Eddie part 3

Eddie took these first 2 photos and the camera on timer took the last. We were going through photos that I 'finally' had printed and he saw one of all his bowling pen animals and decided to re-create the scene and then photograph it.



Judging by what he has photographed around the house, he is most interested in the kitchen floor (but then we spend a lot of time there), the family room carpet, Josie, lights, and random objects photographed from multiple vantage points. It's pretty cool. I've printed a bunch out, so we'll see what he thinks.



I lost count of how many times this pillow was photographed. He really likes it, and I wish I'd bought more even though Den gave me a hard time when I brought it home from Costco many years ago.

These bottom 2 are from tonight. He actually agreed to pose. Now that he is taking so many photos, I find him more willing to pose--not always, but sometimes. So Den is out west this week and it's been a wild ride already.

Den left early Monday morning, we told the kids on Sunday night that he might be leaving before they woke up. Well, they didn't want that to happen and programmed their little bodies to rise at 5am! So I should not be surprised by the following:

Let me begin by saying that everyone is okay. I'm not sure the g'parents know this and there is no easy way to say it, so I'll just rip the band-aid off.
Josie fell down the stairs on Monday night. Let me 'splain and again repeat that she is FINE. I shut the gate at the top of the stairs probably 85% of the time I'm up there with her, but this time I didn't as I thought I'd plop them both in bed. I was trying to get them ready for bed and I saw her near the stairs and warned her away. Some time later she was right on the edge, trying her new skill of climbing down backwards.

I knew what was going to happen before I got there, she somehow fell backwards on her but then contined onto the back of her head. She then bounced down a stair like this. I rushed over, but didn't want to grab for her and miss and cause her to continue down the stairs. She bopped down 1 or 2 more stairs like that before stopping as I grabbed her. Her eyes were as big as saucers and she basically didn't cry. It was more of a holy smokes reacation.

Then I chewed Ed out for no reason because I was so upset by my own stupidity at not shutting the gate. I told him I was just upset with myself and not him. Ugh. I knew the head injury protocol from previuos head injuries--you may remember, the child's wooden chair on her face at 3 months, the fall from the highchair at about 9 months and I'm sure there have been others. Ed's head has seen a little more action, but she is sure making up for lost time. Anyway, so I kept her up for the next 2 hours and she didn't puke or exhibit any wild signs, in fact, she was dancing, giggling and stacks 3 different kinds of blocks and using 2 different shape sorters, so I figured she didn't have blury vision anyway.

Then, Tues. when I got home from work at 6pm, Eddie had the kind of cough that is just barely above clearing your throat, but we've been told can be a precursor to an asthma attack. As he was trying to fall asleep, the panting breaths began and I started to wonder what I'd do with Josie if we had to visit the ER.

Fortunately for me, our insurance has a 24 hour nurse line. After 30 min. on the phone with them, his breathing had calmed and I had too. So Wed. 1/2 my day was spent at the doctor to learn that Josie has an ear infection (if I'm bringing one, I'm bringing both), and that Eddie is indeed wheezing and we need change/up his meds. Yahoo! At least the fire alarm didn't go off until the doctor left our room. I did feel vindicated as Cookie was giving me a good natured hard time about taking kids who didn't seem sick to the doctor's. I made her come too. She told the kids to act sick-I guess they did :) Once I got the perscriptions filled it was nearly 5pm. Thankfully no bedtime incidences this time, but then I'm still awake, so we'll see. 2nights down, 2 to go.

Eddie part 2 and Amtrak

A couple weekends ago, Amtrak had an open house at Union station. It was really cool. They had antique parlor cars you could walk through, they had real Amtrak trains on display that you could also walk through--everything from Acela to the sleeping and dining cars (and the bellies of each) t regular passenger trains. They also had a couple engines and then a couple model train displays.
I was most impressed by the sleeping cars, as I have alwys wanted to travel that way and had always wondered what they looked like up close. I was of course ready to book our trip and with the upcoming sale on the auto-train (good for purchase only on Oct. 25, and only for travel during the month of Feb. 2009), I was all set to purchase. But in the end, we decided to wait until the kids were a smidge older. Eddie liked the model trains and I'm not sure about Den and J. Eddie and J were so sick that J fell asleep as Den carried her on his back not long after this was taken and Eddie fell asleep while I was holding him standing up talking to an Amtrak staff person.

They definitely had the A-team out that weekend, because we thoroughly enjoyed talking with all the Amtrak personel. Now to book that trip--and to get better Federal funding...
Eddie took the rest of these 3 photos. He loves this puzzle. Somehow that is not a strong enough statement. We had a playdate last week and he came running over to me, saying the little girl was doing the puzzle wrong and she wouldn't let him show her out to do it. It was pretty cute. Speaking of, he's gotten a lot better in that regard--excited to have playdates and seemed disappointed that the little girl (a friend from preschool) wouldn't be coming over this Friday. Warmed my heart.
J just cracks me up in these photos. She is quite proficient with her silverware and is learning to drink from a cup with no lid. Tonight Ed was having hot chocolate to help with his breathing and of course she wanted some too. She got about 1/2 of it in her mouth before she thought blowing bubbles would be more fun. And while Eddie carefully counted out 12 marshmellows (3 of each color--not the Wisc. marshmellows, but the loud music store marshmellows, btw), Josie took her 12, put 3 or 4 in, pulled them out to eat them and then jammed the rest in her mouth--just about all at once.

Eddie's Photos part one

I am really enjoying seeing the photos Eddie takes--I need to do a better job of printing them and putting them up around the house. He took all these photos.

Sometimes he gets a little close to his subject, which is very often Josie.

I love this last photo. btw, he is having show and tell at school these days each Wednesday, so maybe I'll get him to talk about these photos and post his comments. Wouldn't that be a hoot!

The Holiday Weekend

It's been a couple weeks, but g'parents Ohio came out for the long Columbus Day weekend. While out, they bought Eddie and J a mini acquarium, which we filled with 2 female beta fish. It's been almost 2 weeks I think--and they are still alive. I still have childhood memories of coming home from vacation to find 4 goldfish dead in our tank--as I recall we dumped a bunch of food in their tank and hoped for the best. As a parent, I'm guessing my parents must have half hoped something along those lines would happen :) I don't recall that we ever replaced the fish.
At least our tank sits up high, so it would probably not be readily apparent to Ed and J if they died. Feeding time is pretty fun--esp. when the fish are hungry.

Gparents gamely went apple picking with Ed, J and I while Den worked on Monday. They were headed out of town and we stopped at a nearby orchard. 10 pounds of apples later...

I thought g'parents were going to take some apples with us, so when they loaded our car with all 10 pounds, I kind of wondered what we'd eat. Turns out that squash with apples, apple and blueberry crisp (blueberries from the blueberry picking in Ohio this summer I have yet to blog about), apple crisp, plain old apples and I know I'm leaving something out??? Anyway, they looked rough as we picked them, but cleaned up nicely and taste good.

Positive Intent

The parenting class we took earlier this summer has really opened my eyes on ways to communicate and interact with our kids. While there is the ocassional hicuup they have started to play together better--more since I started threatening that g'parents Ohio wouldn't visit if they didn't behave. When I first looked at this picture Den took while I was sleeping in on a Sunday morning, I thought that Josie especially had a mischevious look, but Den said they were quite well behaved. Part of the point of the class was focusing on positive intent of the perpetrator, not the negative portion of the behavior.

Both kids have been sick much of the last 3 weeks. They were sick for about 2 weeks, feeling well for about 5 days and then last Wed/Thurs Eddie developed a cough. The cough has gotten progressively worse and the last 2 nights, he's been waking several times/night coughing and wanting to sleep with us. By 1/1:30 in the morning, when both Den and I are sleeping in a space the width of a balance beam, we get him back to his bed and I sleep on the floor next to him. Ultimately he climbs out of his bed to sleep on the floor next to me and I can't for the life of me figure out how it happens on the wide open floor, but I get pushed out of my space and end up on the bare carpet-over-hardwood floor with barely any blanket.

I don't know how Den is still standing, other than that he has not been the one 'sleeping' on the floor. Needless to say, if tonight finds Eddie waking up, we'll be making a trip to the doctor (he's already missed 2 days of preschool this week). He already seems to be doing better, as we don't hear him making a peep.

18 month update

J is offically 18 months old and these 4 photos miraculously were taken on Oct. 3, the actual day she turned 18 months.



She doesn't have her doctor's apt. til the end of the month, so I'll post her stats then.



J is starting to talk a lot more. Most of her words are not teligible to most people, but she is speaking in both spanish and english. Mas and more (same word), please and por (for por favore). She says carrot, duck and airplane. Bird, ball, and balloon are all similar sounding.



She likes watching TV much more than Eddie and happily sits during his nebulizer treatments to watch Mickey Mouse Playhouse. It's so cute when she laughs at something on the screen.



She continues to be a daredevil, willing to try anything and go anywhere. Eddie has started to get a taste for what it's like to be hit, have his hair pulled and have the kid sized table pulled away from him. Because of her teething, she has suck those pearly whites into unsuspecting and sometimes deserving skin. I don't like that she's learned these things, but I do like that she has learned to stick up for herself. Next step will be refining how she sticks up for herself.


She likes her babydoll and duck. She enjoys puzzles and lots of girly things, which surprised me quite a bit. She has my appetite which means she is hungry as soon as the meal is over. She frequently has multiple breakfasts--one for each person who cares for her in the morning. She has started taking 2-3 hour naps consistently. An annoying habit has developed of shreiking or crying out when she feels she is being wronged or wants something she is not being given. I hope as her language develops that will improve as we try and encourage her to use words to communicate.

We are debating about sending her to preschool next year. She seems like she'd really enjoy herself, but I'm not sure I feel she should go. Got another 4 months to decide. Eddie is thriving in preschool and I'm starting to feel better and learn that lots of 3 year olds have the same approach to solicalization that Eddie does. I read to his class a couple weeks back--The Little Engine That Could and then a couple other book that Eddie and his classmates selected. I had a great time.

She is just as sharp as Eddie, but in a different way and most definitely understands (and knows how to manipulate) the world around her.