Plum tuckered

Wow am I tired tonight. The combination from stress from Connor being sick, sleeping on his floor..or spare room bed with him kicking and flailing about all night, and then last night staying up until 2 am working on a 750 piece jigsaw puzzle are starting to catch up to me (I know..I know..the puzzle was just dumb, but seriously I can't stop once I sit down and start working on it, it's a problem, and now I have done all the fun stuff and all that is left is a bunch of black sky)

Things have started to get back to normal though (yay!). Connor started feeling a lot better at almost exactly 24 hours after the antibiotic shot (which by the way...NEVER volunteer your children to receive unless absolutely necessary, that's one brutal shot with an enormous needle to the buttox area..my Connor is very brave with needles and cried, screamed, and walked like he was wearing a splint on his leg the rest of the day). I really felt that after that shot, he deserved to feel better far before the 24 hour mark..but sadly no, however he seems to be over the hump now. His glands are still really swollen, and eating/drinking is still somewhat challenging, but no more fevers, or throwing up..so I am very grateful. It was so good to see him out of his pajamas today, freshly bathed..wanting to play, and irritating his brother. He actually begged me to let him go to his final swim lesson today, which I of course rejected, but it was great he felt that good anyway.

Eric's brother Uncle Edmund was passing through town..so we also got to spend some time with him. I made Aunt Betty's famous lemon cake to celebrate Edmund's recently passed Bday, and he took Connor up to Target while Ethan and I were at swim so that he could let Connor pick something out for his. I love watching Edmund interact with the boys. He of course comes to see us too, but he is really all about the boys. Ethan loves how rough Edmund will play with him, and Connor will only attempt to play that way for a short period..so it was nice that he took Connor off by himself to get to relate one on one with Connor too. He is really excited to get to spend more time with them in CA..and I just feel blessed to have such good family on both sides who truly love my boys. Connor actually thanked me at bedtime for all that his Dad and I do "to make his life special"...my sweet boy. He is resting soundly, and now so will I!

Swimming fun.......

Isaac has been doing better and better in the water this summer which really excites me. Last year he was petrified of the water and swimming is a must in the AZ heat. We went over to the Overson's house 2 nights ago and this video is of Zeke and Daddy playing. Craig was probably sore the next day because Isaac made him do this about 100 times, but it was fun to watch. =)

Here's a pic of my boys before all the excitement..... Isaac always has to wear a matching "tamp top" when Daddy wears one. He really is a mini Craig!

Coordination.....

Today we went to Busy Bodies (one of my favorite places) and they had all kinds of new toys to play with. They try and have a different theme every month and they rotate the equipment so that the kids (and parents) don't get bored. This month must be coordination because they had out balance beams and different things along those lines. Isaac got on the balance beam the very first time and walked from one end to the next... I was shocked. He then got on a higher one, that was also thicker, and did the same thing. I was so proud... I even had a mom come up to me and ask if he was in gymnastics because he did so well?? =) Gotta love those moments! He also caught the ball for the very first time.... on purpose anyways. He has caught it before if we throw it in his arms and it happens to stick.... but this was an intentional, close hands and cup right as the ball is in your hands, kinda catch! He did it 3 times in a row.....

Fireworks

This is way after the fact, but I haven't blogged in a while and was looking thru my camera and saw pics from the 4th of July that I wanted to share. We had a great time. We went to Anthem on the 3rd to try and beat some of the crowds, which we're not sure if actually worked out or not?? Isaac's buddy Mason (and fam) came and the boys played as we passed the time until the fireworks.

Eye Appointment

The Boy had his second eye evaluation with the specialist this last Friday. She confirmed what we already knew: He will require surgery in order to open up his tear ducts. The actual surgery is not that invasive; putting him under will take longer than the procedure itself. It will be done as a day surgery at a local hospital. The doctor usually does surgery on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month and we are hoping for the 2nd week of August for him. We should hear from the scheduler later this week. We're unhappy this has to be done, but it is time. The older he gets the more invasive the procedure becomes and after age one it is very unlikely they will open up on their own. His eyes are chronically teary, tears stream down his face at all times, he is extra sensitive to light due to the extra moisture (reflects light) in his eyes, and he fights monthly eye infections (he's got one now, as a matter of fact). Oh, and he now greatly resents and fights us having to mess with his eyes several times a day. It is time.

Weekend Round Up

On Friday The Boy and I went for a really long hike on one of our local trails. He fell asleep pretty early on so I ended up doing SIX laps around the upper trail. I didn't want to try to transfer him into the hot car while he was asleep and it was such a great treat to have him sleeping and me be free to move around that I milked it for everything it was worth. It was about 95 degrees though...that's hot for the PacNW. I went through two bottles of Gatorade and he drained his juice cup shortly after he awoke. We were both in a great mood after the outing though.

Friday night we went out for Mexican food. The boy ate his weight in tortilla, shredded cheese, avocado, rice and beans. He was a sight to behold...two fisted eating at it's finest. We had to leave a big tip and avoided eye contact as we were exiting the building. The aftermath looked as though a small food bomb had exploded under our table. At least they had concrete floors...?

Saturday morning I was out watering and then photographing my container garden. Apparently I interrupted a rogue, hot headed bee while doing so. The sucker landed on my toe and stung me before I even knew it was there. It hurt like crazy for over an hour and my right foot swelled up. Two days later a couple of my toes are still swollen and itch like crazy and there's a faint rash half way up my foot. Not fun. The good news is, we now know for sure I'm not allergic to bee stings...so there's that. My morning plans of going to the farmer's market were thwarted and instead I sat around and complained and texted FB (facebook) about my misfortune. That afternoon I went and got my hair done while the guys played and napped. I then did a little shopping and treated myself to frozen yogurt for lunch. The Boy refused his afternoon nap so I packed him up and took him out shopping that evening for two hours instead...I think he learned a valuable lesson. If you don't want to be trapped in a stroller and forced to give opinions on whether or not ten different shirts will pass Fox family scrutiny you should take your nap. He did fine and I came away with four new shirts I think the women in my family will approve of (?). We'll soon find out, eh ladies?

Sunday was spent putzing around the house, grocery shopping, and wandering around our huge, local gardening store looking for some sort of hanging solution for my wonderfully humongous tomato plants. Also, The Boy had his first taste of real ice cream. He thoroughly enjoyed it (his face in these pictures does not reflect his joy over the dairy but trust me, he enjoyed it.).

Lesson of the day

All week I have been looking forward to taking zeke to pump it up. We've been a couple of times in the past and its a blast! You only pay for your kid to play in the bouncers but the parents get to play too. So fun! Craig took all week off of work to do projects on the house, but we had determined today would be a day to play. I made a bad mistake last night though and stayed at the folks house too late and didn't get him to bed until after 10. I thought Zeke would fall asleep on the way home, but I was mistaken....... I was determined to make it work though, so I woke him up at 9 to get ready (pop in time is only from 10- 11:30.) It's true what they say though.....you should never wake a sleeping baby! He seemed ok at first, but continued to melt down as time went on. He even said he wanted to leave half way thru and go home?? It was a bummer, but now I know. You can party at night or party in the morning, but you can't have both!

On a different note- Isaac is now addicted to the movie Cars. He has quite the extensive collection of the diecast cars and he plays with them from the time he wakes up until the minute he goes to bed. They, by far, keep his attention far longer than anything else ever has. He role plays with them and has them act out scenes from the movie. (Which funny enough- we don't even own yet.) He asks me everyday if we can go to Target to get some character he is missing..... I tend to oblige him more than I probably should because I think it's adorable how into he is. His first real passion! =)

Teething

This beautiful child is teething. He's currently cutting three new teeth, two on top (still? again?) and one on the bottom.

I am getting bit a lot. It's unpleasant but understandable.

Summer, Finally!

The PacNW finally got the memo about it being summer. I've been making a concerted effort to soak up the sunshine and get out and move around every chance I can get this week.

It's been lovely. The Boy is enjoying it too.

Toothless Birthday Boy

Connor is officially 8 now, and it seems his mouth had decided to celebrate the change...he has lost 3 teeth in one week. He has gone from super whimpy, let them fall out of natural causes even when you can no longer chew your food and you have the most un-attractive dangling by a thread tooth hanging from your mouth..to going into the bathroom and ripping one out that was barely loose a couple of days ago. My baby! Growing up. Love the new lisp, the way he gingerly chews his food with broken up bits of food on his back teeth, and of course the pride as he tells his story over and over to anyone who will listen..of how he bravely yanked all 3 teeth out un-assisted (because he screamed every time we came near him), how the toothfairy visited him even while camping..and of course "look, grown up teeth already coming in". He is so sweet, and innocent, and fun still!

All in all, Connor had a great Birthday, and we thoroughly enjoyed our camping trip up in Greer this weekend. Greer is absolutely breathtaking, the camp sight was amazing (especially as compared to last year when we camped right off the main road, and pretty much on top of our neighbors). The spots were big and luscious, there were several forms of water within a short drive distance including a couple of lakes and a river that is narrow enough to hop stones or broken tree limbs across. The boys had very little patience for fishing, and although I was really hoping that especially E would catch his first big fish..I found great enjoyment out of watching them be brave and explore their surroundings instead. They even crossed the river at a point that scared me. I had to get down on my hands and knees to cross the thin stick logs they had just journeyed over while Connor held them still and they both egged me on from the other side. I had absolutely no desire to cross the river myself, but the thought of my boys on the other side with no one to help should they need it overtook any hesitations. I felt two things 1. old 2. proud. I so remember camping at 8 years old and how old and independant I felt. I look at Connor now, and think..he's just a baby. I must have been much bigger and more mature at that age. Funny how perspectives change. I love how involved Grammy and Papa are..they seem to really enjoy re-creating some of our childhood memories, and although they may belly ache about sleeping on hard grounds from time to time..they are still so fun and active and cool. I have learned much from their let go, and let live style of parenting (not that I have perfected it, just that I have taken notes, and can occasionaly follow suite)

Now it is back to reality. I am trying desperately to get my house back in order. Stay cool. Connor had his first swim lesson today (E was supposed to go to, but has some type of bug..low grade fevers and belly aches), and continue getting a work system going.

Thanks Mom & Dad for a great weekend..wish you girls were there, and hope we can all go together sometime in the near future. I predict we will have some crazy boy cousin camp trips in our future. There will be lots of mud, talks of belching and farting, competitions on who is the bravest, strongest, fastest, and fire...lots of fire. Bring your medical kits. :)

Celebration

P has been studying for his 3rd of 4 CMA (certified management accounting) exams nonstop of late. The exam was this past Monday. He passed (of course he did). He's attempting to complete this course in 5 months when it usually takes about 18 months to do (of course he is) so he seems surprised each time he comes away with a passing grade. We decided to celebrate by going out for frozen yogurt. We loaded The Boy up in the car and headed over to the dinky mall...The Boy could show daddy his tricks while we enjoyed the fro yo. Perfect plan. And it was. The mall was pretty much empty, we enjoyed our snack, and The Boy had the run of the little play area. Good times.

(Did you know you can usually click on a photo to see it in enlarged form? Click your back arrow to get back to the blog once you're done inspecting the enlarged photo.)

Renaissance Market

I've made it a point to mill around my community's biggest farmer's market every Saturday this season. It's easier this year as I'm actually up early due to The Boy so I can get there before it gets too crowded and still get back in time for his first nap if necessary. Up until this last Saturday, I've gone alone. It's become my Me Time activity. I mill around, I buy a glass of freshly squeezed lemonade and a snack, sit on a bench and listen to whatever band is there that week while I munch on my bagel or crepe, and then I go back and make a couple of purchases (sometimes), and then walk the few blocks back to my car and head home. This last Saturday was a special market day though. It had a Renaissance theme. Folks walked around in costumes, there were special booths and activities, and instead of a live band there were dancers performing period dances. I brought The Boy along this time as I suspected he might really enjoy being out on a nice day and being a part of the activity. The market was busier than usual earlier than usual. I pushed him around in the Bob, which while comfortable for him, was not altogether easy to navigate through the crowds...it's a bit longer than a traditional stroller and it's easy to smack into people if they stop too suddenly in front of you. We sampled our way down the aisles, people watched, made a few small purchases, and then made our way to the crepe stand. Once snacks were in hand, we strolled over to the grassy area, spread out a blanket and lounged while watching the big kids play in the park and the Renaissance dancers practice their steps in the shade nearby. I had The Boy's attention for a while but once the crepe was gone he was unsatisfied with his comfortable spot on the blanket. The grassy perimeter required exploration. I pulled him back from the dirt and grass a few times and then decided to just let the kid tug at the grass already. He did. And then he tasted it before I could intervene. I think he was less than impressed. I then helped him walk with his bare feet in the grass...a sensation he was not altogether fond of. By then it was past nap time and he had had enough of the Bob. I ended up stuffing my bag and loot into the seat of the stroller and pushed it the many blocks back to the car while carrying The Boy on my hip. Why does that always happen? Anyway, it was a great way to spend the morning.