Sesame Street Dictionary!

He didn't have a chance of not being a bookworm, but I had a blast from the past today when he cracked out the Sesame Street Dictionary. Rumor has it that when I was Seth's age, it was my favorite book. I had my parents read it from cover to cover, front to back , back to front, middle to ends, every other word, and I knew when they tried to skip stuff! We aren't at that point yet, but it was fun to look through all the pictures with Seth this morning. He says "k-kie" for Cookie Monster and "tra-ash" for Oscar. He says Bert clear as day. He would tell me which ones were eating and say "shhh" if they were asleep.

I got this Cheerios book for a shower gift, and we read it all the time, but I've never put Seth to work at it before (you fill in the holes with Cheerios). He got it! Yea! Something else to entertain him in the kitchen!

My parents came over Saturday because my dad needed a "grandpa fix." They brought over a carful of little baby stuff (they figure it's better it takes up space in our attic than theirs) and Nathan's birthday present, a garden cart. It will have dual-purposes, as Seth likes to ride in it like a wagon. Its maiden voyage was a ride around the cul-de-sacs trying to get Seth to wind down and sleep...it worked...

First Pool Trip, 2007 edition

Yea! Tanglewood pool is open for business! Seth and I went to the pool this afternoon. It is amazing the change nine months can bring. This kid who had to hold on to both my hands last year will now walk until his shoulders are covered unassisted, and up to his chin while holding my hand.

Hopefully this summer we will work on our sharing. I caught a genuine expression here of when a little boy tried to use one of his diving sticks. Who knew Seth was so sassy?

Definitely going to be spending a lot of time here this summer....

Binky Battle, Day 2

Seth tried once again to boycott bink-less naptime...it got quiet upstairs 20 minutes ago, so I sneaked a peek...this is what I found:

Poor Floppy Dog...

Note the "broken" binky in his hand... Do you think he was tired?

Binky Negotiations

We had a quiet Memorial Day weekend. Nathan went golfing Saturday, and Seth and I went to the mall because my work shoes had broken the night before. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I worked. Wednesday was a recharge day for me. We did nothing except go to meet baby Blair. Seth was so excited to go play at Case's house! We have decided it's time to get rid of the bink around here. Since Seth has been feeling better, we were back to just nap and bedtime. Yesterday I tried to cut out naptime. I told Seth that Daddy had taken his binky to work. Seth found another one, so I cut it in half and told him it was broken. I let him fuss it out. That didn't work. I read dozens of books. That didn't work. So finally I just let him play quietly in the playroom. I had wanted to take him to the pool, but he fell asleep on the way there. After a quick nap, he was a bear when he woke up. We spent a majority of the evening outside because he's happier there. We let him have the bink at bedtime, we'll tackle that once we get naptime down pat. This morning at 4am Seth started hollering. When I went to check on him, he handed me his bink like it was his ticket out of his room. Yeah, right! I got him settled back in, and he slept until morning. Here are a couple pictures of our morning playtime yesterday:

Look what we found back by the fence yesterday morning! She dug two holes, so I guess she was going to make a nest. I think she changed her mind after she met Colette, but it almost looks like she's back out there right now as I type this! (Sorry the picture is so dark, our backyard is very shady right now.)

Big orange sticker on his chart...

Seth went down for nap yesterday with a couple (so I thought) bug bites on his arm. He was filthy after a morning of washable (not color-magic) markers, sidewalk chalk, and outside play. I had to drop Seth off at Nathan's work so I could go to a meeting, so I threw him in the shower with me so he'd be presentable. His belly was covered with spots. I thought it might be chicken pox, but at least it'd only be a mild case since he had received the vaccine. Called the pediatrician to give them a heads-up, they call back, wanting to see him this morning for an official diagnosis. Uneventful night; this morning the spots had turned into whelps, and his knees are red, hot, and swollen. Hmmm. Not the pox. So we go to the doctor, Seth walks in like he owns the place, and I had brought crayons, so our short wait was really fun coloring pictures on the exam table paper. The doctor says he is having a classic penicillin reaction (oops--guess I should have held his AM dose of amoxicillin). She gave him a whoppin' dose of Benadryl (he didn't even stay awake the ride home and it wasn't even 9am!) and ordered around the clock Benadryl for the weekend. So ate least he doesn't have some weird contagious germ that I don't know where he picked it up since he hasn't been out this week. But he does have a big orange "PCN Allergy" sticker on his chart now, and hopefully that won't become a problem as he gets older and gets exposed to strep and the like.

IOP

It's hard to believe a week ago we were on our way to Charleston. More specifically, Isle of Palms. Seth woke up last Wednesday with green goop coming out his eyes and nose. Convinced the doctor would give him something this time, we made a last minute trip to the pediatrician. Diagnosis: one and one-half ear infections. Filled the prescription and we were on our way. He looked pitiful, but he was in really good spirits that day. Our condo was perfect for what we needed for the weekend. After everyone got settled (Nathan's parents and Marie's family had condos on the same floor), we had carry-out pizza. We had decided that each family would make breakfast one morning, and that worked out great. The guys went golfing Thursday morning. We went to the pool/beach with the boys. This is a picture from the pool trip: We had all commented on what a dreary beach morning it was. We started smelling smoke later once we came in, only to find out the wildfires in Georgia were responsible. I was hoarse by mid-afternoon, and still have a cough today. I just had to take the next picture...Seth wanted Ryan's float, but he didn't want to use it in the big pool...here he is in the baby pool using the float.

Thursday Marie and I got to shop sans kids at the outlet mall, then we met the rest of the crew out for dinner. We found some great deals! Friday was a beautiful day (lucky for us the winds shifted). Elise and Chad came over and had some beach time with us.

I don't know what it is about the beach, but every day after about an hour Seth would go in the beach bag, take out his bink, lay down on a blanket and fall asleep. Friday he woke up towards the end of his nap and crawled in Marie's lap to catch another 30 minutes.

Friday night we went to downtown Charleston with the Johnstons. We ate at A.W. Shucks and had a really nice dinner. The boys were really good, especially when you consider that Nathan ordered two dozen steamed oysters that he had to shuck himself, and that took forever. We went down to the water for a little bit until the bugs started to get us. Here's a good picture of Evan and Ryan:

Saturday was another beach morning. Seth took almost a four hour nap that day. I guess he was catching up on all the sleep he missed the week before (I'm glad one of us did!) That evening we went to Goose Creek to Chad and Elise's house. Chad graduated from Charleston School of Law Saturday, so Elise had a party for him. It was very nice! Sunday we had an uneventful ride home. I've worked the last two days, so today I'm finally starting to catch up with things around here.

For all you Idol fans...

I just saw this on the News&Observer website:

http://www.newsobserver.com/1241/story/570279.html

New dishwasher

The new dishwasher was installed just a little bit ago, yea! I didn't think you guys would be interested in seeing a picture of a new black dishwasher, although the inside is really neat, because it is gray. But I did think you'd be interested in seeing what the original kitchen flooring was...ugly laminate (it's hunter green and white, in case you can't tell in the picture...click on the picture to see a larger view, which gives you a better idea of what I saw), and this was a 1993 Parade of Homes house! We had a very nice long weekend in Charleston with Nathan's family, more on that, with pictures, as soon as I get things in order around here.

Guess what I'm getting for Mother's Day?

A new dishwasher! Ours died mid-cycle this morning, so tomorrow I'm headed to Lowes to see if they have any that strike my fancy. The irony of it is, I probably liked the dishwasher best of all my kitchen appliances! Oh well! Here's some pictures of our weekend:


Sidewalk chalk has been a wise investment. We have almost gotten our money's worth out of it this weekend.

Yesterday was Sabrena's wedding in Icard. We dropped Seth off to play with his cousins. Here is a picture of me and Michelle (my DZ little sis). People have been asking me to post a picture of my new hairdo.

We got back to Marie and Eric's just in time for dessert and bathtime...this time the boys got mohawks!

Nathan took Seth to go shopping this morning...he swears he was just the wallet of the operation, and that Seth picked out the flowers and the card himself. I believe the card part, because Seth continues to scribble the inside every chance he gets!

Terrible twos...

...here we come! Although Seth wasn't the first to roll over, get teeth, crawl, walk, etc., he did get separation anxiety early, and it appears the terrible twos may be upon us. (And since I hear 3 can be worse than 2, we might have a bumpy couple years around here!) We are starting to have short-lived melt-in-a-puddle tizzies. He's already mastered instant crocodile tears. Now, Seth's had a tough week, which we are blaming on allergies and 2-year-old molars. After several restless, sleepless nights, a few low-grade temps, and some unexplained meltdowns, I took him to the pediatrician, thinking I would catch an ear infection early. Nope. Boy doesn't even have fluid behind his eardrum, much less an infection. Oops. Better safe than sorry! The thing about my pediatrician's office is that they know I'm a NICU nurse, so they think I can "handle" things for awhile before I bring him in. Every time something happens for the first time ie. stuffy nose, bumped noggin, super high fever, etc., I have called in, then use that advice the next time. But, I did get to throw the boy on a scale, and was SHOCKED to see he weighed in at 23 lbs 15 oz. What the heck! I thought he'd be 25+! So I just looked at the CDC website and that puts him right on the 10th percentile line...AGAIN. Next time I'm going to put some rocks in his diaper!

Then we met Nathan for lunch and Seth had so much fun spearing pizza on a fork. We made a family trip to ToysRUs and bought a couple toys for our trip to the beach and got Seth's birthday present to put away. Well, the big box wouldn't fit in my car, so we had to take out the carseat in the Camry and put it in there. I don't know what was the catalyst: Nathan getting out of my car, or putting the box in his car, or removing the car seat, but there was a very unhappy boy in my car. I told him Daddy had to go back to work but he'd be home later. Major waving and kiss-blowing ensued, until Nathan's car was out of sight. He's going to be thrilled tomorrow when he realizes it is Saturday and he has both parents home for two days!

Triad (Guaranty) Idol

Nathan is always being asked to be on some sort of social committee or another at work, not for his business savvy or his work ethic (that's why he gets assigned real projects), but because his sense of humor is not that of a "typical" accountant. When I was pregnant with Seth, we made a 3-D turkey for their Thanksgiving party. The next year it was a 2 ft Mayflower, complete with pilgrims. For the second year in a row, Triad is having a night out at the Warthogs game. For the second year in a row, they are having a competition to see who gets to sing the National Anthem at the game. And for the second year in a row, Nathan was asked to be Simon Cowell. Check him out! And for those who remember our college Halloween costumes, that's a WIG.

My lucky day!

For the first time in over a year, I was cancelled from work! Yea! It was extra time, so I really didn't want to go in, and now I have a four-day weekend instead of only one day off. This morning we went to Tanglewood to show Seth's new favorite playground to Nathan. Seth spent an hour playing hard, and barely could keep his eyes open for his PB&J. After a big nap, we took a walk and then Seth colored while I fixed dinner. This evening he was "trying" to do a sudoku puzzle. I wouldn't be surprised if that's what he figures out how to do this week. So I exaggerate a little bit, but the boy loves puzzles. Nathan had a funny story from Friday night: The batteries are dying on Seth's birds attached to his bed. If we forget to turn them on, you'll hear Seth turning them on over the monitor. Well, Friday night Seth would hit it, the machine would play some sorry notes, then silence, then SMACK, some sorry notes...repeat, repeat, until Seth hollered and when Nathan went up to check on him Seth was in a wad about the birds not working. Nathan told him it was broken and he was okay with that, but he is very particular about having things JUST SO, so hopefully we can hold out for our Friday Target run for new batteries. Seth has more playdates in the works this week, including a shopping trip with Cami and Jake, two separate visits with Landon and Case, and a trip to see his cousins again next weekend. Lucky kid!

Little Gym

This picture is from our Little Gym playdate Friday...as you can see, Seth loved it! Saturday morning we made a family trip to the grocery store, and left for Hickory mid-afternoon. Seth was supposedly really good for the sitter, I'm waiting to hear what Evan has to say about the evening, he'll let us know how it really went! The wedding was really nice, but it was one of those situations where we spent more time in the car than at the actual event. I think the past few days have caught up with me, I slept until almost 8:30! That NEVER happens!

Ready to play golf

Sorry, besides four-square or 2-on-2 basketball, that's the best sports analogy I can think of. We were very excited to find out yesterday that Evan and Ryan will be having a brother! I foresee holidays and sleepovers being even more fun! Seth thinks he's so big right now, I think he's ready to give up his title of the little one to the new guy!

BW2's

I don't know if you can find much better comraderie in the workplace than what we have on evening shift right now. We're so much fun, we love to spend time together outside of work, too! Ha! Anyways, last night we went to Buffalo Wild Wings after work, where it was karoake night. After a busy night at work, it was a fun way to unwind. Tara had the crowd going with her version of "Fergelicious", and it was a riot watching some of the locals try to sing. I tried to pay back Bryan for all the random singing calls I get from him, but his phone was off (Bry-you're lucky I called when I did, or you would have gotten me hollering "Shot Through the Heart" at you!) I had my Cinco de Mayo margarita two days early, and then called it a night.

Mommy's not the only one having all the fun...Bennett came over to play yesterday morning for almost 3 hours, and this morning we have a playdate at the Little Gym with all my coworkers' kids. Tomorrow Seth will be spending the evening with his cousins while the adults go to a wedding. Fun times for the little guy!

In camera news, I got an email last night saying my camera had arrived and was approved, so now I just wait for a return shipment email.

No Pictures...

It's a well-known fact that I have TERRIBLE luck with cameras. And it's not as if I abuse them (except for that one Halloween I left mine at the Pi Kapp house, yea Leebo for bringing it back to me the next day!) Nathan gave me my first digital camera a few years ago for Christmas. That survived until Homecoming this past fall, when it finally bit the dust (That may have been a record for me, although at one point the zoom button fell off and I had to replace it). The next week I bought a new camera and have been very happy with it. The same day we found the tree laying across our fence, I got my camera out of my purse to document the damage, and the shutter button was missing. I found it in the bottom of my purse, and have been securing it in place with a return address label, which I have to remove every time I want to turn the camera on...it's really no way to live. LUCKY me, the camera has a one-year warranty and I still had the receipt. Monday I finally got my act together and mailed the camera off to the fix-it place in Illinois, hopefully they'll see it's an easy fix and do it right away. Melissa is going to loan me her extra camera, but until then, sorry, no photos of crazy man.

Seth and I made an encore visit to Cary today. Tomorrow: 1-Grandma Meek flies back to Minnesota, 2-Lisa is going to Ohio to see Michael until Greek school starts, and 3-Mom and Dad are starting their annual Minnesota trip with a side trip of dropping Lisa off in Ohio. So it was our last chance to see everyone for a little bit. Mom and Dad hadn't seen Seth since we were in Minnesota for the funeral and probably would have gone into DT's if they had to wait until Seth's birthday to get their grandkid fix. Seth has been pretty naughty the past few days, but he was a really good kid today. While he was napping, Lisa and I snuck out for pedicures (Holy Pink Pagoda this time...I just love the names of the OPI polishes!) A quick trip to Goodberry's and then we beat rush hour traffic home.

Yardwork

It's nice to have an established yard, but the weeds and shrubs were getting a mind of their own. This morning Nathan mowed the grass, and I started weeding the beds. Next thing you know I had a little helper, who brought his own tools! He didn't get a lot of work done, but he was fun to watch!

Nathan made a Home Depot run this afternoon and came back with a trunk full of flowers. So Mayse, Mayse, & Mayse Landscaping Co. is officially in business. Seth insisted on handing his daddy the flowers, sometimes not as gently as others. (He comes from a long line of gardeners on both sides, so hopefully we're instilling a love of plants by letting him help, even if it means we lose a petunia or two along the way.) His reward was running in the sprinkler afterwards; he LOVES the hose right now! I decided the shrubs pictured above needed to be put in their place...I only got 2 of the 6 done, Seth is going through a daredevil phase, so I had to take many breaks to relocate him. Maybe I'll be productive during naptime tomorrow and get the rest done, because it's going to be a busy week.

By the way, Melissa and I went to a Dream Dinners session Friday, and had a blast putting together our meals. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to add convenient variety to dinner. We ate pulled pork last night, and have five more dinners in the freezer. We've even made our selections for the May menu already!

Great Grandmas are Great

Seth and I went to Cary Sunday to spend the day with my Grandma Meek, and Seth found she was more than willing to tell him what a great artist he was (not to mention an all-around good kid).Tuesday Seth was surprised when "Mama Meek" showed up at his house, and he found he could color even better using his home supplies. They spent hours at the table, either coloring or doing puzzles.

Once he realized she was spending the night, he had to test out her sleeping conditions (note the menagerie on her bed...we are now up to two stuffed animals, a blanket, and four little pillows that make the trip downstairs when bedtime is being boycotted).

Today there was more coloring done, and then Seth went down for a "snappy nap" when his Mama Meek said it was time (who is this kid?). We went to Cracker Barrel for a late lunch, and Seth was on his best behavior. I think he's pulling for top great-grandkid position, although I'm sure it's an eight-way tie for first!

Evan is Four!

Evan turned the big 4 last week, and we went to the ChuckECheese in Hickory Saturday night to celebrate...I think the boys had a big time. Here are a few pics...

WalkAmerica 2007

Seth and I just got back from WalkAmerica. He started the day a little whiney. We even ran into Ashley, his babysitter, and she couldn't get him to liven up. I thought it was going to be a L-O-N-G walk, but once we started moving, Seth did great. He really liked the stickers we got at the end of the walk. He ate a couple bites of hot dog and then started climbing like the big kids at the playground. Hopefully he'll take a good nap, then we'll be off to Hickory for Evan's birthday party!

First letter of the alphabet

Now, I don't know if there's any research out there that points out which letter of the alphabet most toddlers say first, but I was sure surprised at Seth's selection. He has the LeapFrog fridge alphabet in his room (since he has the LeapFrog fridge farm in the kitchen), which teaches the letters and phonics. We were playing with that Thursday afternoon, and when Seth used the letter "R" he said "R" clear as day. I put it back in the pile of letters, and sure enough, the next time he repeated the "R" back, too. He also seems very aware of colors right now, he just hasn't started saying their names. Yesterday Brenners had a March of Dimes carnival. Seth had fun playing with Alden and Landon, but the carnival concept was lost on him (except the eating of cotton candy!) Nathan came and met us there for lunch. It was a little chilly, but a lot of fun! Seth is 22 months old today. Everyone commented on how big he's getting. I weighed him the other night, and best I can tell, he's around 25 lbs. I've been plotting his weight on a CDC printout, and it looks like he is almost 25th percentile right now, and on that particular graph, he is always 10th percentile. He still gets his little potbelly in the evening, but in the bath last night I noticed how strong his arms and legs are getting. Nathan has been getting a milkshake on the nights I work, I guess those few sips Seth gets are starting to make their mark.

Five, six, pick up sticks...

We had two straight days of gusty winds, Sunday accompanied by rain, and last night the news said that Winston-Salem had recorded gusts of 58 mph. It was a good educational experience, because now Seth can make the sound of wind. One tiny dead tree broke in our backyard, so we were very lucky. The first house on our street lost a tree that was over two feet in diameter, pulled up by the roots! Last night while dinner was cooking, Nathan and his little helper did some limb clean-up...

Clemmons Azalea Festival

I took these pictures Good Friday, prior to our unseasonably cold temperatures that have since made the azaleas shrivel up. They were pretty while they lasted!

This is why I do what I do...

I meant to put in my "misc." post that although the babies in the NICU are wearing me out this week, I've had a really great week. After working there almost seven (yes, SEVEN!) years, I must admit I have had favorites over the years. And this week I was lucky enough to hear from my top three...Annie's mom has a blog, and I am amazed at the things she is learning to do. Jonathan (a dad), stopped by Monday just to say hello since he was in Winston (he lives about two hours away...although it was a little disconcerting at first to get a message that there was a man asking for me at the front desk!), and yesterday I got a picture of Jenna riding her pony. For every time I complain about ungrateful families, I'm thankful that I've met these people and they have stayed in my life. I just saw this clip on cnn.com...I've never had a patient stay this long, I think close to a year is the longest I've seen so far. But I won't deny that I teared up watching this... BEST part of the job, by far.

Misc., Spring 2007 edition

We spent Easter weekend in Kings Mountain, and Seth delighted his Auntie Elise by calling her "E" when he wanted her attention. The best is when he would say "E" and then sign "more""please" after she'd give him a raspberry on the belly. I actually had to work Friday, Sunday, and Monday, so the boys went down a day ahead of me, and Seth did great sleeping on the air mattress next to daddy's side of the bed. Yesterday the carpet was replaced at the condo, so Seth went over to Case's so I could supervise that, and then we went to the mall playground so I could watch Jake and Cami while their parents did their taxes. (Jakey gem: Cami, see that big "S" up there (the SEARS sign)? Mommy and Daddy are behind that. In TEXAS (or doing taxes...). I thought it was cute!)


Seth has been able to undress his bottom half for a while now. He's been trying to figure out the top half this week...not quite there yet....

Most of you know I like to be a crafty mouse every once in awhile...this is my latest project, a diaper cake for baby Blair (her room is pink with dragonflies). It was a lot of fun, I plan to make many more the next time a baby boom hits work (which inevitably will happen)!

Spoiled Rotten

Yes, that would be Seth. Seth got not one, but two baskets full of goodies yesterday, and the Easter bunny isn't supposed to come until Sunday morning! Ashley had brought him a bunch of new toys, and then Seth got a big box in the mail from his Grandpa and Grandma B. Grandma B requested pictures, so here they are.

Colette had to see if there was anything for her in there....

Loves to color...

Seth decided the Curious George washcloth was a great place to store crayons...

Seth's first egg hunt...

Seth's version of an egg hunt (we did his version and our version all evening...)

Hop Hop

Here is Seth's first encounter with a live bunny. The photographer was not very toddler-friendly, and this was not the best picture of Seth taken during his seven minute photo session, but it was the best picture of him with the bunny. Seth said "hop hop hop" the whole time the bunny was sitting by him. The photographer really didn't like that, but I did! Happy Easter, everyone!

An Announcement

I got an unexpected phone call from Lisa last night at work. She wanted to tell me that they found out yesterday that Michael received the big scholarship at Southern Seminary. I guess they had already decided to go to Southern, but this was the icing on the cake. Very excited for them, and also excited that they will be living less than 3 hours away!

Dog Tired

No, he didn't fall asleep with his head on the toilet seat, but he was pretty darn close. It all started with one of his late night shout-outs Friday night when I told him to go back to sleep because he needed lots of rest to play with his cousins the next day. He woke up ready to go to Hickory, and it took a lot of entertaining to keep him happy all morning. His nap barely lasted a hour, and then we hit the road. I was hoping he'd fall back to sleep on the car ride, but no such luck. Seth had a couple hours of playtime with his cousins before we went to Mary Margaret and Wes's baby shower. Seth made it until 8, but then we had to put on pj's and head back this way. He had a very restless night last night, and fell asleep before 10 am on our way home from early church. He did not nap long enough, and then was busy helping his daddy with yardwork most of the afternoon, so he was ready for bed at about 5. This picture was from 6pm, as I was running a bath so we could get all the pollen off. He made it until 7:30, but it wasn't pretty. Hopefully he sleeps like a rock so we all can get a good night's rest.