Ahhh- vacation

Thanks to the Grandparents, Baldman and I got to spend Columbus Day weekend on vacation! We got to sleep in (aka 8am! ) and do a little geocaching at the state park. Fun times and a much needed recharging weekend.

You Know You're Tired When...

You make it to work and notice that you're shirt is inside out...

... and you're wearing a polo :P

WHERE IS MY ROYALTY CHECK?!

Longtime readers of our ramblings would note that several years ago, Amy and I went to the Ohio State Fair, and I commented on the available food, and dreamed up new creations. Well, it looks like someone down in Texas has stolen one of my ideas! Somebody needs to give credit where credit is due!

9 Month Update

I thought Amy would have posted this, but it looks like I get the honor this time :)

I took Happy in for his 9 month checkup. His stats:

• Length: 28.5 in (60th percentile)
• Weight: 21.5 lbs (65th percentile)
• Head circumference: 18.25 in (75th percentile)

He hit quite a growth spurt from his last visit, didn't he? He had two shots this time, one for polio, the other for the flu. He didn't even flinch until it was over. He kinda looked at me with a "what the heck was THAT" look, then went back to his regular happy self.

Size

So here is a new one for the household. Both kids were wearing the same size clothes today! It was a bit chilly so instead of shorts, I pulled out the stack jeans to see what would fit. Both the 21 month old girl and the almost 9 month old boy were wearing size 12 month jeans.

Additional Vocabulary

Poet learned a new word this week: "hair." So, to reinforce, we ask her where her hair is, and she'll pick up a few strands. We'll ask her where Mommy's hair is, she'll reach over and grab a few strands. We'll ask her where Daddy's hair is, she'll reach over... then smile and shake her head.

She's so cute :)

1 year ago

Time moves so fast. It was one year ago (Aug 6) that the Bambina had her cleft repaired. We are SO thankful that everything seems just fine (check up next month).

Before:

We have tried the last few weeks to get an "after" shot but she is a busy girl.

This the best "after" shot:


She is busy drinking out of a sippy cup or using a straw something you can't do with a cleft.

She is busy saying all kinds of things she couldn't if her cleft was not repaired- shoe, no, Pap, Momma, Dada, purple, cup, more, Uh-Oh, Tags, bubble and many more! Try and say the words and feel the pressure on the roof of your mouth.

She is busy listening to all kinds of music . Kids with clefts typically have problems with their ears and possible hear loss. She is a big fan of Davy Jones and Barenakes Ladies.

She is busy being a big sister, our baby girl, and the queen of the peg board puzzle.
We are thankful for your amazing recovery little girl....

Tom the Plumber

Just an update to yesterday's adventures, I went to a local mega-hardware chain at lunch and asked a seemingly knowledgable gentleman about my problem. He pointed me to a kit that ran under $4 that he said would solve my problem. I got home after work, and found that I was missing one piece and a washer to connect my new trap to the existing drain. Undaunted, I removed the piece from my old pipe and used a judicious amount of silicone caulk in place of the missing part. Installation took about 30 minutes, and now we have a fully functional bathroom sink again. Yay, me!

The Handyman (not...)

Some time ago, Amy asked me to clean the aerator on our bathroom faucet. I mumbled a "yes, dear" and promptly forgot about it until it randomly popped into my head this afternoon. Not wanting to forget again, I grabbed a wrench to dislodge it (it was pretty coated in lime). Unfortunately, I turned a little too hard, and broke the faucet. So, out to the hardware store to purchase a new faucet, which comes with a stopper piece for the drain. The faucet went in without a hitch, but while trying to remove the plumbing to install the new stopper, the drain pipe snapped in half from years of corrosion. Fun! Of course, this happened at 9P tonight, no hardware stores open in our area. So, tomorrow, I head out to pick up my drain fixing supplies. Whee!!!

Surprise, surprise...

Sometimes, life is full of surprises. Ever since Amy moved into our house back in 2002, there's been a bare spot in our front yard. Not being much in the way of a landscaper, I've pretty much ignored it, but today, since we were already doing outdoor chores, I decided to see if I could figure out what was happening. Our neighbors used to have a huge bare spot in their back yard, and when they dug the spot up they found a huge, 4'x8' piece of plywood, probably left over from when the development was.... ummmm.... developed back in the late '60s and early 70's. I figured our story would be much the same, so I pulled out the spade and started digging. I immediately hit something very, very solid, and heard a sound like metal on rock. I moved out a bit to try to find the edge, figuring I just found a large rock slab. Imagine my surprise when I peeled back the turf and found this:

Yeah, that looks an awful lot like one of the previous owners decided to remove a flagpole, but didn't want to go to the trouble of doing it properly. So, this previous owner just hacked off the flagpole as close to the concrete block as possible and filled over it. Clever! Not.

So, I get to figure out how to remove a huge hunk of concrete from the front yard. The upside is that I think I might get to learn how to use a jackhammer :)

She Knows Her No's

Following hot on the heels of our break from "no" comes its return. But with a twist. To wit, the following conversation in the car between Poet and me (keep in mind that all the names I asked her to say, she's said before when she's been in a more agreeable mood):

BMT: Poet, can you say "Dada?"
Poet: No!
BMT: Poet, can you say "Mama?"
Poet: No!
BMT: Poet, can you say "Happy?"
Poet: No!
BMT: Poet, can you say "Poet?"
Poet: NO!
BMT: Poet, can you say "no?"
<looong pause> Poet: <grins, giggles and shakes her head>

Ah, joy :)

Yes

A blog moment happened tonight- Tom asked the girl a question and she shook her head -YES! After several months of 'no" and "noooooo" and "no (with finger pointing)" and "NO!" It was a nice change of pace!

Snickerdoodles

Today I stayed home with the little girl. Yesterday, she had a fever and was sent home from daycare. She has to be symptom free for 24 hours to go back, so it was a stay at home day. She wasn't on her "A game" today but still fine and no fever.

It was a nice day we played and organized the closet and all the socks, but the best part of the day was our first adventure into baking. We made some snickerdoodles. She had a lot of fun pouring everything into the bowl and helped with the stirring. The best part was getting to roll the dough balls in the cinnamon sugar! I think we have the makings of a great baker in the family. Yum!

Tradition

So 7 years ago today I met a guy for dinner. Afterwards we went for ice cream and a walk around the neighborhood. It was a walk that changed our lives.

Today we continued the tradition of ice cream and a walk... Thanks Julie and Mike for coming down to watch the kids.

Another 1/2 birthday

The little man celebrated his 1/2 birthday last week. That means he had a trip to the pediatrician this morning... No shots as he is running a fever and bit under the weather. Keep him in your prayers that this fever breaks soon!

The Stats:
Weight: 18lbs 10 oz. 60th percentile
Height: 26 inches 25th percentile
Head Circumference: 17 inches - 25 percentile.

1/2 birthday

Our little girl turned 18 months today. We went out and celebrated with a trip to Greaters. She shared a scoop of Blueberry Pie ice cream with Daddy. She went to the pediatrician last week for her well check visit and vaccine shot. She is getting to be a "big girl" 23lbs. 12 oz (40th percentile) and 32.25 inches tall ( 70th percentile).

It was also a nice "birthday" surprise because we got a box in mail today from Mr. & Mrs. Redbeard. Lots and lots of clothes! THANK YOU! The sizing should work out for late summer clothes and into fall /winter and maybe a few for next spring.

Demolition Day

Today was a very special day for Amy and me. We took the day off work, sent the kids to daycare, and watched as the property next door was completely razed.

When Amy moved in back in 2002, we thought the neighboring property was just unkempt. Yeah, it was somewhat junky, but the neighbor was quiet. But, we soon found out that the neighbor had no interest in maintaining the property, and the house was rapidly falling apart. The guy actually lived there until about two years ago, then we'd only see him once a week when he came to get his mail. In the meantime, efforts were under way to seize the property and raze it. Turns out that blighted properties in our state are reasonably easy pickings for cities, but smaller communities like ours (we live in a township) had a much more difficult time. But with patience, attitudes and laws were changed, and our township took control of the property in March. It took a little while to get everything settled, but finally, everything fell into place, and today we hung out with about 40-50 neighbors and watched gleefully as the eyesore was leveled.

We took a number of pictures and put them up on Photobucket. No password is required for the gallery, so head on over and enjoy. We took some video, but it'll take me some time to go through it and put something together. Hopefully soon.

UPDATE 5/22: Added four new pictures of the empty lot. It really is much improved!

Rolling!

We have movement in the household. The boy has figured out how to roll back to belly and belly to back all in a few days. He has been a busy little man. Watch out sister, your toys are no longer safe!

I'm So Ashamed...

I have to turn in my Geek Card. My parents saw the new Star Trek movie before I did. You know what this means, of course. I'll need to atone for my geek failings by:

• getting Star Trek uniforms for the whole family
• getting phasers and tricorders for the whole family
• making the whole family go to work/daycare for a week in uniform/with props

Oh, and, of course, going to see the movie...

Two things

Two little kids equals two milestones this week.

The girl has figured out how to get up into the La-Z-Boy chair. She moves her little stool to the front of the "big chair" and uses it to climb up. She is so proud of herself.

The boy has discovered his toes! You can hear him babble- "WOW these are fun"!