ummm...where has the time gone?

Okay, so I finally looked back at my last post from July (what?!?!) and realized that although some days have been suuuuuper long, these past few months have just slipped past me.  Quick recap you ask...no problem!

• So in August Ava started Kindergarten, tear, and Adam started the Early Childhood program at my school.  This means that we all are there together.  It makes me happy to see them during the day and know that I am just a few steps away if either of them needs a hug, meds, the you-better-get-your-act-together eye or speech (Adam), or just to visit them for my own sake.  

• Both kids have also been in swimming lessons since June and they are now both swimming!  It has been so much fun watching them go from kids who liked water and would sit in it or float around with the magic arm floaties, to kids who loooove water and can actually swim under water.  Their teachers have been amazing.  This summer should be fun!

• October was fun.  We had lots of fun trick-or-treating with some good friends and their kids. Ava was a cute little kitty and Adam was a pirate.  He totally got the Halloween thing this year and was pretty bummed when he found out this only happens on a particular night rather than every night that followed it.

• Thanksgiving was amazing.  We had it at our house this year.  Very relaxing and low key...just our style.

• Now we are scrambling to get ready for Christmas. I LOVE Christmas and everything that goes along with it, from the hours of aimless shopping for who-knows-what for people, to the constant Christmas songs on the radio, in the stores, and on TV, and the wonderful opportunities to just be with the kids and watch the joy and amazement on their faces everywhere we go. It is truly the most wonderful time of the year!!!

And now we are up to date! Now if I could only find my camera cord connector thing to post pictures...

Port A with Baby Soups

So our trip to Port A this year was much better than the last.  The kids are a year older, and we are a lot wiser when it comes to traveling with them.  The saving grace...the dvd screens for the car.  I was the mother who said, " I will never have those.  All the kids will want to do is stare at movies all the time."  And me now...point exactly.  Who wants the kids screaming, crying, and fighting in the car for four hours?  The drive went a little like this:  kids buckled in, wizard of oz on, lunch in car seats on the way, movie off with promises of another if they take a real nap, kids nap for an hour and a half (cue hallelujah music), Rapunzel on, stop for groceries, cross the ferry, to the condo with extra time left on the movie.  But that was only the drive!

Sleeping was much better this year.  Although we all still ended up in the same bed somehow, there were not too many kung fu panda moves at night.  All in all that part was okay.  I'm not saying that I didn't kiss my bed and make promises of never leaving it again when I got home, but it was not the worst of sleeping arrangements.

The beach was nice. Not too much seaweed until the night before we left. The kids had fun. We spent our time going back and forth from beach to pool. Neither of the kids truly loved the beach, and after Ava inhaled and then puked up some water...she was pretty much done with it and didn't even want to look at it. So, the pool was our place of choice. The floaties were a new thing for both of them. Ava immediately loved them and Adam needed some extra convincing that these were really awesome things...well, maybe he was never really convinced, but he tried to fake it.

* Adam has a new word for bathing suit, and I love it...he calls it his 'baby soups'. It is just the cutest thing.  I have to repeat it to him because I never want him to say it correctly.  Although, we may have to explain this to him when he gets older and really needs to know the correct word for it.*

First day-about to go in the water. Adam in his baby soups.



Ava is excited...or doing yoga



What is this stuff that is falling from the sky?  We woke up to rain the next morning.

Adam is keeping an eye on the storm

playing at the beach

more of the "brown water", as Ava calls it

We met some little friends that were hanging out by the boardwalk of our condo

Adam relaxin' after swimming in the pool (aka "the blue water")

Ava happy to be at the pool

Daddy and Adam in the waves

Ava refusing to go in the water or get sand on herself.  She choked on a bunch of water the night before and that was the end of the beach for her.

Flying baby...no fear

The best...not even a peep when nap time was announced

Exhausted after a long day...fell asleep eating apples. He has them in his hand :)

Ice cream.  Of course he wants both

yum...chocolate chip mint



who is this child?  I just want to squeeze her little butt.



Adam in his own special outfit.  We were taking a walk on the beach to look for shells and this is what he chose.  The floaties are surely necessary!



Who loves the water? And their brand new floaties? 



Sweet moments...Ava reading bedtime stories to her baby brother.  Can't ask for anything better than this!

swimmers...in the making

We finally put the kids in really great swimming lessons.  We go to Emler and will never go anywhere else again.  They are so wonderful.  They have Ava, the child who never wanted to get her face wet, putting her head under water and holding her breath for 4-5 seconds already. Her goal is to swim 5 feet with a 10 second breath hold.  Now, I'm not so sure she is up for that yet. She is just a little apprehensive about the whole swimming thing.  We keep having to coax her into going and telling her what a great job she is doing, but she will get there some day.  And Adam, well he is right behind her with the 3-4 second breath hold and he is totally okay with it...until he realizes they want him to do it over and over again, and then he gets a little upset.  For the most part they are doing great and having fun learning how to swim.  If there are any other children in our future, they will definitely be taking true swim lessons much earlier than my babies are now.  Here are a few pics from lessons early on.  Hopefully I will be able to post pictures of my true swimmers soon!


Ava with Mr. Miles





Ava learning to float on her back.




Adam floating with Daddy.



Learning how to hold his breath. 



2!

Ok...so I'm a little behind,like 2 months, but who's counting. This post has actually been just sitting awaiting the pictures that I cannot seem to locate on my computer...boo.  But anyways...




On April 1st my little man turned 2.  I can't believe how quickly these past two years have gone by.  There have been many times that I have thought to myself--which I would never say out loud--"what is wrong with this child?"  Well, maybe I have said it out loud, but only in moments of distress, and in the most loving mommy way possible!  


Adam is an amazing child.  He is completely different from Ava, but they both make my life so wonderful and my heart so happy.  AJ is loud, daring, not afraid of anything, and loves to test my patience.  He is the one who makes me freak out daily as I watch him take dives off the chair onto the tile, or climb the shelves by the tv.  He pushes my buttons and knows exactly how to get a reaction out of me.  And although he makes me crazy at times, I completely adore this child.  He is just Adam--and he fits me, and our family, perfectly.
  
A little over two years ago, we were a family of three.  Ava was self sufficient, things were very easy, and the stories that people told me about their own kids made me cringe.  Ava was a very laid back, easy going child.  So I thought that everyone else was crazy.  Why would another child change anything?  He will be just like Ava and we will just jump back into our lives with no problem.

HA!  Boy was I wrong.  

The day he arrived was amazing.  April 1, 2009. I had a scheduled c-section at 7:00am and he was here by 8:12am, all 8lbs. 12oz of him in his little 18 1/4 in self.  He was so good.  He slept, ate like a champ, and loved to snuggle.  It was an amazing experience.  Day 3:  we go home and all is not as good as it seemed at first.  He screamed from the moment we got home for hours, maybe even days, possibly even months.  The first few months with him were rough.  I thought I was losing my mind, Ava was not her normal self as she was adjusting to life with this very loud child, and I kept thinking about all the stories people had once told me about boys and second children--wow...they were right--what have I gotten myself into.

But then things got better every month.  Ava become settled in her new role as big sister and our new routines.  We have had some tough times with him, but made it to his first birthday and now his second.

He is still the loudest child I have ever met, but his smile is heart warming and his laugh is contagious. I love his snuggles and his silliness. He is really, absolutely what our family needed. I know that he was given to us for a reason, and I am so grateful--he fills my heart with happiness. And although he makes me crazy sometimes, he is my little man and I love him to pieces! 



Napping in his crib-1 week old

7 months



 






1 year






13 months-first haircut



18 mos.-pumpkin patch

 2 years-being silly with his pants up high

2 years old-hugs with Ava after his birthday cake...chocolate of course! 

Adam likes:

• reading books with mommy and daddy at bedtime
• playing with Ava
• any type of food
• playing outside-no matter what the temperature is
• listening to music
• watching Nick Jr.-wonderpets & fresh beat band are his top picks
• tormenting his sister
• taking baths and running around naked
• giving kisses and zerberts 
• getting dirty
• loud toys
• laughing and being silly

Adam dislikes: 

• going to sleep on most days
• being told "no"
• sitting in time out, or refusing to sit in time out, so then he has to be put in his crib
• certain shirts-his choice is always a mickey shirt, a buz lightyear shirt, or a dinosaur shirt-I fib to him often about all those being "dirty"
• "dirty" things--which is odd bc he loves to get dirty--maybe it's the word that he dislikes
• Ava being somewhere that he is not







weeks of randomness

Is randomness even a word???


Anyways, these past few weeks have been full of random and amusing times with both of the kids.  We have finally cleaned up and put away everything Christmas and all the new toys and gifts have found their new homes in tubs and containers.  It's not spring yet, but I'm in the mood to clean/throw out everything that isn't being used !!!  Watch out kids--you better hide your things or start playing with them all immediately.


Adam and his most recent activities:
-Adam has become very good friends with "the corner".  His newest way to get out you ask? He takes off his socks and screams "leelo" which is in his language is "socks on".
-he loves the word no, rephrase...he loves to tell us no
-thinks it's hilarious to get into trouble
-falls off of chairs, tables, furniture, bins...anything he can climb onto at least once a day
-loves to get kisses from mommy when he gets hurt--he will even walk inside to show me his "owee" and get a kiss that always makes it better
-loves to torment ava--pulls her hair, bites, scratches, hits and then runs becausec she now has been giving it right back to him
-hates to go to sleep, but loves to be rocked (btw the rocking before bedtime is my favorite part too)
** last but not least...most accomplished activity...he has been bringing me the things/food he finds and says "ew...yuck" instead of eating it...yay Adam!



Ava and her most recent:
*I'm folding laundry, washing dishes, and doing laundry while the kids are playing.
Ava:  Mom, you're just like Cinderella because you have to do lots of stuff, like cleaning.
Me: Yeah, I know.  I sure could use some help Ava.
Ava:  (continuing to play with her dolls) No mom, Cinderella does it all by herself!
Me: (Darn those Disney Movies!!!)

*Mom I can't wait to get bigger like you.
Why is that Ava?
Becaust then I can hold a cup with two hands and eat with a big fork!


*Me: Ava, honey, can you come here for a minute?
A: Um, mom...you can just call me adorable and I'll still listen
Me: is your name adorable now?
A: No, my name is still Ava, but I'm adorable, so you can just call me that.


*Me: (thinking to myself while folding laundry) wow, they're being so nice to each other..and they're so quiet...wait something must be wrong.  "Ava what are you guys doing?"
A: Nothing
Me:  (Awww, hell...they are really doing something bad) Where are you?
A:  Under the cabinet
Me: open the doors please
A: hi mom
me:  what are you doing? Adam what are you eating? Ava what does he have in his mouth?
A: oh, um, a chip
me: we don't have chips.  what is that?  (mouth swipe) AHHH...IS THAT GUM????
A:  oh yeah
me: where did he get that?
A: I gave it to him bc he wanted it
me: Ava you can't give him gum.  He is a baby and he will choke on it.  Do you understand me?
A: Yes.  I'm sorry.
...10 minutes later Rolando asks me, "Hey, where did all this gum go?" 
Uh...what gum?
The whole pack that I just bought last night.  There was only one piece left and now it's all gone.
Me:  Oh my goodness!  Are you kidding me?  AVA!!!!
Did you feed all this gum to Adam?
A:  Uhhh...not all of it...I ate some too.
Me:  You ATE some? How much?
A:  2 pieces.
Me:  So how much did you give your brother?
A:  8
Me:  AHHHHH! SERIOUSLY??? I'm throwing all the gum away. (A drawer full of gum fo all you who are wondering.) I probably looked like a crazed monster, but I was beyond upset and could think of nothing else that would truly make her understand how serious this was.
A: (tears)
Just a side note:  This child has been chewing gum since she was 2.  She has never had any accidents with the gum, only swallowed it a couple times, and has up until this point been pretty responsible with it. 

But now she is in gum rehab and hasn't had any since then...It has been 2 weeks.

FUN TIMES!!!

diagnosis confirmed

For the past 5 months we have been on a journey with Adam.  From the time my little man was born he was small, well not his weight, but his height.  He started off in the 25% and gradually went down to the 3-5% from there.  I knew from the very beginning, actually while in utero, that something was different.  I saw his little legs on the sonogram and noticed his measurements, but no one seemed to see any cause for concern.  When he was born his legs were so short, but otherwise seemed "normal".  I asked his pedi every visit about his height, but he wasn't too concerned until his 18 mo check up in August.  He started to plateau on the growth chart, and was no longer on the curve.  Now his pedi was concerned enough to send us to the endocrinologist,  who totally freaked me out, and then sent us to a specialist.  The specialist visit eased some of my fears and did some tests-bone scan, bone age, and DNA testing to look for a mutation in a specific gene. 

Today, 5 weeks later, I get a phone call from the genetic counselor.  The genes they were looking at came back normal-no mutation, but the xrays/bone scans were sent to Cedars Sinai hospital in California where they specialize in bone disorders.  The specialist there did agree with the diagnosis of hypochondroplasia, which is a bone disorder that affects the growth of the long bones in the arms and legs.  What this means is that Adam will be small, like me.  He will develop normally except that his arms and legs will be of disproportionate size/length compared to his body. 

Although I have always know that he was different as far as his size goes, it is hard to think about all the challenges he will face.  As a child, I was always the shortest in my class, but it didn't really bother me because I am a girl, and being small is acceptable for females.  Not so much for males.  I just hope that he will continue to keep his happy little personality and not allow these things to interfere with his life.  I will always feel a little heartbroken for him, but will never allow him to see this.  No matter, he is perfect just the was he is!

Our next steps are to continue to see the doctors on a regular basis to follow up on his growth, have bone scans/xrays every couple of years, and live our lives as we normally would.  Ava is next in the process because she is small as well, and then me.  I know that I am the carrier of this disorder.  My parents are both average/tall-dad 5'11-6'0, mom 5'8, brother 6'0, and me 4'10--quite the discrepancy.  If we choose to have more children they have a 50/50 chance of inheriting this disorder as well.  Another thing to think about, but we will cross that bridge soon enough. 

No matter what, I know that we are blessed to have beautiful, healthy children (and I wouldn't trade that for the world!)  They are just packaged a little differently!

Oh Christmas tree...

Have I mentioned how much I LOOOOOOVE Christmas time!  Every year when I was little my family would venture out to the Christmas tree farm and cut down our tree.  Well, since having our own little family, we have only had a fake tree.  So this year we put up our fake tree and then decided to go get another smaller tree. 



Adam off exploring on his own.



Ava making sure he is okay...neither of them
are really interested in the tree finding or cutting



Very content with his new sticks.
That's what we were there for.



Off we went to the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm, with bells on.  The kids had fun cutting down our little Charlie Brown tree.  But, they had the most fun playing with sticks in the dirt and sword fighting with the sticks that they just had to bring home.  Really???  We have sticks all over the back yard and you are throwing a fit to bring the "special sticks" home.   Adam decided he would follow another family around for a little while and hang with them.  Ava did not like that one bit.  "Adam Joseph, you better get over here right now or you're gonna be in big trouble!"  His response to this was a "you gotta be kidding" look, a very assertive "NO" and ran away in the opposite direction of Ava.  She was honestly just trying to be motherly to him and keep him with us, but he wanted to be his little independent self, so off he went.  She was almost in tears, so I got him back on track with us and they played with the sticks and dirt some more.

Another fun moment. There were signs all over "Please watch for stickers and fire ants".  And even though we specifically said not to sit down on the ground...they did...and we were in screaming sticker city. Both of them at the same time.  They had stickers everywhere...on their butts, shoes, shirts.  Man those things hurt.  So our last few minutes in the tree area were no fun, but that was easily forgotten by the hay ride back to the front with our little tree.

The tree they picked is somewhat of a crooked little tree, but it's their tree and it's going in their playroom.  Okay, it is totally crooked, but I just try not to look at it so much. I really had to put my OCD thoughts aside and allow them to choose their first tree. 

Afterwards, since we were in Elgin, we went to eat some bbq.  Yum!  Nothing like a bunch of greasy meat to end our day.  Then the kids had some ice cream to solidify the fat they had just ingested.  Hmmm...what could be considered vegetables or at least somewhat nutritional in that meal?  At least they had something that consisted of milk.

We had fun, and I hope to make this a tradition for them as it was for me growing up. 

YEAH CHRISTMAS!!!

P.S.- does anyone really know the words to the song "Oh Christmas Tree"? I haven't a clue.



Ava picked the tree.



Ava and Daddy cutting down our tree.











Our family with our little tree.





Hayride back with our tree...Adam is not impressed