Update from Missouri!

Many thanks to Elly and Neil for the use of their computer so that we can update you from Columbia!

We had Noah's FIRST birthday party today - it was so much fun! Alex was overwhelmed because there were 800 kids here (an exaggeration, but there were a LOT). He seemed to manage well, once he got used to everyone. Here's a shot of the chaos - -

Here's a shot of the lovely cake (it was super-yummy too!)

And Noah's "Smash Cake" - just for him!

Happy Birthday To Noah! Nice shot with Mommy!

Yummy cake - time to get messy!!

Alex on his way through the buffet line - he had 2 hot dogs, tomatoes, broccoli, a couple of chips, tried a carrot (it wasn't cooked, so he didn't get much out of it), black olives, and milk. He ate quite well - he wasn't even hungry for the cake and ice cream!!

Noah and his Mommy looking at some of his new books - he loves to read too!

And Alex enjoying one of Noah's new toys - a BALL!! Imagine that - -

We had a great time - we will stay here yet tonight and head to Blue Springs tomorrow, then home on Monday! We'll be stopping in to see Kyle and Amy Royuk (college friends of ours) who now have a little guy of their own - Micah Kyle - who was born last week. What an awesome Easter gift for them!

We'll write more later - off to supper! :) Have a great "rest-of-the-weekend" everyone!

We're Alive!

Sorry that it's been all week, I promised that I would try to post more often, but life just gets in the way, you know??!!

I've been working FOREVER on this School-wide Title I plan at school, and spent the better part of last night on the computer, making the finishing touches. It's finally done, so I can relax - until I realize what all is going on tomorrow........

WE'RE LEAVING ON A MINI-VACATION!!!

Our nephew, Noah, will be celebrating his FIRST birthday on Saturday! Alex and Noah are 5 months apart, and the last time they were together they had a blast. I can only imagine what this time will be like!

Because they live in Columbia, Missouri (which is a FOREVER drive), we are breaking it up into smaller drives and taking a 4-day weekend. We'll leave tomorrow night and come back on Monday. We'll go as far as Kansas City to stay with my folks tomorrow night, and then on the rest of the way Friday sometime. Sunday we'll come back to KC, and then Monday finish up the drive to Ord. I know the time will fly by, but both Andy and I are looking forward to time off.

We'll have pictures for sure when we return! The camera is already packed - I just wish everything else was!!!

Banana!

As most of you know, one of Alex's favorite foods are bananas. He has been saying "banana" for a long time, and we wanted to catch it on video. It finally happened this morning - he said it for the camera! Ususally he just looks at the camera and clams up - - but not this morning!

So now for your viewing pleasure - - Alexander's version of "banana"

Happy Easter!

We hope that all of you had a very Blessed Easter - we certainly had a nice, laid back day at home. Being pregnant and planning a big meal was so much fun - I had ALL of the things that I have been craving! Because we had so much, we'll be eating leftovers for the next week! That's okay, it was all so yummy!

This morning we went to church. They had special "Alleluia Bells" that were to be shaken every time we sang or said, "Alleluia." Alexander loved his, and didn't know exactly when to shake them, but loved shaking when everyone else did. Here's a look at the "Easter Outfit" - -

Don't get me started on how hard it is to find cute dress-up outfits for boys!!!

After church we came home and I started on lunch. We had one of those yummy honey-baked hams with the brown sugar glaze, corn, green bean casserole, rolls, strawberry-pretzel salad, and angel food cake with frosting and strawberries for dessert. Needless to say, this was also our supper tonight. :) It was SOO yummy!!

Tonight Alex was wired! We were changing the sheet on his bed, and Andy laid the mattress on the floor after he changed the sheet. Alex began jumping on it, and just being crazy! We did shoot a couple of videos, enjoy!

Jump!

Sorry that it's been so long - I've been trying to catch every extra minute of sleep that I can - -

We shot this video a few nights ago, and finally have time to upload it. Alex "rotates" with his toys - one week it will be anything he can throw, the next the animals in his farm, the next his stuffed animals, and this week it was his zebra. What was really funny about this, was that the zebra has music that goes with it, but Alex has learned how to turn it off. He began jumping on it, heard the music going, got off of the zebra, and then went around to the front to turn the music off. Then he got back on, and this happened. He really got some air!!!

Cheryl (Andy's aide) just dropped off an Easter Basket for Alex - thanks, Cheryl! Mom, I thought you'd enjoy some of it's contents.......

Have a Happy Easter everyone!!

What a Difference A Day Makes!

Boy am I thankful for the power of prayer and modern medicine! Alexander woke up this morning a new man! I was so worried about him all last night, but he slept well - only woke up at about 3 because of his congestion and coughing. After more medicine, he was right back out. This morning, he was all smiles, and back to his normal self. He did cry a little when Dad dropped him off at childcare, but was all smiles the rest of the day (we called to check in on him).

Here's a shot of him eating some supper:

Tonight Alex decided to go for Squiggles again, with the safety of the gate between them. She's just on the other side of the gate, sitting towards the right side. He crouches down so he can see her from under the bar in the middle - and has a HUGE grin once he turns around. Such a different boy from last night!!

Once again, thanks to all of you who sent e-mails and phone calls, and most importantly, said prayers. We are on the mend!! :)

- - A couple of you asked about whether we have decided to go forward with tubes or not - we are waiting for now, at least until this summer to decide about tubes. We have heard so many horror stories (as well as helpful stories) that we're following our Dr.'s advice and waiting until summer to see what he's like then. Our Dr. said that most kids will outgrow the infections around 20 months, so we'll wait and see - unless it gets really bad between now and then. Thanks!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Hope that all of you had a good St. Patrick's Day - our day here started out well......

I got a call at 6:00 this morning saying "NO SCHOOL" because of the snow! We only got a couple of inches here in Ord, but I think that it was worse over in Custer County (where Sargent is). Everything west of us was closed, and I heard that visibility was pretty poor, so yay for a snow day! I was looking forward to spending the day with Alexander.

Unfortunately, a "bug" has hit. Last night, as I kissed him goodnight, he felt warm to me. We took his temp - 101 - and gave him some Tylenol. I figured all of the excitement from the weekend had caught up with him. He slept fine, only had a bit of a coughing spell in the early morning hours.

Once he got up, it was not our normal Alexander. He was so very, very hot and his eyes just looked "out". He seemed very pale and crying/whimpering most of the time. He did eat some toast (I wanted to keep everything pretty bland in case it was something tummy-wise), but didn't eat with his normal "gusto." We gave him more Tylenol at about 7, his temp was close to 102 (but that was after sleeping and having nothing all night). At 9, he was still warm, so I alternated with the ibuprofin. I continued on with the every 2 hours until finally, at 3, I decided to call the Dr. I waited because he would be seeming to be feeling better and then would crash. The Dr. got us in at 4 - and I bet that almost all of you can guess what it was - - ear infection. Only this time, his throat was all closed off and very red. The PA couldn't get a good look at it, but she did decide to put him on antibiotics because of the infection in his ears, and if he has something else going along with it, the antibiotics will take care of that, too. She also gave us a decogestent/cough suppressant because he was having a hard time breathing. (With the scare of all of the cough things the past few months, I was a little leary - but she (and both Dr.'s) reassured me that this one was safe - he would be fine as long as we followed the dosing.)

So tonight we continued on with the Tylenol and ibuprofin, as well as the antibiotic and decongestant at bedtime. He didn't eat too much tonight, but he did drink lots of water, which is reassuring. I'm sure we'll have a famished boy in the morning!

It's just so hard when he's hurting and there's nothing that I can do about it! When he looks at me and begins to cry becaue he hurts, it just breaks my heart! I wish that I could take his pain, aches, and sickness away, but all I can do is hold him and try to alleviate some of his pain. I just hope and pray that he will get over this so very soon, and be back to the wonderful happy little man is usually is.

He's sleeping well now, so we will pray that it continues on through tonight and he wakes up a "new man" tomorrow.

Duck!

This weekend we went to Lincoln to visit family. My grandparents' church has a HUGE craft fair twice a year, and we met my parents and sister from Missouri and had a nice weekend catching up.

While at the craft fair, Alex had all sorts of people to look after him! Grandpa Dave bought him a package of suckers, and he had a red one that was ALL OVER!! Down the front of his shirt, down his forearms, all over the person who was with him - - messy!! I was wearing a light green shirt, so the red showed up nicely. I tried to decide what was the lesser of two evils - red handprints on my shirt, or big water marks as I tried to clean it up.......

Another thing that Alex LOVED at the craft fair was a colored duck. Every time he saw them he would say "Duck" or "Quack, quack, quack." Even the craft fair ladies thought that it was hilarious. Again, Grandpa's job was to spoil (as is the job of every grandparent) and bought Alex the green duck. The lady offered to paint his name on it, so now he has his own personalized duck! While we were waiting for the paint to dry (which you all know how long that takes), the ladies offered Alex a "temporary duck" - - nope, we wanted OUR duck! Not even another green duck could fool him - he knew that he needed THIS duck!! So here's the picture of the much-awaited for duck.

When we got home, Alex wanted to show his new duck to Squiggles. Andy and I still laugh about it as we re-write it here. Alex was sitting on the floor, emptying the contents of his Easter Basket (also from Grandpa and Grandma), he grabbed the duck, yelled "DUCK" at Squiggles, and threw it at her. It hit her in the side. She had a shocked look on her face, and then ran off. Alex looked over at the two of us with a look that said, "Well, I told her to duck!" Too funny!

This game continued much of the night. I think that Squiggles did get a little tired of it, though. She was sitting on top of a pile of blankets we have in the living room. Alex walked over to her, she hissed, he held out his hand, and WHOMP, WHOMP, WHOMP! (Aunt Sarah frequently refers to this as "Boxing Kitty") She smacked Alex three times with a sharp right hook. Thankfully, she's declawed, so there was no harm, but it did bring a tear or two from the little man. I think that it was more shock than pain - but for tonight, he maintained a three-foot distance and threw his softball and football at her.

Just when I thought we were all beginning to get along........ :)

Ketchup!

Tonight we went to Arby's for supper out. Alexander enjoyed his supper - especially the fruit! I must say that I am impressed with the healthier choices that are available in "fast food" places - - Alex had a roast beef sandwich, apples and grapes, and milk. He didn't seem to care too much for the bread of his sandwich, but LOVED the apples and grapes!

Once he finished both of those, he saw some extra fries on the table. He reached for one, so we gave him a few. He had noticed that I was dipping mine in ketchup - and he just NEEDED to try it! The french fry ended up being a "get the ketchup from the cup to my face" tool. It was the first time he tried it - and he's a fan!

This ketchup DID come with mess - - here are a few shots!

Silly little man!

I know - I am sorry about the last little bit on my previous post...I know that I left quite a few of you "hanging." Here's what we know so far: I am due early November (the 2nd) - so I am only a couple of months along. I have been feeling fine, a few cramps now and then, and a little nausea (but no sickness), but nothing that is preventing me from doing everything "normally." When the little one arrives, Alex will be just two - he was born on the 31st of October. When we told Alex about all of this (which I am just SURE he remembers every word of), we asked him what we should name the baby. He said "Acta" (Pronunciation: ahk-tuh, with a little bit of the loud throat-clearing sound as the "ac" came out) - so I guess the little one has a name! I doubt it will last more than the 9 months, but for now, Acta it is.

If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer them! Just drop me a line!

Bike Ride!

The weather here today was BEAU-TI-FUL!!! I hope that all of you are experiencing the same outstanding temperatures that we are.

It was 65 when we got home, and we decided to dust off the bikes and go for a ride. We were finally able to find someplace that sold toddler helmets (Wal-Mart only has 3 years and older), so we were finally able to go for a ride. Alex was good with the seat and being strapped in, but once the helmet went on - we had issues.

He was crying so loud that the neighbor across the street (who was reading on her porch) asked if everything was okay......yeah, just a cranky baby! Once we got going, he settled down a little bit, but would still whimper every few blocks or so.

Here's a picture of the "happy" man - - (we tried a cork to muffle the screaming)

And a picture of us riding together! (It was a little odd riding with extra-shifting weight on there - I had always been used to riding by myself and adjusting for only me - it takes a little bit of practice having someone else on the bike with you!!)

Julie, our childcare lady, sent home this picture today. I don't know when she took it, but it's a crawling-days one. (The date on the back says 8/26/07) I don't know where that outfit came from, but I can't imagine the dark hair and chubby baby in that one!

Speaking of baby - -

Weekend in Omaha!

This weekend we went to Omaha because I had a bridal shower for a friend of mine who I worked with at Head Start. She's getting married in May, and her shower was at the Melting Pot, which is an awesome fondue place! We had dessert - and it was such a nice time to catch up with some of the ladies I used to work with.

We did take a shot (with Alex once he and Andy came to pick me up) with Jenniffer on the left, Michelle (bride-to-be), and Alex and I.

That night we went over to Ameristar (the casino) just for the food. They have an outstanding buffet - and we all ate WAY too much! Alex loved all of the choices he had, and he ate more that I have seen him eat in a long time! He had cooked carrots, broccoli, roast pork, meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, yeast rolls, strawberries, and then on to dessert! They didn't have any high chairs there (boo!), so he was in a booster seat next to Andy or I (we alternated eating and Alex-watching). I was the lucky one to be on the other side of the table when Alex started to eat his ice cream......Take special note of the ice cream on Andy's sleeve......

Then back to the hotel for showers and baths! Yucky mess!!! (Stick, stick, stick!!)

In the car on the way home this morning, Alex was so very ornery! He had his blanket, and after he had taken his nap......when I turned around this was what I saw.........

I also took some video - he was making the strangest noises!! He coughed quite a bit after doing this, so it must've hurt his throat!!!

On to another week!!

Nice Shot!

This morning, as we were getting ready to go meet Daddy for lunch, I was looking for Alex's sippy cup so I could refill it and take it with us.

I looked in all of his "normal" places - and looked in all of the places that he had been playing for the last hour or so. No luck.

Finally resorting to getting a new sippy out of the cabinet, I walked by the sink.

Now if I could only teach his Daddy the same thing!! :)

New Place for a Nap??

This morning Alexander was being QUITE silly - and he carried his blanket and lovey over into the corner - and proceeded to become very sleepy while he was there! He didn't take a nap, but I think that he has a new favorite spot!



Silly boy!

Updates!

Sorry it's been a while - it was a crazy week, but I'M ON SPRING BREAK NOW!! :) That's one of the things that I LOVE about being a teacher! Andy's not talking to me right now, so I'll understand if a few of you have the same sentiment.

Anyway, now I have time to update!

This video is from a few nights ago - Alex got a hold of Andy's water cup - and had a BLAST! Especially watch towards the end when he splashes himself - then "All Done" and then he points to the sink (to the left of the camera) as if to say, "Put this in there now!"

Andy shot this video, I am not sure what Alex was doing, but it's funny how he is just in his own little world! (He had just sat in something wet - for those of you who are curious!) :)

Tonight, Alex and I were sitting on the couch. He had his cork and lovey, because he was a little sleepy. I asked Alex if I could have his cork, and he shook his head 'no'. Andy then asked if he could have it, and Alex took it out and threw it at him.

This is where it landed......

Nice shot!

Stir Fry!

Tonight we tried stir fry for the first time. We were out grocery shopping and I was looking at the frozen veggies, and realized that we hadn't tried it with the little man yet. Because he loves his veggies, we decided to give it a go!




Did he LOVE it!!! He even ate a few pieces of chicken mixed in with it! Before he was all finished, it was ALL over - nose eyes, hair, chin, sleeves - - such a mess!! Here's a close-up of the mess!

Okay, Dad, what hilarious saying can you come up with for that?!?! :)

This Says It All!

We found the most adorable shirt the other day for Alexander, but it's short-sleeve, and I thought that we'd have to vacation to Texas or South Africe before he'd be able to wear it. But, it's supposed to be 72 degrees today (YAY SPRING!!!), so we decided to let Alex wear it today. The shirt says it all - - (this was the best shot we could get as he ZOOMED around!!)





"my parents are exahusted" in case you can't read it.
Alex also pretended to be Daddy this morning - Andy left it sitting on his nightstand, and although Alex couldn't figure out how to turn it on (thank goodness), he had the right idea!



Sorry we haven't posted much the last few days - it's been somewhat hectic - I'll explain later! :)