Breakfast of Toddlers

You never know what Dylan will and will not eat on any given day. The other morning, his breakfast was this little creation: pop-tart, salami and cheese.

"ABB's"

Dylan is very interested in letters. He loves his "ABB's" as he calls them. I found an alphabet wood puzzle for $1.50 last week and it's been one of his favorite activities since then. He knows nearly all of the letters, often surprising me with his verbal identification as he puts the pieces in their correct spots. He even has his favorite letters: the letters B, W, D (for Dylan), and A. I've told him that M is for Mommy and he often calls that one "Mommy!"
I'm working on getting him to sing the ABC Song with me, and he tries his best, but still struggles to put the letters together fast enough.

Migraines

Long story, but it's late and I'm tired, so I'll just toss out the gist of what's going on here with us. Yesterday I ended up in the ER again at work. I didn't want to go, but my loving coworkers insisted that I went and it turns out I was having a pretty serious migraine. Only thing that finally touched the pain was morphine! Boy was that pain INTENSE. And I know pain. Remember now people: I've had a baby.
And this time the doctor sent me for a CT scan, which put my mind at ease about one thing: No tumor. I'm glad to know that now for sure... (always worry in the back of your mind I think when someone has recurrent headaches).
The doctor determined it was a migraine when I told him about the flashing lights and strange feeling I had about 20 minutes before the headache and vomiting hit me. Unfortunately I was working and was with a patient when it all happened. Poor lady. Not only was she confused to begin with, but then I had to excuse myself a number of times to run to the bathroom. Thank heavens for a supportive group of coworkers. I'm blessed.
I'll post more another time as I learn more. Now I need to get to bed.

North Carolina!

We are back from our family vacation to North Carolina's Outer Banks. We flew out first to Raleigh/Durham/Cary area with just the three of us for a day and a half before meeting the rest of Ryan's family out at the beach for a week (note that our little drive to the Outer Banks was supposed to take us 3 hours, but ended up taking us about 8 by the time we negotiated traffic and the beach. You think that was bad? Well, how about doing that again on the way back, except for that leg of the trip we were without air conditioning in our rental car. Fun times!)

We stayed in a great big yellow house on the beach, which we could only get to by driving 9+ miles on the beach in a 4 wheel drive car.

Needless to say, we didn't venture off the beach much while we were there, being that it took us nearly an hour to drive down the beach!

Besides lots of fun times on the beach, good books to read, and a meaty thunderstorm, here are a few other highlights:
-Ryan's parents shared their 25th wedding anniversary with us!
-Ryan's aunt and uncle came to join us (as a surprise) for the last couple days from Chicago!
-We saw the wild mustang horses, which were apparently brought to the outer banks in the 1600s. One even came up to me under the house one afternoon when Dylan and I went down to rinse off our feet before heading into the pool from our afternoon on the beach. What a treat!

Now for some pictures...



Here's us at Duke University





Here's us at Lake Crabtree Park.



Because every little boy has to learn how to throw sticks into a lake.



Dylan and his "Mimi"



Dylan with Grandma

Urgent Care

What would you say is the most relaxing way to spend your Saturday evening? A movie on the couch? A good book? Yeah. I agree with those.
But that wasn't in the cards for us this weekend. Instead we got the privilege of going to the Urgent Care with Dylan last night, sitting in progressively smaller and dirty waiting rooms over a period of 3 1/2 hours, with a whinning toddler. Fun stuff for sure.
And if I'd have bet money that Dylan had an ear infection and we'd only see the doctor for less than 5 mintues, I'd be a bit less poor today and maybe less tired if I had gone to the doctor on Friday afternoon instead of last night's ordeal.
But in my own defense, he didn't start tugging at his ear till yesterday.
Today we are starting antibiotics and taking it easy at home.
And thankfully, Dylan slept in nicely this morning - just getting up now, nearly at noon! That's my boy!

Love Thursday: A Manly Meal

Upon reflection of what Courtney must be enduring with the loss of her husband this week, I realized the time is entirely too short with the ones we love. As such, I decided to make more of an effort to appreciate my family. So tonight I made a special dinner for my boys in celebrate what they mean to me. The menu: Corn, Roasted Potatoes, and Steak. A real manly meal.

And while you may find it outrageous to learn that I've never made corn on the cob myself, I will assure you that I took the necessary steps (internet, you are my friend) to ensure my maiden run was properly executed.

Here's the spread in it's final form before being gobbled up:

Hugs to St. Louis

An old coworker of mine in St. Louis emailed me to tell me some sad news. Courtney, our other coworker, lost her husband on Saturday when he was was shot and killed at his house. He was only 29 years old. My heart aches for her loss. Please pray for them.
Apparently my old rehab department at the hospital shut down entirely yesterday so everyone could attend the funeral with Courtney.

He's a Cowboy!

Dylan on his first pony ride at the Monrovia Street Fair (which is so fun, we are definitely going to go back):

Dee-bah-det!!

I remember Ryan and I crouched on the floor in St. Louis before Dylan was born, fighting about how to put together the crib we were borrowing from some friends, just a few weeks before Dylan was born. It was memorable.
And this time was similar, except Dylan was fighting with us, wanting to put all the screws and screwdrivers into the holes. But in the end, we had this cutie bed all ready for our little boy. His first EVER 'big boy bed'. And boy is he proud of it.
It even is sporting new bedding from his favorite story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar!