On the 6th day she baked

And baked, and baked... I pulled out the big gun yesterday - the mighty mixer from our wedding. FINALLY. Oh, my. What have I been waiting for??? I have been using a measly little hand mixer for the past 4+ years thinking that this was just too big for our kitchen and didn't want to bother with the clean up and set up. Woah, nelly. That baby can MIX. I decided on a double batch of holiday cookies as I remembered liking that recipe last year and was going to make some extra cookies for Sophia's b-day party. That mixer sure did the job well and quick (once I realized I had the wrong attachment on at first and then read the box and put the RIGHT one on). In hind sight, maybe that was a bit large of a batch as I was up until 9.30 icing all the cookies. I have left "big yeller" (mixer is yellow) on the counter for the season and will be using her again soon.

And on the 4th night, they slept...

And slept. And slept. We got home from the hospital at 4.30pm and were glad to have a nice turkey dinner waiting for us. Poor little D was SOOO tired looking we ate early and our helpers slipped out the door and I had Dylan in bed by 6pm. His temp was finally normal and he slept a full TWELVE HOURS. He never sleeps that long. I guess two days/ nights of no sleep and fighting 104.7 fevers can wipe a little guy out. He looked MUCH better this morning. Just traces of his rash, fever still gone... He is still quite swollen, however, even that is starting to subside - skin isn't so tight and hard. I tried his am nap before his follow up check up but I think the itchiness is still there and he couldn't settle. I took the SUPER long and slow way to the doctors so that he could get a little bit of a nap in. I am so glad he is better and hope that is the last night I have to spend in the hospital with EITHER child. I will acknowledge the silver lining of our stay was laying down with Dylan while he napped. I laid down with him in his crib/ bed to help him sleep and he would reach over and wrap his arms around my neck and bring his face right into mine so my lips were on his lips or cheek and knees curled into my tummy. Any time I would try to move a bit he would hold me tighter. Ahhhhhhhh, priceless.

I should be sleeping

So, I am hoping that last night was Dylan's allergy symptoms going out with a bang. He went down fine at 7, but after 8.30, no rest for the weary. His legs really seemed to be bothering him. Kept kicking and trying to scratch them with his feet. He couldn't be still long enough to sleep. Nothing seemed to work - rocking him, bringing him to bed with us... At midnight he couldn't stand it anymore and just started crying and writhing around. I THOUGHT he was getting better as by then his fever finally went down below 100. He little legs are SO swollen they must have hurt and been very uncomfortable. He is in a nap now and I hope he gets a real good rest. Those little legs...

Poor little D

So, I thought yesterday was rough. Ugh. Dylan's blotches now cover more skin area than non-blotched skin. His cheeks are all red and puffy and I can see his scalp is red through the hair. I could go on, but it is just as well to say his is extremely red and sore. I was at a loss this afternoon and in despair as to what to do. We had spent the morning at the pediatrician's office to take care of his fever. Then I was hoping he would have a nice nap in the afternoon to fight this penicillin in him. No such luck. He was so itchy and skin so hot that he couldn't sleep. I spent the afternoon walking around with him and rocking him in his chair. He would have bouts of itchy discomfort that nothing I could do would help. I cringe to touch him as his skin is so bad I can only imagine how it feels to him. I really hope he can sleep tonight, though I won't hold my breath. I have a bad feeling I will be in the rocker a lot. Not that I don't love holding Dylan and like our snuggles, just wish it was under better circumstances.

Bright note - Sophia had fun at school!

Some "days in this life" are more difficult than others...

It seems we have gone from Happy Feet to Itchy Feet. Or rather itchy all over. Dylan woke up this morning with a rash all over his body. It looked like he was attached by a swarm of mosquitoes with large welts on his legs and chest. He had no fever or other symptoms other than extreme crankiness (and lets face it, if YOU were itchy all over I think a smile would be hard to come by too). So, I did NOT take him to emergency and instead nervously waited 4 hours until the doctor office opened at 9am. After speaking with a nurse we made an appointment and I was worried Dylan would have some food allergy we would have to worry about the rest of his life. I was relieved to find out that he does not have a food allergy, however, the antibiotics he is on has penicillin (as do mine) in them. And that is what he is allergic to. So while I am relieved that it isn't a food allergy, I am sad to see how uncomfortable he is and have to come to terms that after 17.5 mo, I will have to stop nursing. I can't nurse for 48 hours after my last dose and by then I think my milk and his interest will be gone. Not that I will be stopping this early, just rather it be on my own terms.

A nice Oatmeal bath before nap to calm his itchy skin...

Even an itchy body can't keep the goof out of Dylan ALL the time.

Happy Feet

Happy Feet:


Little Dylan is showing his emerging flare for dance. Clearly my singing was of no inspiration to him. I should just save my vocals for American Idol, "mom's singing toddler tunes" edition.


Ok, Sophia, could you try smiling next time? "CHEEEEEEESE!"

Mr. GQ strikes his pose.

Dylan like to do a quick warm up before tackling his toys.

Dylan has shown he has a flare for... well, flare. Nice shoe, D.

D's Vocabulary to date

I thought I would record (for posterity?) Dylan list of words he know at this point:
Mama
Bye-bye
Hi (credit to Sophia for teaching him this one as she is the store greeter whenever we are out on errands, saying hi to everyone and of course, Dylan has to copy all she does and says)
Yay! (at the end of all songs)
Uh-oh!
Night-night
All done (not spoken so clearly as it is written, however, the intonation makes it crystal clear)

He is of course much more clever than his vocabulary suggests. He understands my requests and even conversations that aren't directed at him. I was asking Sophia to get her own water from the kitchen once and while we were "discussing" this, Dylan disappeared and returned with her water. That's our right hand man, for you!

Right Hand Man

Dylan has become my right hand man these days. Right from the moment I step out of the shower, he is right there to hand me my towel and clothes (not necessarily in that order) and close the door behind (or on) me. He helped me sort the laundry this morning, picking up clothes and then putting them on the pile I have pointed to. He still enjoys handing me cutlery out of the dishwasher so I can put them in the drawer. Still acts like Mr. Excitement when I pull out the vacuum, happy dance and then tries to take over. He is good at putting things in the garbage (whether they belong there or not). Uber cute little guy.

Sophia has been liking School this week and ASKING to GO. She especially fond of Miss Lauren who is there on Fridays. Unfortunately not so fond of the other one who is there Tues and Wed's. "Yucky Miss Sue" - sigh...

Close Encounters with Coyote-kind

So, this morning started off... differently. Early in the morning before taking Sophia to school I looked out the kitchen and saw a "wolf" in the playground. I went to get the camera and was bummed it had disappeared, then I saw ANOTHER. Ok, not as cool. Then after taking Sophia to school I was waiting for Dylan to finish his nap and heard this yelping, whining and howling noise from "the hills". Even less cool. After Dylan woke from his nap I decided to try hit the gym with him for the first time, despite these viruses we are fighting. I get us out the door, shut the locked door and start heading for the car. I look up and RIGHT THERE is that "wolf" again. AHHHH! Super NOT cool. He was at the edge of the drive way and I had to turn my back on it, fumble with my keys and try not to panic (my heart failed that last part - major panic). At this point I decide to contact the police knowing I would have to leave the house eventually to get Sophia. They had already been contacted and a few minutes later I saw them in the park (probably alerted to the car alarm Dylan had set off with my keys which I had trouble turning off with that dying battery in the key chain). This gave me my chance to safely leave the house, so I decided to go ahead with that gym adventure. I did some errands to kill time so I wouldn't have to go home and then went to get Sophia. I took the park road back to scope out the situation and was glad to see a police car on the road. He was there as that road has been detoured for the past week and a half and was most likely keeping non-resident cars away (yay!). Anyway, I asked him about the "wolves" and he said they were actually coyotes and that he didn't know anything about what is up with them. Great. I will be staying SUPER local today. Like at home. inside. Safe. Secure.

The "weigh-in"

Dylan had his follow-up appointment today and though his weight just crept up keeping him at 9th percentile, his height JUMPED TWO INCHES! He is now 33" and sitting pretty back in the upper 80's percentile in height. Here I thought he was eating better and may have added a little more weight. Guess I will have to go back to trying to sneaking in some healthy fats (Halloween candy is NOT considered one of the healthy fats, boohoo). He is also back on antibiotics to kick his bug once and for all. I decided to go ahead and "cash in" on the prescription given to me on Friday and see if they can get rid of my bug too for the holidays.

Sophia had another good day at school, yay!

One step closer

Dylan has gotten one step closer to being potty trained (haha). Now when he joins me for my tinkle he insists on me opening the lid of Sophia's training potty and sits himself down. Then today he went even further and after getting up he pulled up on his pants as though he were pulling them up.

Dylan's Soccer skills are being honed by Ethan too. He has just spent the last ten or so minutes kicking the ball (with great control) around the room.

Today is also a significant day as it is the first time Sophia has ASKED to go to school. I was kicking myself that it wasn't a school day - grrrr. She asked repeatedly all day to go. I hope she doesn't lose this enthusiasm tomorrow for the real deal.

Poncho update: 32" at approx 6 rows per inch and 106 stitches per row, means I have knit roughly 20, 352 stitches over the past week and a half. Only 10, 176 to go...

Roller coasters

So, today was kind of like a roller coaster. There were extreme ups and downs. Dylan FOUR new molars all cutting through at once have thrown him into fits of pain. Sophia had her own mysterious meltdown too at 4pm when I wouldn't take her to the mall (I had offered at 3.3o, but she declined). Anyway, I was glad to end the day with an extreme mommy moment with Dylan. He is SOOOO cuddly. A few nights ago I leaned in and gave him a hug while toweling him off from his bath. He responded with grabbing me back and giving me a super hug. The past couple nights he looks forward to this during towel-off and starts reaching for me. These hugs are getting longer and tighter. LOVE IT. Then as I sang to him (with my horrible horse and crackling voice) tonight he crawled up and buried his head in my neck and we sang like that for about 5 minutes. Ahhhhhh.

This picture if for you, Emily. Dylan likes to get in on the wiggle walk outfit action too. Maybe I should pass this on out west for the boys out there... Get all the grand kids in on the action.

Sophia

A couple new developments with Sophia. First one I have been meaning to record is our post-bath pantie cart. You know when you are at a restaurant and they bring around the dessert cart for you to choose your dessert? Well, I feel a lot like that waiter with Sophia's pantie box. I bring her the box and she peruses the panties she wants to wear. Kind of fun.

Monsters. Sophia has also become obsessed with monsters lately and we do a monster check under her bed, in her closet and under the sheets before naps and bedtime. Not sure where she picked up on these monsters, but it has become a ritual.

Lamby play. I love listening to Sophia's babblings to Lamby as she plays with him. She usually recounts things that happen in her life and role play with Lamby. Take school, for instance. She holds Lamby with care and asks him "what's wrong? why are you crying" "I will be back after lunch" This is what happens on most school days when I drop Sophia off at school. She also teaches Lamby other little"lessons" that she has been taught. Talks to him about having a time out, haha.

Dylan has sprouted molars 3 and 4 on the bottom. Just felt them this morning. Crazy!

I'm a loser, baby...

Ok, so I am a complete idiot. I remind myself of one of those stories passed around on email. You know, the one where the woman forgets her keys and gets "locked" in her car and calls AAA or NSTAR to get her out. They end up directing her to manually unlock the door... Well, I called AAA after getting home and realizing Dylan would not go down for his am nap and couldn't bear to be around the house all day. After waiting for half an hour, a truck arrives. The guy gets in the car and starts it. I was shocked, and said "it just started?" And he replied "yes, it was in reverse". IDIOT. I looked around for a small hole to crawl into, but none could be found so I scurried inside with my tail between my legs.

"Happy" Friday

It is only 8.30 and already today has been terrible. I got the kids in the car to take Sophia to school and when I went to start the car, NOTHING. Tried a few more times, nothing. Went to take the keys out of the ignition, STUCK. Left keys, got kids unbuckled and into "Evil" B.O.B. I was about to head out when Sophia reminded me how daddy fixed the tire (for litteraly the 10th time). I decided to just give it a check and YUP, went flat AGAIN. Luckily we have the old double and I packed the kids in there and ran off to get Sophia to school. At least I'm not sick. Oh, wait. That's right. My head hurts.

Ray of sunshine: Sophia was NOT unhappy when I left her at school. She didn't cry, and sweetly said good-bye and that she would see me after lunch! A rare send of for me. Second ray is that I will have some exercise with the stroller today, though, admittedly unnecessarily painful due to the bug I am nurturing.

Funny D

Dylan has some pretty cute Dylan-isms. The obsession with vacuums, for one. He will spit his food out on the floor and then run to the kitchen and make noises under the hand vacuum to clean it up. Another food related ism is how he plops himself on the floor at the suggestion off food. I guess I have offered him too many "picnics" on the floor while trying to get stuff done. Now adays when I pat the floor motioning to get him to come for a diaper change, he instead comes over and copies me patting the floor.

Smart as a whip this boy. Yesterday I was trying to get Sophia off the couch to get her own water from the kitchen. She kept saying "Wadder" and Dylan cued into this and next thing I know it he is coming back from the kitchen and handing Sophia her sippy cup. Sophia has also taught Dylan how to say "hi" during one of her store greeter stints. For someone is very she, she really likes to greet people when we are out and about.

So we just spent 15 minutes out in the rain while Sophia played in the sandbox and Dylan raked leaves. Oh, and yes, pick a few more RASPBERRIES still ripening on the bushes. I also notice some of the BULBS I planted this fall are coming out of the ground???!!!

Life is Grand

I have now been dealing with this bug over two weeks. The first week and a half were bearable - mild headache, nausea, yuck cough and nose. Then it stepped up a notch on the weekend just in time for Ethan's trip to Florida. I had taken Dylan to the Dr. Friday as he was having the same goo oozing from him and his started sooner. I was trying to hold off on myself - ride this one out. Well, yesterday things kicked in high gear shutting down my right sinuses - eye, ear and nose. Throat now sore too, SO, I decided I would have to bite the bullet and make an appointment and drag the kids to it. I got a 3.30 appointment and thought that would work out well. Wrong. I arrived 15 minutes early only to learn the doctor was running about half an hour late. Great. Two toddlers stuck in a waiting room for 45minutes. Sophia was very social to all the other patients (all of whom were seen before us, even the ones who arrived much later). So, the last patient there, I got seen and was told I have a couple things, but with two kids who have already been patient for an hour and were now ready to burst, who can remember what was said. I have some kind of infection in my eye and another virus. The eye is apparently VERY contagious. I was told to throw out all my make up (lucky I don't wear any), my contacts, their case, the solution, wash the pillowcases, etc... I am thinking it was just the eye that is contagious, but I don't know and will have to wait until tomorrow when they have the swab results. Hopefully the kids will be sleeping so I can concentrate.

I am not sure what is worse - the wait at the doctor office with the kids or the pharmacy. I get so grouchy going there. The doctor faxed the prescription in at 4.30 and I arrived at 5.10. I had to wait another 30 minutes to get it. Again there were a ton of people there, most came AFTER me and they were all taken care of first. I began to let Dylan just cry and scream a little to light a fire. Then I get the prescription only to find they didn't fill BOTH. So I had to wait again.

Not my favorite day. I want my mommy. I was so glad to get the kids down - songs and stories on a sore throat isn't my favorite either.

Happy dance

Dylan really loves the vacuum. He gets so excited when I pull it out that he does his little happy dance around the room (moving his feet really fast and walking on his tip toes). I have been saving vacuuming for when the kids are getting fussy. Sophia will zone out in front of the TV and Dylan follows me around the house, touching and staring at the vacuum. He makes me give him a try even though the vacuum is far to heavy for him to lift. Still very amusing.

Why?

Yup, that questioned has finally surfaced. Sophia has been asking "why mamma" lately. She has also taken up "How you doing" and I can't help but think of the slang-y "how YOU doin'?"
Another busy weekend has past, only this weekend we didn't really go anywhere. Chores, into Boston this morning, Houghton's pond where BOB got yet ANOTHER flat tire. What is it now - 8? Hope the kids adjust to the new wake up time (forgot about it this morning...)

365.25

So, there are now 365.25 (approx) days until next Halloween. WHEW! We got a lot of mileage out of this year's Hallows Eve. Started the weekend before at Boo at the Zoo. Then, on Thursday, the kids were suited up again to go to a Halloween party. Friday Sophia got suited up at school for a little parade up the street and back. That afternoon we took advantage of the plethora of leaves on the east side of our house and raked up a big pile to jump in. The kids then napped and when they woke started to get excited for the trick or treating. Well, Sophia was. Pe-pere was here and played with the monkeys in the leaves while I madly carved up our pumpkins which I had COMPLETELY forgot about all afternoon AND made dinner. Dinner was nothing to write home about, but was a factor in my time management. I carved a mini monkey-kin to tie into the kids monkey costumes and a "scary" big pumpkin with horns to tie in with Ethan's horns that he wore for the festivities. I had done bunny-kins for Sophia's bunny costume year and cat-kins last year for her kitty costume. I guess I have started a tradition?

Well, Sophia's mind was fixated on treats all through dinner and couldn't wait to get out there on the streets begging for candy. We tried to wait until it was dark. By 6 it was close enough and we hit our first house across the street. Sophia was SO cute. She would go up to the door, say ding dong, then press the bell. When the door was answered she tooted "trick or treat, please!" I was so proud of her adding that please in there. I never even prompted that! Then as she would leave she would wish the candy giver a happy Halloween and then command us "next house". Dylan caught on pretty quick and would scramble to the next house and dig into the candy bowls. They really were the cutest kids in the neighborhood :) SEVEN pounds (literally) of candy and an hour later we returned to the house and put our sugar junkies to bed. Now I am trying to figure out what to do with 7lbs of candy. I can't stand to hear Sophia asking for it everyday. In addition to the loot we hauled in we have about 7lbs of candy that is left over from our own bowl UGH. Did I mention I joined a gym? HA! yup, el cheapo gym up the street. I wonder why joining gyms after Halloween isn't as big a thing as after Christmas... There is a lot of candy to be had. Visit our shutterfly photo page to see our little monkeys in action.

Anyway, there are a bunch of cute kids things happening each day that I keep forgetting to record. I will do my best now to jot some down...

Dylan and dishes. He is actually becoming helpful when I unload the dishes from the washer (well, when he is not trying to climb in it or close the door on me). Yes, he likes to take out the utensils one by one and hand them to me to put away.

Competitive loving. I love it when one of the kids is in my arms getting snuggles and hugs, etc... and the other will take note and barrel on over and try to get in on the action. Usually this is Dylan coming in from behind and slobbering all over my back, or as of lately, leaving a smear of nose goo.

Spontaneous friendships. We were at Houghton's pond today and in the little visitor's hut. A little girl about Sophia's age came in with her dad and they instantly started laughing and chasing, and oh yes, screaming with each other as though they were best friends. They would run to one bench then the next, laughing and having so much fun. Sophia looked like she was kind of hitting the little girl as she does when she gets excited with Dylan, so I intervened and said not hit, high five! Then they ran around high fiving each other (though their aim left something to be desired).

I know there are more of these fun little things, but my memory is a blank. Could be the sugar, could be this virus - who knows. I will try to record as I remember.