The Little Guy that Makes Me a Momma

I haven't written a post in a long time specifically dedicated to my ever-growing son, and his many accomplishments in his almost two years. Yes, please note, I can officially say that I will have a two-year-old next month. I cannot even believe how fast two years has gone by.

Becks is getting big (size 24mo-3t depending) and rather independent. While mostly compliant, his verbal defense is often a very beligerent No! No! No! Timeouts are few and far between, but there are certainly days where I warn him that I'm sending him to the moon.

He is obsessed with tractors. Obsessed. He loves watching them out our front window and willingly went into the arms of a construction worker the other day so that he could sit with him in the driver's seat of an excavator. (No worries, while we don't know them by name, Becks has essentially grown up with them the past year and they're pretty good guys. I think they would have taken him for a spin around the block, but I had to put my foot down somewhere.) After hours, I often find my boys doing something like this:

On that note, he also adores anything his daddy does - whether it be working in the yard, playing the guitar, or sipping coffee on the weekends (milk - just in a coffee mug that B pretends to pour real coffee in). When B's home, Becks is his pint-sized shadow.

He also loves makin' sumpin' with me, and we bake together weekly, as I'm sure you're fully aware.

He still has a pacifier, his G, and all The Guys that he insists on naming and sleeping with every night. Potty training is on the horizon, but something he is totally not interested in right now. We'll give it a go this summer, but fortunately his preschool doesn't have this as a requirement to attend.

(The collection of Guys has grown to include a polar bear from IKEA, a stuffed puppy, and the crew from Sesame Street - Snuffy, Bert, Ernie, Elmo, Grover, and Big Bird. He likes them around his head and usually won't move after I've arranged them that way!)

He's a big fan of the park and loves everything there is to do there - particularly the big boys kicking around soccer balls. It must be in the name ;) It's kind of heartbreaking to tell him he's too little to play with them.


He loves to be read to. His current favorites are: Say Daddy, Click Clack Moo, K is for Kick, all of the Gertie and Gossie collection, and Knuffle Bunny. In fact, the other night, he opted to cozy up in the nook of my arm instead of sit on my lap. It made me sad to think that this little peanut used to fit snuggly comfy on my chest and now barely fits in my lap. And then, to top it off, he wanted me to read him The Giving Tree and I couldn't even get through it without sniffling back tears because of the irony of the whole situation. (If you haven't read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, go read it. A great story.)

{I should also add that this was the same night that Becks inaugurated me into the puked-on-mom club - an honor I'd been avoiding since baby spit up. Let's just say he followed up his pizza and fruit cup dinner with several gulps of bathwater that ultimately ended in vomit down my shirt, in my bra, in 3/4 of my hair and the demise of the rug in the bathroom. Blech.}

All in all, he's a cool little kid who brings infinite joy to our lives. And he's silly too.
I'm glad that this little boy gives me something to celebrate this weekend :)

Doctor's Appointments.

Yesterday Tripp had all of his doctor's appointments.  First we went in to check his hearing... and the nurse said she doesn't think he could hear any better.  He passed with flying colors, but we definitely KNEW he could hear well.  Nosey, nosey, nosey.  He sat on my lap in a little dark room and then little bears and animals light up and make nose and he's supposed to follow the noises.  It was cute.  He was excited and patting his legs.

Then we went to the ENT and she checked his ears.  She said his ears look better than they have his whole life and that the tubes were doing what they were supposed to.  His trach, on the other hand, still has the large ulcer on the bottom of it.  I'm going to do some nebulized steroids a couple times a day for a few weeks and see if that helps the sore shrink a little and also my try and use a smaller suction catheter hoping it will have less power... but then it doesn't get all of the "stuff" out, you know?  But we will see.  

Next, we went to the eye doctor.  (last Friday morning he rubbed his eye and his contact came out of his left eye).  So he only has a contact in his right eye right now.  They stained the left eye without the contact and said he didn't have any abrasions right now, so they are going to leave the contact out unless his eye gets bad again.  The other eye he just wanted to leave alone also because it looked fine.  He said the contact would be okay to stay in another month unless he rubs it out before.  So it was a non-dramatic experience this time.  The only thing they bothered him with was trying to get a picture of the skin-tag on his right eye because they wanted to "present" him in Grand Rounds next week.  Which means, I guess, that they will do a presentation on him in front of a bunch of different doctors/residents/etc... Which I though was great!  The doc said to give him a call next week to see if anyone had any new ideas/suggestions for his eyes.

Last, we went to see the dietician for the first time.  She was really nice and seemed very intelligent.  She also seemed very eager to help.  She took down some info on Tripp and was going to calculate some numbers and give me a call back at the end of the week.  She pretty much said that she wants to start him on a pediatric formula like Pediasure or something along those lines.  Also, she said that she wants him to start with a protein supplement.  She told us that weight-wise, he was doing great... but length-wise she thought he was a little behind.  But with all of his bandaging, I know his weight is inaccurate, so he may not be as far behind as they are writing down.  But I'm really happy about starting him on a higher calorie formula and some protein.    Bring on the height!

So I'm pretty sure our "Spring" is officially over.  It is too hot for Tripp to be outside already... even early in the morning.  We are talking about glassing in our front porch so that he will at least get to "feel" like he is outside this summer.  I just don't think people realize that we really REALLY are going to be stuck in the house ALL summer.  It is already just getting hotter INSIDE and the AC isn't keeping up.  We are in trouble.  And all I keep thinking about is how much he has just been loving outside lately.  Poor baby.  He starts sweating immediately.  Even yesterday from the car to the hospital was too hot.  UGH. Ugh. ugh.  So very frustrating.  Pray for a cool summer.... HA HA HA HA.

Digging in Mommy's purse...

"Hmmm.  What you got up in here good, Momma?"

Waiting for the doc banging his favorite plastic "doctor's office" cups.

Exciting, I know.

Best part is, I dressed him in blue... so not one person asked if he was a girl! ha.

Love,

       

48 more hours until my weekend begins!

Wednesdays are probably one of my favorite days of the week. I love that the work week is almost over, and, more importantly, that the lastest episodes of The Hills and The City will be on MTV.com for my viewing pleasure.

So, before I go further, let me say a quick couple of things about my guilty pleasures...

Just three things from The Hills today: Hs for Heidi, crystals, and "surgery hug." I really want to discuss how crazy H is for Heidi's husband is, but I'll refrain myself. I wouldn't want to send any negativity his way that those crystals couldn't ward off, you know?

And a couple more things from The City:

• Olivia kind of thinks she's a big deal (could she be any more self-important?)
• I looooooved the meeting where Erin gets to bat her lashes at Olivia, smiling sweetly over how pleased Joe Zee is with Whitney's collection - ha!!!!
• And I still love Kelly Cutrone and pretty much want to be BFFs with Whitney. True story.

I feel like I've been super lazy lately during Becks' naps, so I'm off to complete some chores around the house and try not to obsessively check my eBay listings or see if my financial aid has been posted to my account yet. Not that you would catch me refreshing either webpage on the half-hour to check for changes though...

Maybe more later!

Baseball Game, Zoo, and Outing

My sis and I took Tripp to his first baseball game.  Randy coaches an 11-12 year old baseball team.  He loves it and when I was pregnant last year I was out there every game.... I loved it, too.  And we had not had a chance to make one yet this year until last Tuesday.  Tripp was in heaven.  We sat down in the bleachers for about the first 5 minutes until the mosquitoes got too bad, then we went up in the press box.  Randy turned the AC on for us so it was cool up there... and mosquito free!  We also have to worry about the dust in his eyes/trach.  But he looooooved it.  I don't think he took his eyes off of the game. 

Daddy and Tripp playing peek-a-boo.  

I threw this one in because I thought it was cute. 

Ok... so the Zoo.  It wouldn't have been the perfect weather for ANYONE else, but it was pretty close to the perfect weather for Tripp.  It was humid, misting, and a little windy.  But what we didn't know was that it was like National Field Trip day or something.  What were we thinking going on a Friday at the end of the school year??  I wish I would have thought to take a picture of the buses.  There must have been 100.  Literally.  BUT we went in anyway because we were already there.  It was really really crowded, but it was okay.   It was me, my mom and dad, and my sis.  We had to take turns holding him because he couldn't see the animals from his stroller through the crowds of people.  But little did we know that Tripp would MUCH rather watch all of the people than the animals... we could have taken him to the grocery store up the street and he wouldn't have known the difference.  But it was nice for us to be able to get out... I love the Zoo.  So I was excited we finally got to go.  

So, of course there were TONS and TONS of stares.  But this was the FUNNIEST we've ever gotten. 

Right when we were walking out to go home a little boy spotted Tripp and said, "Ooooo, dat baby got ice cream ALL over his face!"  HAHA.  Gotta love kids.

Ok, so these pictures are mostly of the back of his head... but I tried to get him and the animals.  

Here are the camels.

The lions... look close.

The white tiger!!

Elephant butts...

The petting zoo... ew, don't touch.

This was his favorite.  

He could actually SEE it and follow it running around the cage.

The monkeys... see one little monkey?

Lunch at the Pita Pit... yummy.

Haha... I love these.  We went to see the place that my sister is going to get married.  And Tripp had a BIG stinky accident (if you know what I mean) so I stayed with him in the car after.  He looks like a little man.  

And finally passed out after a long long day! 

Randy and I finally got a day that he was off and we could spend some family time.  So we went to eat lunch at Applebee's.  Tripp was so good.  He ate about 10 bites of ice cream.  Which is more than he has ever taken by mouth.  Then we went to the Driving Range and let Daddy hit some golf balls... but he started getting fussy so we had to come home.  But it was really really nice to get out as a family, we haven't done that very often.... or ever.  

Ok, so that sums up the past week... we have a verrrrry busy month.  Mother's Day, Tripp's birthday,  my sister's wedding!!!  So there will be plenty more pictures to come!  Thanks for all of your love, prayers, and support!  I know that is why Tripp is thriving!! 

Love,

Video

Just wanted to share this cute video from this morning... Zoo pictures and post coming soon. :)

Love,

Dear May, Rain is soooooo last month...

Despite the rain being a bit of a downer this past weekend, and the man-colds wreaking havoc on both boys sinuses, the weekend was perfect. The best part was that it was unscripted and uneventful - something we haven't been able to say for the past two months. We had banana pancakes for breakfast, rainy days spent inside, and, best of all, no agenda to dictate that any of us had anywhere to be. It was glorious. While socializing and activity are critical to my personal well-being, we really needed a full-out family rest as we gear up for a busy summer. A summer that will be in full swing before Memorial Day even materializes and won't wind down until mid-October. We have lots to look forward to over the next several months, with weddings and vacations being the major highlights.

I even clipped coupons yesterday- something I haven't been consistently doing since we refinished the hardwood floors in February and were hit with 2 feet of snow! Shh. Don't tell. I was suffering from coupon-clipper burnout. I've been feeling really bad about it.

Also, thanks for the recommendation on not using the bed as Becks' time out spot. We switched to the stairs and it's working out well for the time being. Initially, I think he thought it was a treat - a chance to stand up and flip the light switch on and wait for the timer to ding! However, that was short-lived when I made sure that he sat on his bottom the whole time, and put the timer up and out of reach. Listening to him cry for G and Baa can be pretty heart wrenching, though. (G=giraffe lovey; baa = pacifier; G baa = a combination of the two, often used during time-out to request they join him on the stairs; I don't oblige.)

Today it is gorgeous and sunshiney (figures, right?), so I really need to kick into gear and break out the running stroller when Becks wakes up. After observing my pasty, wintry body under the incandescent lights of a dressing room this weekend, I about died at how awful I am going to look in a bathing suit here soon. Need a tan and lypo, STAT.

I think I hear Beck upstairs saying apple juice right now, as a matter of fact. I'm almost positive I woke him up making an iced coffee in the blender again, but I really needed a 3pm pick-me-up.

Lastly, Day 1 of state testing is complete. And, there are less than 25 days remaining in this school year. Amen.

Too late to be making a list, but...

1. Does anyone else get a little sad when it's 10:56pm on Saturday night and most of your favorite blogs haven't been updated since Thursday and there's nothing new to read? Oh, that's just me? Hmm. I will neither confirm or deny that I frequently blogstalk on Saturday nights...
2. B's actually in bed already because he's fighting off a terrible man cold. I certainly have ample empathy for him, knowing that it's probably the worst cold in the history of all colds and I have probably never experienced the type of pain he is feeling as a result of battling this nasty bug. Ahem.
3. My horse, Super Saver, won the Derby tonight. We drew names at my parents' house and I won the $4.87 pot. Too bad I didn't have an extra $100,000 to bid on him. Also, how stinkin' cute is Calvin Borel?
4. Does anyone else hate changing their shower curtain liner? It has to be one of my least favorite chores, and needs to be done here soon. {That was completely random, I know.}
5. I didn't get to garage sale this morning as it was torrentially raining. I was bummed. I even mapped out all of our stops last night. Crossing fingers for next week.
6. I did go thrifting today with Chels to some Goodwills and consignment stores. Trip was ruined when bright white lights confirmed that I am pasty white and pudgy. Tanned fat always looks so much better than pale fat.
7. Grad school starts in t-minus 9 days.
8. I am still convinved that mice are patrolling our house unnoticed. We haven't caught anymore since The Great Mouse Hunt a couple weeks ago, but that doesn't prevent me from jumping everytime a sock falls out of the dryer or a feather from our bed floats to the floor. Or from having B rearrange an entire wall of boxes in the basement at 10pm after I've fully convinced him that mice are hiding in all of Becks old baby clothes (an unprecedented notion, as none were located).
9. Dear Mother Nature, It is now May. April Showers are a thing of the past. From this point forward, please save the rain for the weekdays and make our weekends beautiful. Thanks.
10. Saturday Night Live is on now. Starting out with an Obama impersonation.

I should really go to bed. G'night!