Cake

So Adam is better finally. The snot is flowing like a fountain, but the fever is gone and he seems to be back to his easygoing self again. Thank goodness. I hate when my kids are sick. We never could get the tylenol to work on his fever so after the so called party on Saturday my mom went out and bought infant motrin and that fixed him up in 20 minutes. Why oh why didn't we think of that earlier? Anyway, he was raring for some cake once his fever came down and here are my obligatory shove the cake in your mouth shots. The kid loves cake!

Adam's one year appointment was this morning. He is doing well, aside from the river of snot. He weighs 17 pounds even and was 28 1/2 inches. He is a teeny thing thats for sure. He got 2 shots....I put off the MMR and varicella until 18 months, I am just weird that way. I taught autistic kids for a year and each and every parent thought those vaccinations were what caused their kids problems. I do not think that myself, but just on the off chance I delay it and it makes me feel better. I did the same thing with Jacob after talking with the doctor about it (ok, crying on her shoulder about it) and I know she was expecting me to do it today as well. I LOVE my pediatrician....she doesn't agree with me all the time, but she works with me and is great with my boys.

We are trying to decide if we are placing Jacob in private school next year...kindergarten, how did that come so fast?? I have narrowed to 3 schools, leaning more towards one, most expensive of course. I have until tomorrow to decide if I want to enroll him in the expensive one or pay an even more steep registration fee. I also found a school that is half day, which is what I would prefer, but I don't know much about the place yet and doubt I can find out more before end of business day tomorrow. SO, there are decisions to be made and I just hope I make the right one...easy as cake.

What a party....

Today was Adam's First Birthday party.....this is how he was through most of the party. Poor little dude woke up with a fever! Jacob was sick earlier in the week and I should have known this would happen, but Adam never seemed bothered in the least and I mistakenly thought he had cruised right through it...WRONG! It is just a cold, runny nose and cough, but the fever is knocking him out. I called all parents of small children early to let them know the deal and no one seemed concerned so everyone still showed up, but it was a pitiful sight. When he was awake he would try so hard to play with the other kids then just sit down sobbing because I know he felt so bad. He cried through the birthday song and wouldn't have any cake. Jacob got to open his presents, which suited him just fine. Poor guy fell asleep again right after that and has been pretty much sleeping ever since. His buddy Zane came all the way over from Baton Rouge and they couldn't play, it was just so, so sad.

After all the stressing I did over that cake, it really didn't matter in the end. He didnt' get a piece of it, wasn't able to have that typical first birthday smeared cake shot...in fact, I didnt' get many pictures at all, poor little guy. He got some nice gifts, amazingly all things Jacob doesn't already have so he is having a great time with them. It looks like it is going to be a long night, already made a run for the infant motrin and pediacare. At least Jacob has some new stuff to keep him busy.

Adam at One

I still cannot believe my tiny baby is one year old! Here are just some random thoughts on all he can do at one:
walks well, in fact he has a really cute penguin walk where he puts his arms down to his sides as he waddles along
runs, or at least attempts to
eats table food
points at things if you ask him to find something
can stack a few small blocks
gives "love" when asked to
climbs the stairs and can go back down
climbs up slide and slides down on his belly
waves bye bye
uses sign for eat and milk and made up his own sign for outside....waving and pointing at the door or window
can remove his shirt and diaper
can use a crayon, of course he only scribbles
recognizes familiar characters...Thomas of course
says mama, kee for kitty, vroom when pushing a car or train, woof for dog
can follow a one step direction, get your bear etc.
claps hands
dances

Adam is so different than Jacob. I see so many things Adam is doing that Jacob never did such as play in the toilet, put the remote in the toilet, chew hunks of paper off the toilet paper roll. Of course, this could be that I was so much more anal with Jacob and made sure he never set foot in the bathroom until it was time to potty train. He also can play trains and other "big boy" toys which Jacob didn't have access to at this age. Naturally, I think he is highly intelligent and cannot wait to wow everyone with his excelerated skills on his birthday party this Saturday. We are doing a Baby Einstein theme. I let Jacob pick it all out. FYI: You can get all the Baby Einstein dinnerware/decorations BUT no one can make a cake for you or give you a Baby Einstein balloon because those have copyright laws, go figure.

One Year Ago Today.....

My baby boy was born at 8:36 am on a dreary Sunday January 23, 2005. I had a c-section scheduled on the 27th, my Granny's birthday, but I guess he couldn't wait that long. I actually went into labor this time and it hurt, don't see how other women make it through the whole thing. The c-section itself was an ordeal. It took the anesthesiologist forever to get the epidural in and everytime he tried he hit a nerve making me jump, those nurses were starting to yell at me after a while to be still but it just wasn't happening. I cried and cried, the pain of the needle and the pain from the contractions was just too much for me at that point. I was mad at myself for putting myself in that position, I could have avoided it all if I had just not gotten pregnant. By the time they got it done and had me strapped to the table (which sent me into a panic attack)I was just praying for it all to be over, I wasn't savoring the moment like I wanted to, like I thought it would be like. In what seemed like a split second I was pregnant and then I wasn't....they held up that beautiful child and all that previous misery was forgotten. There is nothing like hearing your baby cry for the first time. My first impression of him was that I knew he was healthy and to me big...after having a preemie he seemed like the biggest baby I had ever seen, although he was quite small: 6 pounds, 1 ounce. He was so alert and alive it was hard to believe he had just made it to the world. They took him to the nursery and I didn't see him again for about 4 hours. When they finally brought him to me I couldn't believe how intuitive he seemed, like he just knew what he was doing there, figuring out all the things around him, and I swear he smiled, not a gas smile or a grimace, but a true, albeit small smile, right at me like he knew who I was, a mama's boy from the start. He has truly smiled since birth, we put in his baby book 2 weeks because that is the first time we have a picture of it, but he did smile and that foretold Adam at 1 year old....happy, smiling, sweet, and full of energy. What a good day it was and what a good day today will be.

362 days

I can't believe my little guy is going to be one in 3 days. It's a cliche, but I swear it seems like we just brought him home. We have had so much fun with him, having 2 kids is the best thing we ever did. I can't believe there was a time when I wanted Jacob to be an only child. Adam has been a pretty easy baby, he is easy going and happy and just loves life. I hope I can make it through Monday, I already cry thinking about it and I can't pass the hospital he was born in without having a mini panic attack. What a big boy already...time does fly.

It snowed....

at the park, in a big pile with people all around to trample on you!

Here are the boys at the WinterFest on Saturday. I was looking forward to this all week long. We took Jacob a couple of years ago and he had a blast, loved the snow and the rides, and of course the snow cones! I couldn't go last year as I was having a baby so when I saw the signs I was ready! I found the kid's mittens and dressed them in sweaters and got up early and went out. Again, I forgot how much the town has grown in the past 2 years. It was chaotic. The snow patch was a mosh pit, I was afraid for the kid's safety honestly. They divided the snow into an under 6 side and an over 6 side, but that didn't happen. There were snowball fights, mostly between adults and it got pretty rough. One poor girl got smacked in the face HARD with an ice ball. I saw her later that morning and her face was red and cut. We stayed long enough to get 3 pictures and left. Adam wasn't impressed and Jacob stayed with Gammy and Grampa last year for a bit and saw real snow that this just couldn't compare to. He was more interested in the rides and jumping things so for 2 hours we waited in line for 3 things. It was a bit of a let down...we had such an awesome time the last time and although it was some nice family togetherness time, it just wasn't the same. It is also weird to play in snow when it is 70 degrees out.....my boys came home with sunburns and changed into shorts. Where is winter???

This morning was Adam's dedication at church. We had to postpone it since Derick hasn't been in town on a Sunday for a while. They scheduled it at the end of the service. Obviously done by someone without children. Adam did well though. He made it through the sermon and hammed it up with the pastor during his dedication. I swear, I have my own Leno and Letterman over here.

Brothers

This is one of my favorite pictures...it is old, probably from August. Adam was about 6 months old here. It makes me laugh everytime I see it because I remember that morning. Adam just learned to pull up the night before and he was so proud of himself to make it over to the fun train table and finally see what his brother had been doing all that time. Jacob finally had what he had been waiting for: someone to play with. My boys get along so well, I still can't believe how lucky I am. My sister and I are the exact same age difference as Adam and Jacob and I can remember being resentful or her a lot of the time. I just don't see this with Jacob. I wonder if this is because they are boys. I am so glad Jacob has a brother and I am even more glad to see what a good brother he is. This morning was the first day I took Adam to the park to actually play. Now that he is walking well I could let him down to be a big boy...sniff, sniff, it was hard to do, but Jacob was so sweet showing his brother all the cool stuff on the playground. I was so worried the whole time I was pregnant with Adam that we were ruining Jacob's life. I thought for sure he would resent the baby and us for having him, but it has been just the opposite....he is so happy to have a baby brother, so protective of him. I can't believe what sweet boys I have.

My friend, Jennifer, had a baby boy yesterday morning. I am so happy for her! This is her second boy, but her first one was stillborn last year. I watch my own boys and I am sad that the new baby will never know his brother, but nothing like your very own guardian angel I guess.

Fun at the Zoo

The zoo wasn't all a big disappointment to Jacob...he loves the Children's Zoo. There are lots of neat things for the kids to climb on and a cool "suspension" bridge that he remembered from last year. I think the coolest thing has to be the Prairie Dog exhibit (aside from the otters, the are always my favorite). There are a bunch of prairie dogs in their dirt habitat just hanging out doing what prairie dogs do and along the back wall you can walk in and see what a prairie dog den looks like from the inside and also crawl through a tunnel and end up at the other side popping up inside the habitat. I have to wonder what the prairie dogs think of this. Is the plexiglass done there to keep them from attacking? Or is it there to keep the kids out of the dirt? Anyway, Jacob had a lot of fun in it and Adam just liked crawling after Jacob and being let loose for a while. I noticed a plaque while I was there that noted the prairie dog exhibit was donated by Ken Lay (Enron CEO) and his wife....very interesting.

The Book of Daniel

Ok..so there has been a lot of hype about the new show, The Book of Daniel. Its about an Episcopal priest with an extremely dysfunctional family who talks to Jesus. Four NBC affiliates even refused to air last night's episode for fear of ticking off the conservative Christians. Well, I had never really intended to watch the show, I don't get to watch as much tv as I used to and the show came on right at prime bath/bed time, but I decided to watch it anyhow, thinking it was a half hour show which turned out to be a two hour show. Anyway, I didn't see anything that wrong with it. Daniel's family is very much dysfunctional with big time problems, but what person doesn't have problems? After all the scandal with Catholic priests in the past few years haven't we all realized that men of God are also human as well? I guess the biggest gripe was that Daniel talked to Jesus and they way the set it up in the media I was ready for something truly classless, but I think it went over well. I mean, aren't we told to talk to Jesus in times of trouble? Jesus shows up for Daniel in all his times of trouble, shouldn't that be comforting? I think the show is along the lines of Joan of Arcadia (Oh, how I miss it) and the Oh, God movies. I think its a good show....I might tivo it BUT I figure with all this scandal it will get cancelled just as I start to really enjoy it...RIP Reunion, Wonderfalls, Port Charles.

The Snowcone Incident

Derick was home yesterday so we decided to take advantage of this and the warm weather and take the boys to the zoo. We had a nice time, Adam seemed to enjoy the animals and I would get a kick out of seeing him point to all of them. He points with his wrist, it's cute. Anyway, I think Jacob found it a little monotonous since we have been there in the past and once we got past the giraffe (at the beginning) he quickly lost interest. He saw a couple of boys with a snow cone and had been wanting one so we told him he could have one after we had gone through the childrens zoo, so afterwards he found a refreshment stand with a big snowcone picture and he is so excited waiting to order it, we wait and he orders and is told they have no snowcones there. He starts to freak....I mean, how hard could it have been to reach up couple of inches and take that tasty looking sign down? Anyway, he goes through all the stages of grief..shock, denial, anger, finally complete sobbing as we are leaving the park. I spot an ice cream vending machine...things are starting to look up, shove dollars in slot, slot shoves dollars back...more sobbing. By this time his face is blotchy and he is doing that gasping thing for crying so long. We get towards the exit and Derick spots a cafe and we head that way. Hallelujah! We have found snowcones! Pure joy....the kid was so excited over his "rainbow snowcone" he could barely contain himself. Of course, the red is his favorite and he tells us this many times. We can have a bite, just not the red side. So we see the aquarium near the exit and decide to duck in there so in we go, Jacob in the wagon with his beloved snow cone, Adam was sound asleep and it was dark as night in there. After a bit, Jacob climbs out of the wagon against my good advice to stay put and he and snowcone begin looking at fish, then fish get boring and he starts running around a little bit, then he trips on the carpet and snowcone hits the floor! OH NO! More sobbing and screaming....and begs for more snow cone. I wasn't about to dish out another 2.50 on a hunk of colored ice so I picked it up off the floor, brushed it off, and gave it back to him, but NO, he didn't want it, not because it had been on the floor but because the entire red part was now melting on the floor....it was so sad. He finally got over it and finished it and was still a little blue around the mouth this morning, but we shall never forget the snow cone incident.

Happy New Year!

It's 2006 already? I am not prepared. Adam will be one on the 23rd...I liked having a baby right after the holidays, but now I am seeing where it is not so great. We still haven't organized the new Christmas toys and now I have to go out and get birthday toys PLUS organize a party for the birthday boy. The Christmas decorations are still up and I don't see them coming down anytime soon...the toys are all over the living room, heck lets just say it...they are all over the house. I haven't cleaned anything in over a week...its a mess. Yep, sure wish Adam were a summer baby now.

WVU won the Sugar Bowl! I shouldn't diss my team, but I am a little surprised. This is the 2nd bowl victory in 12 games....not a good track record. The first quarter was just awesome, but I knew it was too good to be true...I have been a Mountaineer fan for over 20 years, I know the drill, Georgia has a great passing game and their quarterback did a great job closing the 28-0 gap. But, a win is a win so I will take it anyway it comes. I would have really loved to have been in Morgantown last night....of course I am too old for all that now.

We spent a week up at the lake....nice weather, in the high 70s each day, more like April than December. The boys had fun playing outside but they both came down with Handfootmouth disease midweek so it was a stressful end, sore throats and fevers all around. I think they are getting better, rash is fading, fevers are gone so we are slowly getting back to business around here.

We are watching the news channels for updates on the miners in West Virginia....very sad, the news doesn't look promising for them. A miracle would be a good way to start 2006.