the owl

We have an owl that hangs on our front door.  It’s made out of fabric.  Yesterday Alex decided to reach up and pull on the owl’s leg.  Off it came.  I was walking in the door from work and I said, “Oh no!  The owl has a boo-boo.  We need the stapler.”  And that was the end of the conversation.  I grabbed the owl’s leg and took it into the kitchen.  I’d deal with it later.  About a minute later, as Kara and I are catching up in the kitchen, we see Jakob walk by with his Fisher Price medical kit.  I look at Kara and I say, “Where is he going?” and she responds, “No idea.  Wait?  Is he going to take care of the owl?”  And when we rounded the corner there was Jakob taking out his plastic band-aid and his stethoscope to tend to Mr. Owl.  It was the cutest thing ever!

Mary

more cuteness

Alex has become a bit of a drama queen.  His speech therapist nailed it yesterday when she responded with, “You could be a soccer player.”  No matter the severity of an injury a kiss from Momma or Mommy makes it all better.  But here is the deal.  If Alex falls and hurts his head he will want you to kiss it.  But then he will also hold out his hand and make you kiss that.  We always have to kiss two body parts.  The one that was “injured” and some other random hand, or arm, or cheek, or head.  It’s great.  My favorite is when he “bumps” his head but immediately sticks his foot out for you to kiss it.  What about your head buddy?

We are in the midst of some bedtime shenanigans.  Of course most of the shenanigans come from Alex but at times the boys will work together to create chaos.  The exception was last night.  The boys had a big day at the zoo and did not nap a whole lot.  So I think they were tired.  But there is part of me that thinks I frightened Alex to bed last night.  We used to play a “monster” game at bedtime each night.  I was the monster and I would chase the boys around the nursery until I trapped them in a corner and lifted them into their crib.  This would cause fits of giggles and deep belly laughs.  So last night after the boys finished their bath I decided I would bring back the “monster” game.  The boys and I were getting our snuggles in when I started our typical countdown but with a twist of, “5 more minutes and then the ‘monster’ is coming out”.  I got a giggle from Jakob who immediately started to run around the nursery anticipating the arrival of the “monster” but I only got a raised eyebrow from Alex.  Our little thinker was at work.  It has been several months since we last played this game and Mr. Alex is now more versed in the definition of “monster”.  He knows there are “good” monsters and “bad” monsters.  I’m not sure he could remember that a “good” monster would come out to play.  So when my next time reminder came, “2 more minutes and then the ‘monster’ is coming out” I immediately got a “No. No. No. No. No.” from Mr. Alex all while he was pointing at his crib.  I was shocked.  I hesitated in my response but I finally said, “You don’t want to play monster? Do you want to go to bed?” and I got an adamant “YES”.  So off to their cribs they went without a fit.  And even more surprisingly my little man immediately laid down in the crib and wanted to go to sleep.  It was the easiest bedtime in ages.  I think I might have frightened Alex into sleeping last night!

Mary

some glimpses

I don't have time for much these days.  But these are some current happenings that I want to remember when I am old and gray.

Alex is currently obsessed with hoses.  We took the boys to the zoo this past weekend and Alex started pointing and screaming when we got to the elephant exhibit.  So I went over and started talking to him about the gigantic elephant that was standing right in front of us.  It took me a minute to realize that Alex was actually trying to tell the elephant to move out of the way so he could get a better view of the giant hose that was wrapped up in the corner of the arena.  Sigh.  So maybe Alex is going to be a gardener or a firefighter when he grows up instead of a veterinarian or a zookeeper.  

Jakob can now put together several two word phrases.  The phrases are for the most part either “more ___ “ or “____ please” but it is great to hear Jakob speaking in “sentences” these days.  Jakob is also ALL boy and can, in typical boy fashion, fart on command.  I actually never knew this was a possibility until I had boys in the house.  So diaper changes are a blast. (insert sarcasm)  Jakob will fart as soon as you take off his diaper.  This is followed by the cutest giggle in the world and the phrase “more farts” over and over and over again.  That’s my boy!

The boys love to give kisses these days.  And for the most part we are finally away from the “open mouth insert tongue kisses” and now when the boys give us a kiss there is total concentration on their faces.  Jakob will actually lean in and grab your cheeks when he gives you a kiss.  This new phase also means that bedtime can be super sweet and annoying all in the span of 15 minutes.  We have to give everyone and everything kisses before I leave the room.  We give each other kisses.  We give our stuffed animals Danny (that’s Alex’s monkey) and Hoppy (that’s Jakob’s bunny) kisses.  We give our matchbox cars kisses.  We our books kisses.  We give our puzzles kisses.  Can you tell the boys sleep with a lot of toys in their cribs?  We blow kisses.  It becomes a game of course and I think I have to say, “no more kisses” and “one last kiss” about a bazillion times each night.

The boys are getting really good at taking off their clothes.  I guess this is a good thing and a bad thing.  But at bath time each night they now take off their shorts and shirts (with some help) and get to throw them down the laundry shoot.  They then take off their diapers and throw them in the trash can before they come to me to put them in the bathtub.  This new found independence also means that the occasional shoe and sippy cup have also made their way down the laundry shoot.  And there was that one occasion that a poopy diaper ended up down the laundry shoot.  Thanks Jakob.  It can be really difficult to keep eyes on two toddlers at all times.

We took the boys to Dairy Queen over the weekend.  We opted to get the boys a vanilla milkshake because we figured it wouldn’t be a total mess to eat on the walk home.  I asked the cashier to make me the smallest vanilla milkshake in the store.  I guess our definitions of “smallest” vary somewhat because the 12 oz milkshake that I handed to the boys was a bit BIG.  You should have seen the smiles that suddenly appeared on the boys faces.  Now our boys LOVE some milk.  They are actually a bit obsessed with milk and we have to control their intake all the time.  But even with their love for milk products I thought they would take a few sips of the milkshake and call it a day.  Nope.  Both milkshakes were completely gone by the time we got home from our walk.  That’s a whopping 520 calories if anyone is keeping track at home.  So next time … we get one milkshake and two cups!  I don’t even want to talk about the sugar rush that came about 10 minutes after we got home.

Here is Jakob with his "tiny" milkshake.

Mary

vacation

I thought I'd do a quick photo post of our vacation last week.  These are a few of my favorites and I think all capture the wonders of our trip.

I mentioned it briefly in our last post but Cedar Point is in our blood.  We have vacationed here since I was a little kid.  My memories of this place are some of the best in my life.  And when I found out I was pregnant I often thought of the vacations I would get to experience with the boys.  This was the second trip to Cedar Point for Jakob and Alex.

Of course our arrival to the campground was marked with giraffes and dinosaurs.  I mean that's exactly why Grandma and Grandpa had laid out the table cloth.  Right?

This is the calm before the storm.  The boys were tuckered out from the trip up to Cedar Point.  We had taken them for a walk along the beach and before we knew it they were out cold.  (I love that they are sleeping the same way.)

And then this happened.  The great stitches incident of 2014.  And no worries we will forever remind Jakob of "that time he fell and hit his head at Cedar Point".

Alex got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa while Kara and I took Jakob to get all patched-up.  This was actually the very first time Alex was alone with Grandma and Grandpa.  He soaked it all up.  I absolutely love watching my boys with my Dad.  The memories that are being created are simply amazing.

That night after dinner we took the boys to meet Snoopy.  We all know that Jakob is a big flirt so he took to Snoopy with no problem.  It was really sweet too because Snoopy immediately noticed the band-aid on Jakob's head.  Snoopy kissed his paw and then touched Jakob's head.  It was so sweet.  This is our only group shot from the trip.

It took Alex a bit longer to warm up to Snoopy.  But thanks to the tenacity of that little dog we were finally able to capture this moment ...

I love the smile of Alex's face.

The next day we took the boys to the park.  I cannot wait until they are old enough to ride all the roller coasters.  Alex loved the roller coasters.  All you could see from behind the stroller was Alex's arm as he was constantly pointing the roller coasters out to anyone who would pay attention.  I'll spare you from the thousands of pictures we took of the boys on the rides.  But they really had a great time.  I was actually surprised at how little they feared.

Here is Alex giving Kara a ride around the block.

And this moment was captured while we waited to ride the swings.  Sigh.  My little boy. (that is the typical Alex face too)

And I snapped this picture of Grandma and Jakob waiting to get on the train.  We called Jakob the "Cedar Point Ambassador" as he spend the entire train ride waving to everyone.  He really didn't care if you were paying attention.  He just kept on waving and waving and waving.

We ended our day at the park meeting up with some old friends from the night before.  Just Snoopy and his pal Woodstock.  And for some reason the fact that Snoopy and Woodstock were plastic this time around seemed to make Alex very comfortable.  I don't think Woodstock expected a kiss on the first date. (this is probably also why we all have colds at the moment)

Our final day was spent at the beach.  We had to be careful because Jakob was banned from getting wet.  Plus the weather was a bit of a downer.  But the boys had a blast playing on the beach.  This is a huge improvement from last year when Jakob refused to put his feet in the sand.

A favorite was building sand castles with Grandpa.  Alex got super into it!

And here is the duo hard at work.

Of course no trip to the beach is complete without some time chasing the seagulls.  And there was one seagull that had Alex's attention.  I think Alex chased that seagull from one end of the beach to the other.

We had a wonderful (and very exhausting) vacation.  And I simply cannot wait to do it again next year.  These are the moments I long for with my family.  We are truly blessed and grateful for every moment we have together.

Mary

stitches

We had our first (but definitely not our last) urgent care visit this week.  Sigh.  Perhaps I should keep a scorecard?

My family, since I was a little kid, travels to Cedar Point every summer to spend a few days lounging on the beach and screaming our heads off on roller coasters!!  And of course since the boys were born we have made it a point to carry on the tradition.  My parents now pull their camper up to The Point a few times each summer and we always try to go up for at least a few days.  There is no better feeling in the world than watching my little boys experience the wonders and awes of Cedar Point.  I have so many wonderful memories of my summers up North.

We made a trip to Cedar Point this past week.  We had arrived several hours prior to the hotel check-in time in order to maximize our vacation time.  We had been walking the boys around the property a bit in order to get them to take a nap.  So after the brief stroller semi-nap Grandma suggested that I stop by the hotel to see if we could check-in just a bit early.  So as I was checking-in Kara and Grandma got the boys out of their strollers to run around a bit.  The next thing I hear is a sobbing Jakob.  He had tripped over the wheel of the stroller and fell straight into the corner of the wood table in the lobby.  And so within seconds I see Kara dashing off to the restroom with Jakob.  When I see Grandma trailing close behind I ask, "Is he okay?" and I think Grandma responded along the lines of "I think it's bad" and that was all I needed to go chasing after Kara and Jakob.  And actually, in the end, the visual I have in my memory of Kara and Jakob in the bathroom as I came through that door has continually made me laugh through this whole adventure.  I run into the restroom and Kara is literally turning around in circles while blood is spewing out of a cut above Jakob's eye and she is going "There are no paper towels.  Why don't they have any paper towels?  Where the F*&( are the paper towels?"  So I immediately grab Jakob and head back to the front desk because I know they will have (1) a first aid kit with some sort of gauze and (2) probably paper towels within arms reach.  Wrong.  Wrong. Wrong.  Wrong.  You would have thought I had brought a gun shot victim to the front desk.  There were two young girls working the front desk and both stood paralyzed with fear when I said, "I need paper towels and a first aid kit."  They just stood there and stared at me.  I thought "Surely they didn't hear me.  And maybe they don't see the blood that is pooling on the floor beside me."  So I gave it another shot and this time I simplified it, "Paper Towels.  First Aid Kit."  Yep.  Nothing.  Just crickets.  Though this time one of the girls turned around and ran into a back room.  But she didn't come back.  I'm still not entirely sure where she went.  Maybe to get a drink?  Or to turn in her resignation?  Anyhow in the end it was the young man on the other side of the lobby who was sweeping the floor that sprung into action.  I didn't know it but he had run off to grab some paper towels and an ice pack once he saw me come out of the bathroom with Jakob.  I wish I would have gotten his name.  He needs a promotion.  Maybe even to the front desk.  I hear there might be an opening.  Anyhow.  We put some pressure on the cut and it stopped bleeding within minutes.  We managed to calm Jakob down while we waited for EMS to arrive on the scene.  I guess that happens when you get injured in a public place.  Here is our little Jakob as we were waiting for him to get checked out.

I was really hoping that we wouldn't need stitches.  Can we say denial?  The gentlemen from EMS took one look at it and knew it was going to at least need glued shut.  Because we were from out of town he offered to come have someone from Cedar Point drive us to the hospital so we didn't have to worry about getting lost.  It was a very kind gesture and without really thinking about it we took him up on the offer.  However, as we were waiting for the vehicle to come and pick us up I began to regret our decision.  We weren't really in an emergency situation.  Jakob was just fine.  I'm sure his head hurt but we didn't need to be rushing anywhere.  I didn't have proper supplies to drag a toddler to a hospital for hours on end and I would have to go by myself as the car only allowed for one other adult  Plus I would much rather visit an urgent care then a hospital if at all possible.  So once the car arrived to take us to the hospital and the car seat in the vehicle was all but still in the box I looked at the driver and said, "Thanks.  But I think this is overkill.  I'm going to drive myself."   This was the best decision in the end.  Alex stayed with Grandma and Grandpa while Kara and I took Jakob to the closest urgent care we could find per Google Maps.  And I want to add in what a blessing it was to see Alex react in this situation.  Alex immediately knew that Jakob was hurt and he did nothing but behave like a gentleman during the entire situation.  He was totally being ignored and he stood patiently and did not make a noise until he knew all was okay with Jakob.  It was so sweet.  

I cannot say enough about the wonderful care we received from the folks at the urgent care.  We were only in the facility for a total of 60 minutes and every staff member was so very kind to all of us.  And Jakob did an amazing job.  Here is my tough man waiting for the doctor to come take a look at the cut.

In the end the cut was actually very deep.  So it was decided that Jakob would need stitches.  Sigh.  I knew this was going to be fun.  The put some numbing cream on the cut to help minimize the burning and pain from the injections of lidocaine.  Kara actually held Jakob while they did the stitches.  I knew she would be better at it.  So basically Kara laid down on the table and then bear hugged Jakob on top of her.  So she had hold of his arms and hands.  Another nurse held his head still and then I stood at the foot of the bed and held his feet.  He was a champ.  He cried a lot but he never really pulled away from us.  It was just a frightened cry.  Can you blame the guy?  Grandma had given Jakob a giraffe when he first got to Cedar Point that day and Jakob was holding on to that giraffe with all his might while getting stitches.  Jakob left with 6 stitches above his left eye.  Here is our little champ on the way home.

So far the cut seems to be healing just fine.  Jakob knows he has a boo-boo.  He will point to it when you mention it.  We made an appointment for next week with our pediatrician to get the stitches taken out.  

So who will be next?

Mary