Weekend Fun

We spent all weekend with Gaga's sisters...Aunts Debi, Barb, and Susie. Ian was in heaven because he was the center of attention. Chase deinfitely got some love, but on a more quiet, cuddly level. Ian just plain wore everyone out with his running and jumping and yakking.

Sunday we visited Cane Creek Park for the first time with Aunt Susie. I can't believe we've lived here for a year, with this awesome park only 20 minutes away, and we've yet to take advantage of it. I'm vowing right now to take Ian and Chase here again, even if I have to do it by myself.

Highlight of the park: miniature golf. Ian has quite a swing. He finished all 18 holes with his own ball, then finished off my game and also Daddy's. The best hole was the 18th, where there was a "golf machine" that ate the balls.

Tagged by Tiffany and Angelle

You know, Tiffany and Angelle...this is why I never get anything done.

places I've worked
1-Steak-n-Shake (server and fountain girl extraordinnaire)
2-Durango's Steakhouse
3-Reeds Jewelers
4-4 years of teaching in Tampa and Sanford

movies I can watch over and over
1-Anne of Green Gables (Tiffany- I had no idea!! We MUST talk about this!)
2-Multiplicity
3-Steele Magnolias
4-Chicago

places I've lived
1-Walworth, NY
2-Safety Harbor, FL
3-Sanford, FL
4-Monroe, NC

favorite tv shows
1-The Office
2-House
3-Friends
4-Reality TV...Big Brother, Top Chef, ANTM, Hell's Kitchen, Survivor...brainless crap, I know...

places I've been
1-Niagra Falls
2-New Orleans
3-Beverly Hills
4-West Carribean

favorite foods
1-Good ice cream, any flavor
2-Mom's apple pie
3-Oatmeal raisin cookies
4-Cheesecake

majors I've considered
1-Theatre
2-Dentistry
3-Education

places I'd rather be
1-at the Maddex cottage in Michigan (going next week- YAY!)
2-Hilton Head Island
3-The Outer Banks
4-It's not so bad here, really :)

If you are reading this, you are tagged! (only if you want to...and you have nothing better to do with your time, like I do...)

Successes of the Day

1- Ian got dressed without a fuss today :)

2- Got to the fitness center in time to drop both children off, in clean diapers, and get to my pilates class without running madly down the hall.

3- I had time to shower...and brush my hair!

4- 3 loads of laundry. Done.

5- Dinner? Already planned, and it's only 4 o'clock.

Oh, yeah, baby.

Brave Ian

We went to the water park this morning with the CDS Crew. Going to the water park now means Chase(in the sling) and I run after Ian as he wades neck deep in the water back and forth across the pool, laughing like a maniac.

He used to hold my hand, but now I have to follow 3 steps behind Mr. Independent.

Twice he lost his footing and completely submersed himself and had trouble getting his head above water again. I had to drag him up by the arm both times, coughing and sputtering. You'd think that would scare him, right?

Nope. As soon as he catches his breath again, he's right back at it. Craziness. I wonder if he's going to be the kid jumping off the roof onto a trampoline or car-surfing down the street in 15 years. Oy.

A Story from Gaga

My mom watched Ian on Monday when I took Chase to the doctor. When I got home, there sat Ian, at the kitchen table, surrounded by green peas scattered on the floor.

Apparently, Gaga turned her back on Ian while he was supposed to be eating lunch. He dumped the peas all over the floor. Then the conversation went like this:
Gaga: What were you thinking, Ian?!?
Ian: I was thinking about peas on the floor!

Of course. What else would he be thinking? It's so hard to keep a straight face with this kid!

Doctor Updates

Chase had 2 appointments this week:

1- Dr. Attorri, the surgeon. This was just a follow up for his pull-through. Chase was all smiles until he got the rubber glove treatment...ugh. Poor guy! On the up side, everything seems to be healing well, and the doctor was really pleased to see how much Chase has grown, and how healthy and happy he is :)

2- Dr. Parker, the endocrinologist. This is a follow-up on the meds he prescribed for Chase's hypothyroidism. No problems so far, but Chase needed blood drawn to check his levels. He was not happy about that, but I think that this dr visit was less traumatic than the surgeon's visit!

Chase is 12 lbs 14 oz, 23 1/4 inches long today! That is +5lbs and +2 inches from birth!

Ring Sling

I love, love, love my sling...

My awesome, awesome nieghbor made me pose for these pictures today when I dropped by her house (thanks, Tiff!).

So...Here you are. I call this collection "Fat Baby in a Sling."

Winks!

Chase is good at winking.

Sneaky Guys

We went to D and A's house for dinner on Sunday and had an awesome time.

Highlight of Ian and Alex's playtime together: they both came sneaking out of the playroom; Alex came out first, carrying some sort of laser-y gun thing. Ian snuck out behind him, very on-a-secret-mission-like...wielding a frying pan and a fake cookie.

Here are our best attempts at getting all the children (Alex,Lindsay, Ian, Chase) to look at the camera:

Friday/Saturday Recap

The past few days have been filled with Very Important Things:

• PT on Friday
• Boomerang Bay at Carowinds Friday night (lots of fun! Ian LOVES the Yazy River)
• Homeowners Association meet-n-greet Saturday morning (All hail, the First Lady of Lexington Commons)
• Mad house cleaning/food making/stupid shower game prepping for Angelle's baby shower
• Angelle's Shower with...yes- a massage therapist present to give everyone chair massages!! Woo-hoo!
• Chase rolled over 2 times all by himself :)
• HARRY POTTER IS HERE! Bryan and I were going to read it together, but he broke the pact and started reading it during the shower. So now, he is off playing games with the Men of Lexington, so I am reading like a fiend (took a little time out to let you all know...)

I will be back once I've finished the book!

Ian's Fortune

We went to Kami for dinner last night. Ian's fortune cookie said:

"You are the crispy noodle in the vegetarian salad of life."

HA! That is absolutely the best fortune I have ever seen.

Woo-Hoo!

Got an email from my advisor today...

"Your portfolio has been reviewed and passed! Congratulations! I will send out an e-mail to notify you when you may pick it up."

Wow. 4 years of work...and it took 3 days to grade it?!? I'm not complaining, really. But who had enough time to read all of that? How carefully are these looked at??

Yay for me. One more lousy class, and then I can officially graduate :)

Monkey Joe's

We met April, Alex, and Lindsay today at Monkey Joe's, an awesome indoor inflatable playplace in Matthews. Alex is about 3 years older than Ian, but he's great with him. They jumped and played, ate pizza, and had a total blast (except when Ian kept getting trampled by the older kids, and had to be carried crying out of the bouncehouse by the referee guys).

Looking forward to more fun times :)

The Boot

Chase got the Boot last night...from the co-sleeper into his crib in his own room. He's 12 weeks now, the same time that Ian moved to his own room, too. I loved having him close to me at night- being able to peek over the side of the bed to see his little chest moving rhymically up and down...but all good things must come to an end. I'd hate to keep him too long in our room and then have a battle on our hands while he got used to sleeping alone later on.

Plus, I spent so much freaking time making that room as cute as cute can be, so he better well use it!

And, Grace sent a Broncos mobile, and we definitely need to get some use out of that!

It was strange sleeping without him next to me.

I was really afraid of not hearing him when he woke up at night (if he woke up at night!) because he doesn't cry- just starts sniffing loudly. So I plugged in his monitor and placed it directly next to his head in the crib. It's probably some sort of safety hazard... But, I heard every little breath he took, and I woke up when he sniffed at 4 this morning, so all is well.

And it's kind of nice to have my room back :)

**Oh, and this is an old picture of his room...I have since added Great Aunt Sue's dream catcher above the crib, and taken out the bumper (I am paranoid of him rolling into it...). Our camera is in the shop, but should be back soon for some updated photos!

Which is the Workout?

a.) Waking up at 5am, nursing Chase. Snoozing with Chase until 7am. Finding workout clothes (clean ones...). Getting dressed while baby and toddler are both sleeping. Packing a bag to go while they sleep. Rousing Ian at 7:15. Battling sleepyhead until 7:30 to get him downstairs. Waking Chase to dress and nurse him before leaving. Chasing Ian through the house trying to convince him to put on new pull-ups and clothing 5 minutes before we have to leave. Make portable breakfast to eat in the car. Wait around for extra 5 minutes while Ian climbs into the car BY HIMSELF and buckles himself in the carseat (strap Chase in car while waiting). Figure out why Ian is screaming as we're pulling out of the driveway. Pull back into driveway so he can say goodbye to Gaga. Speed to gym, as we are now 10 minutes off schedule. Park and run into gym while carrying 100 pound infant seat, Ian keeping pace next to me in his flip-flops. Stop to kiss Ian's knees when he falls in the parking lot. Change Chase's diaper before leaving him in the baby room because he has been filling his pants for the last 10 minutes. Have classic diaper changing episode with Chase in the restroom, soiling all three diapers that I packed in the diaper bag, leaving none for the caregivers at the gym. Also peed through his onesie. Redress Chase. Remind Ian to "Stay near Mommy" a hundred times during diaper disaster. Leave clean Chase with caregivers, giving very abbreviated instructions: "He just ate and I just changed him sorry don't have any more diapers left he'll probably go to sleep soon if he gets cranky you can give him a paci whoops I forgot to pack the paci well he'll probably be fine come get me out of class if you need me thanks I'm late!" Race down the hall to the toddler room. Sign Ian in, chit chat with ladies about coming back to the gym after Chase's birth. Ian has a meltdown, decides he doesn't want to stay at the PlayPlace unless Mommy comes in with him. Pilates started 3 minutes ago. Follow Ian in, set him up with his breakfast at the table, hug, kiss, goodbye you'll be fine and I'll be right back! Powerwalk back to the pilates room. Barge in on class that has already started, set up mat, apologize to everyone.

OR

b.) A 60 minute core-strengthening Pilates class.

More Potty News

I don't want to jinx myself or anything here, but I think pee-pee potty training is a success! Today was the second day in a row that Ian did not have any accidents (well, one, but it was an aiming issue...). He now wears big boy underwear all the time except at nap/bedtime.

He's decided that he's not real fond of pooping on the potty, though. Hmm. Will have to conquer that soon.

OT semi-graduation

The OT just left, and I have good news:

Chase has met all 5 of his initial goals in 4 weeks! She said there was no reason for her to come out once a week, and we are cutting her visits to once every other week. She also said that Chase is meeting all the milestones that a typical child is expected to :)

Yay for Chase! (and Yay for me, because now we have every other Monday free!)

Mommy's Day Out!

Yesterday I had the amazing opportunity to go see The Lion King at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center. I LOVE LOVE LOVE musical theatre, and this was no exception. The costuming was gorgeous, the cast was incredibly talented, and my friend T and I cried all the way through the production. Absolutely fantastic!

AND when I got home, my dad had cleaned my garage and was finishing the gloss coat on my dining room table, and Bryan was still watching the kids and they were still alive. He had successfully taken care of both children (with a little assistance from Papa), and the only thing he forgot to do was to feed Ian lunch (but they had gone out for ice cream, so I guess that was ok...)!

Driving Lessons

Today we took a family grocery trip to Wal-Mart. Oh, the Thrill of it All. No, really. I love going places with my whole family- it's so much more fun going with two parents to chase children around.

So, we get out of the car- Bryan is walking with Ian and I'm following them with a grocery cart and a sleeping Chase in his infant seat. Before going any further, I just want to make it clear that I couldn't really see a whole lot in front of me except Chase.

...and WHAM! I totally run into a car with the cart...and it's the only damn car in the whole parking lot that has a lady sitting in the front seat, with the door hanging open, smoking a cigarette. She looks really surprised.

Oops.

I don't think I did any damage...it was kind of a crappy car anyways. Still. Oops.

Potty Update

Aside from a poopy accident this morning, Ian was dry and wearing big boy underwear ALL DAY today! I took a big step and told him that we didn't have anymore daytime diapers left, and the diapers that we had in the basket were only for wearing to bed. He seemed to understand.

Can we do it two days in a row?

Tune it tomorrow for the exciting conclusion!

*Chase, however, was not as successful. I tried to change his diaper right before the PT got to the house, and apparently he was not done GOING. Long story short, we went through 4 diapers, a pair of pants (mine), a onesie, a blanket, and 3 buttfulls of desitin in one diaper change. By the time the PT knocked on the door, Chase was naked (but clean, finally) and so was I. Sigh.

Miracles.

1- My portfolio is DONE and MAILED!

2- Both children are asleep at the SAME TIME!

3- There are no dirty dishes in the sink OR on the counter!

Harry Potter Movie

It's a little ironic that my first "date" with Bryan without children since, gosh, I don't know when- was to a kid-flick. *sigh* But really, is Harry Potter for children anymore?

Anyhoo-

1. I loved the movie. It was fast, it wasn't as indepth as the book, but is any adaptation?!
2. Movies these days should have a built in intermission for potty breaks. If they are going to serve monster sized drinks, then the theatre people should accomodate restroom needs.
3. It was strange watching a movie without giving a blow-by-blow toddler commentary, i.e. "Look Ian! A wizard! Doesn't he have a neat broom?" or "Don't worry. Voldemort is just pretend. Close your eyes if he scares you."
4. Monroe, NC rocks. Opening night of HP anywhere else in the country = long lines and limited seating. Opening night of HP in podunk Monroe = empty seats in the theatre and no waiting.
5. How is the cast of HP ever going to get through the next 2 years at Hogwarts without looking like they are middle aged? My, how they've grown.

That is all.

Not procrastinating...

I swear, I'm writing my papers now. I just took a little break to browse the boards and I found this quote:

"Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance."

I love it!

Storytime

I like to take the boys to storytime at the library. It's not the greatest, but I like to think that going every week will get Ian used to sitting in a big group of kids, listening to an adult.

Usually he likes it.

Today the story person was the most boring older man ever. I'm pretty sure he's never interacted with a toddler before in his life. So, needless to say, Ian was not all that interested in what he had to say.

I gave him two chances to sit and listen rather than squirm around and kick people. Then I dragged him out of the room with all the other mothers staring.

Ian pulled himself together and we spent about half an hour doing puzzles in the children's section and picking out books. Then Mr. Independent decided that he was going to tour the library by himself, weaving in and out of the rows of books with me trailing behind him with Chase in the sling, calling in the loudest voice I could muster in the quiet library, "Ian- get back here! Ian! Listen to Mommy! Ian! Do we have to go home right now??"

Finally, a librarian near the periodicals cornered him. I thanked her and told Ian that it was time to check out our books and go home because he wasn't listening. I had to hold his wrist to keep him from taking off again. Twerp.

Of course, there is a line at the checkout counter because all the moms with good kids are ready to go home now.

Our wait in line consisted of me with the deathgrip on his wrist, Ian trying to wriggle free, and my repeated threats of, "If you don't stay with Mommy, then we have to go home without our new books."

Finally we were up, and I let go of his hand to get my library card out. There goes Ian, running around the front of the desk. Now I have to follow through with my threat. I catch him, he gets spaghetti legs- you know, the ones that when you grab his hand, makes him hang there and makes you look like the mom from hell who is bent on dislocating your child's shoulder. I have no choice but to scoop him up in my arms (remember I'm still wearing Chase in the sling)- he's like a water weanie- sliding all over the place, so I end up holding him around the waist with one arm, his legs kicking behind me and his arms flailing wildly in front of me. He's alternating between screaming at the top of his lungs and demanding, "Put me down! Put me DOOOOWWWNNNN!" I hand my books to Angelle (who happened to be one of the moms with good kids in line), tell Ian that we have to leave our books here because he's not listening, and proceed out of the library. I love being a mom.

Oh, but it's not over yet.

I'm still holding him, he's still kicking and screaming across the parking lot, only now he's yelling, "I want to WAAAAALK!" Somehow we manage to get in the car. I get him buckled in- he's still sniffling, but at least he's tired of yelling now. I'm buckling Chase in (he's completely oblivious to the trauma- just as happy as can be).

Ian looks at me and says, "Are you happy, Mommy?"

"Mommy will be happy once Ian starts being a good listener again," I reply with clenched teeth.

He thinks about it. "I am good. Now are you happy, Mommy?"

*sigh* Surprisingly, yes. I am happy today...

Writer's Block

Who knew writing the last 5 papers for my graduate portfolio would be so hard?

I'm sitting here, typing and deleting, typing and deleting. Nothing is coming out right. I have no idea what my views are on leadership.

It's due in 11 days.

This should be a lot easier.

I should get a deadline extension because of all my Issues. But then, I would just put it off for another 3 months and feel guilty about it and not be able to enjoy scrapbooking or house painting, which I really want to do more of.

What do you think USF would do if I turned in crap? Really, what's the worst that could happen? They'd tell me to revise it, wouldn't they? They can't just not graduate me after I took all the other classes, right?

I may just go to bed...this sucks.

Gingko-Biloba

I read this on Jaden's Journal. Does anyone else have any experience with ginkgo-biloba?

http://jadensjournal.blogspot.com/2007/04/ginkgo-biloba-nutritional-intervention.html

This looks incredible, although I admit I am a total skeptic about homeopathic medicine.

What is he? 12?

Random things Ian has said lately:

"I just HAVE to get rid of these hiccups..."

"Mommy, do you want me to leave this door open or closed?"

"I'm going upstairs. I'll be back in just a few minutes."

"Give me back my popcorn! Fit (spit) it out in this little bowl!"

When asked if he wanted to go pee-pee in the potty: "Um...(big, thoughtful look)...no tanks."

The Ds Club

I guess we're an official, card carrying family now.

All the materials in the dreaded Binder of Down Syndrome Information that they give out in the hospital say that our new baby is going to open up doors to places we would have never gone without him. It said we would meet amazing people to share our journey with.

And you know what? It's true :)

At the risk of sounding sappy, I'm really truly enjoying everyone that I'm meeting.

I just want to know, when do I get my T-shirt and learn the secret handshake?

Who Knew?

So, apparently I enabled something on my blog that made it so I had to approve comments before they would post. Oops. I just discovered how to check that.

If you've been frustrated because your comments weren't showing up, that's why. I'm still new to this whole blog thing!


*On a side note, thank you to everyone who is reading now! I kind of feel like a celebrity now :)

A Full, Full Day

I'm totally exhausted, and so are the boys.

We started today at 9 with Chase's PT. Actually, we started well before that, doing the flight of the bumblebee pick-up-the-house-so-people-don't-think-we-actually-LIVE-this-way. I also had to make sure that Chase was awake, fed, and ready for PT, which proved to be difficult because he eats basically every 2 hours on the dot, and snoozes after he eats, and he woke up at 7 and ate...so that put him at 9 for his next feeding and nap...which was when PT was supposed to be here. ACK! Not to worry. I convinced him to eat a "snack" at 8:15, then he napped from 8:30-8:50, and was *gasp* ready for action when she got here at 9! Woo-hoo!

He did great :) He's holding his head up for such long periods of time now. She also had him sit on my giant yoga ball, and he held his head up in a sitting position, too! Yay for Chase! Ian let Chase have the spotlight for a good 25 minutes before he started turning into a pain...

After PT, I was on a high from the success of the morning. I fed Chase. He napped. I bribed Ian to go play upstairs so I could catch a shower. I packed our enormous diaper bag and juggled everyone and everything out the door and into the car to meet Bryan for lunch in Charlotte.

Chase slept all the way there, through lunch, and all the way home. Ian was the perfect gentleman at Ruby Tuesdays, even stopping to chat with a little old lady sitting in the corner booth on our way out the door.

Bryan gave Ian a sucker from the bank when we dropped him back off to work, and told him he wasn't allowed to have it until after naptime. Thanks, Dad. He, of course, tried to take off the wrapper and eat it in the car. I tried to take it away (while doing 55mph on a winding road), and the little twerp held it above his head and told me, "Now you can't reach it, Mommy, because it's too far away!" I finally caught him off guard, grabbed it, and listened to him cry/yell/whine/demand that I give it back until he tired himself out and slept for 1/2 an hour.

When we got home, Ian was in much better spirits. He ate his sucker as I packed us all up (again) to go to the waterpark. 4 diaper changes and a feeding later, we were ready to go. We spent a good hour and a half at the waterpark, where Ian giggled like a maniac as he tiptoed through water up to his neck back and forth across the pool. I followed him, wearing a sleeping Chase in a sling. People smiled a lot at me. I think it may have been pity...!

We finally made it out of the pool (Ian was NOT happy about going home) and back for dinner.

Now...it's 8:50, both boys are asleep, as is Bryan...and I'm exhausted (but it was totally worth it!).

The R-Word

I'm completely guilty of this. And it wasn't until Chase was here did I ever think twice about it.

Now I kind of feel terrible.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/2007-07-04-opcom_N.htm?csp=1

July 4th

Chase was making the funniest faces while we waited for the fireworks!

This is Ian's newest smile. He looks like a duck...

We mananged to pack our things and ourselves up and get out to the local park to see some fireworks last night. We went with good friends and the kids ran around like lunatics before the show started.

I kind of had a hard time.

There were happy families all over...kids with no Issues. It especially made me sad to have a family park themselves next to our blanket- a mom, dad, 3ish year old, and a newborn- probably about 4-5 weeks old. It just makes me think about what my old picture of how life was supposed to be.

It makes me upset with myself, because sometimes I just get into a funk and can't stop thinking about Down syndrome and how it is going to effect everything around me. I know that it's going to have positive effects, too...blah blah blah. But sometimes I just get stuck.

My crappy attitude didn't stop my kids from being cute, though...

Sooooo clean...!?

Chase and I spent soem great quality time together during Ian's nap today. We ate. We played "find the noisey toy" and "what's in your pants?"

Then I gave him a much needed bath. He's finally getting to the point where he enjoys the bathtub now. He was all smiles- in the tub, out of the tub, while he was getting lotioned up, while he got dressed.

He was smelling so baby-good in his new clothes. He was smiling that huge gummy-grin every time I said, "Who is SOOOOO CLEAN??" in that high pitched Mommy-voice. It was so cute :)

Then, it wasn't so cute. I said, "Who is SOOOO CLEAN?" Chase grinned-- then spit up like a gallon of milk. Then filled his pants.

Chase is Not So Clean anymore.

Tiny Whineys

I'm constantly trying to find new ways to keep potty training New and Exciting.

The newest ploy: Tightie Whities.

He likes them because he looks like Papa when he wears them. LOL.

And the best part? He calls them "tiny whineys"!

Holla!

I want to give a shout out to Grace and brand new Avery Noelle.

You're both amazing!

eh.

I hate bills. Especially medical ones that I don't understand. I think that if they really want my money, they should send at least 3 notices before expecting payment, just to give my insurance company time to deny the claim and then resubmit it.

OT, Round 2

The OT was so nice- she had another opening today and called to see if Chase was awake so we could try again. He was- I told her to hurry up!

He did great- tracking toys visually, turning his head toward sounds, and had good tummy time with his head way up for a long time (I was trying to time it- I think it was longer than 30 seconds!).

But here is my question: What am I supposed to be doing while she works with him? I sit on the floor with them, make comments and talk to Chase. But am I supposed to? I feel like I'm interfering sometimes- like he'll look at me rather than the toy she's dangling in front of him. Is that ok?

I feel like I do all the same things with Chase that the OT does, and since I do, does that mean I don't really need them to come out? I hate to refuse services- I kind of want to take advantage of everything that they are willing to give Chase for free...but at some level it's kind of an inconvenience (i.e. trying to guesstimate his schedule for the day and feeling crappy when he's not ready to work when his appointment comes around...).

I'll keep up with all the therapists for now and see how it goes. I'm sure it will get easier once he's napping more on schedule...whenever that is... :)

Snoozer McSleeperson

I can't seem to coordinate Chase's schedule. He only sleeps, eats, and plays, so you wouldn't think it would be that difficult.

The OT has been out to see him probably 5 times. Every single time he's been ready for a nap.

She probably thinks he has some kind of sleep disorder.

Today she played with him for all of five minutes before he decided that he was too exhausted to continue. So when she put him on his belly for Tummy Time, this is what he did. No whining, no crying. Simply closed his eyes and totally shut down...

I'm really glad that I don't have to pay for his services. Today was a total wash.

Potty Presents, Part Deux

After Friday and Saturday's disappointing potty performance, I resolved to hit it hard again today. As soon as Ian woke up this morning, I started talking up the potty presents...and the boxer shorts like Daddy's! Everything is Oh, So Exciting!!

This morning: success! Dry until naptime!

This afternoon: success!!! AND...we actually left the house without a diaper. We made it to Sam's Club and back (about a 2 hour trip) without an accident. Ian was very excited because he got to go pee-pee at the gas station.

I'm so encouraged that I only bought diapers for Chase at Sam's :)