Summer Silence is Over

Our summer was busy, busy, busy.

We started off going to the beach. The boys loved it. Alex loved chasing the waves and running back to the beach. Both boys loved the sand and they made sand castles every day.

I kept Alex home and sent Ross to daycare. We joined the YMCA and while I worked out, Alex went to the Y child care. After my workout, Alex and I went swimming. This summer, Alex learned how to swim!  He still needs to learn how to tread water so he can't swim where he can't reach the pool ground. He swims from the wall to me and from me to the wall. He also goes underwater to get toys and things.

Alex also learned how to ride a big boy bike. We took off his training wheels and while it took a few times for him to learn how to balance, he did it! I got a bike from my mom's and Alex and I hit a bike trail and he loved it!

We have been in and out of the doctors' offices all summer. Ross has had 3 ear infections and got a burn on his hand, Alex had a bacterial infection, I have a bump on my hand and have been referred to a hand specialist.

Alex has also seen doctors because I suspected he has ADHD. I was right and we have gone through 3 medicines and I think we finally found the correct one. I was so afraid he would lose his quirky personality and humor. He did not, though he's a bit subdued, it's better than him climbing me like a tree and running away from me in public. Medicine and diagnosis was difficult, though I didn't think it would be since I deal with kids with ADHD every day. Being a mother vs. a teacher is SO much more different. You second guess yourself, wonder if your behavior management went wrong somewhere, but now that we see what the medicine does and how much better he listens, we know we made the right decision.

I go back to work tomorrow, my students start Aug. 9. Alex will go to my school for Kindergarten but he starts Aug. 16, then Aug. 20. He is so excited. He got his lunch box and back pack and ever since, he is telling people he's already in Kindergarten. People will ask him, "Are you going to be in K or going to start K," and he says, "I already am in Kiddie Garden."  It's quite cute!

99.99% of you will never experience this

***DISCLAIMER---not for the weak stomach****


Today started out as any normal day. It happened to be Alex's pre-k finishing ceremony. I was able to leave work mid-day to attend. He did a great job and was jovial throughout.

About 30 minutes before my work day ended daycare called to say Alex just started vomiting. A few days earlier Ross was sick and I knew that what he had was passed to Alex.  I called the doctor's office to get an appointment and rushed out of work to get him. I had 30 minutes to leave work, pick him up, and drive to the office.

When I arrived at daycare, Alex was laying down in a completely new outfit. He barfed all over his clothes, shoes, and all. I asked daycare if I could use a towel for the ride...just in case.  On the ride to the doctor's I notice him getting very pale so I drove a bit faster and envisioned him puking in the parking lot as soon as I opened the door.  That didn't happen. He also said he had to pee so I made a mental note to sign in and get the specimen cup as I signed in.

Since Alex puked on his shoes I had to carry him in to the office. This made me queasy because then I envisioned him puking on me and I had no extra clothes. I get about 5 feet in to the doctor's office and I hear him gagging...you know, because he's right by my ear since I'm holding him. I throw the towel on the floor and start to put him down and he unleashes. Everyone in the waiting room winces and moves a little further away from us. The nurse hands me a puke tray and ushers us to the back asap. The towel is on the floor covered in puke. I never signed in and Alex never got to pee.

Fast forward a few steps in the office....he has strep throat and needs a shot.  That was miserable, it took me, and 2 nurses to hold him down and give him the shot.  After that's over he does not want a prize, he even wanted me to throw away his red ("that's my favorite color") lollipop.

Fast forward again, so we leave the doctor's office and he weakly tells me that he wants a snowball. I think about it and decide that it might be a good idea because it's cold and will feel good on his throat. I go to the nearest snowball stand and park a spot away from the ordering window but my van is blocked by another van. I go order the snowballs then walk back to the van to be with Alex...yes, I left him in the van while it was running. He didn't have shoes, what're you gonna do?

I notice he looks pale again so I hold up the puke tray.  Meanwhile he tells me he has to pee. Now I know he really has to go because he told me so an hour ago and we all forgot because of the waiting room puking catastrophe. I look around and there are cars and people everywhere so I decide to pick up a dirty coffee cup off my van floor and have him pee in that while standing in the van. He pulls his pants down *just enough* to manage to pee. About 5 seconds in to the peeing, he gags. Now I am holding my coffee/pee cup in my left hand and reaching for the puke tray in the right hand. As I'm focusing very hard to make his puke land in the tray, a stream of liquid shoots up in the air and I realize HE'S STILL PEEING. I drop the coffee/pee cup and try to aim his penis out of my van. The pee squirts everywhere, on the back of my seat, on the floor, up my entire arm, and on the car across from me. Now I have puke and pee to dispose of AND pee up my entire arm. I was in crisis mode so I just threw it under the van.  It's a rock driveway so it'll just sink in the ground....I hope.

Right about this time, a man walks up and asks me, "Did you order a wedding cake with condensed milk? They're calling for you."

I look at my arm and it's still covered in pee....so I wipe it off, sanitize and head up there, wondering....did anyone witness this?

Ross is 2!

We had Ross's birthday at a park. He loved it!

Yo Gabba Gabba Live!

I've tried numerous times to upload the video here. Click the Youtube link to see Ross at Yo Gabba Gabba.

 http://youtu.be/ll00UizeeKc

I got the video to upload, I'm not sure which will be better viewing, so youtube link above and video below the pictures :)

Man, we've been busy!

I was just thinking it's been a while since I've posted on here.

Ross is talking in small sentences. If Alex tells me he wants a certain TV show, Ross screams back, "I want Gabba!" Coincidentally, Ross's birthday party theme will be Yo Gabba Gabba.

Ross has some phrases for things:
bop-pop=lollipop or popsicle
hole me dadas= hold me ANYONE
mook/muk=milk
juice=milk
wa do=water
di poo=diaper
ew poo poo=poop
uk/ook=Sookie
he has a name for Oreo but I can't recall it
'mere=come here
uh side=outside
Nee nee=Granny

And he couples those phrases with "I want".

If you can't understand him he walks over to you, grabs your hand or clothes, and attempts to pull you off of whatever you're sitting on and bring you to what he wants. It's oh-so-cute, yet equally annoying.


Alex is getting so big. As a first grade teacher, I can't believe that in 2 years he's going to be reading.  It's crazy. Alex has already started to spell words from memory. He can spell Daddy and Mommy. Most recently I found Ross's name written on a toy and Alex told me Ross did it (pictured).

Alex knows all of his letters, letter sounds, numbers up to 20. He can recognize many numbers and argues with me that a 2 is a 5 and a 5 is a 2. The fancy 2 with the loop that looks like a backward 6 confuses him. Alex knows his address including city and state. He knows my phone number and our real names. It was beyond cute when he realized our family all had the same last name.

Alex is in a crying/whiny stage and I guess it has to do with attention, but my goodness it's killing us.  He's also in a picky eating stage....well, I guess it's not so much a stage since he's been picky since 9 months old when he wouldn't eat anything green. Now his diet is waffles (no butter, no syrup), cereal, peanut butter sandwiches; "meat" sandwiches (turkey or ham) plain...no cheese, no condiments; nuggets; corn dog; hot dog; plain noodles; and boat load of snacks. The kid would eat ice cream and candy all day if we let him. As a matter of fact, we don't buy those things at all. The only real meal I can get him to eat is pork loin mixed with ramen noodles. Yes, I know it's not a meal, but I'd rather him eat. If we tell him he can't eat snacks until he eats what mommy or daddy made, he will starve. Seriously, he will not eat at all. We have gone 3 nights in a row without him eating and I just cannot do that again.

So now his snacks are go-gurt, fruit, sugar free popsicles (bop-pop), popcorn, nutri grain bar or something similar.

Well, if you read this far you must be family, otherwise, you must be really bored. :)

Picture Catch-Up

Some pictures of Ross as I tried to capture the perfect shot for his 2nd birthday party invitations.

Picture time

Ross found a mud puddle very amusing.

Mommy did not find said puddle amusing.

Bye Uncle Evan. Uncle Evan left for California.

Alex was NOT amused at anything Aunt Meggie did to try to make him cheer up.