Weary parents

We were eating out at my husband's favorite Italian restaurant.  Everyone was hungry and tired after church.  The kids were grumpy and when we were finally seated, immediately fell to stuffing their faces with rolls.  Mid-way through the meal, little Dylan became satiated and tired.  This child fights sleep, so while he wants to be held, he squirms and moves around quite a bit.  I was not done eating and refused to hold him until I was done eating.  This caused him to completely melt-down with some very impressive screaming and fussing.  Josh handled it.  He took him to the bathroom to calm down.  He took him three times.  At that point, I was finished eating and held him. He immediately fell asleep in my arms.

Before leaving, Ryan clamored to go to the bathroom.  I waited in the car with the sleeping baby.  Upon returning, a weary husband related the following story.

"We were in the bathroom and I (Josh) was waiting for Ryan to finish up his business. Another dude came in and I told him to go ahead, I wasn't in line. Ryan yelled out, "Dadddy! Who are you talking to??"

"A gentleman who wants to use the bathroom."

"What's a gentleman?"

"It's a man."

"Can I meet him??"

Amazingly Ryan and the gentleman were done at the same time so Ryan did meet him.  The gentleman remarked, "He sure does have a lot of questions doesn't he?"  Josh responded with "Bless his heart, he sure does."

Ryan piped up at that point, "Sometimes I do bless my heart."

Josh looked at me and said wearily, "I really want to eat my young today...."

I have no Idea where the time went....

 I just have no idea where the time has gone. I can't believe how little and sweet my little baby Ryan was. I can't forget how it felt when he snuggled, soft and downy in my arms.

I can't believe how round and tubby he was at five months old. I can't believe how my little bowling ball with arms and legs is strong and lean and skinny now. It makes me chuckle to remember this little tub playing with his tongue.  Whenever the camera came out, so did the tongue.  

I can't believe how my little laughing boy has grown into a big laughing boy.  A big laughing boy with the same infectious giggle.

I can't believe that he is FIVE.  FIVE means the baby book I've been keeping for him since he was born, ends now.  Five means no more baby fat. Five means growing tall.  My big five year old is so precious. I don't know what I would do without him.  He is sweet as pie.  He is always ready to help those in need.  He has such a big heart.  Without asking him, he cleans his room and makes his bed and eagerly asks for more chores (this is a fantastic thing about five!) Five means he can almost swing by himself.  Five....it just feels so BIG.  

The Light Show: A bust.

Three days before Christmas, I found a red letter addressed to me on the kitchen table from "Santa." Inside was a cute Christmas card and three tickets to the Kennywood Christmas light show for the next day.  

The weather was perfect.  Since mid-November, a solid blanket of white has covered the ground.  Then a week before Christmas, warm weather returned and all the snow melted.  The night we went to the light show, it was a balmy 56 degrees.  It was crowded to boot. We waited in a line for an entire hour. - This was our first time in the park and it was not a good experience overall.  There were no signs to identify where to go if you already had tickets vs. buying tickets, and then several lines were closed but you couldn't tell until the massive line you were in merged with another.  It was pandamoneum and people were getting rude and grumpy. It was a frustrating start to the evening.  

Once we got past the turn-stile we saw things like this....

 And this...

 And this...

 Every ten minutes two different light shows rotated.  There were Christmas carolers and an ice-sculpter.  I found the ice-sculpter frustrating as well.  We happened to get there early to get a seat, however, people just crowded up in the very front, so if you were sitting, you couldn't see anyway. So we just left. 

 The rides in Kiddie-land were  up and running. 

 Both kids were able to ride which was nice.  Dylan did much better waiting in lines than he did at the carnival this summer.

 Dylan really enjoyed the merry-go-round.  It was a parents-free one.  It seemed like he was such a big boy riding this carasel without me.

 Both kids rode in the mini Ferris Wheel together.

 We stopped for some snow-man pretzels and hot chocolate.

 The lights were pretty, but in my opinion,I had a much better experience overall at Overly's light show, where we went last year. Overly's was really about the light displays and they had bobsled and horse-drawn carriage rides.  They also had a cute little Christmas village to buy fudge and kettlecorn.  They had a bonfire for marshmellows and carolers also.  The lines at Kennywood were simply too long and it really wasn't about the lights, although they were numerous and pretty....it was more about the rides...and the lines for the rides were time consuming and just simply not ejoyable for me because it was so  busy.  If I do end up going to Kennywood again, I'll be going on a Monday when school is still in session.  For the lack of effieciency I experienced, I just really don't even want to go again.

It was OK, but we'll be going to Overly's next year!

Jesse: A roller-coaster experience

Recently, Jesse was also moved from his incubator to a real crib.  This is great news!
A few days ago, little Jesse's abdomen was distended, which required a close watch, painkillers, 2 x-rays, and a 

CBV (to check for infection), but then the next morning it was perfectly normal, which was an answer to prayer! 

Evan and Havilah spend most of their time holding him and comforting him since he has very little to soothe him 

since he can't eat yet.  They spend hours day and night by his crib.  They also closely watch the fluid from his 

replogle tube.  It has slowly turned from dark green to almost completely clear (hopes go up!) and back to green 

(hopes go down).  It needs to be clear continuously to really progress further.  

Last night they had a scare as the TPN line (the line which is giving him his nutrients since he can't eat) to his PICC 

line (the line which goes nearly to his heart to prevent constant sticking and drying up veins) accidently 

disconnected.  This is a big deal because bacteria can get in when it becomes disconnected and then you have 

infection and real problems.  The doctor was called.  The nurse ran over.  Everything was replaced with 

sterile equipment.  Antibiotics were given as a precautionary measure.  Havilah does not think the line was 

disconnected long enough for any bacteria to get in the line, but all precautions are being taken.   Jesse has good

bowel sounds and he POOPED for the first time in 10 days! Never has there been so much rejoicing over baby 

poop! They are hoping to go to gravity suction soon and from there, they can progress to feeds! 

Store Adventures

I will always treasure the times my husband accompanies me to the grocery store.  Why? Because he makes what is usually a dull chore fun.

For example, when I was about eight months pregnant with baby number two, he was hoisting a heavy frozen ham out of the meat bin and turned around to put it in the cart, only to realize I was gone...with the cart.  He searched through half the store carrying a giant frozen ham before he found me.  It was a total pregnancy brain moment. I had had the sudden, immediate need to go find cereal and just...left.  In retrobution, he asked me to get the milk (two gallons) and then stayed just two steps out of my reach.

Conversely, I enjoy setting Sams Club sales-men on him.  Whenever the direct TV guy or the computer sales guy tries to engage me, I just point to my clueless husband who is usually a few steps behind me and sweetly tell them, "That's the guy you want to talk to.....he makes all those decisions." And walk away free as a bird.  Then I hide in some aisle and gigle until he catches up and finds me.  Then I look penitent.

Then there was today.  We did our Christmas meal shopping together.  Of the two of us, he is the better cook, because he actually enjoys cooking.  He's subcribed to no less than five professional cooking video blogs on youtube. The other day he even confessed he wishes he had been a chef (that's when you know it's serious) I have high ambitions for myself to "someday" enjoy cooking and to "someday" be good at cooking.  But that day is not today.  My primary criteria for cooking is as follows:

1. Does it contain a vegetable and a fruit?
2. Does it make the absolute minimal mess possible?
3. Can I make it in three steps or less?
4. Do I have to babysit it?

Josh is never willing to sacrifice a good succulent Christmas dinner so I can practice my cooking skills (and Christmas dinner is taxing for me because it violates just about all of my cooking criteria).  So when he put some green stuff in the cart and he said it was a "poultry bouquet" I couldn't help but giggle.  It sounded so serious. Like something a master chef would use.  Then we surved the turkey situation.  I was surprised to see they had some ducks for sale.  "You know, we could mix it up and make duck instead...I love duck!" But he was concerned about that because he didn't have a duck recipe.  Then we saw cornish hens.  I had no idea cornish hens still existed as food in todays modern world. It was like seeing something out of an old old book. So I got excited about that, even though they were awfully small.  Finally, we saw a "tender young goose." That sounded so traditional it tickled my fancy again.  Josh even picked it up.  He was seriously considering buying the goose! He had that thought line wrinkling his forehead as he examined it and considered it.  Then we both saw the price. Fifty-five dollars....for a small goose.  NO thanks!

SO we left with our turkey and turkey boquet, potatoes, corn and a few other things.  Another fun adventure at the store over and done with.

More about Jesse: How he got his name

 When Havilah was a little girl, one of her favorite book series was the Jesse Bear books.  I could be  

wrong, but I'm pretty sure her absolute favorite was "Jesse Bear, What will you Wear?" (which is sortof ironic since her little Jesse can't wear anything but his birthday suit and a diaper yet) There was a whole bunch of these books, and Havilah loved them.  When she and her husband found out they were having another boy, big brother Noah told them he wanted to name the baby "Bear." They sortof liked the name Theodore.  They could call him "Teddy Bear" as a nickname, except...it sounded like a bad joke.  I happened to remember about her favorite series of books and joked that they could call him "Jesse" and nick-name him "Jesse Bear."  The name stuck.  Evan was calling him "Jesse" before he was even born (much to my delight).  

Today, Havilah and Evan got to hold their little Jesse bear again.  The nurses were able to get a PIC line started, which will be better in the long run.  He is on tylenol around the clock and morphine as needed.  He can't eat by mouth and is only getting nutrients intravenously at this time.  All in good time, as far as that goes.  The next step for Jesse on the road to recovery is the ability to digest gastric juices.  Right now he is getting help with that and the juices are still dark green.  They will know he is starting to digest them when the juices run clear.  For now we are happy that Havilah and Evan are able to cuddle him!

Early Christmas Present

Our family, which is large, somewhat obnoxious and usually in each other's business....received an early Christmas present this year. A little baby.  My nephew.  My sister's little boy.  This baby is super special.  He's super strong.  At her anatomical ultrasound, my sister received news that her little boy had a condition called gastroschsis.

Gastroschsis is: " a relatively uncommon condition that occurs in approximately 1 in 5,000 live births. It is one of a group of birth defects known as abdominal wall defects, which occur very early in gestation and are characterized by an opening in the abdominal wall of the fetus.

Most cases of gastroschisis involve the intestine and other abdominal organs herniating (protruding) through an opening (hole) in the abdominal wall and spilling out into the amniotic fluid around the fetus. This opening is usually found to the right of the umbilicus (belly button). As a consequence, the unprotected intestine becomes irritated, causing it to swell and shorten.

The longer the exposure to amniotic fluid, the more severely the intestine can become damaged. In addition, as the fetus continues to develop, the tight opening may squeeze the blood supply to the intestine or cause it to twist around itself. Either of these consequences can cause intestinal blockage, loss or malfunction and lead to long-term feeding problems after the baby is born." 

--The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. 

Although we were realistic about the fact that he would be born with this condition, and that it was a very treatable condition, we were also aware that things could still go wrong. He could get infections. Part of his bowel could swell, die, or become blocked.  So we began praying for the best possible outcome--no infections, quick successful surgery, and strength for my sister and her husband....because it is difficult to see a tiny little baby in pain.  And I can only imagine how hard it is to leave your tiny baby in the NICU while you go home. 

Jesse's bowel was beginning to swell and look worse on ultrasounds.  Doctors decided to induce at 36 weeks.  He was born on December 11, 2013 at 2:01 am weighing 5 pounds 7 ounces.  He was strong and healthy, other than having gastroschsis. My sister even got to hold him before they whisked him off to the NICU. 

Later that same day, after he was hooked up to his silo, which allows the intestines to descend into the body using gravity, the doctor was manipulating the bowel causing Jesse to defecate.  Amazingly, this caused his intestines to fall immediately back into his body cavity. In this photo, you can see the silo bag....and that it is already empty because his intestines are back where they should be!

 The doctor said he had never seen anything like that before in this type of situation.  Usually getting the intestines to descend into the body cavity takes about 5 days on average.  Because his intestines descended almost immediatly, the surgeon was able to do the closure surgery on Jesse up the very next day. 

We are continuing to pray that Jesse has no infections and his bowel works without incident or complications.  We have so much to thank God for! Welcome little Jesse! We are all so glad you are here! 

Santa, I want....

We were out and about doing some Christmas shopping one day, when we ran into Santa, who just happened to be in town.  Ryan, looking star-struck, whispered, "There he is! There he is! It's SANTA!"
So, I told Ryan he should go sit on Santa's lap and tell him what he wanted for Christmas.  Ryan needed no further convincing.  I sort-of knew what Ryan was going to say.  I thought.  Turns out Ryan had done some significant revisions in the last 24 hours.

He told Santa more crayons.  He wanted a dragon castle.  He wanted a new movie.
I expected all these.  Santa asked if he had been a good boy.  Ryan very solemly nodded.  I affirmed that he had been a VERY good boy this year.

That's when Ryan caught me by surprise and added about ten new things to his list including: a Robot that walks and talks....

Santa nodded and promised, "I can do that..."

WAIT, I thought, WHAT? What if we CAN"T find a robot that walks and talks? What if we CAN"T get him a robot? What if we didn't want him to HAVE a robot?

....a clock that beeps and wakes him up so he can do school early....

Santa said he could do that too.....

What the heck Santa??!!! I'm finally getting sleep in my life, why would I want this child to wake up any earlier than he already does?

"And a scooter".
Yes son, you've been such a good boy this year....

All I have to say is that if Santa's name is a little tarnished next year, it's his own darn fault. 

Pompeii Exhibit

 During the summer my Mom told me I should come visit again in November, so we could go with them to the Pompeii exhibit.  I've been very interested in all things Pompeii, Titanic, Mummy and Egyptian since about fifth grade, so of course we decided to take them up on it!  

Photography was strictly prohibited in the exhibit, but they did a great job.  They had artifacts from daily life: tables, bowls, medical instruments of the day, some of which were similar in form and use to modern tools; fountains, tables, tapestries depicting the gods they worshiped, giant urns for holding wine and other goods.  I was impressed at how similar a lifestyle they had to us. They had access to many foods for a varied diet.  Although the common folk went to the public baths, the elite had their own bathtubs and had heated water pour out of the spouts.  They had a system of pipes for plumbing and water throughout the city.  They dined in restaurants.  And then Vesuvius erupted.  The ground beneath our feet rumbled and smoke poured in at us from the walls, simulating the fall of the town.  Then we saw the plaster shells of several victims.  I'm glad we saw this exhibit and the reflection of how life as you know it can change in an instant.  

 After Pompeii, we visited a few more exhibits.  We learned about how air is a force that can move things.  When you beat this drum, it makes the wall shimmer. 

 Dylan enjoyed sitting in this aircraft. 

 We learned about electricity.....Ryan touched this pretty ball.....

 and received a small shock. 

 So did Aunt Larissa.  I stupidly touched Ryan and got shocked. 

 We made a circuit while holding hands.

 Ryan built a circuit. 

 No trip to the Franklin Institute would be complete without a romp through the giant walk-through heart.

 In the gift shop, Ryan discovered venus fly traps. (Shhh, don't tell him but he's getting astronaut ice-cream in his stocking this year.)

Dylan likes snakes.  Josh suggested getting him a real one for Christmas, but I shot that idea down pretty fast. 

We had a great learning experience and enjoyed some quailty family time! 

Swim Lessons

 Despite buying a pool for the backyard this summer, Ryan made little progress in learning to swim. One problem was that our pool was not deep enough for him to really learn--the water hit him at his waist/chest, but he could still touch.  Whenever we would attempt to teach him anything, including floating on his back, moving his arms or legs appropriately or putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles, he had a complete melt-down.   When we pushed the issue, he would just decide he didn't want to swim for days after that.  We knew it was time to resume swim lessons.   Our YMCA lessons have made a BIG impact on him in a short amount of time!

 Ryan's first lesson was definitely baptism by fire.  At first he refused to get in the pool.  I had to put my stern voice on before he finally got in.  That first lesson his teachers played "Ring-around-the Rossie," where on "all fall down," everyone gets submerged for a second or two.  Ryan's response during this activity was panic, yelling, "Oh no! Oh no!Oh NO!" But he did have the sense to stop yelling and hold his nose just before getting dunked.

But now, only a month later, swim lessons are his absolute FAVORITE activity.   They have him jumping into the deep end off the diving block.   He is blowing bubbles, pushing off, volunarily submerging his head in the water, practicing correct strokes and making his way across the pool on a kickboard.  Needless to say, I am VERY happy with this progress!

As an added bonus, free swim hours are at the same time as Ryan's lessons.  Recently Josh has been able to take this time to play with Dylan in the water.  Dylan enjoys being a "jumping bean" off the side of the pool, dropping swim rings and making Josh pick them up, and kicking on his front and back.  Meanwhile, I get to sit back, relax and read a book for half an hour!

Aw, Bats

A few weeks ago, while my husband was grilling on a breezy fall night, about a week before Halloween, he called me outside.  "Listen to that," he commanded with a grin on his face.  I heard a shrill noise coming from somewhere on our porch. "Is that..." 

"Bats..." he finished, pointing with a stick to a dark gap between a false chimney and the point where our porch roof met.  Standing at the base of the chimney, Josh shone a flashlight up into the dark and we could see them--three bats. Two adults and a pup. "What a cute little bat family" Josh said winking at me.

This happens to be a commonly used and favorite spot for many of us in our family, and thus a very bad spot for bats to be residing above and pooping on.  Incidently, this false chimney stands right next to our back door. The spot by the chimney also happens to be Esteban's favorite spot to lay when he is chilling out in the backyard. It is my favorite place to keep the outdoor toys (bikes and sand/water table) because it is the most sheltered from the elements-which is most likely why our bat friends also chose that spot as their new home. 

I knew they were going to have to go.  I felt bad. I really did.  I think bats are really neat creatures.  I appreciate that they eat bugs and I sort of relate to them being as we are both mammals. I can appreciate the need for a nice dry warm place to shelter from wind, rain and cold-especially with a pup.  I felt bad about turning them out being as the days were getting chillier and wetter, but unfortunately bats also carry diseases which I want no part of. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Bats can carry and transmit Histoplasmosis, Hemorraghic fevers, and of course Rabies.  With two dogs and two kids, these bats were just too close for comfort.  In addition, according to my research, when bats move in-they move in to stay long-term, adding to their colony throughout the years.  Mother bats have on average one to two pups a year.  

I looked at my husbands grinning face.  He clearly thought having bats was really cool.  We showed the kids the three bats curled up in their dark little hole, and then I told him, "OK, that was neat.  We gotta get rid of them. "  This earned me the nick-name "Hitler," for the next several days (which I feel was sortof unncessary. I didn't want to kill them, they just needed to live somewhere else).  Josh's initial plan was to spray them out with the hose.  Eventually a wet, cold and unhappy looking Daddy bat crawled out clinging to the brick and chirping.  Josh reminded me that removing them was my idea and looked at me so accusingly, I told him to stop.  I booked a Bat removal guy the next day.  Bats are protected in our state and it is unlawful to kill them--which is fine! I wished no harm on this bat family. I just wanted them to leave.  When Josh found out I was planning to pay money to remove the bats, he asked me to cancel the guy and told me he could get rid of them.  He bought some insulating foam at the hardware store, waited until the bats had left for evening hunting and sprayed the foam in the crevice between the chimney and roof.  It puffed up and hardened.  There was no way they were getting back in.   Problem solved! I do hope they find a new better place to live though. 

Tranquil Rainy Days

Not only was it spitting rain, it was cold enough to turn on the heat for the first time.  In the past, I would dread days like these.  On this particular day of the week, I used to drive around all day which meant I would be wet and cold all day and arrive home wet and cold.  But I don't dread these days anymore.

We started off with some hot cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast with some hot cocoa.  Then in the cheery warmth of candles and heat did our lessons.  At lunchtime, seeing no improvement in the weather, I decided a hot lunch was in order as well....comfort food- grilled cheese, carrots and dip and tomato soup.

After cleaning up lunch, we laid out newspaper on the table, put on some favorite tunes and began painting.  We used corks today to make some truly beautiful fall trees.  Dylan really enjoyed this and yelled "Dot! Dot!" after each dab.  Ryan also painted some suncatchers--but I was a little too afraid of Dylan getting this on his clothes, so he and I did stamps instead.  It was a truly fun "bad weather" day, rounded off with delving into our giant bag of books from the library.

Fighting?

 Fighting definitely happens between brothers-- even the best of brothers every once in a while.  I am happy to report that usually it's not my oldest who starts said fights, but the youngest, who doesn't really know better yet (but who is well on his way to knowing better).  But sometimes two brothers just need some good old fashioned play-fighting.

Predictably, the youngest started it--while his nemesis was laid low on the ground none-the-less.  I asked him what he thought he was doing.

Mid swipe, he cheerfully responded that he was "fighting" while  Ryan deployed defensive blocks and attempted to bring Dylan down.

It's pretty amazing that while Dylan is smaller and more wiry, he holds his own pretty well (it does help that Ryan is a good big brother and is usually pretty gentle).

For a few seconds it looked like Ryan would be the victor this time. 

But something happened....I'm not quite sure how....it happened so fast....But Dylan was up and Ryan was the one on the ground. 

After that with both of them giggling this little play fight was over and they went off to play something else.  Boys are so much fun. 

Zoo-Boo

Well, it's "that" time of year again-time for halloween and zoo fun! My kids love the zoo and we like how family oriented the zoo-boo activities are. The kids dress up in their costumes and trick-or-treat around the zoo, while still enjoying the animals.

We were blessed to have Aunt Alicia join us for zoo-boo again this year.  I had hoped to continue dressing the kids in themed costumes (for example last year Ryan was batman and Dylan was Robin).  It just didn't work out this year.  Ryan wanted to be a knight and Dylan picked out a Mike Wazouski costume (this kid loves Monsters Inc.)  

 Ryan and Dylan both loved this fog machine which produced bubbles which when popped burst into a puff of smoke.

We had packed a picnic lunch, which we sat down to eat 3/4ths of the way through the zoo.  At that point it started to rain.  We decided we had enough of the zoo for the day and went home to warm up with some pop-corn, blankets and a family movie.