP again this week (but especially his Miss Marj). We were not at all surprised to hear that he's really academically ready for kindergarten now. The boy can memorize and pick up routines and cognitive skills like nobody's business. He's got a whole lot of work ahead of him though to get the social and communication pieces in place that are necessary for mainstream kindergarten but if it doesn't happen by then, there are several other classroom options. So it's all good. We just want to make sure that we're getting him every possible opportunity and resource, especially when he is obviously so excited about learning.
And here's our diligent little pupil doing his rendition of Brown Bear, Brown Bear earlier yesterday and today:
5/27/2009 11:05:33 PM Erick is sleeping through the night, if you define sleeping through the night as sleeping at least a 6 hour stretch. OK, usually anyway. He's doing this about a month earlier than Victor did. He usually sleeps from 9:00 or 10:00ish until 3:00 or 4:00ish. Which yes, does mean that I should be in bed right now. I still need to pump though because he had a bottle at Auntie Heath's and I must pump to offset that or mayhem will result. Really should just do that and head the heck off to bed! Oh, and Erick's still spitting up a lot.
Victor's struggling with potty progress now that school is out. We're not nearly as good as Miss Marj was about taking him to the potty on a schedule and he's not good about asking until it's too late. Strangely, he's great about getting through the night and staying dry (and we're talking about 10+ hours) but during the day, he gets distracted and wets fairly often. Still no pooping on the potty at all. He is very obviously avoiding even trying. He still wears a Pull-Up instead of underpants if we're going out and about for a long period of time (especially a long drive) and lately, he will finally poop once he's got a Pull-Up on. It's an event, to be sure.
So we're still working on that but the whole "let's put your poop into the potty!" thing doesn't seem to be really getting through. The bright spot is that he's finally peeing standing up when we're away from home. Thanks for the standing to pee mentoring, Bernie & Jack!
Speaking of which, we were just at their house for Auntie Heath's early birthday festivities tonight and I got a few pics:
Happy almost birthday Auntie Heath!
5/23/2009 9:21:24 PM We had an exhausting and yet delightful day today. We went up to Gaga's to see her gardens and then hung out with her in town for a bit, had lunch, chilled some more. Victor was in bliss and James and I were feeling very smug and satisfied about being in Illinois so that we can make such things a regular occurrence. It made for a long trip though. Any trip that pushes the limits of two Erick feedings gets a little hairy in the end. Poor little Snuffler was not a happy guy by the time we got home but was quickly mollified with a milk binge and a nice cool bath. So it all worked out but I'm feeling oh-so-tired now. And I'm on my own tonight while James is guys' night outing (well-earned so I won't complain).
So what's new with Erick is that he's spitting up perhaps even more than before but is also chunkier and chunkier. He's into his 3-6 month clothes and is threatening to bust out of his 1-2 Swaddlers. He's smiling more and more all the time and is extremely interested in what his brother's up to but also looks pretty stressed sometimes when Victor hovers over him. With good reason.
Victor's being extremely precious and extremely trying. He won't do much of anything we ask him to do without counting down from 5 first and then saying "Time to _________". It's maddening. He's really testing a lot of limits and insisting upon taking a lot more control of some things, straying from routine, etc. This is good in the big picture of his particular emotional development. It's just hard to stay on schedule. Yeah, he's 3. Very, very 3. And he comes by the stubbornness honestly.
One especially adorable thing about Victor right now is his fixation on "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?". They worked on it at school recently and he is INTO it. He sings it over and over and really practices getting it more and more accurate (and fast!). A few days ago, I found printouts online of pictures of all of the animals in the book and I cut them all out and tacked them up in the play room for him. I think he liked that better than anything we've ever bought him!
5/18/2009 5:57:28 PM Another road trip day! I kept Victor home from school today due to the copious amounts of snot gushing forth from his head. Totally hated to do that since there are only a few more days of his semester but it would have been SO obnoxious to send him like that. And since I could not bear the thought of being cooped up with both boys all day while Victor tore the place apart (or watched Cars or Wall-E for the hundredth time), I decided to hit the road again. It was good. Erick was not as happy as he has been in the car as of late but Victor and I enjoyed some beautiful scenery and scintillating conversation about vehicles and farm animals. Truly. It was almost like having Mommy-Victor time. Wow, come to think of it - I think it qualified as Mommy-Victor time. I'm so happy he likes the car as much as I do!
Today's destinations were cemeteries, actually. We went to Carlinville and White Hall to put out fresh flags and flowers for Great PopPaw and Great Uncle Victor in advance of Memorial Day. It's actually a ritual I quite enjoyed being able to do as a family for the first time, especially since I spent many sunny May days helping my grandpa put out flowers for family members and flags for the Carrollton vets. And I always enjoy making the drive over to C'ville because I can still hear his voice in my head narrating the farm scenery (and of course, how to get to the cemetery, no matter how many times I had already driven there). I made sure to show Victor the final dog leg turn en route to the cemetery. He'll get to brush up on that many more times over the years.
And after we went to see Gaga's Victor at White Hall, we took a chance and swung by her house. There she was mowing the yard! (She's NEVER at her house in town when we happen to just pop by). So we got to enjoy an impromptu Gaga visit too. Pretty spectacular way to spend a beautiful afternoon. Except for Erick's crying. For the last 40 minutes of the drive. ("Erick! No crying", said Victor.) No pics of the boys today but here are pics of flags and flowers for our most beloved veterans, both of whom are dearly missed today and every day:
(The matchbox car on his grave marker was left by my Victor the first week after we moved in September. He just put it there like it was the natural thing to do, not even knowing that it's the same color as Victor's motorcycle was.)
5/17/2009 5:04:38 PM This last week is a total blur. We've been trying to get in our groove as a family of four. It's been challenging and more than a little exhausting at times but also rewarding. Mostly.
I had such a mishmash of pictures that I threw them all in one montage of "What we did these past several days..........". Most notably, we had Victor's school picnic on Thursday afternoon (where he mostly just ignored us and played on the playscape). Saturday we spent quite a bit of time in the car. The car is my friend because Erick will usually nap and Victor will usually be happy and chatty and most importantly, restrained. And today, Sunday, we braved our first trip to the zoo as a quartet. We wanted to do something that was very specifically for Victor and I think that overall he appreciated it. And he was mostly very cooperative too, especially with the new double stroller's jump seat arrangement (he is not yet willing to try the standing platform, even though I think he'd greatly prefer it). I pronounce the outing a success. Here's the photos:
5/11/2009 12:54:34 PM Just got home from Erick's one month check-up. He's 10 pounds and 22 inches. Once again, it's uncanny. Victor was 10 pounds, 2 ounces at his one month (and it was exactly 2 days later than Erick's in relation to his birthdate) and was 22 inches. More importantly, Erick is growing very, very well in spite of all the spitting. Dr. L is not at all surprised that he's still spitting so much because he's such a squirmer so he's constantly shaking up his tummy.
And that's an understatement. While on the exam table, he demonstrated how he can roll from tummy to back and he pushed off Dr. L's hands to take a few crawling "steps". He is holding his chest way up off the table/floor/crib and looking all around. We are in big, big trouble with the babyproofing needs. I always thought that people that talked about how their kids rolled or crawled at an early age were completely exaggerating but I'm changing my tune on that one. Erick was clearly training in utero because buddy boy is one strong dude.
Meanwhile, Victor is at school in his first ever pair of big boy underwear. I hope we don't regret that. I have fears of going out to find a very wet, very distraught Victor getting off the bus but we had to give it a shot. He did not hesitate one bit about putting his underwear on though. He thought they were super cool!
Not a bad start to the week. And tonight's even girls' night out. Which means even less sleep probably. A little time away sounds pretty wonderful though. Thanks for doing double duty tonight, best daddy ever!
5/10/2009 2:49:19 PM Happy Mother's Day! We've had quite a nice one. I underestimated how much it would mean to actually be here with my own mother and grandmother in person this year. Just made me feel like we're where we should be. I'm getting used to these family gatherings every month (Easter last month and now MD). I think I need to come up with an excuse to do it every month the rest of the year! That means I should probably start cooking more, eh? Can't make Mimi & Gaga spoil me by bringing in all the food until Erick's 18.
Erick slept more than 6 hours last night and that would have meant an outstanding night of sleep for me (maybe even topping 4 hours!) except that Victor woke around 3:00 screaming and crying. James went in his room to find Victor hysterical and with a mouth full of blood. We think that he fell out of his bed while trying to do some sort of daredevil maneuver (like turning off his ceiling fan or something similar). At any rate, he has a busted and quite swollen lip. Looks like he bit into his lip when he hit the floor (I heard the thud). After the traumatic cleanup and soothing session, he thankfully slept like a rock from 4:00 until nearly 10:00.
Here are a few pictures from Mother's Day 2009:
And in the best surprise of the day, after watching these roses cautiously over the past few days, hoping upon hope that maybe I could cut a bouquet for the table today (but alas, no!):
Gaga showed up with these gorgeous peonies and made me gleeful:
(She has a way of saving the day. With pies. And flowers. And food. And baby holding.)
And just because it randomly showed up on my camera today, here's a pic from last weekend of Victor helping Mimi & PopPaw put in the Humphrey herb garden:
(Thanks MM & PP!)
5/8/2009 1:21:31 PM Erick's had a great week and yet a bit of a trying week. He is not sleeping that nice long stretch that he was a week ago. So he's rather overtired at times and I'm rather overtired all the time. I've slept 2-3 hours in my bed for the past 4 nights but keep falling asleep in the rocker in E's room between 1 and 5. The good news is that Erick is actually having some peaceful awake time. The options are no longer only sleeping, eating or incredibly angry. Sometimes he's just alert and interested, especially in his big brother and what the heck he's up to.
The feeling seems to be fairly mutual because Victor is showing much more interest in trying to befriend Erick. He likes to kiss him and wipe his mouth for him and give him toys. Most importantly, the crying doesn't seem to cause nearly as many Victor meltdowns now. This is not to say that Victor doesn't still get incredibly jealous and resentful at times but all in all, he's starting to get on board with the idea of co-existing with "Erick-O" (this is V's nickname for his bro.........and occasionally he very formally calls him "Erick Owen"). Victor also had a really good week at school and has been pottying there consistently. Our incidence of wet pull-ups has been scarce enough that I bit the bullet and got the big boy underwear yesterday. Now to just get brave enough to introduce them!
Victor's only got 8 more days of school which is horrifying. Part of me looks forward to a short break from getting him ready to go on time but I very much do not look forward to V's disappointment when there's no school. He loves school more than anything right now. But he'll have a few mornings of camp in St. Louis during June and then he'll be back to summer school in July. And hopefully Erick and I will be better able to mobilize in June so that we can go do some fun activities like the zoo and the Magic House and the park (and more of the park and then probably.........more of the park).
I really thought about doing Music Together with both boys this summer but it turns out that we couldn't make it work because of Victor's summer school schedule (he'll go 5 days a week!). And honestly, I think he's a little old for it now anyway. I think he could still benefit from the program but he'd be the biggest kid by far and I don't know that making him share that setting with Erick is good right now. Plus, Victor's done three whole years of it (though I do think he'd still enjoy it). So I think I'll probably just wait and do MT with Erick once he's a little older. Victor started at 5 months and that's probably going to be a good time for Erick too, especially since he'll probably sit up by then. This baby keeps acting like he's trying to crawl and he can easily roll from tummy to back. We'll have to get some video of it soon. It's kinda crazy.
5/6/2009 10:32:27 AM [James here] Victor did something interesting last night. He spelled "Tyrannosaurus" from memory. Normally, I hold the book entitled "Tyrannosaurus Reg" in front of him and he points at each letter as he says it. Last night, he was looking at something else and just rattled off the letters from memory.
5/4/2009 8:56:14 PM Erick and I survived our big solo jaunt to the ENT to get his tongue tie clipped today. The actual procedure took like 1 minute, maybe 5 if you include the prep time I spent giving Erick anesthetic on a paci. And aside from a mouthful of blood, it was not the slightest bit traumatic. He looked a bit like Hannibel Lecter at first because he had blood all down his chin and onto his bib but it clotted quickly and he went right back to sleep from all the excitement. It definitely has improved his breastfeeding latch insofar as it's already less painful for me and it seems like he's staying on and being more efficient too. The spitting up hasn't abated much but I'm trying not to get my hopes up about that (still somewhat clinging to the theory that his bad latch was making him gulp excessive air and causing reflux). I'm just glad it's over and that it went so well. I was very happy with the ENT and would absolutely go back there if we need him later.
This day has made me very tired though. Erick spoiled me with a few nights of 4-5 hour blocks of sleep and I got my hopes up. I swear I'm going to bed after this next feeding! And I am greatly looking forward to Victor's summer school schedule of 9-12 instead of his current 12:30-3:00. This trying to get both boys fed lunch within the same hour thing is not going very well. It seems like everyone except for James ends up crying.
Oh, and I did get Victor signed up for two days per week of "camp" (which is basically fun group therapy) at his clinic down in St. Louis. That will be his guaranteed June activity. And we might even be able to get him back into his private OT and speech therapy sessions on the same days. Insurance is finally worked out again. I'm anxious to give it a try. I think he needs all the help and individualized attention he can get right now to deal with this HUGE change in his life. Plus, he's made such amazing progress at school and I'd like to see him build on it with his therapists. They're going to be so impressed with his strides in communication and social behavior, not to mention his exemplary pottying (we're just on the cusp of trying big boy underpants instead of Pull-Ups!).
4/30/2009 3:12:40 PM There are a whole bunch of new pics of the boys together on the pics page. A whole bunch. 14, actually.
And here are some pics from our first family of 4 neighborhood walk on Sunday:
(OK, I lied. That one's on the back patio.)
4/27/2009 12:23:14 PM Just got home from Victor's first school drop-off with Erick in tow. There was no major acting out but my big boy who usually dutifully (cheerfully, even) holds my hand to walk in sped ahead and kept tossing me his best "I'm not pleased" look. Now that Erick has been admired by everyone and won't be such a novelty, hopefully Victor will feel a little less threatened by his presence. And as I expected, he was totally cool with his teacher fussing over Erick but he got pretty territorial over his Miss Marj (his favorite aide). Oh, and he says Erick's name a hundred times a day but he refused to acknowledge that his brother even has a name when asked by everyone at school. He told everyone that he was "Baby Sleepy". Thankfully, yes, he is quite sleepy. Makes Monday a little easier.
Next Monday? Frenectomy time. That was the soonest we could get him in. Supposedly this will be a 15 minute thing. The only thing that freaks me out a little is doing it without Daddy there but he'll need to stay behind to get Victor off the bus after school. I'll be fine though. If I survived Victor's allergy testing and the blood panel from hell (when I got to pretty much lie on him to hold him down), I can do this too. Erick is freakishly strong though!
4/25/2009 10:02:49 PM So yeah, it's hot in our house. And we still have one more day over 80 before we get some more seasonable temps back. Today we got desperate enough in the middle of the afternoon that we got in the car just to enjoy the air-conditioning. After cruising by the firetrucks (hoping they were all out of the garage to be washed but no such luck this time), we went to see the Robert Wadlow statue. Victor enjoyed this surprisingly well for a kid that is too young to understand what the fuss is about. Then again, he thinks anything outdoors like that is "the park" and "the park" is A-OK.
Here's yet another montage, this one of the Wadlow outing:
4/25/2009 1:11:27 PM It's 85 here and we don't have working air-conditioning. The mood is not good.
4/24/2009 4:17:59 PM Erick had an outstanding 2 week appointment! He's at 7 pounds, 15 ounces which is the exact same weight that Victor was at 2 weeks old (even though he was half a pound heavier at birth!). Dr. L was just happy to have him back to birth weight so this greatly alleviated my stress about how much he's spitting up. Speaking of which, she thinks that he's likely spitting up because he's overeating (seems quite likely, given the outrageous milk supply). So, since he's not appearing to be in pain with the spitting (just instantly hungry again), we're hoping that he'll start growing out of it soon.
Hmmm. What else? Oh, the tongue tie. It's going to get clipped. We're getting sent over to St. John's Mercy to have it done by an ENT there. Hopefully soon. Dr. L agreed that it was rather severe and didn't want to risk it interfering with successful breastfeeding. I'm thankful that she was sensitive to how important that was to me. I don't want to put him through the procedure but I think it's for the best for both of us in the long run.
Dr. L was stunned at how well Erick is holding his head up and pushing up on his arms. She thinks he'll roll really early. Yikes. This is good though because she felt like tummy sleeping is OK for him since he has such good head control. That's a blessing since it's the only way he seems to get himself to sleep, aside from in the papasan. I've had some early luck with turning him onto his back once he's asleep on his tummy. We'll see.
All in all, a good start to the weekend. It will make those middle of the night feedings a little easier to face now that I know that he is thriving as a result. Now it's on to trying to figure out what I can find for Victor to do during June (thank goodness for summer school in July)!
4/23/2009 2:56:25 PM Victor's doing a lot better with the whole having a brother now thing. Not quite as much aggressive jealousy and he's showing far more interest in Erick and wants to help take care of him. He still has to be told "gentle, gentle!" a gazillion times a day but at least he's not showing actual animosity.
And Erick is pretty much doing well. He got his first tub bath and is blessing us with some decent stretches of sleep at night. Unfortunately his 6:30 diaper change/feeding does tend to wake up Victor due to the urgent crying (the pacifier is not being all that well-received). Erick does have his 2 week pedi appointment tomorrow and we are extremely thankful for it because he is spitting up a lot during the day and still is uncomfortable on his back. Also, he has a tongue tie. The kid's got to keep it interesting, I suppose! He still loves to be held and has a voracious appetite (probably because he keeps losing so much of his feedings, sadly).
Here are some pictures from this past 4 or 5 days, again with apologies for randomness/laziness:
4/19/2009 9:42:01 AM Erick's feeling more and more like a baby and less like a newborn. His cord stump fell off yesterday, his plastibell from his circ is about to fall off and he's keeping most of his feedings down better than he was for a few days there (still some pretty major pukings at times though). Oh, and poop is normal. I had forgotten how comparatively pleasant breastmilk poop is so it's been a nice surprise at diaper changes. He even gave me a few decent chunks of sleep last night (2 hours at a time!).
We do still have problems with sleep arrangements and I'm anxious to get some feedback on that at his 2-week appointment on Friday. He still won't tolerate being put flat on his back at all so he's sleeping either in the papasan (the favored method for all of us right now), on someone's chest or with me painstakingly holding him on his side. He's totally happy to go down in the crib on his tummy but it scares me to much too put him down for the night like that.
And Victor? He's been generally agreeable but when we hit a rough patch, we really hit a rough patch. He's extremely jealous and still doesn't really comprehend the level of gentleness required around Erick. This unfortunately means that I'm getting very, very little time to spend with Victor which just exacerbates the situation that much more. I'm really hoping I can manage to do school dropoff this week now that I'm OK to drive because that will at least be a little bit of Mommy & Victor alone time (something we're striving to implement with little success as of yet). We'll see how willing Erick is to accommodate Victor's schedule. I don't want Daddy to have a half hour of shrieking every day at lunch. Have I mentioned that Erick is a milk junkie? And that I miss being with my big boy?
4/16/2009 10:21:27 AM So fellow breastfeeders out there are familiar with the "transitional stool" phenomenon, otherwise known as early milk poopslosions. If you're not familiar, this is the poop that comes as the meconium is finally mostly out of the system but there is a slight lactose intolerance as breastmilk comes in full steam. It's supposed to work itself out in a few days. Well, it's been a few days and I'm hoping that maybe we've seen the last of the poop geysers.
Wouldn't be so unpleasant if Erick didn't always choose his 1:00 a.m. feeding as the time to let it blow. I'm ill-equipped to deal with messes or to use any sort of quick reflexes at that point. That's usually when I'm about to pass out in the rocker (he still thinks day is night). Oh, and the thing I forgot to stock up on? Oxy Baby Clean. Not pretty.
Otherwise, things are good. None of this seems quite as daunting as last time, perhaps because we know how quickly this time goes by. Also, everything's vaguely familiar. I do think Victor spit up this much early on too. He was a piglet too and never knew when to say when breastmilk-wise. Erick's a lot more congested than I remember Victor being but that's probably just part of the joy of being a spring baby.
4/15/2009 3:01:44 PM We're hanging in here. Erick's a sweet boy but he does make sleep a challenge. The interesting thing about E is that he was born trying to hold his head up and look around. That should have been a sign, right? Nope, he does NOT want to stay on his back at all.
He breaks his arms out of any swaddle (even the atomic strength Amazing Miracle Blanket, though I haven't used it to full strait jacket level yet) and then uses said arms to maneuver himself onto his side. His preference, however, is to just be held while he sleeps. And that would be fine if, you know, we didn't need to ever sleep ourselves. We've been placating him because he's only 5 days old and he sounds snuffly when he's on his back. We're not sure if that's a newborn congestion thing or a possible reflux thing but we just know it's mean to leave him like that. So the boy is getting held a lot which makes me even more thankful for the sling (which is where you'd find him napping right now).
Victor's doing well. There are a few snags here and there but he's sleeping through the night well and he's continuing to do well with pottying. We're seeing a bit of aggressiveness from him that isn't typical but I think that has more to do with school (Miss Marj confirmed to James that there is a "pusher" in the class.....and I know just who he is!) and imitating what he's seeing there than being necessarily angry. The interesting thing is that he's apparently not pushing or pulling hair at school though. So we'll just keep doing our best to try to correct it. Boys.
4/13/2009 1:03:43 PM It's good to be home. It turned out that the second day at the hospital wasn't really all that restful in the grand scheme of things. Good to still have the extra time with people willing to fetch me a constant supply of ice water but having the nursery "available" didn't really achieve us any extra sleep since Erick wanted to eat just about every hour and half around the clock. More than one nurse remarked that they could probably keep him happy in the nursery longer if we'd let him have a pacifier (and thus begins a year of constantly hearing "Why don't you just give that kid a paci!?!?!?"). Kinda would defeat the purpose of on demand feeding though, no?
Milk is in though and he seems to have relaxed a bit about feeding as a result. This is the first way in which he is very unlike Victor as a newborn. We had to wake Victor up to eat every 3 hours due to the jaundice. Erick is very much in charge of the feeding schedule this time. And while we initially thought that Erick looked wholly unlike Victor (or really anyone else, aside from PopPaw), I'm starting to see a lot more similarities in facial expressions and features. We'll see. He sure does have more hair.
One very pleasant surprise is that Erick seems to like being in the sling (which is how I'm even able to be typing this). Victor hated the sling. But Erick wants to held pretty much 24/7 and so far does not appreciate or enjoy stretching out in the swing or the papasan for long so the sling is finally getting its due! If he continues to like it, it sure will help me free up a hand or two while keeping the little guy content. Maybe I can hold Erick and play trains after all.
Doesn't look like James reported the full birth log this time. The short version is that labor was surprisingly longer this time (but not by too much). We started Pitocin at 8:00 Friday morning but Dr. T didn't break my water until 9:00 (the reverse of how we induced with Victor). I ended up sitting at 3 centimeters for quite a while but once again went from 4 to 9 in under 40 minutes. The really exciting part was the epidural or slight lack thereof. I did get an epidural but it was only slightly better than not having one at all.
First attempt was botched so they had to place it higher the second time and the result was that it numbed the high contractions but really didn't touch the lower ones (see 40 minutes from 4 to 9). So pushing, while only taking half an hour, was far more painful than anticipated. All was forgotten as soon as Erick was out though. Then all focus turned to this little guy with the full head of hair and the alert eyes.
Victor is taking things pretty much in stride. He does seem to get that this guy is Erick, as in "The Erick" we've talked about all these months. I was so thankful that Erick's crying didn't seem to disturb him during the night at all. And he's not really acting out or seeming to feel threatened by Erick's presence but his understanding of "gentle" is fleeting at times. I think he's going to do just fine though. If he's going to get upset about anything right now, it's probably just that he got used to so much time with a doting Mimi, PopPaw & Gaga this weekend and Mommy and Daddy are really not quite as much fun now. Luckily tomorrow is a "school bus day" so he can ditch us at home for a while.
OK, montage time. Here's one of hospital pics in random order (I'm tired):
4/11/2009 8:45:32 AM [James here] I guess I'm a little late in posting this, but I think everyone must have gotten notified via e-mail yesterday. Erick Owen arrived at 1pm sharp on Friday April 10th coming in at 7lbs 9oz and 20.5 inches long. He has a full head of dark hair, great lungs, and a healthy appetite. He also has a penchant for sleeping on his side and using his little arms to grab at things. Further, he seems to be tracking voices with his gaze pretty well. He's very red, but none of the nurses seem to be concerned about that. He's just a cute little angel.
Victor and Mimi have been having a grand ole time. Twice in a row he has gotten out of bed with a dry diaper and done some good peeing right away in the morning for her. He isn't quite sure what to think of his baby brother yet. He does know that he is Erick and he did remember that what Erick says is "Wah!"
Bernie and Jack came to visit yesterday as well. Oh and Auntie Heather was there too. She brought some flowers and milkshakes - just what the Dr. ordered! Bernie and Jack seemed to like Erick and were very careful around him. They're such good boys.
4/8/2009 8:55:30 PM Still hanging in here. Erick will be here mid-day Friday and really, that's soon enough. Tomorrow will be a day of very concentrated convalescence for both Victor and myself. I think he's doing a little better but I'm still glad that he's going to have another 4 days on antibiotics before his brother comes home. Me on the other hand? I'm just a mess. The only benefit is that hopefully I'll provide Erick with some good breastmilk antibodies against whatever this gnarly funk is. And I hope maybe I'll get some good drugs in the hospital because I am not really sleeping anymore. Like at all.
On the bright side, Victor has been back to school the past two days and has been quite giddy about it. Today was his last day before spring break. He doesn't go back until next Tuesday so today was his class Easter party. He got spiffed up for the occasion:
And he gave me his best "Time for school, please!", complete with pleading eyes:
I'm sure we'll manage to work in a backyard Easter egg hunt yet this weekend somehow but I'm glad he got to have some festivities with his school buds and it was a beautiful day for it too! He's going to have a fun weekend spending lots of time with Mimi, PopPaw and Gaga. I know that I'm going to miss him far more than he'll miss me. I've never left him for more than about 8 hours before so I'll definitely be pining for my little sweetie.
4/6/2009 5:28:45 PM Victor has a rip-roarin' sinus infection and is back on the antibiotics. So he missed school today which was quite sad since he goes on break Thursday anyway. Hopefully he'll be up to going tomorrow. I'm sure he will be Wednesday at least.
No news about Erick. Maybe there will be progress at my appointment tomorrow morning but I still doubt it.
4/5/2009 4:20:30 PM We made the egg hunt. But barely. The front is blowing in and it kinda blew us right out of the park. It was just as we were all getting tired of the festivities anyway though so it was all good. Here's a little montage of Victor, Jack & Bernie competing in the compulsory events to earn a goodie bag:
4/4/2009 4:26:20 PM Sorry. Forgot to update yesterday. Maybe because there's so little to update! Still 3 centimeters, now 60% effaced and -1 station. I think I had progressed more by 38 weeks with Victor. So we're pretty much planning on Friday, April 10 as Erick's birthday. In the meantime, I'm supposed to bedrest as much as I can without losing my mind (due to what is now being considered gestational hypertension). I'm having contractions but they aren't escalating at all. Dr. T thinks there's a reasonable chance that I'll go into labor on my own but I don't. But a week from now, Erick will be here so I can suck it up until then!
So if we have a completely routine labor and delivery, that means Erick & I will be coming home on Easter. Puts a little bit of a damper on trying to have a full-blown family wing ding/egg hunt but I guess we'll figure it out and may even just postpone Humphrey Easter for a week. And t-storms threaten our egg hunt plans tomorrow (as well as the possibility of a hard freeze and snow!) too. So we're taking solace in knowing that Victor has his Easter party and egg hunt at school on Wednesday, right before he goes on spring break. Quite certain he'll enjoy that immensely, mainly due to his beloved "Nessa".
3/31/2009 9:56:15 AM The good news for the day is that Victor got a good night of sleep. I think the Dimetapp helped but I believe that the main thing was that he's finally caught on that he's better off on his tummy or side while he's got this cough. I guess it probably is a cold.
The not as good news is that I just got home from my appointment and I'm only at 3 centimeters and 50% effaced. I had my hopes up due to the contractions and vomiting. But no. The umbilical dopplers and fluid levels looked great today too. That's really a wonderful thing because it means that Erick's not distressed but it totally blew any shot of making a case for inducing at 38 weeks.
So I'm on track to get induced at 39. Good Friday. And really, I won't be a bit surprised if we make it until then. I guess cerclage babies really are just stubborn. After fighting so hard to keep them in there, they're not very willing to change course on someone else's whim apparently. It's not that much longer to wait but I'm just so uncomfortable and tired. And bedresting with a 3 year old around is quite laughable.
3/30/2009 8:05:47 PM Well, the doctor said to give Victor Dimetapp at bedtime and then again during the middle of the night "if he wakes up" (you mean WHEN?!?!?!). We are currently trying to determine if Victor is just one of those kids that gets hyper instead of drowsy on Dimetapp. Honestly, he hasn't taken it for so long that I can't remember. He does seem to be quieting down but it was not all that long ago that he was doing frenetic gymnastics on his bed while laughing maniacally. And really, I've just accepted that I won't get more than a few hours of sleep until the hospital and its wonderful, wonderful drugs. I'll cherish those few nights much as I'll be pining for my little maniac.
That maniac finally got his own computer set up tonight, thanks to Daddy. He's pretty into it and hopefully he'll enjoy a new big boy diversion from Erick's tyranny. Here's Victor as a young "programmer animalist":
And better late than never, here's a really quick montage of Victor with Jack & Bernie at the park last week:
3/30/2009 10:22:04 AM Nothing happening here. Except that Victor is sick. Poor little guy does great during the day and is completely himself but at night, he keeps having coughing fits that greatly interfere with his (and everyone else's) sleep. I really want to think it's just allergies and normally we'd just ride this out for a few more days, but with Erick set to arrive any time now, I don't want to let it slide. Plus, I don't want to send him to school with some under-the-radar malady (or send him to school in a vulnerable immune state). So we're not very patiently waiting on a call back from the nurses at Dr. L's.
No news on the Erick front. There is subtle progress, I suppose. I could see him coming on his own this week but I'm leaning more toward him being induced, both in matter of preference and likelihood. Hoping that Dr. T will be willing to make that happen, maybe Friday. I'm prepared to cry for sympathy if necessary.
3/28/2009 10:56:34 AM Well, cerclage is out. The removal hurt worse this time but I felt immediately better afterwards, like better than I've felt in many, many weeks. Dilated to 2 immediately (went to 3 with Victor and he wasn't nearly as low as Erick is!) and have had very few contractions whatsoever. So yep, we got sent home from the hospital after a very routine non-stress test. Labor does not feel imminent to me.
Blood pressure is still a concern so I'm on "almost bedrest" until Tuesday's appointment and I have to do kick counts 3 times per day now to make sure that Erick's activity isn't decreasing. Yeah, because stressing about that really, really helps my blood pressure! I'll definitely be induced at least by 39 weeks and possibly more like at 38. I'd get induced today if they'd let me.
I'm still hopeful that maybe this will happen on its own soon but it's not like I can start speed walking around when I'm supposed to be on bedrest. Oh, and there's also the minor detail of the snow in the forecast today. What's up with that!?!?!?!?
3/27/2009 8:28:15 AM Erick is full term and I feel like he's coming this weekend. Or maybe I just hope he's coming this weekend. He is very uncomfortably low and I can't sleep anymore. We'll see this afternoon!
3/26/2009 8:34:13 AM Happy Birthday to James Thomas Humphrey! He was born on this day five years ago at 5:38. Since he was born a whole 27 hours after his brother Ro, we spent most of his birthday trying to rally and it broke our hearts when it didn't work. But JT came into the world with such a sense of composure and calm that we could only feel that he knew what he was doing and that all would be right. We've always thought of him as the most pragmatic member of our family (making his name all the more appropriate). I think of that part of his spirit often when I'm trying to hold it all together and I'm thankful that I got to see that in him during his very short life.
Thinking of you today and always, James T. And thank you.
3/25/2009 4:42:57 AM Five years ago today our first son, Ronan Woods Humphrey, was born. So much has happened in those five years and it's surreal to even think that we're about to have our fourth son. But in so many ways, it feels like we were just kissing Ro goodbye and memorizing his sweet face to carry it in our hearts forever. Our hearts have healed immensely, mainly due to the joy and laughter that his brother Victor has brought into our lives, but I miss him a lot. And especially today. I want today to always be his day and his day alone and I'm pretty certain it will stay that way.
I think a visit to the twins' spot will be waiting until a more logistically appropriate time but I do take comfort in knowing that we're back in IL with them and I'm so glad that we brought them here when we did. So for today, we'll just forge ahead toward at least Friday, with Ronan foremost in our thoughts. That will be especially true at 2:17, the time when we first heard his little voice.
Happy Birthday Ronan. It's your day.
3/23/2009 3:51:13 PM Wow! It came as a surprise to all of us but I'm pleased to announce that........................
Victor rode the bus home for the first time today. (Yeah, sorry. Just felt like things were getting stale around here.). We thought he wouldn't be assigned a bus until late this week or early next but he got to ride it home today. He was not especially pleased with the experience thus far. Hopefully tomorrow he'll realize that they are taking him home to Mommy & Daddy. I think he just got a little freaked that it was such a long ride (30+ minutes) when I usually have him home in 5 minutes flat. As perturbed as he seemed upon getting off the bus, he did thank the driver and the monitor all on his own and even said "seeya tomorrow!". Then he came inside, had a glass of water and then proceeded to jibber jabber all about school and everyone there (he's really getting the greeting and goodbye thing down!).
We've been speculating a lot lately about who and what Erick might look like when we meet him (soon!) and Gaga recently brought me some baby/kid pictures of myself to scan. Just had to share a few, if nothing else, to prove that Victor really does resemble me in some ways (still favors Daddy more though, of course). Here are the two truly quintessential Little Dawn shots that Gaga has always had on display:
See, he looks a little like me. Also, SEE, I really do kinda have naturally red hair. Kinda. ;) And speaking of Gaga and hair, here are some shots of me hanging out with her and her spectacularly 70s hair:
She's still that fun to hang out with these days, if not more so. And she's still that spry. Just ask Victor.
I think this one is slightly Victoresque:
This one is dorky beyond dorky:
(Yes, I've been this tall since then.)
And these two embody the free-spirited young woman of the late 70s image that I was apparently going for:
But Erick will probably look exactly like this:
3/22/2009 2:47:09 PM We've had a nice weekend. Perhaps our last as a family of 3. We got a lot done though and still managed to enjoy a little bit of fun, particularly an overindulgent crab leg dinner last night. (I'm lucky I didn't go into labor or else I would have been throwing up everywhere). Victor has spent most of today being Daddy's faithful minion for trips to both Home Depot and Lowe's. Right now he's watching Daddy out the window. Best to keep him away from Daddy's pickaxing, after all.
For Ronan & James Thomas's tree planting this year, we're just replacing an arborvitae that was lost over the winter. We don't yet know enough about our yard and what it could really use to intelligently orchestrate a new planting right now. But again, it's the act of doing a planting anyway. I do fear that this might be the extent of our birthday celebrations for the boys this week. I had so wanted to get up to Gaga's to visit "the ampitheater" (which is the spot where their ashes were scattered) but I'm on the fence about both traveling that far and trudging through tall grass on potentially damp ground. We're playing that one by ear.
It kinda breaks my heart to not be there on one of their days now that it's finally geographically feasible but I suppose it could wait until Easter or Memorial Day and still be meaningful. I just already feel weird enough about sitting out March of Dimes fundraising and walking this year (we WILL be back next year though). Extenuating circumstances though.
I hope that Victor is OK for school tomorrow and I'm reasonably optimistic that he will be. He has had some major tummy issues over the past 4 days or so and has been on a applesauce, green bean and roll diet today as a result. I know he'll be crushed if he's not school-ready tomorrow but so far, so good today. I'm really hoping that he won't need to miss any school once Erick comes too. That all depends on the timing, etc., but we can probably make it all work through the trinity of authorized "guardians": Mimi, Gaga & Auntie Heav. And he can start taking the bus home probably by a week from tomorrow. That will help SO much! Hopefully he'll like it as much as we think he probably will.
3/20/2009 3:49:19 PM 36 weeks under our belts! That means that now, barring any extenuating circumstances, we get to deliver just 5 minutes away, even if I go into labor before next Friday. I'm pretty sure we'll make it to next Friday though. I'm even thinking I'll probably sleep at home that night. I need to pack my bag soon in case though!
3/18/2009 2:24:56 PM Generally good report at the doc's yesterday. The good news is that I knocked everything out in one day - ultrasound, NST and regular appointment! Good reports all around though. Well, you know, except that my blood pressure is still always on the borderline, my feet are puffing up more and more and my cervix has shortened. Those are all pretty much to be expected though. I don't even have to go back again this week which is very nice. Maybe I can rest a little during the next few days (particularly tomorrow while James is far away in Peoria and Heather is my stand-in co-parent/birth partner). Plan is still to remove cerclage next Friday, the 27th. Then I'll go to the hospital for another NST so I'll already be there if I go into labor right away. Which, of course, means that I'll go into the next week.
Victor's having a great week at school. His SLP just gave me a pretty stellar report when I saw her this afternoon. He seems entirely undaunted by the lack of private therapy. I'm so, so thankful for that. Pottying is backsliding a little bit. We're not enforcing a schedule as much as we should since we're entirely preoccupied with this week's car purchase/funeral trip/trying not to go into labor situation. We just keep reminding ourselves that we haven't been at the potty training for all that long and we're going to have to expect some regression soon anyway. At least we know that he can and will get it!
Weather here is fabulous right now. I'd love to let Victor get outside more but I'm just not really up to the task of policing his activities out there. And trust me, he knows just how very slow I am and the possibilities for adventure that presents. He's being a pretty darned good boy about agreeing to play inside more than he'd prefer. Thank goodness for the sunroom (aka Trike Town).
3/15/2009 12:16:03 PM Sleeping's back on track. Victor's going to sleep by himself and staying in bed for 11-12 hours. The only drawback is that we've had a few pee leak situations in the past week. And you know, it's a whole lot harder to strip a queen-size bed with bedrails than it is to strip a crib. It usually seems worth the sleep though. Usually. At any rate, we're all a lot more rested than we were a week ago. This is a good thing.
My lab work last week turned out to bring good results. Doesn't sound like preeclampsia at all, actually. Probably just chronic hypertension and I'm fairly confident that it will improve once I'm mobile again. With my genetic propensity for high blood pressure, I just can't be sedentary unless I want to take BP meds and I don't want to take BP meds. So there's something to kick my butt into gear post-delivery recovery. At least it will be a nice time of year for strolls around the neighborhood!
We got the news yesterday that James' dear Great Aunt Ilo has passed away. This was not unexpected and she lived a very long and full life but there's still always that "wish we could have seen her one more time" feeling. She was such an original character and will be very much missed. I don't know if I'll feel right playing Rummikub without her. I'm especially saddened that I won't be able to make the trip to Peoria but it's just too risky for me at this point. I hate to miss it though. Sounds like James will make a day trip of it. That means I'll be doing everything in my power not to have Erick that day without James here. No small feat when on my own with Wild Boy. But we'll get by.
I forgot to add these pics this week. Here are a few shots of Victor en route to and at the symphony last Sunday:
(Made the mistake of letting him have a sucker on the way. Then the "keep him quiet" sucker at the symphony didn't work.)
OK. Lots to do today. And no one's busier than poor James!
3/11/2009 3:21:26 PM Victor slept for 12 hours last night. As in straight through. It was pure bliss. All thanks go to James for assuming responsibility for Operation Victor Goes to Sleep By Himself. Really only took about 20 minutes. Not bad. I don't know if we should dare to hope for a repeat of that tonight but there is much more hope than before.
3/10/2009 12:41:19 PM Erick did well with the non-stress test over at the hospital today. I was worried that he might be feeling lethargic but he always manages to get active when any kind of monitor is on him. He really looked like he was trying to escape! I'm glad he's tolerating everything well so far though. No word on the lab work yet. Hopefully that will be fine and we can keep cruising for 37 weeks and cerclage removal. At any rate, I'll be getting weekly NSTs and growth scans until he gets here.
The sleep battles rage on with last night being probably the worst yet. He was awake from 2:00 until after 5:00. The funniest part was Victor climbing into our bed around 2:00, looking James in the eye with a big smile and saying "Get up please!". Luckily we were able to enjoy such a major communication moment in spite of what was transpiring. So yeah, basically, Victor is waking up when his diaper gets really wet and he doesn't like it. Once he's awake, he realizes "Hey wait, Mommy tucked me and snuggled with me.......why isn't she still here?!?!?!?" and he comes in to get one of us to sleep with him.
We don't really want to make a habit of doing this but the worst part is that even when we do (in the interest of achieving some bare minimum of sleep), it takes him an hour and a half to 2 or so hours to actually go back to sleep. He ended up sleeping in until 10:30 this morning once he got back to sleep. So we've got some tough love nights ahead of us. And that's before we even throw Erick into the mix!
3/9/2009 9:03:25 PM Had a good ultrasound today. Cervix had shortened to 2 but that's pretty much par for the course. I go back and forth between thinking we've got 37 in the bag and thinking this is going to be a harrowing few more weeks. That's because I feel just completely awful. Dizzy, pukey, tired and sore. Probably all normal but worrisome in the moment. And the extreme fatigue both makes it all actually worse and magnifies it in my own mind. Victor has taken to getting up around 4:00 recently. It's killing me. Because basically, that's right about when I finally feel comfy enough to get a solid block of sleep without bathroom trips or constant repositioning. So I'm averaging about 3-4 hours of sleep lately. So not cool. We think it's potty-related. It's certainly not malicious but it needs to stop.
But yeah, the ultrasound? Good. Growth is right on. Erick's estimated at 5 pounds and 3 ounces today. That's just barely smaller than Victor was at 34 weeks. So he ought to be on track to get well over 6 pounds by the time the cerclage comes out. He has a giant head (measured 36 1/2 weeks) just like Victor. The only somewhat discouraging news was that he has turned so that his back is now against my back. Still totally doable for delivery but likely a harder labor than if he were still looking at my back. James has already been given explicit directions that I'd like the epidural from the get-go this time, especially if I get induced again. I've got no need to be a hero this time. I'd rather have some energy to enjoy him once he's here!
My blood pressure is a total crapshoot. Got a great reading first thing this morning (and I was worried because I was so dizzy when I got up) but a horrific reading tonight. I have check-ups tomorrow and on Friday to keep an eye on that situation. And I'll probably end up getting monitored at the hospital in the next few days. Honestly, I'm looking forward to doing that because I'm starting to second guess myself a lot (again, fatigue can't be helping that). I'm all about better safe than sorry.
Victor had a great day at school and was begging to go there 3 1/2 hours before his session begins. I think he kinda likes it. I continue to be proud/impressed with how he goes right into his classroom and gets down to the routine immediately. Makes me feel like we've done a lot right with him at home to prepare him for these moments and also makes me feel like he's gotten a whole lot out of his therapy as far as being able to focus and stay with tasks. I just think he's the smartest, most polite and lovely child ever. And I can't even believe that he's this big boy doing big boy stuff when I feel like I was just counting the days until I got to meet him. And even at 4:00 a.m., he melts my heart, although I might be wanting to weep into my pillow in frustration (and sometimes do so).
3/6/2009 2:19:24 PM There's been a lot going on but I've had very little energy to update. I go to the OB twice a week now because my blood pressure continues to be slightly worrisome. Not to the point that we'll have to induce early (hopefully) but to the point that we're having to watch it closely. Next week I'll get a growth ultrasound so that we can make sure Erick's ready in case he needs to come pre-37 weeks and I'll probably have to go to L&D to get monitored too, just to make sure he's tolerating the few contractions I'm having. And I'll also have bloodwork while I'm there to rule out preeclampsia, just to be on the safe side. I'm still measuring a week ahead so we're all quite confident that his growth is unaffected by my blood pressure situation. So we're shooting for 3 more weeks so that he'll be full term and won't have to go over to St. Louis. I don't know if we're going to make it to diamond birthstone (April). And I'm growing to accept that Erick might be born in the same month as Ronan & James Thomas.
As for Victor, he's had an outstanding week. As violently angry as we are about his private therapy being completely cut off (though as of today, we have slightly more hope about insurance rectifying this), he's been dealing so well with transitions lately. He's continuing to enjoy his weekly Friday playdates with his Gaga (she generously comes to babysit while I go to the doctor each Friday). He's thriving at school and I could not be prouder of how eager he is to please by doing all that is asked of him. When I drop him off now, it's just "Bye Mommy. Seeyouwato!" and right down to business. And the pottying is going splendidly. He pees on the potty probably 5 or 6 times per day now and we generally only have 1 wet Pull-Up to change per day. He will not yet do it at school though but that's no biggie. He'll get more comfortable with that. Most importantly, he's just pretty darned pleased with life and is being so affectionate and usually reasonable (with exceptions, of course). I'm savoring this because I know that he might get a bit out of sorts before long.
The boys are off to the park to enjoy this gorgeous afternoon and I'm going to follow medical advice and get the heck off my feet. Hoping to do a lot of that this weekend. The next 3 weeks will go by soon enough!
Oh, and here's a montage of the park action (added much later):
Thanks for taking all of the pics, James. I got to rest but still experience Victor's glee about being outside. Bliss all around.
3/3/2009 3:53:40 PM [James here] Just wanted to follow up and say that last night we had more whizzing during teeth brushing but this time he made his way over to the toilet before the cabinet was soiled. Also, he just did some more with his last request to "go potty". The funny thing is that if I ask him to "go pee" he says "All done with pee." but if I make the sound effect of it happening, he will oblige. Let's hear it for "qwhisszz!"
3/2/2009 8:41:13 AM [James here] Good news! Blood pressure is in the normal range on Monday morning. Thanks so much to Debbie for making a house call and taking a professional BP measurement.
In other news, last night we had our first "peeing" in the "potty". I had him brushing his teeth in the nude and all of the running water was too much for him to take. He started doing the little crossed legs dance and before you know it he was spraying down the front of the sink. I quickly whisked him over to the toilet and convinced him to sit down. With some encouragement, he forced out a little more into the potty. Yay! I tried to replicate the success this morning and even got as far as the crossed legs dance, but every time I took him over and sat him down, he had nothing to give. Eventually, he said "All done with peeing." Oh well, I should have known it wouldn't be that easy.
2/27/2009 10:31:22 PM An update's in order. Erick first? The good news is that there was no change in cervical length for the 3rd week in a row. That's a pretty strong indicator that the meds are controlling the contractions. And trust me, with my strange pain tolerance for preterm labor, I don't trust myself to know without some measurement backing it up. So that is good. Making it to term looks completely doable.
What's not good? Why, my blood pressure, of course. Couldn't get all the way through a pregnancy without a blood pressure scare. It was bad today. Really, really very bad. And I haven't been THAT stressed. And I'm already on blood pressure meds for the preterm labor. So it's disconcerting. I'm supposed to rest as much as humanly possible this weekend and I get re-checked early next week. I'm also planning to drink ridiculous amounts of water (which would be advisable anyway since Victor seems to have shared his germs with me). Also, I will confess that I got a little carried away with the caffeine this past week. That couldn't have helped. So that monkey will be removed from my back ASAP.
Really hoping to turn that around. The last thing we need is to have to deliver preterm because of preeclampsia when my cervix is finally behaving again. As for Erick himself, he seems good. And big. Still measuring right about a week ahead. I'm seeing him drag a foot along the left side of my belly a lot these days and he's also still doing a lot of rump shaking. So much more of a mover than V was. I hope that doesn't mean that he won't be the fantastically sound sleeper that V was.
Yeah, so V. He's had a great week. Antibiotics really kicked in and he's officially the healthiest member of the household (barring Pru). School went very well this week. He seems to like his teacher, aide and classmate quite well and continues to be happy to head out for the afternoon. No more crying at dropoff either. He gets a slightly concerned look but he always bravely says "See you in wittobit". There will be a few new classmates this coming week and that will include a few more boys. This is good because I think he needs practice at sharing/playing/co-existing with other boys. He always looks a bit dazed when I pick him up after school but we suspect that he is just mentally tired by that point. Once we're home, he's been playing happily and in a much more focused and exploratory fashion. Far less wandering and what we call "monkooning" (monkey/raccoon-like meaningless scavenging). So we're pleased to say the least.
He's also going to sleep much more quickly at night after he's had school and is sleeping a good 11 hours straight consistently (sometimes, like today, even more!). James had a super busy work week and was always downstairs in the office well before sunrise so Victor was my alarm clock all week. He continues to do well with his big boy bed. When he wakes up, he just climbs out, opens his door and scurries into our bedroom to climb into bed with me. He'll usually snuggle there with me for a good half hour. I'm really cherishing having that special time together and I hope that we'll still be able to do that once Erick arrives. I really want Victor to always feel like there's room for him to get his cuddles too, even though Erick will occupy a lot of time and space with breastfeeding. I'm trying to lay that groundwork. There's plenty of Mommy to go around. I think.
Also, the heartburn is getting bad. As in, tonight. I keep wondering how weird it would be to go to Walgreen's in my pajamas and snowboots. I long for Zantac.
2/20/2009 8:00:13 PM At long last, here's a whole bunch of pictures in the new house. So many, in fact, that I took the easy way out and montaged them:
2/19/2009 5:34:42 PM Victor survived his first week of school (he doesn't go on Fridays). Still a few whimpers about saying goodbye but he's always happy about being there and settles right in to the routine. Today he even said goodbye to his friend Vanessa and gave her a hug as he left. I think he will be quite happy with school, especially since his teacher and aide will both be back on Monday and they'll probably hit the ground running.
I took him to see Dr. Lindsey this morning because he's had congestion for more than a month and it seems to be affecting his sleep more and more (he's waking up WAY too early). And sure enough, he's got another sinus infection. He's on 20 days of Amoxicillin which ought to be lots of fun based on the first dose (administered in the car at school right before he went in). Hopefully he'll have the good sense to know that it will make him feel better.
All of those hot dogs he's been eating lately (I know, I know......but it's a major sensory breakthrough so we're indulging it) have packed a little weight on the boy too. He's finally over the 35 pound mark!
Oh yeah, and here are a few pics James snapped of Victor on his first day at school:
(He really was happy at school. He just resented the fuss. That's my boy!)
2/18/2009 7:03:45 PM OK, I must warn you that I am Miss Crankypants right now. I wish I could bubble with enthusiasm about school but so far the experience has been a slight bit tainted. I have high hopes, of course, but right now it's not all sunshine and roses. Victor's teacher and aide have both been out for the first two days. Illness and jury duty. Neither of which I hold against them, obviously. And the subs have been very nice and seem very able. But I just want Victor to be able to get into the regular classroom routine with the people that are specially trained to work with kids like him. Oh, and that's the other thing. Kids like him. The "little girl" in his class with him actually seems to be considerably older and more communicative than he is. Again, nothing against her. She seems to be sweet as can be. I just don't know how much he'll get out of interacting with her right now. But new kids are coming soon. And the school? It's great. Really, it is. It will get better.
Yesterday we had a HUGE dark cloud hanging over us all day as we got a call in the morning from the clinic where V goes to OT and speech. All of our claims since early December have been denied and they won't hold our place on their schedule unless and until it is rectified. Based on James's conversations with the insurance company, it sounds unlikely that it will be rectified any time soon. We're probably going to have to go through actually appealing all of these denied claims. Because yeah, we've got tons of time to devote to that right now. The problem seems to stem from the fact that Victor's diagnosis so far has been PDD (pervasive developmental disorder) and they say that's not autism and thus not covered. Not so. But therein lies all of the vocab mumbo jumbo. I feel the lawyer in me itching to come out and crack some skulls. And it just might.
I know we've been very lucky to have a year and a half of therapy covered without any major hindrances but I cannot help but be completely livid that such an important lifeline is being yanked from my sweet boy right before the most drastic life-changing event of his life. And I know it has everything to do with our current economy but there are some sacrifices I don't believe families should have to make. So I'm mad. Really, really mad. I have a feeling we'll have to call in a neurologist and that could take 4-6 weeks and it just so happens that something else is going on in about 6 weeks. Something pretty big. I'm just thankful that he was able to start school this week so that he has some form of therapy ongoing right now, even if I know it won't be necessarily sufficient for his needs.
On the bright side, Victor seems genuinely happy about school. He's liked everyone he's worked with from what I can tell and he has cried very, very little at dropoff. When I took him this morning, he grabbed his backpack and start running for the door as soon as we got out of the car. And he showed ME how to get to his classroom! He's already been triking better than he ever has at home (at least according to reports) and is showing interest in the bathroom there. Good stuff. And I know it will only get better the more he's around other kids.
But since there's always a but, here's the BUT. When I picked him up today, his cheek looked a little rashy. Not to the point of hivey but definitely rashy. He's been doing lots of nervous hand gnawing lately and we're used to a little rashiness on his chin from that. This was up near his eye and on his upper cheek. The sub said that he'd been slobbering on his hand and then had rubbed at that area. As the night has gone on, this area has looked a lot more like a histimine-triggered incident (it's slightly raised and that eye is watery). I think he was rubbing at the area BECAUSE it was already irritated by something. And I fear that the something might be peanut/PB residue or something somehow related. So I think we need to more greatly emphasize how remote the exposure can be for him to possibly react. We're thinking there was probably residue on a toy or something. Have I mentioned how much I wish preschools would just go peanut-free? I'd sure sleep better at night.
Well, at least I would if I wasn't getting up 5 times a night to go to the bathroom.
2/14/2009 2:15:30 PM This week shaped up well. We had Victor's school IEP meeting on Wednesday and it went very well. He was pretty patient throughout the 2 hour meeting while still managing to demonstrate for everyone involved just how serious we are when we say "flight risk". He tried to bust out of the room about 15 times, I'd say. But hey, it was boring for him! We visited his classroom briefly and he didn't seem to want to get out of that room. That's a good sign.
He'll start on Tuesday, the 17th and for the first week it will just be Victor and a little girl in the class. It's a room that just opened up because the class we thought he'd be in filled up suddenly (I guess a lot of kids turned 3 in the past few months!). All three of us are pretty excited about the prospect of him going back and while it will be hard to send him off to school again - especially in light of the safety issues with the peanut allergy and the urge to escape - it's going to be good for all of us. We were so impressed with everyone that he's going to work with and more than anything, we're looking forward to knowing that he's being challenged and stimulated appropriately for a good portion of each day. That and it will be wonderful for me to have 2 hours totally off my feet every afternoon for the next 6-8 weeks. (After that, I'll never get to rest again!).
And speaking of Erick's impending arrival, I had a good appointment yesterday. Cervix still shortened but only from 2.3 to 2.2. That's a substantial improvement over the previous 3 or 4 weeks. And that measurement is not even "that bad" for 31 weeks, really. It could be better but it really feels like things are more under control now with the meds and reduced activity. Once again, the ultrasound tech tried to get me a shot of Easy E's face but no such luck. He is SO VERY head down right now and it would seem that he's going to stay that way. And he's facing my spine. Not good for ultrasound pics but ideal for labor when the time comes. So we just got a few leg/foot shots. I'm finding it very ironic that this pregnancy has been far more "complicated" than with Victor and yet we've gotten a pathetic fraction of the ultrasound pics compared to with Victor. I don't think we're really going to see Erick's face until April (or maybe very late March, but hopefully April).
We're staying in tonight for V Day and probably getting pizza. I think we went out more in Austin! I'm so tired that staying home doesn't feel like a sacrifice at all though. More like a blessing. I'm just so exhausted all of a sudden. I think we had a growth spurt.
2/10/2009 9:04:45 AM [James here] A milestone to note: On the first day we were moving (Saturday the 31st of January), PopPaw broke out the sled he had purchased for Victor and gave him his first sled ride. The sled was orange and formula one racing inspired with a PopPaw modified thermal seat cushion. Victor was a bit worried at first, but once we got some speed going in a figure 8 in the front yard, he just couldn't help but grin. Somehow, he never took a tumble, so overall, I think he was quite pleased with the experience.
2/6/2009 9:40:03 PM Well, here's an update to say that I don't have much of an update. Days are flying by and we're getting more and more settled but we haven't really gone anywhere and done anything exciting. That's not likely to change any time soon either, really. The extent of my travels with Victor are pretty much limited to music class and therapy at this point. Cervix shortened yet again and while I'm not put on full-blown bedrest right now, I've been instructed to "do even less". Which is difficult with a 3 1/2 year old. My meds have also been increased to try to better stave off contractions.
We had hoped that Victor would be in school sometime early next week but we are ending up having to go through a meeting to update his plan, etc., before he can start. I'm satisfied that they're doing their best to get him started ASAP and everyone we've talked to thus far has been uber professional and helpful and definitely motivated to learn as much about Victor's needs prior to next week's meeting. Part of the delay is the fairly substantial detail of needing to add occupational and physical therapy to his plan. He didn't receive those services in Austin because they weren't offered in-district there. And not only do we feel like he still needs some component of OT/PT, he absolutely loves that kind of work/programming. The boy is a huge fan of the obstacle courses that are central to the sensory diet approach and it would undoubtedly help him warm to school to include that kind of therapy.
As an attempted bonus during my cervix check today (maybe as consolation for 2.3 measurement), the ultrasound tech tried to get me a quick glimpse of Erick. He was in a ball and still quite head down. He showed us the back of his head, his feet and his testicles. Not exactly what I had in mind but it was good to see that there really is a healthy little human in there, nonetheless. Dr. T said that he'll probably order an anatomy scan for my ultrasound at 32 weeks. So hopefully we'll see his face then! And while I'm obviously anxious to meet him in person, I'm insisting that he stay put for at least 6 more weeks and preferably more like 7-8. Victor will have to get used to me parking myself in a chair during music class!
2/2/2009 11:35:09 PM Well, Victor loves the house now. And why not? He's got 3 floors of territory to prowl around in. We've got things adequately secured enough that we can kinda sorta let him go loose without complete supervision. I'm still struggling with that but I'm trying to adjust because I need to be resting as much as humanly possible. Cervix shortened even more last week and I'm treading dangerously close to the bedrest zone.
We had lots of generous help this past weekend with the move and really made some good progress considering that this is only our 4th night in the house. Today Heather did my china cabinet for me and it was amazing how much it did for my mental well-being. Just seeing my house starting to look my house really helped buoy my spirits. I sat and just stared at it for a little while tonight.
What I also did tonight was intervene in Victor's ongoing bedtime struggles. The first two nights in the big boy bed went absolutely wonderfully. He was exhausted at bedtime and just snuggled right in and went to sleep. But yesterday and today both, he fell asleep during the afternoon and then fought sleeping at bedtime, to the point of involving pajama removal and hurling himself off his rather tall bed. He's sleeping peacefully now and looks incredibly adorable in his big comfy bed with his fluffy bedding. I've said it before and I'll say it many hundred more times.........NAPPING IS THE ENEMY. Truly.
1/29/2009 6:43:29 PM We closed on the house and we're in the process of starting to move in. Today, Victor's bedroom furniture got delivered and I unpacked his clothes and tried to make his room feel like his room. He was fairly impressed. I didn't manage to get the bed rails put together yet though so that will be a major hurdle tomorrow.
We're really exhausted. The locksmith today was a bust so we'll have to wait until at least tomorrow to be able to get really secured enough to sleep there. Too many doors Victor can access right now, most notably the front door to the house. So hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to thwart our little flight risk enough to attempt our first night there.
Meanwhile, Victor's sick with a cold and is pretty crabby about it, only because it's so greatly interfering with his sleep. We skipped therapy today as a result and it sure felt like we paid the price. Up in the air about music tomorrow. I know he'd welcome the familiar diversion but I think he's probably a bit too germy for it. All I know is that I'm taking the bulk of the toys to the house tomorrow. He needs something to entertain himself with besides the toilets and locks!
1/24/2009 11:33:16 PM Classic. Just mentioning that Victor has not been napping (which we really do prefer at this point, for ease of bedtime administration) made him, of course, take a nap today. He was getting increasingly wild this afternoon, fed up I'm sure with our attention to packing, rather than to his whims. I finally made him sit on the couch with me and I rubbed his back to get him to stay put for a while (just like his Daddy, he'll never pass such a thing up). And he relaxed so much that he was passed out on my lap within 10 minutes:
Gotta cherish these moments. Soon he'll be mad at me for turning his whole world upside down.
1/24/2009 11:04:17 AM Wow, we've had a few days in a row of Victor resisting the urge to nap in the car, even during those sunny mid-late afternoon hours. It's made him pretty darned tired by dinnertime though, as evidenced by this picture of him last night:
That was after James removed him from his chair before he could just pass out onto the floor.
Earlier in the day, he assisted with some packing, of course. I keep telling him that we don't need to pack him up until Thursday or Friday but he was apparently ready to just get loaded up and make the trip yesterday:
We'll probably transport him in his carseat, much as he'd prefer the box.
1/23/2009 4:15:42 PM Kind of an awesome day here. First and foremost, Nate (Nathan Walter) Nordmeyer made his debut at 7 and 14 and 19 1/2 inches. His parents were lightning fast about putting a pic up on Facebook. And yeah, he's really darned cute, as expected. Many congrats to Leener (that's Eileen if it's not obvious by this point), Geoff & Claire! We cannot wait to meet Nate in person sometime, somehow. I guess this is the bad part about having our babies so close together, eh Leener?
I had lots of good news at my OB appointment today as well. My cervix is holding steady at 3.3 this week. That's still a good measurement and the main thing is that it hasn't continued to shorten. Yes, we could have hoped for it to lengthen a bit more again (it does happen) but I'm just happy that it stayed put. The Procardia has definitely lessened the few contractions I was having so obviously I'll be on it until I'm full term. Oh, and no dilation at all which is reassuring. Also, I passed my glucose tolerance test with flying colors (I think it was the exact same number as last time, actually) and I'm not anemic this time. I was both other times.
The week has ended well for Victor too. As a special treat, Gaga came along with us on our St. Louis road trip yesterday since there was an ultrasound at the hospital involved in our plans. Victor had a really good therapy day and I got some really good, unexpected cumulative feedback from his SLP about how much improvement he's made. It's like she knew how much I've been floundering these past few weeks. He really has made tremendous progress with his eye contact, his pronunciations and in forming much longer phrases. It's easy to get hung up on the really frustrating day-to-day things though, like not understanding that questions have answers (he'll often just parrot back what we ask). It's coming though. With time it's coming and I believe that school will help so much.
Packing is slow going. James has had a really busy week and I'm limited by both my activity restrictions and by Victor's desire to investigate every single thing I put in a box. Today he suddenly wanted to read every book on his shelf (as I was packing said shelf). He's been so burned out on his books lately that I was actually happy to see it though. Maybe he'll take a new interest in his books when they're in a new room! I'm sure we'll manage to get the bulk of our household moved next weekend as planned but it's kind of hard to imagine it right now as I look around the house. And while I am incredibly anxious to get into more modern digs ASAP, I know that it will be sad to spend the last night here in the house. We'll definitely have to have chocolate sundaes a la Grandpa on the last night.
1/21/2009 11:30:08 PM Hey, here's an idea! How about a fun update for a change? For starters, here are a few forgotten pics I found on the camera tonight. These are from our plumbing emergency a few weeks ago. Victor really wanted to help Daddy:
I just thought those were sweet.
We have actually gotten out for some fun events recently. Thank goodness because the cabin fever has been working all 3 of us over. On Sunday, we went to the St. Louis Symphony with Mimi for another of the family concerts (we have season tix). The theme was "orchestral magic" and I was just certain that Victor would love The Sorcerer's Apprentice the most (as if he would somehow know it was Micky Mouse related) but I think that it was Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique that he was most impressed with. He always surprises me with which piece he prefers. No pics from that concert because I didn't want to get kicked out of Powell.
Tonight we went to see Sesame Street Live's production of "Elmo's Green Thumb". Last year we saw "Elmo Grows Up" in Austin and, while he definitely enjoyed it last year, this year his appreciation was on a whole other level. James and I most enjoyed seeing Victor applauding after each song. He likes applauding at the symphony but there just aren't as many opportunities to do it! He was really dancing to the songs a lot this year too, especially the hip hop number featuring the ground beetles. James and I both liked that song best as well. What is the world coming to?
We did, of course, get pics of Victor and his night out with the SS gang. Here's a quick montage of them:
And now I must go to bed because we have to be back in St. Louis in about 9 hours!
1/19/2009 8:41:47 PM [James here] Over the past week, we've entered a new phase with Victor. He's started to assert himself more, and, frankly it's a little scary. At the same time he has also begun to display more and more autistic idiosynchrasies - a lot more arm flapping, spinning, flipping his ears. It's not enjoyable watching this. He's also having a harder time completing tasks. For example, he used to be pretty good about the task of feeding the kitty. That involved getting the food out of the cabinet, dragging it over to the food dish, opening it, scooping, pouring, dragging it back and putting it away. Now, he drags everything out to the point that he forgets what he is doing. The only thing that is improving is his communication. He now understands that if he really wants something, he should carefully pronounce a sentence such as "Daddy, I want 'yellow' please." ('yellow' is his term for the Meet The Colors DVD). And his diction is getting better.
What's happening now is that he is refusing to take simple orders like, "Time to close the refrigerator." He will ignore you and if you try to close it, he gets very angry. I've had to start instituting "Timeouts" where I take him to his crib and count to 60. I have to hold him in, and if I don't count, it's just me restraining him and him crying and trying to hit me for minutes on end. When I count, once I get to around 30, he quiets down. Bedtime is the worst right now. He's also gone back to taking off his sleepsack, pajamas and diaper if left alone in his crib. He has decided that he doesn't like any of the routine that we've done for the past year. He basically doesn't want to go to sleep, so we constantly have to keep him from leaving the room during the animal/story time. Then, Dawn has had to physically place him in bed while he laugh/cries maniacally - it's not a pleasant or healthy sounding laugh. Once he does go to sleep, he does seem to stay asleep.
I don't mind the assertiveness, and I think I understand that it's a pretty typical phase (albeit usually a little earlier in development), but it's the accompanying strangeness that both of us could do without.
[Dawn's unsolicited input] I blame the therapeutic listening protocol and the stress of preparing for the move (and resulting physical upheaval in the house) and cabin fever and the realization that Mommy is changing rapidly and he doesn't know why. I blame these things because I need to have a reason for this phase and I need to believe it's temporary. Otherwise, I'm not really able to function.
1/16/2009 6:02:34 PM Um, not the best OB appointment ever today. My cervix, while still technically measuring in a perfectly good range, has shortened a somewhat alarming amount during the past 2 weeks. From 4.0 to 3.3. I've been feeling very anxious about getting some feedback and have definitely felt uneasy about doing what felt like a bit too much. And apparently with good reason because I probably have been having some actual preterm labor and not just Braxton Hicks like I thought. Not surprising. In both previous pregnancies, I wasn't really aware that I was having contractions when they started.
OB suggested that maybe I should go ahead and start Procardia now instead of waiting for preterm labor to worsen (further shortening my cervix). I already leaned that way anyway. I'm not a "wait it out" kind of person, especially not when it involves my precious offspring. But when I mentioned that we were moving again in two weeks, OB went as far as to say that he "strongly preferred" that I go ahead and start taking the Procardia immediately so that I can nip the contractions in the bud. So I'm now adding that med into the mix with the Prometrium I'm already taking.
I'm obviously supposed to immediately reduce my activity level as much as humanly possible as well. And no significant lifting (including keeping Victor lifting to a minimum). So I guess this will constitute the proverbial doctor's note that will allow me to be useless during the move without feeling any guilt. I think my job will simply be to keep Victor far away from the action, which won't be hard since we have so much road time right now anyway. Now if he would just cooperate about climbing into his carseat unassisted rather than scampering around the whole car like a spider monkey!
So no, this is not good news. But it's not terrifying either. I'm not being hospitalized and I'm not being put on bedrest. But suffice it to say that those are the alternatives if I'm not able to control this preterm labor situation with meds and more rest. I'm 27 weeks today. That's still 10 weeks from full term. And anything earlier than that is not an option. He may be big (OB took one look at Victor today and said "OK, now I see why this baby feels like he's all legs!) but he's got several months to stay put in there. Luckily I'm on weekly monitoring for now to make sure that happens.
1/14/2009 4:57:56 PM Well, things got bad there for several days. And then they got better. Victor is hopefully back to sleeping through the night like his normal self after 5 nights in a row of early morning theatrics (and I'm talking EARLY, not 5:30). As usual, I don't really know what to attribute much of anything to, in particular, but James and I both speculate that there was some kind of developmental growth spurt taking place. Victor is a lot more verbal and far more assertive (painfully so, at times) than he was a week ago. But yeah, there are behavioral repercussions. It seems mostly good though. We're always happy to see him recognizing the power of using his language more. He's just not all that willing to take no for an answer. And sometimes he's a bit cranky.........like when he tells Daddy to get in the car and go bye-bye when he's dissatisfied with him.
On the house front, things are going well. We close 2 weeks from today. I got a minimal amount of packing done today. Obviously, it's going to be a busy 2 weeks. Or 3 or 4. Give or take 10 or so.
1/8/2009 11:08:50 PM Yeah, it's been a week. And I know that's a long time for me. The housing situation got complicated (and I shall not comment further at this time or I will surely be censored by James). And Victor has been pretty complicated in his own right. Lots and lots of stimming this past few weeks. For those not in the know about spectrum disorders, here's a long explanation, compliments of Wikipedia:
"Stimming is a jargon term for a particular form of stereotypy, a repetitive body movement (often done unconsciously) that self-stimulates one or more senses in a regulated manner. It is shorthand for self-stimulation, and a stereotypy is referred to as stimming under the hypothesis that it has a function related to sensory input. Stereotypy is one of the symptoms listed by the DSM IV for autism and is observed in about 10% of non-autistic young children. Many people with autism do not exhibit stereotypy. Common forms of stereotypy among people with autism include hand flapping, body spinning or rocking, lining up or spinning toys or other objects, echolalia, perseveration, and repeating rote phrases.
There are many theories about the function of stimming, and the reasons for its increased incidence in autistic people. For hyposensitive people, it may provide needed nervous system arousal, releasing beta-endorphins. For hypersensitive people, it may provide a "norming" effect, allowing the person to control a specific part of their sensorium, and is thus a soothing behavior."
Victor's big stims right now are hand flapping and toilet flushing. And I don't know if the prevalence of the stimming is due to overstimulation surrounding the holidays, a reaction to his therapeutic listening or just an inevitable thing. I know that I hope to see it abate because it gets exhausting for all of us at times. Otherwise though, he's doing really well. He's had a great therapy week and is greatly improving his ability to politely and appropriately ask to have his needs met with far less scripting than he's required in the past. There's definitely some stuff sinking in. We can't wait for him to start school next month. It's going to help him so much and we really believe that he'll have more fun there than he does trying to dismantle the house all afternoon.
So yeah, we're definitely moving to Godfrey next month. I think that was already established in Monkey Deux Land but I'll declare it again for the record. Just as soon as we can properly establish residency requirements, he'll be off to the Early Childhood Center. I was very pleased to be able to switch up his therapy schedule starting in a few weeks, as well. He'll be dropping down to once a week and they had a morning slot on Thursdays that will work while keeping him with his current OT and SLP. That was very good news, indeed. I can guarantee that Victor will be one tired boy on Thursday evenings in the coming months. We'll have the haul to St. Louis for an hour and a half of therapy and then we'll rush back over to IL to get him to school on time. If we can manage to keep him from falling asleep in the car on the way home from school, he'll surely sleep hard come bedtime (rather than stripping naked in protest of me denying him his favorite lullaby CD, as occurred tonight).
And since Fridays won't be a school day for him for a while, he's going to be going to Music Together on Friday mornings (starting tomorrow, actually). We'll keep that up as long as he continues to enjoy it. I do think that he not only loves the music itself but also really thrives on doing the tried and true format that he has known for 3 years now. The familiarity is a great comfort to both of us, really, and I cherish having something special that is Mommy & Victor time. For now, that is. After all, Erick can tag along for free for 9 months. By that point, Victor will probably be busy enough with school stuff that it will become Mommy & Erick time. Bittersweet. It will be fun to see Victor mentor his baby bro in the ways of MT though.
And speaking of Erick, he's quite well. Active and seemingly big. Just as we want him! I did switch to my new OB and while I'm happy with the switch, I'm characteristically anxious about burning bridges with the St. Louis group. And my last ultrasound was absolutely no fun at all. Still a good cervix measurement (40mm from 43 two weeks prior) but a painful process and with no glimpse at our little guy as a silver lining. I'm hoping that we'll get to see more of him next time. I want to see how he's grown.
1/1/2009 11:12:02 PM Lots going on around here but I've been a little burned out on pics and blogging and I've been extremely preoccupied with the house situation. And anxious about all that has to happen in the next few months. I'm slightly terrified by all of it but I also can't wait. It is a consolation to know that we have a lot of help in orchestrating all of it. But I'm a fretter.
Victor has been having lots of fun with his new loot (took a few days for him to really get into the trampoline but it's now a fave, as we expected). He's been on exemplary behavior around other people, for the most part, but occasionally a complete terror here at home just with us. The disruption to his schedule has really taken a toll. We're in another vicious late afternoon car napping/late night soliloquy cycle.
I think one of his favorite nights since we've been back in Illinois was at Kristin's wedding last weekend. We had such low expectations about how he might do at his first indoor wedding but he was truly delightful. Naturally, he did fall asleep on the drive there. And he continued to sleep through almost all of the ceremony:
I believe that was for the best! He woke up just in time to see Kristin & Devin coming back down the aisle and then he took right to the reception festivities:
Sadly, most of my reception pictures are marred by red eyes that go beyond the scope of my photoshoppery but here is my one unscathed pic of the happy couple during their first dance:
(Congrats to Kissy! My junior bridesmaid now a bride.)
Victor hung in there until 9:30 at the reception, at which point he tried to sack out on PopPaw's lap:
When we announced that we were going home, he sprinted out onto the dance floor and started doing his jumpy dance again in protest but he eventually surrendered. Shockingly, he stayed awake for the entire drive home. And then he slept late the next morning. We took that to be a late Christmas present. One we happily accepted!
12/27/2008 9:59:38 AM We had a nice relaxing Christmas but the newness of it felt strange. Victor really enjoyed having Christmas morning here at home and he definitely understands the concept of unwrapping gifts now. Really well. Here are some moments from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day:
Now once the dust settles next week, we need to get ready to move again!
12/23/2008 11:12:50 PM Well, we went to the city for the day with big plans. I am happy with my salon trip and we had a yummy dinner. The roads were awful though and Victor fell asleep in the car just as he and Daddy-O were about to embark on a male bonding trip to The Magic House. Not exactly a day of birthday frivolity for poor James.
Victor was a stellar traveler as always though. He even finally got into the spirit of wearing his hood (figured out that it's better than getting your head wet in the rain). Here he is hamming it up with his headwear while we gingerly made our way home tonight:
Yes, that bunny lives in the car.
12/23/2008 12:12:36 AM Happy Birthday Daddy-O!
That's me in the process of procuring your birthday present (from me). Bet you can't tell where it is!
You can find your gift by the basement door inside a secret compartment. Enjoy.
Answer: A keglet of Schlafly Pale Ale!
12/22/2008 6:59:00 PM We traveled to Peoria over the weekend for what will be the roughest travel we face this holiday season. We gloated quite a bit about that! And it was a very successful and happy venture (with the exception of the overnight stay at the hotel). Victor was really happy to see everyone after he got past his warming up period and he greatly enjoyed "sharing" toys with his cousins (seemed like he might have been the sharee more often than the sharer). Here are some highlights:
I should mention that it was brutally cold and icy up there. I wish we'd thought to get some pics of the heavy ice on the trees. It was quite beautiful. Truly. Today's 18 degrees felt downright warm and balmy after enduring the sub-zeros and high winds upstate though. We had absolutely no problems on the roads once we got out of Peoria itself. We were very lucky in that way, unlike poor Aunt Deb, Uncle Pat, and Cousins Sean & Nicolas who had a long haul through lots of snowy conditions.
We're really excited that we'll be able to make more frequent trips up that way to see GG now. We are going to have to work out a better sleeping solution than what we had this time though ("he'll fall asleep in the bed with us eventually!"). Victor never had a single tantrum or meltdown, even in our most tired and frazzled moments during the night at the hotel but he was painfully restless and uncomfortable with the arrangement. Adding a kiddo's travel bed to our shopping list for any upcoming trips. It was worth the suffering though because we all three had a great time seeing everyone and we're delighted that we'll be able to do more of it in the future. With a better sleeping arrangement. I cannot emphasize that enough.
12/18/2008 5:52:26 PM We've never seen Victor as excited to have company as he was last night. Was it because he's completely bored and lonely and sick of us? Because Bernie & Jack are just THAT much fun? Or because he seems to have a pretty big crush on his Auntie Heath? Whatever, the reason it was a delight to see him so pleased to be a host. Here are the boys enjoying a holiday playdate together before we all get too busy with family commitments and travel:
12/17/2008 2:01:44 PM Victor & I got to see Erick yesterday! It was a very harrowing journey to get there in the snow and I had planned to do it alone but James forbade it and we all went down there together. I actually felt pretty bad because I thought that my ultrasound was just a cervical measurement and that we wouldn't really get to see Erick. So James had run down to the car to try to rectify our horrific washer fluid jet issue and he missed seeing baby brother. Victor seemed to actually get who that was up on the screen this time and this morning he showed me one of the pictures and said "Erick Owen. That's baby brother." The most exciting news of all though was that my cervix was measuring 43mm at just under 23 weeks. That's rather outstanding, actually. I'm glad that I'll have that feedback every 2 weeks now.
So, in other news, we do have a contract on a house in Godfrey and we should close on 1/30 if all goes well during inspection, etc. I waiver constantly between being paranoid of something going wrong [James redacted comments about the house since we have not yet closed on it. Worst... negotiator... ever...] [Mind your own business James. I don't think the sellers are on our blog. Seersee.]
Victor's gearing up for Christmas. This weekend he'll get to see his cousins while we rendezvous in Peoria at GG's (Great Grandma Humphrey, that is). I can't wait to see those 3 burning off some steam together! It's always a good time. And next year there will be another hellion in the mix. And speaking of GG's great-grandchildren, she's got a new one! Lena Rose Sonnen was born on the 15th (congrats to Cousin Ann and Steve!). So there will be a lot to celebrate up in Peoria. We're hoping to catch some Christmas lights while we're up that way too. They have a great drive-through display there.
Victor's actually really into the Christmas decorations this year and he loves seeing the lights and the snow. And he's kinda getting the idea of Santa more this year but he doesn't pay him all that much mind. Not entirely surprising since we really haven't done the hard sell on Santa anyway. Around here, he's really a character of about the same caliber of Dora the Explorer. No wait, what am I saying? He's not even that revered. (Rest assured Dora, you are still queen of the universe.) But Santa's definitely gaining a little more notoriety in our house.
Someone who has become extremely popular this holiday season is Emmet Otter. This warms my heart tremendously. For those not familiar, "Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas" was a 1977 Jim Henson holiday special. As a kid, I watched it on HBO over and over and over again. I got it on DVD last year thinking that maybe V would get into it in the next few years. He saw it in the cabinet a few weeks ago and got very excited about the otters on the cover (he already loved otters from reading Brian Wildsmith's "Wild Animals", a vintage book that was Daddy's). Since then Emmet has been requested often and his love of the Jim Henson animal puppets (not sure if they qualify as muppets or not) makes me think that Victor could become a pretty major Muppet fan. I wholeheartedly would support an obsession such as that. They don't come any more lovable and honorable than Kermit, in my book.
12/15/2008 11:14:41 PM We had a pretty busy weekend, of course. Unfortunately none of the pics that I took at the zoo on Saturday night with the Dohrns turned out well (and not just because of the fits that Victor was having over the cold). I think that we all decided that drive-through light displays may be the way to go for a while. So much to James' chagrin, we'll probably still try that yet this year. Because I like to keep trying to make everyone have fun, even when every indication is that I should just give it up!
And speaking of the struggle to make Victor have fun, we took him to the local "Breakfast with Santa" on Saturday morning. I'm quite certain that he thought the only point of being there was the limitless supply of pancakes. (Hard to argue with that reasoning, actually.) We sat just a few tables away from where Santa was set up and as luck would have it, we got to sit right next to V's buddy Avery. (He keeps talking about her......."Avie. Train! Avie. Train!"). We thought that he'd warm up to the idea of Santa if he got to watch him without pressure for a bit.
Seemed like a good idea in theory, right? But he was having none of it. He snatched the gift bag away from Santa and went back to his chair to check out the goodies:
We tried to make it into the "Where's ________?!?!?!?" game which often works to get him to go up to people. Naturally, he chose to tell us where Santa was from his comfortable distance:
(Yep, there he is.)
Eventually, I went up to Santa and tried to lure Victor into giving Santa a high five. Kinda worked, except that James couldn't magically fly through the air to get the shot:
And then while I talked to a randomly stumbled-upon cousin (it was only a matter of time, right?), Victor shared an official handshake with one of the most patient Santas I have ever encountered:
I think that will be our last public dealing with Santa for this year, unless Santa is on a train or a firetruck or handing out burgers and fries somewhere. Those are the only circumstances in which I can imagine Victor really catching the Santa wave for right now.
One thing Victor loves this Christmas though (besides the train that he sprints to as soon as he's dressed each morning)? The new recliner. As in the new recliner that is intended to be a gift for James and myself. But Victor believes that it is his and he rarely will let one of us sit in it unfettered:
So much so that he has a new favorite sentence. "Mommy, get up!".
12/12/2008 3:12:22 PM Victor went to visit his new pediatrician today and it went well overall. We were all missing Dr. Mirrop a bit. We were so used to him and he was really good at distracting and humoring Victor. But we're very happy with V's new doc (thanks for the recommendation, Jack & Bernie!). She is extremely thorough, which we LOVE, and she was super cool about supporting whatever we need with regards to Victor's schooling and therapy. And we got a new Epipen script, which I forgot to fill on the way home! All in all, a good visit though. He has lost a whole pound since September but that's not at all surprising with the sinus infection and then then mysterious tummy malady. And he's grown another half inch (up to 40 1/2 now)!
12/11/2008 9:27:13 AM Victor had his first playdate in quite some time yesterday. (That's the thing that stinks most about all of these winter illnesses!). Miss Avery came over with her grandma to hang out and especially to watch the cool new train! Avery is a fellow train fan so it was definitely a hit. And as usual, Victor & Avery had fun and enjoyed each other's company but remained pretty quiet about it. It's sweet to see how much they like to play side by side though. Here are a few pics of them together:
Oh yeah, and Victor had been saying "Treat or Treat! Ivie!" for weeks now and I kept assuming that he was thinking of Livie since that's how he once said her name (before it became "Mivie" and then eventually "Livie). Turns out that he has been trying to say Avery but it's come out as "Ivie" and he remembered that last time he saw her was when we were trick or treating. He was requesting her! Pretty cute.
12/10/2008 9:06:24 AM This is a strange week for me. At the holidays, my thoughts always turn to Ronan & James, even moreso than usual, just because it's a natural time to really feel their absence and reflect on how old they'd be now, what they'd enjoy this season, and whatnot. But now here I am staring down "the week", the big foreboding 22, as in the point in my pregnancy when they were born. It's not as scary as it was last time. It's a little scary but mostly it's extremely surreal.
Last month, I picked up the newest collection of poems by Sharon Olds. She's a poet near and dear to my heart because she was first introduced to me early in college by a professor with whom I had a love-hate relationship (because she pushed me to go outside my comfort zone, something I later thanked her for). And lo and behold, the very first poem in the new collection and the title poem, "Everything", spoke to me so profoundly. It is a poem about losing a child and it describes the experience in such a non-pitying and beautiful way. And so, I'll let her speak for me on this one (this is only the second half of the poem):
"......And many of us, sea-fruit on its stem, dreaming kelp and whelk, are culled in our early months. And some who are born live only for minutes, others for two, or for three, summers, or four, and when they go, everything goes --- the earth, the firmament --- and love stays, where nothing is, and seeks."
Onward and outward.
12/7/2008 5:49:51 PM Victor got an early Christmas present from Mimi, Gaga & PopPaw this morning.....The Pennsylvania Flyer! To say that he's happy with it does not even do it justice. He's obsessed with it and could barely be bothered to eat, drink or converse all day long. Poor Daddy has been nagged relentlessly to make the train go every hour on the hour. I must say that it is a pretty darned cool train so I can hardly blame him. Sure am glad he got it in advance of Christmas though or else I'm certain that he wouldn't have been willing to do anything else during the festivities.
We thought that it was a good occasion to try getting some Christmas card pictures. And it was but it was frustrating nonetheless, mainly due to Victor's current fixation with chewing on his nails. (Please say that this phase will pass!). So I took A LOT of pictures to try to get the keepers. As a result, there's a hefty montage worth of outtakes, including some video highlights as well. Behold:
I had to go ahead and pull the trigger on Christmas cards but like every other year, I'm certain that we'll get some perfect shot a week from now. We sure had fun today though!
12/5/2008 10:20:49 PM This early darkness thing is really becoming a problem. If Victor is riding in the car as the sun is setting (or has set), he inevitably falls asleep. And when he falls asleep that late in the day, there is hell to pay when it's time to rouse him. Usually not a big tantrum-thrower, he has now shown us that he is capable of screaming at the top of his lungs for 20 minutes straight. It's horrifying, heartbreaking and completely maddening.
This very phenomenon occurred tonight as we drove to Godfrey for the Snowflake Festival. It started at 6 so yeah, we were right in the danger zone. Sure enough, he fell asleep mid-drive but we proceeded, thinking that perhaps he'd perk up once he saw all of the lights and felt the cold air. Turns out that the cold air was the most insulting of insults to injury. Here's the progression of traumatic events:
(Still kind of asleep but beginning to get surly.)
(Insists upon being held but then proceeds to just scowl at everyone and everything. We MIGHT have stayed for 10 minutes.)
Pictures of the Great Tantrum of '08 were not taken. Use your imagination. And then multiply it by 10. Be sure to include hyperventilation.
(Back in Carrollton city limits, he begrudgingly puts a hat on to humor us. And requests a burger.)
Maybe this boy needs to take an afternoon nap while he still gets over this latest sickness! I have a feeling he'd disagree though.
12/2/2008 10:00:10 PM I had an OB appointment today. It was a little weird. Basically, I saw a new doctor within the same group and he actually acted like a high risk doctor. Which is really what he's supposed to do. It's just that his aggressiveness seemed so abrupt compared to everyone else's blasse attitude to date that he ended up seeming more "high alarm" than "high risk". He kept emphasizing how at risk I am for preterm birth and labor. And really, statistically speaking, he's right. But I'm also geting a ton of prophylactic care than most people those stats are based on. So I'm really not going to let myself get all spazzed out about what ifs. I'm not. And I really mean that.
The good news is that he wants to monitor my cervical measurements by ultrasound every 2 weeks for a while. No argument here. That's what I prefer, as well. And he wants to do monthly growth scans so that we always know where Easy E is at size and development-wise. To which I say yippee, sign me up!
Then there's the little sticking point. He also wants me on progesterone supplementation from here on out to guard against preterm labor. This is something I brought up with Dr. B in Austin. He summarily poopoo'd it as non-sense. And I actually do somewhat buy the explanation offered today (though I will spare everyone the details) but I loathe Prometrium. I sang joyfully when I took what I thought was my last dose at 12 weeks. But I guess I will try it again since I'm at such high risk for preterm labor. Something that was mentioned 40 or so times earlier today. Talk about a buzzkill.
In brighter news, we scoped out a possible school for Victor today and were very impressed. He seemed giddy to be there and we're anxious to get him going soon. Unfortunately, he threw up all over the bathroom once he stepped out of the bathtub tonight. So we're clearly not out of the woods. I guess we'll be staying in tomorrow to enforce the Pedialyte intake. He's just on the verge of dehydrating and I'm officially quite concerned. He's been such a sweet, resilient guy this week and I just want him to feel better. Like right now!
12/1/2008 9:03:54 PM There's been a clear hierarchy of illness here in our house since Thanksgiving. I'm always right in the middle. A few days ago, Victor was by far the sickest of the sick and James was, as usual, pretty unscathed. Well, they switched places. Victor is all but well. Appetite is not totally back yet but he's finally stopped spiking nasty fevers and he's kept food down for 24 hours now. And he's really pretty peppy. Meanwhile, James is now the recipient of the intestinal distress designation. He's still battling chills and general malaise but is slowly building up some eating and drinking endurance. This place is just a real barrel of laughs:
(The blinding white light? Snow!)
I'm still gradually coughing up a lung. Last night I slept better than I had for a while. I managed two hour blocks of sleep before I'd have my bathroom trip (E's still on my bladder, quite obviously)/Victor puke check/James puke check/coughing fit & Halls re-fueling rotation. Went pretty well until Victor woke up at 3:30 talking about otters. This boy and the animals! But all in all, I woke up feeling somewhat more optimistic about breathing freely again. Until we ran to the grocery store and I got hit with all of that cold air. And snow.
We did still cancel on therapy today (and missed the symphony yesterday) because I was afraid that by the time I got Victor halfway to STL, he'd probably spike a fever again. I felt a little bad because he had a really verbal day and probably would have been on fire at therapy but I still think it was best to keep him out an extra day to get his immunity back up. It's a pretty germy place, really. But we'll be trekking down that way tomorrow afternoon (unless Daddy miraculously feels up to handling Victor duties by then........not counting on that). I moved my OB appointment up a few days because I've felt a little anxious about my cervix in light of all of this constant coughing. I just want to know it's OK. Probably wouldn't be as nervous about it if it weren't for the timing but we are right in the midst of what is still very much my scary time (20-24). I think all will be just fine but I just need to know ASAP. Plus, I'm anxious to see if there is anything else I might be allowed to take to help this cough.
We're seeing healthier days just on the horizon. Don't want to miss another weekend of fun because this Saturday Dora is going to be at the mall. With Boots! Seersee, I'm not kidding.
11/29/2008 12:10:20 PM Well, Operation Convalescence is not exactly a success. I felt decent at 5 this morning and it's been all downhill from there. Back to hacking non-stop and by 6:30, Victor was beginning a chain of projectile vomiting. He's a little feverish and is definitely lethargic but not terribly cranky otherwise. In fact, he's been quite sweet and cuddly. But needless to say, we had to skip out on the train ride this morning. I'm really hoping we're OK for the symphony tomorrow afternoon!
Ah yes, the joys of a colder climate. Here's Victor and I relaxing while watching "Dora Saves the Snow Princess" for about the 30th time:
(That one really highlights the shiner Victor gave me last week. Good times.)
And here's Victor napping with his feline protector:
Update at 5:33 - Up to 8 vomiting episodes now today. He's officially thrown up more times since we got here than he had the whole rest of his life. This is not boding well for tomorrow. He's not keeping anything down at all.
11/28/2008 10:29:45 AM We had a great Thanksgiving. It was wonderful to be so close this year. There's no over the river and through the woods to get to Gaga's right now. It's just over Apple Creek, 10 miles up the road! Here are a few pics of Gaga's beautiful table:
Everything was even yummier than we remembered and it was extra special to be able to share the good news that we've got another little boy on the way! Erick Owen Humphrey. We're having a hard time trying to call him Erick yet though because it just sounds so mature. So he's often still Blabby. At any rate, he looks very healthy and hearty in there and has thankfully turned head down. We're hopeful that he'll just stay that way like Victor did, although I'm admittedly not thrilled about the way he currently has his head pressed firmly into my bladder.
Victor & Daddy are currently off for a Black Friday adventure (which I happen to think is crazy but I won't argue with a chance at solitude). They are in search of a good waterproof coat for Victor. Snow's coming soon, after all! Gotta be ready to frolic out there. I stayed behind today because I'm doing my best to rest up and recover from the current chest cold from which I am suffering. And trust me, I'm suffering. Every time I cough, everything hurts. I'm just glad that we saw two days ago that my cervix was holding up so well! At any rate, my job today is to rest up so that I'll be ready for our train ride tomorrow and the symphony on Sunday. Never a dull moment. Except for today. I'm going to try to enjoy the dullness.
Oh, and speaking of convalescing, Pru Girl is doing quite a bit better. She's not eating nearly as much as would be considered normal and she's still acting a bit weakened but she's improved quite a bit. At least she's eating and drinking (and thus using her box again!) and she looks a whole lot better. I'm not sure if she's going to be back to her "normal" or not. It was a really good wake-up call that we need to take the time to give her more love and attention, in spite of all that we have going on. After all, she's our first baby.
11/24/2008 8:23:08 PM It's a weird week therapy-wise and we had to reschedule things around holiday/vacation schedules and whatnot. As a result, we drove all the way to St. Louis today for 45 minutes of speech therapy. Kind of a drag. So I tried to maximize our time and gas invested by scoping out some stuff in Godfrey (even though in my heart of hearts I still really, really want to be closer to the city) on the way back home. That included Victor's test run of Glazebrook Park:
I think it passsed inspection. With flying colors. There's even a duck pond. A duck pond! But yeah, it's still Illinois.
11/24/2008 9:57:12 AM Everything is fine here. Just really busy. We've been spending a lot of time and effort on our home search, after procrastinating about it for way too long. We're finding ourselves experiencing exactly what we knew we would - we can get far more house for our money staying on the Illinois side. And yet we hate to still be a 40 minute drive from hospitals and therapy and possible future employment. The difference is even more drastic than we were anticipating and it's making it hard to focus our search, especially since we can live anywhere we want right now since James works from home. We might have to make a decision for the short term with the realization that another move might be necessary in a few years. We just really didn't want to have to be moving around a lot. It's a quandary.
Also, Miss Pru has been very sick and has been worrying us quite a lot. She's been on a hunger strike for many days, making exceptions only for Fancy Feast (and even then, very sparingly). She has looked just awful and it's been breaking our hearts to see her that way, especially since she's 14 now and any number of ailments could be affecting her. James finally took her to the vet this morning and naturally, she seemed far more vigorous than normal - brighter-eyed, slightly less shambly and meowing with some real gusto. The vet didn't find anything wrong but gave her some IV fluids (which certainly seems to have helped!) and tested her urine. Kidneys seem fine and that was my main worry. So we have to just hope that she continues to make progress. Oh, and administer the Cat Lax. Yeah, should be a fun few days.
Victor & Blabby are both well and thriving. Victor has had a few really banner days lately and has been really going out on a limb and trying some new stuff, which makes me hopeful that maybe we can get the therapeutic listening stuff back on track soon. And we're all greatly looking forward to our first Thanksgiving in Illinois in many years!
11/18/2008 7:15:58 PM Daddy's back and it almost feels like he was never gone. Victor has definitely been his loyal little minion. Pretty sweet. And speaking of Victor, I think the sinus infection is finally starting to improve. He's still coughing a bit but not as violently and restlessly as before. I'm hopeful that he'll get over it this week so that we don't have to repeat the Zithromax. He's still got lingering diaper rash from the first cycle. But in general, he's doing great now in spite of being rather stir crazy. I personally can't wait to get up and go to St. Louis tomorrow, just so that I don't have to deal with Victor's path of bored destruction here at home.
11/15/2008 11:30:11 AM Well, things usually get worse before they get better, right? That seems to be the case here. Worst. Night. Yet. Up from 2:00 to 5:00. I tried rocking him back to sleep and it definitely helped alleviate the coughing to be propped up on me and he was snuggly and sweet as could be but it was painfully obvious that he was never going to fall asleep like that. He could see the shadows of all of his toys. So he had to tough it out in bed for a few hours with a continuous cycle of classical music. Eventually he went back to sleep for about 3 more hours.
And I'm certainly glad that we only have one more day of the Zithromax this go-around (may or may not have to repeat in another 7 days). He HATES taking it and it is having undesirable effects in the diaper department. If we have to do another dose of it, I'm having Walgreen's flavor it to the hilt! I had to actually sit on him today to get him to take it. Not pretty on any level.
But Daddy's most certainly in American air space by now and that alone is enough to buoy us through the rest of this day. That and we're going to see Madagascar 2 with Heath, Jack & Bern. Hopefully we'll stay awake through it.
Oh, and today's flurries are a major disappointment. I saw them at 3:30 and they were the tiniest snowflakes I had probably ever seen. I think they were melting before they even got to the ground. Nothing to write Austin about. ;)
11/14/2008 3:00:05 PM Verdict? Sinus infection. Zithromax is now on board. Maybe we can get this boy feeling a lot better over the weekend!
11/14/2008 9:29:16 AM Well, it's turned out to be a fairly harrowing week overall but we're ending our Daddyless time on a fairly high note, I suppose. We finally got a full night's sleep! Victor's been not only just plain out of whack in Daddy's absence but has also been having really bad coughing fits at night that have been waking him up for several hours at a time. We are seeking medical attention today in case maybe it's an ear or sinus infection.
Wednesday was probably the worst day we've ever had at therapy. He was just despondent and resistant, both of which are highly unusual for him given how much he enjoys his therapy. So I had the lowest of hopes when we went yesterday on 6 hours of sleep. And somehow he had an outstanding day! Thank goodness because I think that the small victory was part of what put him in a good mindset for last night. Much calmer at bedtime and while there was some coughing, it wasn't to the point that it woke him up for long (he was up from 2:30 to 5 the night before). Thursdays at therapy always seem to go well though, in no small part due to his love for Monica, his OT. I wish she could come live with us sometimes.
Victor has been doing therapeutic listening at therapy for the past month or so and has really enjoyed it and responded to it so we got the equipment to do the home protocol. It's a pretty big commitment both time and expense-wise. He has to listen to his CD twice a day for 30 minutes. Sounds easy enough but I know it will be harder to work in around the holidays. Luckily he can do it while eating, playing with his toys and while being in the car. He basically just can't be watching TV or looking at the computer. I tried it with him for the first time this morning and he happily listened for 18 minutes and then he wanted it off! I don't think they ever have that problem at therapy. So I'll have to keep experimenting with what works best here at home. Maybe he just didn't like doing it while sitting and eating breakfast and would rather be moving around while he listens. We'll see.
Victor and I did go to my OB appointment this week as well. Nothing exciting to report there except that all is well with my cervix. No peeks at Blabby, of course. The big ultrasound is less than two weeks away on the day before Thanksgiving. I still have to do that at the dreaded Barnes but after that, I'm officially switched to Mo Baptist. If that doesn't feel like an improvement, I'm moving on. I have a group I'm leaning toward but I'm still just a bit nervous about leaving behind the high risk group. Obviously, I could still get a high risk consult as needed but it's strangely comforting to just be high risk across the board. So all I know about Blabby is that s/he is likely transverse based on how low the heartbeat is and how my uterus is measuring. I'm ready to know who is in there!
11/11/2008 9:21:45 PM Victor, PopPaw and I actually celebrated Veteran's Day appropriately today by making a trip over to place a flag on Great PopPaw's grave. I had hoped to get a picture of Victor participating in said placement but it was cold and muddy and the whole operation was a little hurried as a result. We felt proud to have done something that would mean so much to the old guy though. And putting out his flag for this first time meant a lot to me personally. I spent many Memorial Day weekends in my childhood helping Grandpa put out the veterans' flags here in Carrollton and I always loved being trusted and valued as part of his very finely tuned operation. He took great pride in it and I did too. I'm always going to cherish being a part of one of his most pet projects. Here's looking at you, GPP:
(Not the best pic of the stone but you can at least appreciate the furling of the flag.)
And speaking of veterans, hats also off to Uncles Dan & Frank over there in C'ville. Also a correction to my previous post about the Veteran's Memorial: the three bros were NOT all in Europe at the same time. Dan C. and Paul D. were but Frank was in Guadalcanal. And a furl of the flag also, of course, to Victor Gordon Giberson, our V's namesake and also to Paul Woods, Gaga's beloved brother. We're very proud to honor all of you!
Footnote: I should also mention that we went to the chili parlor while were over there. As in Taylor's. If you haven't ever had it, you haven't really lived. It's the stuff that legends are made of. And tonight, also a scalding case of heartburn tinged with nausea. Like I told Dad, I flew too close to the sun. Probably still worth it though. Even though I'm about to exceed the maximum daily dosage of Tums. With an Emetrol chaser.
11/9/2008 8:27:37 PM Things improved a bit, mainly because Mimi came over so that I could take a nap and a shower. That did me a world of good. Now I just have to force myself to go to bed far earlier than usual. Right after I do my nails.
In spite of some bouts with diarrhea throughout the day, Victor had a very healthy appetite and a sunny disposition. And that's even with the 5:30 wake-up and no nap! He was definitely bolstered by Mimi's visit and a cameo from PopPaw. He was really quite delightful to be around all day and certainly entertained us with his Mommywear (my glasses and slippers.....pics are over in the gallery).
The only major struggles we are having are with bedtime itself and with the early wake-ups. We had another near brawl tonight when I cut him off after 6 books. He's fine once I just put him in bed and leave but he sure turns on the drama when I end storytime, in spite of me repeatedly telling him how many more books, counting down the transitions, etc. And the other thing is that he doesn't want me to even do the stuff that Daddy-O usually does (no animals, no "I want to jump!", and now not even "Nightman on Cow"). He barely allows me to put his sleepsack on. It's sweet really but it is trying nonetheless.
The news from the world of Blabby is that I'm feeling him/her "fluttering" more and more. I have an appointment this Wednesday and there is no ultrasound on the agenda but I'm really scheming for one. There is absolutely no reason we shouldn't be able to see by now. I'll be almost 18 weeks on Wednesday. Oh, and this is kind of the last chance appointment for my doctors. If I feel a little more positive this time, I'll switch to their office at Missouri Baptist (I loathe Barnes-Jewish now) but if I continue to feel as lukewarm about them as usual, I think I'll switch docs. I think I'd rather just be with a more suburban group that has a more accessible office and a more enthusiastic staff. There's just the issue of whether someone else is willing to take on a high risk patient with a cerclage someone else placed. I'm not exactly the average pregnant woman and I suspect that sometimes people aren't happy to see me show up with my 3 inches of medical records, throwing around medical jargon. I'm "seasoned".
Oh yeah, and another cute-ism. Victor will now sometimes give Blabby a kiss if I ask him to. But of course he wouldn't demo that for Mimi & PopPaw today.
11/9/2008 8:19:32 AM OK, this is unbearable without James. I am not a morning person under completely normal circumstances but particularly not when I have to get up at least 3 times a night to go to the bathroom due to Blabby taxing my bladder. James is downright saintly about letting me grab an extra 30-45 minutes in the morning while he gets Victor up and feeds him breakfast. So I was already going to be feeling that pain.
But Victor, who has been sleeping until at least 7:30 here lately, has chosen to shake things up for me. Yesterday he woke up at 6:30 (after not falling asleep until 11:00). Sun was out so I knew better than to think he'd just go to sleep. So I plodded through the day on about 5 hours of sleep. By 4:00, I was counting the minutes until bedtime because I was so exhausted. Got the boy into bed by a little after 7:00 (stunningly early). There was A LOT of resistance but he did fall sleep quickly. And he slept hard until 3:15. I knew he'd go back to sleep if I just didn't make a sound. And he did. Until 5:30.
I went in there but kept everything dark. So of course he said "Mommy, sleepy sleepy". I'm not sure what that means anymore. He asked for music but when I turned it on, he proceeded to sing each song on the CD. So I tried to rest best I could. Hearing him singing is better than hearing him shouting about animals. Which, oh yes, he began to do once again as soon as the CD ran out (that CD is WAY too short). In desperation, I tried turning the CD on again and this time he got mostly quiet. I don't think he ever actually went back to sleep but he did "rest" and allowed me to do so as well. By 7:15, it was a foregone conclusion that any hopes I had of him falling back to sleep until 9:00 were futile.
I went around 7:30 into his room and there he was in nothing but a diaper (sleep sack and pajamas folded surprisingly neatly) saying "Mommy, help! Wipe poop!" Yikes. So yeah, turned out to be a pretty gross diarrhea incident. Have I mentioned that my morning sickness is still pretty bad? And as I fought the urge to throw up, I got my first spontaneous nosebleed of this pregnancy (I'm not counting the incident in which Victor nearly broke my nose). We need Daddy-O back.
11/7/2008 10:44:48 PM Um yeah, still not sleeping. (But at least I grabbed a shower.) I just went in there and reminded him that it's time to go to sleep. As usual, he tried to act like he hadn't been babbling away (we have a monitor, Victor!) and he very dramatically said "Mommy, sleepy sleepy" and offered a huge fake yawn sound. I turned the music back on as requested and then said "Victor, I love you" and walked away. As I got to the door, he said "Mommy, I love you". And I had to fight every urge I had to not run back over to him and give him a thousand kisses and hugs for saying that completely on his own (and even using "Mommy" instead of just parroting me!). I did tell him that it was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me.
It's going to be a long week with the way he's playing me like a fiddle, eh?
11/7/2008 9:54:02 PM I'm going to try to add a lot more everyday pictures during the next week while James is in Hungary so that he can keep up with his boy. A boy who misses his daddy a lot, by the way. He wandered around at bedtime saying "Daddy-O! Animals! Daddy-O! I want to jump!". I didn't have the heart to further sadden him so I let him pull his "OK, last one!" act many times at storytime. 10 books tonight. I'm tired. But guess who's not all that tired? And here's why........
That's him around 4:00 when I managed to carry him inside from the car and fling him onto the bed. I think he had a bit of flu shot hangover from yesterday because I had to wake him up after 5:30. Luckily he had Gaga, Mimi & PopPaw all making appearances tonight and thus somewhat distracting him from his Daddylessness. You know, until bedtime.
I almost don't dare say this but I think he's beginning to quiet down. Can it be? I can really shower at last!
11/5/2008 10:50:19 PM For family inquiring about Christmas, here's Victor's current Amazon wishlist:
As you can tell by what I've "wished" for him thus far, he's really into firetrucks and trains and I suspect he will be for quite some time. He also really likes farm stuff. And actually, a few of those items are things he's actually longed for (especially that darned pony). So do with that info what you will. He also really wants a fresh snow for Christmas Day. OK, maybe I'm projecting a little.
11/5/2008 3:21:15 PM The sun is shining brightly today. And there's just something in the air - smells like hope. :)
11/4/2008 10:47:18 AM Goodness. I am an absolute nervous wreck today. I'm terrified that voters will get complacent and/or impatient with long lines. I cannot stand the wait to see some real numbers. And the other big wait today?!?! News of V's dear friend Livie's little bro Quinn's arrival. I'm doing a lot of screen refreshing today. A lot. I'm looking forward to happily sitting back with some hot chocolate tonight to toast the grand events of the day. But until then, I'm anxiety-ridden.
Victor got the memo that today is all about choice. He screamed his protests of the shirt that I had put out for him to wear today because he wanted his fire truck shirt (SO into fire trucks right now!). And he's making all kinds of demands about what toys he wants retrieved from the high shelves today (let's hear it for that tactic working). He's also suddenly transfixed by all of the toy commercials that are in heavy rotation for the holiday shopping season. This is really the first time he's ever expressed such a burning need for certain toys. It's actually pretty awesome! I just wish he wasn't so dazzled by that $170 Little Tikes pony. Come on.
11/3/2008 11:21:50 PM Victor & I had an impromptu trip up to Springfield today to get our valve stems replaced on our tires (they got recalled) and as expected, he passed out soon after we got back in the car. So I decided to take the long way home so that I could drive through Carlinville. V slept through that part of the drive too, so I didn't manage to visit Uncle Dan & Aunt Jean or hit Taylor's Chili for some take-out butter bean soup. Those are two things I very much would like to do soon. But with a sleeping boy on board, I only managed to visit the cemetery and the veterans' memorial. Here are a few pics I snapped at the Macoupin County Vets' Memorial:
(Hint: Look for the Presslers. Three brothers, all in Europe at the same time.)
Good thing we got those tires ship shape because we're sure putting some miles on the Honda. And Victor continues to show his Midwestern roots by being a chipper passenger, especially now that he has graduated to the Britax Frontier! The new carseat is definitely a hit. Now I can go to work trying to clean the chocolate milk off his last seat so that it will be Blabby-ready in another year or so.
11/2/2008 4:24:12 PM It's such a beautiful day here today - back up into the 70s again. Much as I think Victor is extremely handsome in his fall wardrobe, it's been fun to see him running around in his shorts today. And how's this for novelty? Victor & I went on a walk around the hood and then went up to the square and scored some groceries at Kroger on the way home. All on foot/in stroller! We won't be able to do that back in the city again. If felt good to get some air and exercise too. I'm just now feeling more comfortable with that, now that Blabby finally seems to have moved upward and is no longer exerting undue force on my cervix.
I discovered while out on said walk that there is no better conversation piece here than my "Texans For Obama" t-shirt. Usually, people just look at me strangely and wonder if maybe I'm vaguely familiar but today, EVERYBODY wanted to talk to me. Luckily, everyone I encountered was a fellow Obama fan. I wasn't in the mood for any silly McCain jibber jabber today. But in just a few days, I won't have to endure any more of it, right?
The registered voters here in the Humphrey household voted early on Thursday (yes, it was the last possible day) and I must say that it felt really good. I haven't felt that gratified by the act of voting since the first time I voted for Clinton. That was actually the first time I ever got to vote in a presidential election. '92. Good times. I may not be as young and full of possibility as I was back then but I think I can safely say that I care more about what's at stake than I ever have before. Two words - Victor and Blabby.
Oh yeah, and an update about Blabby..........s/he is doing well. Moved up a little higher so we're finding the heartbeat much more easily now. And s/he is definitely growing because I am really showing. Like really showing. The morning sickness has improved quite a bit. I sometimes have a day when I don't throw up (today was not one of those, however). This is definitely the worst morning sickness I've had out of all three pregnancies. With Victor, the nausea was really barely worth mentioning. With the twins though, it didn't start until 11 weeks and then it went all the way to 20 weeks. Didn't have the all day nausea like I do with Blabby though. With the twins, it was more that I just had to throw up every morning and then I was pretty much fine. So yeah, I don't know what to think of that. It's tempting to think this means Blabby's a she but something in me really doubts that. Hopefully we'll get to find out in 3 1/2 weeks!
10/31/2008 10:06:20 PM This Halloween was definitely our funnest yet but I think we're all glad it's over. It was a late night for everyone, especially Victor. He fell asleep in the car with his cowboy hat on before we had even left Jerseyville. Here's our cowboy hanging out with his pals and then making his rounds:
OK, time can stop flying by now. I love Thanksgiving but I'm not ready for it yet.
10/28/2008 8:12:54 PM We didn't leave the house today. Instead, we did our best to rest up in the hopes that we'll be able to make therapy tomorrow. We have a general cold-like yuckiness. We did make it out into the world yesterday, however, in order to get some pictures of the foliage. Here are the results of that outing:
(Lori, thought I'd better get this on before you go into labor and miss it.)
So how long until we start taking all of this natural beauty for granted again?
10/26/2008 9:31:32 PM First of all, here are the pics from Monday which I thought I had already posted but alas, had not:
We had such a nice visit from GiGi, Uncle Duck/Ron and Aunt Quacker/Kathy and really appreciated them making the trip down since I was still not road-ready post-surgery. Victor is really enjoying seeing so much more of his family and I know he'll be thrilled to see GiGi again at Christmas time. And seeing Ron & Kathy again really makes us want to take a vacation out to Montana! But Blabby probably has other plans this year........
We had really hoped to take a foliage admiring tour on the way home from Gaga's birthday festivities today but it was unbearably windy and probably wouldn't have been much fun. It's going to be cold out tomorrow but Victor & I might have to take a drive so I can snap a few shots of the leaves. The first freeze is imminent (hopefully not tonight but undeniably by overnight tomorrow night) and things just won't look quite as crisp and pretty after that. I bet we'll see a lot of frantic harvesting if we make it out tomorrow because there's a lot of corn still in!
10/25/2008 2:16:47 PM Victor has the beginnings of a cold but remains in good spirits and was certainly not impeded in his enjoyment of Day Out with Thomas this morning. The setting was not nearly as nice as in Austin (something to be said for the sheltered confines of the Convention Center) but this year we had Gaga onboard! And that was an extra special treat indeed.
Victor's favorite parts were watching Thomas pull up and running through the kiddie carwash tent (about 30 times). Come to think of it though, he did seem to believe that lunch at Steak N Shake was the entire point of the outing today. Gaga & I were both stunned that he didn't pass out in the car coming home. I think he'll be a good sleeper for Mimi & PopPaw tonight! (Yes, date night at last.)
Here's some of our Thomas adventure:
10/24/2008 2:44:50 PM It's been another busy week. We're going to therapy on Wednesdays and Thursdays now and doing two days in a row of that drive is really kind of exhausting. This week we threw an OB appointment into the mix on Wednesday and I have to say that Victor was so good throughout, even though he was very tired. I had a good report in general. The cerclage is intact and all is well there but the OB totally freaked me out by going on and on about how my uterus was SO low. I've since been assured that this is normal given my history but I'm very aware of how different things feel this time and it can be extremely unnerving at times, especially since we're so far from the hospital. We really need to start looking at houses ASAP.
Today has been a relatively lazy day, particularly in light of the rain. Loving the temperatures though. Our big objective for today was to get my oil changed and to get some groceries. And thus begun an inner struggle that ended in an angry exchange with a blue-vested, um, person. I should preface this story (which will probably only be amusing to Ruth, Lia and Lori) by saying that I LOATHE Wal-Mart. So very, very much. I've probably mentioned that here before, I suppose. Because I seersee can't stand that place. That's not to say that we don't ever go here. After all, no one else seems to have Skinny Cow chocolate milk (V's fave). But I avoid the place as much as humanly possible.
Today, however, I tried to make myself get on board with the Wal-Mart experience. I needed groceries and I needed an oil change. Why not combine them? So I tried to set aside all of my personal hatreds of Wal-Mart - like how I find it aesthetically appalling and I am disgusted by how they historically have treated their employees and have bled the public system dry by shirking their duties to provide proper benefits.........oh, and how they keep their prices low by exploiting Chinese workers who work in horrific conditions and then produce products that poison us with lead paint. I set that all aside and I marched into the Tire & Lube Express, gritting my teeth while Victor giddily skipped along. Where I was not greeted with a smile. Or at all, really.
They were having computer problems and were on the verge of writing up paper tickets. No biggie. I can live with that. But I was shuffled inside and then sternly told to go back outside where I waited dutifully (all the while chanting "I hate this place!"). And then an influx of people dashed inside - you know, people not trying to corral a 3-year-old in a dangerous environment - and they all got "in line" in front of me. So I went in and shoved up to the register and asked the person who had not at all politely told me that I had to wait out at the check-in booth "Hey, what gives?". She claimed to not remember the order we were all in. Strange, since I was the only person in line during our first "conversation".
Then the hormones kicked in and I also suspected that the universe was trying to tell me something about going against my anti-Wal-Mart principles. And I kinda lost it. You know, for me. Like in public. And when I lose it in a public setting, I usually fight the instinct to use bad words by using big words. I'm not sure why. But what I said to her was "I empathize with your computer situation but that in no way exempts you from providing a modicum of customer service and human courtesy". Yeah, I don't know. She looks at me and she says "What's a modicum? Is that some Texan thing?" (Aha, so she DOES remember my license plate! And thus should have some indication of the timeline.). I told her that it meant the most measly amount of decency she could scrounge and wished her a lovely weekend. And I drove away from Wal-Mart. And I won't be back until we need more Skinny Cow.
Rapid Lube? Exquisite service. With a smile. And no moral dilemma either. Plus, my floorboards are finally clean.
10/20/2008 5:09:50 PM We are feeling especially homesick for some certain Austinites today:
(All photos are from the Connell birthday party collection. I tried to pick just one and alas, could not.)
Happy Birthday Betsy! We wish we could have been there for your big 0-1. You wear toddlerhood well, you gorgeous thing. :)
10/19/2008 8:49:28 PM Today was my first post-cerclage outing and it was certainly worth the effort though I'm a bit sore and cranky tonight. Victor & his Daddy-O had an even bigger day as they headed to the Grafton Rendezvous first thing this morning with PopPaw. For some reason, no pictures were taken during that jaunt even though I'm sure there was a great opportunity during his teepee exploration. Oh well.
Once they were back home, we had lunch and cleaned up a bit for our much-anticipated trip with Mimi to the Symphony for the Peter & the Wolf concert. Victor napped for the whole drive which put him in a pretty good mood for the performance. We've definitely determined that he's happy when the music is playing but when the conductor chit chats, he gets rather squirrelly. We were most looking forward to Peter & the Wolf itself but I think that in the end, we all most enjoyed Rossini's "Thieving Magpie Overture" the most.
Here's a mini-montage of Victor's most action-packed Sunday in Illinois, to date:
10/18/2008 2:43:01 PM Today we had a visit from a very beloved Austinite and fellow die-hard Democrat, Cousin Susan! Here are some shots from the reunion:
The awesome part is that we'll get to see her again next month. And the month after, too! We miss her.
10/17/2008 8:00:49 PM Recovery is going well. I guess that when my worst complaints are my nausea (not improving in the slightest) and my injection site from my flu shot, that's a pretty good sign that the surgery has gone well. And so far, I've been able to get lots of rest and time off my feet. Daddy-O has been chief caregiver and has been doing a bang-up job of it. And Victor has really been such a good boy about rolling with things this whole week. He apparently had a blast with Mimi while we were gone for 12 hours on Wednesday and he even got to hang out with his pal Avery that day (should have made Mimi take pictures).
It's been nice to have some visits from Gaga and Mimi these past few days. Gaga even brought black bottom pie. And yeah, it's almost gone. Nausea or not, there's no resisting that pie! And we've got some more fun family visits to look forward to in the next few days. Hopefully I'll readjust to sitting upright for a while!
10/15/2008 6:36:03 PM I miss Austin. So very much. Medically speaking, everything was just so darned easy there. Today's cerclage was exponentially more harrowing than the one I had in Austin with Victor. But it's in and it went well and the baby looks great (no gender revelations though James has unfounded speculations). I continue my recent streak of phlebotomy troubles though. I'm now at two times in a row of having to get stuck 6+ times in order to draw blood/put in IVs. And the spinal block didn't go a whole heck of a lot better (no general anesthesia, much to my dismay). and then it took more than two hours to feel my legs again.
On the bright side, the baby now has its official unisex nickname. "Blabby". It appears to be blabbing away in there at all times. So much so that it doesn't see fit to give us any good views of its anatomical details. But Blabby looks big and strong and healthy so we won't complain. Much.
The really interesting development of the day was that I was 1 centimeter dilated when I went into surgery. James, ever strangely the optimist, pointed out that this completely vindicated me in my stubborn insistence that I be given the cerclage in spite of my doctors' group not necessarily feeling that it was appropriate. I'm trying to cling to that and chant "I told you so!" but I'm mostly still just really, really, really freaked out that I was dilated at just under 14 weeks. I'm just very thankful that I got the surgery before anything unpleasant happened. And I'm happy to have it over with, obviously. Now it's time to rest and calm my nerves. For many days.
10/14/2008 9:43:13 PM Jeepers! Gotta be out of the house by 6:00 tomorrow morning to head for Barnes-Jewish for cerclage but we we're all up way too late tonight. But hey, I'm just going to get knocked out anyway so no biggie for me. I'm foolishly hoping that maybe we'll get some hint about gender tomorrow (we found out even earlier than this with Victor) but I have a feeling that this doctor isn't really the type to indulge those whims. We've substantially narrowed down names already though so I'm anxious to know!
At any rate, better get my last snack (more applesauce!) before the midnight cutoff and hit the hay. We'll all be dragging a bit tomorrow but there are definitely some things worth staying up late for:
(Last birthday shoutout to Jack & Bernie for this year!)
10/14/2008 8:03:12 AM Happy 4th Birthday to our sweet little buddies Bernie & Jack! (Still hoping we get down there for cake and ice cream tonight if I'm done projectile vomiting by then). Feels like I was just waving at those little boys from behind the NICU glass and now they're these awesome big boy role models for Victor. I'm so happy we get to see them more than once a year now!
10/12/2008 9:16:35 AM So apparently Victor is willing to wear a hat voluntarily. It just has to be at this jaunty angle:
10/10/2008 7:20:44 PM Yeah, I've turned into kind of a blog deadbeat. But I have the perfect excuse, really. Really, I do. (For those of you who have been privy to the information leak, feel free to say "Um yeah, duh!"). I'm pregnant. 13 weeks today, to be exact. Hence the official unburdening of the secret. And the nausea. And the crippling fatigue. And the emotional tumultuousness.
To call this pregnancy a surprise is a drastic understatement. Frankly, it's still a shock (Just ask the recipients of the now famous "Are you sitting down!??!?" e-mail). Because yes, it occurred without the aid of technology. Found out I was pregnant just a few days before Victor started school in Austin, actually. So that was a rather emotional week, to say the least.
We've joked off and on that this is our "free baby" but it would seem that no baby comes for free and this one is collecting its fee in units of bile. I'm having the worst morning sickness I've ever had. That or I really did block out the yuckiness of the other two times. So I'm pallid and tired and usually cringing but quite giddy otherwise. I just rarely have the energy to actually smile.
I'm really hoping that I start feeling better soon because Victor's really gotten the raw end of this deal. We just plain don't get out and do much that we aren't specifically scheduled to do. Speaking of scheduled things though, therapy went extremely well this week and he keeps falling asleep in the car afterwards so there's the silver lining of the long drive (an hour and change). But yeah anyway, I had really hoped to get out and do more with him this week since my cerclage surgery is next week and I'll be in recovery mode (no official bedrest but no more activity than is necessary for several days).
We've settled in pretty nicely up here in Carrollton and are generally enjoying the slower pace (and the quiet!) but we're starting to get antsy knowing that we need to get closer to the city fairly soon so we can get to my appointments and the hospital and therapy a lot more quickly. Oh, and then there's potty training and big boy bed transition to contend with before spring. Thank goodness Victor has been so resilient about the relocation so far. That's nothing compared to the adjustments that lie ahead!
So it's time for me to stock up on my ginger Altoids and barf bags and start braving life while we've still got wonderful weather and I'm able-bodied. But tomorrow? Salon day with Mimi & Gaga. I think that might help my outlook just a tad. And Victor will get to have an entire day of Daddy-O (seersee, this is now what Victor calls him) because let's face it - Daddy-O is far more fun than Mommy right now.
10/5/2008 7:54:15 PM We pumpkin patched. And wow, it was a madhouse! Victor & I dragged Mimi out to brave the crowds at Eckerts' and then we went to another small orchard from there. Victor had fun but was skittish about stuff he would normally want to do, opting instead to go back to the tractor over and over and over again. He did feed the goats and ride a pony without flinching though. We were so glad that we took the time to go to the second orchard (which was oh so tranquil in comparison) where I scored a cool 50-pounder. Forgot to get a picture of it though!
I did get quite a few pics though, as one would expect. Here are the highlights from the first pumpkin patch of '08:
Pretty sure it won't be the last. We've still got a lot of October!
Oh yeah, and here a few pictures from the park this week that I forgot to ever put up:
(The view from the side of the park.)
(A boy who enjoys the fall temps!)
(Captain Wild Hair)
10/4/2008 4:29:04 PM Steady improvement in quality of life here in the past few days. ;) First of all, we're finally boxless! In the house, that is. There are still some on the back porch but we have most of the stuff that's going to the storage unit at the storage unit. I'm sure that come early next week I'll desperately need my green flip flops out of storage. James will be so pleased.
Also, therapy yesterday was considerably better than the eval from hell. Still not as magical as his clinic/therapists in Austin but it holds promise nonetheless. I just keep reminding myself that it will take a few weeks to really get a plan going in therapy. We're still in the "this is what he does" phase. One thing that I'm really excited about is that this new clinic focuses a lot on sensory feeding issues. That's an area where we really feel like we can use some help because Victor just won't try anything new or different at all. And I do believe that it's mostly sensory and probably also a little bit of peanut allergy post traumatic stress!
Hoping to maybe, just maybe, enjoy some fall fun tomorrow. I think it's time for a pumpkin patching trip, if we all feel up to it. I think the fresh air would do us all some good, ragweed or no.
10/1/2008 8:00:45 PM New day, new clinic. I stayed up way too late last night researching but was able to find what sounds like a great clinic for Victor. I'm trying not to get prematurely optimistic but it seems a lot like his old clinic in Austin. I just want him somewhere more homey where the therapists all treat in tandem and get to know the kids well. And more importantly, where he might be able to have therapy with other kids at some point. I'm cautiously optimistic. The great part is that he got in for this Friday for a speech session and an OT eval. Fingers crossed.
9/30/2008 9:50:22 PM The much-anticipated speech eval was kind of a giant disappointment. More than kind of. After a rather long drive to get there, the experience did not inspire a huge amount of confidence about the therapy he'd get there. I was sitting there thinking "Why did we leave Austin??!?!?!??!?!?" It's the first time I've really felt that way. And then it got worse.
No one bothered to mention to me in the various phone conversations I've had with them during the past 2 months that there is a waiting list 15 kids deep. That probably amounts to a few months of waiting. Which we can't afford, especially after we've waited almost a month already. I'm really not sure what we'll do since part of the reason for going there was to do his speech and his OT in one place. I'm not at all pleased.
While we were all down there anyway though, we decided to have dinner at The Tap Room to reward ourselves. It truly did salvage the trip. It was SO good. It is almost even better than we remembered, especially the Pale Ale. So smooth, so delicious. Even Victor covets it............
(Not staged. The boy is obsessed with somehow getting tastes of beer and with beer that good, even his prudish mother can't blame him.)
9/28/2008 9:28:21 PM I think this move was worth it just for the endless supply of dahlias from Gaga and yellow tomatoes from Mimi. Seersee, check these out:
Victor's not napping as a general rule but he's happy as a clam, even without many playdates or outings yet. He definitely loves his playroom and he loves his frequent visits from Mimi. Here he is sharing a reunion of sorts with the most obnoxious singing animals ever known to momkind:
He really is doing well though so I guess it may be time to think about school, even though I'm PETRIFIED about the peanut allergy situation and, perhaps even more than that, the flight risk situation (some of you heard the tale of his jailbreak......and yes, I'm still traumatized by it). We're going over to St. Louis for his speech evaluation in a few days as well. I'll be glad to start getting a handle on his therapy schedule. So far I really haven't minded the rural lifestyle much but driving 90 minutes to therapy once or twice a week is likely to change that.
9/25/2008 12:17:22 PM Finally got pics together a little. Not quite to usual standards of quality but considering that I rarely get to shower before 10 p.m., this was no small feat. Here's the pics from the move and from the house when we first arrived:
And here are the pics from our first days as official Carrolltonians, including a trip to the park I played in as a child:
And while Mellencamp's sentiments are sweet and all, I do pine for the city. But I'm also enjoying the slowness and the quiet. For now.
9/24/2008 9:02:32 PM We had friends over! Oh, the excitement! And what better friends to have over than the Heathy bunch (Heather, Chris, Bernie & Jack)? It was so much fun to see everyone enjoying the playroom and it was cool to hang out with dear friends and to realize "hey, we can do this all the time!". The only HUGE bummer? I forgot to take any pictures whatsoever. I do actually have quite a few pictures I'm still compiling from the move and the first week here but our spotty internet has prevented me from posting it with my usual timeliness.
But we had friends over! At our kinda house!
9/22/2008 3:30:22 PM "We're not in Texas anymore".
I had to run to St. Louis today and I grabbed some Steak N Shake on the way back home (Whataburger, you are all but forgotten to us now!). I ordered a sweet tea and the waitress was extremely puzzled. And so begins our slow acclimation to being Midwesterners again.
9/20/2008 3:49:25 PM We're in the house and while we're still constantly at work, it's starting to feel pretty comfy, especially Victor's playroom. Things were going really, really well until last night at which point Victor began projectile vomiting. We think it's a peanut oil-related thing but it's lingering into today which is disconcerting. He already wasn't eating as well as normal so now his pants are REALLY going to be loose. Oh, and our cell phones don't work here at all. They kinda work in Jerseyville but not here.
James just got the living room set up so we are greatly looking forward to chilling out and watching some TV tonight. I'm not sure if we'll have the energy for it after last night's constant pukefest though. I just now got all of the multiple sets of bedding and the stuffed animals clean and ready to be re-deployed.
Sorry we've been so horrible about returning e-mails in general. Hopefully we'll have some normalcy in the next few days. Somehow.
9/14/2008 8:10:45 AM Victor and I are Illinoisans now. The trip was 17 hours with stops and he was an absolute joy to be in the car with throughout. (Pru was also a model feline passenger). But yesterday was the brutal day. Fatigue had us cranky, confused and especially needy. Oh, and clumsy. Luckily there was late sleeping today so things are already looking up. Well, they would be anyway, if it weren't for the torrential rains. I'm quite certain that this rain is far worse than anything we got in Austin. Odd.
We're doing a lot of resting and will go visit Pru in Carrollton later if the rain ever lets up a bit. Victor liked the house yesterday but he doesn't have any idea that he's about to live there. And I'm quite daunted by having to see the first load there in the house already. I kinda didn't want to see that stuff again any time soon!
9/11/2008 12:46:42 PM Victor had his last day of school in Austin today. Here he is with Miss Christy:
Now it's on to frenzied preparations for tomorrow's road trip with Mimi & Pru. I guess it's way too late to change our minds, huh?
9/10/2008 8:54:52 PM OK, here's probably the last montage for a while. No really, I swear. This is Victor saying farewell to his dear friends John & Betsy today. He even requested that I use his very favorite song:
(He loves to sing that song.)
For the past few weeks I've been grumbling about how Victor just now is finally actually playing with John and showing him more attention and affection but really, I'm just so happy that he's realized what an awesome friend he's got while we were still here to enjoy it. Never mind that he flirts with his little sister!
9/10/2008 2:36:28 PM Today was Victor's last day of therapy and he definitely went out on a high note. I'm so proud of him for working so hard these past six months. The difference in his skills is really, really amazing. Seersee. And he made some wonderful friends for life there, especially his Miss Gabi, Miss Megan and Miss Nova. There were many tears shed upon saying goodbye but luckily none from Mr. Happily Oblivious. I know he'll miss them though. Here he is enjoying a cookie party with Megan and "Giobuddy" (Giovanni):
I am forever grateful to the crew at CT and I feel a tremendous responsibility to see that their magic is continued elsewhere. It's going to be mighty hard to find therapists he loves quite that much though!
We also had our one last picnic and park date with R, J & B. There are pictures, of course, but it will take me a while to sort them because I've got packing to do and I'm in denial about that really being the last time we see them for a while. There are some extra special shots though. ;) Trust me. (Livie might get jealous.)
9/9/2008 4:09:37 PM Victor busted my nose this afternoon. He didn't mean to but he did. There was so much blood that I was sure it was broken but once I iced it for a while and then checked it out, it doesn't look that bad. Just looks like I had a little playground scuffle (or perhaps a collision with a 3-year-old, very hard head!). Probably just a bunch of broken capillaries or maybe a slight fracture but nothing earth-shattering. But that's not to say that I didn't call James in hysterics begging him to come home. He's a good husband.
Also, I'm trying not to be horrified by all of the new polls. I should probably stop looking at CNN lest I begin to really stew. But let's just say that I was really happy when Mimi said that we have a phone bill waiting for us in Carrollton. Proof of residency! One of my very first outings as a Carrolltonian will be to the courthouse to register to vote in Greene County. Obamanos, y'all. :)
9/9/2008 7:57:41 AM Well, this is unprecedented but a very necessary measure. I'm going to need to repost the Chuy's montage because I've added some really great pictures that Ruth got. Sadly, the only person missing from this montage now is Ruth.
Miss Christy was back at school this morning. Victor was beside himself with glee and was practically pushing us out of the room.
9/8/2008 12:54:24 PM Nobody got anywhere near enough sleep last night. And after two days of excitedly talking about Miss Christy, Victor had a substitute teacher today. He didn't exactly like her. And I forgot to put his medic alert bracelet on. And James had a tire rotation saga. And I got a manicure that I immediately mangled. And after a lunch date with Lia, I had to say goodbye (for now) to one of my best friends in the entire universe. And then seeing me walk back into therapy from my lunch date made Victor have a total meltdown. And he's officially sick of quesadillas. Can Monday just be over now?
9/7/2008 8:50:47 PM OK, at this rate we need to just leave town in the middle of the night tonight so that I'm not a complete weepy mess. Tonight we had a Chuy's Send-off with the Connells. This was significant for a number of reasons. It was my first time back to that location since the time I slipped and fell on the floor when I was 36 (or was it 37?) weeks pregnant with Victor. Also, it was extremely delicious and was just exactly how I want to remember Tex-Mex. Most importantly, it was a fun and relaxing dinner with very dear friends. I'm so glad we made time for it. Thanks Ruth & Tommy! And John & Betsy!
Here are some special moments from our last dinner out with our friends. For a while.
(Updated version as of 9/9)
And just to further tug at heartstrings, here's the boys around this time 2 years ago:
Oh, the tears.
9/7/2008 1:07:24 PM Lots of fun and lots of sadness this morning. We had our last playdate with Lori & Livie for a while. Of all of Victor's friends, Livie is the one I'm most afraid he will miss. That's not to say that his other friends won't be missed but there is just something about Livie that makes Victor feel so happy and comfortable. Here they are together for..........never mind I can't bring myself to say it. Here they are:
And now I'll get back to packing through the tears. Victor is happily oblivious. And not napping, of course.
9/5/2008 4:13:30 PM We just got home from Victor's 3 year well check with Dr. Mirrop. I didn't cry even though it saddened me to be leaving behind a doctor that has been so wonderful to us. Not only is he incredibly chipper and easy to talk to but he's really bent over backwards to help us get Victor all of his therapies. His shoes will be extremely hard to fill!
Oh yeah, but about the appointment, eh? Victor's healthy as can be. He's 33.5 pounds now which is hanging nicely in the 75th percentile (I'll stop fretting about his sporadic eating, I suppose). And he's not at all surprisingly a whopping 40 inches tall. So there you have it.
It turned out to make for a very long day because Victor had therapy for 2 hours as soon as he got out of school. I finally managed to take a few pictures while he was there though. For those of you who have asked about what he does in his occupational therapy, here's some of it:
(Swinging on the hot dog swing with Gabi)
(Jumping on the trampoline)
(Doing his balance and fine motor activities on the beam)
(Scooter boarding and puzzles)
Last weekend in Austin. Not even sure what to do. You know, except to pack.
9/2/2008 1:23:13 PM Victor is napping. Victor in napping. In his bed. In his bed. Victor's napping in his bed. Victor's napping in his bed. Mommy likes the quiet.
(thanks to therapy, everything in life is now to the tune of Frere Jacques)
9/2/2008 12:39:01 PM [James here] "Best boy ever." That is accidentally the name of a routine that I go through with Victor when I come home from work. I get down on my knees, pick him up, and toss him into the air asking "Are you the best boy ever?" When he comes down he gets a kiss on the cheek and then it's back into the air with the same question. This happens around 3-4 times.
What's funny is that now Victor will greet me when I come home by saying "Best boy ever." For him, it's probably just recognition of what's about to happen, but what I like to imagine is that he is answering the question and claiming that he is, in fact, the best boy ever.
9/1/2008 7:40:56 PM Victor was such a good, sweet boy all weekend. I really think the new nap-free lifestyle is agreeing with him. Don't get me wrong though - if he suddenly takes a nap, I will embrace it while I can! He's sleeping so much better this way though. And having to get up at 6:15 to get ready for school certainly helps him feel like calming down by 7:00ish too.
Speaking of which, I tried to talk about Miss Christy (his teacher) off and on this weekend to convey that she's part of the routine now like Megan and Gabi and Sharon all are. And honestly, I was also trying to feel him out a little about his attitude toward school. He whined once when I brought her up and I could see the look on his face of "Oh no, please not school right now!" but in general, talking about her makes him smile. I'm sure he'll absolutely love her by next Thursday (his last day of school in Austin!).
I actually got a lot of packing done today after getting a pretty dismal amount done Saturday and Sunday. Victor went to the park with Daddy this morning and that allowed me a whole hour and a half to tackle the china cabinet. I have the worst of it done (and by worst I mean the most fragile stuff.........the stuff I agonize over and use way too much bubble wrap on). It was an interesting exercise because so many of my treasures are Grandma Pressler's and it really made me reflect on going to live in her house. She's been gone so long now that I have come to refer to the house as Grandpa's but make no mistake, that house is and always will be HERS. Her presence there will be formidable, I'm sure. And very much cherished, much like the treasures she passed on to me. It will be so strange and wonderful to have them back from whence they came.
The countdown is on. Victor & I leave Austin in just 11 days. James leaves in 14. I'm giddy and I'm morose (and yes, I know that someone out there is saying "Yeah, what's new?" Probably Barnett).
8/29/2008 3:25:44 PM The first week of school was a success because all evidence points to Victor actually liking his teacher quite a lot and he obviously does enjoy himself while he's there. There's a little less crying every day now. And from all reports, there is more and more socialization going on already.
Today we ventured into uncharted territory after school. The Connells introduced us to Hoppin' Hippo. It's in Hutto. Yeah, Hutto. Pretty cool place, although I really have no photographic evidence of that. We had the usual problem of boys shooting off in opposite directions. Victor did have fun though and he most certainly wore himself out. This picture pretty much tells the story:
I got excited, thinking the nap ban was finally being lifted. But nope, the transfer attempt was a big NO-GO. We are all sleeping so late tomorrow. Meaning 8:00.
8/28/2008 3:49:35 PM As a special treat today (I told him it was for being a good big boy at school but we really would have gone anyway), Victor & I met up with Lori & Livie for brunch and a park date. Once Victor got past his hungry grumpies, he was so happy to be with his favorite girl. I think he really enjoys being with someone who makes him feel so at ease. It's been stressful meeting a bunch of new people this week!
Anyway, there were so many sweet smiles between the two pals today that there was no avoiding a montage:
(He keeps asking to see this again and again.)
8/28/2008 8:35:00 AM Well hey, today seemed maybe a little better. As suspected, Victor started to fret the moment I put his Medic Alert bracelet on. He knows what that means. He very willingly went into the car but with a look of excessive worry on his face. But we got over there and he walked at his usual pace and even opened the door to the classroom to walk right in. He cried once we got in there but he wasn't nearly as clingy and was just kinda walking around and doing his half cry. So he's definitely still working out his misgivings about school but he's starting to get with the program a little more. I described his more independent behavior this morning as "bravery" but James prefers to just refer to it as "acceptance". Which may be more accurate, really.
8/27/2008 6:53:15 AM Dropoffs are getting a little harder each day. Yesterday, Victor was happy while we walked across the street and happy while we walked into the building and happy while we walked down the hall but horrified the moment we stepped into the classroom. Full-on leg clinging and crying. So we had to just leave him there wailing in his teacher's arms while we skulked away. She said he calmed down fairly quickly though.
Today, he started crying as soon as we parked the car (we've started driving over to the crosswalk and parking on a side street there). He held our hands and walked like a big boy but he was fighting tears the whole time. And of course, it all broke loose when we got into the classroom. We're guessing that tomorrow he'll burst into tears the moment we tell him to put his shoes on.
8/25/2008 8:20:00 PM OK, well, I don't think my son takes naps anymore as a general rule. I'm getting more and more comfortable with this (I sure wasn't a week ago!) because he goes to sleep so quickly at night this way. That's much more peaceful for all of us because when he naps in the afternoon, he usually won't fall asleep until after 10:00. Napless? Well, tonight he was sound asleep by 7:45. And luckily he's a really good sleeper once he actually goes to sleep so I think he actually gets more overall rest this way. He's still so clumsy and a bit punchy in the afternoons without a nap but I guess we'll all work through it if this is how things work now. I am still enforcing "an hour in bed" every afternoon though. I'd like to say that it's quiet time but it's sure not one bit quiet. He's content, for the most part, and he's chilling out alone but there's usually singing and/or animated yelling involved.
I should clarify that he is not by any means asking to go to bed at 7:30. In fact, he seems pretty offended at the suggestion, to the point of kicking and screaming, but he calms down by pajama time. Usually. No one was surprised that he fell asleep so quickly tonight though. It was a BIG day. Not only did he have his first day of school but he also had two hours of therapy immediately afterwards. He was definitely dragging toward the end (especially when he had to do his puzzle work in the dreaded net swing) but he really hung in there and impressed us all.
So yeah, how was it, eh? Well, school seemed to be a success overall. He was so happy to get in the classroom and find his favorite toy that he could not be bothered to say goodbye. This made things somewhat easier on us (although James still had to console me as I wept for the walk out of the building) but I did fear that it may have made it more traumatizing for him. Ms. Janie, his teacher's aide, said that he cried about 2 minutes after we left but that they were able to get him back on track fairly easily. He looked fine when he went out to the playscape at 9:00 (I was spying from half a block away). A little skittish but not weepy, at least. Victor, I mean.
The only disconcerting thing was that when I went to pick Victor up (10 minutes early since we had to dash off to therapy), he was standing at the sink shooting water everywhere. On the one hand, there's just one teacher and one aide for that whole classroom and I don't know that anything could really have been done. And it's the first day so I'm not rushing to judgment. I just really want to be sure that he's being corrected and redirected when necessary, especially with repetitive and ritualistic behaviors. But there's the other part of me that thought "Well, at least he found something he liked!". He was soaking wet but smiling from ear to ear. And yes, very happy to see me! I guess it goes without saying that the feeling was quite mutual.
8/25/2008 7:09:54 AM Victor is at school and the house is quiet. And yes, I cried. He has probably cried by now too but he was happily busy when we left him there:
The walk over was a lot longer than we expected. It's just a block away, less really, but we had to walk all the way down to the crosswalk and that added a whole 5 minutes. Driving over and parking looked even worse though.
Once we got in the school, Victor wanted to see the fish, of course:
But we had to skedaddle him down the hallway to his classroom:
Once he caught a glimpse of the pre-K/kindergarten common area though, he was in a sprint and it took some gentle wrangling from Daddy to get him into the classroom:
I think he'll do fine. 2 1/2 hours to go. Deep breaths.
(Note: the time stamp is still an hour off. Victor did not go to school at 6:45. Maybe James could pull that off but neither Victor nor myself could come close.)
8/24/2008 7:17:16 PM Was there any doubt that the circus adventure would involve a montage?
Good times.
8/24/2008 1:36:31 PM After 6 days without a nap, Victor finally broke yesterday afternoon and took a nap. Never mind that it wasn't until almost 4:30! He was beside himself with fatigue so we let him nap even though it's not usually a good idea at that late hour. He was especially exhausted because we had a very special (and tiring) Mommy & Boy day with Ruth & John. Kerbey Lane and the circus (and I do mean THE circus, as in Barnum & Bailey) all in one day! I was tired too. (Pictures are still being sorted and compiled.) It was a grand time. Truly.
Today, we opted for something a little more lowkey. We took our farewell trip to Zilker Park to play a bit and ride the Zephyr. One. Last. Time. :( Victor definitely had a lot of fun since outdoor time has been somewhat limited this week (but you won't catch us complaining about the much-needed rain!). Here are some moments from the last Zephyr ride. For a while, anyway..............
Tomorrow's excitement? Oh, just the first day of school. Ever!
8/21/2008 9:42:25 PM Tonight we had the Back to School "Picnic" (that term was used very loosely, in my opinion) across the street at Victor's school and he was so excited to get into the building so that he could show Daddy the aquarium and then hussle him down the hall to his classroom. James was left with a pretty favorable/optimistic opinion, much like I was a few days ago. Now we'll just have to see how it goes on Monday.
Victor and I read "The Kissing Hand" for the first time maybe close to a week ago in an attempt to help him with the transition to school and the concept that Mommy is still looking out for him even when he's at school (not that I'll be driving around the block repeatedly or anything, nooooo, of course not). It has quickly become one of his very favorite books and he loves to very dramatically say the title and present it to me for storytime. Here's his favorite page:
(He definitely has taken that new toys to play with part to heart.)
And here's the page that still makes me cry 80% of the times that I read it:
(Yeah, I think that is a possum.)
My boy is going to school. Allegedly.
8/19/2008 12:04:19 PM After a few rough days around here, there is a lot of cautious optimism all of a sudden. The house in under contract. We're not letting ourselves get entirely excited yet but it's hard not to be equal parts thrilled and terrified when we might be moving in 3 weeks. Yeah, you heard me right. If this deal really comes to fruition, I will at least be freed up a bit for packing the house.
Any why? Well, because Victor starts school on Monday. We've gone back and forth and back and forth for many days now about whether or not to bother starting him here but I believe that we will, especially after this morning's developments. Victor & I just went over to school (it's just a block away!) to turn his Epipens in to the school nurse and while there, I asked the clerks where his classroom was and if it would be OK to wander back there.
It was like he knew exactly where he was going. I think he could feel the aura of the toys or something. At any rate, he ran into that room like he was just meant to be there. And trust me, it's not the most exotic place I've ever seen. He was right at home though. We even got to meet the teacher aides and his teacher, Miss Christy! While he didn't exactly go overboard with warm greetings, he didn't recoil in horror upon meeting them so I was mightily encouraged.
I'm really glad that we've gone over there several times now just to walk around the halls and see the aquarium because he definitely feels like it's an OK place to go now. I do realize that he's probably going to feel a lot differently when there are other kids in the classroom (there will almost certainly be some whining and clinging) but I feel pretty good about how well he might do come Monday. Doesn't mean I won't cry though!
Also, it's been raining today. A lot. Finally. And Victor slept late. Things are looking up.
8/16/2008 3:25:16 PM We were due for a cold anytime now and Victor seems to have one. It had been so long that we were rather confused by his whiny behavior and sleep disturbances. Today he's coughing and sneezing and his nose is running. He's not in terrible spirits or anything but we decided that he was spewing forth too many germs to go to his friend Saira's birthday party.
Our big adventure for the day turned out to be driving out to Taylor to go to Louie Mueller's for one of our last barbeque field trips (I don't think it will be our very last because we'll almost certainly still have to go to Lockhart for Kreuz's in the next month). We didn't get out there until almost noon so the line was very, very long. We had a good half hour wait to get to the counter. And after all of that, Victor had no interest in brisket or ribs. Truly sad. He just wanted iced tea. And cake. Always with the cake.
James and I were able to enjoy a little Q though and we brought home as much as we ate and then some. We might have gotten a bit carried away. It's easy to do when you have to wait in that line because you get up there and feel like you have to stock up for 6 months. ;)
Victor spent his time just looking cute and getting sweatier by the minute:
He managed to display yet another "Purely PopPaw" expression:
(I may do this too but it screams PopPaw to me. James agreed.)
And all attempts by Daddy to offer him food were rebuffed:
Once we got back home, he was happily reunited with the orange bean bag:
And now both boys are napping away and I find myself almost (but not quite) disappointed because I was contemplating swimming. Nothing gets pit smoke off of you like chlorine, after all.
8/15/2008 4:20:47 PM Well, I had pretty much decided that we wouldn't bother with Music Together in Illinois since we'll have so many other things to finagle. Plus, it just won't be even close to the same. But today I looked at the class locator again and told myself "OK, but I am ONLY doing this if there is a class in Alton". And hey, there's a class in Alton. Not just that but I noticed from the director's address that she lives just a few doors down from Cousin Betty in Kirkwood. So yeah, I think that's meant to be. I'll just try not to think about the fact that the only time that works for us is Friday at 3:30. (The writing's on the wall. Napping is a luxury now and not a daily one.)
So this marks a huge moment, really. I am signing Victor up for music. In Illinois. This is really happening. I'm glad it worked out because I think that having something so familiar will really help Victor with the transition. So many other things will be so new but it will be a great comfort to both of us to hear those opening strums of "Hello Everybody..........."
8/13/2008 2:37:42 PM For some reason I've always been resistant to taking Victor to Chuck E. Cheese's. I was rather intimidated by it and was admittedly a bit snobbish about doing something so, well, cheesy. Lori convinced me to give it a shot. And yeah, he liked it. He really, really liked it. And not just because there was pizza either.
Victor was completely enthralled with riding the rides and playing the games. The concept of putting a token into a slot and making something happen was something so new and so exciting that he could barely contain himself. You know what he can say really, really clearly and loudly? "Mommy. Money!" He is also good at taking the more aggressive approach and just pawing his way into my pocket to get more tokens. I'm not sure if money just going into the piggy bank here at home will ever be as neato again.
Here's some footage of his maiden CEC voyage:
Yeah, the song seemed borderline inappropriate but I felt like the juxtaposition of Foreigner and the monster truck made it work. :)
8/12/2008 1:32:22 PM We had our last music class today. It's always a little sad to wind down any session of class but especially when you know it's the end of the line. Of an era, really. And I might have stayed emotionally stable to the very end if Carey hadn't sung "Happy Trails" to us. It was brutal.
This montage is short but sweet. 2 1/2 years of this song meaning "hey, almost time to put our shoes on!" and now it means something entirely else:
What a blessing to have had Miss Carey and Heartsong in our lives though. Such a bright spot in every week for both Victor and myself and it's definitely given Victor a very profound love of music. He sang before he talked, after all! I'm so thankful for the time we got to spend in such a positive space with such loving people, some of whom will be friends for life. Especially our beloved Miss Carey (who is no longer called "Crazy!").
After our tearful music goodbye, I figured I might as well just wallow in tears so I took Victor to register for school. I don't think I can muster the strength to talk about that yet. ;) And yes, it's possible that he might not even go to school here but I want to be ready in case. Ready. Yeah. Right.
8/12/2008 12:49:25 PM We finally let Victor go outside to play after dinner last night (for the first time in a few weeks, thanks to the novelty of new toys!). All three of us were missing our wagon rides around the neighborhood and we decided to just face the heat since we all needed baths anyway. Here's Victor in one of his favorite places:
Spiders, tree roaches, grease, rust, dirt and humidity. Yeah, what a great place to hang out!
8/11/2008 7:49:39 PM OK, the weekend recap. It was a bit chaotic, to say the least. Uncle Steven got married and that meant 4 late nights in a row. We also had Uncle John and Aunt Jeanie here at our house for about 24 hours. It was bittersweet knowing that it would be the last time! Unfortunately, I failed to get good wedding pics and I further failed to get pics with J&J and the rest of the gang. Uncle Rich is my only hope in that regard. Victor was just far too unmanageable to allow for much shooting of my own.
I did get Victor out to Jungle Java for some playing time yesterday morning since we were ejected once again for a house showing (we got an offer! yay!). Here he is sliding for the 184th time:
And then being reunited with his beloved laptop in the car afterwards:
We got out for one more indulgent meal last night. We were feeling pretty icky after a few days in a row of really rich food and free wine and beer paired with 104 degree heat (I think we're up to 47 days over 100 now. Seersee.). But we braved Z'Tejas for Jeanie. OK, so we were ecstatic to have an excuse to go. We stayed out too late and ate too much once again but Victor did enjoy wearing my shades out on the patio:
So an exhausting but big weekend. Steven is married! We got to see almost all of our best Austin friends in one night! We have an offer on our house! We're really going to move! I'm terrified!
8/11/2008 2:00:45 PM Victor's still singing Happy Birthday quite a lot (and still hoping that cake will materialize as a result). Today, I like to think that maybe he's singing it to his Great PopPaw, who was born 96 years ago today. For 95 1/2 years, he shared his infectious smile and his jocularity with those of us lucky enough to get to love and adore him. And we sure do miss him every day! I'm looking forward to having our first burger cookout on his patio in his honor very, very soon. I can think of few places more sacred.
Happy Birthday, Old Timer. Many happy knee pats. And if our booze weren't all in boxes somewhere in your house already, I'd raise a scotch & water to you too! :)
8/8/2008 5:13:24 PM Victor has been singing nonstop in the past week. He sings every song from the current music class collection and a lot of songs from past collections keep randomly surfacing (and that's a lot of songs over the past 2 1/2 years!). He also LOVES singing the theme song to Signing Time because he gets to sing "Alex and Leah!" (I think that he thinks the show somehow involves our friends Alex and Lia). But the most sung song of all today is the birthday song ("Happabirthday deeeWictor") but it's not sung just for the fun of it. He seems to believe that it will make cake magically appear. And we're all out of cake. Hopefully my enthusiastic applause will suffice for now.
8/6/2008 12:56:03 PM Things have finally calmed down a bit after all of the birthday festivities happening to coincide with a flurry of house showings. No good news yet on the house, however. And of course now that I feel like things have calmed down a bit, I realize that the house is in need of attention and we're sorely lacking groceries. We're kinda chilling today in spite of that. A day of recovery, if you will. It sounds like that is currently including a nap for Best Boy in the World.
We've had a nice day so far though. Victor got to have one more birthday celebration at therapy. Here he is with Gabi and the Wednesday morning boys (those stats about boys and developmental delays don't lie, do they?):
(Caylen is a little impatient about the candle blowing or lack therof. He wanted cupcake NOW!)
Here's Carter & Caylen. They're about to head off to kindergarten just as we gear up to move and we're going to really miss seeing them every week:
And here is Megan ("MegGAN!") stealing some cupcake from a hapless Victor:
After therapy, we went to get an oil change and car wash on the way home. It was Victor's last time at one of his favorite places (I think we'll be gone by 3 months or 3,000 miles, no?). He really loves watching the cars go through the wash:
Yep, we're getting to the point where we're doing more and more "last time" things. Next Tuesday will be last Music Together class. Ever. Tears will be shed. By me, of course. And this weekend is Uncle Steven's wedding which will mark the last time we get to see a lot of our friends for a while. So yeah, more tears.
8/3/2008 3:07:52 PM Well, it's been wild but fun. Our boy is 3 and he seems to know it. Yesterday he refused to nap before his party because he was too excited about his new toys. He decided to express himself by tearing his crib tent into shreds. So yeah, that's the end of that. Not sure quite how we're proceeding since we didn't really want to get a big boy bed until our next house. For now he's in the crib with the awareness that he can easily be out of it. It could get ugly.
His party was a success though, in spite of the severe nap deficit (which continues, by the way). He had a blast jumping and sliding and I think I can safely say that his buddies had a good time too:
I really enjoyed watching the little people and noticing the difference from last year to this year. They totally know what's up now and when they're ready for the cake, they are ready for the cake. And I love seeing them showing each other so much affection. He has so many dear, sweet little friends in his life and I'm very thankful for it.
Today was comparatively tame. Presents from Mommy & Daddy this morning, followed by the Big Wheel's maiden voyage and then bowling and Whataburger (Mommy, orange W, OK!??!?!!?"). But no, not a nap. Stayed in the crib though. I guess part of his birthday celebration will be an early bedtime. But here's the first part of it:
And now I must fill the baby pool. I haven't mentioned it recently but it's still hot here. As in really, really, very, very hot.
8/2/2008 10:51:08 AM Um, let's just say that Victor is getting this whole birthday boy concept. He wants "pwesents"! He adores everything he's gotten so far: his train set (an early gift from us), his laptop (thanks G!) and his Crocodile Dentist, or as he calls it, "algator" (thanks Aunt Jeanie and Uncle John!). Yep, the third birthday is a whole new ballgame. He gets that he's the focus and he actually has interests! Way more fun for everyone. :)
8/1/2008 7:45:38 PM Victor kicked off his birthday weekend today by going on his first chaperoned date with Miss Livie. Lori & I took the kiddos to see Wall-E. We set our expectations for completion low but they really hung in there. They were far more interested in each other than in the movie after a while though. We had joked that maybe they'd hold hands and then they did! Not only that but they relentlessly hugged each other and Victor allowed Livie to give him several kisses (offering his cheek enthusiastically). Cutest of all though, Victor handfed a very willing Livie a slew of popcorn. There were many giggles. Well here, see for yourself:
(If Lori got pics of the handholding, I'm going to have to update this. Also, this song is one of Victor's very, very favorites and he smiles helplessly when it comes on. I've been saving it for the perfect montage. Oh man, is he ever going to miss his Livie.)
Tomorrow's the big Mickey Mouse soiree. I just hope he naps beforehand. We spent much of our time today run out of the house by realtors.
7/31/2008 12:55:11 PM So we had the school district meeting this morning. Victor enters preschool in 26 days. Yep, he qualifies for services alright. I guess that in all of the frenzy around here, I somewhat underestimated just how emotionally draining this meeting was going to be. It was more brutal after the fact when it all started to sink in.
I was tearing up as soon as we started even walking into the school (and it's not even the school he'll go to) though. I'm not ready to walk my child into school. Like, at all. I managed to reel myself in and held it together for the duration of the meeting though. Victor charmed the socks off all 6 of the ladies in attendance and was none the wiser that we were all there to decide his fate. Everyone was very nice and conscientious and it was as pleasant of an experience as it probably could have been (although they could have been just a tad more organized).
We headed right to therapy afterwards and the moment Victor's beloved Megan asked how it went, I just kinda turned into a blubbering idiot. And I don't really know why. There were no surprises this morning. It's very odd though. It's like for 18 months, the word autism has been used so sparingly by everyone and it's usually been in hushed tones. Today it was in print in hundreds of different places on many, many, many forms. Sometimes in bold print. Jolting, to say the least. It is what it is and it really changes nothing, except that now Victor can be in a special preschool program. And that's good. It still felt like a solid punch to the gut though.
The gist is this. Victor has an IEP (individualized education plan) which is basically his passport to special education wherever we go. It may change substantially with time. We have good reason to hope that it will because he's doing so great in therapy and adding this socialization piece to the mix should only improve his progress. His primary disability is listed as autism (and he is classified as PDD-NOS, exactly as expected) and his secondary disability is speech impairment. Ironically, this gets him a whopping 30 minutes per week in district speech therapy. Wow. Thanks.
So yeah, he's obviously still going to be getting private therapy. To think otherwise would be a hideous mistake. He gets SO much out of it and it's worth every penny (and it's quite a few pennies, I assure you) to see the confidence and competence he is gaining there. I'll remind myself of this when I'm driving an hour into St. Louis for therapy! Speaking of which, we've got a few buyers coming to look at the house today and tomorrow. Fingers crossed. Don't you just figure that as soon as I get him comfortable and used to the idea of school here, it will be time to head north?
I've got my meltdown out of my system, I think. It's time to focus on the best boy ever's (he calls himself "Best Boy Ever" or "Awesome!" now....thanks Daddy) birthday party and subsequent festivities. Only three spanks on the agenda but thousands of kisses and hugs!
7/29/2008 12:36:59 PM I just stumbled upon an article that may not be of any interest to anyone who reads this blog, except perhaps for Ruth and Lia, but it's the most exciting cinematic news I could possibly imagine!
"Where The Wild Things Are" is a movie. A movie that may or may not ever get released here. I assure you that it will break my heart and/or enrage me if it doesn't. Love Spike Jonze. Sometimes love Dave Eggers. Love, love, love "Where the Wild Things Are". The combination of the three is dizzyingly promising for me, even it may end up being too dark for a 3 year old (because let's face it - I love the book just as much as he does, if not more).
OK. Back to regular Victor programming. But seersee, I'm pumped.
7/27/2008 2:42:29 PM Open House #2 down. If last week was a waste of cookie dough and flowers, this week was a waste of cookie dough, flowers, ice and helium. At least I've got enough helium leftover for party balloons for next Saturday (hopefully). Of course Victor and I had to vacate the premises again. And we had to drag Uncle John, who was here visiting for Uncle Steven's guys' day, with us. We had fun but - you guessed it - it was hot!
Uncle John drug us to Mount Bonnell, where we caught this view:
(Cross that off my list as a place we still need to visit before leaving.)
Victor was, as usual, not feeling the full sun:
We managed to get one group shot, thanks to a friendly stranger, but I was distressed because Victor was removing my prized amethyst earring as the pic was taken:
Uncle John took this shot of the stairs as we were leaving and managed to even capture the two stinkiest guys we've ever encountered: Somehow those guys managed to waft past us about 5 times during our ascent and descent, once even pausing to lift their hands above their heads so that we could fully experience their malodorous fumes.
And then, while Daddy paced around at home waiting for the sudden rush of people to show up at the open house (never happened), we killed a little time at Laguna Gloria. Victor was wearing down by that point but was able to share a few moments on a bench with UJ:
And then we came home to our clean, shiny, greatly ignored house.
[James here] This characterization is a little misleading; unlike last week where we had 5 visitors and none of them were potential homebuyers, this week in the last 20 minutes we had two homebuyers stop by and do a full tour of the house.
[Dawn again] As if. Whatever. Puh-leeze.
7/26/2008 4:46:04 PM Whew. Today we finally rode the Austin Steam Train! It's all part of Mommy's "activity wish list fulfillment" and was a good way to spend a Daddyless Saturday (Daddy was busy with a guys' outing). And what could make it even better? Cousin Susan, of course! We had a lot of fun, in spite of having to endure some wicked heat and pushing WAY past naptime. Another montage coming at you, this time featuring Victor's favorite song:
And now time for a lowkey night of pizza and mopping.
7/26/2008 3:02:48 PM Last night marked one of those firsts to which I'm been sooooo looking forward. Victor went bowling! He really caught on quickly too. He understood the concept of the lanes and what to do pretty immediately. The only thing that really escaped him (surprise, surprise!) was the idea of taking turns. He thought that it was going to be just 10 frames of all Vector all the time. (The dude at the counter misspelled Victor's name).
Good times. Rolling. Everything I dreamed of and more.
Also yesterday? Mimi & PopPaw's 38th wedding anniversary. Hope it was a good one, you two.
(Victor loves this pic of M&P. I do too.)
7/23/2008 2:45:24 PM Today I've spent quite a bit of time taking pictures of Victor's favorite toys, etc., for his "social story" that his SLP Megan is constructing for him. We are making a picture book to depict leaving the old house and then going to the new house but seeing familiar things/faces/activities there to help him rehearse the transition a little in his mind. I wanted to get a more recent picture of Pru so that he could be assured that his kitty will be at the new house. I somehow don't think these are what Megan had in mind as depictions though:
Pru's a good sport. And really, so is that bear.
7/21/2008 3:18:50 PM Victor is presently napping VERY hard, thanks to RockNRiver. Unfortunately, his enjoyment of RNR was somewhat hindered by the fact that he was tired going in. He definitely did have a lot of fun but there were many mini-battles. Lots of that whole "I want to be on my own but I can't do any of this myself" angst. Water slides torment him so. He WANTS so badly to do it but just can't quite muster the courage. Mostly he just wants to stand at the foot of the slide to watch other kids come down. You know, right where he'll get smacked into by said other kids. [Sigh.] But we braved it! And hats off to Ruth for braving it with two in tow.
We had speech therapy bright and early this morning (and headed on for water sports from there!) and it went pretty spectacularly. Victor did really well with sitting at the small table in a chair for most of his session and then briefly played on the floor at the end. This is rather significant because he often has a hard time focusing there, mostly because he knows there are toys hidden behind Sharon's doors! And she did some receptive vocab testing with him so that she can score what age level he's at now and he was pointing at the correct picture for almost every word she would say (still having some trouble with action words, Leener). Sharon said that she wishes we had video of him from just 3-4 months ago when he wouldn't point consistently even though he knew the words! He's being such a good boy lately about working hard at therapy.
Speaking of which, I also talked to the school district diagnostician who did Victor's testing for preschool placement. He's eligible for services with a "diagnosis" of PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder). This is as we expected but it was still good to get confirmation. So he can definitely go to preschool here for as long as we live here! And he'll get the elusive IEP to take with him to his next educational destination! Double yay. Now I just have to prepare myself to send my baby to school.
I had a great chat with the diagnostician and she feels that Victor is truly a marginal case. She said that she thinks that there is a really good chance that a year from now he won't display many autistic tendencies at all and that he'll be mainstreamed for kindergarten. Most importantly, she was extremely complimentary about how we've handled his intervention and she said that looking back at his records, it's obvious to her that the changes we've pushed so hard for in the past 6 months have had a tremendous impact on his progress. It was really gratifying to hear that someone thinks we're doing a good job. And by golly, I think we are. We've been lucky to have a little boy who has been so willing to adjust to the changes and work really hard at his therapy. And of course we've also been lucky to have therapists who really care about him!
7/20/2008 8:45:36 PM It's a strange feeling to be wishing for Monday to come so that we can just chill out a little after a grueling weekend. We had a pretty good day of recovery today but then had to head out for James' going away tennis party. Here's Victor in the car on the way there:
He's got his own style, alright.
Once there, Victor was not content to hang out in the air-conditioned pro shop as I had hoped. Oh no, we had to get outside to fully embrace the 104 degree heat:
Next weekend will be even wackier. And then the weekend after that? He'll be 3. Unfathomable.
7/19/2008 3:45:33 PM The wall. She has been hit. Everyone but Victor is exhausted beyond words. The open house is ov-AH. It was a flop of epic proportions, actually. Very few people traipsing through here. On the bright side, this apparently artificial deadline forced us to get the house ready for showing. It's very ready. It's never looked better. But nobody wants to see it yet! Hopefully this next week will net better results.
Speaking of the house that has robbed us of sleep all week (specifically the Saltillo tiles that have done so), here's a little montage of pics from this morning for Mimi to see. I was too tired to do yard pictures. I realize that this is of little interest to anyone else. Also, I assure Mimi that the vacuum did get put away before people showed up (I love my Dyson but not enough to make it part of the decor):
[Song chosen just for PopPaw.]
So while the open house/"giant waste of cookie dough and flowers" was going on, my job was to get Victor far, far away from here. We contemplated many outdoor activities but I decided to opt for A/C since we nearly melted outside yesterday at Kiddie Acres:
[Victor and Livie look more and more like a real couple all the time.]
So today Victor went to his first movie. Space Chimps. Yep, Space Chimps. And as I told Mimi, "we got through it". He did great for 30 minutes and then it was just nothing but damage control. I was determined to make it all the way through though. It's not that he wanted to leave or anything. He just became far more interested in his own voice and the mechanics of the theater chairs than the movie itself. Understandably.
There were two things that Victor LOVED about the movie though. First and foremost, he thought that the MGM lion (you know, he of 3 second roar!) was beyond awesome. Also, he saw the trailer for "The Tale of Despereaux" and was entranced with a huge smile on his face the whole time. I guess any kin of Mickey's is a friend of Victor's (Despereaux is a mouse). And a quick check of IMDB revealed why I was so charmed by that rodent myself. Voiced by Matthew Broderick. We'll be taking another crack at moviegoing for that one!
7/16/2008 10:41:04 PM Exhaustion finally set in tonight. Victor tried to comfort his poor sad, tired Daddy:
But then it was on to begging relentlessly for a wagon ride. Oh, and he did some of his weird stair dancing:
The house is almost ready, really. Ready enough to justify sleeping for more than 4 hours for the first time in several nights.
7/14/2008 1:44:41 PM The house is officially for sale. Not that we are in any way ready to actually show it to people! We are having an open house on Saturday and our to-do list for this week is beyond daunting. (This is sure to make James scoff.) Victor has been pretty much an impediment to my progress during daylight hours. I paint at night. Alone. By the dim light of our ill-lit house.
Lest you think Victor isn't at least trying to contribute though, I submit Exhibit A:
It's just a dry mop head but he really thinks he's getting somewhere with it. The best part is the song......"Victor is mopping, mopping, mopping. Victor is mopping up and down!".
7/12/2008 2:42:39 PM The house is in a state of severe disarray and Victor is not napping, even though he knows he needs to nap. However, I won't fault him much since he currently has no door on his room and he is being "soothed" by the sound of power tools. He needs to nap. Did I mention that? He wore himself out earlier at CiCi's birthday party:
Cousin Susan is babysitting tonight while James and I go catch a movie. I think V will probably go to bed for her without a bit of a fight.
7/11/2008 3:51:23 PM [James here] A couple days ago we started trying to teach Victor to answer the questions: "What's your name?" and "How old are you?" To give him incentive I would always reply to his answer of "Three" with "Three?! You're awesome!" Today, he began answering both questions clearly and even trying to hold up three fingers when asked his age. And, if you don't say, "You're awesome!" at the end, he will. This was quite a surprise to his first non-family victim, Ruth. What's even better is that I was able to go through this conversation with him over the phone just now. It really was awesome.
[Dawn: I can't remember if he actually did it for Ruth.]
7/8/2008 2:20:40 PM Victor has recently become obsessed with YouTube (mostly because we lost his Choo Choo Soul DVD and have had to watch eps there). He loves the immediate gratification. Ask for something (today, it's kittens!) and Mommy can make it appear. Usually. Having seen the Mickey Mouse theme song a gazillion times, this was a welcome change today:
Victor thought it was hilarious and immediately started counting in Spanish in an attempt to impress Raton. I just love the announcer's voice, especially for Donald.
It's a no nap day here. A little too excited about his return to music class today. The schedule change is a definite success!
7/5/2008 1:35:45 PM This morning, Victor & went to our last Biscuit Brothers concert as Austinites (Daddy opted out and thus missed out). It was, of course, a good time but was also quite sad. I was feeling pretty weepy during the closing number. For most of the 45 minutes, Victor's eyes were glued to the stage:
He briefly assumed the demeanor of a music critic but my aim was a little - um, off:
Victor started to lose interest until Buttermilk passed out flags for all of the kids for the big patriotic number:
When the show was over, he had the routine down and sprinted into the lobby, flag waving, looking for the bros:
He immediately found Buford and ran up to him and said "Say hit to Buford!" to which Buford said "Hi, Buford". But Buford also complimented Victor on his farmer's overalls so there was a definite skip in his step as we left the building. For the last time. [Heart breaking.]
And now, even though he was up late and even though I have a ton of painting I need to do, Victor is not willing to consider napping. Guess who just bought himself a grocery shopping excursion?
7/4/2008 10:47:30 PM Fireworks were a bust. We tried. I mean, we REALLY tried. We drove all the way downtown and drove around looking for reasonable parking for far too long and then we decided that it just wasn't worth it to walk 2 miles amongst the seedier elements of the city. So we grabbed Whataburger and went to the NI parking garage.
From there we saw many different fireworks displays but they were all too far in the distance to even remotely impress Victor. That may have been because he was so taken with his strawberry shake though:
The resulting sugar high made for a pretty late night but he's now resting peacefully. Meanwhile his farmer outfit is laid out for tomorrow morning.................
7/4/2008 1:29:41 PM We braved the sun to go to the Milwood Neighborhood Parade & Picnic this morning. It was fun. And hot. But also fun.
Luckily Victor is napping away because he'll need all of his strength for a late night of fireworks!
7/3/2008 3:17:38 PM The holiday weekend is underway. Lots of fun spackling going on right now while Victor naps! We did get out for some fun at the park last night and it wasn't even unpleasant. Here are a few shots from Schroeter:
And today brought a rare and special treat - James & I got to go have an adult lunch together all by ourselves while Victor was in therapy. Afterwards we ran by NI to pick something up and Victor tried to get a little work done for Daddy:
Will there be more pics this weekend? Oh yes, there will be more. We've got a parade and fireworks and a Biscuit Brothers concert on tap. Have a happy and safe 4th everybody!
7/2/2008 2:07:31 PM Wednesdays just kinda rule. Victor's having another really good day. He certainly started off on the right foot. As soon as I went into his room this morning, he exclaimed "It's Mommy!". (He usually just says "Mommy.") Then when I hit Starbucks on the way to therapy, as soon as I pulled into the drive-thru he said "open window" and once I did, he shouted out the window, clear as day "Venti! Thank you!". Needless to say, therapy went well too. And actually there were school district people there to observe his speech session so it worked out well because he illustrated for them how well he can do in a structured setting. Fingers crossed that he is eligible for special services (and all indications are that he will be).
He's being just an incredibly sweet boy in general this whole week, even with napping being completely hit and miss. When he is willing to lie down and chill out, the weighted blanket seems to be doing wonders for him. He settles in to sleep much more quickly when he is willing to have his blanket on. We're on two days in a row of napping as I type this! Of course, he'd be crazy not to nap today. He had an extremely action-packed morning.
After 2 consecutive hours of therapy, including the slight stress of being observed, he was still rather perky. He was even patient while I talked to Megan about how we need to change up the way we're modeling a lot of language so that Victor will stop talking like Foghorn Leghorn. I do a lot of rehearsing social situations with him ("We're going to see Megan and you will say 'Hi Megan' to her".) and I still say "Can you say _______ ?" way too often with him. As a result, we keep hearing "I say HI Megan!" or "I say more cake". In other words, Foghorn Leghornism. It will be rectified fairly easily.
Anyway, he had enough stamina left that I figured he would enjoy Kiddie Acres with his bud Livie. And while they were both rather subdued, bordering on groggy, fairly quickly (the sun was really beating down!), some fun was had. Victor especially enjoyed helping himself to some of Livie's pizza and playing in the misters with her. We even got them to hug goodbye. And then we had to restage it since I didn't have the camera out the first time! Honestly, how could I not make a montage?!?!?!
7/1/2008 4:08:25 PM Oh no. Did you just hear my horrified screams?!?!? Victor's birthday party invitations went out a few days ago. Here's a scanned image of the invite:
Did you see the typo? It's not just a typo but one of my all-time grammatical pet peeves. I'll give you a hint. Apostrophe. As in an apostrophe that is not needed but is instead sitting there like a boil on an otherwise good (albeit overly wordy) invitation. I am having horrible flashbacks of my wedding invitations. But at least we caught "immediatelly" in time. Inflatable's. Ugh.
Mickey sure is cute jumping around though. I think even a cartoon mouse would have done better proofreading.
7/1/2008 2:34:32 PM Much as a bonafide rain ended our drought (temporarily) a few nights ago, I suppose I should end the blog drought. Just not a whole lot to report. Doing all our usual stuff while trying desperately to get manual labor done whenever possible. That has been greatly complicated by some nap striking. I think there have been maybe 4 naps over the past 7 days. He's sure sleeping right now though!
There have been a few battles here and there about going outside. The bugs and the heat are so brutal that I've been fighting it but I did manage to get Victor out very briefly this morning for a park frolic. He was pleased. Here he is mugging in the car as we left Springwoods:
Yeah, he's cool.
6/24/2008 1:46:24 PM A little video catchup going on here. I'm too lazy to figure out how to add them to the video page so I'm just YouTubing them for now. Besides, this puts them in one place for Mimi to see.
Here's Victor's enthusiastic version of Twinkle Twinkle:
And here's a don't-blink-or-you'll-surely-miss-it clip of Victor & John on the BIG slide together:
And lastly, here's our OT co-pays hard at work. And here's also why there is a mini-tramp on Victor's Amazon Wish List:
{And Ruth, I believe that's checkmate with the House of Pain. :-) }
Footnote: These videos looks awful on our desktop computer but look great on the laptop. Thanks NI! ;) This laptop rocks.
6/23/2008 3:38:06 PM Recently Fig Newmans have become the Holy Grail of snacks. I mean, moreso than ever. Not only are they highly coveted here in our house but they are also apparently incredibly hard to come by all of a sudden, for some crazy reason. The Gateway Whole Foods (as opposed to the huge landmark store downtown that is practically a field trip) has been out of the regular purple bag version the last 5 times I've gone. Seersee. 5 times. And I was already gravely concerned about how we will possibly stock up well enough once we're in small town Illinois. My fears have been put to rest. I think.
Amazon is already my lifeline for products of all types, given my extreme distaste for malls. Well now they are my supplier of Fig Newmans. By the case! Not only that but they also offer subscription discounts. We can get a case of precious FNs once a month (though I think we'll go with once every two months since we'll surely be at Whole Foods in St. Louis sometimes). As long as the quality is good and the "use by" dates are not worrisome (my obsession with "use by" dates is a bit quirky in its own right), this is the best thing that has happened in a long time. Our first shipment arrives Wednesday. Until then, Victor will continue to cry about me trying to foist the lowfat version upon him. He has chocolate pudding and green beans to console him.
Oh, and Victor? He's really busy this week working on trying to utter some really longish phrases. I mean, he is FOCUSED. He is spending more time than ever reciting from his books but I feel like he's doing it in a very productive way. He practices and practices words until he gets them right and he's getting better at stringing things together. That's been a struggle still - almost like he's had a 3 syllable limit. It feels like he's on the cusp of some kind of extensive monologue about turning 3. I can't wait to hear it!
He wasn't super jazzed about speech this morning though. Pretty lowkey there. We went swimming afterwards though and the cold water (Deep Eddy!) perked him right up. And he sure cracked up when I slipped on the slimy bottom (springfed pool) and we both went underwater. I deem that progress. My bruised butt (yeah, I said it - butt!) disagrees. Victor spent the bulk of his time at the pool acting as some kind of self-appointed toy custodian though. I'm always telling him to put his toys on the side of the pool when he's done so they don't float off or get seized by overzealous pool urchins. So he walked around most of the perimeter of the shallow end singing "Clean up, clean, everybody everywhere, clean up, clean up everybody share!" while putting kids' toys on the wall. Never mind that some of those kids were actually playing with the toys.
6/21/2008 2:16:20 PM A fun but busy few days here. Yesterday we went swimming with John & Betsy (and Ruth, of course) and it was actually chilly! It was sublime. Sadly, there was very little adjacent swimming due to the strong wills of two boys with specific (and often mysterious) agendas that rarely seemed to intersect. This, of course, concerned them none at all. Frustrating for mommies who need to catch up though! I thought it would wear Victor out.
Nope. No nap. So by late afternoon I packed him up and took him to Kiddie Acres, figuring we should enjoy the upper 80s while we could. And it was certainly fun but deliriously tired Victor seemed like he was looking around for someone he couldn't find (at one point, he did ask for "Mivie" so I suspect she was who he sought). Today there was no such loneliness. Today he was reunited with Annika:
The kiddos enjoyed cooling off (it's way hot again) in the sprinklers and giving each other wet hugs and then we all had a yummy and surprisingly relaxing lunch together. And we weren't even left feeling too melancholy about it because we'll get to see Lars, Aisha and Annika in St. Louis since they visit family back there fairly often. I can't wait to see A&V together on the Zooline Railroad! I'm telling you - they were made to be photographed together. Both tall and both completely precious.
Apparently Victor was a little too thrilled by the Annika reunion because once again, no nap happening. Not fair. My to-do list is not shrinking!
6/19/2008 12:46:40 PM Just thought I'd report in that Victor has had a great week therapy-wise. All 3 days have gone really well. No more crying about the transition when we arrive and he's interacting with the other kids a lot more. He loves Wednesdays most of all, I think, because he gets to spend 2 whole hours with Megan (his new SLP). He seems to have a better rapport with her than he's had with anyone. It will be so hard to leave her behind.
No new pics this week because honestly, we're not doing much out in the world. We're well on our way to a all-time record for most days over 100 in May-June so outside time has been very limited. Plus, it's just crazy busy around here with trying to get stuff done on the house. There's not enough time to do this stuff with an impatient boy underfoot all the time (especially given recent nap striking). And we have social commitments on the next 4 Saturday mornings! I'm ready to just write "AS IS" on our house in magic marker.
Victor's been doing and saying lots of cool stuff but I'm too tired to even think of what any of it is right now. It'll come to me.
6/15/2008 7:14:48 AM A bit of a bittersweet Father's Day. Missing Great PopPaw more than ever, looking forward to seeing much more of PopPaw in just a few months and feeling simultaneously blessed to have and threatened by Daddy (Victor is very much Daddy's boy right now). Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there but especially to mine. And, of course, to Victor's:
6/13/2008 6:54:31 PM Oh, how we've missed our friends these past few weeks! I know, I know.....it's a glimpse into our immediate future. And that does sadden me immensely. (Speaking of being saddened immensely, I would have posted this sooner if I hadn't been mourning Tim Russert for most of the afternoon.) Today we ventured out for a rather ambitious playdate with Lori & Livie at Aquarena Springs.
I've always wanted to go check it out. Now I have. Was it fun? Absolutely. Would I go back? Probably not. My opinion is greatly influenced by the traffic on I-35 though. The kiddos really did enjoy the glass bottom boat tour, however. It's just unfortunate that it wasn't a bit longer. And, you know, cooler. How many days over 100 is this now?!?!?!? Ruth, what does your buddy Jim Spencer say? ;)
Turns out that it's hard to take pictures of the actual glass bottom of a glass bottom boat. Weird reflection stuff going on (yes, even with flash off!). Got some pics of the little aquaroonies though:
The highlight of the day was not captured, unfortunately. After lunch, I told Victor to go give Livie a hug and he did it. And he might have been about to give her a kiss (upon my suggestion) but her laughter caught him off guard and he thought better of it. He's got many years to work on his self-confidence in those situations!
6/11/2008 2:42:39 PM We survived Phase 1 of Operation Illini-Bound. Barely. The last few days are a complete blur. It was just a whole lot of work in not much time.
We got the truck yesterday morning at 8:00 a.m. and Mimi & Deb pulled out at midnight. As in 16 hours later. And naturally, now that I've had a little rest (a whopping 3 hours of sleep!), I see all sorts of things that I could have and should have thrown into boxes. We purged a whole lot though and the house looks WAY better. The echo effect downstairs is pretty entertaining to our monkey.
Victor really held up pretty well, aside from some tantrums about not getting to go outside to help with the loading. He got to splash a little on Monday afternoon though while I took a packing break:
He was allowed to play on the truck for a bit when it first arrived here at the house. He liked it. A lot..........
Oh, and here are our heroes, Mimi and Debbie:
They not only flew down here to drive the truck to Illinois for us, but they also babysat on Sunday night so that we could go have an adult anniversary dinner. Mmmmmmm, Moonshine. In fact, we ate very well throughout the whole ordeal. We took our personal movers out for both BBQ and Tex-Mex (still trying to hit all of the places on our "food bucket list"). Here's Victor at Trudy's last night:
So yeah, we managed to have some fun during the whirlwind known as Phase 1. I hope Thelma & Louise are holding up well on their road trip! Also, in spite of a short night's sleep, Victor had a stellar therapy day this morning. His word list today was quite impressive. So, if we can catch up on some sleep tonight, we'll be practically good as new.
6/11/2008 10:00:26 AM [James here]
I wanted to note that Victor has really ramped up his two word usage in the last week or so. Most notably what I've been observing is that he will now spell his name using the letters on the wall, but he'll label the colors too. So, it goes "Blue ... V", "Yellow ... I", "Orange ... C", "Red ... T", "Blue ... O", and "Green ... R". He's also been saying "TV On" quite a bit. Go figure :)
6/7/2008 11:03:18 PM We took a much-needed break from packing tonight to go to our penultimate Biscuit Brothers concert (although I'd certainly make the effort to see them in visits back to Austin after the move). What we did not get much of a break from was the heat. At least we were mostly in the shade and it was, as always, a rollicking good time:
Victor now asks for the Bros by name but he calls them "Farmers!". Basically, anyone in overalls is a farmer. And their sister Buttermilk Biscuit is known as "Mommy" because he is really generalizing mommy lately. He loves to point out mommies and babies in books and on TV and even in person. It's cool but it bums me out a little because I waited so long to hear "Mommy" that I don't really want to share it.
Tomorrow Mimi & Auntie Debbie Doo arrive for Phase 1 of The Big Move. We're feeling very ready to have a visit but not even close to ready for loading day (Tuesday). But the free babysitting tomorrow night for our anniversary date night will remind us why the move is a good thing!
6/6/2008 12:09:41 AM Happy 10th anniversary to the guy who still makes me laugh this hard:
You're the best around.
6/4/2008 1:42:58 PM It was a bittersweet day because it was V's last music class of the session. While we ARE doing summer session, a lot of our little music buddies are not (including our beloved Gwenny Gwen). So it was definitely a goodbye of sorts and that naturally called for a montage. :)
Today might have been one of the last times we go to Phil's too. That's not to say that it wasn't fun and scrumptious as ever but it's just so hot for outdoor playscaping at this point. It's only 93 right now but it sure feels worse.
6/3/2008 1:21:37 PM Well, everything is just plain topsy turvy with Victor's schedule right now. I, for one, thinks he's adapting pretty darned well, all things considered. He was back to see Sharon on Monday for the first time in a few weeks. We had kind of a trial separation to see how he did with speech over at the other clinic. He was ecstatic when we pulled into her parking lot and began shouting her name. And we were early enough that we had some time in the car to talk about things so we practiced saying "Hi Sharon!" (something he had still never done for her) several times. When we got inside, he was just buzzing with anticipation and the moment she opened her door and came into the waiting area, he shouted "Hi Sharon!". So yeah, Sharon and I both had some tears. It wasn't just that he finally did it but that he was so proud of himself.
And speech at the clinic is going extremely well too. We'll probably transition to just doing that soon. He really likes Megan a lot. We're seeing a lot of improvement across the board, actually. He's repeating a lot more words but more importantly, he's retaining a lot more as we label new things for him. I think he's just plain paying more attention now and has so much more interest in knowing what to call things (he's starting to have those aha moments about the power and allure of language!). We're getting more two-word phrases all the time too, still usually involving colors but also some directional phrases and even a few noun and verb pairings. Good stuff.
The only thing that has really, really, really become a problem is the transition when he first gets to therapy. He gets very confused and anxious about who he's working with and what they're doing on a given day and a lot of that is because the schedule has been changed a lot lately, including some make-ups from the holiday weekend, etc. He's crying and clinging when we first get there because he doesn't know what the expectations are so we're really trying to help him work through that by making him wait for someone to come get him instead of going back on his own like he has a lot in the past.
And the new schedule is not making me exactly happy either. I'm still going to be taking him to therapy 4 mornings all summer (3 if and when we stop seeing Sharon). I'm at least pleased that our Tuesday 11:00 speech got moved up to 8:00. Yeah, can you believe I'm saying that? I just loathe the 11:00 slot though. He's so tired and hungry by the time we get settled into the car and it makes naptime more of a struggle than it needs to be. I'm trying to wrap my head around the fact that we're going to have to be there at 8:00 on both Tuesdays and Wednesdays though! On one hand, I think he gets a lot more out of it early in the morning when it's quieter there. And I like that we can still go do something afterwards before lunch. But the problem is that it's already almost too hot for the park at 9:00 but it's too early for any of the pools!
I'm telling ya, one of these days I'm going to get crazy and drive to San Antonio to go to the zoo after therapy. I'll be waiting for a cold snap though (temps dipping below 90, that is).
5/31/2008 8:01:45 PM We survived the yard sale and it was pretty much a success, especially given the heat index. I am usually pretty far-removed from my former life as an attorney but I do tend to cling to delusions of grandeur about the value of my time and today was no exception because it felt like I should have walked away with a lot more coinage for all the work I put into it. It's over though and we were able to purge a lot of storage space suckers. Victor was such a good boy all day - very patient and adaptable (and took a great nap!). Here he is making his first ever purchase:
He bought an Elmo toy from Ruth for 25 cents. Luckily, he's starting conservative. He also gave a Fisher Price product demo:
While Betsy did some quality control and lured people into the sale with her big smile:
We're feeling lazy and celebratory tonight but it won't last long because there is a whole lot of packing to do in the next week. Oh, and the early birds? They showed up at 6:15. All kinds of wrong.
5/29/2008 1:21:19 PM I keep hearing one of my very favorite Seinfeld lines in my mind over and over today. "People. They're the worst." I am -thisclose- to refusing to answer any more e-mails from yard sale fanatics. I've got to finish getting ready for the yard sale rather than having in-depth discussions about individual items. Man. What ever happened to kicking it old school? The thrill of the hunt? Honestly, it would not even occur to me to e-mail someone to interrogate them about their junk.
Naturally, OT was slightly horrific today. V's therapist keeps reiterating that the changes here at home are making him even more mentally disorganized than usual and we need to get things as settled and normal as we can ASAP. I didn't scream OR burst into tears, surprisingly. Nor did I make sarcastic comments. OK, not many. Just a few. You know, about how I'd very much like for things to be more normal too. Seersee, I'm not doing all of this just because I enjoy bubble wrap and packing tape (though I admittedly do enjoy those things a little too much).
Meanwhile, I've got a ton of sorting to do this afternoon and I think we've got yet another nap strike going on. Also, I'm fairly certain that he's destroying the crib tent right now. My primary goal for this yard sale is to earn enough money to buy a web cam and, if we're super duper lucky, maybe pay for Phase 1 of the move. I'll remind myself of these things that motivate me when I sit in the sweltering heat dealing with the quirkiest people known to man.
Edited to add this picture........
See, he's so livid about the disorganization in the living room that his eyes are glowing red! Looks really traumatized, doesn't he?
5/28/2008 1:26:59 PM I think Craigslist is like the greatest thing ever. Have I ever sold stuff on it? Heck no. I don't want people showing up at my house (which is why the yard sale that is now just 3 days away will probably push me over the edge). Have I ever bought stuff? Heck no. I don't want to go to strangers' houses. (Again, how did Victor ever turn out to be such an aloof little fellow?). And now I see the problem with listing a yard sale on Craigslist. People are e-mailing me left and right to ask me if I'm selling this or that or the other. Is it not enough that they'll be stomping all over my front yard before sunrise on Saturday?
I can safely say that Victor wants this yard sale OVER just as much as I do. The upheaval and disarray is showing me that he is more rigid and routine-bound than I perhaps allowed myself to believe previously. But geez, all of the boxes littering our entire downstairs make me feel pretty jittery and out of sorts too. What's really getting to him though is that we've been so busy that he hasn't gotten as much attention as he's used to getting. And for that I do feel pretty badly.
I'm trying to make it up to him when and where I can. Just yesterday I took him swimming and I barely even complained when he got out of the pool, put on his shoes and tried to "shoe" me after a mere 20 minutes. I could have whined about how that was barely worth the sunscreening and the lost pool toys that I spaced out and left there (let alone the bath that we could have otherwise skipped). But really Victor has a lot to feel out of sorts about so I'm giving him a free pass on the speed swimming.
To enumerate:
1. Daddy was home for 4 1/2 days straight and now he's not. This is epically sad. Victor loves Daddy. Daddy is happy fun guy. Mommy makes unsatisfactory animal noises.
2. Victor hasn't napped in the past two days. (He's putting an end to this run right now though. Hallelujah.)
3. Victor hasn't pooped in even more days. He's allowed to eat as many Fig Newmans as he wants right now. He may actually be tiring of them.
4. Did I mention that there are boxes ALL over the downstairs? And we can't park in our garage? And half of his toys have already been packed up into storage tubs?
5. It's really hot.
6. And mold spores are rampant.
7. Other people exist at music class. And sometimes some of them want to be the one to get to turn the lights off and then back on at lullaby time. Screaming and flailing doesn't change this.
8. Yo Gabba Gabba isn't on this week. I'm pretty surly about that one too.
So yeah, this whole move thing is gonna be rough. I'm really going to have to work hard to make it easier on Victor however I can. But luckily that mostly just means that we'll have to go have lots of fun when we can. Somewhere besides in this house!
5/26/2008 8:54:14 PM It was somewhat of a grueling Memorial Day weekend but we spent it doing what we like best - avoiding public crowds and doing manual labor. James pressure washed everything humanly possible yesterday while I worked on organizing Victor's room (packing/folding for consignment/tagging for yard sale). Victor was very patient for a while but the inability to go outside in the yard eventually made him inconsolable. We went to Whole Foods at 7:00 last night and he was beside himself with glee. Stayed up late since he had napped so long.
Today? Victor slept until 10:00. And much as we needed a solid block of nap time to get stuff done, I knew we needed to break this cycle we've been in for nearly a week. So we made the executive decision to blow off napping today. Bless James' heart - he kept Victor pretty darned entertained today while I tackled the coat closet (otherwise known as the abyss). Victor played outside with Daddy and helped Daddy with lots of chores. The cutest moment was seeing Victor tinkering under the sink and holding his own pliers.
He did pick up a new and somewhat unfortunate catchphrase this weekend though. Since he's already decided that he can go anywhere and reach anything (we don't call him The Raccoon for nothing) and there were a lot of places we didn't want him raccooning around this weekend, he was told to get out of there many times. So yeah, now he says "Get out of here!" constantly. There's the delirious, slaphappy version but there's also the mad, slaphandy version. But it's a sentence, right!?!?!? His other favorite sentence is "I want to go!". And it always applies.
Thank goodness for a new week tomorrow. We need the rest. Well, you know, except for that whole impending yard sale thing.
5/23/2008 8:39:03 PM Got quite a bit of yard sale prep done today but not before getting the boy outside for some fun. Thinking we'd beat the worst of the heat, we headed to Champion Park with the Connells as early as we could all manage. And guess what? The heat was on. We tried our best to retreat into the shade of the sand pit (everyone, that is, except for Victor) but it was pretty stifling.
In a surprising act of adventure, Victor descended into the little creek to cool off a bit. And then he & John got to cool off even more in the whale sprinkler before we all trudged, tired and wilted, to the car. Behold the Champions of Champion Park:
After a long day of packing and sorting, I'm wishing we had a whale sprinkler in our backyard. It's hot, y'all.
5/22/2008 1:33:32 PM Should be in yard sale prep mode (I just made the executive decision that I need to move my car out of the garage for the next week, in spite of the heat, and now I'm even more filled with dread) but I have a few pressing items on my mind. Even though I can hear James in my mind pontificating about prioritization and discipline. Can it, James. I'll get to it.
First, small musical and noise-making stuffed animals. We were trying to keep these noisy creatures away from Victor for a while but have swung back the other way since they not only ground him sometimes when he gets out of sync but more importantly, they interest him enough to make him say stuff. So yeah, there are a lot of these animals littering my car, our house, etc.
The favorite has always been the lion but his roar came to an abrupt end a few months ago. This was extremely traumatizing to Victor. What was traumatizing to me was to discover that the only way to change the batteries in all of these little animals is to disembowel them. I'm not a seamstress. I'm lucky to sew a button back on. Is this what is going to force me to actually acquire sewing skills?!?!?! (Also, NEVER buy watch batteries at Radio Shack. You can buy them for about 1/8 of the price online. Seersee.)
Secondly, and more controversially, can someone explain to me why "butt" is a bad word? I've recently realized that we use this word more than is apparently considered socially desirable, especially for children. At OT, it is considered a BAD WORD. While I grasp that we have to teach Victor an alternative word that is considered acceptable in school (let the conformity begin!), I honestly do not understand what makes the word so bad. And I've talked to reasonable, rational, intelligent people who are appalled at the thought of a child using such a word (and I should point out that I mean using it in a purely anatomical sense, such as "I fell on my butt").
Seersee though, is "butt" not a shortened version of "buttocks"? Which is, if I'm not mistaken, an acceptable anatomical term. Doctors say buttocks. Medical examiners say buttocks. Physical therapists say buttocks. Heck, butchers even go so far as to say butt! It's just perplexing to me. And I can't say "bottom" to Victor. I hated saying it as a kid and I hate saying it as an adult (and don't even get me started on the far more cringe-worthy "toop"). It just feels so juvenile and icky to me. Fear not, grandparents, for we will try to do a little vocab makeover so that we don't have a little bad word utterer. But frankly, it's a giant pain in my butt.
5/21/2008 8:16:21 PM So yeah, it was 100 at 7:00 last night but luckily we were enjoying sno-cones after a quick pool trip by that point. And today? Not much cooler. I ended up taking Victor outside after naptime to enjoy the inflatable pool and the sprinkler. And yes, this was pretty much in lieu of a bath tonight. Also, it was my hope that it would suffice as his outside time for the evening. Not so. Apparently, if Daddy's not there, it's not official outside time.
Before we could go outside though, Victor had to open his package from Auntie Leener. It was a special Disney souvenir - Mickey ears, embroidered with Victor's name! As soon as he saw them, he excitedly shouted "Oh Tootles!" (you really have to be a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse fan to understand). It took a lot of reasoning with him to get him to leave the Mickey ears inside the house during water play. Here's a very short video recap:
5/20/2008 1:40:13 PM It's 97 already today. I was planning to take Victor swimming after speech therapy but he woke up pretty early and I don't think he would have had it in him. This was his first day of speech therapy at the same clinic where he goes to OT. He did really well and if he wakes up from his nap early enough (probably a longshot), he'll be rewarded with a swim. I'm not holding my breath though. (Oops, that was a bad pun and it wasn't even intended. Truly my father's daughter.)
Victor was a little anxious about the change in therapist today but luckily he already knows Megan pretty well from his side-by-side therapy sessions with Owen on Mondays. More than anything, he did not understand why Gabi (his OT) was not seemingly interested in what he was doing. He adapted really well for the first time though and was pretty talkative overall. We'll probably switch him over to 2 speech sessions per week there after he's had another week or two to get used to the idea (especially the idea of leaving his current speech therapist).
Luckily he'll be able to do his OT and speech back-to-back on Thursdays. That makes it a whole easier on me. And since Victor has been doing so well with me "leaving" during his OT, I've already been able to read a whole book in the last month! Since we can't piggyback OT and speech on Mondays (hence the Monday morning OT and Tuesday morning speech), I'll be on the couch in that waiting room 3 times per week. I'm trying to venture outside the clinic a bit more but I like to be able to listen in a bit when I can. It's always fascinating to hear what he'll say and do for them that he won't say and do at home (and vice versa).
We had a bit of a breakthrough on the way to speech this morning. Check this out:
Once he realized that it's hard to look tough while holding a cluster of small furry animals, he let the dimples come out:
But this is notable because it marks the first time since November of 2005 that he's worn his own sunglasses (rather than mine, which are obviously much looser) for a prolonged period of time. I tried to get him to wear them into therapy to show Gabi & Megan but he took them off as soon as he got out of the car. And then put them back on as soon as he got back in. Apparently they're car-ridin' glasses. And what makes THESE sunglasses special enough to actually wear them? A certain beloved mouse in the lower right hand corner. Mickey. Is. Magical.
5/18/2008 10:53:09 PM Huh. Well, apparently it's time to really ramp up our surveillance measures around here because when I went in to check on Victor an hour ago, he was completely naked. I would really like to see how Little Houdini managed to escape his one piece pajamas that were, as usual, on backwards. I just can't quite picture how he could have gotten his raccoon hands on the zipper. Wait - now that I think about it, I bet he stretched the neckhole enough that he got his arms out through the top and then twisted it around to unzip it. Dang that kid is sneaky. Thwarted again! So yeah, a webcam is imminent (James scoffed at my mere mention of a video monitor as though I had just suggested a pinhole camera or something).
Packing is going reasonably well. Most of today was spent thinning out the toys, including designating some for the yard sale pile. I've already used up most of the big storage tubs that Victor & I scored at Target yesterday. And he helped me pack up all of the CDs and DVDs by handing them to me individually. That part went fairly slowly, obviously. We're under the wire though because we're trying to get the house market ready in the next month. Mimi is coming down in 3 weeks to take a load of stuff out of here (including some big tubs of toys!). She's even bringing Debbie Doo down with her. If there's anyone that can make driving a monstrosity for 900 miles fun, it's DD!
Oh yeah, and swimming was good this morning. Victor won't do quite what is generally expected but he did make some progress and was not the slightest bit cranky about any of it. He was rewarded with another fab breakfast at Elsi's and a quick park jaunt on the way home. See?
5/16/2008 3:31:35 PM Cue the montage - John & Victor owned Kiddie Acres today! (Seersee, I'll cue it up in a minute.) We had a nice lazy morning and then met John, Ruth & Betsy for lunch and some KA fun. The boys were cranky - bordering on psychotic - about leaving the Chick-fil-A playground (yes Ruth, I remember that there aren't CFAs in St. Louis......and yes, it's troubling). But there was bigger fun to be had outside on a spectacular day. And fun was had.
The boys were pretty bold with their choices compared to our first visits there last year. They officially enjoyed everything there was to offer. And then some. The really big moment for Victor was riding the ferris wheel with John. As in, JUST John. He's gotten on that ride a few times with other kids and always immediately changed his mind (like before the ride operator could even shut the door) but today, he was feeling at ease trying it with his old buddy John there as moral support. Did he look giddy? Not one bit. But there were no tears and there was no whining.
Here are some highlights:
We are going to miss those Connells so, so terribly.
5/15/2008 1:21:56 PM I got a very exciting and yet completely useless call a little while ago! Victor got a spot in the co-op nursery school where he has been waitlisted for the past 18 months. Isn't that great? ;) If we were staying here, I'd actually be really pleased since it's so nice and close to his OT for pop-in services and it's endorsed by many therapists here as a language rich program. I'll just try to be happy for the next kid on the list. It's a cool school. A cool school Victor won't be attending.
I'm still floundering about the whole packing thing. Not quite sure where to start or how to start but I do know why to start. I need to get cracking because Mimi is going to take a load of stuff up to go into storage so that our house looks a little less like we've lived here 10 years. That's what I'm most looking forward to about moving out of this house - storage. We are going to live a minimalist lifestyle (or, as minimalist as is possible with an entire room's worth of toys) during our stay in Carrollton and it is going to be glorious. Attics and basements, oh my!
Victor's sleeping better in general and is thus having a pretty good week. We're changing up the therapy scheduling a bit so he can try speech with a new therapist. And today he got to have joint OT with a cool guy named Giovanni. They laughed at each other pretty constantly, so much so that I could barely concentrate on reading my book in the waiting room because I wanted to see what was so darned funny. Also, the magic is back at music. And the Gwen is back at music too. Bonus.
5/13/2008 11:44:41 AM [James here] Victor woke up at 3:00 a.m. this morning, and for once, woke me but not mommy. After listening to him off and on for about 30 minutes, I went in there. He wasn't wet or anything - just awake. I was about to change his diaper for the heck of it, when I changed course and instead put a gray belt (duct tape) on him. I just wrapped it around his diaper, put him back in his pajamas, and then back into bed. He seemed happy to be getting his belt and 15 minutes later he was asleep. He slept until 8:00 a.m. this morning.
This type of "deep pressure" is something that calms autistic children in general, and Dawn and I are considering buying a heavy blanket to help him sleep. Sleep is the number one indicator of his mood. Lack of sleep = un/happy/cooperative/bearable boy - well maybe not unbearable, but something close.
5/12/2008 12:37:10 PM Whoa, it's Monday again. In the most painful of ways. Victor woke up for the day at 4:30 again, this time exclaiming "Wet!". Thinking he must be soaked, I went in to rescue him and he turned out to just have a run-of-the-mill wet morning diaper. There was no going back though. In his mind, the day had begun and there was just one thing on his mind - going outside to play in Daddy's car. Wouldn't even eat the breakfast that he specifically ordered (3 pancakes and "sawberry" milk) because he was so focused on getting outside. At 5:00 a.m. Which is very much not an option in my mind. So yeah, it was a harrowing start to the day.
After counting down the minutes until I could justify getting into the car, we took off for OT. My expectations were lower than low and I reported as much. So naturally, he pulled off another Miracle Monday and did really well, even sitting still for some side by side sorting with his buddy Owen. Gotta be a fluke, right?
Nope. Went to speech and he was a pointing and labeling dynamo. Even did some stellar turn taking/game playing. Meanwhile, I could barely form sentences and I only had 2 hours less sleep than he did. Youth, eh? Youth or no, he is napping HARD at the moment. I think he was asleep within 2 minutes of going down. Meanwhile, I'm looking into weighted blankets upon OT's recommendation. I'll try anything to get my boy who sleeps 10+ hours straight through back!
In other news, after much waffling for the past week, I signed Victor up for the summer session of Music Together. It's going to run right up until the middle of August which is kind of our target departure time but I decided that Victor still needs to have a group activity and I wanted him to have one last session with Carey before we go. Plus, if I'm being honest, I'm a little driven to make it into the Heartsong Hall of Fame (which doesn't actually exist). If we do summer session, we will be within one song collection of a grand slam. There are 9 regular collections and 3 summer compilation collections and if we manage to do a class this coming fall up north, we'll have completed all of them! We'll see how I feel about driving more than an hour to music class though. Doing it for therapy is one thing but doing it for music class is pushing it even for me. But I'm crazy like that so it's not out of the question!
[A note about the weather:] It's not even 70 degrees at the moment and I am LOVING it. Makes me pretty excited about relocating to a place where spring really is spring and fall really is fall. But yeah, I know - talk to me in January and February.
5/11/2008 12:53:47 PM Happy Mother's Day to one and all! I've had a mostly nice one, though Victor is having a pretty rough day and that's putting a bit of a damper on things. Given how quickly he went down for his nap, I think I know why. He hand-delivered a sweet card to me this morning though, complete with massage gift certificate (who would have thought that I'd desperately need that massage TODAY!). Best of all though, Daddy & Victor went to swim class without me this morning and allowed me to sleep in. I just wish they'd had more fun at class than it sounds like they did.
Daddy's outside frantically working on the house because he's in full-on house sale mode now. I know it won't score me any points but I think I might lie down and read for a little bit to settle my frazzled nerves. It's still Mother's Day, after all. And I know it's only a matter of an hour or two before I again hear the endless cries of "Mommyyyyyyyyyy! Mickey Mouse!" (meaning that he wants to watch him yet again) but just hearing that Mommy part still makes it the best MD ever. If he'll throw in a post-nap "I feel all better now" hug, all the better.
Oh yeah, and here's this year's Mother's Day pictures, taken a few weeks ago at the Wildflower Center (the photog was great with Victor):
Our last Austin family photos!
5/10/2008 3:02:51 PM Our last Walk for Babies in Austin was quite a smashing success. We had a well-rested Victor, plenty of cloud cover and another record-shattering fundraising campaign. Right now we're exactly $20 over last year's record at a whopping $1,550. Not bad for our little family team of 3. Thank you so much to everyone for such generosity with your funds and with your well wishes. It meant a lot to us to be able to go out on such a high note:
5/9/2008 11:24:39 AM Best kept secret for spring-so-freaking-hot-it-feels-like-summer splashing fun? Still our good ol' public pool with its mercifully unpublicized off season hours that only devoted lap swimmers seem to know about. We were once again the only splashers there yesterday. We'll enjoy that pool while we can because in a few weeks, it will go back to being a hotbed of scum. Because let's face it, most people are messy and inconsiderate (Again, there's no great mystery as to where Victor's "yuck!" issues come from - it's just a question of which of his parents contributes more squeamishness).
Worst kept secret? Brushy Creek sprinklers. At 10:15 this morning (we sped up there after OT, so starved for cool water that I justified paying the tolls to get there more quickly), there were not only a gazillion preschoolers there but there was also a school bus full of preteens. It was brutal. Victor cooled off in the water a bit but he was so not digging that scene. And much as I was smiling and saying "Come on, let's splash some more!", with my mind I was telling him "Dude, I feel ya. I loathe these people too!". Here are the precious few shots I was able to snap amidst the chaos:
I know I've been uncharacteristically quiet this week but it's been a bit of a rough one. Victor has been really "off" for a good portion of the week, less talkative even than is usual for him and exhibiting some really worrisome spectrumy behaviors. We're cutting his yogurt back out of his diet and hoping to catch him up on some missed sleep. And meanwhile, I've just been really emotional about this weekend. It's both our last March of Dimes walk and our last Mother's Day in Austin and that's really started to get to me. I'm so excited about having MD with family next year but I still feel like I'm having to leave a piece of Ronan & James Thomas behind after this and that pains me greatly.
I've been so preoccupied and overtired this week that when I, at one point, saw a recumbent bike rider on the street, I thought it was a monkey on a small bike. And that didn't register as abnormal to me until about 10 seconds later! Yeah, I'm a little fried. The week hasn't been without high points though. Victor had a fabulous time at music this week (really responded to the song rotation this week), acting much like himself. And last night marked a very significant achievement. Victor hung out at his buddy John's house for a little preschooler house party while the parents all went out to celebrate Ruth's 30th. We all had a great time, though the late night had Victor dragging a bit this morning:
And just for fun, here's a pic of our little showman gearing up for the new season of "So You Think You Can You Dance?" with a little costume creation:
Big stuff on tap for this weekend. Count on March for Babies pics after tomorrow! It's gonna be a scorcher again this year. And THAT I won't miss.
5/4/2008 12:49:16 PM In my list of Top 5 Easy-to-Get-to Destinations that I Will Feel Lost Without, Brushy Creek is right up there:
5/3/2008 2:55:01 PM I swore this morning that I was going to leave the camera in the bag all day and just focus on relaxing but I had to make an exception for this:
(When he saw them Victor shrieked "Duckies!" in his teeny tiny voice that he usually uses for pleading.)
And the reason for today's attempted moratorium on camera work? Yesterday, I got really carried away during sand and water time:
But really, how was I supposed to help myself? He was having so much fun. And it won't be our yard much longer. (Sniff.)
5/1/2008 9:30:06 PM Tonight we went the Austin Symphony's Family Concert featuring none other than the Biscuit Brothers. It was great fun. Victor really enjoyed seeing the instruments all individually featured on the big screen and, as always, he loved seeing Dusty and Buford. He even high fived Dusty and told him "Hiyeeee!" Major milestone. And the new performing arts center was quite dazzling. I'd prove it with pictures but there was no flash photography allowed. We followed up with a celebratory dinner at Chuy's. Never mind that the Chuy's downtown was so chaotic that we ended up going to the one WAY up north. (And yes, that does, for the record, end my Chuy's ban.)
Anyway, it was a lovely and yet bittersweet evening because it was a goodbye of sorts, or at least the beginning of a long goodbye (most goodbyes with me are long....it's a Pressler thing). We're leaving Austin. In many ways, my heart is breaking at the thought of it. We have a great life here with amazing friends and I'm pretty certain that this is by far the coolest place we'll ever live. And this is where we brought all 3 of our boys into the world. We've lived a lot of life here and it has become completely home. Not just a place we went to for a while. Home. But it's only home for another 3 1/2 months.
Yes, we are moving back to the St. Louis area so we can be closer to family. But there are two strangely wonderful details that might be somewhat surprising. First of all, James gets to work from home for NI. We didn't dare to hope for such a thing and we are so excited about James getting to spend more time with Victor instead of less (which would have been the case with a new job right now). And I am thrilled at the thought of getting out of the house for a small chunk of time during the day knowing that Daddy's on monitor duty.
The other weird thing is that we're going to move temporarily into Grandpa/Great PopPaw's house while we search for a permanent home. The prospect of a few months of small town life is equal parts thrilling and horrifying for me but I'm mostly just really looking forward to sharing a little piece of my childhood with Victor. I can't wait to swing with him in the porch swing, even though I know how empty it will feel without Grandpa sitting beside me. But wow, isn't it just amazing? How many people get to work from home doing a job they really enjoy? And how many people get to go inhabit the scenery of their most precious childhood memories with their own kid in tow? We're quite blessed.
We're thinking we'll be staying in Austin until middle of August. Makes sense, doesn't it? Stay here for the most scorching heat of the summer. Wouldn't want to miss out on the giant flying cockroaches or the fire ants, now would we? But this way we'll have more time to sell the house. And Victor will get to have one more birthday party with his most beloved Austin pals. And I'll get to work in more "one more time" activities and events than James or Victor could ever imagine. Oh, and there's all that packing.
4/30/2008 10:39:30 PM We had a fun evening.............
And no diaper issues. So far.
4/30/2008 1:56:03 PM So um yeah, we've been having a lot of issues with diapers. As in taking them off. As in every single time he is put alone in his room to sleep. Sometimes I've been able to intervene quickly and prevent major mishaps. Other times there have been massive cleanups involved. And where a week ago we weren't really sure if Victor understood that taking off all of his clothes and his diaper was "bad", we are now quite confident that he gets that part (when caught pantsless, he'll shout "Pants on!" and will rush to put his pants back on again - whether with or without a diaper underneath). The problem is that he just doesn't care that it's an undesirable behavior. It's apparently worth the risk of persecution. So the key is now prevention.
Our immediate thought was a video monitor or a webcam so that we could at least see it starting to happen and thwart the attempt. But we have a lot of other things on our plate right now so for the timebeing we're going low tech on this. Duct tape. And you know what? It works. The first few times he was so interested in his silver shiny belt that he couldn't wait to check it out in privacy (hence, immediate pants removal) but he's kinda used to it now. And he really, really thought that his backwards pajamas last night felt weird (turned them around so that the zipper and snap - both of which he can manipulate in record time - are inaccessible). However, it must not have been horribly uncomfortable because he went to sleep more quickly than usual since he was able to skip that whole stripping step.
I do believe that this is just a desire to be naked. He doesn't ever strip except when he's alone in his room so I think he does comprehend that it's not a socially acceptable behavior in general. And while I respect the urge for nudity and don't find it worrisome or subversive, the boy needs to have a diaper on because he is far, far, far from potty trained. I want him to explore and express himself. I can even support a healthy amount of nonconformity. But I am not on board with changing his sheets and washing his monkeys every other day. No sir!
Lest you think that this is all Victor's been up to, he's had a pretty big week so far. Yesterday we went swimming for the first time since fall and he had quite a good time. It was a little breezy but it was just sunny enough to feel good in there. He was shivering but he was laughing through his chattering teeth.
And today we were off to music! There was a bit of a struggle in the beginning because Gwen wasn't in class this week and Victor really didn't feel like he could go into the room without her. When I told him at breakfast that we were going to music, I left the room and when I came back he had put his picture of Gwen up on the table. So his aloof act isn't working with me because I know that he loves her. Typical boy, eh?
In a rare and special treat though, we met up with Ruth, John and Betsy for lunch and playing at Central Market. Aside from the aggressively swarming grackles (I loathe birds but especially those guys), it was quite fun. It's pretty hard to keep track of Victor there though. He's great about staying in the area and not wandering but there's so much to do on that playscape that I never know which way he'll go up or down. And I really shouldn't dress him in green there because he blends in too well. All I have to show for today's frolic is this:
Which yeah, is not a particularly good photo. I prefer to see both of those cute faces! But they are doing the same thing at the same time and it warrants photography. Trust me.
Incidentally, really quick story about Central Market food here (with apologies for extreme wordiness today). Victor seems to hate their fries. He wouldn't eat them last time and today he wouldn't either. Scarfed down a grilled cheese and ate every speck of bacon off my Cobb salad but wouldn't touch the fries, which ended up being given to John. So yeah, whatever. Then, on the way home, I was incredibly thirsty for something carbonated so I hit the Culver's drive-thru for a root beer. The moment I pulled in, Victor said "I want fries". So obviously I got them. In theory, he shouldn't get multiple shots at fries in a day but he asked very, very clearly. He ate every single fry in the bag by the time we got home. And of course what's most interesting about this is that a few months ago, Victor wouldn't eat the Culver's fries.
4/28/2008 12:19:20 PM How's this for a Monday surprise? OT was entirely lackluster (tired after a nap strike yesterday) while speech was spectacular! It's our own Bizarro World. I'm so happy that speech went well though because he only has it once this week and next.
Afterwards, it was obvious that Victor didn't have a lot left in him so we just quickly hit the neighborhood park on the way home. He didn't do most of his usual stuff because he was pretty focused on his Tonka truck that I finally remembered to get out of the trunk and bring along. He was really good today about sharing it too, even if he did want to keep close tabs on it:
And what was fair was fair so he borrowed a truck from his new friend:
This new friend/adversary of his was not at all on board with sharing so the truck was angrily snatched away a moment later. Victor was so very unconcerned and acted like "Um yeah, I'd rather just play with my own truck anyway, thank you very much":
Then it was home for lunch (leftover pizza - thanks John!) and some delirious playing before naptime:
Because when you've already been caught with the cat's bed stuck on your head, why not just go ahead and pick your nose on camera too?!?!?
4/27/2008 8:29:57 PM Happy Birthday to our sweet pal, John! After a stormy day leading into his party, the sun came out and made for a still chilly but lovely evening for a third birthday soiree. Fun was had by all, none more than the birthday boy, of course:
(Pretty impressive gathering of female fans there, John.)
Victor had fun too and we were thankful to have an excuse to get him outside to run around:
Even the open air and the pizza and cake didn't distract him from coveting John's Mickey Mouse balloon though (MM is still his favorite thing in the world):
Three guesses as to what Victor's party theme will be this year! We're not ready to think about that yet though. It's bittersweet enough to see John turn 3.
4/25/2008 1:56:52 PM Once upon a time, I swore that I would not let Victor eat french fries, except perhaps on rare and special occasions. I haven't made much of a secret of that not lasting long. Now luckily Victor hasn't turned into one of those kids that will only eat a few things but he did manage to go on a significant hunger strike for the past 24 hours that finally ended with a fry binge. But just look how happy it made him:
He got so carried away that he figured he could go for a quick spin on his trike after lunch (instead of napping):
I wish he'd been this perky (which he actually still is, by the way - he's jumping around in his crib instead of napping) earlier today for our playdate with John & Betsy. It was a pretty day but no one seemed to want to play, except maybe Betsy and she's just a tad small for playscaping. The boys were beyond subdued. John wanted to just swing and Victor wanted to walk around the edge of the rock wall again exclusively. They did not make for an exciting or photogenic duo. Except that I did manage to capture this one shot of John, pausing during a nature walk to reflect on turning 3 in less than 36 hours (how can that BE, John!??!?!?!?!?):
(And seersee dude, you are ROCKING that haircut!)
4/25/2008 8:06:00 AM Aunt Sachi went to Hawaii and I got this t-shirt! Thanks, Aunt Sachi!
4/24/2008 12:43:25 PM Historically, I've been pretty much of a glass half empty kinda girl. One of my longest running nicknames back in my younger years was "Moody Smurf". Flattering, no? I contend that being Victor's mom has converted me to a full-fledged glass half full kinda girl. Today though, that would be more like Filofax half full. Allow me to explain. And bear with me. It's complicated.
The day started off with a load of a laundry. Then as I went to start loading up the car for our morning's busywork, I noticed that my purse felt light. I suddenly had a vague recollection of seeing my Filofax in the laundry basket (any guesses as to who put it there?). Rushed out to the washer and yep, there is my beloved Filofax floating amongst our whites. Now I'm a pretty high tech type these days but I still cling to two archaic traditions - pretty stationery and my Filofax. Did I mention that my Filofax is a very pretty purple textured leather? Yeah, that's not machine washable. And neither are the pages. Or all of my wallet-sized pictures of Victor.
Here's the good news. I happened to have an extra Filofax (hot pink leather, of course!) with an extra calendar insert. So I can have that part remedied in under an hour. And maybe my purple one will eventually dry out (although it will probably take on a "distressed" look at this point). And hopefully I can scrounge up wallet photos to replace those that were ruined. That's the only part that might still make me cry today. But it's gonna be OK. Really, it will.
Somehow I was able to still keep us on schedule for our 8:30 departure. It bears mentioning, by the way, that this departure included packing the cat into the car for a trip to the groomer. Our girl Pru is being rather remiss in her self-grooming as of late and I had scheduled her for a spa day (which was to include a "lion cut"). It turns out that seeing his defenseless kitty wailing away in her carrier is the most positively hilarious thing Victor has ever seen. And he was insistent upon trying to tote said carrier into the groomers' himself. So Pru had a bit of a bumpy ride but nothing out of the ordinary. She lives with a 2 year old. Life is bumpy.
Inside the groomers', Victor was giddy with delight to see all of the jingly leashes. So entertaining him? Not a problem. I started signing Pru in while they took her back for a quick "evaluation". By the time I had written down my name, the woman was back to inform me that she would not be grooming Pru today. She is not welcome back unless she is tranquilized in advance of her arrival. The explanation? She hissed a lot. Seersee. To which my reply was "Um, she's a cat." As I was just incredulously asking Ruth, are there really cats that don't hiss or growl when taken to a strange location against their will? Who are these cats? And should they be trusted? At any rate, Pru seemed to actually be smiling as she realized that she was off the hook and we were on our way home to safety. Matted, stinky furred safety.
We skedaddled right back out again though because Victor also had a salon appointment of his own. I'm happy to report that his went off without a hitch. He looks absolutely dashing and he was positively angelic as he sat on the horsey and watched Thomas and then politely thanked Miss Grace for his lollipop. Ahhhhhhh. Small victories, eh?
So we were on a roll as we headed to speech therapy. And while he started off pretty insolent, he ended up having a pretty stellar day. Sharon had two magical ingredients today: monkeys (pronounced correctly for the first time ever today, by the way) and water. The two were not combined, thank heavens. He was in a delightful and talkative mood though. You know, until the moment we walked out of the building again.
On the way home, we made a quick stop at Whole Foods to procure full fat Fig Newmans. On Monday, we had to buy the lowfat version (with the yellow label - a label which by its very color announces that it is second rate) and it is not at all pleasing to Victor. Joy of all joys though - today we scored the highly coveted purple label Fig Newmans. Smiles all around. And smiles as we worked our way to checkout to head home. Then, at the cash register we had this brief exchange with a mother (with her 2 kids in tow):
Other Mother (to Victor): "Hi." Me (to Victor): "Can you say hi?" Victor: (nothing)
Other Mother (to me): "Why doesn't he talk?" [Sort of a rude question, no?]
Me (to Other Mother): "He doesn't talk unless he wants to talk." [Thinking this will end it.]
Other Mother (to me): "Have you tried letting him watch Sesame Street? My son learned all of his words from Sesame Street." [Are you for real, lady!?!?!?!?!]
Me (to Other Mother): "My son is on the autism spectrum and thus his speech is somewhat delayed. He know words but he doesn't use them unless he really wants to do so." [This really ought to end this, right?] [But no.]
Other Mother (to me): "You're so lucky. [Wha!?!?!?!?!?] Once they start talking, they never stop and they ask for the same stuff over and over, blah, blah, blah............. [Lalalalala, I'm not listening to you anymore.] [Paying quickly now.]
Me (to Other Mother): "That actually sounds like a lot of fun. Y'all have a nice day!" [Muttering profanities as we walk out of the store. Keeping profanities at low volume so that Victor doesn't choose this moment to repeat me.]
From there we headed to John & Betsy's to drop off Victor's now retired Jumperoo. I mention this mainly as an excuse to post this adorable pic of Miss B (whose mom sure must have whipped this Jumperoo together quickly):
Victor was pretty saddened that we didn't go in for a visit and I thought for certain that he was going to say something about John but it was someone else that was on his mind (sorry for the diss, John). In between sobs, Victor said "Frankitty!" (John's kitty is Franklin). Kind of amazing because he's never called Franklin by name before and we haven't been over there to feed him in quite some time.
At any rate, we came home and had a nice lunch which is now being followed by a nice nap. And where my glass once would have been pretty empty by this point, my glass is pretty near full because life is good and I get to spend my days with this amazing little boy who knows how cute his dimples are and who loves to talk about shapes and various kitties. And I'm thankful for every single thing about him, even on rare days like yesterday when he woke up for the day at 4:30. My glass runneth nearly over. Now I should check on how empty my Filofax is by this point.
4/22/2008 2:08:18 PM It's official. There's no longer anything that Victor won't try in the world of the bouncies:
It used to be that he would pick one specific bouncy to master on any given visit. Today, he wanted to display a mastery of everything in the joint, even getting impatient with other kids that were a bit too slow on the steps going up to the big slide (what a difference a few months makes!). Thank you, OT. I think.
Also, cutest thing ever? Victor knows that he HAS to have his helmet on to ride on his trike outside (even in cases when "riding" means "being pushed on the sidewalk in an extremely controlled fashion") but he has started to apply that rule inside too. However, his helmet is kept in the garage. So when indoors? He rides with his cowboy hat on. The Plasma Car and the Radio Flyer Inchworm don't require protective headwear, interestingly.
4/21/2008 3:31:10 PM An important lesson was learned this morning. Monday or no, I cannot handle a Venti Latte and a half liter of Diet Dr. Pepper in the same morning. In my state of advanced jitteriness this afternoon, I managed to lose a whole bunch of really awesome pictures. I don't know exactly how or why but they did not get from the camera to the computer before I hurriedly purged them (irretrievably - we're talking shift delete here). I could just cry. They were really cute shots of Victor feeding the deer at the zoo. Seersee, they were just precious. Fighting the tears here.
I did manage to get some pics onto the computer intact though. And in my defense, OT and speech and the zoo is a lot to handle in one morning. If only I could have handled uploading without incident! OK, letting it go now. Letting it go.
The important thing is that Victor had a lot of fun today with his buddy Livie (now "Mivie" instead of "Evie"). He happily sat by her on the train ride and shared his deer food with her. And the highlight was when Livie handed him one of her crackers on the train and he turned to her and fed it to her like she was one of the deer! Priceless.
Here's the pics that I managed not to destroy (grrrrrrrr!):
And like every other trip to the zoo ever, Victor fell asleep on the drive home. I drove for an extra half hour so that he could get a full hour nap. He'll be going to bed early tonight.
As a sidenote, I was briefly alarmed at the zoo gift shop when Victor assaulted a cat (an actual domestic cat). In my caffeinated haze, I was concerned that maybe he was slightly sociopathic but once we were driving home I realized that since it was in a gift shop with a bunch of stuffed animals, he thought the cat was fake and he was trying to pick it up to play with it. Whew. Not much consolation to that cat but it sure made me feel better to have that epiphany.
Oh, you should have seen those shots of Victor sweetly feeding the deer and laughing because their tongues were tickly...............dangit.
4/20/2008 2:35:17 PM Oof. What a stinker of a year for bluebonnets. In a few ways. First of all, they just plain aren't that plentiful this year. Even worse, Victor is completely unwilling to humor me and sit down for some photos. A bit odd for such a photographed (and typically quite photogenic) individual.
Today we met up with Lia & Alex for the annual "wrangle the boys in some flowers" photo shoot. We didn't even get them both in the same frame, if that gives you any idea. Victor was completely angry that he was taken out into a large field and then was expected to stand/sit still. Wasn't the point of going into the open field to run wildly? Even the singing bunny didn't buy me much time. And when he got his first fire ant bite of the season, it was curtains for bluebonnets. He enjoyed his consolation prize though - an hour at the park with Alex.
Here's the photographic highlights of the day, which really aren't particularly high as far as lights go:
I'm not attempting any more bluebonnet pictures without Daddy along. And next time we get together with Lia & Alex, we're just going to skip right to the chilling and having fun part.
4/18/2008 1:13:52 PM Yay, it rained! I'm not feeling the fantabulous effects of depollenizing yet but it sure did make for a nice sunny but cool morning today. We went to the big sand pit after OT this morning and it was time well-spent. Fresh air and sun made us both feel pretty footloose for the weekend. Speaking of footloose, here I am trying to lure Victor into a puddle in the sand:
(That ought to have James cringing.)
He wouldn't quite get comfy with that idea (I think I was the only mom there TRYING to make her kid get dirty!) but he did do some extensive digging:
His primary focus today, though, was on driving a wheelbarrow all the way around the perimeter of the sand pit on the rock wall. When I grew weary of that and hid the wheelbarrow, he decided to do it to even greater effect with a dumptruck. Nice try, Mommy.
There were some pretty decent patches of bluebonnets out there but Victor would not humor me by posing in or near any of them so this brief bluebonnet examination on the way back to the car was the best I could hope for today:
Not even close to what I had in mind. As if I'm in charge here.
4/17/2008 8:01:14 PM Added some triking pics over in the gallery. I think that triking is about to become the preferred mode of transportation during our nightly walks after dinner. Victor loves his wagon but the trike allows him to get even closer to stuff he wants to check out and the prospect of pedaling is pretty darned thrilling, apparently. Once we were back tonight, there were many bed jumping shenanigans in an attempt to delay bedtime:
And while I was shooting those, I shot this pic of a pic because it's my favorite shot from V's last official sitting:
It's almost time to get new pics done again!
4/17/2008 1:12:09 PM Since I forced Victor to endure a series of errands yesterday after music (which was better, by the way, in no small part because Do-Re-Mi was back!), today I was determined to get him a little park time after speech therapy. Speech today was so-so. Now that he's able to assert himself more, he definitely does so. Often to quite bratty effect. Such was the case today. Sharon said "What, are you 2 or something?". So some air and open space was very much called for before lunch and napping.
Victor's getting a little more adventurous every time we go to the park and I credit OT entirely. Today he climbed the curved ladder on his own numerous times and he finally swung in the "green chair":
How can it be almost the weekend already? I'm not complaining per se but it's just frightening how quickly time is going by all of a sudden. Oh, and napping is going a lot better these past few days. My secret? I'm no longer haggling with Victor over storytime before his nap. After lunch, we come upstairs (whether that's on his own or by force), change into a fresh diaper and into the crib he goes. He tries to delay things with the lingering hugs but I'll take those any day.
4/14/2008 1:06:41 PM We're having a good day. Who would have ever thought that a high point of the week could be going to OT at 8:00 every Monday morning? Victor did great today and is continuing to do his Monday session parallel with another kid right around his age. They tolerate each other well and are definitely pushing each other to be a little braver (competitiveness at work!). The major breakthrough today was that I went and sat in the waiting area once we got about halfway through the hour. Victor didn't seem to notice much or at least not enough to stop working. Friday I'm going to take a book with me!
Speech today was decent too. He was tired and he was once again not much in the mood to sit in the chair but he was picking things up pretty well today. He was being extremely stubborn about some other things but that's Monday for you. He really likes the guy that has speech therapy right after him and he went sprinting down the hall to say hi to him as soon as we were finished.
From there we went to the duck pond with a big bulging bag of bread. I had torn our bread up this time and baked it in the oven to really dry it out (duck croutons?) so it wouldn't mold before we could get there. Victor STILL wanted to eat it instead of feeding it to the ducks. However, when he took his first bite and realized how hard it was, he spit it on the ground and a duck gobbled it up. Classic.
The ducks were super hungry today because we seemed to be the first people to come after what was probably a gluttonous feast yesterday. There was a duck that was practically trying to get into our car as soon as we pulled up:
As usual though, the timid mallards had to have their brunch hand-delivered:
Once Victor realized that he didn't really want to eat duck croutons, he got into the spirit of sharing them with his feathered friends:
He so patiently waited for this duck to come see him that I almost expected him to gently drape the duck in a towel when he got out of the water:
And even though Victor was quite tired by that point (another late night rehearsing words in his room), he wanted to walk all the way around the pond:
He was such a good boy about staying on the trail and taking my hand when we met other people/animals along the way. We kept an eye out for rogue bluebonnets and found none but there were a lot of evening primroses:
I actually think the EPs are even prettier than the bluebonnets this year. Really bright pinks this year. Oh, but back to Victor's exploits. ;)
The duck pond adventure came to a halt when Victor ran out on the dock and commanded "Swim!" Here he is contemplating going for a dip:
He clearly thought better of it though because when I said "let's go to the car", he shuffled off and down the trail to the car like it was his idea. I let him save face and said "Oh, are you ready to go home for lunch? OK.". Men.
4/13/2008 1:26:24 PM Well, it was another train riding Sunday, this time out at Wilco Regional Park. Sadly, our camera was acting up (I think we've identified this as a faulty battery situation) so this is the only picture I got involving the train itself:
It was a fun ride though. And for those interested in a review, it was not as interesting as riding the Zilker Zephyr but was cleaner and quieter and the train was much cooler looking. Most importantly, one side of the train has the high rail so that Victor can sit on his own with one of us beside him on the seat. Major points there. I'd do it again.
Victor flipped out when we loaded him into the car after that but the playscape was too far away to walk. So he was deliriously relieved when we pulled up to the playscape because he was sure we were going home. Victor cries every time we turn onto our street now. He's a man of action. A man of action who doesn't understand the value of napping.
He had a great time on the playscape though. It was just the right level of difficulty and there was hardly anyone around. There was a whole lot of sliding:
And then a battle royale ensued over getting into the car to come home. I think we're hitting the terrible twos for real this time. Getting this boy down for his nap today was truly a physical feat. I gave him my standard "One day you will be stronger than me but this is not that day" but he seemed to hear the fear in my voice.
Oh, and on the way home we saw this surreal field of bluebonnets:
Why didn't we get any pics there? Well, it's a private lot fenced in with barbed wire. And yes, we really considered it. Just couldn't quite go there, especially in light of my encounter this morning with a cartoonishly huge cockroach. I wasn't feeling at one with the creatures that lurk in fields.
4/11/2008 1:16:45 PM Hey, we're starting the weekend right! Victor had another great OT session (including impressive progress with his very first scooter board experience) and then from there we scurried straight to the park for fun with the Connells. And it's another gloriously sunny and yet pleasantly breezy day (let's just not think about the pollen for the moment). John repeatedly requested that Victor come slide with him and he appeased his friend a few times. As a result, I snapped a few pics of some co-playing:
I joked that John was doing his best "say it to the hand" when Victor was crying in the tunnel (he had just scraped an elbow) but what's funny about that is that it's so completely unlikely. If anything John would be relentlessly asking Victor what was wrong and what he needed. He's a good friend like that.
Speaking of chums, here's a random shot from one of V's Easter egg hunts that I just got from Saira's mom, Maheen:
I just love Victor's "I'm too cool" saunter as Saira tails him. Reminds me of Daddy when he thought he was Mr. Cool. You know, 1987. Ah, those were the days.
4/10/2008 8:22:58 PM Well, here's the first of what may be many botched bluebonnet pics this month:
These were taken at Northwest Park right by the pool. The key words there are "right by the pool". As in the pool that Victor really likes. Also as in the pool that they are currently cleaning in preparation for Saturdays' season opener. That means the lifeguards were in the pool and the front gate was open. And that means that Victor was very much at a loss as to why in the world he wasn't allowed to go running in there so he could climb right into the water. Thus the surly expressions in the above pictures.
He was briefly consoled by the playscape but it was a very abbreviated frolic because the 5th grade hooligans were throwing rocks (in spite of being yelled at by myself and two other preschooler moms). Victor didn't seem to care anyway. He ran over to the pool fence and grasped it wistfully while saying "swiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim!" And that is what he continued to say for a good part of the drive home. I guess I should get the pool bag organized because I don't think he'll forget. That and I should come up with a far better bluebonnet picture strategy.
4/9/2008 12:55:55 PM "You can't climb all the way up the green slide."
I've said this many times at Phil's. Not so much as an admonition but more just as helpful "let's just move along and stop squirreling around" guidance. Today, before I could even say it, Victor had scampered halfway up and was clearly home free.
And then he did it about 10 more times. Luckily there weren't many fellow sliders today. He certainly enjoyed himself but he was a bit off his game today in general. He got some sort of big bug or spider bite on his elbow this morning (when? how? why?!?!?!?) and he had a very, very late night last night. He was up chitchatting with the monkeys until 10:45.
I'd like to be able to say that he's really flourishing being back in music again after the 3 week break but I'm not finding that to be the case. Miss Carey is team teaching again and, while she's still there every week, she's not leading a lot of the songs. Victor is not too jazzed about that and he keeps following her around helplessly. And even more importantly, "do-re-mi" is not being done this session (it's a long story involving guidelines from the national headquarters, blah blah blah) and so it really feels like Victor isn't getting the little kickstart to class that he's used to getting. So he's wandering WAY more than before. And while I know he has to learn to adapt to change, music is historically his very favorite thing we do and it saddens me to see it lose its luster for him. And I can't believe I'm going to say this but I think we might both be burning out on Phil's a little.
4/6/2008 3:19:33 PM Today's even prettier than yesterday. It's the season to brag about being an Austinite and we haven't even gotten shots of the wildflowers yet this year! We went to Zilker this morning to play and ride the train and we got way more train shots than usual. Here's some now:
Brace yourself. Bluebonnet season is upon us and that means that we'll have to go take pictures at least 5 or 6 times! Hey, it's better than having a blog and never updating the pictures, right?
4/6/2008 2:10:36 PM Here's a montage for Mimi. And anyone else with a keen interest in Victor's culinary pursuits.
It's a hit. And he can cook dinner while I cook dinner now! But I don't keep all of the silverware in the fridge like he does.
4/5/2008 2:55:27 PM Oak pollen has a stranglehold on me at the moment but, while I really wanted to lie motionless all morning, it wasn't really an option. It's a breathtaking day out there (somewhat literally, in my case) and there was no way that Victor was going to be thwarted. Blue shoes were on and the battle cry was uttered repeatedly. "outSIDE!" So out we went.
We ventured first to the duck pond because we had another stockpile of stale bread. And once again, Victor wanted to try to eat all of it himself even though he'd just had 4 pancakes. We had fun though and we were treated to a rare up-close appearance of the mallards. They must have been hungry today because they usually don't come anywhere near us and they certainly don't go anywhere near those garish and overly aggressive muscovies. And an even bigger treat was seeing the Canadian geese from close range. Those suckers are big! The only exotic creature that didn't make a cameo was the egret.
From there, we sped over to Kiddie Acres for what was supposed to be a very quick visit. I was thinking we'd just ride the train once and the carousel once. Wrongo! Victor wanted to ride everything except the ferris wheel and for the first time ever, he actually asked for each ride by name instead of just running up to them. So yeah, it's not like I wasn't going to gratify those requests! An hour later, after a full round of rides that included two times on the train and the carousel, I dragged him kicking and screaming out of there.
Here are some highlights of today's festivities:
Oh, and OT went great yesterday. Maybe we've reached the point that it's actually going to be great the majority of the time. That almost seems realistic. And the therapressure brushing is going well overall but I'm having a hard time remembering to do it as often as I should. I think it's helping though so I need to get with the program.
4/3/2008 8:17:33 PM Ahhhh. A good speech therapy day. Today I tried doing Victor's therapeutic brushing (it's rather hard to explain so I just won't) right before we went in. Either it made a huge difference or he was just "on" today. He was so excited about his own progress today (lots of praise from his beloved Sharon). I had a few happy tears. And tomorrow begins a weekend with no major plans. Just getting some rest and enjoying some beautiful weather. Life is good.
Just for fun, here's my current favorite kids' video:
Victor likes the end when the animals are all poolside. That limboing cat never gets old for me, personally.
4/2/2008 2:29:46 PM Sunshine is really highly overrated.
But luckily napping is back en vogue.
3/31/2008 2:27:48 PM Today started out well but it's turning into one of those Mondays so rife with complications that it's really just funny. At least that's what I'm telling myself. First of all, nap striking should not be allowed on Mondays at all but particularly not on rainy Mondays. And lest anyone even consider saying "at least he'll go to bed early tonight", um, just don't. Tonight's choir night and I'll get home late regardless. James will have to smirk as he sits peacefully on the couch at 8:00 all alone.
OT this morning was sublime. Truly. Victor was so responsive and eager and energetic. That makes two sessions in a row like that. So yeah, I got gloaty about it and actually dared to say "Oh, this is going to be a good day". "Bah", said Victor. Speech therapy (immediately following OT) was a veritable catastrophe.
We walked in to find the same singing bunny Victor just got for Easter and has since pretty much burned out on. Sadly, Sharon thought it was going to be a huge hit. Not so much. Lots of staring at the ceiling and repeated screams of "orange ball!" with the occasional maniacal "Hi everybody!" thrown in. During the past week, it feels like the better OT goes, the worse speech goes. He definitely likes OT better. There's no mistake about that.
And now, Victor's been making siren noises in his room for going on 2 hours. I am on the verge of finally rescuing him but I've been very busy with the kitchen remodel. As in, Victor's kitchen. It's going in the front hallway for now and that involved moving a rug. A rug whose pad left a disgusting grid of adhesive behind on my tile. It's been a lengthy process but I think it's sufficiently degunked. However, also had to move a painting (a painting of Victor, of course) up higher on the wall to accommodate the kitchen and that revealed wall scuffs and scratches. Went to touch those up and guess what? My can of touch-up paint w
