Pajama Fun

Ian loves to run in and out of the bathroom/laundry room. (Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, I put all cleaning supplies up high and he can't close the door all the way.) I took these pictures about a week ago while Ian was playing with Mark. He had just gotten up, was still in his pjs and when Mark set him down, he took off for the bathroom. I wish I could have recorded his belly laughs with these pictures! He and Mark had the best time and I so did I laughing at both of them.

Feeling Better

I feel a little better today. I am still pretty angry, but there is little that I can do about what is making me so upset. The situation is not resolved and we have no idea when it will be. So, until then I am just trying to remain calm. Sorry that these posts are so cryptic. I don't know if I will ever post exactly what is going on. I will let you know when the situation is resolved though. (FYI: It has nothing to do with Ian, so don't worry.)

I am so ANGRY!!

I am so angry right now I can't see straight. And to make it even worse, I can't tell all of you about what has me in such a state. UGH!!!! More later when/ifI can tell you what's going on. Sorry I can't do more right now. Just say a few prayers that I calm down before I get ahold of someone to strangle!

Announcing the Arrival of Madison!!

We have another reason to celebrate today.

My friend Cheryl's daughter, Krista, had a beautiful baby girl this evening a little after 9PM. Madison is 7lbs. 9 oz. and 20.5 inches long. I can hardly wait to see pictures and hold her.

Mark, Ian and I send our best wishes and much love to the new family!!!

Happy Anniversary Mark

Wow! We have been married for 13 years!!!
You can't even imagine how much I love and admire you.
You are an amazing person, husband, friend and father.
Thank you for putting up with me and our crazy/chaotic life all these years.
I am sure that it will earn you sainthood one day!

I love you and always will!

I took these pictures this afternoon of Mark and Ian playing in the yard. I just love these end of summer days! It's warm enough to be out and not so darn hot that you can't stand to be. In other words, perfect weather for some play time in the yard with Daddy.

What a Week?!?!?

I am really not interested in repeating this week ever!!! Please pray that our family never has another week like this one. I'm sure that we will have similar problems as life progresses, but I hope that an alignment of the planets does not occur like it has this week.

Ian has suffered (and therefore so have I) with a runny nose all week. He has just not been himself for about 5 days now. On top of that, he has really not wanted much to eat which is a real problem considering he is already in the 10% range for weight according to the doctor. And, of course, he has an appointment this coming week for his 15 month shots. So, there will be another weight/height check to soldier through. I'm so looking forward to that one, let me tell you. However, after today's events I don't think we will be seeing the doctor for those shots quite yet.

This morning Ian woke up with diarrhea. By noon, I had changed 8 very messy/liquid diapers. I talked to the doctor's office 3 times and we finally decided that he needed to go to Children's Hospital. Our biggest concern being dehydration. He didn't want to eat or drink anything. We offered Pedialyte, Gatorade, juice, water, jello, rice, bananas and toast. Nothing and I mean, nothing, was getting past his lips.

So, after a short nap (his regular nap time), he woke up burning up. I took his temperature and about fainted! (102.8 degrees) I know, I know: For a child that's not that high. But damn, that's sounds high doesn't it?!?!? We loaded up and headed to the hospital. Fortunately, Sam told me there was an Urgent Care in part of the hospital. We headed there with the idea that if it was really needed, they would send us to the ER. Lucky us, there was no one waiting to be seen in Urgent Care. We got in, saw a nurse, saw the doc and were out in under 40 minutes!! (FYI: We passed ER on the way in and saw the same people waiting to be seen as we were leaving. Gotta love that Urgent Care sometimes.)

The verdict: A virus, probably the rotovirus which is a nasty little stomach bug that kids tend to pass around at daycare. Where Ian got it, we have no idea. He is not in daycare and no one has been sick with this stuff. Anyway, we just have to power through it, keep his fever down, pump fluids in him and make him rest. Yeah right!!! He's 15 months old, doesn't like to eat anyway, is about as intersted in fluids as he is food and never stops moving. This should be fun!

We headed home as I prepared myself for a long day and even longer night. He took a small nap once we got home, woke up with the temp again. I dosed him with Motrin this time and about 30 minutes later we had Ian back in all his glory. Amazing! He actually ate a little dinner, drank lots of fluids and was playing with his toys. You can tell that he is still sick because he comes over to you and lays his head on your lap every once in a while. But, overall he is so much better this evening. He took only about 5 ounces of his formula before bed, but he is sleeping peacefully. Maybe I will get lucky and he will sleep through the entire night. Lord knows, I could use a good night's rest.

Why the lack of sleep? Couple of reasons: 1) Well, Ian has been snotty this entire week. Therefore, at night he makes a lot of noise while sleeping which means I don't get much rest. I hear every moves he makes. I am able to tune out most of it, but this week he has been whimpering which I will never be able to tune out. It just sounds so pathetic! 2) Mark came home from work early this month. The night he called to tell me that he was headed home, caused me even more stress. I woke up the next morning after little sleep in a tight ball which did nothing for my already aching tired body. (The good part about him coming home: He was here today to help me with Ian. I didn't have to go to the hospital with a sick child alone. And he helped me clean/disinfect the house when we got home. I am not going to go so far as to say that God saw today coming, but I appreciate that he was here to help regardless of the reason he came home.) 3) Stress and lack of sleep coupled with a lovely weather change have given me a headache which has lasted 6 days. Yes, I said 6 DAYS.

Where does all that leave us? Ian is feeling much better. Mark's situation will resolve itself later this month and there is little I can do about it. Therefore, I will do my best not to stress over it. My house is disinfected thanks to Lysol. And, I finally took enough meds to get rid of the headache.

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my parents 33rd wedding anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!!!

We love you and hope you have a wonderful day today.

With Ian the day after he was born.

Amazing how things change isn't it?!?!

My Dad was so unsure of how to even hold Ian. Now he lugs him around (when Ian will let you hold him) like the rest of us do.

Their new chauffeur.

Ian loves to climb in the car and pretend to drive.

Remember

Remember

Water guns and the pool

Ask anyone that has visited my house in the summertime, there is usually a water gun fight going on. We have even been known to take a bucket of water up on the roof to get the people trying to escape through the doors! (Uncle David!!) Mark likes to quietly nab a gun, take it inside and shoot Alex through the bathroom window. I get to "man" the hose which means I have the ultimate power. (Hmmm, sounds like a control issue to me. What do you think?)

Well, it didn't take Ian long to get the picture. He found that he could carry the small water gun and even shoot Alex (with a little help from Mommy on the aiming). That's what he was getting ready to do in the next two pictures. He brings me the water gun, I aim, he pushes the trigger, Alex stays put so we can get him wet and Ian laughs!



Gotta love that expression!
Look what I found Mommy.


Can I get some help here please?

Tired of the water guns, time for a slide into the pool.
Little daredevil!

New Wheels

Mark left for a trip yesterday afternoon. Before he left, he insisted that we buy Ian this new set of wheels. We charged the battery and guess what we did today? You guessed it. We played outside for HOURS!! The thing goes about 2 miles per hour and he knows exactly how to make it work. We need to work on the steering a little though. I had to rescue my flower bed a few times from the crazy driver. And, poor Whiskey kept having to move out of the way.


This is how I saw Daddy climb on the big ATV at Uncle Sean's house.

How can I make it go faster? Maybe there is something under the hood that I can mess with...

Pit stop!

Out of juice? No, just seeing what else I can do with this thing.

First Bath in the Big Tub

Ian took his first official bath in the big tub this evening. Up until now, he as bathed in either the kitchen sink, the baby tub or his duckie tub. (Duckie tub was a blow up duck that quacked when you squeezed it's beak.) He loved the duck tub, but was just getting too big for it. So this evening, I bit the bullet and put him in the big tub. Ian was apprehensive at first, but then decided that there is just so much more water to splash at Mommy in the big tub! I think I had more water on me than he had on him by the time we were finished. My bathroom will never be the same again! Anyway, enjoy the cuteness and check out the great photos Alex took of the momentus event.

A new Hairdo???

What!?!?! You don't like my new mohawk?

Tell me you like the mohawk or the duck gets it...

I took these about a month ago and had forgotten to post them. I know, I know, I'm a slacker.

Elmo and Harley Davidson

Make sure you scroll down through the blog to see all the new posts. I tried to catch up tonight, but I am tired. So, I'm headed to to bed and will try again tomorrow. Meanwhile, enjoy!


My friend Jenn's dad, Jack, bought Ian this very cool Harley Davidson rocker. He loves it!
Thanks 'Grandpa Jack'!

I got Elmo pajamas for Ian the other day. I put them in the wash pile and thought I covered them pretty well with other laundry. Well, apparently I didn't do quite as good a job as I thought. Ian spotted "Melmo" (that's how Ian says Elmo) and pulled them out. Then he drug them through the house everywhere he went for the next hour!

Inspecting the Elmo pajamas while standing knee deep in my laundry pile.

The Elmo pjs even went with him to ride his Harley.

Zoo Pictures, Part II

This is 'Fluffy' the snake. Fluffy is on loan from a private collector to the zoo until the end of summer. (I think you have to be crazy to have "Fluffy" as a pet in your private collection!) Anyway, Fluffy is 24 feet long and weighs over 300 pounds. He eats 10 pounds of rabbits each week! He was pretty neat and I really don't like snakes. Just ask my brother, David.


The zoo also has a train ride that you can take to see the wolves and bears.
As you can see from the look on his face, Ian loved it.

Family portrait.
Not bad for holding the camera at arms length while the train was moving.


Ian really loved watching the manatees, turtles and fish.
We spent most of our time looking at the huge aquarium of salt water fish.

Zoo Pictures

Last week, Mark, Ian and myself headed out for a day at the zoo.
The very large gorilla in the above photo just about scared us to death. They had a baby gorilla in the enclosure and he kept chasing the baby away from the glass and the people on the other side. He ran from one side of the enclosure to the other, sent the baby scooting along and hit the glass which sounded like a shotgun going off. Very impressive and I would never want to run into one of these guys in the wild!

One part of the zoo has a small boat ride which lets you see the elephants, some monkeys and the rhinos. Ian loved it and sat like this for the entire ride!

You can walk through the kangaroo enclosure. This roo was sleeping so close to the path we could have touched him.

The zoo has a restored carousel and of course, Mark had to take Ian for a ride. By the end of the ride, they ended up sitting down in the a gondola because Ian was just not sure what to make of the horse moving up and down.

Family Reunion Pictures

Every year my Dad's side of the family has large family reunion. We all meet at cousin Ronnie's house to eat, play cards, visit, and greet any new family members. The family next door to Ronnie have goats that wander back to the fence to be fed. Anson loved the goats 'nibbling' on his hand. Ian was not impressed and kept his distance. (Funny because he loves going to Young's to feed the goats.) Anyway, we had a great time this year and want to thank Ronnie for his hospitality again this year.




Mark, David and Ian headed for the goats.

Chrissy, Anson and Ian checking out the goats.




Anson, sooooo not liking the grass on his hands!
Anson, keep trying buddy!
It took Ian a long time before he liked the grass touching him too.

Mark, David, Anson and Chrissy watching Ian making a break for it.
He kept heading for the corn field and away from the goats.

The Solution

How do you keep your 14 month old from climbing out of his crib?

Why, a tent of course!!!

That's right, the above picture shows the amazing invention called the crib tent. This sucker was a royal pain the rear end to put together. The tent poles go in to special sleeves and the entire thing straps to the bed using velcro in about 15 places! (The sleigh bed made it very difficult to get it in place even though the manufacturer said it would work just like any other bed.) Once installed, the mattress slides inside the mesh walls. The flap (partially open in the picture) only unzips from the outside, so there is no chance of escape. Like I said: AMAZING!

Now, you ask: How does Ian like it?

The Answer: He hates it! He is fine until you start to zip him in and then the wailing commences. The first 2 times, he cried off and on for about 5 minutes to see if we would rescue him. Since then, he fusses for just a minute until you actually get out of the room and then he quiets right down.

Next question: How does Mommy like it?

The Answer: I love it!! It's a whole lot better than seeing a perfect little moon sitting on the top rail getting ready to take a header over the side. I still can't see how he managed to get up there. The front rail is just under his chin! It must have taken incredible strength to pull himself up there. And, he did it so quietly. That's the part that worries me the most. What else is he going to be able to do that quietly?!?!

Hopefully, we have fixed the problem. Now, we just have to wait and see what will be his next big adventure.