Lima Beans

Colin says Owen has "Lima Beans".

About nine years ago I got really sick. I had no idea what was wrong with me, but suffered from horrible headaches, leg cramps during the night and extreme fatigue. It progressed into a high fever, chills and a strange bite/rash on my hip. I eventually went to the ER and discovered I had Lyme Disease.

Add that experience to the fact that I have a general dislike of bugs and because of that it takes a mental leap sometimes for me to enjoy the great outdoors. But I have two boys, so obviously I have to suck it up and let them run around outside. But still some days I look at the grass in the area behind our house and I just picture all the ticks and it gives me the creeps.

Because of that I've always been hyper aware of the importance of tick checks. The ticks that cause Lyme Disease are about the size of a pen tip. They burrow into areas that make it hard for them to be discovered, scalps, in armpits, behind knees, etc. Colin found one on him a few months ago and it was burrowed into his wrist, right in the crease. I realized when I saw that tick how hard it was going to be to be vigilant. Because it was just so small it only looked like a freckle.

So two nights ago, when Owen inevitably stripped down after dinner, I was shocked and saddened to see this on him:



I took him in the sunlight to confirm what I thought, called Chris in a panic and then let it set in that I was sure he had Lyme Disease. There was no denying that it was a classic bulls eye rash.

I took him to the doctor as soon as I could get him in yesterday morning. The nurse took a peek and said "well this is an easy one" (to which I thought "easy for you"). The doctor came and took a look, pulled down Owen's shirt and said "okay..." I said "Lyme Disease, right?" He said "yes". It was such a classic rash that they didn't even need to check Owen's blood for titers. At some point, Owen was bit by a tick. And with all my paranoia, all my checking and all my worrying, I missed it.

So he's on a course of twenty days of antibiotics. To add to my stress level, we're trying out Amoxicillan again. He had a suspected allergic reaction to it about a year ago, but we're hoping it was just the amoxicillan rash and that he doesn't have a true allergy to it. It's a risk, but hopefully worth not putting him on a more intense antibiotic.

And through it all, he doesn't seem to care too much.



He's still his happy little self.



Poor Owen and his Lima Beans.

My Great Dad

This is was part of the card Colin made for Chris at school for Father's Day. I thought it was pretty funny. The parts in italics are what Colin filled in.

My Great Dad

My daddy is 54 years old.

He weighs 10 lbs and is 10 inches tall.

His hair is dark and his eyes are brown.

He loves to relax by closes his eye and he likes to wear work clothes.

He loves to cook hot dogs.

His favorite household chore is vacuum.

His favorite TV show is Daddy & Mommy Shows and his favorite song is with the girls singing.

Daddy always tells me Colin.

He loves to buy me hot dogs.

If he could go on a trip he would go to work.

I love you Dad! You are the best!



Although Chris loved it, he was not too thrilled about Colin aging him by twenty years.

Happy Fathers Day

We had a wonderful Fathers Day Weekend. Saturday we went to the Aquarium.

Owen with the hippos:



Saying hello to sharks:



The inevitable picture in the shark's mouth:



Sunday we woke up and Chris opened some presents:







The boys did some snuggling:



And looked at the Statue of Liberty (see it in the background?)

Why oh why?

Anyone who has ever met Owen probably realizes he can be a tiny bit of a handful. But that's fine. It's his personality. I'm pretty good at now looking at a situation, assessing the risk and then assessing the Owen risk. But, I swear, sometimes that little guy surprises even me.

This morning I was dealing with a dishwasher than wouldn't start and a dishwasher's worth of dishes that needed to be hand washed. Both boys absolutely love to color, so I set them up at the table to color to their heart's content while I dealt with all the dishes.

When I grabbed the coloring supplies, I looked at my options. I nixed the markers imagining the mess that Owen could possibly create. I decided against crayons since Owen sometimes breaks them for fun and simultaneously breaks Colin's heart, especially if it's a blue crayon that gets decimated. So I decided on twist up Crayola crayons.

So they sat happily coloring as I washed the pots and pans. And then I turned around. And saw THIS.



Instead of crying, I grabbed the camera. Because it's either laugh or cry and I figured someone would probably laugh.



And of course it was off to the bath.





I'm happy to say that Owen no longer looks like a smurf. The same can't be said about the tray to his booster seat. It's currently soaking in the sink and it's not looking good for the poor tray.

Sometimes, Owen surprises even me. How he managed that much damage with me 3 feet away and without Colin making a peep is remarkable. Oh, Owen.

Sick Videos

Colin and Owen are both suffering from some sort of cold with fever. So we've been sequestered in the house for the past few days as I try to get them well. And I suppose there is no sense in infecting the whole world with whatever we're suffering from. Why do I mention this?, it explains the pajamas in the following videos.

To pass the time, I've been trying to get a good video of Owen talking. His speech has really taken off over the past month and it's absolutely hilarious talking to him. He can say what he wants and what he means at all times.

Unfortunately for Colin, this means he often gets tattled on. "Gaga pushed me!" "Gaga being mean", etc. But he also is very sweet to Colin too. He says "Hi Gaga!!!" when he sees him in the morning. And it means they have much more interactive play going on.

This first video I thought was cute just because of how often Owen makes me and Colin laugh. He is seriously entertaining at all times. He's hard to understand until you speak "Owen", but he's talking about "basketball" and a "snake's eyes".



The second is Colin and Owen playing "ghosts". I guess in this game, Colin is a ghost and chases Owen. They made it up as I was filming... Pay no attention to the fact that Owen lost his shirt and Colin's shoes are on the wrong feet. Why is he wearing shoes with pajamas? Only Colin knows...

Time Capsule

Colin had his last day of school yesterday (Pre-K 3). He came home with a time capsule showing how much he has grown and changed over the past school year. It is quite remarkable how much he has grown up.

First two pictures to show how much he has grown.

Colin in September:



Colin in June:



Two drawings to show how much his drawing has changed.

His family portrait in September:



His family portrait in June:



As a side note, I think it's remarkable how UN-self-centered Colin is. He doesn't even put himself in family portraits.

But some things haven't changed all that much as evidenced by Colin's Time Capsule questionaires:

This is a record of my life on 9/18/08
My name - Colin
My favorite color - Blue
My favorite food - hot dogs
My favorite song - Old MacDonald
My favorite toy - Dinosaurs
My favorite animal - Elephant
My favorite book - Elephant book
When I grow up I want to be - Just like daddy

This is a record of my life on 6/4/09
My name - Colin
My favorite color - Blue
My favorite food - hot dogs
My favorite song - Green Alligator Song (aka the Irish song called "The Unicorn Song")
My favorite toy - Dinosaurs
My favorite animal - Elephant
My favorite book - Dinosaurs
When I grow up I want to be - A fireman like my grandpa

Congratulations on a wonderful year at school, Colin! We are so proud of you!

One Nap

Over the past few weeks Owen has officially transitioned to one nap a day. It's really rare for a child to take two naps as long as Owen did, but I have to say it was WONDERFUL. And I waited as long as possible to transition him to one nap a day.

He transitioned wonderfully and is very happy on his one nap, but he's very tired when it's finally time to nap. And it doesn't help that we usually have to get Colin at school and eat lunch before Owen gets a chance to get in the crib.

Today apparently he was so tired that he couldn't even take the time to lay down before conking out. This does NOT look comfortable...

A Sunday With Liam

Last Sunday, Chris, the boys and I headed up to see Brig, Evan and Liam for a Sunday barbeque. We left at about 10:30 in the morning. All was going well, we grabbed a few donuts, some coffee, the boys were watching a movie..





And then traffic. We live with traffic. There is always traffic. But this was stop and get out of your car traffic. Apparently the upper level George Washington Bridge was closed for some sort of motorcycle event.



After forty-five minutes or so, we were moving again. Of course this sign just lies. It always lies...ten minutes? I don't think so!



But we braved the bridge and got to Brig and Ev's and had a wonderful Sunday!

The boys enjoyed the pool.









Until Liam woke up and he joined in on the fun.







When we left, Colin told us "that was fun, huh?" It was!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!!

Friday was Chris's birthday (yes, I'm late blogging this). Colin was extremely excited for his dad's birthday. Birthdays are a huge deal to four year olds and Daddy's birthday was no exception!

Colin put a lot of thought into what he wanted to buy his Dad for his birthday....he decided...Legos! What 34 year old doesn't want Legos? Owen looks impressed with Colin's choice too, doesn't he?





Colin also decided we should make a Yankee cake! Who doesn't want a Yankee cake? So the boys helped me with the icing and we surprised Chris with the cake.



He looks like he likes it!



And OF COURSE the inside of the cake needed to be swirly blue! Because Colin knows his Dad's favorite color is blue too.



Who needs plates when you can just dig right in?



Happy Birthday!!!