A Tale of Two Vacations AND Benjamin is Sick

Well, as if being gone from home for nearly two or three weeks wasn't enough, now we are dealing with some health issues with Benjamin that have my time and mind occupied. I guess I'll start with that.

About a month or so ago (Who can really keep track of the weeks?), Benjamin started getting kind of congested. He was also visibly teething (drooling, sticking things in his mouth, etc.), and Andrew always got congested when he teethed, so I just chalked it up to that. He didn't seem to feel bad, only a little irritable at times. The first couple of days, he also had a little bit of a cough, usually only when he was sleeping. The thing that persisted over the course of several weeks, however, was fluid on his chest, mainly when he was drinking his bottle of milk (and sometimes when he'd eat food). Again, we all thought it was just extra drainage from teething, and since he didn't seem to feel bad, we thought we'd just wait it out. Plus, Matthew and I went to the beach, and shortly after we returned, I took both boys (with other family members) to Texas.

On the way home from Texas (this past week), I called the doctor and she wanted to see Benjamin on Wednesday. On Tuesday and Wednesday (before the doctor), he sounded decidedly better and I almost cancelled his appointment.

Good thing I didn't.

She said she heard wheezing in his right lung and sent us next door to the hospital for a chest x-ray.

Now I was thinking that this might have to do with that large pneumatacele (air pocket) they discovered in his right lung during his open-heart surgery. But when we looked at the results on her computer, the pediatrician pointed out that while there is an issue in his right lung, it's not near his pneumatacele.

But he does have pneumonia.

And that's not all.

She thinks that he may be aspirating his food/drink into his lungs when he is drinking/eating. There also may be reflux issues, along with the pneumonia.

So right now, we are doing five thing to try to get this under control:

1. He is on Amoxicillan twice a day for the pneumonia. (Neither of my boys has ever had to have an antibiotic, so this is a first!)

2. He is taking Prevacid twice a day for the reflux. We have to do this on an empty stomach, which makes timing tricky, considering he has to take another medicine around the same time.

3. We are giving him breathing treatments with a nebulizer, using Albuterol, about three times a day. He hated it at first but is now MUCH better with it.

4. We are thickening his milk with Thick-It so he won't aspirate. Thankfully (so far) he doesn't mind. IN FACT, the nectar consistency that we are using (per his doctor) has allowed us to move seamlessly from a bottle to a soft-spout sippy cup. We are still having to warm his milk for now, but that is okay. Also, he doesn't hold his cup (or bottle), so we still have to hold it for him the whole time. All of these things added up (when I let it) stress me out, so I just have to try and keep it in perspective. Many kids can't even drink out of sippy. Or tolerate milk. Or even sit up yet. But it's still hard at times.

5. We go back next Friday for another chest x-ray.

Speaking of that, I had kind of an emotional day on Wednesday. I had been doing great with Benjamin's Down syndrome for awhile. But I should have known it comes and goes. While I was at the doctor's office on Wednesday with Benjamin, waiting for the doctor, I could hear the nurse in the next room doing the beginning part of a little girl’s 15-month well visit. The questions were simple enough and of course the answer to all of them was “yes” from the mom. “Is she off the bottle? Is she saying at least three words? Does she respond to simple requests? Can she point out some body parts?” My heart just broke all over again. Benjamin is nowhere near any of that. He usually doesn’t even turn to look at you when you call his name.

I know to expect delays. But that doesn’t make it easy when it is painfully obvious that he is like a six-month old. And then the pneumonia. I should have brought him to the doctor weeks ago. It just wasn’t a good day.

But we must persevere. I try to keep things in perspective. While in a crowded rest area bathroom (while I was holding Benjamin by the sinks and rinsing out bottles) on the way home from Texas, a lady asked me how old Benjamin was. I immediately wondered, "Can she tell? Does she know?" I replied, "He's 14 months." A few moments passed and she said, "Is he walking yet?"

And then I knew.

She knew.

You don't typically ask that about a typically-developing 14-month old. I said no, that he was cruising the furniture but not taking any steps. She said that he seemed small, like their 13-month-old foster son. He isn't sitting yet.

He doesn't have any stomach muscles.

Here I was feeling sorry for myself that a stranger can tell that my son has Down syndrome just by looking at him.

But her foster son (presumably also with DS by the way she was talking) has no stomach muscles.

See? Perspective.

So that's where we are right now. We had a lovely Fourth of July over at my parents' house. I am getting more of a tan this year, which is really nice. I used to tan really well as a teenager when all I had to do all summer was hang out at the Morris Estates Pool. (HOLLA!)

Okay.

I recently went on two vacations. Well, one of them was a vacation. The other was more of a trip. Why? Because my kids went on the second one. LOL

First up, Matthew and I went to the Outer Banks, North Carolina, for one whole week. By ourselves. It was fantastic but went by far too quickly. The boys both stayed with my parents, and they all had a ball. Here are the OBX (Outer Banks) pictures:

On the way we planned a stop at Cheesecake Factory. I do not know why we don't have one of these in Chattanooga??!?!?!?!!! We have everything else!



If you have not tried the Fried Macaroni and Cheese (appetizer), you have not lived.



The view from our oceanfront condo. I just love going to the beach and staying ON the beach. In my opinion, it's the only way.



I had to take most of the pictures. LOL



At the end of a grueling game of miniature golf at Lost Treasure. Matthew whooped me, as usual.



Being silly. As usual.





Another sign you have not lived: If you have not tried Birthday Cake Remix at Cold Stone Creamery. We got it twice.



I'd always wanted to go parasailing. It was so fun! We did the full height of 1200 feet. It honestly was not scary!





There is a GREAT Gap Outlet there (along with some other good stores), and my goal was to go there and buy some size 14 jeans (and other clothes). I think it was my proudest moment. To be in that dressing room and put on some 14L (gotta love long jeans for us tall gals) jeans and THEY FIT! I bought two pairs. I also loved sending back some XL tops for some L ones b/c they were too big. I've never had to send clothes back for a smaller size! Let's just say I single-handedly stimulated the U.S. economy that day with all my Gap purchases. :)



Hubba, Hubba!



Stone Oven Pizza has the BEST pizza ever. This is the Greek and the Cheese Steak White. We also got this twice. I wish their delivery area was 700+ miles. ;)



A few years ago while in the OBX, we witnessed a beach wedding.

This was a beach funeral. It was very sad, even all the way up on our deck where we couldn't hear anything. Here are all the beach mourners. There's even a guy playing the bagpipes. At the end of the ceremony, they all threw beautiful long-stemmed flowers into the water.



These were the surfers who did the "paddle out." I assume the deceased was a surfer; this is common from what I read later online.



If you click on this picture to make it larger, you can see that the girl in the front (on the left as you look at them) has a box on the front of her surfboard. I assume these are/were the ashes? Maybe they sprinkled some out in the ocean.



Later, you could still see the flowers up and down the shore. So sad.



Look how close the dolphins get!



Yummm.....I do love me some fried seafood. And lots of tartar sauce. (That's coleslaw in the bowl...)



The sunrise on our last day. (I went back to sleep.)



But don't worry. While we were off relaxing and eating delicious food, the boys were having a BALL at my parents' house. They, however, needed some Prozac by the end of it. ;)

I think Andrew swam three times a day.



Oops! You have to let the Bullfrog sunscreen dry before you put his swimmies on or the ink rubs off. He liked it. LOL



Hmmm...I can chew on these, too!



He goes off the diving board without even getting in first!





No one actually took a nap in this picture.



This is Benjamin's attempt at a Hitler impersonation. Hitler with Blueberries.



Waiting for Uncle Justin



"Yeah, I'm teething....so WHAT?"



He enjoyed his baths in the sink.





There's always something to learn from Uncle Justin. And it's educational and wholesome. (Unlike from Uncle Michael...)





I was so shocked when Mom showed me this picture. Andrew doesn't usually let Baby B this close.



And this is why.



Evidently they made up later and had a little brotherly fun in the kitchen.









He yells, "CANNONBALL!!!" even though he never actually does a cannonball.



I had barely been home three days when I loaded up the van with me, Andrew, Benjamin, my mom, and my brother Justin to drive to Texas to visit my mom's family. My older brother Michael, his wife Edie, and their four children also went. If you drove straight with no stops, it would take you about 11 hours. It took us 14. Oh, mercy. The trip there wasn't actually that bad. The trip home was rough. But we had a good visit and we made it home safely.

McDonald's on the way





Justin is asleep in the far back, and Andrew is watching a DVD. THANK YOU, DIANA for loaning us your portable DVD player. We would have DIED without it!



Oops. Is it illegal to listen to your mom's iPod and drive at the same time? I think I might want an iPod for Christmas. I've held out for this long but I think I'm ready.



I think my look says it all, "HE FINALLY FELL ASLEEP!!!"



Goofing around with Uncle Justin



The next day at my grandmother's house



Andrew loved watering her plants. And himself.



He also loved wearing my grandmother's hat. HA!!!!!!!!!!





My cousin Allison with Benjamin. He loved all the attention!



Uncle Justin helping out with a bottle. As you can see, neither boy had combed his hair that day...



I got the idea to put a washcloth on Benji's head in the bathtub. What resulted was Mom and me laughing hysterically at "George Washington."



We like to call this one "The Angry Colonist."



The next day we went to my Uncle Peter and Aunt Kathy's house where Andrew got to drive a tractor!! They even knocked over a tree!!! He was in heaven.







There were also two four-wheelers.



There was a baby pool for Baby B.





And a GIANT homemade slip-n-slide for the older kids. (Two giant tarps duct-taped together and doused with tons of bottles of baby shampoo.)





The older kids enjoyed it, too. Michael and Justin would run full speed toward each other from opposite ends, land on separate floats, and collide in the middle. You can't see Justin here, but he's underneath Michael.



I love this boy! (Have I mentioned that before?)





The food there was wonderful! Saturday night we had Seafood Extravaganza at Kathy's house.

Spinach dip



tartar sauce and cocktail sauce



Andrew loved the cupcakes!!



Yummm....fries....



This isn't the best picture, but on my plate is much goodness: fried shrimp, coconut shrimp, twice-baked potatoes, spinach dip and crackers, hot crab dip, squash casserole, corn casserole, and french fries...and I had to put my sauces on Andrew's (finished) plate.



Justin and I had to take a picture to document Benjamin's super messy hair. It was out of control, and this picture doesn't do it justice.



Speaking of out of control, check out Justin's milk glass for his Oreos. What a goof.





Sunday after church and Mexican food (yum), we took some family pictures. Even though both my boys were overtired and needed a nap, I managed to get a halfway decent shot.



On the way home, we passed this beauty of a car. In case you can't read it, it says, "RIP Michael Jackson 'The Way U Make Me Feel.'" Wow.



The best part is that after three weeks of NOT dieting, I went to weigh in at Weight Watchers on Thursday and I only gained 0.4 lb!!! I am only 0.6 lb away from a grand total of 20 pounds!

Well, there you have it.

I sure feel better now.

I only have 220 blog posts to read in my Google Reader. Will I ever catch up? Maybe. But I'll have fun trying. I love to travel, but it is nice to be home.

World Country Traveler

I have lots of fun pictures from my trip to the beach, but unfortunately, I have ZERO time to post any of them or talk about my wonderful, relaxing, kid-free week at the beach. Why? Because I am nuts. And I am getting in my van early tomorrow morning with my mom, my younger brother, and both my boys to drive 12+ hours to Texas for only a few days. My older brother, his wife, and their four kids are also going in their car. My mom's family lives there, and we are all very excited for five whirlwind days of family, food, and fun. Sadly, two of those days will be in the car. LOL

So stay tuned for a big picture post sometime next week. When I recover.

:)

My Talented Friends

(This was auto-posted, as I'm relaxing on the beach right now with my husband while my parents are watching both boys back at home!)

I have many talented friends. Three in particular are Stephanie, Diana, and Heather. Besides being wonderful mommies, gifted bloggers, and great friends, they are all extremely talented.

Stephanie has a business called Mango Tree Frames. She spends hours on each frame, and believe me, they are worth every penny. Just go to the website for proof.

Here is a picture of the frame she gave me when Benjamin was born. It is now hanging in his nursery:



Diana has a business called Appleby Mommy Bows. And even though my boys have no use for hair bows, she makes other things, too, like this cute pacifier clip that she made Benjamin:





Heather has an etsy store called Heatherty Featherty. She is a fantastic seamstress and can whip up an outfit for your toddler, a skirt for you, or a crayon roll for your diaper bag before you have even showered for the day. And her fabric is top-notch. Here are lots of pics from things she has graciously sent me:

Her card



The boys' tie shirts





Benjamin's VW campers bermuda shorts. (Please note that Heather did not specifically make these for Benjamin's round-bellied, short-legged frame. They simply did not fit her toddler so she sent them to me.) They are so cute!!







And my personal favorite of hers thus far: My stylish crayon roll.





So the next time you need a frame, a bow, or an outfit, remember my talented friends. Tell them I sent you. Maybe I'll get some more free stuff. :)

Wordless Wednesday

(This was auto-posted, as I'm relaxing on the beach right now with my husband while my parents are watching both boys back at home!)

Angela is patient, Angela is kind...

(This was auto-posted, as I'm relaxing on the beach right now with my husband while my parents are watching both boys back at home!)

I recently read a book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. It is basically a call to Christians who are living an apathetic Christian life to realize that we are called to have a crazy, relentless, all-powerful love for God because God is love. One of the things that convicted me was in chapter five. Chan states that as Christians, we are supposed to represent to the world what Christ's love looks like. A popular passage about love in the Bible is I Corinthians 13:4-8. Here it is:

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.

The convicting part is when Chan suggested this exercise: Take the phrase Love is patient and substitute your name for the word love. (For me, "Angela is patient...") Do it for every phrase in the passage.

And even if you're not a Christian or aren't sure where you stand, I'd say these qualities are just good living anyway.

:)

The ABCs of Me

(This was auto-posted, as I'm relaxing on the beach right now with my husband while my parents are watching both boys back at home!)

My friend Anna tagged me last week to do the ABCs of me, and I thought it would be kind of fun. I do love to talk about myself. LOL

A -Age: 32

B - Bed size: queen (Though right now at the beach, it's a king!!)

C - Chore you hate: cleaning floors

D - Dog's name: I had a dog once. His name was Barney. He jumped over the fence and attacked a neighbor girl who was taunting him, so we had to get rid of him. But truth be told, I am not a dog person. (Don't hate me!)

E - Essential start to your day: Matthew bringing both boys into the room where I'm dead asleep and dumping them both on the bed. It's great. :)

F - Favorite color: purple

G - Gold or silver: gold

H - Height: 5'11"

I - Instruments you play(ed): I took violin lessons for five years (2nd grade through 7th grade) and even went to violin camp for three summers. I also took piano lessons for a couple of years in elementary school, too.

J- Job title: Mommy

K - Kids: Andrew James (3/24/06) and Benjamin Matthew (4/24/08)

L - Living arrangements: Our dream house with a big yard in a small, quiet subdivision at the end of the cul-de-sac with a pond two houses away

M - Mom's name: Paula (and my dad's name is Paul...LOL)

N - Nicknames: I have several nicknames but none from more than one person. Matthew calls me "Babe" or "Sweets." My brother Justin calls me "Babes." My dad has a whole host of goofy nicknames from childhood that he still uses. Sometimes, when I'm in a good mood, I let him. ;)

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Tonsillectomy when I was seven, two C-sections (four days each....I love me some hospital time!!!)

P - Pet Peeve: Incorrect spelling/grammar/punctuation (especially on printed documents or from establishments **cough**cough**Facebook**cough**cough, or from TEACHERS)

Q - Quote from a movie: "Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms." Joe Fox, "You've Got Mail"

R - Right- or left-handed: right

S - Siblings: Two brothers: Michael (older by two years) and Justin (younger by 3 1/2 years)

T - Time you wake up: Generally at about 7:00 to 7:15 each day when Matthew dumps the boys on me and then heads to work. But this week?? Hmmm......never.

U - Underwear: clean

V - Vegetable you dislike: MUSHROOMS ARE DISGUSTING

W - Ways you run late: changing B's diaper, waiting for A to poop on the toilet (why do males take so long?), and just general "I-have-two-kids-and-it's-hard-to-get-out-of-the-house" stuff

X - X-rays you've had: arm, finger, teeth

Y - Yummy food you make: I make a mean cake, really yummy cake cookies, a sinfully delicious green bean casserole, addictive sausage balls, and a healthy and tasty Santa Fe Chicken dish.

Z - Zoo favorite: Umm....I don't remember the last time I went to a zoo.

Wanna know how much I weigh?

Before I got pregnant with Andrew (my first child), I was at the *very* top of the "normal" range for my BMI. I am 5'11", and at the time I weighed about 175.

Even though I wasn't "fat," I certainly was not happy. I can't remember a time I have ever been happy about my weight or my body. Even as far back as the third grade, I remember realizing that I had a big stomach and thinking, "I'll always have this."

Probably from college until getting pregnant (about a decade), I was habitually starting and stopping a diet/exercise program. There was always the self-inflicted guilt. The overeating. The promise to "start on Monday." But Monday never came. Or it only lasted four days.

In the fall of 2004, I lost 17 pounds on the Atkins diet. For the first time, I was able to fit into size 12 jeans, as I have been a 14 my entire adult life. But then I got strep throat and started eating bread again. You know, like normal people do.

And so I pretty much just continued with my horrible eating habits. Not caring how many calories or grams of fat anything had. Not paying attention to portion size. Not ever stopping myself before I was stuffed. It was like I was too stupid to realize that there truly is a correlation between what I ate and my weight.

By the next summer I had gained it all back. Here is a picture of how I looked in the summer of 2005, when I was actually already pregnant with Andrew but did not know it yet. (This is a Gap in Hawaii, by the way.) These are my size 12 jeans that were a little snug but fit well enough. My stance is making my left hip stick out a bit weird, but you get the point.



Sigh. Then I got pregnant. And I gained 56 pounds. And after Andrew was born, I had major issues with his feeding, so losing weight was not top priority. Or even bottom priority. And frankly, I have never had much motivation or willpower.

Months passed and I was still wearing maternity clothes because none of my size 14s would fit. So I bit the bullet and bought 16s.

And that is where I stayed. Sure, I lost a little bit of weight. At one point in the summer of 2007, when Andrew was about 15 months old, I got down to about 188 briefly. But I stayed at about 195-200.

When I got pregnant with Benjamin, I still had 20 pounds leftover from my first pregnancy. I weighed about 197. Thankfully, with my second pregnancy I only gained 27 pounds.

And I don't have to tell you that with Benjamin's birth came a whole host of things to distract me from losing weight.

But to tell the truth, I just didn't want to.

I didn't think I could. I thought I didn't have it in me.

I loved the idea of losing weight. I loved the idea of being in shape. I drooled at the idea of wearing size 14s (and some 12s) again. I would sit down and write up a workout plan and a healthy menu. And then a few days into it, I would just quit.

I didn't think I could. I thought I didn't have it in me.

After Benjamin was born none of my 16s even fit, even though I quickly lost my pregnancy weight and was back down around 200 again. Girls, you know that having a baby does weird things to your body. You can be the same weight but not the same shape.

I refused to buy 18s so I shamefully headed over to the women's section and bought a few pairs of 16W pants. And a couple of regular 16s that fit.

I was miserable. My body image was controlling me. It consumed my every thought. I hated going into my closet because nothing fit. I hated going places because nothing fit and when I finally found something that kind of fit, I felt like a big, fat cow in it. I hated being in pictures. I hated being in my skin.

I struggled with the idea of losing weight because I knew it was going to be hard work. And I don't like hard work. I like to eat and sit on the couch.

Plus we plan to have two more children (yes, we're nuts) and so what was the point of losing weight just to gain it back?

I would plan for things in the near future like vacations or family birthdays and think, "I'm still going to be fat and miserable then." And although Matthew has never been anything but supportive of me, I am sure he was tired of my crying and whining about my weight and then watching me make poor choices with food.

Then my mom mentioned going to Weight Watchers together. She had joined last year and lost 30 pounds but had quit for various reasons, only having gained back a small portion of what she had lost. At first I was hesitant, not only because of the money, but because of the work of what I thought it would take to do this successfully. Planning meals. Counting calories. Yuck.

But we went to our first meeting on February 26, 2009. My starting weight was (gulp) 206.8. But this time I was determined. I was a woman on a mission. (Putting your weight loss plans on the Internet is good accountability, by the way!)

The first week I lost 4.8 pounds. The "work" of WW was hard at first. But it doesn't take long before you are just used to it. There are tons of resources available to make it easier on you. After the first week, my weight loss ranged from 0.4 to 2.2 lbs a week, but has averaged about 1 to 1.5. (I have only gained once, two weeks ago, and it was only 0.2 lb.)

And because I was losing slowly (the way you're supposed to), it didn't permanently harm me to have a piece of birthday cake or a yummy Italian meal (yes, a whole meal) occasionally. There are extra WW points built in so that you can treat yourself. The motto of WW is, "Stop Dieting. Start Living." And I can honestly say that even though I may have an unhealthy meal or snack every once in awhile, my eating habits have changed. And I will not go back.

I didn't start exercising regularly until 30 days ago, when I started the 30-Day Shred with Matthew. Yes, we did it. Exercised for 30 days straight. It was hard. I could not have done it without him because I still don't have the best willpower. But he does. Wow, does he ever. He is my rock! Out of the 30 days, I was probably only excited to work out about three of the days. I fought it tooth and nail (just ask Matthew) about three days. The other 24 or so days, I did it because it is what you do. Now that the 30 days is over, I plan to exercise (whether it's biking, walking, or shredding) 4-5 times a week. I can definitely tell a huge difference in my body because of the Shred. Especially in my abdomen and my thighs. Nothing gets your thighs in better shape than doing lunges for 30 days. LOL

I have not arrived at my goal weight, but I am about halfway there. I have now lost a total of 19.8 pounds. I know, it's silly, but I just cannot bring myself to say 20! My "official" WW weigh-in weight is now 187, but I have seen as low as 184.5 on my home scale. Do you realize how close that is to my "official" pre-pregnancy weight of 177.5?? But even then, I will not be ready to stop. That is still the very top of my "healthy" range. My goal weight is 160. Will I reach it before we decide to have another baby? Maybe, maybe not. We're not sure yet when we'd like to try to have another baby, but I am just going to keep on trying to fit into those size 12s. I can almost zip them. I can fit into a couple of pairs of my 14 jeans, but there are still several pairs of 14 jeans and pants that are still too tight. Which makes sense because I'm still 10-15 pounds heavier than I was when I wore them comfortably.

Here are comparison pictures.

My very first night of Weight Watchers and then last night.

February 26 to June 11.

Fifteen weeks.

19.8 pounds.

A new me. Not just the body but the habits. The mindset. Ah, the contentment. That is worth the $40 a month for WW anyday.

















My point in all of this, other than just to share my success, is to say yes, you can do this. I have zero willpower. I still hate to exercise. I still LOVE food. But the old saying is 100% accurate: "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels." And though I would not consider myself thin (yet), for the first time in years, I do not dread going into my closet. I do not dread being in front of the camera. And you know what? My skin is not all that bad of a place to be in.

Dilemmas I Face

Dilemma One: I realize halfway through a meal that I don't have the frozen corn I need. I have to get this in the CrockPot for a friend who just had a baby.



Solution: Call my dad and have him bring me a bag from his freezer.

-----------------------------------------------

Dilemma #2: I see consistent inconsistencies (LOL) in books. For instance, take these two books:



The back of this one says that "birds fly."



Yet in the book, the birds don't fly; they sing.



In another book in the same series, the back says "children run."



Yet in the book, the children don't run; they smile.



Solution: Get over it. I already tried to email LeapFrog about the misspelling of Antarctica in the Letter Factory DVD. Evidently being an advocate for accuracy doesn't mean a lot to those who are educating children. It's all about the Benjamins. And not mine.

---------------------------------------------------

Dilemma #3: I realize that while Andrew is playing nicely by himself in my bedroom and I am getting a small break, that he hasn't used the toilet in three hours.



Solution: It's worth a change of clothes for some peace and quiet from a usually loud and demanding three-year-old.

---------------------------------------------------------

Dilemma #4: My brand-new socks at the start of my day:





And my new socks after walking around for about five hours (normal day activities) on my "clean" floors.





Solution: Who cares? No one ever died from dirt on their socks. Or their babies' knees. Good thing.

There's a First Time For Everything

Well, it finally happened.

Andrew threw up.

I know many of you are amazed that he made it almost three months past his third birthday without ever throwing up, but it is true. He's still never had an ear infection. Neither has Benjamin, who, incidentally, has never thrown up either.

So when Andrew did it for the first time, he did it up big.

In the middle of Dick's Sporting Goods. In his daddy's arms. All over himself, his daddy, the merchandise his daddy was holding, and the floor.

I'm kind of glad I wasn't there.

That was on Saturday. Back at home, he threw up twice more that day. His fever was as high as 101.5.

Sunday he was weak and not allowed to eat hardly anything, but he didn't throw up again.

In fact, Sunday night he seemed like he was feeling better. Which was good b/c Matthew had to go back to work.

But then at 5:00 on Monday morning, Andrew woke up and threw up all over his bed.

Sigh...

And then he was SUPER fussy. Matthew was able to work from home in the morning. I took Andrew to the doctor but the strep test was negative. He got some Zofran for vomiting.

Today...well, suffice it to say it has been really "loudy" in my house today because a certain three-year-old is feeling better. And boy is he loud.

My parents picked a great week to go to the beach. (But I'm not bitter.....)

Here is the sick boy on our bed on Saturday:





We made him a bed in our closet for a couple of days. Nancy looooves that red blanket.



He was quarantined to the master bedroom, which was almost always fine b/c I moved the DVD player in there. But there were times when he was really whiny and clingy and I couldn't be in two places at once, nor could I bring Benjamin into the sick room. Needless to say, I. Am. Tired.





On an unrelated note, THANKS to whomever suggested that I go to vistaprint to check out getting some business cards. I got 250 for "free." (I had to pay $5.45 shipping.) But that is still a great deal!



Now I have a stylish business card to hand out to people I meet. Like when I stalk mothers who have children with Down syndrome. :)

May I Brag For a Moment?

At a recent end-of-the-school year party for my mom's school (where I used to teach and still consider to be "home"), Benjamin was crawling all over the place. My friend Anna watched in utter amazement and said, "YOU DIDN'T POST THIS ON THE BLOG!"

Sorry.

I guess by now it's old hat. LOL

But it truly is wonderful that he is just barely 13 months old and is already crawling very well (albeit still with that left leg out to the side instead of down on his knee). He is also very good at pulling up on things (furniture, my pants legs, the upside-down laundry basket) and he is even starting to cruise on the furniture!

That is the good news. The bad news is that he's into everything. He likes the taste of cat food. Sigh....

Go down to the bottom of this page (hit "end"), pause the music, and then come back up (hit "home") to watch these videos. They are all one minute or less each. Watch them in order! Please excuse the Southern accent (I can't help it), the mismatched clothes (Matthew dresses them most days), and the scratched up couches (darn cats).

Enjoy watching the most precious boy ever!

The Rocking Chair Pictures

When I was pregnant with Andrew, I read an article about a mom who took a picture of her daughter every year, starting at birth (or maybe age one), in the same (adult) bathing suit. Until she was 18. Just to watch the progression.

So I got a similar idea that I would highly recommend to new moms. I decided to take a picture of my children each month during the first year of their lives in the same outfit and in the same chair. The outfit is a 3-month outfit, but thankfully (so far) I have had children that start out kind of big but who don't grow that big. (And, yes, I also have a matching pink one in case we ever get our Katherine Elizabeth.)

First I will show you Andrew's pictures. We lived in our first house during all of these pictures. Matthew and I painted the stripes in Andrew's nursery ourselves. It was super easy and we're not that handy. Seriously. Let me know if you want to know how.

Andrew's Monthly Pictures

One Month Old--April 2006



Two Months Old--May 2006



Three Months Old--June 2006



Four Months Old--July 2006



Five Months Old--August 2006



Six Months Old--September 2006



Seven Months Old--October 2006



Eight Months Old--November 2006



Nine Months Old--December 2006



Ten Months Old--January 2007



Eleven Months Old--February 2007



Twelve Months Old--March 2007



And now to Benjamin's pictures. Let me first say that for many months, I was very sad after doing these pictures. I knew I wanted to do it and I needed to do it. But it made me sad.

They tell you not to compare your children. Even if you have nothing but typically developing children, you're just supposed to take each child for his or her own.

But, come on, we all do it. When you have a child who is developmentally delayed, it is hard. But we still do it.

So every month, I would grow more and more anxious that Benjamin was never going to be able to sit in that chair by himself. It stressed me out that he needed so much assistance. It made my heart hurt that while Andrew could hold himself up in the chair relatively early, it took Benjamin much longer. And I know he has Down syndrome. And I know he had two major surgeries.

Still.

But remember, I didn't really start to accept this whole Down syndrome thing until B was about 9 1/2 months old. So everything that was different was just a slap in the face to me. Now, not so much. (Sometimes, but not all the time...) :)

OKAY! Enough blabbing. Here are the pics.

Benjamin's Monthly Pictures

One Month Old--May 2008



Two Months Old--June 2008



Three Months Old--July 2008



Four Months Old--August 2008



Five Months Old--September 2008



Six Months Old--October 2008 (Three weeks and one day after his open-heart surgery!)



Seven Months Old--November 2008



Eight Months Old--December 2008



Nine Months Old--January 2009 (Exactly two weeks after his intestinal surgery.)



Ten Months Old--February 2009



Eleven Months Old--March 2009



Twelve Months Old--April 2009



Sigh. I love it. Hope you enjoyed!

Evidently Robbie is short for Roberta

Remember Robbie the Snake? The blue and white cloth snake that Andrew won at the Blackiston's Fear Not Party? You can read about the infamous Robbie if you click here and here.

Anyway, as it happens with most toys, Andrew hasn't played with Robbie in awhile. Clifford took precedence, and right now Mickey is top dog (err...mouse). But we saw Robbie up in the bonus room the other day, amidst the mess. I said to Andrew, "Oh, here's Robbie! Remember him?"

He looked at me and said, "Wobbie is a guwrl."

Oh. Whoops. My bad. I guess with blue you just assume.



Reminds me of an episode of The Office from season three. Remember?

Hannah brings her six-month-old to work.

Pam: Ohhhh! She's absolutely adorable!

Hannah: He.

Pam: ...Oh, sorry. He's--he's dressed all in pink.

Hannah: That's his favorite color.

Pam: ...Oh. That's... fun for him.

Everything Comes Around Full Circle

Once upon a time, way back in the late 90s, there was a silly college girl. She had lots of great friends, and they liked to hang out downtown at the new park. It was called Coolidge Park, and it was right on the river. There was a fountain with stone animals. One night, this girl hopped on one of the animals with her bushy eyebrows in full effect and one of her friends snapped a picture on a 35mm camera. Because in the late 90s, that's all anyone had.



Some time in the next year or two, this girl graduated and started teaching. She also started dating a not-so-silly boy. Their first date was on September 24, 1999. They dated for five looooong weeks before the boy kissed the girl on November 9. And when he did, it was on a blanket at Coolidge Park. There were a lot of people all around, but he didn't care. He also didn't care that he had mustard on his lip from his sandwich. (She didn't tell him about that for quite some time because she didn't want him to be embarrassed. Plus she wanted more kisses.)

On November 24, during a warm thunderstorm, the boy and girl spontaneously drove to the park and made out in the pouring-down rain like teenagers even though he was a college junior and she was a fourth-grade teacher.

On February 12, 2000, the boy sent the girl all over Chattanooga on a scavenger hunt. He led her to several places that had meant something in their relationship. The pond where they'd had a serious talk, the Krystal where they'd passed notes on napkins. But of course, the hunt had to end at Coolidge Park. And despite the fact that the boy's neck was scratched up and bleeding because he dove into the bushes near the post office because he saw her car, he got down on one knee and asked the girl to be his wife.

Years passed and they didn't go to Coolidge Park very much. It wasn't very far from their house, but as careers and children took precedence, leisure time kind of got put on the back burner.

The girl did take her son Andrew there a couple of times with friends. This picture was taken in May 2007 when Andrew was about 14 months old. (Note the 12m swim trunks...those are the same ones he sometimes wears now...) Mommy and Son on the same horse.



A couple of years passed and they didn't really have time to go back. A new son, Benjamin, was born, and there were several complications that kept them relatively busy and preoccupied. But on May 30, 2009, the boy and the girl, who cannot by any stretch of the imagination be considered a boy or a girl anymore, got in their minivan and drove to Coolidge Park on a beautifully sunny day. And they had their two precious sons with them.

More pictures are below, but first, here is a picture of the couple's firstborn son on the same horse as the one his mommy rode about 12 years earlier.

Everything comes around full circle. *sniff* *sniff*



Arriving at the park, full of enthusiasm.



Andrew loved the carousel!



Hold on tight, Baby B!



He needed help from Daddy to get up on the elephant.



Andrew is in the lower right-hand corner in his Elmo swimtrunks. And, yes, he's rockin' the buttcrack. Now that he's not wearing a diaper, everything falls off his skinny hips! At Mom's house he often wears a 12m pair of swim trunks but they're getting a little snug. These Elmo shorts are 18-24m. (He's 38 months old.)



While there, I met up with an Internet buddy, Nicole, who lives in Orlando but was in Chattanooga for her brother-in-law's wedding. She has two daughters (Kira and Kate) and a hubby (Trevor) who are not in the picture. Her son, Timothy, was born in the same month as Benjamin. Great to meet you, Nicole!!



Luckily, I packed Andrew's dorky Elmo sun hat and Benjamin tolerated it pretty well. Even though I slathered both boys in sunscreen, it was bright and hot!



Here's Andrew having a ball in the fountain. He kept saying, "Excuse me! Excuse me!" to the other kids.



And at the end of the day (really only about 90 minutes), both boys were exhausted and took great naps!

Wordless Wednesday

Benjamin's first (play) date

Ever since Benjamin was born, I have had this incessant need when I'm in public to look for other children with Down syndrome so I can talk with their parents. That posed a bit of a problem the first few months, as I was pretty much homebound because of B's heart issues.

What killed me was it seemed like every time my SIL went to Target (which was nearly every other day at the time), she would call me and say, "I just saw the cutest little family..." ARG!

But even though I was reading books about families with a child with DS and connecting with many wonderful families online, I just needed that face-to-face contact.

Every time we went to the cardiologist's office my DS sensor was on high alert because many of our kids have heart issues. I did happen to see a couple of kids from time to time, but it was really just in passing, and I was too self-conscious to be that mom.

But in February (at our most recent cardiology appt) when Matthew and I were waiting with Benjamin to see the best cardiologist ever (Dr. Herold), I saw her.

A mom by herself with a baby in a baby carrier. And she was talking to others, so I knew she was friendly. I remember that someone asked her how old her daugther was, and she said six weeks, and then she got the invariable, "Oh, she's so small!" And I knew. Because, you see, we get that all the time.

So I scooped Benjamin out of his infant carrier and started walking with him around the waiting room. Because that's a normal thing to do, right?

We caught each other's eye and I went over and sat down next to her. Her name is Amie, and her daughter is Halli. She has a heart defect that is actually unrelated to her Down syndrome. She will have OHS sometime this summer. They found out prenatally, Amie already has an 11-year old son, and Amie was (is) having issues with eating. It is truly amazing how quickly we moms can get to know each other, LOL!

But then we were called back for Benjamin's appointment. So I said goodbye and went back to the office with the boys.

And the whole time back there, I kept thinking, "Oh, I need to go get her number/email, etc.!" So I jotted down my name, number, email, and blog on a piece of paper and went out to casually find her. But she was gone. Oh, I was so disappointed!

I learned two things from this:

1. I need to be more assertive.
2. I need a business card! (Seriously, I have since given out my information to two other moms, and I had to just jot it all down on a random scrap of paper!)

Weeks passed and I forgot about Amie and Halli. We don't go back to the cardiologist until August, and what are the odds of being there on the same day again?

Then some time in March (I think), I found out about a "Down syndrome 101" seminar that was taking place locally. I got someone to watch Andrew in the middle of the day (gotta love having family close by) and took Benjamin with me. I had never been to this particular place and it was raining. Great. I'm horrible with directions and I hate driving in the rain.

I found the place okay and saw one more available parking place. And as I pulled in the spot, I looked to the immediate left of my van and saw Amie getting Halli out of the car. Sweet!

The DS seminar sucked, but it was great to find Amie and Halli! We set up a playdate at my house a few weeks later, and here are the adorable pictures.

Halli was fussing a little, and Benjamin did not know what to think of her! Check out his facial expression!



Gotta love baby hand-holding!



Look at her cute socks!



I think he's smitten. (Sorry, Ellie and Stella!)



Just like a girl to act all hard to get.



Showing off their Simian creases. (B has them on both palms, but Halli only has one. Some kids with DS don't have any.)



Sigh. I love this kid.



We had a great time, Amie! We'll do it again soon.

And then, I have a few random adorable (of course) pictures of Baby B.

Dontcha love sleeping baby pictures? (Am I allowed to call him a baby anymore since he's one?)





He's getting really good at pulling up on things. Still no cruising or taking steps, but that will come. :)



That's it for today. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday. I am headed to Weight Watchers tonight for my weekly weigh in. I think this week I will either gain weight or not lose any. Matthew and I have done the 30-Day Shred seven days in a row (only 23 more to go!) and my legs are already stronger and more toned. Which means I'm probably gaining muscle. Which weighs more than fat. Oh, well. My clothes are fitting better.