And we were worried they would never talk

Okay, we still worry about every other little thing, but lately, Evan has just been a TALKING MACHINE.

Here's a sampling of some of his more impressive (funny to me) sentences/phrases.

• To Ryan at breakfast: "Let toast cool down, then eat"
• To Ryan and Me in the car: "Daddy be right back, just run in, he get donuts for Mommy and Daddy"
• While dragging his parachute around the house: "motorboat, motorboat go so fast"
• Explaining to me what happened when he awoke from his nap crying, and I did not hear him because I was working out: "Evan turn off monitor, cry, climb out of bed"
• While pointing to a quarter note: "quarter-note"
• While getting spit all over his chin: "Eighttththhthh note"
  
• Singing with a balled up scarf or clothes, or stuffed animals in his hand: "All around ca-ca bench, monkey chase weasel, monkey thought it was fun, POP goes weasel"
• Singing again: "are you sleeping, are you sleeping, bra-bra, morning bells ringing"
• Singing even more: "Bye bye Evan, Bye bye Evan, time for you to go home."
• While holding said dragonfly: "Dragonfly went to beach, now Evan has" (and yes, the dragonfly was in our bag of beach toys and was found there on Saturday)
• During diaper changes: "Evan, Ry-ry have prize poops" (surprise poops) or "Evan, Ry-Ry no prize poops, just pee-pee"
  
• Generally, any time, any place: "When Daddy come home, then read car book with you!" (Both boys say this as the "car book" is our favorite right now)

It's so great because he is starting to express his opinions, and tell me things that are happening, in real sentences, not just one word grunts that I then interpret to mean one thing or another.

Remind me I said all that when all I want someday is peace and quiet.

_______
**(Ryan seems to be feeling much better, aside from FOUR HOUR naps, there are no other symptoms and his fever is long gone)

The Bounce

One of the great things about my boys is they bounce back so fast.

Ryan did not wake up at all after 10:30 last night. He woke up this morning at 7. He was cheery and bright eyed and his fever with no meds in 12 hours was only 101.

Ryan was so sweet and pitiful yesterday I told him this morning that I would get him a special treat. (I'd already planned on getting the boys some more track and a couple of trains for their train set, and I thought that this would be a fantastic day to do this.) He was so excited about getting to pick out a new train that he picked up his Snoopy and wanted to leave as soon as the words were out of my mouth.

We had to stop at Target first, and it was there that I experienced the two sides of humans. Ryan and Evan were munching on Cheerios. At least Ryan was, Evan had some in his mouth, he coughed, and made that noise that I know all too well. I knew he was going to throw up. I rushed around the corner to one of the Scanning/Paper towel/trash stations that they have every few isles. Sadly I was a moment too late. Evan thew up all over himself, and the stroller, and part of the Target floor. I pulling paper towels out frantically, trying to catch the second round, wiping, attempting to catch what I could as fast as I could when some lady (and I use that only as gender identification, not as an indication of her manners) came up with a bunch of things she wanted to scan. I said sorry if I'm in your way here but I've got a bit of a crisis. Meanwhile some kid (I use this loosely too, he was probably mid 20's) muttered something and walked by. I did not really pay attention.

The "Lady" was still trying to maneuver around me to the scanner. She then started talking to me like I should get the heck out of her way.
"You should take him to the bathroom to do that"she sneered.
"Um, I'm just trying to get this mess under control." I muttered wiping yet more vomit off my child.
"Yeah, but it would be easier and out of the way in the bathroom"

SERIOUSLY? For Whom?

I have an unlimited supply of paper towels, and a trash can right here at my disposal. I also can contain the mess to this one square foot of Target floor. You really think I should wheel my puke dripping stroller all the way through the store? Anyone who has cleaned up child vomit knows, the faster you get the wet up, the easier life is. Let all the vomit on Evan's lap drip into the cushions of the stroller, and well, that would be the absolute end of our shopping today. (and therefore no train for poor Ryan)

She kept getting into my space, and my face about the bathroom, when finally I just had to say.
"Really, it's none of your business, please just leave us alone"

Just about then, the the kid returned, he had a pack of wipes. He said, "I already took care of this up front". And then he talked to the boys and said here you go buddy, and he handed each of the boys a wipe and told them to help their Mommy clean up. He then handed me the rest of the pack, finished his shopping and on his way out of the aisle he said. "I hope you feel better buddy"

Wow. I thanked this kid a bunch of times, but I really wanted to thank his mother, or whoever taught him to be kind, thoughtful and compassionate, to look at someone in need of help, and to help them. Not sneer at them and tell them to get out of their way and go find the bathroom so you didn't have to walk two aisles down to use one of the 40 other scanners in the building.

What a crappy and a really amazingly redeeming experience.

The season hasn't even started yet!

So we are in the pre-season, and our post season lasted longer than what seems to be normal, how could it be that we already have our first sickness of the 2008-09 cold and flu season?

Ryan woke up at midnight last night with a fever. Today is spiked to 103.8. Did you know that in toddlers that is considered a MILD fever? 103.8 MILD? The doctors told me to watch him carefully and if it gets over 105 or if it lasts more than 3 days (3 DAYS!!!) to call them back.

I feel so bad for him, he slept all of about 3 hours last night (oh that was me), and has been awake 3 times already tonight. We read books from 1PM to 3:30 PM today, with Ryan's head in my lap, Snoopys tucked under his arms.

If we are down this early in the season...look out.

I think I threw up a little in my mouth

I had one of those mornings. A morning that every mommy fears, or at least hopes never happens to them...

Lately we've taken to removing our diapers, or our brother's diapers. (you know where I'm going with this right?) I'm a 99% of the time 100% attentive parent, so, this is not a big, big deal. Diapers removed get put right back on.

Today I was getting dressed, so we could go here...

I stopped in the laundry room to throw a load in, and I heard Evan say the following in rapid fire succession

"Ry-Ry, nakey boy"
"Ry-Ry, bum"
"Ry-Ry, run 'round, Nakey boy"
"Evan poop"
"Evan go poop"
"EVAN GO POOOO-OP"

I made it to the living room in time to catch an overwhelming whiff of poop, (So strong I knew, it was not neatly contained within a diaper.) and to see Ryan streaking around the room from couch to couch, naked, as I had expected given the play-by-play. I caught Ryan, found his bum clean, slapped a diaper on him hoping he was just gassy. Turned around, to Evan, who now had his diaper off, feet, legs and bum full of poop.

(hands over face, quickly think, think, think)

I swooped him up, careful not to get poop on my clothes or self. Tossed him in the empty tub, told him to stay put. Ran back to the living room and collected the books, and toys that had any speck or smear of poop on them left them in the hallway, safe from Ryan, and ran back to clean up the small smear on the carpet. The clean carpets that I spent three and a half hours vacuuming and shampooing on Saturday. (argh)

Evan was still standing patiently in the tub. What a good boy. I washed him off thoroughly. Diapered him put him back into the living room to attend to the toys.

Whew, all that action, and it was still only 9:15. We were dressed, sunscreen applied, in the car and off to have fun by 9:40.

The boys are now sleeping, with tape firmly securing their diapers.

Gibbly Up

Recently the boys have been sitting on the arm of the sofa, hopping up and down, pretending to ride a horse. I'm not sure where they got this idea, but it's pretty cute.

Tonight I remembered that one of my former co-workers gave us a ride on rocking horse. The boys were scared of before, but it's been a while since I brought it out. It was a hit. See for your self.



I guess there are no cell phone laws for riding horses.



Evan is saying giddy-up, which comes out as "Gibbly up"



They are getting the "yee haw" from "She'll be Coming Around the Mountain" I think.

I swear, endless sources of laughter...

Finally under one roof

Two years ago today. We brought Ryan home from his 152 day stay at Chez NICU. 152 days, 3,648 hours, 218,880 minutes, give or take. and our family was finally under one roof. Our own.

It was a long time coming, there were so many of those minutes where even imagining this day would come felt dangerous. Like we were tempting fate. But those same thoughts, of coming home, being a family, were what got us through all of those 152 days.

Those last few weeks were tough. One moment we'd be planning on coming home, and the next moment, Ryan would need to be bagged, and our homecoming would be postponed. When we finally got the okay we wondered had we waited long enough since his last "episode"?

"Aunt" Peggy was there on our last day. She got one more cuddle in with both boys...
Loaded us in the car...
and sent us on our way home...
Once home, my boys found their comfort zone...


My confidence was shaken, the very next day. On our way to the doctor's office. Literally two blocks from our house. Ryan's monitor went off. I looked in my rear view mirror and he was blue. Not just dusky, but blue verging on purple, verging on black. I honestly don't remember how I pulled the car over without causing a major accident, but I did. I hopped out and started trying to stimulate him, he did not respond. I was screaming at him. rubbing his chest. screaming at my mom to get the oxygen. I finally had the idea to loosen his car seat straps. I think I was going to try and get him out, or try to get my hands in there to some how make him breathe. Once the straps came loose, so did breath. He pinked up quickly. I however stayed pale for days.

Thankfully that was our only real "episode." Both boys continued to breathe regularly and the monitors were virtually silent.

Here's what Ryan's been saying:
Play trucks please
Play cars please
Play choo choo please
Car book please (anyone sense a theme?)
Gold bug book
Read please
po-po bear
ice water please
more grapes
tacos
oh no ri-ley

I think one of the greatest things I've seen between these boys happened the other day. I was busy trying to get dinner packed up, and Ryan really wanted me to play choo choo's, he kept asking and I kept explaining to him that I had to get dinner packed because we were going to leave in a few minutes. I then told him he had two choices. he could play choo, choo's by himself, or he could ask Evan to play with him. He turned around squatted down in front of Evan, and said to him. "play choo choo" he then grabbed him by the hand, pulled him up and into the other room to play choo choo's.

He's also had an accidental poop in the potty this week. We were getting ready for bath, he had a poop in his pants, and I thought there was more to come, so I put him on the potty. He sat there for a few moments, stood up, left me a present on the floor, and managed to get the rest into the potty. Yeaaa, Ryan!!!

Since coming home two years ago, Ryan has brought us more joy than I can ever express. He has a way about him, a quiet, wry smile. There is a glint in his eyes that tell me I have to be on my toes at all times with him. he is the sweetest most compassionate being I have ever met. He's determined, and persistent, and relentless. (I wonder where he gets that?) He is full of emotion, full of mischief, full of wonder.

And we are a house filled with love.

A thousand words

I could write volumes about our really fun family vacation, but I'll let the pictures do the talking...