18-Month Check Up

On May 25, the boys turned 18 months.  That was a huge milestone for me.  Today, they had their routine check up.  Eighteen months is great--NO SHOTS!  :)  And, we don't have to go back until they turn 2!  It sounds silly, but the fact we are now off the 3-month well-visit schedule sort of hit home for me that the boys aren't infants anymore.  It makes me relieved and so incredibly nostalgic and sad at the same time.

Because I went right from work to the daycare to pick the boys up, I didn't have the diaper bag.  Poor planning on my part!  I had no diapers, so I crossed my fingers they wouldn't poop!  And since it was 90+ degrees out today and they were due for a snack while at the pediatrician, I stopped at Honey Dew Donuts to buy 2 bottles of whole milk and some donut holes.  It was the first time the boys have ever had their hands on donuts.  I've resisted junk food for the most part!  But anyway, I needed something and there's a Honey Dew right across from the pediatrician.  We headed to the office for the check up, and I hid the donut holes in case I needed them later!

The boys are great.  The doctor is happy with their growth and development.  They fist bumped him, and after a few minutes of crying (probably because of bad associations with the doctor's office--they have been there so often for sick visits), they played with each other.  That was great so he could see how they interact.  We headed home and the boys devoured their donut holes and sucked down their cold milk...

I'd say the donut holes were a hit?!

Note Sebastian in the background stuffing his face

MMMMMM....CHOCOLATE!

Turns out they like cinnamon, plain, blueberry, and chocolate, but NOT powdered!!!  :)  Even Lexi was leery of the powder at first...but not for long!

During dinner, we played with Adrian's hair...boy is it long!

The boys are now asleep peacefully in their bedroom with the A/C on and their new ceiling fan circulating the air.  Thank God the electrician came last weekend and fixed the plug and installed the fan.  It's so warm out!! But it's nice to have a taste of summer, finally!  Carlos and I cooked hot dogs on the grill and ate outside on the screened-in porch after the boys were in bed.  There's nothing like a cold beer after a long day at work, and I enjoy it even more now that I'm in my own house and out of that condo!!  I'm so glad we found this place--I love it!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

It's been a while since I posted.  I've been lousy about taking pictures, and I don't like posts without photos because there seems to be no point!

We've been busy for the past few days, especially since the boys are finally feeling better (knock on wood) and it was Memorial Day Weekend.  Saturday it rained and was freezing cold.  I had to turn the heat on in the house because it was so darn chilly and raw.  Gross way to start the weekend that supposedly kicks off summer!!!  We had breakfast at Brianna's with my dad--it was his birthday--Happy Belated Birthday, Dad!  Then we headed home because our former neighbor from Watertown was doing some electrical work for us.  We finally installed ceiling fans in the three bedrooms, put overhead fixtures in the living room, changed out the light fixtures in the hallway, and fixed the plug for the AC in the boys' bedroom. (It wouldn't support the voltage without an adjustment.)  It took the electrician and Carlos ALL DAY LONG.  I left the house around 11 so the boys could nap and then had a birthday party to take them to from 1-3.  They don't nap well in the car these days so they were pretty tired when we arrived at the party.  But they were good overall.  They at pizza and chocolate chip cookies and fist bumped everyone around them at the party.  I was worried they'd be too much to handle on my own in someone's house, but they were fine.

Sunday we went to my dad's in Hull.  It was the first time I'd seen the house since he remodeled the kitchen and added on.  It looks great!  They boys were fairly good, but it's just chaotic to have them anywhere with people around!  They are always underfoot!!  The highlight of their day was probably climbing on my dad's Adirondack chairs...

After two days of interrupted, lousy naps, the boys were exhausted.  We vowed to let them nap at home on Monday.  We went to Savers first thing at 9AM when they opened and cleaned house on clothes for the boys.  They were having a great 50% off sale and I bought a bunch of 2T shirts, pants, and shorts.  I love that store for used kids clothes!  They usually also have good books for kids.  Got a few of those too!  I manage to only buy good brand name stuff there (I never buy Circo, Cherokee, or other Target brands used because I can get higher quality stuff for cheaper than those brands new!): Gap, Children's Place, Gymboree, Ralph Lauren, to name a few.  After Savers we hit BJs to load up on diapers and wipes and summer BBQ essentials.  Then home for naps!  Those boys were exhausted--they slept almost 2.5 hours each.

After naps we loaded up our "new"(used) bike trailer from Craig's List and our bikes and headed to Borderland State Park in Easton.  The boys have their cute little helmets and looked adorable in the trailer.  Unfortunately, I didn't take a single photo because Sebastian was screaming the entire time he was in the trailer!  He hates movement and motion lately--he cries a lot in the car, hates escalators and elevators, and now this...no bike trailer for him!  We rode for about 5 minutes with him screaming the whole time before we gave up and went back to the car.  Adrian loved it, by the way...!  Anyway there were just too many people for it to be enjoyable given the amazing weather after three days of gloom and rain, and I was too embarrassed to have everyone hear him screaming.  I guess we'll have to ease him into is slowly by going around the neighborhood with him in the trailer.  Maybe it was a good thing he couldn't take it--I was pulling the trailer, and if you calculate that each boy is about 25 pounds, plus probably another 10 for the trailer (at least), I was pulling a lot of weight and am very out of shape.  My legs were burning after 5 minutes of off-road (unpaved roads with lots of loose dirt and rocks) biking!!! Yikes.  I really need to get on my bike and get in shape!

On an unrelated note, the boys turned 18 months on Saturday.  Wow.  That is a big one in my mind.  So here are some milestones.  Sebastian now says "papa" and boy does he say it all the time!  He's said "mama" to me before, but only once when he was mad and wanted my attention.  He says car every other word.  Everything is a car, including a truck, bus, or actual car.  He continues to say "ca-ca" for cracker, and "pee" for please (I didn't hear this one--they told me he said it at daycare).  He also waved and said "bye-bye" the other day but won't repeat it.  He can also say "mine."  If you ask him a question he will now nod yes or shake his head no.  Adrian doesn't have as many new words, but he was saying more than Sebastian from the start so they are now about even.  He says, "no no no no no" a lot, which is cute.  He also nods yes or shakes his head no, but much less often than Sebastian, who seems to have stronger opinions about things!  (Big surprise...)

The boys LOVE to cage fight in their pack and play.  If you put them in there they don't want to come out!  They roll around and roll on top of each other and basically wrestle.  It's funny to watch, but I can no longer leave them in there alone at all because they will pull each other's hair, poke each other's eyes, or try to strangle each other.  They play hide and seek with each other and genuinely seem to enjoy being around each other and interacting.  I love to see that they seek each other out.  Both boys give fist bumps and high fives.  Sebastian is in love with fist bumping and will do it to anyone--even Adrian.  Sometimes Adrian leaves him hanging, but he often will reciprocate.

Adrian has this thing where he just crouches down and hits the floor with his fist.  It's like his way of announcing that he's there or wants attention.  And he's always very very busy pushing his Home Depot Tool Truck, Music Truck or the school bus with whatever toys he can stuff in the top.

Love these boys...they are more and more fun by the day.  I love how interactive they are suddenly.

Summer Plans

I'm off this summer, starting July 1 until August 26th.  Not bad!  This will be the first summer since I was in high school that I've truly had off.  (Even when I was teaching, I was taking classes during the summer towards my master's and certification.)  I'm actually really looking forward to spending time with the boys, having adventures, and teaching them stuff.  During the school year, it's pathetic how little I see them during the week.  It's like 20 minutes in the morning and 2 hours or less at night.  That's sad.  Thank God for weekends!  I am excited to take them places, even if they won't really appreciate the experiences this summer at around 18-20 months.  And, they really need to learn colors, more words, and other stuff.  They will be in daycare twice a week for just half days (7-12) so that they don't lose the schedule and can take advantage of some of the curriculum there.  And, they'd miss their friends at this point, I think.  But otherwise, it's all me...

So, it's time to brainstorm all the things to do and places to go with the boys this summer.  Then we'll see how many we're actually able to cross off the list at the end of the summer!  I want it to be as productive as possible!

*Easton Children's Museum
*Boston Children's Museum
*Peaceful Meadows (ice cream/farm)
*Apple picking (late summer!)
*Hull--beach and carousel (many times, I hope!)
*Plymouth
*Borderland State Park
*Road biking in a safe place with bike trailer
*Franklin Park Zoo
*Davis Farmland
*Playground hunting
*Blue Hills (trail side museum?)
*Play dates

Where else to moms go with their toddlers?  I need ideas!

F*U* Flu!

This was such a long week.  I was away at Philips Andover for a work conference last Monday and Tuesday.  Luckily, the conference was over at noon on Tuesday (and we didn't have to go back to the office) because the daycare called Carlos around 11:30 to get Adrian.  Carlos and I took him to the pediatrician and they thought it was allergies and a cold.  So we gave him Claritin and some Advil for the virus.  I had to be out with him Wednesday because he has to be fever-free 24 hours to return to daycare--we had a pretty good day together.  Thursday Adrian seemed fine.  I dropped him off and went to work.  I was still eating breakfast on campus when they called me to pick him up.  He had a fever of over 101 and only wanted to be held.  Geez!!!  I went to get him and he was MISERABLE.  I took him back to the pediatrician.  This time they thought maybe he had the flu...IN THE MIDDLE OF MAY?!!?  The flu test came back positive for strain B...then, the doctor suspected he had pneumonia so she sent us to Good Samaritan for a chest X-ray.  That also came back positive--so he was battling the flu AND pneumonia...poor little guy.  They put him on an antibiotic and we had to wait out the flu with nothing but Advil.

Friday morning I brought a comparatively happyAdrian back to the pediatrician (third time in one week) for a re-check of his lungs/breathing per the doctor's request.  I also took Sebastian along with me because he had the same junky cough and runny nose Adrian had when he was diagnosed with the flu.  He was also running a temperature of 99 or 100...not technically a fever, but not normal for him, either.  Adrian was fine--his lungs sounded better already.  Sebastian was negative for the flu, but the doctor actually prescribed the same antibiotic as Adrian anyway, just in case given the high odds he'd get the same thing as his brother.

Here are some photos from the morning when Adrian appeared to be feeling better...

Turns out, both boys like chocolate chips!

Adrian and Sebastian love to run around in just their diaper.  We took his pants off (and later his shirt too) to help him cool off!

Friday afternoon after his nap, Adrian woke up with a high fever--almost 104--and was miserable.  I gave him Advil when I could (have to wait 6 hours between doses), gave him a tepid bath, and put facecloths on his body...the fever slowly came down.  But then right at dinner time, it shot up again to around 104.  I was so freaked out I called the pediatrician after hours and they talked me off the "I'm going to take him to the ER" ledge...we just had to keep the fever down and let the antibiotic run its course.  By around 8pm, Adrian finally fell asleep; the fever had started to come down to around 101 which was low enough for him to finally fall asleep.  It was so sad and painful to watch how miserable he was.

Saturday was an exact repeat of Friday.  We had to cancel plans for dinner with our NICU nurses, who I miss terribly.  I was so upset to not get to see them--it's hard to coordinate their schedules because they work so much.  Major bummer for me.  I also had to cancel Sunday brunch with 3 of my awesome friends from Harvard.  I miss them so much and was so looking forward to catching up with them over a few beers.  I was SO MAD to miss it.  But what was I going to do???  I wasn't sure how Adrian would be and it was a HANDFUL to manage him and Sebastian, too, when he was so listless, lethargic, and completely miserable.  We were about one degree from having to take him to the ER Friday and Saturday nights, so I didn't want to leave Carlos alone with both boys today.

Adrian ended up being ok today, thank God.  Relatively speaking, he is still not himself, but he was a lot better than he's been for the past few days.  He's not really eating much and is drinking just enough to barely keep himself hydrated, but I suspect that's due as much to the antibiotic upsetting his stomach as it is to the flu.  In any event, I hope we've finally broken the cycle.  He's in his crib sleeping peacefully now (he was sleeping in the pack and play in our room for the past 2 nights so we could keep an eye on him).

Sebastian, thank God, seems ok for now...I will just keep my fingers crossed and say a few prayers that he won't get the flu, too.  I can't miss any more days at work!!! I missed Wed-Friday last week, and thank God for my mother because she'll take Adrian tomorrow (Monday) and possibly Tuesday, too, if necessary to give him a few more days to recover completely.  Tomorrow is the last day of his course of antibiotics so I'm hoping he'll be 100% after that when the infection is gone and his stomach is less upset.

Here are some photos from this afternoon, once Adrian was feeling a tad better.  These are the boys' new hats for daycare (they always put hats on them when they are outside playing).  Their heads are too big for their old hats!

Sebastian was trying to go up the slide when he accidentally got himself caught in the rungs...he couldn't get out!  I had to rescue him...

My boys love their Pampers parties!!!

Adrian is such a sweet boy, even when he has the flu and pneumonia.  When he was breathing rapidly and shallowly, with a temperature of 104, I laid down on the bed next to him and put my head by his so we could look each other in the eyes.  He looked at me with the most pathetic face and just said, "Mama..."  I held his hand and he'd squeeze my finger.  It melted my heart and made me so sad for him.  There is nothing worse than seeing your kid suffer.  I hope this is IT with the illnesses for a very very very long time.  These boys have dealt with way more than their fair share.  They are such good sports!

An (Un?)Healthy Obsession with Hats

My boys have an obsession with hats.  My dad's red Hingham hat, a train engineer's cap, a builder's helmet at daycare, a cowboy hat...if it goes on your head, they will want it.  And they will probably both want the same hat at the same time.  Hats provoke temper tantrums in those boys like I haven't seen otherwise.  Here is Adrian modeling two of his hats!

We were at Ikea this Sunday, and I got some pictures of the boys that I like when we were eating.

There are so many captions I could put here....

Sebastian

Adrian

And here they are at Target.  They were holding hands and looking at each other and giggling.

Happy Mother's Day!

There's lots to celebrate this Mother's Day!!!  First of all, there's a new baby in the family--and it's a boy!!!  My brother Jim and his wife Jen welcomed little baby James BoHua Kirkcaldy to the world at 9:08PM 5/8/2013.  He's adorable, and I'm thrilled my boys will have a boy cousin to romp around with!!

Right out of the womb!

Like a bug in a rug.  So cute!

With grandma, LiMei 

I'm in love!

They brought the baby home today...now the real fun begins!  ;)  hehe...I sure as hell missed holding an infant, but I was secretly grateful to come home to two boys that already sleep through the night!!!

Speaking of my boys, here's what they made me at the daycare for Mother's Day.  I LOVE their pictures!  They captured their personalities perfectly!

I was just thinking of last Mother's Day--Marcy and Judy came over the night before last year.  I made margaritas and there was plenty of beer as well.  Both Judy and I ended up hung over the next day.  I was so bad I couldn't get out of bed!!!!!!  I hadn't felt like that in YEARS.  Oh, good times.  At least this year, I won't be hung over.  Although those two trouble makers are supposed to come over next weekend...

Today we had a great day!  First, breakfast at Brianna's (which was newly remodeled).  Then we applied for the boys' passports.  Hope they come soon!  In theory, we have plenty of time (9 weeks) before we go to Mexico and they are reporting waits of 4-6 weeks, but I'll feel better once they are in-hand.  Then we went to Michelle's house down the cape.  The boys had fun playing with all the big kid toys and otherwise wreaking havoc on Michelle's house.  We had a delicious homemade chicken pot pie (I'm hoping Jeff shares the recipe!) and cake and cupcakes for dessert!  The boys were exhausted after lunch so we left around 1pm.  The boys took home an awesome battery car they can drive around in and some awesome clothes in 2T.  Thank you, Michelle!!!!  You are THE BEST!!!!!!

Finally, to end the post, some random pictures.

Love his hair...and his pose! 

Goodness.  What a time to show an interest in your feet!

Playing with Papi's hat

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY EVERYONE!!!!!!!!