Learning his letters

Look Mom, an L for Logan!

Slipped and fell...

Hand hurts like hell. And all I can think of is how crappy the timing is, since I'm on my own with the kids this week. Ugh.

Crazy hair

Logan's doing A LOT better in swim class this season. He actually seems to enjoy it - at least, a tiny bit. :)

His hair cut appointment will have to wait until next weekend when Jon's back home. There's only so much I'm willing to juggle on my own!

Here kitty kitty!

Thank goodness Iz is super tolerant. ;-)

Testing his limits

Callum is trying to stand on his own. He can hold himself for a couple of seconds before he plops back down on his knees or butt.

Jon left this morning for a week-long business trip to Miami. It's going to be a long week without him, that's for sure. But wouldn't it be crazy cool if he came back and Callum was standing (without holding onto anything) and cruising, all on his own?! :)

Loganisms

But I'm a good listener.

You are?

Yeah.

Did I tell you not to throw?

Yes.

Did you throw it?

Yeah.

Well, that's not being a good listener.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With my parents this morning:

How many hands do you have?

Two.

How many feet do you have?

Two.

How many eyes do you have?

Two.

How many ears do you have?

Two.

How many noses do you have?

One!

How many fingers do you have?

A lot.

Loganism of the day

Mom, what's the point?

Words of Encouragement

Callum's teacher wrote on his daily summary sheet yesterday:

Callum had a great day today.  His mood has definitely improved!

I would have to agree!  From the minute he woke up on Friday after his morning nap (post-surgery), his demeanor has definitely changed.  He seems content, calmer and an overall happier baby.  He is MUCH less clingy and totally fine to instead explore and crawl around the house and play on his own.  I have also noticed he doesn't freak out and get upset the minute he bonks his head on something (like slamming it into the table, or falling backwards on the floor when wrestling with Logan, etc.)  Previously, I had thought I just had gotten used to a toughie kid Logan and that Callum was a more "sensitive" kid.  Now, I'm beginning to think that HEY GENIUS, maybe when he bonked his head on something it actually hurt for a reason!  :)

I've been trying to see if his hearing has improved too - it seems to have, although not as much as I had thought it would.  However, there are definitely changes.  He notices sounds and turns his head to listen a lot more than he used to - but what has been more interesting and unexpected (for me anyway), is that he's had the "startle" reflex a lot more!  I've noticed it a couple of times where something dropped on the floor near his side and he jumped from the noise.  Or, the dogs barked nearby when he wasn't paying attention and sure enough, the noise startled him.  I'm taking all of those as positive signs that his hearing loss wasn't permanent (although we won't definitively know until we do a follow up hearing test in a few weeks).

Callum napped really well all weekend throughout the day.  However, he still had a rough time settling down and sleeping Friday and Saturday nights.  I'm still hopeful that his (night time) sleeping will improve, since Sunday and last night seemed better than the first two nights, but it still seems too early to tell.

Gaming

Logan has become much more interested in video games lately. Oy vey!

Home recovery

The surgery was super quick. I had time to text Jon about where I was waiting (he had to leave just before the surgery to take my parents to the airport) and then literally Callum's doctor was looking for me to give me the update.

Callum did awesome. He had A LOT of fluid in his ears which they drained before inserting the tubes, and the tubes took just fine. Minutes after talking with the doctor, his anesthesiologist came looking for me. Callum had woken up and was hungry.

He gulped down a bottle and while a little antsy (he really wanted to crawl around), he was super mellow and quiet. The nurses labeled him the "good" baby (because he was so quiet). ;-)

We were out of the hospital less than an hour after his surgery time! Incredible. He fell asleep on the drive home, hopefully he'll have a really great nap this morning. He's certainly earned it! :)

Drunk Callum is hilarious!

About to begin

This was taken 30-45 min ago while Callum was exploring his hospital crib. Check out his cute little hospital gown!

They just gave him some pre-medication which means I'll have a drunk baby in my arms any minute now. ;-)

ENT Visit

With my fantastic persuasion skills (har-dee-har-har), yesterday evening I convinced the ENT office who was "completely booked" to schedule an appointment to see Callum this afternoon.

I'm glad I did - he has another ear infection :(  but worse than that, the hearing tests they ran show he has minor hearing loss!  Ugh.  The hearing loss is very likely due to the fluid in his ears and regular ear infections.  The doctor thinks it's reversible but we do need to take steps to treat him soon (especially since the risk of permanent hearing loss increases as we allow the infections to linger).

There are essentially two options - medically treat with anti-biotics or surgically insert ear tubes.  Since we've been treating with anti-biotics for a few months now, with no great success, moving to tubes is the logical next step.

I had the doctor's office fax Callum's test results and paperwork over to Jon's dad Nolan (who luckily, happens to be an ENT too!) to review tomorrow morning.  But in the meantime, I also booked Callum's surgery.

The surgery center happened to have an opening (early) this Friday morning, so I took it!  His surgery is scheduled for 7:30am, which means we have to check in at the hospital at 5:30am.  FIVE THIRTY.  They schedule the little ones super early because patients have to fast prior to the surgery.  Poor Callum can't eat anything the 6 hours prior to his surgery time, which is going to make the middle of the night wake up call tomorrow night, when he is used to having a bottle to fall back to sleep, verrrrry difficult.

Also, as it turns out, Jon's sister Catherine was planning on visiting and spending the night with us Thursday - which works out great since she'll be around to hang out with Logan in the morning while Jon and I are at the hospital.  Phew.

We'll let you know how it goes - wish us luck!

Our family alarm clock

These days, most mornings, I'm greeted by a chipper little Logan who climbs into our bed to tell us to wake up (this morning, he actually kissed me on the nose - so cute!), he then climbs down and runs across the hall to throw a few toys into Callum's crib (apparently his version of "good morning" to his little brother?) and then off to his train table to play with his toys, apparently a hard morning's work done.

This morning, in addition to all of that, he made sure to mention to me:

Mom, remember?  Remember when we rode on the very very big choo-choo train?

Yes, I think I remember that.

Remember?  With a blue one [train car] on the back.  It was a really long long long long one! 

I'm marking the trip as a huge success.  ;-)

In other news, Logan has moved up to the next classroom at his school this week!  The class is focused on a bit more academics between play time, but more than that, he's now with his "old" pals again (who had all moved up to the classroom over the past several months, and who he was really starting to miss).  :)

9 month checkup

Today was Callum's 9 month check up. You guys, I have a NINE month old. How did that happen?!?

He's still very tall, somewhere in the 80-90th percentile for height (29.75" - an increase of over 2.5 inches in 3 mths!!). He's average on his weight, at 19lbs, 1oz (40%) and his head measures 45.5 cm round. As a part of this check up, he received one shot (HepB) which he HATED. :(

In general, Callum is in good health and doing great. His ears, unfortunately, seem to be on the verge of another infection. So, Dr. Safir wants us to take the next step and consult with an ENT. On the one hand, no one wants their baby to undergo surgery (since he'll likely need tubes), however in this case, if it improves Callum's quality of life, I'm for it. We'll see.

A good trip

I didn't get the usual protest today when I told Logan it was nap time. All he asked for was his "Super bug" which you see cradled in his arms.

Hi world, we're home!

Whew!!

Mr. Social Butterfly

One of our neighbors is a philosophy professor from Long Island University. Our other (directly next door) neighbor is a big fan of football and motorcycles (and became Logan's best friend).
So what I'm saying is, the train is perfect for Jon and his chattiness. ;-)

Leaving Oakland

Almost home! The boys are pretty tired (hell, Mom and Dad are pretty tired!) so Logan's relaxing on the bottom bunk while Callum naps on the top.

Woo-woo!

Going through cow country now. Roughly 2.5 hrs before we're home! :)

Getting closer

I can finally see home on the map. :)

And yes, I'm blogging ridiculously early because Callum decided to wake up at 4:30am and just hang out. Thankfully, no screaming and all smiles but still. I'm exhausted. :(

Someone's winding down

Wish me luck putting him to bed tonight! :-/

(should have been sent a bit before 8pm but my mail got stuck since we were going thru the mountains with no coverage)

It's going to be a long night...

Too bad we can't see outside, I bet it's gorgeous!

Everyone has been snoozin' in our room just fine - except for me! I've been super jumpy and nervous with every little sound or squeak that Callum makes. *sigh*

Even Callum is munchin'

Never would've guessed he'd like cucumber slices but he's LOVING them!

Dinner time

Yum yum!

Skipping the evening nap

Callum was super fussy and tired but having a hard time calming down to sleep for his evening nap, so I took him upstairs to walk him around in hopes that the movement would lull him to sleep.
I couldn't have been more wrong! He's wide awake and acting like a monkey.

Portland Station

But Mom, I really really really want one [a model train]! And I won't lose it!

Passing the town of Kelso

A couple more hours till Portland! :)

Quiet time

 

And Logan's pretty comfy in the bottom bunk. ;-)

Naptime

Callum's pretty comfy in the top bunk. :)

My hands and arms are full

Glued

Thank goodness there are plenty of windows to look out of.

Dessert. :)

Any place that serves Haagen-Dazs is ok by me!

Lunchtime!

I was able to tear Logan away from our bedroom window and trade up for a second story view so we could eat. ;-)

Enjoying the view!

Observation Deck

Callum and I are exploring and hanging out (Logan is stuck to our bedroom window).

Dining Car

Swank accomodations!

Boarding our train

I should've posted this before the kids but they were way too excited. ;-)

Settling in

Our room is the width of one end of a car - I'm looking down the hallway of our car here. The shot may be blurry as hell, but depicts Logan's excitement quite well. ;-)

All aboard!

Leaving Seattle and about to board our train! :)

Greetings from the Space Needle!

Model Railroad Show

Who needs Harry Potter when you've got trains?!? (we're visiting the Pacific Science Center today)

Our new view

Still not bad! :) We're looking straight down 5th Avenue toward downtown. We're right above Nordstrom's and the Monorail (and light rail) stations.

Some serious pie

I worked super late last night, got up and worked some more, then took off just before noon to pick up Jon and the boys.

We've decided NOT to rent a car this trip and rely on public transportation. Seattle actually has some great transportation options available. So, I hopped onto the light rail (the station is a block and a half from our hotel) and headed to the airport, met everyone at baggage claim (I received thrilled welcomes from all three) and then headed back downtown on the light rail again. Logan had a blast on the "choo-choo train", pointing out the airplanes and airport (as we left), other trains that kept passing us, the bridges, the tunnels and the TRACKS MOM!! LOOK AT THE TRACKS!!!

Seriously. My kid was tickled pink about tracks.

After dropping off the bags at the hotel, we decided to grab a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant called Serious Pie. Super yummy and different flavored pizzas. This pic was taken just outside the front door, with our hotel tower in the distance.

After lunch, we walked all over downtown Seattle searching for a store that sells diapers and formula. Who would have thought it'd be so hard to find?!? We also made it down to the Pike Street Market and did a little shopping on our way back to the hotel.

When we got back, Jon decided to find out if the room next to ours was free since he was worried we'd all have trouble sleeping in the same room. It was booked but they offered us a free upgrade to a Junior Suite (two adjoining rooms) in the other tower.

We took it (giving up our fantastic view but it was a hard offer to pass)!

And here's my view at night!

Downtown Seattle

Finished up my work offsite and just checked into our hotel room in downtown Seattle where Jon and the boys will join me tomorrow. We've got a killer view, Seattle Space Needle and all, from the 44th floor of our tower!

Notice the monorail just below, which will be a part of our big trip experience this weekend!

It's snowing!

Had a gorgeous walk back to the hotel after dinner in the snow. Wasn't wearing appropriate snow shoes, but loved it anyway. I hope it continues to snow through the week so that Logan can see it when he (and Jon and Callum) get here on Friday! :)

Wiped out

Indeed, several of my team and I were here until (almost) 2am blowing each other away with our crazy good Karaoke skills. ;-)

Another trip to Redmond

But I don't want you to go.  

Why?

Riding the airplane is dangerous!

It's conversations like these that make it really difficult to take off for business trips anymore.  Callum doesn't know any better of course, but Logan's starting to realize when we're gone for long periods of time and the guilt just sets in when he clings to our necks and begs us not to go away.

Jon thought it might make Logan feel better if we told him he'd get to ride an airplane and "choo-choo" train to see me, but that kinda backfired, since he woke up this morning asking if we were going on an airplane today Mommy?  Because it's daytime!

So I've had to carefully explain that I'm leaving today - I need him to be a good boy and big brother - helping Daddy and Callum all week.  In FOUR days - one, two, three, four - he will ride an airplane with Daddy and Callum to "come find me".  And then AFTER the airplane, we will all ride a VERY LONG choo-choo train back home together.  We'll ride it during the day AND the night - we'll even sleep on the train!

We will?  That will be the longest choo-choo train I've ever seen!

Yes, buddy, it sure will.

Look Mommy, it's Santa!

Packing for the snow

Pulled out this sweatshirt that we received from our friend Will when Logan was just born. Three years later, and it finally fits! ;-)

And a partridge in a pear tree

We had an excellent Christmas!  Logan was VERY excited about Christmas this year.  He loved the advent calendar I created (although tracking it for 25 days was much too long for a 3 year old's attention span, even with candies attached).  He loved the Christmas tree and outside house lights.  He called Santa "Christmas" half the time, asking when Christmas was going to get here.  And, although we didn't get a chance to see snow this holiday, he talked about that nonstop as well.  It was definitely holiday time here at our house!

My parents, Zane (and his girlfriend Norma who we met for the first time!) and Kai all joined us on Christmas Eve for a yummy tamales dinner and gift giving (after the kids were both down for bed).  In recent years my parents have done a (really nice) White Elephant gift exchange for Christmas.  This year, there was a theme: kaleidoscopes.  Jon and I scored some really nice ones!  :)  (Sadly, I didn't snap any pictures during our Christmas Eve festivities although I did get a couple of Logan checking out my prized "win" on Christmas morning)

Christmas morning, my parents and brothers came back over to join us for another big meal and of course, presents.  I had told everyone to arrive at 9am but Logan woke up at 7:30 and immediately started asking if he could open his presents.  It was a ridiculously long hour and a half of distraction.  ;-)

Logan and Callum received an absurd amount of gifts!  I think we'll have to pare down our current toy collection in order to make room for all the new stuff that joined us this year.  That said, we all had a grand time - Logan loved his new presents and Callum loved playing with all of (Logan's) new toys.  ;-)

This is for ME?!?

Logan helping Callum open his present

WHOA!!! A rocket ship!!

Mommy's favorite - a wooden "memory" game

The rocket ship was the favorite of all toys, I have to say

The "big kids" got a present too - Santa left an Xbox Kinect with a few games (Dance Central, Sports and Kinectimals) as well.  Logan liked watching everyone play, but had some trouble playing himself, since a lot of the games required reading directions and/or knowing your left and rights very well.  So, it didn't hold his interest as long as I had hoped - but I think he'll enjoy it soon enough.  Daddy had a blast (with Zane and Kai) playing the Sports games while Mommy fell in love with Dance Central.

What did Santa hide back there?

 

 

 

I just love this series of my brothers - they're "running" hurdles btw :)

Logan and Callum gave us gifts too!  Logan made a colorful Christmas tree decoration and Callum ('s teachers) put together a gorgeous frame of pictures and hand print.  I loved them both!!  :)

Check out how BIG Callum's handprint is!  ;-)

In between game playing, we had a yummy feast and visiting.  What a merry Christmas indeed!

The above are just some of my very favorites, to see a number of other snapshots throughout the day, make sure to visit Callum's album.