Visit to the Park and What I'm Doing Now

We've got some pretty nice parks in our neighborhood, so we're having fun checking them out. Jordon loves the sand-- he brings it home in his clothes and shoes every day from daycare! He also likes the slides and anything he can climb on.

He is growing so much now. His language is improving too- more vocalization and now he is speaking a few words (mama, mommy, dada, daddy, cracker, puppy and uh-oh). Nevermind that he can't say kitty or cat yet, so a cat in our house is the same as a "puppy". He also is doing really well at indicating he wants more and using the sign language they teach him at daycare. We know what more means, but if he's telling us anything else in sign language, we're missing it. He is also becoming more interested in books and likes to be read to, although it's still difficult for him to sit still. He will grab a book, back up to you, and plop down in your lap so you can read it to him. He will look up at you and smile and point at various things in the book, babbling.

Other favorite activities right now-- grabbing the fan pulls to turn lights on and off and getting into the toilet so we are frequently washing his hands and trying to keep him away from the fun bowl.

The folks at daycare tell us he is one of the most active kids there, and that he is on the go from the time we drop him off till the time we pick him up. They think he should sleep good at night because he wears himself out during the day-- yeah, right. I will have to say it has improved a lot, but he still usually wakes up at least 1-2 times/night.

Last weekend we went and got him a helmet for his bike seat and can't wait to try out riding bikes with the little guy. His helmet is a "Lil Dipper". How cute is that? We'll see if he manages to leave it on 'cause he doesn't do so well with other hats.

Last weekend we went to buy him some new shoes 'cause his are getting a little small. He plopped down on the floor and promptly tried to put a sandal on his foot.

He also still likes hats and sunglasses--more so putting them on other people rather than wearing them himself.

Farm fun

Recent trips to the farm to visit Granny and Gramps- Grandma has not been babysitting Jordon for a few months now and she can't believe how much he's grown. For me, it was after he got his first haircut that he seemed much more like a little boy and not as much a baby. It's kinda funny to see him drag a broom around- Mom says that I used to do the same thing, only the pictures they have of me doing it are with a mop instead of a broom. Jordon will really drag around any tool he can get his hands on. He also loves flags and balloons.

Big Helper

Jordon loves to get in the middle and try to help with everything. Here he is sweeping while Dad's trying to mop. Gotta love Smokey taking it in from the sidelines.

For you Mom, for Mother's Day

Jordon and the folks at daycare made me a very cute magnet with his picture and a painted handprint. I also got some nice cards, flowers, and truffles. None of that can compare to the personalized gift I got from Jordon tonight after his bath. He started grunting while I was lotioning him up, and next thing I know he's dropping 2-- to save the carpet I reached out and he pooped in my hand. Nice. Can't believe some of this stuff that happens with being a Mom. I went to drop it in the toilet, and when I get back he's pooped again on the carpet in our bedroom. When all was said and done, this 13 and 1/2 month old kid had an adult size poop. I don't know where it comes from cause he eats very little. He spends a lot of time now shaking his head no to everything, including eating.

Goodbye April!!!

I am so glad to be done with April. Can't believe how busy it was and how much stuff happened.
It started off with Dad feeling sick, having more pain and weakness. He was hospitalized and they discovered that the lung cancer was metastatic from his prostate and not a new primary cancer. He came home for a few days, then had increasing pain again and went to the Hospice House. He improved there and came home with Palliative Home Care. Since that time, he has been feeling better overall. He received a blood transfusion and started radiation therapy to his chest and left femur. I have been trying to help Mom and Dad get their affairs in order as no one knows how quickly things might change from here.

Jordon was on antibiotics for most of the month trying to get rid of bilateral ear infections. Apparently he got his Dad's ears; Don has had a lifetime of ear infections, tubes, etc. I don't think I've ever had one in my life. When a round of Omnicef didn't do the trick, they put him on Augmentin. He developed vomitting at night-- not sure if it was related to the antibiotic or if it was another bug he picked up, but anyway, he would vomit every night 1-4 times. Don and I got so sick of stripping the bed, Jordon, and ourselves and washing puke-filled laundry. As soon as he finished eating, he would start with the puking. It seemed to happen the minute you moved him or went to lay him down. Oh, and during this time he didn't want to eat solid food. Then he started with the green diarrhea, up to 6 times/ day. One day he pooped so many times at daycare (his new daycare, that is) that they went thru all his extra clothes and he came home wearing some other kid's sweatshirt cause they had nothing else to put on him. His poor butt became so raw that he would throw a major fit (worse than the usual) when we tried to change him. It took stopping the Augmentin a few days early and some major butt paste to get it healed up. Poor guy walked like a cowboy who had been on a horse too long. The infection did finally clear but if it happens again anytime soon, we are off to the ENT to plan for tubes.

While we were gone the weekend of the 18th for the wedding, our house was shown, and come to find out, the realtor closed the basement door, which the cats need access to for food/water and litterbox. Don had a feeling this might happen, so he called our realtor to check it out and make sure things were ok. The realtor didn't call back until the next day, and then for some reason had trouble getting into the house. By the time he finally did, the cats had already gone to the bathroom in several places so we had a mess to clean up when we got home. Needless to say, we are considering either switching realtors or pulling our house off the market.

On top of this, I had a big talk to do for work that I spent quite a bit of my "time off" working on. I also developed bronchitis and a sinus infection, but had symptoms for a week before I ended up getting antibiotics. I'm still improving from this-- still have a cough and snot but it's much better than it was.

My Mom now has also been sick with something similar. She's had 2 rounds of antibiotics, been on bedrest, and threatened with hospitalization. At first they thought she had pneumonia or mono. Apparently those have been ruled out but she's still coughing and very fatigued.

Already May has been so much better. Jordon loves his new daycare- Bright Horizons at Research. The last 4 days I have dropped him off, he has not wailed. He really seems to like it there. They get the kids outside usually twice a day. The teachers seem very attentive -- several have degrees in early childhood education. They are teaching the kids Spanish and sign-language. Don and I are thinking we probably won't recognize when he is using sign-language 'cause we don't know it ourselves-- aside from the few words they have pointed out.
We also had a great weekend and got a lot of planting done outside. The flowers are looking good with the warmer weather! Don's got about 2 and 1/2 weeks left of school, then he will be off for the summer. I think he has several adventures planned for him and Jordon.

Kerri's wedding

April 18th was Kerri and Andy's wedding, so we stayed in Columbia Friday and Saturday night. Aside from Jordon vomitting all over himself and the carseat on the way up, his screamfest Friday night at the hotel, and me getting sick, we made it thru all the events with the wedding. It was great to see Kerri and Mary again, but too bad we didn't get more time to actually visit.

Buddies

Jordon loves the cats, especially Smokey. They seem to like to play with all the same things.... balloons, strings, dirt on the floor, you name it. He likes to play peek-a-boo with them on the steps. Unfortunately, he also is into pulling their tails if he can get close enough. Usually the high-pitched squealing and running toward them gives them enough notice to get out of the way.

I love my new wagon...

Whether it's pushing it or riding in it, the wagon is a hit. Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt Sarah for helping us get the wagon for J's 1st b-day! We're hoping he'll get to use it some at the farm. In the meantime, we have had fun pulling him in it around the neighborhood. Trouble is that he doesn't want to stay seated and has been up on his knees, on his belly, and attempted to stand many times. We'll see how long it takes him to topple out of it. Hopefully it'll happen on grass and not pavement or concrete.

Happy Birthday to Jordon and Grandpa!

It was nice to have everyone together to celebrate-- too bad Dad didn't feel well and spent most of that day in bed. It was also cold and rainy outside so we didn't get to have the boys hunt for Easter eggs outside either. "Frosting boy" is Tim's nickname for Dad 'cause he is known for licking the beaters and bowls when Mom makes icing for a cake. Jordon had a good time playing with his cousins Logan and Evan. We had brought down a tool set for them all to play with, so it kept them entertained since we had to play inside. We didn't get to try out the new red wagon that we got Jordon... but there will be plenty more sunny days to put it to use.

My first birthday cake and balloon!

Your Dad made you a cake and got you a balloon. You were pretty excited about the balloon... your Dad was more excited about the cake.

Happy Easter

We celebrated Easter this year at Mom and Dad's place, and at the same time celebrated both Jordon and Dad's (Grandpa's) birthdays. More pics to come...

Still lovin' the bus rides

Jordon still gets a kick out of this although he's getting bigger now and barely fits in (the shoes have to come off)... he still wants to be pulled around in this bus and his mouth just stays open-- Don says I can get the same look. Anyway, he wiped out and fell off once going around a corner but it didn't slow him down. This kid is a thrill-seeker. At his new daycare they say he is fearless, and that he climbs all over the little tykes gym and acts like it's his fort.

I love being outside

This is one of the cute outfits sent from Grandpa Don and Joyce. This hat stays on cause it's got a strap. It was still a fight, until he forgot about it for a while. He likes hats on others better than on himself.