Well, isn't that strange?

I can see my pics on the digital camera. "My computer" won't let me visualize them. HP Image Zone won't upload them. Kodakgallery.com won't upload them. My dad can't figure out the problem over the phone. Defiantly, I looked up the pictures I wanted to upload, inserted the memory card, and they uploaded to blogger fine, at least it looks that way on the draft!

Anyways, I was right, it was a busy week. Tuesday was an appointment and work, Wednesday I was laid out with a headache and then worked four hours, Thursday was a Little Gym playdate and then I had to drop Seth off at Chris's after a major baby-sitting issue. Tardy for the second time in my career, but at least I had a better excuse than last time (last time I was still working days and dreamt I was cancelled and turned off the alarm clock in my sleep!). Friday was frantic cleaning in preparation for that afternoon's baby shower, as well as finally booking our Phoenix trip. The baby shower was fantastic. I think for the first time ever there was an even split of boys and girls, we're usually pretty heavy on boys when we get together. Saturday I worked a 12 hour day shift...it's funny, that still feels normal to me, even after all this time, and though I'm tired today, it didn't kick my butt nearly as bad as I thought it would. The boys had a great day together, and Seth was ridiculously excited to see me when I got home.

Seth got a package in the mail Wednesday from Mama B and Pops (aka Grandpa and Grandma B), I made the mistake of opening it in the car on the way to the grocery store. He had to carry the top of his new Elmo pajamas all through the store:


This is my second diaper cake attempt, made for Christy's shower. Allison is expecting a little brother in early October.
Enjoying some cake at the baby shower.... Seth made some big leaps in development this week. He started his first two word phrase, "thank you", and has become very polite all of the sudden. He also learned how to catch a ball at the Little Gym. He has become quite the chatterbox on the telephone. When I called to say good morning yesterday, he got mad when Nathan took the phone away, and went upstairs and brought down the handset from the computer room. And he pretty much told Nathan every time he was going to use the bathroom, and then would demand a diaper change immediately after (baby steps towards potty training, I hope).

Go Camp!

Yesterday, Lisa's former boss and head of Agape/Kure Beach Outdoor Ministries preached our sermon. He did a good job incorporating the gospel lesson with what he really wanted to talk about...the importance of the retreat centers. I learned a lot of fun facts that were new to me, but Lisa says Randy likes to share them a lot.

• There are 146 Lutheran camps in the U.S.
• There are 237 ELCA congregations in NC (I wonder how many in MN? Ha!)
• Agape has only been open for 10 years, but is the fastest growing business in the synod
• The #1 reason young adults stay involved in church is a faithful mom, #2 is camps/retreat experiences
• 40% of Agape staff end up working in a church (the highest percentage in the US!)

I was very interested in what Randy had to stay. I was confirmed in Minnesota, so I never went to Agape, but I went down to Kure Beach a few times with the church youth group, and we always had a blast. Lisa worked at Agape for four summers, and met Michael there, and now they have helped Randy's statistic by going to seminary this fall (By the way, they both passed Greek School). And I'm sure some day Seth will go to one of the camps.

And this all ties in to the first part of the weekend...Seth's favorite former camp counselors came to spend Friday and Saturday with us. Seth has Michael wrapped around his little finger. Whatever game Seth wants to play, Michael is up for it. That gave me and Lisa a lot of time to catch up. Seth loves letting the dog in and out, and he clicks his tongue to call her. One time he went outside with the dog, and I hooked my finger telling him to come back, and he started wiggling his finger right side up, it was so funny. He also likes to run away from her with her treat and make her chase him. He finally started to say "dog" this weekend (it used to just be oof! oof!), and he was trying really hard to say Lisa and Michael, it just didn't sound like anything. His new physical feat is that he can put his flip flops on all by himself.

I am at the end of a six day stretch off of work. Then insanity returns...this week is probably going to be a busy one.

Boys will be boys, Vol. 3

Tonight we went out to dinner. While we were waiting for our food, Seth took the lid off his cup and SPIT in his drink. Our jaws hit the table; where did he learn this? He has been reprimanded several times for it since. Hopefully the novelty wears off soon. I guess he's been watching too much baseball?

How about them tan lines?

Warning: naked tooshie pictures....

Seth has been a lot of fun the past few days. He and I have been making lots of runs to the condo, and he has been very patient with me. This morning he wanted me to take a bath, I wanted to take a shower, but he settled for a couple of inches of water in the tub to splash in while I got cleaned up. I'm impressed with his tan, it's not so noticeable until you see the skin color he was born with...and that's with SPF 45 every time we're at the pool!



Seth was so excited to play with Ashley yesterday that he never got around to taking a nap. This is 10:30 this morning, on our way home from the condo (with his new friend the paint stick he found in the linen closet at the condo). BONUS: the new word of the day is stick!

Anniversary Playdate

Yesterday was our sixth anniversary. Marie offered to come over and watch Seth so we could have a date night. Marie and the boys arrived around 10:30, and our first stop was Tanglewood pool. Ryan has had a tough week, and was pretty tired (see above), but Evan and Seth had a blast and the three adults enjoyed being in the water to cool off. Next on the agenda was naptime, with the mommies sneaking out for some tax-free shopping. But a little blonde was too excited to sleep, so he came along for the ride (and conveniently fell asleep on the ten minute ride to the mall). Marie and I are doing a stroller swap for once little Will arrives, so we test drove the new stroller in the mall yesterday and Seth took a fabulous nap all through Old Navy and The Children's Place. He thinks we only got Evan a new pair of shoes! We found some great deals, and I even bought two Christmas presents!

Once we got home, Ryan woke up with a fever that hopefully was mostly sun/heat related, he seemed to be much better after a dose of Motrin. Nathan and I got cleaned up and went to a new-ish restaurant in town called Bleu. It came highly recommended from Melissa and Ken, who celebrated their anniversary there last weekend. It was SO GOOD. Seth got a good report card from Auntie Marie...Colette not so much. She stole Seth's pizza right off the table! One day this week I caught her standing in the middle of the kitchen table, some dog is getting pretty daring in her old age!

This morning the boys had a ball playing and watching cartoons. Seth did some puzzles after his cousins left and opted for an early nap. We did our monthly shoe fashion show and he became obsessed with his green crocs. I had to put his thick socks on to keep the crocs from falling off. So he's napping with them on right now!

Need more nap!

Seth woke up N-A-S-T-Y from his nap, and spent 3o minutes telling me off as only he can. Finally, he left in a huff and sat on the loveseat, pretending to sleep (it's a new game of his) and ignoring me. So I went into my room to dust, and this is what I found 5 minutes later:

late July misc

Just wanted to share a couple of pictures from the past week. Nathan has started running again, so last week at Walmart we bought an el-cheapo watch so he could time himself. Seth used it as a cell phone all through the store. He wanted Daddy's watch so bad that night that we had to find one with a dead battery for him to wear, too.

Thursday Melissa and I took the boys to the pool. I set Seth's stuff at the bottom of the stairs and went to change into my suit. This is what I found when I came out of my room...Seth had taken off his shorts and diaper, and had his swim diaper up to his knees...he REALLY wanted to go swimming!

Friday we went to the Hickory Science Center with Evan, Ryan, and Marie. The have a neat butterfly exhibit. Here is a picture of Evan with a butterfly on his finger!

Golden Birthday

This is my Dairy Queen cake...yum!

My parents called at 4:48 yesterday, right on time. I'm the only Blackorby kid that didn't make an early AM arrival, so I don't get my birthday call until late afternoon. (birth time was 3:48 central time) We were walking into Texas Roadhouse. Mom and Dad said it was my golden birthday, 29 on the 29th. Had they been with us, I probably would have been embarrassed at dinner. Nathan was nice to me and didn't make a scene. Which was great, because I had to go to work from 7-11, so I was in scrubs. So what made my birthday golden? I got my second consecutive Cookie Monster card from the little guy. I am going to be able to be a book snob for the next six months and read whatever I want to (I'm going to be like the kid in the candy store). I stayed in my pj's until 4pm. I got to spend an hour on the phone with Stephanie. And I got a very fantastic phone call at work, but I don't want to jinx that, I'll tell you more when I can. Work could have been better, four screaming kids in intermediate, but all it all, it was a good day...

Now I have 365 more days (next year is a leap year) for the big 3-0....

Sad day for the Demon Deacons

Skip Prosser, the head of the Wake Forest men's basketball team died from an apparent heart attack yesterday. I was in the know before it became public knowledge. See, two of my best friends' husbands work for the athletic department at Wake. Steve was home doing daddy duty while Chris was at work when he got the call. I was home today, so Seth and I went over to watch the girls. After another hour or so the local and national news were reporting that Prosser had passed. Coincidently, Melissa's husband, Ken, was also doing daddy duty, but his mother was able to help him. Good thing, but I don't think I could handle five kiddos under the age of three!

Coach Prosser was a good man. I think he taught life skills to those boys, and not just basketball skills. We would always listen to post-game reports laugh about the players starting most sentences with, "coach says". Going to the games just won't be the same next fall. I just saw a nice photo montage online. (For you UNC fans, there is a good picture of Skip and Roy.) They say people rolled the quad in his honor last night (something he used to help do), Chris Paul and Justin Gray were there.

Please pray for Coach Prosser's family. In the press conference last night they said his wife was on the road in Ohio without a cell phone, that they had the highway patrol looking for her to know avail, and they finally got ahold of her at the Cincinnati airport.

Mr. Modesty

Today was Seth's annual hip appointment. Unlike the last two appointments, at which I was told "His hips are not normal, but there's nothing we need to do about it" (oh yeah, and thanks for your money), this time his hips ARE perfect, now the excuse is that kids with developmental dysplasia need to be followed up to make sure their limbs lengthen at the same rate. Please. Maybe I'm cynical, but I see the kids in the waiting room that are having fractures checked, or chronic problems, and I feel like we are wasting a time slot by being there. At work, I tell parents to look at the baby, and let me worry about the numbers on the monitor. At the same time, I can't use that monitor to make all my decisions. Ever since our first visit, I have felt like the scans on the computer meant more than the whole of Seth. (At our very first appointment 2 years ago I had to remind the doctor to actually assess my child...yes, they have psycho mom on my chart there.) He's running, he's climbing. I feel like we should be cleared to just have our pediatrician evaluate his gait/skin folds etc, and hello, I know what to look for. I voiced my opinion, but to no avail.

Now, onto the reason for today's title. Seth was appalled that he had to undress for his appointment. His x-ray took a long time because he kept trying to pull his shorts back up. And the nurse asked me to take off his shorts while we were waiting for the nurse practitioner, and that caused a scene. He ended up having to hold his shorts in one hand and his flops in the other while sitting in my lap as the practitioner assessed him. He thought it was very cool to look at his x-ray on the computer. He understood that it was the picture he took of his legs. He kept saying "knee" and "toe" and pointing them out.

Quiet Weekend

Sorry, nothing exciting going on here. I worked three days last week and we had a Little Gym trip. They had the gym set up very toddler-safe this time, so Seth was able to do most of the equipment by himself. Saturday morning we had a family trip to the grocery store and then Nathan and I tackled the yard. Seth was such a good boy playing outside while we did that. Yesterday morning Seth played with his buddies at church and then took a 4-hour nap. Nathan and I got hooked on "True Stories from the ER" (only impressive because Nathan, my favorite hospital-phobe, CHOSE to watch it). More of the same this week, although we do have a fun trip to visit the cousins planned for Friday!

Seth's newest word is "knock-knock". When we try to turn it into a knock-knock joke, it ends up being a game of peekaboo.

Atlantic Beach Weekend

We took a mini family vacation and made a long weekend out of last weekend. We decided to try Atlantic Beach, since we went to Wilmington a couple of times last year. We dropped Colette off in Cary on Thursday and were on our way. We got settled just in time for an early dinner at Amos Mosquitos. Seth tried calamari, and Nathan found a pearl in one of his oysters! Then we walked on the beach. The boy who showed no interest in the water in May wanted to swim in his clothes! We had beach access from the hotel, so Friday morning we went to that part of the beach. Seth kept taking Nathan on long beach walks and trips in the water. After nap time we went to the Pine Knoll Shores aquarium, by far the best of the three in NC. Seth LOVED looking at all the fish. Saturday we went to the Atlantic Beach public area, and little eagle eyes found a swing set in the sand, so he added that to his list of things to do with his dad at the beach. Seth took a HUGE nap, so we weren't able to go back to the beach, but we did get in another nice dinner. We had planned to get some beach time in Sunday morning, but it rained intermittently. We did get to walk the beach at Fort Macon and see some kites! We stopped at a McDonalds on the way home and Seth made it to the top of the playground for the first time; he was really proud of himself!

My first official phone conversation with Seth

Tonight while I was at work, I called home to check on Seth. He's been pretty excited the past few weeks when I've called, but the most I've gotten out of him is some audible breaths and a "mom" or two. Nathan was telling me that Seth had colored in his library book. Seth then got on the phone and said, "Mom? Mom? Mom?" And then he said, "book" I said, "What happened to the book?" and he said "Uh-oh!", then gave the phone back to Nathan. Counts as a conversation to me! He's been quite the snitch lately, but he hasn't figured out it's not an "uh-oh" if he's being naughty and does it on purpose!

HELLO, My Name is TROUBLE

Seth wore his t-shirt with the print above yesterday, and he tried to live up to the saying. Ironically, as soon as we took the shirt off, he started being good. Hmmm. We had a quiet Fourth...we made a family trip to the grocery store, Nathan did yardwork, we all took naps, had some outside time, and went to watch the fireworks. Seth actually stayed awake until we got home from fireworks. He wasn't scared of them, but halfway through he was ready to move on. We started heading to our car during the grand finale.

Seth has developed a few quirks the past few days. He's fascinated with the potty. Nathan said Tuesday he ran upstairs, wanted all his clothes off, and stood on his stool and went potty standing up. That morning, I got out of the shower to find he'd moved the lid just the slightest bit so he could watch what was happening as he played with the flusher. He's decided all matchbox cars work better without tires, so he has taken all the rubber tires off. And yesterday he made up a new game. He'd start on the deck where Nathan was grilling, walk down the stairs, through the side garage door, into the basement, up the stairs, through the kitchen, back on the deck, repeat, repeat, repeat. All this while only wearing a diaper. He was really mad when we locked the doors for dinnertime.

I'm off the next couple days...no real plans, those are the best kinds of days off....

Tempermental Two-Year-Old

Seth has been moody this past week, and it's not like it's been just the two of us after last weekend's excitement. Tuesday we went to storytime and Case and Bennett were both there. Wednesday the library offered Kindermusik, so the three boys went to that. Seth was very naughty and refused to participate; I guess he didn't like something different going on at the library. The highlight of the week was a trip to the pool that afternoon...90 minutes of good wholesome play. Thursday morning we made an uneventful grocery run, then I pressed my luck and tried to go to Walmart, too. That resulted in a clean-up in the card section because Seth chucked a bottle of shower gel out of the cart. Friday we met Mary, Melissa, and all the kids at the pool, which was fun, but was sandwiched between a 30 minute frantic hunt for my keys (Seth had moved them from upstairs to a drawer in the kitchen) and an awful night at work. Saturday we had a lazy morning, went out for BBQ for lunch, and then I went to work. Sunday Seth and I made a quick trip to church in Cary. My high school buddy, Jessica, was there having her little boy baptized. It was nice to see her, however briefly, and I think Seth and Lydia got to play together a little bit in the nursery. I had to take a picture of Seth's outfit...he thought he was big stuff, and I think that's the most compliments I've ever gotten on his clothes, ever. Sunday evening the sweet Seth went with us to the grocery store, played in his pool, and then went to the park. Cranky Seth woke up this morning and hasn't left yet.

Two-Year-Old Check-up

In an amazing turn of events, Seth was just a fifth of a pound shy of 25th percentile at his check-up. He tipped the scales at 24.8 lbs, which means he's gained almost a pound in the two weeks since his last ear infection. He was 34.5 inches tall. Since he is always following his curve, she thinks his leanness is do to genetics, not diet, so he is allowed to start 2% milk. She was pleased with his progress with his speech. It was a good visit, especially since it was the middle of naptime! Seth got his second Hep A shot, and barring any more infections that require IM antibiotics, he could be shot-free until kindergarten prep. She told me today that FluMist may be approved for 2 year olds by flu season, and she would recommend that for Seth since he didn't do well with the flu shot last year. He walked out blowing kisses to all the staff, and that won him not one, but two stickers on his way out the door.

Seth's 2nd Birthday party!

We had a very busy weekend. Bryan came and spent all day Saturday with us. The boys took a big nap, and I finally worked up the nerve to decorate Seth's cake. Sunday we had Seth's party at one of the playgrounds at Tanglewood park. Both sets of grandparents, cousins, and a couple of Seth's best buddies were able to help us celebrate. Seth received the pool as a gift, and we've already used it three times! He loves it! He's become quite the chatterbox since turning two...yesterday's new words were "Case", "pool", and "Deac"!

Seth's new toys

As promised, pictures of the birthday boy and his gifts....

Haven't you always wanted a monkey?

How many of you sang that title in your head when you read it? (if i had a million dollars...)

The celebration continues as Seth had a playdate again at the Little Gym. He was having a blast hanging from the uneven bars. We went to Mi Pueblo afterwards with the gang and my cupcake cones were a huge hit.

Seth 2.0

Seth turned two yesterday! Just like last year, Seth and I kept up a very busy schedule all day. We let him open his cards and one present (a Backyardigans guitar) before Nathan went to work. He loves it; Nathan and I are tired of it already. Our first stop of the day was to get a big Blues Clues balloon...bonus: we found a duck that said SETH on it! Then we went to Baptist so Seth and Wanda could wish each other happy birthday. Seth was enjoying it all so much, we stopped by Nathan's work too, and then had a family lunch. By then Seth was pooped, so we went home for naptime. We had a good hour plus of playtime and then hit the showers. We met Nathan at Portrait Innovations so we could document Seth at two. We also took a family picture, but I can't get that one to orient itself the right way yet, will post that later. Quick dinner at Jason's Deli and then home to open one more present, a basketball goal. We all had a very fun day! Here are some unedited pictures from Seth's photo session...more birthday pictures soon, there is some bad red eye I need to edit out first.

The photographer said she's never seen a kid decide to stand on the block for pictures, but it's classic Seth to us!

Father's Day 2007

Father's Day was extra special this year because it was also Nathan's birthday. Seth and I got Nathan a Weber grill, and Nathan tested it out by making grilled chicken sandwiches for lunch and steaks for dinner. Both were excellent, and I have leftovers for work this week!

Seth has been making a MESS eating crackers this week, but now he is taking responsibility for his messes...he likes to vacuum? I wonder how much longer before I can let him do the whole house?

Zoo Trip

Seth recovered fairly quickly from his ear infections, but it took him until Thursday to get his appetite back. I wish I remembered the name of Brad Pitt's character in the "Ocean's" movies, because every time I turn around now, Seth has some sort of food in his mouth. Today is supposed to be really hot, but yesterday was cooler and slightly overcast, without the threat of daytime rain, so we decided to move our zoo trip up a day. We thought we had fun last year, but it was even more fun this year. Seth played hard the whole time, and paid attention to most of the animals. Right now he loves elephants, but he also liked to watch the polar bear and the sea lions, I think he thought they were swimming. Last year he was terrified of the carousel, this year he started out cautious (on an elephant), but by the last three turns he was waving to his daddy.

This is a week of celebrating around here...today is Nathan's birthday AND Father's Day, and Wednesday is Seth's birthday. And we may add a new little cousin to the mix this week as well! Friday night Nathan and I went to see the new Pirates movie for his birthday. The zoo was our Father's day outing. I'll keep posting as we keep celebrating!

No reserves

I guess it was too much activity last week for poor little Seth. He had a temp and runny nose over the weekend, but was still playful, so we played the molar card for awhile. But the temp spikes kept getting higher, and by the time I got home last night we were doing the 104+F thing. This morning all he wanted to do was lay in my bed and moan. That warranted a doctor's visit in my book. Classic Seth with an ear infection (although May was an abnormal presentation). Both ears looked "terrible" according to his pediatrician. He was so listless during his appointment that the doctor recommended a shot of antibiotic. It has really helped, although now he has a sore leg, because it was really thick. Tomorrow he starts 10 days of an oral dose. Hopefully we have no reactions this time. Seth has lost a third of a pound again, but I guess that figures since he hasn't eatenwell since Sunday morning. I'm hoping for a summer reprieve from the ear infections so I can try to plump him up a little bit or at least build up some reserves, so every germ we come across in Clemmons doesn't result in double ear infections. Since it is only his third this year, she said it was too early to discuss tubes. Next time I see my favorite ENT at work I'm going to start asking questions. I spent the day washing linens and stuffed animals (don't ask) and got into a good book while Seth took a long nap. Now Seth is helping his daddy cheer for the Spurs while I have some power-down time. I don't work again until Monday (I was supposed to work today but I HAD to stay home with Seth after that shot) and don't really have anything planned until the weekend...maybe Seth will be up to a pool trip later in the week.

A week of visitors

We have had a LOT of company this week. Tuesday evening Lisa and Michael stopped by on their way back from Ohio. They stayed with us until lunchtime on Thursday. Seth is trying his darnest to say the word "shirt", but all he gets out is the "SH" (I know it could be worse.). For some reason, he was fascinated with Michael's shirts. Wednesday Jake spent the afternoon with us, and Seth had so much fun hanging out with a big boy. We went to the playgrounds at Tanglewood. Afterwards, Seth and I tried out a different Mexican restaurant with Lisa and Michael. Mango margaritas? Not so good. Food? Excellent! And Seth stayed in his booster the whole time! By far the best he's been at a restaurant in over a year! Thursday Alden and Landon spent the morning with us. Which brings me to our weekend...

Marie and Eric went on a kid-free trip to Asheville, and Evan and Ryan came to spend the weekend with us. The boys had so much fun! Friday morning Marie and I took the boys to the Children's Museum. As you can see, the donut factory was a big hit! Nathan and I tried to take the boys to the pool Friday afternoon, but thunder caused the pool to be shut down after we'd been there for about 15 minutes. Ryan was missing his mom, so I was having a hard time convincing him to go in the water anyways. The storm that passed over us brought in cooler temperatures, so we went for a short walk with the boys that evening. Evan had brought his bike, so he rode that while the little guys hitched a ride in the garden cart. Saturday we had a NICU playdate at Dan Nicholas Park in Salisbury. Seth's buddies were there, but since it is a very large park, we only saw them while we had our lunch cookout. The park had a huge playground, a train, a wilderness park, gem mining, and a sprinkler area, all which were a big hit. Evan played a round of mini golf with Nathan. There was also a carousel there, but none of the boys expressed interest in riding that. Seth and Evan were pooped, but Ryan did not want to leave! All three boys fell asleep on the 45 minute ride home.

Sunday morning was 100% crazy boytime in the playroom. It is so funny to watch what these guys think up to do. We went on another short walk to kill time awaiting Marie and Eric's arrival. The boys were very excited to see their parents and got good report cards. Looking forward to doing it again sometime!

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....