Soup Drinking, "Bad", Puzzles & No More Highchair?

23 Months & 1 Week

Last Friday I had an epiphany.  I really should start toilet-training with Tyson.  He is the most regular kid in the world.  Of course I am only thinking of poop at this point, but he poops right after breakfast, lunch, and dinner like clockwork.  Even though he does say, “poop” and “pee” – he really doesn’t know what it means yet.  So after lunch on Friday, I ran right up to the toilet and sat him on it and had books to read to keep him occupied.  Wouldn’t you know it, he wouldn’t go on the big toilet.  He was pretty scared.  I don’t blame him – I was balancing him and I am sure he felt like he was going to fall in at any second!  So I knew that wouldn’t work and I needed to order a kid’s potty.  More on this…stay tuned for next week!  On Friday night, Tyson was driving me crazy.  In a span of 45 minutes, he emptied all my loose recipe papers and recipe cards and pushed them as far back as he could underneath our hutch, he dumped the trash can out and fed the trash to the dogs TWICE, he climbed up on the bar stools TWICE, he climbed on top of the kitchen table, he got his hands on a brand-new ink cartridge for the printer and threw it away, he took all of my decorations in our guest room and threw them on the family room floor, and he dumped the dog water all over the wood floor.  All in 45 minutes, while we were trying to get supper ready.  I had had enough.  Heath had the gall to say, “Alison, I think you are losing your patience with him.”  REALLY?  Yes, I was.  At the same time, you love him for all his crazy antics, but it can be down-right exhausting.

My rascal getting ready to get onto the table

On Sabbath I had to work and Heath & Ty went over to Portland to see Heath’s Aunt Sandy in the hospital.  She had her surgery for her colon cancer and a lot of the family went to visit.  After the visit, the family went to the ocean at Wells and walked around.  Tyson, of course, ran straight into the water!  He was completely soaked in no time.  The unfortunate part was that Heath did not have any change of clothes for Ty.  I had stopped putting extra clothes in the diaper bag for awhile, since he hasn’t had a blow-out in about a year, and the diaper bag is heavy enough.  Well, that was a problem on Saturday night.  Heath ended up buying a new outfit for Ty and then they went out to eat.  I had a nice evening to myself, while they were driving back from Maine.  Then I went into the shower at around 11 PM, came out, and called for the dogs.  Heath scared me to death when he answered me from our bedroom!  I didn’t know they were back and to hear a man’s voice, even for a nano-second before I realized that it was Heath – freaked me out! 

On Sunday I worked and Heath had a turn at having Ty to himself at home all day.  I ran to the pharmacies on the way home and got free Blistex, free gum, and best deal of all…Johnson & Johnson Natural shampoo/body wash that we use for Ty for $0.50 each.  I was able to get two of them, and they usually cost $5.99 each.  I had run out so it was perfect that they went on sale when they did.  When I got home, Heath said, “Tyson is Dennis the Menace.  I can’t do anything with him.  He doesn’t listen to me.  He gets into everything.”  I couldn’t help but smile and ask him, “Heath, are you losing your patience with him?”  Ha ha!

On Sunday night/Monday morning, Ty was up crying a few times during the night.  He had been doing this lately and it all seems pretty behavioral.  He didn’t seem in pain or anything, he just doesn’t want me to leave and wants to come to bed with us.  So I made him cry it out during the night.  He got the hint and went back to sleep, but it was not a great night sleep for him or me.  I shouldn’t have been surprised when Ty (and me) slept in until 10AM!  That never happens.  But we both definitely needed it.  It throws the entire schedule off for the day, but it was worth it.  On Monday night, I had made chicken noodle soup and Ty loved it!  It was so funny.  I looked over at him in his high chair and he had the bowl up to his mouth and he was drinking the broth from the bowl!  I said, “Ty, where did you learn to do that?”  As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I looked over and Heath was drinking the broth out of his bowl!!!!  Heath is teaching our son bad manners!  What was really bad was that after Ty was done, instead of saying, “All done,” like he has finally started to do… he took the glass bowl and threw it on the floor, shattering it into a million pieces.  Yes, I need to invest in some plastic dishes for Ty, obviously… but he has never thrown that on the floor before – usually it is just his food.  Well, that was a mess.  I told Ty that he was “bad” and he proceeded to copy me, and saying, “baaa” really loudly.  That is now his new favorite word it seems like.  He doesn’t say the “d” – so it is just “baaa”, but he will point to things that are off-limit (like the box fan) and say, “baa.”  Pretty cute.

Drinking his soup

On Tuesday I had an OB appointment and had to take Ty by myself.  Shannon had a job interview at a new hospital, closer to her new place and Noni was baby-sitting Finley.  I was a little worried at how Ty would do in the appointment, since he is on the go at all times, but then I said, “Alison, suck it up.  How do single mothers do it with multiple children?  This is not a big deal.”  And it wasn’t.  I put him in the stroller and he was good as gold as I met with my doc.  I gained another 4 pounds, my boy’s heartbeat was 148, and I am measuring perfectly.  So she thinks I am in the clear with the fluid at this time and I can stop soaking in the tub!!!  Thank goodness – that was starting to drive me bananas.  We are going to check another ultrasound at 36 weeks (sooner if I am measuring smaller than I am supposed to) and my C-section date will be either November 19 or November 20, which is the Monday or Tuesday before Thanksgiving.  I hope it is the Monday, since if I have him on Tuesday then I will be discharged home on Thanksgiving Day, which will stink… but this Thanksgiving is a wash this year anyways.  We won’t be going or doing anything, just enjoying our new baby!  Can’t wait!  I was so proud of Ty for doing so well at the appointment, but then he completely crushed me when we stopped on the way home at Joann’s Fabrics.  I had to grab a couple of things and Ty was absolutely horrible.  He was throwing fits left and right, chucking everything I gave him on the floor, and just screaming.  It was one of the most embarrassed I have been in a store.  It was so bad that when we were checking out… the cashier was interacting with him and finally got him to stop carrying on, and I overheard someone behind me say, “Thank goodness.  Anything to stop that kid from crying.”  You just want to die.  Just have the floor swallow you up.  It makes you feel like a terrible mother.  I mean, I was trying EVERYTHING to keep him entertained and just nothing was working.  It’s not like I didn’t care and I wasn’t trying.  So frustrating. 

Playing around on Tuesday... he flips his toys over to spin the wheels!

Seeing his reflection in the oven door

His new trick he does with raspberries

On Wednesday I worked and Noni had her day with Ty.  I got a very excited report after work that Ty had a new skill.  He can actually do the wooden puzzles now!  You know, the puzzles that have the pieces that have a wooden knob on each piece that you fit into place.  He plays with them, but all the pieces are all mixed together in a basket… so we hadn’t even been trying to do them – but Noni got him to do it!  She made a joke and said they would be doing school work on Wednesdays pretty soon!

On Thursday first thing in the morning, Ty was excited to show me his new puzzle skill!  It is so neat to see!  If he isn’t getting the piece lined up correctly, I just say, “Tyson, turn it” and he does turn it until it fits!  So proud of him!  Oh, I forgot to say what he did when he first woke up in the morning.  I was still lounging in bed and Ty was playing around in our room.  All of sudden, I hear a noise and I look down and Tyson had flipped the dog crate upside-down – with the dogs still in the crate!!!!  What a rascal.  Poor dogs, they really suffer under Tyson’s regime!  I ended up having another epiphany on Thursday.  Ty has been giving me a little trouble finishing his breakfast lately, which he would always eat heartily.  Well, he wouldn’t finish his french toast, so I took him out of his high chair and thought that he was done.  No, he just wanted out of his high chair.  He went right to my seat at the table, kneeled down on the chair, and then finished off all the rest of his french toast!  He just wants to be a big kid!  So I realized that I need to invest in a booster seat, as well as the toilet-training stuff!  My little boy is growing up.  He also is getting smarter.  For so long, he has never paid any attention to my “candy cabinet.”  I have this hutch in the family room that is filled with candy.  Of course there are chokables in there, but Ty never would go over to it.  It was good, because the way that the doors are – there is not a way to child-proof it.  Well, all of a sudden… he figured out that it is a candy paradise in there.  On Thursday morning, he got into the cabinet 6 different times!  After trying to figure out the best scenario, I moved my canned goods to the hutch and the candy to the jelly cabinet in the kitchen (that has a lock on it).  I’m going to see how this works, even though it is weird to have canned goods in the family room… it seemed like the best option.  We’ll see… until Tyson starts throwing cans at the dogs (which I am a bit concerned about).  But maybe it won’t happen.  Keep your fingers crossed.  Late Thursday morning, Shannon & Fin came over!  We hadn’t seen them in about a week, so this was good.  We ended up going to a couple of kid’s thrift stores.  Shannon cleaned up but I didn’t do that great.  But we had fun!  On Thursday night Adam and us went back to the Mexican restaurant again.  We just don’t get tired of that place!  Hope you have a great week!       

 Got into the candy cabinet and grabbed a licorice!

Moving the canned goods - he decorated my sewing table!

Eyeing a grilled cheese

I tried him in his portable high chair on the counter to see if he would like it better - but he was more interested in dancing instead!

He always walks in my shoes!

More Falls, Skeleton Scare, Yard Sale Fun & "No"

23 Months

Last Friday was going to be a quiet day at home, but all that changed with one email.  I received a special offer from Shutterfly for a free 8x8 photo book (a $29.99 value) if I ordered by Wednesday.  Well, I have been doing 8x8 books of our vacations, so I was going to eventually get around to doing one from our Nova Scotia trip this year, but this offer made it more urgent.  The problem was that I hadn't gotten everyone's pictures from Nova Scotia this year.  My mom had gotten them and then said, "I'll give them to you when we get back."  That hadn't happened yet, so I was in a pickle.  Mom was still backpacking in Maine, so I called my Dad and (after going to the grocery store) Ty and I headed to the Fairway to steal the pictures!  I was a moron and forgot the flash drive, so I was at a bit of a loss of how to transfer the pictures over.  I started going through all the pictures (about 350 of them) and was emailing them to myself, but that was taking forever!  I called Heath for advice and he was able to "get into" (aka...hack) my mom's laptop and our laptop and transferred the pictures for me, from work!!!!  I have to say that I was really impressed. 

On Sabbath we went to Laconia and got Ty to Sabbath School.  He was quiet, as usual, with the other kids, but otherwise had a good time.  He had another good week in church, too - not counting one little outburst.  I'll take it!  We stayed for potluck and Ty ate terribly.  I brought lasagna and he wouldn't touch it, even with bribing with bread.  He basically ate a small amount of bread, applesauce, and part of a oatmeal cookie.  What a meal!  Sabbaths are so tough, he was nearly 4 hours overdue for a nap... so not surprisingly, he fell asleep on the way home.  He usually transfers so well, but not this time.  He woke up immediately and would NOT go back to sleep for anything in the world.  We tried rocking him to sleep and we tried lying down with him in our bed, but he would not go down.  He wasn't cranky, he was playing... but it was so frustrating.  A 20 minute nap just wasn't going to cut it.  While we were lying down on the bed, Ty was messing around and rolled over Heath and then kept on rolling and rolled off the bed!  He landed flat on his back again and was totally fine, but c'mon!!!!  Another bed fall!!!!  The falling didn't stop there.  After we had given up on Ty's nap, we had moved downstairs and Ty was, again, messing around with Heath on the recliner chair.  He was getting down, but somehow lost his balance or something and rolled off the bottom of the chair.  Thank goodness, landing on his back again!  Stay away from the clavicle!  My boy is just such a climbing monkey, accident-prone mess... what am I going to do with him?  After sundown and supper, we headed to DQ and then Walmart and Home Depot.  When we had gotten into Home Depot, Heath realized that he had left something in the car he needed to grab, so he went back to the car.  Well, Tyson thinks Heath is leaving forever, so he proceeded to have a meltdown.  I wanted to distract him, so I said, "Hey Ty, look at this guy!  Wow!"  I showed Tyson this skeleton dressed in a black cape that was standing right in the front of the store.  That was a bit of a mistake.  He completely and utterly freaked out.  He started crying and put his head down, resting his face on the cart handle - trying to hide from the skeleton!  I hightailed it out of there, but Ty was so messed up.  He kept peeking his head up, looking to his left (right where the skeleton was) and then putting his head back down!  He was scared to death!  I couldn't believe it.  I mean, I was stupid, but Tyson does not watch movies, or seen anything like that before... so I was surprised to find out that the skeleton was just scary in general.  I thought he would be intrigued by it.  Big mistake.  Poor kid.

On Sunday, I got up by 6:30 AM (it nearly killed me) and got moving!  We had decided to finally have our yard sale that we have wanted to have for years.  We just have never gotten around to it.  I figured that if it was not this weekend, then we would miss any opportunity until spring, since my free weekends are all booked up through October and then you are right out of yard-sale season.  The good thing is that we live on a busy road, so you really don't have to advertise (not that we have a local newspaper anyway).  Heath put up poster board signs before and after our house and then down in Tilton at our light - saying, "Yard Sale, Rt. 132  3 miles."  Unfortunately, our neighbor screwed us.  Our neighbor a few houses down from us (south, towards Tilton) was having a yard sale too.  So I'm sure a million people stopped there, thinking that it was at the 3 miles mark, when it was probably 2.5 miles.  But we still got a steady stream of people.  Yard sales are a lot of work, but they are fun too.  We made $75, which I was pretty happy with.  This was literally a last-minute decision, since it was supposed to rain, but Friday night the forecast changed and we decided to have it.  Ty had a blast, hanging around - touching everything in sight and moving everything.  He was so funny.  I was offered $5 for my son, but I thought that was a bit low! (=  Heath put Ty down for a nap, but he cried for about 45 minutes straight.  I don't know why he's giving us some trouble all of a sudden with his naps and going to bed at night - he is usually perfect, but this must be some phase.  The thing that was so sweet happened when I was watching Ty on the monitor.  He was standing up, leaning on his crib rails, crying.  Then I looked more closely and I noticed that he was rolling his hands.  Do you remember when I wrote last week that he loved to sing, "Over the Sea" and Sonia had taught him hand motions?  Well, there he was... crying his eyes out because he didn't want to go down for his nap and was "singing" the song in his head!  Heath said, "he must have been trying to go to his happy place!"  It was so cute and so sad at the same time.  He finally gave in and went to sleep!  After the yard sale, Shannon & Sean came over (on their way back from Conway) and we had Fish Fry Take 2.  Well, first Heath & Sean went to Home Depot and picked up our grill!  We have been talking about getting a grill for about 2 years now, literally.  But we were serious that we were going to get one for Valentine's Day and our anniversary... but we just hadn't gotten it.  So Heath finally pulled the trigger and bought a Weber.  We were researching cheaper brands, but... you get what you pay for.  Heath was psyched because the one he found had a couple of small scratches on it and he got $30 off!  We ended up having a feast of kabobs (pineapple, mushrooms, and salmon for the meat eaters and Chicketts for me) - they were excellent.  We also had baked potatoes and corn on the cob, all cooked on the grill.  What a first meal on our new grill!  It was great!  While we were waiting for the food to be ready, Ty & Fin took a tubby together.  It was very cute, but poor Fin got a bit violated by Ty.  Fin stood up and Ty was fascinated with Finley's cute little butt and Ty spread apart her cheeks and inspected it!  I stopped him immediately, but Shannon & I were dying laughing!  What is wrong with this boy?

Ty got a ride while Dad mowed the lawn during the yard sale!

On Monday I woke up sick with a sore throat, cough, and congestion.  I wasn't sure if it was from doing too much at the yard sale or from all the runny-nosed kids at Sabbath School.  In any case, I was down for the count.  I did manage to get enough energy to go to the pharmacies, though.  Ty was a bit of a handful, but nothing much new there.  I wasn’t a great week but I got free shampoo & conditioner and free candy corn!  On Monday night, we watched the movie, "Big Miracle", which was a true story about whales stuck in an ice field in Alaska.  Tyson never usually pays much attention when movies are on, but he was so enthralled with the whales.  He would just squeal, giggle, and run around whenever they would come onscreen.  It was very cute.

Enjoying his food (this time)

On Tuesday I felt worse, so we didn’t do anything.  Thank goodness Heath & Ty seemed to be immune to it.  I don’t know if it was the sickness but Ty was driving me crazy while I was trying to cook supper.  He climbed up onto the table, was sitting on the table, threw all the placemats on the floor and dumped out the salt shaker onto the table.  Then he took the dog water bowl and dumped it in the trash.  And another thing he did was take all the movies out from the bookcase in the family room and threw them on the floor – which he has done many times, but I had just spend forever reorganizing them THAT DAY… and he upped the ante, but not only removing the movies, but throwing the removable shelves onto the floor as well.  Seriously, he does not stop.  But then he can be super sweet, like when he helped me unload the dishwasher that night – handing me every single dish, plate, cup etc. to put away. 

Sitting on the tablet

After the dog water bowl incident

On Wednesday I worked and Noni finally had a day with Ty.  Between Nova Scotia, her friends visiting, and then going on her backpacking trip… she had not spent the day with Ty for weeks.  They seemed to have missed each other!  Mom said, “He just seems so grown-up and confident now!  I really see a difference!” 

On Thursday I still felt lousy, so we stayed home for the morning and afternoon and rested up for our night out.  Ty really rested up and took a 3 hour nap!  Love it!  He finally has figured out the word, “No.”  I was thankful that he has not been using it continuously like most kids his age at this point, but he has now started to say it.  What’s funny is that when it really came out on Thursday, was when he was eating.  In his usual fashion, he throws a lot of his food on the floor, knowing the dogs are there to eat it.  Well, this time – he threw the food down…watched the dogs go after it and said, “No, no, no” to the dogs!  I told him there was no way that was going to happen!  Something else with eating, he is reverting back to his bad habits and the bribing is not going as well as it was.  I should have realized that he was going to get wise to this.  Anyways, I figured out another way to use his OCD, though!  If I give him a wipe to clean his tray off, then that distracts him and I can get him to eat a few more bites! (=  Is that wrong to manipulate him like that?  I figure it’s for his own good… but… I’m not sure!  We went out to Mexican with Adam that night and Ty did well, sitting on a booster seat.  He definitely does better on the seat than in the highchair.  Well, have a good week!

Just waking up after his 3 hour nap!

Walking in Mama's shoes

Cleaning his tray!

Camping Trip, Camper Fall & Cabinet-Raiding

22 Months & 3 Weeks

2 Fridays ago I had one busy day.  I was sure that I was headed for bed rest, but at least I was still hydrating like crazy.  I tried to enjoy Ty the best I could because that afternoon Heath & Ty were leaving to go camping for the entire Labor Day weekend.  I have to work every holiday weekend for the next 4 years (they just happen to fall on my weekend to work), so there is absolutely no sense in my boys sticking around so I can see them for an hour or two after I have finished my 12 hour shift.  So they were going camping with the Edwards.  First thing in the morning, Tyson climbed onto the bathroom counter without any help for the first time.  He did it right in front of me, I couldn’t believe it!  He stood on the cabinet drawer handle and then pulled himself up.  What a monkey!  So I packed for Tyson & the dogs and then they took off at around 4 PM.  I have to say that I was quite emotional.  I wouldn’t see Ty for 3 ½ days!  I knew that he would have a blast, but it was still hard.  It’s not right for a mother to be away from her child for that long!  Well, I didn’t have time to wallow, because my busy day continued.  I really should have just laid down on the couch and did nothing… but I just can’t do that.  I did a full cleaning of the house, I took an online CPR course, paid our bills, and then went grocery shopping.  I will admit that I treated myself to Chinese takeout before the sun went down.  It was delicious.  Since I had to work 7a-7p on Sabbath, I tried to get to bed at a decent time at 11 PM, but that was not meant to be.  I don’t know if it was the first episode of pregnancy-induced insomnia, but I could not sleep for anything.  I mean, it was 2-3 hours earlier than my normal bedtime, but c’mon.  I just watched the clock and could NOT fall asleep.  I finally got to sleep at about 2:30 AM, so that equaled a whopping 2 ½ hours before I had to get up at 5 AM.  So frustrating.

Not him climbing on the bathroom counter, but this just shows his monkey skills!

On Sabbath, I did well despite my lack of sleep and had no trouble sleeping that night!  Ty took quite a fall out of the Edwards’ camper on that Sabbath.  There were questions about whether the screen door was properly latched or not…in any case, he leaned against it or opened it and fell down the steps onto the ground, landing on his back.  He got some scratches to his forehead, but thank goodness, his clavicle appeared to be fine!  I was so excited to see Tyson on Saturday night.  We used “Google Talk” through Gmail (just like Skype) and he said, “hi”, was waving “bye” to me and even blew me kisses.  It made me cry again.  These pregnancy hormones are rough.

On Sunday, I worked 7a-7p again and was severely short-staffed and in charge.  Not a great day, but I did manage to get us some help in the afternoon, so that was good.  I ran to the pharmacies after work and got 3 bags of Chex Mix for $0.06 each, got 2 eyeliners (that usually cost $7.49 each) for $0.61 each, and got some free toothpaste.  Not a bad trip at all.  I was very disappointed not to see Tyson on Sunday night.  He couldn’t stay awake for us to Google Talk and had just crashed.  Can’t blame him, though.  But they told me that he was loving singing the song, “Over the Sea” around the campfire and Sonia had taught him some hand motions.  I was missing him so much!

On Monday I worked 10a-10p, so at least, I got to sleep in until 8 AM!  That last shift kind of dragged, but I got through it.  I haven’t done three 12 hour shifts in a row… probably since Tyson was born, but Labor Day was my summer holiday that I had to do… so I had to do it!  When I got home, my boys were just getting home too.  I thought they would have been home for hours, but they had done a few things at the church school in Conway for Sonia (they were starting the next day) and then went out to dinner with Sonia’s father, who was visiting from North Carolina.  They had super slow service and didn’t get home until 11 PM!  I was so happy to see Tyson, I can’t even tell you.  What a feeling!  He was sleeping, of course, but at least I could gaze at him!

On Tuesday, I was reunited with my boy!  He appeared pretty happy to see me too!  At around noontime (after Ty had taken a nap), my mom came over and we drove down to Concord and picked up Shannon at a park ‘n’ ride.  We went to Chipotle and then went to my ultrasound appointment.  I was pretty scared of how low my fluid levels would be after working three 12 hour shifts in a row, but I really was drinking well and continued my soaking in the tub.  It paid off and I went from 13 cm… to 18 cm!!!!  How is that possible?  I was psyched.  So I’m just going to keep up the hard work (the drinking & soaking) and see what my OB says in a couple of weeks.  But I think I am in the clear at this time!  After the appointment we went to the Lots 4 Tots thrift store and for the first time, I didn’t get a thing for Ty.  Poor kid.  I looked for his next size up, but didn’t like anything.  I got a few things for the baby, though… so that was good.  Then we headed home and Ty was very happy to see Heath when he got home.  But what was so funny was that as soon as Heath walked in the door (and Ty had greeted him)… Ty ran over to one of our kitchen cabinets.  I couldn’t believe it!  It just happens to be our snack cabinet, where we keep our chips & crackers.  Ty has figured out that Heath goes over to that cabinet first thing when he gets home from work every day, and then Ty gets a hand-out!  I’ve been telling Heath that he is setting a bad example for Ty and this just proved it! 

Ty grabbed a bag of chips out of the cabinet and then threw it on the floor!

Playing with Dad when he got home from work

Wednesday I was actually home with my boy all day!  Since I had already worked Monday, I didn’t have to work Wednesday.  I think Ty was exhausted from his camping and then our day in Manchester, so he took a 3 hour nap!  The unfortunate part of that was my timing with the nap.  15 minutes before he woke up, I got another migraine (my 8^th of the pregnancy).  If only I had gotten the migraine at the beginning of his nap… then I could have slept it off!  But that was not meant to be.  It really is hard to chase after an active, nearly 2 year-old when you are not feeling well, but what choice do you have?

He loves talking on the phone!

Here again... making a very important phone call!

On Thursday Ty took another long nap… 2 ½ hours and we did a couple of errands in the afternoon.  I had Ty walk (while holding my hand) in Walgreens, while I was just picking up some milk, but he insisted on touching absolutely everything that we passed!  It was so funny.  We passed a display of chips and he would grab a bag of them… we passed magazines and he would touch the covers… everything had a little boy’s handprint on it!  I know he felt like such a big boy, though!  My dad came over in the afternoon (my mom had left the day before on her yearly backpacking trip in Maine) to see Ty and then we all drove down to Concord and met up with the Frosts.  Concord is only 30 minutes from their new house, so it’s not too bad for them.  Ty got his haircut at Supercuts (he did really well) and then we went to the OG.  And at the OG is where Tyson did NOT do well at all.  I don’t know what got into him, but it was one of the worst behaved nights he has had in a restaurant in awhile.  Whiny and restless and wouldn’t touch his pizza.  His bad behavior continued when he was up screaming bloody murder at 1:30 AM and ended up in bed with us.  It seemed to be a nightmare…but you just never know.

This is what my dogs do while we are gone doing errands... they get into the snack cabinet as well!  Even with the stool blocking it... they managed to get a whole loaf of bread out on Thursday!

Well, have a good week!

A Great Birthday for Mom, New Adventure, "I Have a Winkie", Pushing Down, Panic Attack & Riding Horses

22 Months & 2 Weeks

Last Friday I don’t recall anything earth-shattering that happened, except Ty & I hit the grocery store and packed for a night away.  I do remember that I finally had a light bulb moment when I realized that Ty’s impossible-to-treat diaper rash (that had lasted nearly a week at this point) was actually a yeast infection from the antibiotic he had been on.  Remember how I said that his poops weren’t smelling?  Well, I remember thinking that they smelled a little like bread!  Yeast…bread… I can’t believe I didn’t put it together sooner.  So after some internet research, I found out that you buy a regular anti-fungal cream (like for athlete’s foot) and put that on the diaper rash.  Wouldn’t you know it cleared right up within a couple of days!  So when Heath got home we went over to the Edwards.  We had a great dinner of baked potatoes with vegetables and cheese sauce with a salad.  Ty did great and showed off his new eating skills with the bribery.  He got to bed a bit late and initially he started off with a good night that quickly turned into a bad one at about 1:30 AM.  He came to bed with us and just tossed and turned all night, keeping Heath & I up.  Not really sure what that was about since he was fine the next morning. 

At the Edwards in Grampy's boots

Sabbath was one busy day.  We made it to Sabbath school (a few minutes late) and Heath took him in.  Heath reported that Ty was pretty quiet again.  He gets so shy in crowds!  During the church service, Sonia was ordained as a church elder.  She has been an elder forever, but they just made it official.  It was a very nice service.  Ty behaved very well in church, which was a first.  We actually got a couple of comments of how well-behaved he was.  You definitely don’t hear that very often!  After church was potluck and Ty didn’t eat as well here, but he did manage to eat a whole Linkett-spread sandwich, so I was happy with that!  After potluck there was a memorial service for one of our church members.  I stayed for that but sent Heath off driving with Tyson to get him to take a nap.  Ty was only 3 hours overdue for his nap.  Unfortunately, he only slept 45 minutes, but it is the thought that counts!  After the service, I caught a ride with Shannon & Sean to Heath’s aunt Sandy’s house, where the entire Edwards/Maxfield/Burbank clans were gathering for a BBQ.   Sandy just found out that she has colon cancer and will be undergoing a pretty big surgery on 9/11/12.  The BBQ was to support her and just to get together.  Please keep her in your prayers.  It was a really nice family time.  I don’t know what happened, but with this crowd… Tyson started going berserk.  It was getting late, so he was probably getting punchy/tired, but he was running around the house doing laps and laughing hysterically and playing hide ‘n’ seek with whoever was looking his way!  It was pretty cute, but I don’t know what happened to my little boy.  We got home at about 11 PM or so and called it a night. 

Sonia's ordination

On Sunday we had a day at home.  Heath worked on tiling the bathroom floor, which he got finished!!!!  So proud of him!  My job was to keep Ty out of the bathroom, which proved to be no easy task!  I have to admit that he made it in a few times.  The best thing was when I took him on the pharmacy runs, so at least I didn’t have to keep chasing him out of the bathroom.  Poor kid just wanted to help Dad!  We got some great deals at Rite Aid… I got 3 bottles of Crest Pro-Health rinse (that I use every day) and I made $4 on them!!!!  Then I also got 2 bottles of Herbal Essence shampoo & 2 bottles of conditioner for $0.50 each!  Sunday night, the Frosts & Dad came for a Fish Fry (Ty & I didn’t partake, but the others were happy to stink up my house) and we watched the Hunger Games.  Mom was at a wedding in Mass, not that she wanted to watch the movie anyways. 

Tiling finished!

Look what Ty did with all the spacers!

Monday was D-day.  It was D-day for a few reasons.  First of all, it was my birthday… but most importantly, I was having my repeat ultrasound to check my amniotic fluid levels.  Shannon & Mom went with me and we met up with Cindy (my mother’s friend visiting from Georgia).  It was the best birthday present I could have asked for when my levels came back as 13cm!!!!  I had almost tripled it!  I saw my OB-GYN afterwards and she said to continue to drink like crazy, continue to soak in the tub for the hour a day, and then they would rescan me next Tuesday to see how my levels would do after working all weekend.  To say I was relieved is an understatement!  God is so good!  So after that good news, we packed up and went over to the Fairway.  Leigh, Mia & Bode met us there and we went swimming at the pool for awhile.  We had a good time.  Ty was mostly obsessed with taking the covers off of the pool drains that surround the pool & hot tub and kept throwing them into the water.  That was a very fun game for him.  When Heath & Sean got there, we had a little get-together for my birthday.  We had one of my favorite meals (lentil tostadas) and cupcakes.  It was all delicious!  One crazy thing that happened was that I was giving Ty a bath there (after swimming) and I am not kidding, he discovered his penis for the first time.  I mean, he has grabbed it before, but this is the first time, I believe, that he has actually seen it!  Ty used to have a bit of a belly and probably just couldn’t see it before, but he has really thinned out because he keeps getting taller!  During the whole bath, he would do nothing but grab it and inspect it completely all over.  Then he stood up and looked down and could not believe that it was still there!!!  It was so funny – I yelled to Heath to come see him with this special moment!  Now every time he gets his diaper changed, he tries to sit up so he can see it!  What a boy.  Seriously.  Oh, I almost forgot.  Monday was D-day for another thing too.  I can officially talk about this now.  On Monday, Heath accepted a new job at Hypertherm in Lebanon, NH and gave his notice at Vutek.  It was a difficult decision but we believe that it is the right one and that this is where God is leading us.  We will eventually be moving over in that direction, but Heath will commute for awhile (it takes about an hour) and we need to do a few things before we try to sell our house.  Please keep us in your prayers as we start this new adventure!

Good ol' cousin fun

Ty putting on a show with his dancing

The Copsey/Valeriani kids are definitely out-shining the Edwards/Frost kids here

Ty trying to copy Mia doing gymnastics

He just loves Mia!

On Tuesday, I baby-sat Finley while Shannon worked.  Tyson is definitely having some jealousy issues.  I caught him pushing Finley down two different times.  They weren’t even fighting over a toy, he just pushed her down!  Not cool at all.  Ty had definitely got punished for that and I told him that if he did it again he would get a spanking.  So fast forward about an hour later.  We were all upstairs and I ran into the bathroom.  When I came out, Finley was flat on her back in the hallway with Tyson standing nearby.  I didn’t know what happened, so I said, “Tyson, did you push Finley down?”  His response was to stick his bum out and spank it!!!!  He was telling me that he needed a spanking!  Well, what are you supposed to do in that situation?  I ended up not spanking him, since I didn’t see what happened, but I couldn’t believe that he did that!  We had a pretty good day, but Finley is going through separation anxiety and it’s not just with her parents.  If I left her vision of sight, she would start screaming hysterically.  Poor scared little girl.  Speaking of being scared, one of the times, I put Finley down for her nap and I think Tyson thought that I had left him.  I came back to Ty and he had the lip-quivering thing going on and he was kind of hyperventilating.  I scooped him right up and sat with him on the couch and tried to console him.  I would get him calmed down and he would be playing on the couch with me… and all of a sudden, he would start with the lip-quivering and hyperventilating again and would start crying.  I really felt like he was having a panic attack!  My poor little boy.  The unfortunate thing is that he does not know what is going to hit him in just a couple of months!  When Heath got home (Sean had already picked up Fin), the 3 of us went to the Mexican restaurant for a little intimate family dinner to celebrate my birthday again.  That was fun and just wonderful food.  I will miss this restaurant badly when we end up moving away. 

Don't they look like 2 little punks here?  Like they are ready to get into some trouble?

A bit happier here...

Then Ty really was getting into trouble... standing up on his car!

On Wednesday I worked and Shannon returned the favor and watched Ty (Mom was busy with Jeff & Cindy, who were visiting as I mentioned before).  Tyson did end up pushing Finley down again a couple of more times.  Shannon said it definitely seems jealousy-related, because he would push her down and then go and sit with Shannon right afterwards.  Oh my.  Two funny things that happened while she was watching him was that at one point, he put his hand into his diaper and came up with poop… and then started to freak out because he had poop on his hand!  He has definitely never done that before!  Probably has something to do with his penis obsession now!  The other funny thing that happened was that he has this very, tiny plastic horse (that goes with a farm set)… he got out the horse, stood it in the middle of the room, and then sat on it!  He was trying to ride it!!!!!  I guess he has a little problem with perception! (= 

This is the horse he was trying to ride! (=

Thursday was another busy day.  First of all, my dreaded glucose tolerance test was scheduled.  Unfortunately, Mom & Dad had gone to PEI with the Cases, so Mom couldn’t watch Ty and Shannon was busy packing for her move… so I couldn’t ask her to do it.  So off Ty & I went.  They have changed their testing format for this test.  I had to go and get a fasting level drawn.  Then I had to drink the glucose drink… and then have my blood tested again at exactly 1 hour and 2 hour increments.  So 3 different blood draws!!!!  It didn’t start well when the tech missed her first try… so I ended up getting stuck 4 times!  I felt a bit weak from the fasting, so I had no energy to try and chase Ty around the waiting room for over 2 hours… so I would put him in the stroller for the blood draw (so he wasn’t running all around the room destroying everything)… then we would go back to the car, get into the car seat and drive around.  Then we would come back… get into the stroller…have the blood draw… and go back to the car seat.  That was a bit exhausting.  What an ordeal.  I haven’t heard the results, but I have had nightmares that they tell me that it was inconclusive and I have to go back and do it all again!!!!  I think I will refuse it if that happens!  When Heath got home, we headed over to the Frosts’ apartment for the last time and helped them load a trailer and move into their new 3 bedroom house that they are renting in Sutton, NH.  It is 40 minutes away.  Not exactly the 5 minutes down the road as they used to be, but we will be moving over that way eventually… so it is OK!  Ty was pretty cranky (since he only got a 30 minute nap driving down to Manchester) but then got a second wind late at their new place while the unloading was going on.  He was so wound up that he didn’t fall asleep the entire 40 minutes home… so he didn’t go to bed until 11 PM!  Crazy boy.

Shannon & Sean's new place

Well, that’s it.  Have a great week!  

He loves to spray himself with the water bottle

Up to a certain extent!