Wyatt turns 2!!!!!

Here he is on his blessing day. He look like a little doll!

This high chair become my best friend and he loved being up high in it

This is his first experience eating an oreo cookie. We quickly found out his middle name should have been cookie monster!

Cuddling with his Nanny last summer

Playing got a little rough and he flew over the handlebars of his push bike and had his first nose bleed

This was taken at his first birthday party

Now he can't smile, say "cheese", and keep his eyes open a the same time

Wyattisms

I have to write these down before I forget them.

Two days ago Wyatt and I were driving home from the pediatrician(ear infection). As I was exiting the freeway I ran over a part of the rumble strip. Wyatt immediately goes, "Was dat?" I wasn't sure how to explain that to him and then I hear his tiny voice say, "Scuze me." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Apparently the car had some flatulence issues and Wyatt took the blame.

Yesterday, Wyatt and I were waiting outside for Aidan's school bus to drop him off at the corner. Wyatt loves watching the bus pull up to the curb. He gets very excited and animated and runs straight towards. When he heard the engine whining as the bus chugged it's way up the slight incline in the road, Wyatt runs to the corner and is screaming, "THE BUT! THE BUT!" Awesome.

This little man is crazy, smart, sly, stubborn, creative, observant, and an all around tasmanian devil. He sure keeps us on our toes but we wouldn't trade him for anything in the world. (although there are some days...)

So today I am grateful for Wyatt being able to make me laugh and enjoy his learning experiences.

P.S. I have to add on here that he says, "Sheet" for sheep, "BUT!" for button, and last but not least, "BUT!" for belly button.

Envy breeds negativity

I have a bad habit of comparing myself to others. It's not pretty. It causes nothing but feelings of inadequacy, discontent, and negativity. So, in order to break this vicious cycle I'm going to attempt to say something positive or something I'm grateful for everyday on facebook. I'm also going to make a list of my blessings on here because it will do me good to see what an amazing life I have to be grateful for.

For example: Today has been fairly eventful. I planned on trying a hydro fit class at the YMCA because I have been having SI Joint issues and cannot do any aerobic exercise that involves any jarring of the back. So I've gone from doing P90X everyday and working out at the Y on top of that to going to gentle yoga with the senior citizens and trying water aerobics...I've not been happy about this but my back feels better on my anti-inflammatories and without jarring it so I'm willing to do what it takes.

My plan was to go to the Y at 10:30am. Nathan had some errands to run and he was going to take Wyatt with him and be home in time to get Aidan off the bus. I was really looking forward to a kid-free morning but when Wyatt woke up his left ear was covered with dried ear gunk. I knew he had an ear infection. He's had a cold for three weeks now and even though he has ear tubes I was wondering if they would be able to keep up with the amount of drainage coming out the little man's nose. Apparently, they couldn't.

I decided that I needed to take him in this morning so I made a 9:30am appointment, which meant that I wouldn't be working out today. I sucked it up because that's what all mom's do when their kid is sick. I know my life isn't very different from anyone else's. I took Wyatt to the doctor and my suspicions of an ear infection were confirmed. We headed home.

 (Just a funny side note: on the way home, as I was exiting the freeway I went over a part of the rumble strip and Wyatt goes, "Was dah?" then a tiny "scuze me." Apparently the car farted and he was taking the blame. hahahaha. ahem. side note ending...)

Once we got home, I checked my email for a few minutes and noticed that Wyatt was unusually quiet. When I went around the corner I caught him gleefully drawing all over the wall. I counted to three in my mind, took away the pencil, and put him on time out, where he actually stayed for his two minutes. Small victories people.

I began cleaning the kitchen, which was trashed from the night before. Nathan came home and distracted Wyatt while I was up to my elbows in hot water and soap suds. As I was finishing cleaning my biggest glass pan, I tried to balance it on the other dishes on the counter. Bad move. It began to slip and as I went to catch it, my hands were also wet and it was like trying to catch a greased pig. It didn't work. My pan came crashing down onto my hard tile floor and shattered into a million pieces. Another deep breath was needed.

Nathan was also home to get Aidan off the bus so I didn't have to stop cleaning. Aidan had a rough day at school and brought home a yellow paper. Apparently he thought playing and being silly were far more important then following directions and listening to the teacher. And this might be mean, but it means that he'll be in trouble today and possibly be in his room for a portion of it which gives me a break from having to listen to him talk all. day. long.

I tried to think positively about this situation. I couldn't change it. Just like I couldn't change that Wyatt had scribbled all over my wall. But I could move forward. I could stop grumbling about "why me" and start thinking about how I was blessed today.

1. We have insurance and a doctor to see when our kids are sick.
2. I didn't have to wait eons to be seen by said doctor.
3. My kitchen is clean
4. Pencil is easily cleaned up off of walls
5. Nathan was home when I broke the pan I've had for almost 12 years so he could distract Wyatt from coming into the disaster area.
6. I was wanting/needing to mop my floor anyway so vacuuming and sweeping it thoroughly was going to happen anyway.
7. Aidan has to write a note of apology to his teacher so he gets to practice his writing skills and spends some time in his room. aaaahhh, quiet...

So, I am grateful today for having a spouse with Wednesdays off. And for brooms and vacuums that make clean up easier. I'm grateful that pencil is easily erasable and that Aidan has a teacher willing to hold him accountable for his actions.

January Musings

Wyatt always says, "CHEESE!" for the camera.

Bought new bar stools. 

Aidan was given a Build-A-Bear certificate for Christmas. He LOVES his new bear

The boys got a 3DS from Santa. Even Wyatt likes to get in on the action (cheese!)

Wyatt loves to help. Especially in the kitchen. Around hot things...

First foray out into the snow. It didn't last long. He wouldn't keep his mittens on

Our home. Covered in snow. purtee...

The poor thing that is Aidan

Soooo...my Aidan is special. I've already written about his numerous, although relatively minor, medical issues, ie ocular albinism, multiple ear tubes, adenoid/tonsil removal, sticking a button up his nose, etc.


Well, last Tuesday he was having some tummy trouble. Aidan made many bathroom trips and informed me he had diarrhea. Great. He went through every pair of clean underwear but he took care of everything himself so I wasn't too inconvenienced. Because, that's obviously the most important thing...


Towards the end of the day, he was in the bathroom for quite a while. He was calling my name but I kept telling him to wait a sec, cuz really, where was he gonna go? When I finally deigned him with my presence(this will get graphic, sorry but it's for posterity...)Aidan told me that he was stuck and his bowels couldn't get rid of the offending excrement.


Side note: they never tell you in the all-knowing-mother's-handbook that we have to be so intimately acquainted with our children's bowel movements. When they're babies, yes but I hadn't anticipated being up close and personal when they were in grade school.


So I looked at my skinny naked boy sitting on the pot and said the famous words, "Let me see." 
Not that I really wanted to see but as the resident mommy in attendance it was my solemn duty.


What I saw next, I was not prepared for. I thought maybe he was straining for too long and had a small hemorrhoid that was bothering him. It's not common in children but it is possible. Aidan had been in the bathroom for quite a while so maybe he was having the same bowel issues as Camden. 


However, what was there is almost impossible to describe but I knew it was definitely NOT a hemorrhoid. It was about the size of his fist; granted he has small hands but still...  It was a deep blush color and oddly enough, looked like a closed rose. SOOOOOO not normal. As I stared in fascination, horror, and concern the monstrosity was quickly pulled back in and disappeared from view.


With all the faith that only a child can possess, Aidan said, "Thanks Mom! You helped me. It's better now. "


I had done nothing though I wanted to take credit for something but I graciously stepped aside and informed him that his own rectal muscles saved the day. 


Of course it happened after the doctor's office was closed, Nathan had a church meeting to attend and so I had to wait until the next morning to get Aidan in to see the doctor. Not that there was anything to see anymore because his pretty little flower had yet to reappear. 


I had done some random researching on my own on the internet to try to find a picture that I could describe to the doctor of what I saw. Now that is love in it's purest form. To look at pictures of random adult and child anuses with various forms of hemmorrhoidal issues online was beyond squirmy but I was on a mission!


And I did come up with an answer that his doctor agreed with. This poor little skinny boy of mine had been straining so hard and has such ferocious stomach muscles that he had pushed the lining of his rectum outside his body, or it's also know as a rectal prolapse.


Let that sink in a little bit....yeah, not right.
Of all the random things, this was a first for me. But Aidan has been fine ever since. He's now on Camden's juice/miralax/lots of water regimen and has been doing well ever since. Aidan's doctor called us at home two days later to check up on him, which she has never done before so that confirmed how unusual and potentially serious this had been. 


Stay tuned next time because oh yes, there is more. Just two days later he visited the ENT and it involved a crayon...

silly boys

As I was standing in front of the fire this morning, in my flannel pajama bottoms and loose black sleep shirt, my hair was sticking up like a rooster and, obviously, sans make up; I looked up and Camden was standing on the stairs just staring at me.  I was getting Wyatt's clothes laid out so that I could get him dressed when he was finished in the shower with daddy. Camden continued to stare. As I finished with my preparations I asked him what he was doing?

"Staring at you," he said. Duh!
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I think you're beautiful." was his nonchalant reply.

Oh!!! My heart was full. What a sweet little boy. Well, not so little anymore. He was recently telling Nathan and I about some inappropriate conversations boys were having at school. Apparently, they talk about girls' boobies in the bathroom where they can't be overheard! While I wanted to laugh I was also very much reminded that he was growing up. Camden is only in 3rd grade. I don't remember talking about such things but it was probably going on. Children at that age are so curious and they imitate what adults say and what they see on t.v.  Sexy was another word Camden was uncomfortable with.

I guess I need to stop being an ostrich with my head stuck in the ground and I need to be more proactive in facilitating these conversations with my son. Nathan and I want him to be comfortable around us so that he won't be afraid to discuss these things.

I don't want him to grow up!!! Whaaaaaaaaa....

Camden's letter to his grandparents

Dear Grandpa and Grandma,

I'm writing this in cub scouts.

I'd like to thank you for all you done.

I appreciate how you help me get into mischeif I haven't thought of yet.

I like how you care, play with, and love me.  Thanks for all that you done.

I just love all that you do.  You will always be my nuber one!

Your grandson (friend is crossed out!)

Camden

I thought this was soo cute and I wanted to post it for posterity's sake. So when he's being a mean teenager I can show him this and remind him that he used to be cute and cuddly once. I need proof in case he denies it. hehehe