18 Months

This post is a little late, since C. hit the 18 month mark on Valentine's Day. I figure, its close enough. C. has been so much fun to watch over the past 3 months (since the last post), and he's developed into quite a personality. Here's some highlights of his growth:

• He weighs 28 lbs (75%) and is 34 1/4 inches tall (90%)
• He had his first haircut two weeks ago- he really didn't need it in the front, but I HAD to get rid of the baby-mullet.
• He loves music- especially a tune with a good beat.
• His favorite words include: Whoa, uh-oh, buh-bye, uh-huh, nite-nite, mama, daddy and emma (grandma)
• He thinks Molly's elevated water dish is his personal water table- the kitchen floor is usually wet.
• He knows most of his body parts, but loves "butt" and "eyes" the best
• He knows most animal sounds-and is especially enthusiastic about sheep, horsey and frogs ("bit-bit!")
• He loves to color with A. and I, but I see him eyeing the scissors...stay tuned for what will happen with that one!
• He loves to walk, run, climb, slide, you name it...if he's in motion, he's a happy boy.

• He'll eat just about anything - except sauerkraut
• He's learned how to open the bathroom door- no more privacy
• He prefers to walk by himself if he can. He'll only accept my hand if he knows it will be slippery
• He only cuddles AFTER I ask him, "are you ready for bed, C.?"
• He's a little bit of a clepto- fortunately, he only has one hiding place, so I always know where to find something when its missing
• He LOVES Molly. He tries to ride her, sit in her "lap" and read her books. Lately, I've found her hiding in the bathroom just to get away. :) He also "helps" me discipline her when I say "bad girl", C. will say "ma-mahhhhh no", then he'll start barking at her. I think he's trying to explain to her what she did wrong. :)
• He's learned how to climb out of his crib- so we now have a crib tent to keep him safe. He loves it! And everytime I go to get him out after a nap, he always has to give mommy a kiss through the mesh. I love it.
• We're finding that C. has quite the temper. If I tell him "no", he's very quick to turn over some toys or throw something. Hmmmm, wonder where he gets that from?!?!
• Emily, our niece, has found that if you pinch his nose, he giggles.
• His favorite books are Clifford books, but shows no interest in the cartoon- which is fine by us!
• He has an intolerance to tomatoes- he's mostly outgrown the strawberry intolerance, but we're still playing it safe.
• He already has his 2 year molars....crazy teething baby!

I'm such a grateful mommy. I love the fact that I have two boys who love each other. I'm just so thankful. Since Dave and I decided that we're probably done with the "baby" portion of our family, its fun to look back and be so thankful for all we have. It certainly has been a fun ride! We are really looking forward to this next stage in our family!

Cheap Drugs!!!

I went for a little drive today...

My friend, Liz (and Joy) told me about the Perrigo company store in Allegan, and I had to go for myself to see if I could save some money on allergy meds for the boys. Holy cow, did I save. I felt like a kid in a candy store! (Now that I've written the previous statement, I'm realizing just how old I am- I feel like a kid in a candy store talking about drugs...oye). Anyway, generic Zyrtec for 50 cents...incredible.

Below is my loot that I came home with- Children's Tylenol, Ibprofen for the boys and Dave. Multi-Vitamins for everyone, generic Prilosec for me.

I spent $42.25.

If I had bought these items in the store: $170.96

(give or take a few dollars depending if items are on sale)

Yep, I'll take that.

Baby's gotta breathe

It seems as if our family has been stuck with the kling-on version of the respiratory cold. While some of us are just going in cycles with it (myself), C. and A. are hanging on to it. Last Friday, C. woke up with a fever and wheezing...so I finally decided it was time to go in to visit the pediatrician. Glad I did- Colin not only had ear infections, but also something called viral bronchilitis. Never heard of it, but it has something to do with the airways in the bottom of the lungs being inflamed- which was causing the wheezing. So, I went home with a few prescriptions and a brand new nebulizer. I was a little freaked out- mostly because I always thought nebulizers were for really sick kids...that, and we pay a lot of money for insurance that covers very little. But after a phone call to the family doc, I realized this was a $250 bite we'd have to take so the baby could breathe.

So, this is our Valentine's Day dinner hour and Colin taking his nebulizer treatment. He's actually growing accustomed to them, and will sit for about 11-12 minutes of the 15 minute treatment. The little mask is in the shape of a fish named Mr. Bubbles- which C. doesn't care about, but it has helped A. deal with it. At first he was VERY scared for his little brother.

This may mean that C. will be asthmatic in the future, but we'll just have to wait and see. Apparently, the wheezing is not a good sign. But, hopefully he'll out grow that by adolescence. In the meantime, we need to save some more to get the boys into the addition as quickly as we can. The longer they are in the moldy part of the house, the more sickly they become.

Now that C. is 72 hours into treatment, he's adjusted really well to the neb treatments, and I've noticed that they really are working at helping him breathe. In talking to a lot of friends, I'm also realizing that neb treatments are more common that I had thought. Thanks to everyone who has been praying for us!!!

Terry, Tom and Jim

A. is probably one of the funniest kids I know. From an early age, he develops a mini-fan club for a celebrity. And it's not the big celebs you would think about- they're out of the way celebs. I think A. definitely sticks to the "C" or "D" lists.



Dave and I think its funny to note the progression of his fan clubs. When A. was about 18 months, he would only sit still for the weather reports by Terry DeBoer. He would say, "Hi, Terry!" It was so cute.


Imagine our surprise when we ran into her while power walking at the local mall. A. was VERY excited. A. was mildly confused when I tried to explain to her that we can call her "Terry" when she's on the TV, but it's Mrs. DeBoer in person. She was very appreciative of that. A. is still a fan, but has moved on to greener pastures.




Ah, yes...Tom Bergeron. This started when we incorporated the "Funnies" into our bedtime routine in an effort to get Adam to settle down at night. Well, A. likes to "act" everything out, so it actually had the opposite effect. But, since everyone in our house LOVES to laugh, we kept watching. All last year, I asked A. what he wanted to be for Halloween, and he would tell me he wanted to be Tom Bergeron. I thought that was easy enough...but he chose differently when the time actually came. But he still loved AFV. It's still a favorite, but not watched as much since we now watch....

The Nightly Business Report with Jim Lehrer...


Yes, A. has now moved on to Jim Lehrer. He is frequently gone from the show on assignment, and A. gets incredibly disappointed. While Jim is far from the un-bias journalist, it has opened up many conversations about our country and politics. Don't worry, our conservative friends, Dave is very good at making sure we maintain Adam's integrity. :)

It's fun to watch A. grow and develop. He's asking very insightful questions, and we're having fun with him. I'm interested to see who Adam adds to the list next. Stay tuned!

CHOCOLATE!

Hello everyone!

Since A. LOVED going to Camp Manitou-Lin last summer, we decided to make it a financial priority again this year. The YMCA does offer scholarships, but they also offer a fund raiser in the winter months to help off-set the cost of camp. Thus the basis of my blog entry today: We're selling World's Finest Candy Bars!!!

A. will receive $25 for every box sold. The candy bars are only $1 each. They come in Milk Chocolate, Almond, Caramel, and Crispy. My goal is to sell at least one box- if not two. Please help us get to our goal!!!

The Shopping List

Ever go through the super market and stop at an aisle thinking, "Should I pick up more of this? Nah, I just bought some last week." Only to get home and realize your husband put said item on the grocery list?!?!?

Now that we have two growing boys in the house, and they do have similar routines there are two items that keep popping up on the grocery list every week: Zyrtec and Eggos.

So, here's a plug for the two companies that Dave and I should probably be purchasing stock in.