At the carwash

Friday Seth and I ran errands in the morning. The outside of my car was a mess but the inside was okay, so I did something I never do and went through a drive-through car wash. Seth was not impressed. Then we went out to lunch with Case and Melissa. Fun! Saturday we went on a long walk and then checked out the neighborhood playground. Seth gave it a big WHEE!!! Then my parents spent the night, so Seth had a great time playing with them. Sunday was a rainy, yucky day. The guys took big naps, and a took a nice long bubble bath. We all crashed early last night, but maybe for good reason...Seth was ready to go this morning at 5:42!

Sunshiney Day

Wow, for the last two days the weather has been fantastic! Yesterday Seth and I took a long walk and then played with Colette in the backyard. Picture is from a game of peekaboo hiding under the deck.Today our agenda was a repeat walk and a trip to the neighborhood playground after naptime, but I had to run into work for a bit, so Seth went over to Case's house while I did that. That messed up my afternoon, but as I was picking Seth up, Pam called and invited us to her neighborhood playground. We were only a few minutes away, so we took her up on it. It was very windy, there were times I thought Seth might fly away! Seth and Bennett thought they were BIG BOYS being able to climb up the steps and go down the slides by themselves (with one mommy at the top and another mommy at the bottom to supervise! )

My job

As a NICU nurse, I take care of a lot of preemies. This article is about the smallest preemie ever who just got to go home yesterday in Florida. The smallest I've seen is 13 oz. If someone asks you to donate to March of Dimes' WalkAmerica this spring, please do! It will go to helping my little patients...you'd be amazed at the number of changes I've seen, and I've been doing this less than seven years!

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=2890242&page=1

New skill

Seth has learned how to jump this past week, while saying his rendition of "hop" at the same time. Saturday we went to Chapel Hill and had pizza with my parents and Bryan, who was in town to "watch a handball tournament". Seth was too excited to eat. In the picture with Bryan he is showing off his biggest laugh, he thought everything was so funny. In the picture with me, he is showing off his hopping skills. Ha! Nathan had a cold over the weekend, but he seemed back to normal Monday. He took a vacation day because I had to work, but we had a relaxing family morning. I have to work again today, so Seth and I are spending the morning doing laundry. He thinks that is a boring way to spend his 20 month birthday! He got a big boy haircut Sunday, I'll try to get a picture of that soon!

Phone Call from Evan

We have two wonderful nephews, Evan and Ryan. These boys LOVE their Uncle Nay-Nay, but every once in awhile I get a sweet moment all my own, like this picture of Ryan and Evan calling last July to sing Happy Birthday. Well, Thursday Nathan had just left to go play basketball and Seth had just gotten in the tub. The phone rang, and the conversation started something like this:

Hey Aunt Sara.
Hey Evan!
We just read Curious George book.
What did Curious George do?
Well, my mommy has a baby in her tummy in September.

Nathan and I had been suspicious, and we are so excited that we're going to become an aunt and uncle again in September!

Seth's on the mend

There must be one nasty bug in Forsyth County. I thought Seth would get a day or two of antibiotics in his system and we'd be back to normal, but by Wednesday I was threatening him with a pediatrician's appointment today if he wasn't better. He still has an intermittently snotty nose and a rare cough, and he has slept through the night two of the last three nights. (Yea!) His activity level still isn't back to normal, but his appetite is back. The picture is from yesterday morning, he wanted sweet potatoes for breakfast and he was wearing his big boy (a small 2T) Cars jammies for the first time. Our new trick of the week is that he has learned how to take his pants off. I hear him giggling in his crib, that's when I know he's done it. I think he thinks he's getting away with something!

Feelin' HOT HOT HOT

Seth woke up Friday with the snuffles, then woke up from his nap with a cough, a low-grade temp by bedtime, and spent most of the night in the guest room with me. We thought it was a cold Saturday and that we had it under control, so I went into work. By 5pm it was clear that that was a bad decision, and my relief came an hour early so I could get home to my boys. A snotty, coughy, high-temp sleepless night ensued, meaning except for an hour when I got home, Seth and I went to sleep at 7am. I decided to call in to work (which I can still count on one hand the number of times I have done that it six and a half years) and took Seth to PrimeCare instead. He looked so bad by the time we got in to see the doctor that they ran a flu on him, which was negative. They didn't have the RSV test, but he has a double ear infection, so I guess we'll find out soon enough if the antibiotics will help, or if he also has a virus that needs to run its course.

Nathan and I decided to take advantage of my unexpected night off and watch "You, Me, and Dupree" on demand. Seth chose to join us about 5 minutes into the movie, but he slept on our chests the entire time. We broke our rule and let him sleep in our bed last night, although that only lasted an hour and then Seth and I were back up in the guest room. He still had a temp of 104+ at 1 am, but hasn't had another one so far today. So after 13 hours of sleep last night, he spent 2 hours in my bed dozing/watching cartoons this morning, played briefly in the playroom, and is now snoring on my lap as I type this. The only thing on the agenda for today is my hair appointment, so he can nap the day away for all I care...as long as he promises to sleep again tonight!

Bad Hair Day

Seth went to bed last night within minutes of putting his pj's on after bathtime...his hair could have stood a few more minutes of drying time before bedtime. This picture doesn't do justice to how wild his hair was this morning...he wore his hat to Target today, and good thing, since I ran into someone I knew!

Vocabulary update: our new words for this week are "apple" and "moo" whenever he sees a cow or horse. And he gets out his jazz hands if you say "Blues Clues" and gestures if you sing the thinking chair ditty, it's so cute!

Inaugural playdate

Yesterday was a playdate of epic proportions. I know I've mentioned that Seth was born during the middle of a baby boom at my work. Nichole and Mary coordinated a trip to the Children's Museum, and almost all of us were able to attend. I tried to do a head count, I THINK there were 16 kids. They all had a blast. Seth was having so much fun, we stayed almost 5 hours! It makes me wonder why we didn't think about doing something like this earlier! Hopefully it will be the first of many group outings.

Play therapy, Mayse style

We went to the mall Saturday and Nathan found Seth a 10 pack of wooden puzzles. Also new this weekend are speakers for the iPod, so we can have music on the main and upper levels. Very nice. We're going to add all Seth's music, because he has really gotten into his CDs lately. The cookie monster jar is supposed to help Seth learn how to pretend. (mostly he just points at all the characters). There is a whole lot more babble and less grunting, but we still have a limited vocabulary. Over the weekend he added "hi" and "bye" to his repertoire, but he will only say them to Nathan. The word of the day today is "hop". There is a Backyardigans video that repeats "hop" and one of his puzzles has a bunny, which he points to and says "hop hop hop". So for $24 we have made a big "hop" towards getting Seth to talk, we just had to figure out how he wanted to do it. We have puzzles in his room, the computer room, and the playroom, his train is now in the dining room, he uses the air mattress to practice his tumbling, and now he dances in the living room to the iPod. Who needs play therapy when you can have free reign in your house?

This should warm you up...

For all of us here in NC, it's been darn cold this past week, and it sounds like it's only going to get colder as we get into next week. Remember my sister Lisa in Minnesota? This is what her thermometer said this morning when she got up for work. Yes, everyone. That is a MINUS SIGN in front of the temperature. YIKES!!!

Playroom Luxury

Our playroom is finally complete...for now. Our futon was delivered yesterday morning and after minimal assembly, the boys had it up and running in no time. It is VERY comfortable, and unlike a regular futon, it adjusts into a reclining position as well, which I think is how it will stay unless we're expecting company. We are supposedly in for bad weather today, right now we have less snow on the ground than we did with the last storm, but it has just started snowing again. I have declared tonight on-demand movie night...I don't think we've watched a movie since before Thanksgiving. If I get ambitious, I'll start oganizing Seth's toys in the back of the playroom and the closet, but that is a lofty goal. I was VERY busy at work last night, and Seth wasn't a good sleeper last night (but really, is he ever?) I really just want to curl up with a good book!

I'm strong!

No real stories to tell, just got a cute picture of Seth making his muscles. Tonight he was showing them off to my coworkers, he's usually pretty shy!

Geography Lesson

I just finished reading an online article my dad sent me about Hockeytown, USA, also known as Warroad, Minnesota, my parents' hometown. This is also where my grandparents live, and hence where Lisa is residing until spring. I thought you might want to see it on a map: As Nathan said at our rehearsal dinner, if you stand on a skateboard and sneeze, you'll end up in Canada...

I have worked several short shifts this week, so Seth and I have been homebodies this week. Seth had a speech evaluation Tuesday and though he is behind on speech, he is up to eight months ahead of the curve in some areas, so we are not pursuing therapy at this time. He has become a puzzle fanatic and went from needing help with single-piece puzzles to being able to put together an eight piece train puzzle with minimal assistance in less than 2 weeks. (Anyone interested in taking a puzzle shift or two please inquire to Nathan or myself.) We did make our monthly Walmart run yesterday and had a lunch date with Nathan...Seth sat in a booster for the first time and thought he was the biggest kid ever!

On a more somber note, my Grandpa Meek had a mild heart attack on Wednesday and is recuperating in the hospital. Lisa and Grandma spent all day Thursday playing cards with him. He is expected to come home early next week.

And on a happier note, Lisa and Michael both have been nominated for a new scholarship at Southern Seminary, technically they are competing against each other, but they see it as a win-win situation. We're so excited for them!

Why didn't I think of this before?

...if you can't get them quiet with one bink, just stick another in there! Seth used these binks last year as teethers, now they are playthings. He was throwing them across the hardwoods watching them spin, and next thing you know he popped up with both in his mouth! Silly! Now really Seth, don't you think you're too big for the bink when you can fit two in your mouth?

TA-DA!

Our mattress and boxspring came Saturday right before I had to leave for work and voila! we have a master bedroom now! Nathan and I made up the bed, and I made a stop to get pillows on my way into work. When I got home from work, my kid was upstairs, the dog was in her bed, and my husband was in dreamland in our new bed. He even brought my booklight down and put it on my nightstand! How nice! You know me, I like to pinch pennies, but I got a great deal on sheets and Nathan and I had found the comforter at an after-Christmas sale. I felt like I was staying at a nice hotel, everything was so comfy. (Mind you we've had the same set of sheets for our now guest-bed for over 5 years, and our comforter has been without stuffing for at least 3, possibly 4 years....I told you I pinch pennies!) And Seth slept all night, so no treks upstairs. Flash forward to last night...I come up the stairs to find the dimmer lights on in our room, Nathan snoring, and Seth asleep on my side in the bed with his butt up in the air at a seemingly uncomfortable position. I did not choose to see how roomy our new king was with Seth in the middle and carried him back upstairs. Hope this doesn't become part of the nightly routine!

First snow of 2007!

Last night the news said we were supposed to get snow this morning turning into a wintery mix (in NC that means stay off the roads) by lunchtime. By 7 am snow was sticking to the deck. Seth and I went to the grocery store (picture is of him taking the snow off of my car after shopping). By 9:30 the big flakes had stopped, and we tromped around the backyard for 20 minutes. Seth thought getting ready was hilarious...he doesn't have snow pants or boots, so he wore an extra shirt over his turtleneck, and extra pair of socks, and a pair of sweats over his overalls. He thought it was SO FUNNY that I was putting more clothes on him! He loved running around in the backyard. I wanted to show you how chunky the winter weather wear made him look, because we all know he's really half that size!

Ryan's party

Yesterday our nephew, Ryan, turned 2, and today was his party. The boys had a blast playing in the church gym and on the playground. Seth's favorite part of the day was when he convinced his Granddad (more than once) to push him around the gym in Ryan's Diego car (hey, that's progress...last week Seth would have wanted Granddad to take a spin in the car, too!). Here is a picture of the birthday boy, and a whole bunch of scavengers sneaking chips before the pizza was delivered!

Twelve hours later...

I mean, really, people. Back before I had Seth I could have worked a whole 12 hour shift in the amount of time it took my new furniture to be delivered yesterday. Around 11 I called to check on the status of my delivery, because I was never given any sort of window, and I prefer to get Seth out a little bit each day. During my inquiry I found that due to a transcription in our zip code, my bedroom suite and kitchen table were on a truck going to Winston-Salem (27102) instead of Clemmons (27012). Now I looked up our address using that zip, and no such place exists. Brain surgeons they are not. I am told by a man using broken English that he is sorry but my stuff will have to go back to the warehouse and Saturday it would be released for a new delivery date TBD. I have a couch coming Wed, but he couldn't guarantee everything on the same truck. I thought that was ridiculous and asked to speak to a manager. No one was available so I was referred back to the local store. The associate I talked to thought the whole thing was nonsense and assured me our furniture would get to us that day. The truck rolled up at 7:50 last night, and it took them until 9:20 to get it assembled. Here is a picture of the new kitchen table. Bedroom is still in disarray, so no pictures of that yet!

Now transmitting from Clemmons, NC

Okay we are officially moved in. I spent most of last week here at the house, cleaning cleaning cleaning. The whirlwind started Friday with TV delivery and cable set-up. Nathan took a half-day to supervise that, and I made my first Clemmons grocery run. My parents came over that evening and the guys brought Seth's crib over. He was one happy boy. Saturday started early (as it always does when Seth's excited) so the guys went to pick up the truck and the girls went to start packing more boxes at the condo. Thank goodness our cable had been accidentally turned back on so Seth could watch Noggin online. Nathan's parents and Marie and her family came to help load up, and we got almost everything in a 10 ft truck, the pickup, and Eric's trailer. I brought another trunkful yesterday, and probably one more remains. Seth napped through the whole moving-in process, and his cousins tested out the playroom. I am slowly unpacking boxes and organizing as I go. Seth is wearing himself out climbing all the stairs, and he is the official tour guide for whoever comes to visit. The pictures are of Seth "helping" me mop the floors, Colette and her new cousin Addie, and how Seth likes to eat in the new kitchen (this meal consisted almost solely of hushpuppies...note the beggar dog)