Christmas 2010

Ahh, to be 3 again!  Adam loved opening ALL of his presents and ours, too!
Here's some pictures.  They all started looking the same after a while.

Christmas 2010

The last couple in costumes were from today. We got him a Peter Pan costume because on Halloween he said he wanted to be Peter Pan, Dave to be Captain Hook, and me to be Tick-Tock.  After trying on his Peter Pan costume, he saw all the other ones in the closet that are for when he's bigger but he wanted to try them all on anyway.  It was fun!

More funny things outta the boy

Yesterday we were at the library and Adam was playing with one of those toys that has wires with beads that you push around. The wires were shaped in a couple of slopes and Adam thought it was like Splash Mountain. He pushed one bead down and said "There's Daddy riding by himself." Then another, "There's Adam riding by himself." It went on to Mommy, Pop-pop, Grandma, Aunt Broccoli... Who?? Aunt Broccoli. You mean Aunt Brelle? Oh, yeah, Aunt Bwewee. I was cracking up!

Later that day, Adam and Dave were playing and Adam said, "You're a terrorist!" Dave asked, "A terrorist??" and he said "Yes!". When asked where he learned that word, he said the Community Center. Grrreaat!

For some reason it seems like any time we put Adam in a time out, he says he wants to exercise. Then he lays down on his back and lefts his hips. I have no idea where he got this from and why he thinks it will get him out of a time out but it's kind of funny.

Another appeasing move he likes to do when I start to get mad at him is he sings bits of Weezer songs. It ends up being a really funny medley coming from a 3 year old. We were laying in his bed after reading stories the other night and he says, "I have "Runaway" in my head, mom!" (One of the new Weezer songs).

Friday, Adam's class was supposed to sing Christmas songs for the parents. I had visions of the kids lined up in the front of the room singing. The teachers told them they could stand in the middle of the room or by their parents. Adam wanted Dave to hold him. So, the teachers start singing, a couple kids sing loudly, some just stand there watching, and then there's Adam whining loudly. Here's the 6 second clip I got until Dave told me to turn it off.

Digital Christmas Card

This free photo slideshow created with Smilebox

Surprises

Last weeks theme (12/3) at Adam's school was "surprises".  When I picked him up, he wanted to show me something but it wasn't on his book bag.  He went up to his teacher and said "Where's my cool Christmas (actually- he says X-Mas and I don't know why) tree?" and the teacher said "Shhh.  Remember it's a surprise for Mommy and Daddy?  You'll see it again in a couple of weeks."  He actually never talked about it again!

When I went to pick him up this week, Adam was very excited to tell me about his time-outs.   His teachers said he is one of the bigger kids in the class and I guess he likes to try to wrestle with one of the smaller boys and he also likes to shove the other kids so the teachers were trying to teach him to keep his hands to himself and put him in a time-out.  He threw a tantrum...and a chair!  Grrreat!  I'd like to blame it on the Community Center but I also know my temper so who knows?  After the teachers let him out, he was very excited to show me his super cool Christmas tree finally.  Here it is on our tree:

Cool Christmas Tree

I did manage to take him to the "Snowflake Castle" on Thursday.  He did not want a snowflake crown but I convinced him to take one home for Dave.  He did not want to watch movies (they had a little room playing Thomas the Train movies), he did not want to color or do crafts,  and of course no Santa, but he did want to watch the trains.  They had a nice little set up where the kids could watch all the trains go 'round and 'round.  The only other thing he really liked was a blow up snow globe.  They had an area where the seniors were selling their crafts and you had to walk through it to get your coats. There was a gentleman wearing a Santa hat at the entrance of that area and Adam was hiding his face and trying to get by him.  The guy kind of grabbed Adam and gave him a tickle - he might have even said boo - and Adam screamed and ran.  Then one of the ladies saw him and said boo to him.  Old people trying to scare my kid - that's not right!  But all was forgiven after I got him a $1 baggie of cookies and we left.

Trains

Snow globe

Tis the Season!

Adam and I put the tree up last week- the earliest I think we have ever had a tree up! I didn't drag out the ornaments because that's Dave's thing so every night Dave would bring a bunch down and have Adam help hang them.  Adam was soo cute and would always ask for one more.  One night over the weekend, Dave put a bunch up.  I was afraid Adam would freak out in the morning but he was totally fine with Santa adding some more super heros to the tree.

Inspired by Cheryl's post about putting the train out for D & J, we decided to get Adam a train for under the tree, too.  It came today and Adam wanted to open it right away.  He was soo excited and kept playing with the remote while Dave put together the track.  Once it was ready to go, Dave told him that he (Dave) needed to drive it first to make sure it worked.  Then he handed to remote back to Adam and Adam said no! He said he didn't want to drive it until he was 4.  It took about a minute of telling him it would be OK and then he was all about driving the train.  I'm surprised the batteries still work with all the stopping, starting, whistle, and bell ringing the train went through today!

Adam and I went to the mall today and he STILL wants nothing to do with Santa.  I think that if given the choice, Adam wouldn't have even walked on the first floor remotely near Santa.  It was very funny to see him make a large arc around when I tried to walk towards Santa.  There was no one in line and I thought maybe I could get him to give a high five or something but no...maybe next year.  I've been trying to get him to go to this Snowflake Castle at the Senior Center here but I think he heard me talking to one of the other mom's about a Santa being there and now he says he wants to stay home. Maybe I'll just throw him in the car tomorrow and tell him it's a surprise.  The other mom said Santa is in another room so hopefully he'll enjoy the crafts and stuff.

Adam has a new best friend at the Community Center!  His name is Luka and he is a year older (bday is Oct 27th). It started off as Adam "stalking" but the 2 get along so well!  Luka is super cute and always runs up to Adam at the playground and says "Hi Adam!  Remember me? I'm Luka!" They were in the Sprouts room together on Tues. and Adam didn't want to leave.  "Look mom!  Luka's here and we're making corn!".  We were just about to leave the CC but Adam wanted to go back to the Sprouts room to say goodbye to him.  Just then, his dad came to pick him up so the 2 of the ran off to the playground together until Luka had to go to his lessons.  Luka always gives him a hug when he leaves. SO freaking cute!  I'll have to ask his parents for their info or something in case our schedules don't match up next quarter.

DAMage!!!

Yesterday, Dave was getting cranky because Adam didn't want to put any clothes on and go out and about.  I told him to just go and Adam and I would hang out.  He left, slamming the door.  A couple minutes later the door opens and Dave yells "DAMN!  DAMN-IT!!".  I guess he banged his knee on the door or something bringing in the mail.  He checks again to see if Adam has clothes on (nope) and then leaves.

Fast forward a couple hours.  I'm in the bathroom and I hear Adam in the dog's room.  "DAMAGE!!  DAM! DAM! DAMAGE!!!"

Progress reports

We received Adam's 1st progress report from school today.  Check marks for self help, fine motor, talking, social-emotional, and using potty (despite having a full-blown accident last week). Comments: We enjoy having Adam in our class.  At times needs reminders to share and not take toys from friends.   (What 3 year old doesn't?).

We also had a speech evaluation yesterday that the school offered.  The therapist, Susan, was wonderful and was able to get Adam to stop trying to run away and engage him enough to answer her questions.  I told her the only concerns we had were Adam's "F's"  like when he says "foot" it's more like "thoot".  She agreed and said to try to get him to say a word that ends in an "f" and then one that begins (off foot) since he can do it at the end of the word just fine.  She also said he needs to close his teeth on "S" because that is also a little "th".  Due to his tongue still being a little bit larger, she said his speech is a little "slushy" but she had no problem understanding him.  She didn't have any real concerns that would require actual therapy, just those couple of things to work on.  Also, the test was geared for 4 year-olds so not so bad for a little dude who just turned 3!  :)

And last but not least, Adam's ultrasound was normal and his afp went up a couple of points but not enough to be concerned.

Kids are jerks!

The other day after my workout, Adam was playing in the indoor playground at the Community Center.  He was following around a group of boys who were ages 4-6 years old.  They were playing Indiana Jones at the time.  Anytime Adam would catch up to them they would run away and say he was a alligator or a bad guy.  A couple times when they were just kind of standing around trying to figure out what they wanted to play, Adam would try to join in and I saw at least one of them give him a little push away.  Adam thought they were just playing.  He followed them up to the top of the play-thing and one of the kids was just standing there.  It was hard to see but I think he may have been blocking the way to the top and Adam may have pushed him.  Next thing I hear is the kid whining, saying Adam is a bully and he's going to go tell his mom.  Kid slides down the slide crying to his mommy that Adam is a bully.  Adam is close behind, stands there smiling, and says HI!! as the mom quietly talks to her kid.  I walk over saying Adam just wants to play with the big kids.  One of the other mom's was like "absolutely!" (But I think her kid got all mad when Adam looked over his shoulder at a book). Kid is fine and walks back over to his gang and we leave...

Same day....we go over to the "new" park later in the afternoon.  Adam finds a couple of little kids to play with for a while but eventually they had to leave.  He finds another group of a boys and starts following them.  One blocks him from the kid he was following and tells him to stop following them and gives him a little shove away.  Thankfully that mom was right there and explained that Adam just wanted to play and to be nice.  We needed to leave anyway so I tried to have a talk with Adam in the car saying that if he gets shoved again to say "Please don't push me!  I just want to play with you!" and to try to ask kids if they want to play before just following them around.

Too much reading??

For a good part of the day today, Adam would say something and end with "Adam says" or "Mommy says".  It was like a giant story in real time - I guess that would make it a play, huh?

I'm not touching you!

Adam arrived in our bedroom just after 2 am last night.  I figured I'd do what I did the other night and let him fall asleep and in an hour or so, carry him back to his room.  I picked him up and he said drowsily "Are we going to my room?".  Yep!  I lay him down in his bed and he pops up so I laid next to him hoping he would get cozy and go back to sleep.  He puts his face on my face and is half laying on me and I can't breath!  I move down to the end of the bed and tell him to stop touching me.  He wraps his blanket around his feet and starts nudging me. I tell him again to stop touching me and he says "I'm not touching you, see?" -  because his feet were wrapped in the blanket!!!

He continued to bug me in some way so I gave up and went back to my room with Adam right behind me.....

3 = fear?

Adam has been having a hard time staying in his room at night because he has developed a fear of shadows.  He usually comes in around 4 am and says there's a shadow on the ceiling then climbs into bed.  Umm, no! Last night I let him sleep for about an hour than was able to carry him back to his room without any complaints.  I had to cover up the little "on" light on the baby monitor (yes, I still use the baby monitor just in case he gets up without coming in our room first), turn off the night light in the hallway, and make sure the curtain is completely closed so that his room is pitch black.  Tonight he wanted his door completely shut so that no light from the play room could filter in.

Even during the day when he sees a shadow on the wall, he freaks out a little.  Sometimes he says it's a ghost and sometimes he just says there's a scary shadow on the wall so I try to show him what is making it.

I already wrote about his new doctor fear.  He's already saying that he doesn't want belly pictures Thursday and he's usually great for those. ( If he cries, there will be too much air in his intestines and the images won't be clear).  I reminded him he gets a lollipop for breakfast and was like "oh, yeah" so lets hope that will do it!

On a happy note, we got Adam to eat some "real" food finally!  His doctor had asked us last week if we cook separately for him and I quietly said yes - if he wants a PBJ (or mac n cheese, hot dogs, pizza, etc for dinner, he gets it because it is just easier.  She said "STOP THAT!  He should eat what you eat!"  So yesterday I cooked up some chicken, zucchini, and yellow squash in some garlic and olive oil, added a little chicken broth and served it over spaghetti.  We told him he had to try it (and he would get a cookie).  He refused the chicken and said "blah" to the squash but he really liked the noodles and asked for more (and a turkey dog)!  Tonight I made a chicken pot pie.  Once again, we said he had to try.  He ate a little piece of chicken and said "Mmmm"!  We tried the veggies but he spit them out on his plate and said he wanted more chicken!  YAY!!  Not sure what to do tomorrow when I make chili, 'cause we like it hot and only have chili hot beans and tomatoes with jalepenos already in them....

This week recap

Adam had an orthopedist appt on Wednesday due to me freaking out that "all the other parents" of kids with hemi take their kids to the ortho yearly and we skipped last year.  I figured he should probably just get a quick look at and monitor his lower limb discrepancy so that in 10 years if/when they do surgery, they know his growth rate or whatever.  I really don't have any concerns...just thought it was another one of those things I should be doing, ya know?  Anyway...we get there and Adam is fine. He asks me a couple of times if it was my foot doctor and I said no - they want to take a peek at your legs and he said no, but he was not freaking out..just - no.  We get into the exam room and the nurse asks a couple of questions and said a doctor would be in shortly and to take Adam's shoes, socks, and pants off.  As soon as she left the room and I go to grab a shoe, he started screaming and crying that he didn't want to take his clothes off.  I said, "They just want to look at your cute, little, legs." wherein he responded, "NO, I don't want them to see my cute, little, legs!"  I had his pants half-way off when the resident guy came in but Adam was still screaming and crying.  He asked a couple more questions (yelling over Adam) then Dr. VonStein came in.  Adam was now screaming, crying, AND kicking!  I told them that if someone could just grab his pants while I held him up...and Dr.V. responded "I don't want to get kicked!  It's not worth it.  We'll just watch him walk back out to the lobby."  Well...Adam kind of walked really slowly and then ran through the reception area still (you guessed it) crying and screaming.  I asked the Dr. if I should reschedule this or come back yearly and she said to only call if we have any concerns.  OK!

Next day - Adam had his 3 year regular doctor check-up.  I was getting really worried that we would have a repeat of the day before so Dave came with us.  I think we may have bribed Adam with a milkshake after if he was good.  The nurse was fantastic and Adam let her weigh and measure him.  (36 lbs, 39 inches - about 88th percentile for both)  She had him do a couple of things in the room like draw a circle and a cross on the bench paper, stand on one foot, hop and he thought that was fun.  Then Dr. Niland came in and he was fine! She's so laid back anyway that I think it just helps the kids too.  I don't know why there was such a big difference in the 2 days but he's done with her for a year. Next week is ultrasound and blood work time so hopefully that will go well, too.

Last night was Trick-or-Treat night and we stayed in our neighborhood.  It was FREEZING so we put a couple of layers on under Adam's Buzz Lightyear costume and took a jacket just in case.  I had my winter coat on and I was still cold but Adam refused to put his jacket on for the little over an hour we were out.  Our part of the neighborhood is relatively quiet but we went to the couple of neighbors we knew.  Then we turned the corner to the "other" part of the neighborhood and, like last year, was just hopping with kids and families.  Adam would go up to doors without us if he got in a big group of kids but then he's be upset when those kids were faster than him.  "Wait for me Spiderman!!" A couple of times while he was in the group, he would be paying so much attention to the other kids that he didn't see the treat dropped into his bag so he would continue to stand there.  It was hilarious!  AND people would feel bad and give him some more!  My kid is smart!  There was a boy, maybe 8 years old, who stopped and told Adam he like his costume.  We asked what he was and he said he didn't know (he was dressed all in black with a kind of creepy mask and a Wolverine claw hand).  Then he reached into his bag of treats and gave Adam one and said to have a nice Halloween!  It was soo sweet!  It was a really fun night since this is the first year Adam was really into it! We may be going over to Dave's friend's house Sunday for Trick or Treat there since it will be a little warmer.

Today, Adam's class had a little Halloween party (which we were not there for) and a costume parade at the end of the day.  Lots of princesses, a fireman, a crying robot, and Buzz.  I asked him if he knew all the names of the kids in his class and he said yes.  Then I pointed to the picture and he only knew the girl standing next to him (Alyssa who he sees at the Community Center all the time) and the boy on the end, Ethan (he has 2 Ethan's in his class).

102410 Disney clips.m4v

Adam's 3rd Birthday!!

We had been celebrating Adam's birthday all week at Disney but we finally got to sing "Happy Birthday" to him yesterday!  He wouldn't let us sing before because 1),  it wasn't his birthday all week and 2), when it finally was his birthday we couldn't sing until cake time.  He didn't want a party so we just had the grandparents over for dinner and ice cream cake.  Dave and his mom had taken Adam over to Toys R Us earlier in the day and he didn't want them to tell anyone it was his birthday and he didn't want a balloon.  He's so funny!  He also didn't want his birthday banner up until cake time.  BUT, he was more than happy to open his huge stack of presents in the morning!  It was a very "Imaginex" birthday of superhero stuff and stuff we found on clearance throughout the year.

Pictures here:

Adam's 3rd Birthday!

DISNEY!

We went to Disney World this past week to celebrate Adam's 3rd birthday.  We left here Sunday afternoon and arrived around 3:30 pm, got settled into the hotel (the Wilderness Lodge), then headed over to Chef Mickey's for our buffet dinner with the characters.  Adam loved it!  We met Pluto and Goofy first but Adam had his eye on Mickey.  If he saw a character remotely near us, he would stop eating and want to wait.  We got to meet Pluto, Goofy, Minnie, Mickey, and Donald!  They were all really great staying for pictures and hugs.  Adam was a little shy at first but by Pluto's second time around, Adam was whacking him on the snout..nice!  Dave had told the restaurant that it was Adam's bday so they gave him a little cupcake with a candle on it.

None of the parks were open late Sunday so we all went to bed "early" to prepare for the big day at Magic Kingdom.

We started Monday off a little late (10am) and took the boat over to the Magic Kingdom.  I think Adam's first ride was Dumbo and then the carousel and Peter pan - all the classics.  He rode in the race cars with Pop-pop (it was his bday), flew with Dave on the Barnstormer (roller coaster for kids), and loved the train.  The crazy kid didn't want to see the pirates, the haunted mansion, or Snow White because he thought they would be too scary BUT he rode on Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain!  We had another character dinner buffet at the Crystal Palace where he got to meet Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger.  Dave had told the restaurant it was Bob's bday so he got a cupcake and card signed by the characters and they gave Adam a cupcake too.  Hollywood Studio's park was open late that night so we got Adam ready for bed and left him Grandma and Pop-pop for the night.  Dave and I got our Tower of Terror and Rock 'n Roll roller coaster fix before it closed.

Tuesday was spent half at Animal Kingdom.  Adam loved DinoLand and the ride that was just like Dumbo (but a dinosaur).  I think he rode it at least 3 times.  We went to the live 'Finding Nemo' show which was really good.  The costumes were awesome!  We went on the safari and saw some animals, but not a ton.  Then we took the train over to the petting zoo area which was kind of lame.  When we got out of there, we were right where the parade was coming out.  Since the park closes so early and there's not a lot to do there anyway, we followed the parade out and left the park.  We had a little bit of time to chill before we needed to head back over to Magic Kingdom for the Not So Scary Halloween Party.
We had dinner at Tony's then suited Adam up in his Buzz Lightyear costume for some trick-or-treating, dance parties, parade, and fireworks.  The park was open late but Adam was really dragging so we said goodbye at the gate and Grandma and Pop-pop took him back to the hotel.  Dave and I got our Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Space Mountain, and Thunder Mountain (again) fixes since there are no lines on party night.

Wednesday we headed back to Hollywood Studios because we had lunch reservations at another character buffet. Not much to do there other than that. Adam got to meet the Little Einsteins (Leo & June), Agent Oso (who he doesn't know), and Handy Manny.  Even thought he didn't really know all the characters, he still had fun.  Every half an hour or so, they would have a little dance party type thing in the center of the restaurant with the characters.  Adam got out there once and "Leo" held his hand and danced with him.  It was soo cute!  After lunch, it was back to the Magic Kingdom.  Adam wanted to ride the Winnie the Pooh ride that had been broken on Monday.  Then he wanted to find Grandma to ride Dumbo again.  We found Grandma and sat and waited for the Celebration Parade.  Gotta love those Disney parades!  Adam sat on Dave's shoulders and waved to everyone.  We went and waited forever to ride Dumbo one more time then headed back to the hotel for dinner.  Epcot was open late so once again we left Adam with Bob and Ro.  We were a little disappointed in the new Nemo ride and were glad we didn't drag Adam over there for it.  They brought Figment the Dragon back but that ride was pretty lame too....it wasn't the same as the old one.  Captain EO is back too...how can you not love 1986 Michael Jackson in 3D??  We only had time left for Test Track and Mothership Earth before heading back to the hotel...no exploring the different countries.

The flight home was OK.  Adam didn't want to sit still and play with the ipod like on the way there but we survived without any major screaming.  Adam fell asleep in the car on the way home around 3:30.  We let him sleep through dinner with the hope of him staying asleep and he did!!  He didn't wake up until 7 am!

Here's the link to ALL 400 pictures that we took between Bob and us. (click on the picture of Adam)

Disney

The "pink" park

The other day, Adam wanted to go to the park.  I asked which one since there are 4 within walking distance and 1 "new one" we have to drive to.  He said the "pink one" that has monkey bars and things you ride on.   I assumed it was the new one.  He said "No, it's across from the other one!" I have no idea what that means!  I still think he means the new one so  I grab my keys.   He said" no - we walk there - this way - across from the other park".  I'm still clueless but start walking with him.  We are headed to the park he usually rides his bike to.  We get to the path that leads to the park or goes across the street to the bike path and he said - "see, across the street!"  Well, the bike path does lead to another park about a mile and a half away. We haven't gone this way since the spring - he was in the stroller and I was walking the dogs.   Another one of those "I can't believe he remembered that" moments!  There is a quicker/shorter way to get there if I had understood what the pink park with monkey bars had meant.  He walked the whole way..about 3 miles from our house.  He played for about a half hour before we needed to head back for dinner.  He had a hard time walking back home but didn't want me to carry him or give him a piggy-back ride.  He got mad at me for picking him up to cross the street and stared at his feet as he walked slowly the rest of the way home.  We are definitely getting a stroller at Disney next week!

Grown up

Adam is such a big boy now!  He can get up, go potty, and get dressed by himself in the morning, he can snap his own button on his jeans, put on a jacket and zip it by himself 8/10 times, put on at least one shoe, and now wants to be in the stall in the bathroom by himself!  Almost 3 going on 13!

The beach again

9/20/10 - Adam and I went back to the beach with my parents this week.  He did fabulous in the car again with only one major meltdown around 9pm because, well, he was tired and tired of sitting in his car seat. He fell asleep a minute after the meltdown and stayed asleep until 6am.  He wanted to go see the beach this morning. I thought we would go take a walk but he got his feet wet and decided he wanted to go back to the house.  We all went back down to the beach around 2:30.  For some reason, Adam didn't want anyone to go in the water.  We were standing on the shore (is that the right word?) and he would come screaming "Don't go in the water!!!".  He even tried to drag my mom on her chair out of the water.  It was pretty darn funny!  I finally got him to start playing with the mushy sand as the tide came in and pretty soon we were jumping waves and he was fine.  He also met a little boy named Jacob (who's 4) that he befriended.  They played pirates finding treasure.

9/22/10 - Southport - Today we went to SouthPort.  We ate lunch at the Provision Company (which I thought was just a bait shop at first) and Adam did SUPER!  We sat at a table that was by the "window" so we could see any boats coming or going.  Then we walked around town a little.  We went to this crazy Christmas shop that has big Mr. & Mrs. Claus dolls in bed upstairs but also has a bunch of puzzles up there too (and Adam LOVES him some puzzles!). Bumma got him a large aquarium puzzle that he loves to do next to his large fire engine puzzle that Grandma got him.  While we were waiting for my mom to check out, we waited outside with my dad.  Adam spotted a little girl with an ice cream cone.  I'm not sure if he was more interested in her or the ice cream but he kept following her around until I finally picked him up to go.  She seemed a little freaked out (I don't blame her) but at least her dad thought it was amusing.  We went to a couple other shops, walked to the park by the water, then went back to the beach house.  Adam wanted to go on more "adventures" but we were all ready to go home.

9/23/10 - Myrtle Beach - We went to the land of crazy mini-golf courses today.  Well, we drove by a lot of them on our way to Barefoot Landing but we didn't stop and play.  Barefoot Landing is just another collection of shops but Adam's favorite thing to do was chase pigeons.  He also got to feed some fish and a turtle and ride his first carousel.  He saw an ice cream place and really wanted some milk when we were about to leave.  We stopped by a pizza place to possibly have lunch but they didn't have milk.  Instead, Adam sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender over a beer.  We ended up having to go all the way back to the ice cream place because no one else had milk!  Oh, and they have a Christmas store there that Adam started looking for puzzles in. He even went looking for stairs since he remembered they were upstairs at the other place.

Next, we went to Broadway at the Beach which is yet another collection of shops.  They also had a cool little arcade where Adam got to play Skee Ball.  There is an aquarium there that he really wanted to go to but it was super expensive. He still had fun running from store to store and playing on the little playground there.

We stopped for dinner in Calabash, NC.  They have a big Christmas store there too! What's with all the Christmas stores?

Bumma and Adam with the 2 Jacobs in the background 

9/24/10 - Beach - Today we went for our morning walk in which Adam insisted on putting his swim suit on for.  He spent the entire week avoiding the water on our walks but today we walked in it the whole time.  We came back to the house for a little bit and went back out at 10:30am.  Mom had bought Adam a little hippo floatee that he loved and the water was soo calm today that he really enjoyed being out in the deep with me.  His friend Jacob came out and Adam got really excited so we had to go see him.  Jacob was not in a sharing mood and kept getting mad at Adam.  At one point, J's dad dug him a hole and he did not want Adam in it.  He wanted to try to fill it up with water.  With bucket of water in hand, and Adam not moving from the hole, he threw the bucket of water in Adam's face.  I couldn't help laughing! He ended up getting a time out and Adam and I tried to stay away.  Jacob came back over by us when Big Jacob (he's probably 5) came out.  He still didn't want to have anything to do with Adam...I guess he realized Adam was younger and that hanging out with bigger kids is more fun? Big J didn't mind Adam and even tried to help him in the water  We stayed out until around 2:30.  Great last day!

9/25/10 - Long drive home!  We stopped at a couple of farm markets (in Fancy Gap, I believe) where they had some big pumpkins among other produce.  We got home at 11pm.  Adam was happy to see Dave (even though he said he didn't miss him all week) and stayed up until  1am showing Dave all the things he didn't play with at the beach.

2 years (+1 month) post-op

Wrote this blog July 26th and just realized I posted to my old blog...oops.

Can't believe it's been (over) 2 years!  We haven't decided whether or not we're going to St. Louis this year for his TEAM check-up.  His speech seems pretty good to us, any teeth/cranio-facial stuff can't be done for years, don't really need to talk to the geneticist or psychologist again, and hearing seems to be good as well so there doesn't really seem to be a need.

Picture from May '08 compared to today:



If Adam were a dog, I'd say he has a strong prey drive.  Anytime we go to the Community Center play area, mall petri dish (-er, I mean, play area), or a park, Adam gravitates to anyone running.  The kids running may not even know he's there but he's running after them, screaming if they scream, and laughing.  If they stop, he follows them around thinking they are his new friend.  I see him talking to them - probably asking them to run again. I usually have to tell him to leave them alone because he really gets stalker-like sometimes.  Today at the Community Center, a little group of boys were being really nice and letting him play with them.  When some left, 3 decided to play duck-duck-goose.  Adam sat down with them and I tried to explain the rules but anytime someone else was "goose", Adam went chasing after them.  When he was "goose", the other little guys let him win.  It was soo cute! Much better than last weeks experience with a 4 year old named Giovanni.  It started off cute with this kid wanting to play chase with Adam and tickle him but then he started tackling Adam to the ground.  Then it turned into what looked like wrestling moves so Adam couldn't get up.  A couple of times he grabbed the back of Adam's shirt to stop him from running.  I told the kid to be careful but he thought that the rubber floor made it OK or something.  The nanny tried to tell him he was being too rough too but I just wanted to get away from the kid, so we left.  Good times!

1st Day of School

Adam was very excited to go to school this morning! He finished his breakfast and said "Let's go!" I tried to explain that we still had 45 minutes until we needed to be there but we still ended up leaving about 15 minutes early. We wasted a little time checking out the bathroom and taking pictures outside.

We parents got to stay for about 45 minutes while the kids played, did a craft, and had snack time. We were the snack-bringers. I wanted something creative to go with the Teddy Bear Picnic theme of the day. My original idea of making bread in a jellyroll pan (thin) and cutting it out with bear-shaped cutters didn't work because I didn't have enough batter. I ended up making banana bread muffins and gluing a chocolate Teddy Graham on top with icing (thanks Mom!). I actually made some apple-carrot muffins first but they looked too healthy and I was afraid the kids wouldn't touch them. Anyway...one of the other mom's said I was setting the bar a little high for the rest of them or something like that. Oh, well! I'll bring Goldfish next time!

Adam's craft project was a picture of a Teddy Bear that they had to color and glue on pom-pom noses and googly eyes. They had different colored pom-poms and eyes for the kids to choose. Adam chose yellow everything..."like Winnie the Pooh." I thought that was really cute!

Parents left after snack. Adam was ignoring me at first, absorbed with all the toys in the room, while I was trying to say goodbye. Finally he started following me but decided to yell at a sleeping baby and then rock it's car seat really hard on the way to the door. Part of me was mad at him and part of me was mad at the parent for just leaving their baby in the middle of the floor like that. I left and I could hear the teacher by the door trying to distract Adam.

Pick-up time was 12:00. I was running a little late because I thought Dave was coming with but he had gotten a phone call. I got there with a couple minutes to spare but parking is across the street and the light takes FOREVER to change. Luckily, Adam wasn't the only one still there. :) The teachers said he did really well and even helped pick up other kid's carpet squares. Adam said that they went to the gym and played basketball, sang songs about teddy bears, the teachers blew bubbles, and he knocked some kids over. He said he had fun!

Another big thing for him today is that he finally figured out how to ride his big wheel!! He no longer pedals backwards! We did a test drive around the block and then he said he wanted to ride all the way to the park. The park is a straight shot down County Line but it's about a mile to get there. Well..he did it! It took a long time with all the steering into the grass but he did it! He played a little while on the slides and then wanted to swing. He was totally beginning to zone out so I called Dave to come pick us up. When he saw Dave he ran to him..and became very awake again! We managed to get the overly tired crazy man to sleep just after 8! Whew!!

Next week - the beach with my parents!

School bus

Forgot this in the previous post...

About a month ago we were sitting at a stop light and were next to a little red van that had "OURDAY PRESCHOOL" printed on the side of it. I told Adam that was the "bus" for his school. (I don't know if they really use it as a bus or what it's for really...). Fast forward to today and a regular school bus drove by our house. Adam said "That's not my little red bus. That bus is for big kids!".

i just can't believe his memory!

Funny things said

I wish I could remember all the funny things Adam says in a day! Yesterday, I was driving home from the library and Adam says "I got a small arm!" I was like 'Uh-oh! Who noticed?" So I asked "what Buddy?". He said "I don't got a big arm, I got a small arm. Mommy, can you get my cup with your big arm?" Oh - OK! He couldn't reach his cup that had fallen next to his car seat.

The other night he wanted to read his own bedtime story. He chose to read "Little Bunny Follows His Nose." It went something like this. "Hi Little Bunny! Listen! Oh, I see peaches! (scratch and sniffs) Ewww!! Too yucky! Oh, Hi Guy! Listen! I'm going over there. Squirrel. What are you doing in the tree squirrel? You have pine cones in there? Let me smell! Eww! Stinky! Listen! I'm going home. I smell yucky cookies! (hee hee hee). Little Bunny is going to bed. The End."

Adam got another time-out in the Sprouts Room yesterday, this time for pushing and hitting. They ladies said they thought it might have been due to a bunch of crazy boys in there and he was influenced by them but after a talking to and time out, he was fine. They said he was good today (the crazies weren't there). BUT, when we went to go play out in the lobby, Adam stood all the way at the top of the clubhouse/slide thing and spit. I saw it fly al the way down toward me. So I ran up to the top, grabbed him and left. He continued to spit all the way to the car and even on the window once I got him in his seat. Uggh! If he even hears you mention the word "spit" (like when I was telling Dave about it), he starts.

On a cuter note, he walked to the Sprouts room holding hands with a little girl named Allison whose mom is in my work-out class. It was so stinking cute watching them walking down the hall, hand-in-hand!

Tomorrow is Open House at his preschool tomorrow! Next week is the real deal! He's been in undies and pants almost 2 weeks now so I guess he's officially potty trained (and he's been staying dry at night too!).

No Thank You

Those are Adam's favorite words lately. It's soo hard to get frustrated with him when he's so polite!
Hey Adam! Wanna go to the store with me?
No thank you! Stay home.

Adam, would you like some lunch?
No thank you...I'm not hungry.

This morning he was cracking me up. He came into our room and asked Dave to help him take off his PJ's and get dressed. No getting in bed and hanging out for a while. He left and I got up and got dressed. As I was leaving our bedroom, Adam was coming back in and said his stomach was grumbly and he was hungry. I asked what he was doing while I was getting dressed and he said he let the dogs out. "You know, MoMo and Kirby?" Umm..yeah - i know the dogs names. As I was getting his breakfast ready, he let the dogs back in and said he had to feed them. That's a first! Then he was just a chatterbox all morning. He's very into puzzles these days and can do the 25 piecers by himself. He'll put a couple pieces together then say "something goes here" and looks for the next piece. It's just fun to listen to.

We went apple picking on Friday with Jen. Adam loved it and ate a couple apples that day but I think the novelty wore off and he hasn't wanted any more. Guess I gotta learn how to make a pie for Dave. :)

Sprouts room

Forgot to put this in the last post and I have told a few of you the story already but it's pretty funny.

Last Friday when I picked up Adam from the Sprouts room, I asked him what he did while he was there. He started off with his normal "I do puzzles, color, slide...and I get a time out".
Me:"A time out? Like you had to go sit somewhere by yourself?"
Adam: "Yeah. I sit in a chair"
Me: "Well, what did you do to get a time out?"
Adam: " I scream like this! AHHHHHH! AHHHHHH!! MOMMMY MOMMYY! {{{SCREAMS}}}!!!"
Me: "OK! I get the picture. DId you stop screaming?"
Adam: "Yeah"

Funny thing is - the staff said nothing to me about it. I talked to one before I went to pick him up and she asked if I had taken a peek at "Dr.Adam". Apparently he had dressed up in the doctor costume and she told him to introduce himself to the other kids as Dr. Adam which she said he did. 2 minutes later when I got there, he was putting on a construction worker vest. I guess it wasn't a big enough deal to mention.

Yesterday when I picked him up, I asked him if he had fun.
Yeah.
Were you a good boy today or did you get another timeout?
Yes....No.....Maybe!
OKaaayyy....Did you get a timeout?
Nooo. There was a baby in the Sprouts room today!
Were you nice to the baby?
NO!
What did you do to the baby?
{{{no comment}}} Where's my cup?


When we got home, I told Dave to ask him about the baby. Once again he said he wasn't nice. Dave asked him again what happened. He thought he said something about taking away Buzz but were not so sure. Hard to get a full story from an almost 3 year old! And nothing from the frazzled looking staff who told us only 3 people could be in there at a time picking up our kids.

August AFP/ultrasound and randoms

Adam had his quarterly tests done last Wednesday. He has got the ultrasound routine down! He walked right in the room and started to get up on the table before the tech even had the sheet down to lay on! Once up there, he lifted his shirt and just laid there patiently (watching Clifford) while the tech got the machine ready (which took a little while because the power outage the night before). He watched some of the belly pictures and asked if that was his lunch in there (noo - just your liver and kidneys - and some gas). He was so good that he didn't even need a lollipop (although he asked and I said he had to wait). After the tech praised him for being so good and asked him if he could be her patient all day, we went to wait for his blood draw. I guess they only had one phlebotomy tech that morning. She came out about 5-10 minutes later and asked if Adam had done this a lot and if he was pretty good. She said she had a 16 year old boy back there who had lost it and if we would mind if he watched how well a 3 year old did. I said he still screams when the needle goes in but that's about itl. She said she didn't know what else to do so she talked to the kid. She came back and said he was too embarrassed to stay and watch but would listen from another room. Great! Of course Adam started yelling as soon as she got the rubber band around his arm but she stuck him soo quick it was over before we knew it. Then he continued to cry a little because he didn't like the crayon bandaid. Hopefully the quickness of it all helped with the 16 year old.

Results came back later in the week: Afp is 2.5 and ultrasound clear.

Adam has really gotten into wanting to play hide and seek. I think he learned a little from some of the kids at the Community Center. Only problem is, he wants you to go hide - but only where he wants you to hide. He was getting so mad at Dave the other day for not hiding in the bathroom! When you tell him to go hide, he hides while you're counting but as soon as you say "ready or not, here I come!" he comes running out towards you screaming. It's pretty darn funny!

We have (finally) been making Adam go to sleep on his own. We used to lay in bed with him until he fell asleep. Now once we finish reading books we turn on his night music/sounds, turn the light on in the hall, then we sit in our room or his playroom until he goes to sleep. He plays for a good half hour or so but it is soo fun to listen to...and he doesn't leave his room. Then it gets quiet and he's sound asleep.

Did I mention this kid's memory?

I had to deliver some vet gifts for work a couple weeks ago and as we were driving to Laura's (my "boss"), Adam said he didn't want to hit his head on the table. Months ago when we were there to pick up deliveries, Adam had started to throw a fit, sat on the floor, and bonked his head on the corner of a filing cabinet.

About a month ago, Adam and I visited Bumma and Pa. When we were driving away, Adam asked if the duckies were still there. We had just passed the house that had baby ducks on Mother's Day!

He can point out the 2 sets of train tracks on 270 from our house to Sawmill Rd. without us warning him train tracks are coming.

Everyday we drive by the Sports Complex where we sat and saw fireworks and Adam has to say he saw fireworks there...and now firetrucks as well from "Touch a Truck" day.

There have been a couple of other things where I have been "WOW! How does he remember stuff like that??" but since my memory is not as good as his, I can't write them down right now. ;)

ABC's

Adam is getting really good at his upper case letters. He actually did them all by himself before I got out the camera..and he got them all right in his Star Wars ABC book tonight. The camera must have made him nervous. :)
Gotta love the ending!

What the??

Yesterday, Adam was taking a little longer than usual in the bathroom so I went to check on him. Wanna know what he was doing?? Sitting on the seat with one foot in the toilet! I don't know why and I was too busy rushing him to the soap to ask.

Today, he went into the bathroom and locked the door. I kept hearing something that sounded like his stool being pushed around but he had moved his stool out to the kitchen sink. I asked him what was going on and he said he was cleaning. (Earlier today he had kicked me off the toilet only to pee like Daddy from the side of the toilet and pee on the wall, seat, and some in the toilet which I had to clean up). I thought the noise I had heard was him rummaging through the cabinet for cleaner. I finally got him to unlock the door and he was standing there sloshing the plunger around. Where does he get these ideas?? I had to clean again...

Tonight, Adam was sitting on my shoulders on the couch playing with my hair. He told Dave there were ghosts in our hair. I started cracking up! I had told Adam earlier that ghosts are in "here" (pointing to my head) - in our imagination. Forgetting he doesn't know what that means - ghosts are in our hair.

Some of Adam's favorite expressions lately: "Ohhh - that's crazy!" (or" that's silly"), "awesome!" (or "that's awesome"), "hmmm, that's strange".

Goofy kid

He speaks Spanish and English too...

Adam will not say "1, 2, 3" - it's always "1, 3, 8". I think he knows 1,2,3 since I say it enough as a warning, but anyway... yesterday he was playing in the living room before dinner and I heard him say "one, uno, dos"!! Really?? Skipping english and going right to spanish?

I know he listens to me but...

I feel like I am constantly yelling at Adam lately. Earlier he told me to stop being so loud. I told him that since he didn't do what I asked, he must not be able to hear me so I have to talk really loud. Some time passed and then he says "I sorry for not listening you". When we were trying to get him to go to sleep tonight, he kept doing somersaults and kicking me. Once we lay in bed and don't respond to anything he does - he calms down. We were just laying there and he said "Sorry for flipping and kicking you, Mommy". Sooo...he kind of gets the apology part (he's been doing variations of this all week "Sorry for hitting and kicking you", "Sorry for being whiny and a brat", etc) but when does he get to the part where he'll actually stop doing it when asked? I'm really tired of hearing myself yell. Maybe I'll start whispering and see if that works.

Another thing he did tonight that was cracking me up was that he kept calling me "Baby Gina". I'm not sure why. Dave taught him to say "Give me some sugar, baby" which was just funny. Somehow that turned into putting a pillow in his pants and him saying he had a baby in his butt! I think Adam has baby fever! Did I mention he told me he wanted a "Baby Ethan" a couple weeks ago? (We had been looking at a friend's new baby pictures. HIS name was Ethan. And there was an Ethan in the Sprouts room that week, too). Love the name but sorry Adam, you can have a baby Ethan when you get married.

Storytime Live video

Finally got around to uploading this


We went swimming today at the Community Center for 2 hours. I thought he would get bored after an hour but he was having fun going down the slide over and over. He swam a little and was fascinated with some of the kids that had snorkles. Love that it is an indoor pool so we don't fry but it got pretty chilly after a while.

Anytime Adam eats Apple Jacks he says "eat me" while he's eating them. I think I was trying to get him to eat one day and made the cereal talk and for whatever reason, it has stuck. It's pretty funny!

Storytime Live

Today we went down to the Palace Theater and saw Nickelodeon's  Storytime Live where Adam got to see Kai Lan, the Wonder Pets, the Backyagains, and Dora (oh, and Moose and Zee, too).  We were in Row B - right up close!  It was no Yo Gabba Live but Adam seemed to enjoy it.  His favorite part was at the end when a bunch of the characters came out on stage and sang "Shout".   Adam and a bunch of other kids started dancing in front of the stage.  It was soo cute!

This week I have been trying the "Sneaky Chef" recipes trying to get Adam to eat some veggies.  I swear he hasn't eaten a veggie since he stopped eating baby food.  So far the only thing that has worked is putting the "orange puree" (sweet potatoes and carrots) into his mac and cheese.  He didn't want any meatloaf even when I said that's all I was cooking - that he had to eat what we eat (which turned into try one bite of meatloaf or a spoonful of orange stuff and we'll make you the dang chicken nuggets).  Tonight I put the meatloaf in spaghetti sauce (which had orange and green puree) and made a loaf of bread using the green puree(spinach, broccoli, and peas).  He ate a piece of bread and 2 noodles. Tomorrow I may try the chocolate chip cookie recipe that has white bean puree in it.  I'm sure he'll eat those!  After this, I think I'll stick with just giving him his multivitamin and hope someday he'll like at least one vegetable. The recipes are not all that quick and it's really hard to cook when Adam starts screaming and throwing stuff at me when I'm not paying all my attention to him...

A couple of funnies

(Sorry for all of you on FB who already read these).   Yesterday, Adam and I were out back in his new pool and I was telling him he couldn't drink the pool water (you could see the sunscreen floating on top, dirt on the bottom,  plus it's the back yard so who knows what was on his feet before he got in).  I told him "no ifs, ands or buts."  He looked at me and said "No ant butts??"  I started cracking up and he was all "You happy now, Mommy?"  After yelling at him most of the day for not listening, yeah, that made me happy.

Today he was watching the classic Superman cartoons again (another day of screaming at him so I needed a break).  I went to clean up the kitchen and when I came back to sit with him, he had a little piece of material sticking out of the collar of his shirt.  I asked him what it was and he turned around for me.  I pulled it out and it was the little Mr. Potato Head Darth Vader cape!  He wanted a cape like Superman and that was the closest thing around!  

I tried to get some video of his new rainbow song "I Have a Rainbow" (sung to the tune of "nanny nanny boo") .  Here's a little bit but he hates the camera lately so if he sees me with it, he usually stops or yells at me to turn it off.  

The past couple of nights we have been trying to get Adam to go to sleep by himself.  Ever since we moved him into his toddler bed, one of us (usually me) stays in his room until he falls asleep.  I have been trying to sit just outside his door so he knows I'm still right there but he wants me to come lay on "my" bed. Well, he has this fear of ghosts that we try to use to our advantage sometimes.  I tried it first when I wanted to get rid of his bottles - the ghosts took them.  He was fine with that.  More recently, the ghosts took his little froggy potty.  Sooo, I told him if he didn't go to sleep, I was going to call the ghosts to come from their castle.  He faked snored for a couple of minutes and fell asleep.  It worked for 2 nights.  I tried it this morning when he came in our room at 6:30.  All I got was some really loud and fast fake snoring.  Tonight, we got a lot of scared crying and wanting to keep the lights on so Dave had to go sit with him.  Guess I need to find a new tactic...

The beach

We had a good time at the beach last week.  Dave and I haven't been in 11 years!!  Adam stayed dry for the 12 hour trip down there!  We got in at dark so we went down to the beach the next morning.  We were just going to walk along the beach but he was not afraid of the water at all. Fully dressed, he walked right on in.   Much like my Dad, he wanted to keep going out farther then he probably should.  He ending up getting some really bad chaffing on his thighs the first day so he went without a swim diaper the rest of the week like a big boy.  He also tried to write his name in the sand a couple of times (good thing the beach was pretty empty in the evening).  We had a little bit of rain so we went to the aquarium at Fort Fisher on Tuesday - it was packed!  Since it was raining on the way there, we stayed in our car on the ferry ride over but it was really nice on the way back.  Adam was very hard to contain so we had to go back in the car which really made him mad.  He cried to go back on the ferry and then finally fell asleep.  He woke up when we got back to the house and had a meltdown saying he wanted to go home.  Here's a clip.




The only other meltdown of the whole week was when we were coming home on Saturday after another short nap.  


During the week, he mastered getting on and off the big potty.  It's pretty funny seeing him climb up there. Today he has decided he wants to pee standing up like daddy.....

Ponytail

Now that my hair is long enough again, I have been wearing a ponytail a lot lately. No time for a real haircut ( I get my bangs trimmed at Cookie Cutters when Adam goes) and it's just convenient.  I don't think Adam likes it.  He points at it and says "Hair sticking out, Mommy?"  "Well...kind of, Adam." "Ooohhh".

AFP and ultrasound

Adam had his quarterly stuff done on Monday.  He was SOOOO good.  He watched some of "Land Before Time" and ate his lollipop during his ultrasound so it went super fast.  Then he didn't even cry for his arm poke!  He squirmed a tiny bit but I was able to restrain him myself unlike previous times where they had to have someone else hold his arm while I got the rest of him.  We always know before we leave that his ultrasound is clear otherwise the radiologist would come in and talk to us.  We only have been having to wait a couple of days for his AFP results (it used to take weeks when we went through the Geneticist) and it is down to 2.6!!!  Woo Hoo!  When I saw Dave write it down, I thought it was a 26 and I started to panic but there's a decimal point in there.  Only a year and a half left of arm pokes!!

And in case you forget why we have to do all this...
From the screening protocol -

Wilms tumor is the most common cancer in children with BWS, occurring in about 5-7% of all children with BWS. Most children develop Wilms tumor prior to their fourth birthday; however children with BWS can develop Wilms tumor up to 7 or 8 years of age. By 8 years of age 95% of all Wilms tumor have occurred. J Pediatr 1998 Mar; 132 (3 Pt 1): 377-

The second most common cancer in patients with BWS is hepatoblastoma. Similar to Wilms tumor hepatoblastoma can be identified by abdominal ultrasound. However, an abdominal ultrasound does not view the entire liver. Fortunately there is a marker for hepatoblastoma and this is alpha-fetal protein (AFP). AFP is a protein that is made in the liver of unborn infants. At birth the AFP levels are high and gradually decline to adult levels by 10 or 11 months of age. However, most infants with hepatoblastoma do not have a declining AFP measurement, rather their AFP level increases rapidly. 

Hepatoblastoma is also a fast growing cancer and because of the fast growth, we recommend an AFP  measurement every 6 weeks and ultrasound of the liver and kidney every 12 weeks. The ultrasound of the liver can be done at the same time as the ultrasound of kidney. Unlike Wilms tumor, the risk of hepatoblastoma drops off after 4 years, so we would recommend screening with AFP up to 4 years of age. We don’t see any value in conducting a liver ultrasound after four years of age.

As with all screening programs there is a risk benefit ratio that has to be determined by each parent and physician for the child with BWS. Our recommendations to screen with AFP up to age 4 years and ultrasound up to 8 years is based on the observation that most but not all hepatoblastoma and Wilms tumor will occur by these ages. The decision to screen beyond these ages is an individual one, where the benefits must be weighed against the risks. The major risk of screening is a misdiagnosis of cancer resulting in inappropriate surgery. We have had three such incidents. We conducted a cost effective model describing the costs and benefits of screening for cancer in this population;  although not perfect, the model coupled with the data strongly favors screening for Wilms tumor and hepatoblastoma based on the above mentioned data.  Med Pediatr Oncol. 2001 Oct;37(4):349-56. 

Weigh in

Adam decided to weigh himself on the dog scale at the pet store today.... 34.2 lbs....but if you try to pick him up, he feels like 50.  Solid little dude!

The hungry little caterpillar

I think Adam is going through a growth spurt.  After a 2 hour nap yesterday and a big dinner, he slept until 8 this morning!!  Then he wanted to eat all day today.  He ate as much dinner as I did (OK- it was half a little frozen Wolfgang Puck pizza but that was after eating a bunch of apple slices and some graham crackers shortly before that).  He has also seemed a bit more gimpy lately too which is common among the hemi kids during growth spurts. 

He LOVES swimming!  We only have 3 more classes left this session which is good and bad. Bad because he likes it (well, he likes going around the lazy river and jumping off the side of the pool....he doesn't like doing the silly songs as much) and good because we have a crappy teacher.  We had "Joey" the last time we took lessons but after the first 2, another lady came in to teach (who was fantastic) and he was the helper.  He is very soft spoken and we don't do anything different from class to class.   Next week is sign up for summer session and I am torn.  Last summer we got stuck with a teenager who was about as good as "Joey" but at least she talked loud enough.  The adults who have taught the class have added stuff like little relay races, pulling themselves out of the water on the wall, jumping off the wall...just other things other than going around the lazy river a couple of times and singing silly songs.  Do I sign him up again and just deal with it like we have been (Adam kinda does his own thing half the time, otherwise he screams) or wait until he's 3 and can do the next level of classes?(This one is for 18-36 month olds).  

Sleepless in Westerville

Adam has been coming in our room every night for almost the whole week.  I can usually put him back in his bed when he falls asleep but sometimes he wakes right back up and runs back to our room.  I can't sleep when he's there because he tries to put his feet under me or just kicks me the whole time.  This morning I put him back in his bed and I stayed in the other bed in his room but he wanted to sleep in that bed!  He said his bed wasn't soft enough!!  So tonight, Dave got the honors of staying with Adam until he fell asleep but he let him sleep in the full-size bed so that he would go to sleep.   It's not "potty-proofed" so I hope he doesn't have a huge diaper tonight!  I think after we get the carpet fixed in his room, we are going to get him a new frame/headboard for the full-size bed and all the waterproof mattress pads and move him on up. I swear we just bought the toddler bed!

2 Firsts

Adam had his first popsicle today.  I know - two and half years old and never having a popsicle??  We actually bought them last summer and never got around to giving him one.  He thought it was "yummmmy".  It kinda tasted like stick to me.

He also thought he would help me pick up dog poop today.  He usually tries to use the pooper scooper we have but for some reason he actually picked up a piece of poop...in his hand!  Blech!!!

On a different note, he's finally getting his last 2-year molar in!  Hoping this is why he's been such a PITA lately.  He has also learned "one more book" to stall bedtime.

No bugs

Adam and I had such a great day yesterday.  He had his little art class in the morning where he got to do some stamp painting, make a jellyfish, play with homemade play-doh, and do some chalk drawing.  We came home, had some lunch, went to the park, played with play-doh here, and then he played on his play-set here until dinner.  He really loves the glider! I think he sat on that thing for at least 45 minutes!  The rest of the evening went pretty well.

Today he was just a crazy-man!  I think he had one too many jellybeans from going on the potty. He had such a regression in training that we started to resort to bribing again but he doesn't always care.  I guess the good thing is that he always poops on the potty.

We went to a different park today and anytime he saw any kind of bug, he screamed!!  At home, he wanted to sit on his glider again but there were gnats and flies around so he wouldn't get on it.  I thought boys were supposed to like bugs!

Easter eggs, play sets, and family

What more could a 2 and half year old want?  We went to Aunt Jen and Uncle J's for an Easter egg hunt Saturday morning.  Adam was a little leary of the Easter Bunny but waved and yelled "bye-bye" on our drive out.  

Adam finding some good eggs Saturday morning.

                                          
                                                More eggs at our house on Sunday morning.

                                          

Easter Bunny left a couple of baskets out with the hidden eggs.

                                     

Mmmm - Jelly Beans for breakfast!

                                         

Trying a hard-boiled egg for the 1st time.  He didn't like it...

but he thought the Yoda egg was pretty cool.

The play-set Dave, Bob, and Andy built in 2 days!!!

                                         

                    I think he likes it!

                                         

HAPPY BOY!!