a beautiful week

just a quick recap of our fun week:

Easter was simply the most beautiful (surprising) weather.  we enjoyed a lovely worship service, a little egg hunt/basket hunt at Gramsy/Poppy's, a bunny cake, a lamb cake, and lots of running around in the grass with both sides of our families.
C was back to school on Tuesday, and the unusually warm weather continued, giving us plenty of opportunity to run around and ride bikes. SUCH a welcome surprise in April.
Tuesday night my sweet roommate from college came down from VT on the train JUST to spend a few days with us! We went to Longwood in the (still) beautifully sunny weather, and enjoyed the tulips and fountains and treehouses... and then went back again the next day in the rain and enjoyed the conservatory.  The boys adored Adrienne, and loved waking up every morning to greet her on the couch. She decided to stay an extra day, which ended up being a great decision-- the boys napped at Gramsy's while we went shopping and then had cheesesteaks to complete her visit. C and i took her to the train yesterday morning, and afterward he kept saying that he wanted to go live in Vermont. One of these days we will have to go visit (on the train, of course).
Last night was Bethany's wedding. . . i could hardly believe it. It's the first time I've experienced something like that-- being able to remember every stage of her life, from the first day she arrived home-- til now. It was just a tiny glimpse into what it must be like to see your child get married. I can't believe she's all grown up, when it seems like yesterday i was teaching her how to swim. I am soooo happy for her, and she looked radiant.
today is Kyren's NICU reunion at Paoli Hospital-- looking forward to seeing all of the docs and nurses who played such a big role in his little life. hoping we remember to take pics! for now, here are a few of the wedding--

slide climbing

the stairs to a slide are so not challenging enough.

the competition begins early.

K stops to look at his reflection.

climbing is more fun than sliding!

trooper #2

Kyren's not the only brave little soldier this week.

Christian took a flying leap off of the couch (nothing out of the ordinary) on Saturday afternoon, and landed 'incorrectly', shall we say. He cried pretty hard, but we chalked part of that up to being ready for a nap. He went to bed soon after and slept well. But when he woke up he refused to put any weight on his foot. We weren't sure if it really hurt that badly or if he was just afraid that it would. it was swollen and hot, but not bruised.

Meanwhile Kyren was suffering from a horrific diaper rash, screaming and writhing at every diaper change and needing frequent bathing.... and dave and i were supposed to go out that night.

Sooooo....

We downplayed everyone's infirmities and dropped both boys off at my parents' (one of them infirm, herself), and aside from K needing much love and attention (and another bath)... and C needing to be read to by Poppy all night (what else is new?)... oh and a little emotional drama around bedtime, they did pretty well!

ha.

Add to all of that a couple of runny noses, and you pretty much have an idea of our Sunday.

Tho we still managed to venture out to watch Nina play soccer at a local park....... only.... the game had been rescheduled. So add to that one very disappointed almost 3 year old. We made up for it by having a picnic dinner at the park.

This morning he still would not walk on the foot-- and Gramsy was, well, strongly encouraging me to take him to the doctor. She said they would probably want to see him. She was right. (Not sure when my own 'Mom knows best' skills are going to kick in-- i guess that's why i still have a mom). Fortunately Gia was available to watch Koo, and off we went to see the doc.

well, almost.

on the way out the door, we noticed that C felt rather warm. i had wakened him from an uncharacteristic late morning nap, and he was rather upset about the whole thing. As we were backing down the driveway, he threw up in his carseat. Talk about Mom NOT knowing what to do -- i had the dilemma of: should i take him and risk him throwing up all over the doctor and his office? or do i not take him, and risk his foot being broken?

ahh, decisions. decisions.

since no vomit had actually made it onto any part of the car (only his jacket and blanket)-- i decided to remove them from the vehicle (ie, throw them out the window) and keep going. Needless to say, we used the 'sick entrance' to the doc's office.

2 more vomiting episodes in the examining room and my hopes of "maybe he was just crying too hard" were dashed. Fortunately, we made it to and from the Radiology Building down the street and back home again without any more instances, and the poor little guy went straight back to bed.

He was such a trooper and was, of course, fascinated with the whole process, from the x-ray machine to the moving table. His x-rays showed no broken bones. hooray!! But if he is still not weight-bearing tomorrow morning, the pediatrician wants him to see an Orthopod, just in case. What an adventure!!

At present, Kyren and i are healthy and happy and enjoying what's left of our day. and our health.

No one ever said motherhood was easy.

And yet, somehow, you just go with whatever comes your way.

because you truly have no choice.

What always amazes me is how much more concerned you are, in the moment of crisis, for your child than you are for yourself. I'm sure if i were reading this post as a single woman, or even myself as a teenager, i would be thinking twice about whether or not i really wanted kids. Who in their right mind would want to go through all that? But once you have a kid, you suddenly don't see it as that much of a hardship. Sure there are more fun things to be doing that catching vomit. But because he's mine, there's nothing else I'd rather be doing.

Finally Enjoying Spring

ok, enjoying MOST of Spring...

small aspirations

i wish this post was about small goals and ambitions. . . which is the first definition for the word aspirations in the dictionary. unfortunately, i have to write about the second definition. the act of inhaling swallowed liquids into the lungs. because that is what our sweet little miracle boy has been up to for the past few months. all of his coughing/choking/sputtering while drinking from his sippy cup is due to the fact that he's aspirating every time he takes a sip. the only time he doesn't cough or choke is when he drinks from his bottle. we have been putting milk in his sippy cup at every meal, and that has helped a lot (b/c milk is a bit thicker than water). but not completely. apparently (according to the Swallow Study people at CHOP) he is a 'Silent Aspirator'. . . which means that even when he appears to be swallowing liquids without difficulty, he is still aspirating. just not enough to cause him to cough or choke. poor little guy! they speculate that this has most likely been the cause of his respiratory infections this winter (tho i'm not convinced of that, having had a big brother in preschool).
With the onslaught of information, we forgot to ask some questions of the specialists that now seem obvious.
1. Is this common in preemies?
2. What causes this?
3. Will he grow out of it for sure? (I did ask if he'd grow out of it or if he'd need to be seen on a regular basis, and apparently i lumped those two together, and i only got one answer: yes they can see him again in a few months to see if there's been an improvement). hmmmmm.
4. Is this also the major cause of his hoarseness and/or speech delay?

I am putting a call into Dr. Bernbaum asap to consult with her. I'm just frustrated that we didn't have more time to talk with the Swallow Study people while we were there. they seemed to be in a hurry to get us out the door. Still, we are so thankful to have such fabulous expertise at our fingertips, at one of the best children's hospitals in the world. We're glad to be the people who have to go buy thickeners at the pharmacy, and mix yogurt with our kid's milk, when so many parents we saw in the waiting room were there to get their children's feeding tubes changed or replaced, and probably a dozen other things we are grateful to be spared from tonight.
Every trip to CHOP is a trip full of gratefulness!!

And on a side note, our sweet little angel did great! I kept him up all morning, so he'd sleep in the car (almost all the way to philly)! He was not allowed to eat or drink for 4 hours prior to the Barium Swallow, and he did great with that too! Then he slept ALL the way home-- which was a long ride, with traffic. I am so thankful for his sweet demeanor, his daddy's temperment.
So hopefully these small aspirations will eventually diminish and we'll be on our way to happier drinking :). For now we thank God for the many blessings He's given us in this day~

in need of naps

christian has been napping later and later, and as a result, is unable to fall asleep at night. many evenings he is up til 9:30 or 10, wide awake.
if this means he is getting ready to give up his nap (which he so desperately still needs) i do not wanna know. because i still so desperately need it too! this child talks nonstop from morning til naptime and from post-nap til bedtime... and even then, he is unable to keep quiet, b/c he's not the least bit tired or ready to lie still. and with all of the talking, as much as i adore it, mommy needs some quiet time.
i think kids should be required to nap til they're at least 5. . . or old enough to help do the chores i'm supposed to be doing while they nap.
really, i should not be complaining. both my boys are terrific sleepers for the most part. i am a lucky mom. i am a lucky mom. i am a lucky mom.
but please, CAB, do not give up your nap just because you're going to be a big 3 year old. there are a few other things you are welcome to give up-- like your addiction to the binky and your passion for that warm milk in a bottle that no matter how i try to wean you from it, there is nothing more soothing and helpful when you're lacking in coping skills. you can give up whining, kicking your brother, shrieking, and the need for pull-ups at night. you can give up your picky eating, your selfishness with toys, and tantrums ANY time you want.
but please please please do not give up your nap.

not quite!

having a sponge for a child is both entertaining and a little scary. he seems to remember not only words, phrases, and concepts that he hears others' say, but he tends to use and/or apply them to daily life-- and is uncannily accurate most of the time. and we often have no idea when or where he 'picked them up'.
one of my favorites is when we ask him a question and his response is, "not quite."
"Hey Christian, did you see that Forsythia bush out your window?" i asked as we drove through the countryside today. "Not quite. this window is a little too small."
Another one he started with this week is the idea of not making 'sense'.
"Christian would you like this cracker? It's a rectangle instead of a circle! (he's used to Ritz, and i was trying to make the Kashi cracker sound exciting).
"NO! that wouldn't make any sense!" he said in his most frustrated and hungry voice.
When i was putting him down for his nap today, i was reading a dinosaur book to him and he said, "wow that dinosaur is so big, it could carry hun.... hund.... hundweds of people!" (as if he knows what hundreds of ANYthing would look like...?)
My other favorites of his are 'no problem', 'actually' and 'possbily'.... oh, and 'sure'.
"Christian, would you like to go outside?"
"Sure!! let's go!"
"Would you like a granola bar?"
"Sure!"
"No, you don't have your shoes on the right feet."
"Sure i do!!"


Am i ready for him to be 3 in a few weeks?
Not quite.