Vacation Week 1/ 15 Months

I'm sure i won't be able to catlogue all the events of our first week of vacation, but i thought i'd take the last few minutes of nap time to catch you up on our whereabouts and let you know what the boys are up to.

The biggest news is that Silas is walking! Just a few days shy of turning 15 months, he started walking on his own in long-distance bouts. He started by walking if you stood him up and got his attention with something in front of him a few steps. A day or two later he started walking on his own initiation and at this point he still crawls, but he's walking longer and longer distances on his own and the prospect of being confined in the stroller or carseat is even less appealing. Funny caveat though, we've nicknamed him "zombie baby" because he still walks with his arms right out in front of him.

Henry kicked off his vacation by spending three days solo with his Oma and Opa. By all accounts he had an amazing time, got to spend some quality play time with Coby the dog, and nicknamed the bear he acquired over there Coby Bear. He had unlimited access to running water in the form of their garden fountain which was pretty much bliss for Henry. And he got to ride his tricycle up and down (!) a hill in their neighborhood-- pretty exciting for a Chicago boy! Henry's been amazing at transitioning from all the various parts of the vacation. We said goodbye to Oma and Opa and the next morning he went by himself (with my parents) to the beach. I picked up JT and Silas at the airport and off to the beach we headed that night. The only thing Henry said was when he roused while i was putting Silas to bed at the beach after we arrived late Saturday night-- he asked if i was going to be there in the morning. I told him we were all together now and he's been as happy as a clam since.


Henry is not what i would describe a little fish-- but he's come a long way from last year. He has been routinely swimming in the big pool with Dad, having endless fun jumping in the waves along the shoreline at the beach, and playing in the little pools on the back patio.


Silas has been less interested in the general water-related activities vacationing at the beach has to offer. As soon as you get down near the ocean he whines and cries, tries to jump out of your arms back towards the safety of the sand and beach umbrella. After the first day he gott pretty content playing in the sand and knocking down Henry's sand castles. We've made some progress at the pool-- but he keeps coming back to his favorite activity of opening and closing the gate to the baby pool. I'm hoping that after another few visits that bloom will have wilted.


We just said goodbye to my aunt and grandmother and had a packed three days of pool, beach, jet skiing, and shopping. Henry said he wanted to go on the "boats this year so we got him a life jacket and he went out several times with me, Gran, and Nonna. It all went well until Gran went a little too fast and turned a little too sharply. Still, he didn't freak out-- just talked about being scared by the big wave. We're hoping for another week of hot but good weather and replenishing our sunblock supply every few days!


Few other things-- haircuts for both boys to start the week off, and all the pictures i've downloaded so far (but not culled) are oon picasa-- so help yourself!

Fever

Man, fevers are scary. We really lucked out with Henry (which is funny to say considering how many medical issues we actually did endure), and never had to struggle through high fevers. Silas' high fever seemed to break just before bed last night, but only after it seemed to go up and he was more lethargic and just unlike himself than normal.

We were outside and Henry was playing in the wading pool while Silas lay in JT's lap. I looked over at him and he was either falling asleep or having a small seizure. His eyes were rolling back into his head and his hand was twitching. I freaked out, picked him up and came inside and he started really crying. After talking with the nurse last night it sounded like he probably was falling asleep but i now have a thorough knowledge of what to look for with febrile seizures.

Today Silas had a lower temp-- around 99 or so and we're hoping with a lot of naps and some good sleep tonight he'll get over this thing.

14 Months, 2 Weeks/ 3 Years, 1 Month

So Silas is sick, poor thing. He's been congested off and on for the past week or so but the cold seems to have caught back up with him and this morning he had a fever. We kept him home and he went on to take 4 NAPS! Yes, that's right. Between that and his 102 temp after his afternoon nap we decided to get him into the Dr. In fact, he visited both the chiropractor and the Ped. in an effort to leave no stone unturned. His ears were clear which is what i was concerned about but his throat is all red and splotchy white. They took a strep culture but the immediate test was negative. They keep growing the culture and will re-test on Friday. Hopefully that one will also be negative and he'll be feeling better by then.

Henry is getting more and more excited as he looks forward to our trip to see lots of family members and to visit the beach. We've been stocking up on new bathing suits and flip flops and sunblock. We've even managed to get Silas to keep a hat on-- unfortunately so far the only one he'll wear is yellow and makes everyone think he's a girl. But, at least he's not sunburned!

Henry has also developed some new interests lately which build on things he already liked. He still enjoys some of the cartoons that he has been watching, but he's become pretty amazed by all the animal programs i've recorded for him. He watched a show about ants tonight and watched one about gorillas yesterday. He's also learned a little bit about the computer. He's often content just to type into a blank word document, but he's also discovered some of the games at pbskids.org and is figuring out how to operate a mouse-- we're still working on that one.

And the biggest news-- i think it's safe to say that we will have met the physical goals we set for Henry this summer. Tonight he pedaled himself around the block twice-- sometimes moving quite briskly-- both steering and starting and stopping himself. I was pretty amazed, dramatic progress in just a few rides. A was drawing hopscotch courts this evening and although Henry isn't hopping on one foot like she was, he was jumping with both feet-- forward, i would guess 4-6 inches. That was another huge goal for him and he seems to about have it marked off.

Summer is Here

I know i have a lot of catching up to do. I was away on business last week for a brutal training-- about 6:00 until 10:30/11 every night. It made for a short week and lots of quick prep for a big bbq we had Saturday. Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate much and we wound up with a houseful of humid guests and 6 or 7 kids running around. A tad more intense than planned, but fun nonetheless. A few friends that hadn't been to our house before made the comment on the way out that we had a "fun house." That actually made my weekend.


Quite a few developments with Henry and Silas. Silas has been taking more frequent steps-- not like he's walking across the room by himself, but he's moving from one object to another with no hand-holds in between on his own initiation. He has just about mastered the slide- the only thing that gives him occasional trouble is getting his legs over the top before sliding down. I've also figured out that he has some words i hadn't clearly understood before-- yes, kitty, and i could have sworn he said cheese today. He's definitely been saying yes and kitty for awhile, but i guess i wanted to be really sure before "documenting" it.


Henry has made pretty good progress pedaling his bike. He's also jumping now, although we're still working on jumping with both feet--forward. He had so much fun playing in the pool with his friends and has been having a blast with Silas at the water table. We're looking forward to a summer of fun outdoors.