James 1: Laptop Screen 0

One Dell Laptop (D630) - left running on the desk with screen up
+
One sharpie marker - carelessly left in the mug of writing utensils on the desk
+
One mischievous 2 year old - who has been cooped up in the house with mommy all day following throw up episodes the day before
+
5 minutes of silence

=

One 'decorated' laptop screen - lovingly and creatively scribbled all over. In permanent black ink.

*Tip - toothpaste DOES work to remove indelible ink from said laptop. Who knew?

The Call

Time - 3:10 pm on Monday

Place - my cell phone (I'm at the pediatrician's office for Jack's weight check - which by the way he's up to almost 12 pounds now and getting cute little baby rolls - scare over)

Topic - "Ms. Long? This is Elizabeth from the Children's Center. James is okay, but his teachers in 2A want to talk to you."

Nothing good can come from this.

"James has been puking since 2:30 when he woke up from his nap."

Lovely.

One throw up episode in the car on the way home (thank you for doing it in the bucket my sweet boy), one more upon returning home (again, thank you for aiming straight for the bucket again) and all is well.

Heart and Soul

My paternal grandmother was a whiz on the organ. She had an old organ in her living room, and loved to crank it up when we would come to visit. I remember watching her fingers fly over the two tiers of keys, her feet moving over all the pedals, and her eyes twinkling as she peered at us over her glasses.

Her love of music transposed to my dad, who played the piano and the trombone. One of the first songs he ever taught me to play on the piano was 'Heart and Soul.' It was fun because one of us would play the upper part, and the other the lower.

You may remember this song from the movie "Big." It's the song Tom Hanks played with his boss on the floor piano at FAO Schwartz. I didn't think much about the song until today. Our new spiffy Honda Odyssey came equipped with XM Satellite Radio (and a complimentary three-month membership.) One of the stations I've come to adore is the 40's station - where they play all those cool WWII era songs, Bing, Rosemary, Frank - that somehow always remind me of Christmas carols.

After dropping the kids at daycare this morning I tuned the XM to the 40's station from the Kids station we'd listened to on our trek to the University. The song that was playing? Heart and Soul.

I'd never heard the 'real' version of it, only what my grandmother cranked out on the organ or what my dad and I plunked out on the piano. It was wonderful. It made me smile.

It made me miss my dad. And my grandma.

I suppose dad is on my mind more often these days, as tomorrow he would have celebrated his 66th birthday. This is his 4th birthday we'll celebrate without him.

It still hurts. Oh, we'll still celebrate - we'll still have birthday cake and sing 'happy birthday' to Grandpa Don in heaven - but it still hurts. Deep down. That ache that lets me know something is missing.

I hate that Anna has no memory of him - just a few photos of the one time dad saw her and held her. I hate that James and Jack never met him at all. I hate that they are all growing up without their grandpa and all of the wonderful things he could have shared with them, like his love of boating or taught them, like his love of cooking. Or perhaps, their first piano lesson.

Heart and soul daddy. I miss you with all of mine.

Sassy

I was a girl with a sharp tongue. I was sassy - and would/could back talk to my mother like a pro. I had to get the last word in - no matter the consequences. I drove my father crazy. There were times he'd tell me to just stop talking. "Be Quiet" he'd yell at me. And I was stubborn. As a mule.

I was twelve.

Sometime in my mid adolescence I realized being sassy and stubborn got me no-where. Thankfully I found my filter - and learned not to tell everyone everything I was thinking at the moment I thought it.

Anna is a girl with a sharp tongue. She is sassy as can be, and back talks to Deonne and I with the ease of a teenager. She is strong willed. And stubborn. As a mule. She has no filter.

She's four.

We're doomed.

And I'm sure my daddy is laughing at me from Heaven.

Statistics

One Month

At your two week check up you weighed 6 lbs. 11.5 oz. and were 19 1/2 inches long. You are still a tiny peanut, at 15% height, weight and head circumference. You are exclusively breastfed, latching on well, and nursing about 25-30 minutes at a feeding.

You typically eat every 2-3 hours during the day, and are going about 3-4 hours each night. You sleep - a lot - much more than your big brother or sister ever did - which is a welcomed break - but also somewhat concerning. I can't wait to see you start to wake up more, open your eyes, and start interacting.

You love to be held and snuggled. You are still quite jaundiced - Dr. Ted tells me it's breastmilk jaundice and should clear up around 6 weeks.

Two months

At two months we are starting to see your first smiles and coos. You tend to save them for me (mommy) and I can't say I mind that one bit! I love to interact with you and see you starting to explore the world around you. There is so much to see and learn, and your happy-go-lucky personality is starting to shine through.

At your two month check-up you weighed 8 lbs. 14 oz. and measured 21 3/4 inches. This is a bit concerning as you have dropped from the 15% weight to the 3% of the growth chart - yet you are holding steady at 15% for length and head circumference. We have been instructed to supplement two feedings a day with formula to try and up your calorie content - and hopefully see you gain some significant weight.

*At your post ER trip visit - you weighed almost 10 lbs. - Dr. Ted is happy with your weight gain and asked us to come back in a week or two to check again. He admitted he was a bit nervous about the weight drop at the last check up - but is very excited to see you packing the weight on! (If only I had that problem...)

Summer Photos

Enjoying daddy's Father's Day gift of a rope hammock.

Bathing Beauty Anna

Wild Man James - ready to attack Anna.

Jack's First Trip to Church

4th of July Memories

We had a happy 4th of July with our little family of five (with the exception of course of Jack's first trip to the ER). Both Deonne and I had Friday the 3rd off, so we spent it trying to come up with lots of fun activities for the kids.

We started the morning at EdVenture where we not only got to explore the children's museum but also to experience the new butterfly exhibit first hand.

Note: Do you like their matching outfits? I made those - yes, I really did - I've been taking a sewing class for about a year now - and actually am creating clothing that I'll let the kids wear in public!

It was so much fun to see all of those butterflies flying around us - and the kids delighted in seeing the delicate wings up close.

That night we dared ourselves and tempted fate by taking the kids to see the Torchlight Tattoo at nearby Fort Jackson. It was a late night (as in we didn't get home until almost 11pm with two tired and crabby kids) but it was lovely to sit together under the stars on a warm summer evening, eating popcorn, and watching the sky light up with fireworks.

The morning of the 4th we spent letting the kids sleep in (as much as they would) and then preparing for a picnic lunch! It's always so much fun to eat al fresco - and we all enjoyed our picnic at our favorite local park. It was deserted - so the kids had the run of the place to themselves.

Unfortunately this is when we started noticing the tiny bumps on Jack's hands and feet (that would later turn into angry red welts).

When we returned home (and after naps) Anna and James helped me decorate our flag cake. They had a ball, it turned out quite pretty, and was so yummy!

Shortly after that I left for the ER - so I missed the family dinner Deonne cooked (smoked ribs, corn on the cob and potato salad) as well as the family fireworks and sparklers - but I hear from two very reliable sources that they were fabulous.

All in all - a very happy celebration of our nation's birthday!

4th of July Fireworks

More posts are a brewing with the fun part of the 4th, along with some old posts that haven't been published yet (Father's Day) - but suffice to say, this is how sweet Jack spent his first 4th of July - in the ER.

An odd rash began early that afternoon - that grew into angry red welts and progressed in size and number - a call to the on-call nurse from the ped's practice resulted in a trip to the ER.

Where the situation was exacerbated - and the ER doc who was great had to do his job of coming up with the worst case scenario and ruling it out.

So in the 9 hours Jack and I were there (alone for most of it) the situation progressed from yeast infection rash to systemic fungal infection (yeast that had spread) to being told we would be admitted for a minimum of three days for IV treatments while his blood is cultured to treat the problem, to a discussion of how he could have contracted said systemic infection (read - congenital immune deficiency syndrome) to finally being released by the on-call pediatrician from our practice (who thankfully stopped the nonsense.) We made it home around 3AM.

A follow up appointment the next morning with said on-call pediatrician revealed what Jack had was a virus that manifested itself in a rash - a second follow up with our own ped. yesterday confirmed.

So the diagnosis of a virus would explain why I had a fever of 101 on Sunday night, and why James woke up with a fever and vomiting last night.

Aren't viruses fun???