Oh Those Crazy Holidays

Have had a wonderful week spending time with Kieran and Ken. We've mostly just hung out at home and ran errands but it's been very nice to not have to worry about getting up the next day for work.

Christmas was a blast. Kieran had more fun with the wrapping paper than the presents (though he's starting to enjoy them now). We've begun toy rotation as well, and we'll take everything we have out now away in 2 weeks. Hopefully this will keep him from getting bored with the toys available to him.

Today we bought real shoes. He's got two pairs of soft soled shoes that he can wear inside but now that he's walking very well, I decided it was time for big boy shoes. We went to Stride Rite and got him a pair of sneakers (yes, I did make sure he was measured, etc first). After he put on the pair that fit best, he was a walking/running maniac. He walked at least 1/4 of the mall (Arundel Mills, which is a huge mall). He would walk for a while (into the path of oncoming people, laughing the entire time) then start crawling. Ken would pick him up, tell him he had to walk or be carried but that he couldn't crawl on that floor. Kieran had a blast. He's sleeping now but I expect when he gets up, he'll want to put on his shoes again.

Spotted Kieran

Not a type of dessert I have concocted, but what he looks like right now. Kieran is likely allergic to penicillin. On Sunday Kieran woke up with what looked like pimples on his face. We noticed it was also on his neck and ears so called the doctor. While I ran errands, Ken took Kieran in to the emergency pediatrics place and they gave us a new antibiotic, prescribed Children's Benedryl and a hydrocortisone cream.

Today he was just about the same. The doctor yesterday said that the rash should clear up fairly quickly so we called his regular pediatrician and Ken took him in for a second look. They asked that we take him off all antibiotics (he still has an ear infection but it is not in danger of rupturing right now), upped the dosage on the Benedryl and we'll be back into the doctor's office on Wednesday.

They said he's likely allergic to penicillin and all types of antibiotics derrived from it. They're concerned because the hives are pretty bad but they should go away after he's not on anything for 48 hours. Which means his Christmas eve and Christmas day photos will have the hives in them (poor baby), but that the day after (Wednesday) he should be fine.

OK, I've got to go back to work - I missed Thursday of last week so today is my makeup day. I'll try to blog during the rest of this week. Happy Holidays all!

Dang Ears!

He's got a dual ear infection again. Back on antibiotics, but otherwise okay.

Here's a quick rundown of what happened. Wednesday at 4pm I got a call from daycare. Kieran had thrown up twice and had a "large bowel movement". I had originally intended to get him to the Dr's on Thursday but due to this, we took him down to the Nighttime Pediatrics place that's in Columbia.

I took him there straight from daycare but neglected to make an appointment (the first time I went they said I didn't need it). After getting there I was told that the earliest they could see me was 7:40 pm (it was around 5). So, we headed home for dinner and hanging out before going back.

We got there around 7:30 pm and ended up waiting about an hour before we could be seen (an emergency took precedence). After being weighed (they think he's only 18 lbs, about a half pound less than he weighed at his last doctor's appointment) and generally checked, they looked at his ears. Yep - dual ear infection again. They're putting him on a different antibiotic so that if this is a continuation of the first infection there's less chance of it being resistant to the drug. We've got a follow up appointment set for Darleen's birthday (that's Jan 2) with his regular doctor to see if everything is cleared up.

He hates medicine - and this has been no exception. Ken gave him the stuff this morning but Kieran was hanging upside down and some of the medicine came out his nose. Poor baby. Ah well, if he didn't fight us so hard on this, we wouldn't resort to these issues. So anyway - overall he's in great spirits and isn't having any issues. He's back at daycare today and we'll be having fun all next week. I had to take yesterday off as daycare said he couldn't come back the next day with so much spit up. He slept a lot yesterday (about 4.5 hrs during the day) but I think he needed it.

Now if only I can catch up on my sleep. Maybe after we buy our new mattress.... love to all. Happy Holidays!

Daycare and Colds

Kieran has had a cold for about 6 weeks now (off and on). He has a few days each week or two where he's fine. Then the snot just comes back.

He hasn't really been fussy about it or having trouble sleeping so I haven't bothered the doctor about it. I've been under the (probably right) assumption that he gets a cold, gets over it, then catches another one at daycare. I called the doctor yesterday (finally caved) and they said, yes, this is likely the case but please bring him in anyway just so they can check on him. He's not feverish and his appetite has been fine so they're not that worried. We'll go to the doctors tomorrow, likely after work - I'll post on Friday to tell you what they said.

I haven't posted in awhile because I've been very busy between work and getting ready for the holidays. I'm still at a complete loss as to what to do for Kieran's birthday. I know the party is for me and whatever we do either has to be an early brunch (10 am or so) or an early dinner (4:30 pm or so) because he has lunch at 12 and usually promptly falls asleep afterward. At home he can sleep for up to 3 hours. Sometimes I have to go and wake him after 3.5 hours.

Not much else new, we're looking forward to ripping the wrapping paper off all the gifts under the tree (we have bought Kieran precisely 1 gift for Christmas, everything else under the tree has come from Ken's family). Then we're heading over to my brother's house for a Christmas dinner which I'm really looking forward to. Now that Kieran is walking he's able to be even more interactive with my nephews and niece. They all seem to enjoy him. I can't wait until he's a bit older and they can actually play together.

Hopefully we'll get some photos uploaded to the blog soon (as well as the promised video of walking). Other than that, I better get back to work. I'm off next week since daycare is closed. Love to all, happy holidays!

He's Figured Out Those Legs!

Yeah, he's walking. We have a video of it (he looks a little like Godzilla or Frankenstein's monster) but we haven't figured out how to get the video off the camera and onto a website just yet. He's been able to walk for awhile now but this weekend it truly became his preferred mode of movement.

Weekend was good, but I caught Kieran's cold so I'm tired and cranky and sore. Ken hasn't gotten much sleep between me hacking up a lung and Kieran waking up early (though he tends to go right back to sleep). Ken's on his own again for 3 days this week but then I've only got one more week of work and I'm home with the bugger for one full week (and then some). I'm looking forward to it.

That's it, gotta get a decent amount of work done between now and the time I leave tomorrow. Just wanted to say - He's walking! We're so excited and proud of him.

And the Festivities Continue...

We're headed to mom's tomorrow for another Hanukkah celebration. I just finished up my shopping so - WHEW. Now I've got to begin thinking about birthdays (we have 8 to celebrate in January).

Not much else is new, I'm sick with whatever Kieran's had (forever and ever), Ken has somehow so far managed to escape this. Let's hope that continues. Next week I head out to Austin for 3 days on business and then I'm back for a week and then we start the final holidays of this year and start birthday month. It's still very strange to me to consider that Kieran will be one year old next month. I've got to get on the ball and organize his birthday party!

Ok, that's about it for me. Love to all, blog again soon.

Happy Hanukkah

First night of Hanukkah was last night. We lit the candles, said the blessing, it was nice to share this tradition with Kieran and Ken. We're still looking to figure out all of our traditions and I'm sure that some will evolve from what we did as kids and some will evolve from our lifestyle and Kieran's ideas as well.

Got a HUGE box of presents from Debbie which we put under the tree last night (though Ken informs me this is the only year that presents can be under the tree in advance of Christmas eve). We're now struggling because we need to recycle the great big box and our next recycling day isn't until Friday of next week. BAH - I may have to compromise my desire to recycle with my desire to move around the living room. Or we'll throw it down in the basement and remember to recycle it next year :-).

Kieran is still not feeling well - coughing and sneezing up a storm, but otherwise in good spirits. If this continues this weekend, I'll call the doctor on Monday. It's so frustrating because just as he seems to recover from one cold, he just flips right on into the next one. I'm concerned that he may have allergies or it could just be the nature of daycare.

Anyway - he slept great last night, though I think his throat is a bit sore today (his nose was completely booger-covered when I saw him this morning so I'm fairly certain he was a mouth-breather all night). Ken and I have fallen into the very very bad habit of staying up until 11 pm (the horrors) and I've been dragging all week. I'm also coming down with something of my own, but I've started back up on my Multi-vitamin and hopefully that will help some.

A bit of daycare news...
So, last night I come to get him and he's walking. He's holding onto a chair but he's walking. He seems to be doing this more and more. I'm fairly certain he'll walk before Christmas but I've been betting he'll walk within a month for 3 months or so now. There were other parents there picking up their daughter, the husband turns to me and says "Smiling. This one," (points at Kieran) "is always smiling when I see him." Its nice to know that he really does have a great mood most of the time.

Other than that, he's been doing well. He's battling a diaper rash along with the coughing but that (diaper rash) goes away fairly easily.

OK back to work for me. I travel again next week (poor Ken!).

Flights of Family

So, my flight from Vegas did not arrive until nearly 4 in the morning on Saturday (originally slated to be in around 1 am). I had not slept but made it home by 5 am and was asleep by 6 am (when Kieran woke up). I was THRILLED to see Kieran when I got up at 10:30. He was not as excited to see me.

He warmed up to me after he realized I wasn't going anywhere again. We had a good time hanging out together in the house on Saturday. Just me, Ken & Kieran. We skipped the photo shoot as I would have looked like a panda bear with big circles around my eyes.

Sunday we had Uncle Irv's tombstone unveiling to attend. For those who are confused - in the Jewish faith we don't put anything on the tombstone right away. About a year after the funeral we do an unveiling of the finished stone, complete with a few prayers. Got to see a lot of family and had some nice food at Aunt Helen's.

Afterward, we headed to Dad & Dar's for Hanukkah (I know, I know, we're early). Had a really good time there and Kieran LOVED chasing all his cousins - and I'm pretty sure they liked being chased. He's doing more and more walking - I feel like I left a baby and came back to an almost-toddler. Its sad and cool at the same time. No, this does not mean that I am thinking another baby anytime soon, if ever. We will adopt when we're able (do you hear that Dad?).

Anyway - thanks again to Dad and Dar for the cool gifts. Kieran just loves his ducks. Have a great cruise and we'll see you again soon. For Andy and Wendy - we'll see you next week at our next family outing. Then you're free of us for two whole weeks and then we'll do it all again.

Almost Home

I am missing Ken and Kieran something fierce. Ken's been doing just fine without me, though Kieran got up at 4am today and didn't go back to sleep. Ken's taking a half day to run a few errands (more baby food, more formula) and to pick up Kieran early.

Ken also was able to post some photos for me while I was gone. You can check them out here. These are a few of my favorites:









On the left you can see what everyone keeps telling me - that Kieran looks just like Ken. They are wearing a nearly identical expression and its just priceless. On the right is Kieran playing with the walking toy I picked up at the TotSwap. He's having a great time with it (even though he did lose his shoe).

OK - love to all, blog again soon. I'll be home soon!!!! (can you tell I'm excited about that?)

Good Family, Bad Airplane

Had a wonderful time for Thanksgiving with Andy & Wendy (plus kids), Mutti & Poppop, Charles, Vicki and John & Tamara (plus kids). All the food was fantastic and the kids really were enjoying each other (and Kieran too).

Hanukkah at Uncle Gary's was good too. Always nice to have breakfast and then dessert - isn't that the way it should always be (or, because we did it at 11, is that considered Brunch)? Anyway, since we haven't done our professional photos we suck and didn't have a gift for Bubbie. We'll be doing Hanukkah with Dad and Dar this coming weekend.

Tree Lighting and Other Traditions
We are trying to figure out best our holiday traditions this year. Ken has always put up the tree the day after Thanksgiving (at least in years that we had a tree - one year the cats broke it) so we did that on Friday. Kieran was sick with a cold most of the weekend so we generally stayed inside to get him well enough for Hanukkah on Sunday.

Stockings are hung. I must admit I am very sad to see Milo and Tucker's stocking not there. I bought Kieran a new stocking and I needed one too (mine lost its loop). It all looks very nice and festive and Santa has already given Kieran a sack of Hanukkah geld (those chocolate coins). This is tradition I think we'll have each year. Since Santa will know that Kieran is a Jew who celebrates Christmas. We're still figuring out the rest but hopefully it will all gel nicely.

OK I'm here in Vegas and I may try and catch a nap before things get moving. I may not blog again until after I get back but I do promise to share the photos we took this weekend. There are some great ones of Kieran and Andy playing.

Updated Photos

I don't know how much I'll be able to blog between now and December since after Thanksgiving we'll be entertaining ourselves and then I'll be traveling for work. Have I mentioned I'm not really looking forward to this trip at all?

Anyway - for the past two weekends I've gotten some great shots of laughing, climbing Kieran. Here are a few...

That's Kieran and Ken lounging on the sofa (Kieran's got the remote... just like his mommy, he's aiming to play couch commando) and the other one is him just laughing at me as I try to take his picture. Maybe he's laughing at the outfit I had him in (it was laundry day). Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday. You can see the rest of the photos that we uploaded here.

So It Begins...

The craziness sets in this week with Thanksgiving and some running around. We're almost done with our holiday shopping and we just set our studio date with the Picture People. Yes, Debbie, we're getting it done (Ken's pretty excited about it too).

Anyway, I CLEANED UP at the tot swap on Sunday. I had to wait until the last day because Ken was sick on Saturday. It all worked out though, I spent about $40 and ended up with 2 toys, 2 jackets and 10 miscellaneous clothing items. I'll definitely hit it again in the spring. At that point, I may even sell some stuff we've got sitting around.

I think we'll be able to post some new photos tomorrow. We've got some great new ones of Kieran with his new toys. I bought him a toy to help encourage him to walk since he's been cruising along the furniture forever. He took to this toy fast and I think that he'll be walking without help soon.

Other than that, not much else new. We've got his follow-up doctor's appointment tomorrow (check on his ears from his ear infection) which will also include his booster flu shot. After that I've got to swing by my mom's to see about grabbing another baby gate. We don't need them at our house but my brother doesn't have any up anymore and we'll be there for the holiday.

Anyway - gotta go. Need to go get my brownie-makings for the holiday. Love to all, will try to blog again before Wednesday.

Quiet Weekend

Ken and I are looking forward to one of our last quiet weekends before the craziness of the holiday season is upon us. I plan on hitting the Tot Swap and we may hit the Thanksgiving Day Parade downtown, weather depending.

After this weekend we've got a lot of running around to do. Next week is Kieran's checkup and booster shot for the flu, Thanksgiving (thank you Uncle Andy & Aunt Wendy for hosting!), Hanukkah with the Lipshultzes, and hopefully a chance to see my friends from Idaho. Then on Monday I leave for Vegas and I don't get back until Saturday morning (1am).

The weekend I get back we have Hanukkah (again - this time just immediate family) and Uncle Irv's headstone unveiling.

The weekend after that we have Hanukkah (yes, one last time - mom's side this time).

That week I go to Austin for a few days.

The following weekend is the weekend before Christmas and I'm off the week following because daycare is closed. I'll be off until after New Years. Which will both be nice and somewhat frustrating as I try and clean house/organize and take care of Kieran as he becomes more and more mobile.

So, like I said, we're going to enjoy this last quiet weekend together. Hope you do too.


And, in Daycare News...
One of the babies in Infant I (Kieran's old room) got Croup. So Kieran, who is still stuffy, has to be watched but he's not hoarse like he was before so I'm less worried. Also, his professional photos came in. We decided not to purchase any of them because he was SO cranky the day they took them. In one of them you can even see a tear in his eye. He was crying most of the time they were trying to take the photos. Sad, but it did convince Ken that he wants the three of us to get professional shots taken. Its what we promised his mom we would do anyway.

OK back to work for me. Love to all, blog again soon.

Belated Congrats

I'm losing my mind a bit (again) and can't remember if I gave a shout-out to our friends Joshua and Beth who are joined by their son Justin. He's now almost 2 months old. Check him out (with his crazy amounts of hair).

At Least He Thinks He's Funny

We already knew that Kieran had a good sense of humor. This weekend he started to do things on purpose to make himself laugh. It's pretty neat to see his little brain at work.

Ben (Ken's brother, the marine) came to visit us this weekend. Ken, Kieran, Ben & I had a good time just tooling around town. We didn't do much interesting (though Ken & Ben went to the Ravens game on Sunday - thanks to my dad). On Saturday , while putting Kieran down for a nap, I gave him his binky. He doesn't usually need or want it, but from time to time it calms him down. He would suck on it for a bit, take it out of his mouth, look at it, shake it, talk to it and then put it back in his mouth. Just for fun, when he dropped it, I put it in my mouth (backwards, so I was biting on the handle). He thought this was kinda funny (I got a smile). Then, when he took it out of my mouth he would shake it, talk to it, then he put it back in my mouth. And he laughed. He thought that mommy with the binky was pretty funny.

But that was just the beginning. Sunday night while Kieran and I played at the house (Ken and Ben were off to the game), he opened up a box and tried to close it again, but one of the other box flaps got in his way. When I moved what was blocking him and he nearly fell from the force of trying to shut the box, he laughed out loud. This, apparently, was very funny. He's beginning to realize that interacting with his environment can be funny and that he can do things that amuse him. I'll be interested to see how this takes shape since Ken and I have such snarky senses of humor.

BGE is on My S*!# List

Another power outage last night. I woke up when the power went out (maybe around 2 or 2:30). Kieran woke up at 3:30 and I brought him into bed with me since his room was pitch-black and the heat doesn't come on when the power is out (we don't have electric heat but the thermostat runs on electricity). He managed to get back to sleep, but I didn't.

I'm running on about 3 or 4 hours of sleep, maybe less. The power didn't come back on until 6 am. At which point I took Kieran into his room and put him in his crib. He was very confused why I was leaving him there, begging him to let me get just 20 minutes of rest. Which he did (he's such an angel) but babbled most of the time.

Anyway - I'm not happy with BGE right now since it's the second power outage in three weeks. If this is what I have to look forward to this winter, I'm going to hurt someone (at BGE).

4 am is Not an Appropriate Wake Up Time

This is unfortunately, what Kieran thinks is morning. I'm fairly certain that Ken and I have contributed to this false assumption. He's been getting up at this time and just making noise (not crying, just cooing and talking to himself). We've been getting up, feeding him and then we're not able to get him to go back to sleep.

So, this morning, when he got up at 4 am and I knew that it was 100% up to me to make sure he didn't freak when I went to take my shower (Ken's in Philly). I decided it was high time we broke him of this habit. I feed him, rocked him a bit and put him back in his crib - fully awake. He was confused and continued to move about and babble for the next hour. I got up a little after 5 (I'd just been laying there, waiting for him to start crying in earnest) and took my shower. By the time I was done, he was back asleep. I got to sleep for another 20 minutes too before he woke up for good at 6:30 am.

I relayed all this to Ken this morning. I really think that its our fault that he thinks its OK to be up at 4 am (though I do feel bad because he's been asleep since 7pm so he's getting 9 hours). But, we agreed that unless he's crying we'll not go into his room. Ken said I need to turn the monitor down a bit so he doesn't wake up at every coo and gurgle. He's probably right. I tend to turn it up from time to time because I can't hear him breathing. Then when he makes real noise its pretty freaking loud.

Anyway- he was in a great mood this morning (and I'm going to say a great big YAY that we're done with his ear infection medicine - at least for now) and was pretty happy to be heading to daycare. I think he's enjoying the Lovable Lobster room. They tell me he's been doing great with the transition (when Carolyn saw him on his first day, she zoomed over to him and gave him a great big kiss).

OK back to work for me. Love to all, blog again soon.

Explanation of Some Stuff

So, now that we've got our 3 or 4 weeks of backlogged photos up, I thought I should give a bit of explanation about some of them. Here is the one of Kieran's (much-touted) first step.If you missed the post on this, Kieran was standing and Ken was taking a photo and Kieran just took a step completely un-prompted.

Anyway, other photos on the website include trips to my grandparents' place, Zack's birthday party and our trip to Port Discovery.

This past weekend was good - with the exception that both Ken and I are now sick. Kieran was in good spirits. I'm hoping that his ear infections clear up since he's not crazy about taking his medicine.

OK sorry for the quick posts (it is National Blog Posting Month, btw) but thought I'd do a bit of explanation on the photos.

Oh, one final note - it's Kieran's official first day as a Loveable Lobster in Infant II.

PHOTOS!!!!!!

Ken found the wire we needed. Here are the recent photos.

Sleep Deprivation

Kieran was exhausted after daycare yesterday. He slept for a total of 5 minutes on the ride home (mostly because I had to wake him up for a stop at the dry cleaners) and then was not keen on the idea of going to bed at 7, even though he was beat. Finally we realized he was hurting and gave him some Motrin, which seemed to help and he was out shortly after that.

Everything was going OK - he was sleeping alright, only groused and needed to be reassured once or twice - until about 1 or 2 am. That's when the power went out. That's when I woke up. First, understand that we have a baby monitor in Kieran's room and I sleep with a monitor by my head. We have two sets for the monitor - one that can hold a charge, which we use downstairs before we go to bed; and one that cannot hold a charge which we keep plugged in. When a monitor loses its charge it begins to beep at you. This is actually a good thing since it made me realize the power was out. So I get up and go to sleep on the floor of Kieran's room, thinking he may wake up and freak because his nightlight is out and its nearly pitch-black in the house.

Well, I don't sleep and he begins to toss and turn. Finally I've had enough, go back to bed but leave the door to his room open (he's about 3 steps from our room) in case he begins to cry. He does wake up 20 minutes later. Ken goes to him and I say "just bring him in here with us". Which Ken does. Only Kieran has decided this is not comfortable and tosses and turns the entire time.

The lights come back on sometime around 3 (I think) and I suggest to Ken that he put Kieran back down in his room (but he's sleeping at that point so we leave well enough alone). I still haven't slept yet since I woke up from the power outage. I do manage to fall back asleep shortly after the power comes back on. About an hour later Kieran is crying - he's hungry. So, bottle time for him and he goes back to bed at 4:30 am. I do get back to sleep after this (Ken did the bottling and back-to-bedding) and manage to stay asleep until about 6:30 when Kieran wakes up for good. So - off and on about 4-5 hours of sleep. Ken thinks he got about the same because he slept for a good while until we brought Kieran to bed.

Now we're both suffering from sleep deprivation all week long and we have sore throats. So, tonight should be entertaining. We do have some fun plans for the weekend - heading to the convention center to watch some of the Games Workshop folk play their games. Mostly just getting out of the house and wandering around the city.

For anyone who was worried about us and the Domino's Sugar factory fire - we're fine. Our house is nearby (about 15 blocks away) but we were not home at the time of the explosion and the firefighters extinguished the blaze quickly. Now I just have to see if there is powdered sugar everywhere. Have a great weekend everyone (I'm going to tear the house apart to find our camera cable and/or I will go buy a new one). Love to all, will blog again soon.

Punk Rock Boy

If we have to buy a new cable for our camera this weekend, we will. I am DYING to show everyone how Kieran looked after I moussed his hair on Halloween. It was very cute.

Ken took one for the team last night by sleeping in Kieran's room. First, he refused to be tired and go to sleep (finally conked at 8:30 pm). Then he continued to cough and wake himself up. At 10:30 Ken went in and slept with him on the floor (though I doubt Ken got much sleep). At 3:30 am he got up and needed a bottle. I sat with him for about an hour before he got cranky again and Ken went in again. He slept until 7:15 this morning but was in a GREAT mood when he got up.

OK enough of this. If I don't have photos, what's the point? :-)

Cheers and Jeers

Cheers
Kieran is FINALLY moving up. As of November 5 he will officially be a Loveable Lobster (in the Infant II room). His buddy Carolyn is moving up this week so he'll join her next week. We'll have a whole new room of kids and teachers to learn but Ken and I are pretty excited about it. Also - just found out that Kieran now weighs 18 lbs! Yay. I'm so happy I was worried that he wouldn't make 20 pounds by the time he was 12 months.

Jeers
The reason I know what Kieran weighs is because he went to the doctor's last night. He went because he woke up with a sore throat. He was in an OK mood all day (went to daycare) but was kinda phlegm-y. I was not terribly worried but called the doctor's office to see if he needed to come in. They asked if he had a fever (he didn't) then said it would be OK, so long as he wasn't pulling at his ears (ummm, kinda been doing that for a week or two).

Yeah, he's got an ear infection in each ear. On top of that the doctor is worried about his cough, but sent us home without anything (nothing we can do). Warned me about Croup. Now, for those who don't know - Croup itself is not as bad as Stridor, which can happen if your kid has croup. From what I've read croup is essentially a swelling/soreness of the vocal chords. Stridor occurs when the chords swell so much that breathing is labored. So Ken and I spent last night with the monitor turned WAY up. Kept having to go in to check on him. He would cough, cry and need comforting to get back to sleep. We're pretty much in agreement that it is not Croup (which comes with a fever, which he doesn't have, along with a cough that sounds like a seal barking - also not him) but we kept him out of daycare today because he just needed some TLC. He didn't get to sleep until 8:30 last night and has been sleeping off and on today.

OK that's it, gotta get back to work.

Teething or Sick?

One of these two things may be going on with Kieran. He's been off his game a bit at daycare this week being lethargic and not really his usually peppy self.

Conversely, he's largely sleeping through the night (usually just one awakening) and waking up happy, laughing and smiley. I'm going to wait and see how he is this weekend, when we can observe him during the day directly. If he continues to be less than himself, I'll try to get him into the doctors early next week. Our concern is that they (the doctors office) told us he had some fluid on one of his ears and we should be keeping an eye on it. If he's got an ear infection we want to treat it right away.

Ken has promised me that he'll get photos up today. I'm going to hold him to that and make him do much cleaning if he doesn't come through. (OK, truth be told he'll probably still need to do the cleaning but I won't be as mean about it.)

All Robbers Should Be Hung by Their Toenails and Pummeled into Unconsciousness with Organic Carrot Juice (or Something Evil like that)
On a completely different note.... my mom's house got robbed a few weeks ago. I'm still pretty ticked off about it (as, I know, is she). They didn't just take things. They took emotionally important things. Like her and her late husband's wedding bands. Every piece of gold jewelry is gone. Her computer and iPod - gone. A nice piece of luggage to take it all away in... gone. So, now she's got an alarm system and three alarmed kids.

I want mean things to happen to these people, whoever they are. If they broke in and stole every last crumb from her pantry, then obviously they were hungry and that's understandable. But to assume that it's OK to take these items - things that mean more than their dollar value - because you need/perceive you need money, it's just beyond me.

OK, done for now. I hope to post photos (since I'm about 2 weeks behind) soon.

Cassanova

Sorry still no photos. Hopefully after this weekend (and maybe with beautiful Cousin Mabel who we'll met on Sunday).

But I did witness him kissing Carolyn at daycare yesterday. Officially they kissed each other - exactly how babies kiss, open mouths and all. It was cute as a bug. Rebecca was pleased that I actually witnessed the kiss. She said so many parents think she's nuts when she says it. She said that its not often that two babies are as affectionate as Kieran and Carolyn. She had also been telling me that two other babies - Benjamin and Donya - were also getting close (they are only a month apart in age as well), but that "Benjamin better look out because Kieran's moving in on Donya too."

Finally, Kieran is being the daycare helper. When Ben was crying for no reason at lunch, he made sure he had Ben's attention, then he started bouncing and laughing. He didn't stop until Ben was happy. Rebecca said you could see the look of satisfaction on his face when Ben stopped crying and began to have fun. I know they're going to miss him in the Pampered Penguins room when he leaves to become a Loveable Lobster (that's the "fun" names of the Infant I and Infant II rooms).

Quit Calling Him Fat!

For some reason my grandparents seem to comment on the fact that they *think* Kieran is fat.

Well, nuts to you, he's in the 10th percentile for weight (that means 90 percent of kids weigh more than he does at this age). He weighs only 17 lbs, 1.2 oz. He's in the 50th percentile for height (he's 28.5 inches tall - another inch and a half and he'll be half my height). His head circumference is 17 inches, but they didn't give me a percentile on that.

Kieran also got his flu shot and was a complete trooper. He barely cried at all. I chickened out at getting his blood drawn (from his arm, not a finger or toe prick) partially because I wasn't prepared for it and partially because of my phobia. Ken's going to have to take him in to do it.

Ken also thinks that its time to let Kieran "cry it out" a bit. I'm not sure I can handle that. I know that I can't run to him every time he gets hurt (and I don't think I do, though Ken thinks I do) but I also want to be sure he understands that its OK to be upset about hurting, at least for a bit. I want to be comforting but not coddling. Its a hard line to walk.

On the fun side of things, we can now feed him regular food - anything that we can cut up and do pea-sized portions of is fine. This should be really fun. I think he's going to enjoy the feeding himself thing. He's not been happy with baby food much at home lately. He eats fine at daycare but not as well at home (I think we're distracting him).

He woke up last night only once - at 3:30 am. But considering that he's been waking up 3-4 times a night, I'll take the once a night thing. Doctor said this should not be a habit for him and if we "reward" him for getting up (food, holding, etc) then he'll get the idea to wake up often. I plan to play it by ear but if he continues to wake up and want a bottle, I will slowly decrease the amount in the bottle so eventually (hopefully) he'll not need/want it anymore.

OK, was already out for a half day today (and I know I owe everyone photos) I hope to blog more tomorrow.

Step One

Kieran took his very first step over the weekend (two of them, actually) without any prodding from me or Ken. It was so amazing - Ken even managed to get the historic event on camera. Kieran was just standing on his own, and all of a sudden he took a step, then another. Ken was trying to take a photo of him standing up and managed to capture the walking (OK, stepping but give me a proud mama moment for a sec, wouldya?).

Anyway - the weekend was really nice. We did errands on Saturday and saw the family on Sunday for Zack's birthday. I can't believe he's 7 already. Its just crazy. I can remember when he was Kieran-sized and we babysat, or walked around the hospital with him. We all went to Red Robin in Columbia and had a good time. Even visited Oma and Opa (that's my grandparents) for a bit to play tech support for my grandmother's email.

Finally got to see Charles and Drew too - haven't seen them in forever. And now they're asking to "borrow" Kieran to get into some party. It's fine by me - he's so well behaved, even when he's cranky. Let's hope that continues.

We've only got two bad things going on right now. Our first foray into non-family babysitting occurs tonight. Ken's firm works with Goodwill and they are hosting a benefit party tonight which we are attending. I am trading babysitting with a women from the Federal Hill Kids Group (she's got 8 month old twins). She and her husband (and the kids) came over so we could meet but I'm still leaving Kieran with essentially a complete stranger tonight and its wigging me out.

The other thing is that he is no longer sleeping through the night. I don't know if its the temperature, the teething or the stuffy nose, but he is waking up about 3 times a night. This is KILLING me and Ken. We're wandering around like Zombies. Ah well, enough of this. Gotta get back to it. Busy today and tomorrow. I hope to post the photos from this weekend shortly.

First Word?

If a baby speaks at daycare, and there isn't a parent around to hear it, did he really talk?

That's the question that Ken and I are asking ourselves. My second trip away and I hear from Ken that Kieran said "Bye-bye" and waved at daycare yesterday. This happened during the day when one of the other providers was in the Infant I room and was leaving. She waved and said goodbye and he waved back and said "bye-bye". Ken and I are a little sad that he said his first words out of the house but I think we've both decided that it doesn't really count until he says it in front of us.

He's still doing well, but had a bad night. Apparently he woke up every 2 or 3 hours and would cry but by the time Ken went downstairs and made the bottle, he was back asleep. Ken had a rough time. I'll be home tonight, late but I'll take the early shift so Ken can sleep a bit. I'll try to catch some Zs on the plane.

Not much else, I'm in St. Paul today for an event and I'll be home tonight. We'll post this past weekend's pictures soon. We went to Port Discovery which had a free admittance day on Saturday. Kieran had a good time in the baby room, made a few friends as he tottered around the room (I say tottered, really was just crawling and pulling up on everything). He is still not walking yet but is pulling up on things and now moving along them while holding on, so he's getting closer.

Our next doctor's appointment is next week so I'll have more info on development and size at that point. I think he's grown a ton since his last doctor visit but it's hard to say. OK, enough I should be focusing on my work. Love to all, blog again soon.

Our Trip to Ohio

Kieran required someone to sit in the backseat with him so it was a very quiet trip for Ken and I (which is sad because we were both looking forward to spending that time together), but at least he did sleep. He was cranky when we got to our destination and it wasn't morning. Ken had to sleep with Kieran on his chest in order to get the little munchkin to go back to sleep.

We stayed with Kenny and Marilyn (Ken's dad and stepmom) who graciously gave up their own bedroom for us. Thanks again for that. Here are a few photos. I don't know why Ken chose to put these up on his website, but Kieran looks drunk in all of them. I swear we didn't give that kid any liquor and he smiled nearly the entire weekend. Here's two photos, one of Kieran and Ben (left) and the other is Kieran and Kenny (right).

It was the first time for Kieran to meet Ben and Matt (Ken's brothers), Lori (sister-in-law), and his cousins Austin, Noah, Riley and Morgan. He'd met Noah before, but only briefly, everyone else was new to him. He's such a good sport and allowed himself to be passed around and smiled at pretty much everyone.

That's pretty much it. Ben is now off to NC for Combat training, after that we'll see if he gets shipped out or sent to one more training facility. We won't know anything for about a month. Kieran thought Lori looked an awful lot like Miss Rebecca and gave her the biggest smile of all when he saw her. That was pretty funny. Lori, for her part, thought Kieran was cute (but really, who doesn't?) and said holding a baby was really nice but she was done.

Debbie bought Kieran some great toys that we still need to get out of the car, and some toys that he won't be able to use until he's older (but Ken may play with those now). So thanks, Deb!

Alright, back to work for me. Blog again later, love to all!

Quick Post - More Later

Our trip to Ohio was very nice. Kieran cooperated and slept (since we left at his bedtime) the entire ride. Was a bit rough because when we got there (and when we got home) he was awake and didn't want to sleep. Kinda bad at 3am.

Saw everyone (many for the first time) and it was great. I'll blog more about this later - with photos - but I'm pretty swamped today after taking Friday off.

Only big change - Kieran has teeth! His bottom two teeth broke through over the weekend and now he's biting up a storm.

Day Tripping

Ken took a foray to South Carolina to see Ben graduate from the Marine Corps. Ben will now head home and then to (fill in location with desert here). We just don't know yet. We'll find out more in a few weeks. We're all worried but also excited for him - this is a brand-new chapter in his life and I know he'll make the most of this opportunity. Ken said he didn't realize just how tall Ben was because he had always slouched so much. See how tall Ben is now by checking out the photos.

I'm here in Indianapolis for the CAD Camp that's happening tomorrow. Work work work for me. My very first trip away since Kieran was born (without Kieran, I mean) and I'm missing Ken and Kieran something fierce. It's going to be fine, but it will also be weird not seeing them at the end of the day today.

Also, we just found out that Ken broke both his legs. Well, ok, stress fractures - but still fractures! He's probably going to end up on crutches for a few weeks (maybe months) and no real exercise that involves his legs. Just upper body.

OK, gotta finish up here and go back to the hotel for the night. Big day tomorrow and probably won't blog again for a bit. Love to all.

Yeah, He's Advanced

I asked Kieran's daycare a few weeks ago about the process for moving to the next room. They divide infants into two segments, walkers and non-walkers. The kids usually transition from Infant I to Infant II around 9 months. I wasn't sure what this entailed, how it worked, etc. I was told that we'd get a letter mailed to us about a month or a few weeks in advance and then we'd sit down with the director and talk about what moving him to the next room means.

Last night when I went to go pick him up, the owner was in the room and asked if we'd be willing to consider moving him up a bit early (there's a woman who has an older child at his daycare who wants her infant to be there too). Kieran spent some time yesterday in Infant II and had a good time. I'm OK with it - though I was hoping it would mean less $$ to them, but no such luck - and kind of excited. The people who run the room said they've never had a baby as young as he is move up, but that he definitely had fun over there. One of the other babies in his room, who is older, didn't do as well over there, so he'll move up ahead of the other child.

I said I was willing to consider the move but for the next few weeks I want him to spend a little time over there just to adjust. There's more of a strict schedule in the next room (where he'd be until he's about 18 months old, I believe) though they do still accommodate the younger babies who transition in. All the kids nap at the same time - once in the morning and once in the afternoon, and they all eat lunch at the same time (around noon, which is when he eats now). There's a bit more structure to the day, though it's still mostly just playtime, trying to get the kids to walk on their own, play, explore, etc.

Last night Kieran woke up at 3:30 am (and a HUGE thank you to Ken for taking that one for the team) so I'm a little concerned that the room was overstimulating, though this morning one of his eyes was very red, and I think he may have scratched it (his nails have been pretty long, I got one of his hands this morning but didn't get the other one). So it could have been that too. Anyway - we'll see, but he'll probably be in the Infant II room in about 2 weeks' time.

OK, that was it, back to work for me.

If You're Happy and You Know It....

That's right, Kieran is clapping. He has figured out that he can bang his hands together to make noise, and he's loving it. We had a good weekend, Ken talked me into the Renaissance Festival on Saturday because the weather was beautiful and we hadn't gone in a few years. It was really nice. Here's a shot of Ken and Kieran at the festival.
This was towards the end of the day so the fact that he's smiling is a good thing. He went to bed early (lots to process) after this. By 6:30 that night, he was done. I don't know what we're going to do when he gets older and wants to move his bedtime to 7:30 or something crazy like that. We sat and watched a few shows and he was fascinated by the storyteller we stopped to watch. He sat still for an entire story, which he never does at home (but then again, we're not in costume).

The other thing Kieran is working on (I mean besides walking, which he's trying so hard to figure out) is waving. This morning after his bottle he would wave to me and I would wave back, then he would wave again. He's still not good if you initiate the wave, but he's figuring it out.

Other than that, not much else is new. Ken goes to SC on Thursday to see Ben graduate from the Marines (sorry I wont' be there too, Ben). I'll be heading down to my grandmothers (Bubbie's) place on Friday for a feast before I starve myself on Saturday (that's Yom Kippur - aka Day of Atonement). While I don't go to temple or anything, I do usually observe the ritual fast. I'm not sure why I do this. I haven't for the past two years so doing it this year might be hard, but I will do my utmost.



OK, back to work for me. I'll leave you with this photo of me and Kieran and give you the link to Ken's website for photos from our latest Camera Day.

Sadness and Sickness

We've had a bit of a crazy time since last weekend. This past weekend, Tucker got very sick and we had to put him down today. Apparently he was having an issue with his salt content/intake and we never knew it. We've been crating him since Labor Day and it was working - he was peeing in a litter box -but he scratched his face up pretty bad. We took him into the vet on Saturday and ended up taking him to the hospital after that. He'd been so dehydrated and his salt content was so high that they didn't want to lower his salt fast or that could hurt him. Unfortunately, everything they tried didn't work and he was non-responsive for 2 days. He was a good cat and I'm sorry to see him go but it will make some things easier.

Kieran had his biggest temperature to date. When I picked him up from daycare yesterday they mentioned how hot he felt. I didn't think much of it because he always feels kinda warm to me. But when I got him home he was BURNING hot. I took his temperature and it came back 102.8. OK, time to call the doctor (7pm) who was not in. They now have a nighttime pediatrics place they sent me to, who said "Well, his ears and throat are redder than I'd like but with no other symptoms than a fever, he should be fine." They sent me back home (even though, after giving him Tylenol his temp went UP to 103.2) with instructions to dose him with alternating courses of Tylenol and Motrin. He was fast asleep by the time we got home (9pm). So, I left him alone since the doctor indicated I need not wake him to dose him - just let him sleep.

Today he's out of daycare (half day with mom, half day with dad) and feeling fine. It's just been a weird few days. Ken and I had a nice time on our date (thanks Andy & Wendy for the free babysitting!) and we hope to do it again. It's good we've got an easy baby (that's per Wendy, you don't have to take my word for it) and hopefully we'll be able to go out as adults sometime soon.

OK that's it, Ken's visiting Ben for his Marine Corps graduation - Yeah Ben! And I'll be travelling soon too. It's going to be very weird to be away from home. Back to work for me now!

Moving On

He may not prefer it, but our little one knows how to crawl. Yesterday Ken picked Kieran up from daycare and was just amazed at how he was sitting there, playing with a book then got up, went over to the toy shelf, pulled himself up and got a different book, sat back down and began playing again. He's becoming a little boy right before our eyes.


Labor Day Weekend
Had a wonderful time getting together with my grandparents (mom's side), my brother and his family and my mom. Every year for the past 10 or so years my grandparents have rented a place for the week of Labor Day down in Ocean City, MD. We all come down and stay with them for the Labor Day weekend and head home on Monday. As the family has grown (have I mentioned my brother's 3 kids?) it's gotten harder and harder to fit everyone in the place they rent, even though it has 3 bedrooms. This year we were fortunate enough to have a friend loan us her place in Salisbury, which is about a half hour away from Ocean City.

The drive down was HORRIBLE. Kieran was asleep before 7pm and we tried to get him to sleep in his car seat. That went over like a lead balloon. He cried for the first 25 minutes of the trip. At which point I gave in, went into the backseat and calmed him down (he cried for an additional 10 minutes) and got him to sleep. He would wake up periodically and would need to be calmed down. (this means that any long trips are out for at least a little while).

Weather was beautiful all weekend - about mid-eighties and not humid at all. We were the first ones there (having left Friday night) and went to Ocean City early on Saturday to walk around. We showed Kieran the ocean and let him put his toes in it, which he liked. He absolutely loved putting his feet in the sand, but then he wanted to lean down and touch it (and eat it, I'm sure) so we had to leave the beach. Sunday we came down and tried the Ocean thing again - this time in his little swimmy diaper (yes, they make diapers for babies to swim in). The water was very cold and he didn't like it at all. But we got to see dolphins in the wild, so that helped make up for it. He did, however, seem to be OK with the pool later on (water was warmer there). He wasn't entirely sure about it, but he didn't cry or look upset.

Kieran's cousins loved getting his attention and keeping him entertained. This was great, except that his nap schedule got completely out of whack. He managed to do a bit better on Monday at home.

OK, that's it. Gotta get back to work. Just wanted to do a quick lunchtime blog. We did do photos on Sunday and Saturday so I will have more posted soon. We've stuck with Camera day for two weeks now Whoo Hoo! Go Us!

Camera Day

At least this weekend we got a few shots in. You can see some of them on the website that Ken put up, but here are a few of my favorites.

This was taken about 2 months ago, but I think it's a great photo of my dad (aka Zadie) and Kieran.



This one is very recent. Kieran can be an extremely messy eater. He gets very fussy when he doesn't get the food fast enough, then he's a moving target to get the food to his mouth. This results in a mess all over him. He also likes to run his hands over wherever you have dropped food and then he proceeds to take those hands and put them on his forehead, in his hair, in his ears, etc. Most of the time he's not quite this bad, but he was so messy on Saturday I just had to take a photo of it. You can tell he likes feeding time since he's smiling.

Nothing else is that new. He's still kinda cranky during the day since he's teething but at least he's been sleeping through the night. We'll see if that persists during our upcoming trip to the shore. He'll have a lot of fun with his cousins though (Zack, Becca & Pete) and they're going to be running high from their recent trip to Disney. It'll be a fun weekend. OK lots to do at work. Blog again soon. Enjoy the photos!

Upsetting the Balance

I think Kieran is finally truly teething.

He's been drooly for quite some time and he loves to chew on things (I mean, really, who doesn't?). Lately though he's been more crank than usual and he's waking up a few times a night to complain, though he usually goes right back to sleep without intervention from Ken or me (as a matter of fact, by the time I get up and get what I think he's asking for, he's back asleep).

Anyway - that's about all that's new. Crawling is coming soon, he's started to figure it all out. I still think that he's not particularly thrilled with that method of movement and that he won't be doing it for long. Once he figures out he can pull up on furniture and begin standing, we're done for.

I had a shock just the other day at how big he's grown. Ken bought him a Thing 1 outfit at Seussland in Orlando. It was a 12 month outfit and I didn't think it would fit him. Yeah, well, I guess I just didn't realize how big he's getting. His 12 month outfits seem to fit just fine. They're a little big, but not terribly. I think it's because he's so long, he definitely doesn't fill them up from side to side. He fits into his 6-9 month stuff still too but I guess that's going to go away shortly. We've got so much newborn, 0-3 and 3-6 stuff to giveaway that I need to get in touch with our friends who are due in September. If they're willing, we can bring it to them, we just need the extra storage space for the 6-9 month stuff and the 18 month stuff that we've got.

Thanks again to Debbie for the CRAZY amount of stuff she bought. I hope you got enough Kieran time while you were here and, like I said, we hope to have new photos starting next week.

OK, that's about it. We've got a nice weekend ahead of us - going shopping with a girlfriend of mine on Saturday and we're hoping to hit the Baltimore Pow-Wow on Sunday. Love to all, blog again soon.

Documentation, Please!

Ken and I are horrible. We just had his family in town and we brought out our camera exactly zero times.

I was wondering about it lately, as Ken and I have been really bad about taking photos. You would think Kieran is not our first child. Then I realized - we're so busy living our lives and spending time with him that we don't think about documenting our lives. This blog is really one of the few ways I spend time to talk about the minutiae of our lives. And I do that mostly for the family and friends who can't share it with us everyday (I'm sure my brother and mother are bored STIFF at the bland details I share with them).

Anyway - in this effort, I hereby declare Saturdays Camera Day and we hope to get the camera out and take photos at least once each Saturday. That way we can have some photos to choose from each month, change out the digital picture frames. I hope that in this effort I can also post more regularly new photos of the little man who is growing at a good clip.

Finally - thanks Debbie, Jeff, Kaleb and Noah for a great weekend. Had a lot of fun hanging out with you and I hope you got enough Kieran time (and Ken time) to last you a while. Hopefully we'll see Kaleb again before 5 years are up. OK, back to lunch. Have a great week - will try to blog again later.

We're All Simpsons Now

OK, so with a little too much interest in The Simpsons, I have been hitting the Simpsonizing website today. Here are just a few images for your viewing pleasure.

Me as a SimpsonAnd Kieran as a Simpson (on the Krusty set no less)


Ken has one too, but I can't save the image. He kinda looks like Smithers, which should bother us but just makes us laugh.

Who the Heck is This?

Got a call last night and Ken asked me to listen to his new cell phone voicemail. He asked me if I could tell who it was who was calling. The message was a bit garbled (even if it's new, it's still a cell phone) and so was hard to hear. I listened and said "Your Dad maybe?" He thought it might have been his cousin Tim... turned out to be our nephew Kaleb! It's been a while since we've heard his voice and I guess when you're 15 you sound more like an adult than a kid... it was just weird (but nice to hear from him directly).

He's headed this way tomorrow so we'll get to see just how tall he's grown (I haven't seen Kaleb since he was 10, I think). Also got a box yesterday of gifties from Debbie (thanks!) I have to go through it tonight to figure out if there are clothes he can wear now or if I should set them all aside for the time being.

I'm getting a little nervous because Kieran has stopped eating (formula) as much and he's been sleeping hard. His intake of formula went down from about 32 oz to less than 20 within 2 weeks. I'm worried because in addition to refusing his bottle he's also been sleeping hard at night. I'm trying not to over-worry. He doesn't get much sleep at daycare anymore because there is so much going on around him that he just wants to be awake all the time. I'm going to keep an eye on this and call the dr if it really starts to bother me or get worse.

OK back to work, had to blog quick.

Go Ravens!

Kieran went to his very first football game last night, courtesy of Zadie. He had a good time, even if he didn't smile much. He was confused, I'm sure, as to why I had him up so late (game started at 7pm) but enjoyed flirting with the woman who sat beside me. He seemed to enjoy looking at all the new sights so hopefully he'll do better on Sunday when Ken takes him to the game at 8 pm.

That said, we got home at 8:30 after the game (no, it wasn't that short, we left halfway through the second quarter) and by 9pm he was sound asleep. He slept until 6 am. I, on the other hand, tossed and turned all night long. Oh well...

He also had a bit of a blow yesterday as his best buddy, Carolyn, was not at daycare. I don't know if she's out for the week on vacation or if she'll be in later today. He's also started flirting with the lady who runs the Infant II room. She was saying what a love he is and that he'd been eyeing her all day yesterday. I guess he just likes the ladies... at least he does right now.

Other than that, not much else new. Got Debbie, Jeff, Kaleb and Noah coming in this weekend so we've got a big weekend planned. ESPN Zone on Friday, Aquarium on Saturday, Shopping/Movie on Sunday with the game that night. They leave Monday morning (and I'm sure they'll be exhausted by then!). It will be fun. Kieran's going to enjoy meeting his other cousins and I'll enjoy doing some local sight-seeing.

Love to all, blog again soon.

Love Bites!

Kieran got bit at daycare yesterday by another child. They can't tell us which kid did it, but did assure me that they will do everything they can to keep it from happening again. From what I understand Kieran was in the megasaucer, minding his own business when the other kid bit him. I do know that it wasn't any of the kids who are normally in his room - besides the fact that none of them have teeth yet...

He was fine, had two small red marks on his chin but got lots of kisses, hugs and some ice (after they washed the area with soap and water). The skin was not broken. I think it may have bothered him at some level because he woke up 3 times last night, faking us out each time. He would cry/make noise for a bit, we'd get up, go get a bottle and by the time we got to him he was fast asleep. Ken got up twice, I only got up once. I'm thinking that he was processing what had happened and it upset him but he doesn't know how to deal yet. My poor baby.

Though, I have to say, he's such a little flirt these days. Especially with the little girls. This morning, dropping him off, he couldn't take his eyes off of Anna (one of the older girls). He would just watch her and smile. He's also been playing quite a bit with Carolyn, who is just about his age. They are quite cute together as they play side by side, babbling at each other and sharing toys (and germs, I'm sure). Maybe one of the other kids bit him because he flirted with their 'girlfriend' or maybe one of the girls thought his attentions were unwanted. Who knows?

More on Our Marine
Ben's (that's Ken's younger brother for those looking at the family tree) doing okay now. He's finally getting the hang of being physically active from before sunrise until after dark. If he can do that I'm sure he can master climbing the rope, which is the only thing concerning him right now. He misses everyone but the whole family is writing him at least once a week - if not more often - and that's helping. I'll keep everyone updated on Ben's progress as I know more.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Our little guy is stuffed up again. I swear I pulled enough snot from his nose this weekend to sculpt a likeness of his whole head. He's possibly going through a growth spurt as well. Yesterday he was on this weird 3 hour schedule - he'd wake up, be OK for about an hour, hour and a half; then he'd start to get a little cranky - you could distract him for maybe 15-20 minutes. After that you had to feed him and put him down to sleep, when he'd sleep for about an hour and do the whole thing all over again. At least by the time he went to bed (6 pm!) he was ready to sleep through the night.

When he was littler and hit a spurt, you could tell because all he wanted to do was eat and sleep. Very similar to yesterday. Last night I didn't sleep much because for some odd reason I got up at 3 am. Managed to get back to sleep for a bit, but then Kieran got up at 4 am. He was up for about 45 minutes, so I went back to bed close to 5 am (at which point Ken got up) and finally the alarm went off around 6 am and Kieran woke up then too. Took a quick shower and we were headed out the door. But man, right now I could go for a nap.....

He seems to be in a fairly good mood today, yesterday he didn't want anything to do with solid food unless it was the Gerber stuff. He was having none of the cereal. It was fine, he ate plenty and probably had more formula than he would normally. Like I said, possible growth spurt.

And in Ken News....
Ken had a GREAT day on Friday with a call from an immigration judge in York, PA with a potential client, a call into his firm with a potential client and a very nice compliment from one of the partners at his firm. Today is seeming to do as well with people responding to his recent round of networking with immigration questions. He's pretty excited to be able to get into the practice area he's always wanted to do. So, things are looking very busy shortly for him.


Ok that's it. Love to all, I'm gonna go nap on my keyboard now...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Raspberry Boy

The follow-up appointment for his tongue-tie went well, looks like no further medical intervention will be necessary. Even if it is, we won't know that until he's 2 yrs old at least. Dr. German said his tongue-tie was not an issue anymore, that he had good mobility with his tongue and that since he can suck well and eat well, he's not concerned. Language issues won't arise for another year or so.

All seems to be good, he's back on formula and eating VERY well. I think we may be back on a good schedule today - all week has been somewhat messed up (Monday I was sick, Wednesday was a Doctors appointment, yesterday we had to go get Ken at night...). We got up extra early (Ken's clock thought it was an hour later than reality) but we got to daycare in a timely fashion and I got to spend some time with him, feeding him and whatnot.

He loves to blow raspberries. Just like my kid. Unfortunately, he also likes to do this while being fed. This morning I was using the lid of his bowl as a shield so he could blow all the rice cereal he wanted, and it wouldn't get on me. It worked for awhile, then he decided that spraying the room was much more fun than the lid of his bowl. At least he knows what's funny.

He's still trying new foods, we're now into mixed foods - Squash and corn; Bananas, apples and strawberries; Peas and carrots, etc. Still hasn't met a food he doesn't like. I've heard that this may go away as he gets older and that he'll start to not like foods that he once ate. I guess only time will tell.

OK enough chatting with you all - back to work for me!

Knock Wood

I think we may finally be past the initial sickness.

Kieran had another bout of stomach virus (the other end this time) and got taken off formula and put on the BRAT diet (that's Bananas, Rice, Apples and Toast) with pedialyte to keep him hydrated. He's almost back to normal - finally slept for a good long while last night, though not completely through the night as he had been - and I can't be happier.

I caught his other stomach bug and was sick all weekend long. Ken was very kind to me and didn't ask for much help. Just took care of Kieran and the house and the dog and any request I made. So, I owe him a weekend day to go off and be on his own - that's what he asks in repayment.

Anyway, not much else is new. Concentrating on getting the house back in shape. After weekend before last (we went away) and this past weekend (me being sick) everything's been piling up. OK, I better get back to work, earn a quick buck and get outta here on time so I can go see my little man!

Percentiles

Its hard not to get fixated on the percentiles they give you with each well-baby visit. Kieran's in the 10th percentile for head circumference and the 65th percentile for length (height). They wouldn't give me his body weight percentile since he's been sick and actually lost weight since his doctor's visit on the 19th.

Overall he's in great health. He'll start talking more in the coming months but no finger foods yet, which annoys me since he's DYING to feed himself. He was not happy about the shots but we both survived (I didn't faint or anything!). I'll get a full report on his mood after daycare today. He was so fast asleep that when I left him at daycare he didn't wake up. We decided to let him nap in his car seat and not wake him by taking him out.

That's all. Nothing terribly exciting about this visit. Next visit is at 9 months (I haven't made the appointment yet) sometime in October.

More Family News
Something I've been meaning to blog about but haven't. Ken's youngest brother, Ben, has joined the Marines. He's currently in training/boot camp in North Carolina and will graduate in late September. Ken will go down for the graduation but since we're still on the mend financially, I'm going to stay home with Kieran. For those who want to find out more about the Marines, I suggest a support site - www.marineparents.com. It's a great resource for information about what may be happening with your Marine as well as being able to connect with other Marine parents and loved ones. Ben - we're all thinking of you and we know you can do it (don't sweat those 18 year-olds).

Still Sick

Ken and I have decided that if Kieran is sick again, we're grounding him. He's just not allowed. This is too much worrying.

We had a nice time in Salisbury this weekend with Stacy and Matt, went to the boardwalk, etc. Unfortunately we also had very little sleep this weekend. Kieran had never slept away from home until now. He woke up on Saturday night (also known as Sunday morning) at 12 am, 2 am, 4 am and finally up at 6 am. Since the three of us were sharing a room, this was a lot of waking up for Ken and I too.

I also do not take direction very well. The doctor told Ken that we should wait for a couple of days before starting Kieran back on formula. I had a very hard time with this since I know that Kieran gets most of his nutrition/calories from formula. So I pushed it and started him back on the sauce Saturday night (he'd been off of it since Thursday evening). He did ok with his first two feedings but the third one (at 4am) came back at us (at 6 am). He's been fine since (we put him back on 100% pedialyte - with solid foods) and I spoke with the doctor today. He said we had three options: 1 - feed Kieran only 2 oz of formula at a time (uh, not with this kid's appetite), 2 - dilute the formula or 3 - offer him soy formula. Because his stomach is still a little rumbly we need to take care not to over-do on the formula but it is important that he get back to it.

We have a well child visit for his 6 month checkup on Wednesday. If all is not 100% well at that point they'll help us out.

Finally a quick note on family tree/info. I completely spaced when I made the Mabel post. For those who are interested Mabel is the daughter of my cousin Ben and his wife Katie. This is their first child. Ben is the son of my father's twin brother, Gary. I hope this clears things up.

Love to all. Will blog again soon (and now that I've got my copy of the final Harry Potter I hereby swear I will NOT provide any spoilers).

Happy Birthday Dad & Uncle Gary!

The dazzling duo turns [age deleted] today. For their birthday, Kieran has brought you....

a stomach virus.

Yep, that's right. From a cold to a stomach virus in just a few weeks. The entertaining portion of this? Kieran projectile vomited all over one of his caregivers yesterday. (sorry Miss Rebecca!)

He had done the same thing a few nights before but we didn't think anything of it since he appeared fine, appetite was fine. Well, our mistake. Now he's off of formula (which is driving me CRAZY) for the next two days. We've got to increase his solid foods and he's on Pedialyte instead of formula.

He's in a fine mood. Slept just fine. We'll see how he does for the next few days. This should pass by Sunday. We'll have to figure out if we're still going to go visit our friends in Salisbury tomorrow or postpone till he's feeling 100%.

Love to all, blog again soon.

Welcome Mabel Claire

We've got another new cousin! Mabel Claire Lipshultz was born yesterday and weighed in at 6 lbs 8 oz. I think she's just adorable. I hear the new mom and dad are doing well. Congrats!

All's Quiet at 7 pm

Kieran refuses to let me move his bedtime. I was trying to keep him up until 8pm so Ken and I had some time with him each night. Nope. There's just no keeping this kid awake (and so help you if you try). Last night we went to a concert at Riverside Park (that's a city park near our house). He loved being outside and seeing all the people. The concert started at 6:30. About 3 songs into it he was getting drowsy. As we were walking home he fell asleep. It's only a block and a half from our house!

Ah well, there are much worse things.

He's LOVING the solid foods. He's decreasing his liquids on his own in hopes that we'll increase the amount of solid foods we're feeding him. He just had his first fruit on Saturday - Bananas. He's eaten everything we've fed him so far, though the jury is still out on squash. I'm hoping he takes after Ken and is not a picky eater like myself. Seems to be headed that way now.

Had a good time on Saturday celebrating my dad's birthday early (July is our second biggest birthday month with Ken's brother Matt, his dad, my dad, my Uncle Gary, and our niece Morgan - I hope I'm not forgetting anyone here) with Andy, Wendy, Zack, Becca, Pete, Darleen and Dad. Everyone had fun and the burgers were great. Kieran loved watching Zack quack like a duck and then fall down. He thought this was very funny and kept laughing, no matter how many times Zack had done it before.

That's about it. Nothing new yet. Kieran is definitely done with us holding him. He's dying to be able to move around. He's figured out that pushing with his arms will move him backwards but doesn't seem to grasp that pushing with his feet will move him forward though he did get up and rock back and forth at the park yesterday. We'll see. I guess we have to finish kid-proofing ASAP. Love to all, blog again soon.

Clear Ears

Daycare did call me on Monday - only to tell me they thought Kieran might have an ear infection. This is one of Ken's biggest fears since he had such a bad experience with his ears as a child. Apparently there had been a rash of ear infections at daycare and they noticed Kieran pulling at his left ear when he was drinking his bottle.

I made an emergency appointment with the pediatrician that night. I left work early, got to the doctors office with about 20 minutes to spare before the appointment and waited an extra 15 before I was able to go back and see the doctor.

Just a cold.

That's it, no big worries. His fever had already broken and he's still stuffy, but it's just a cold. So, back to daycare he goes (yes, they actually take him back with a nice, contagious cold) and we're back to our normal routine...except, of course, that Ken has now caught said cold. I'm sure I'm next.

Oh well, at least he doesn't have an ear infection.

Sickness

Having a sick kid is no fun at all. Poor Kieran caught his first daycare cold. Stuffy nose, fever (which has thankfully broken) and a bad attitude. Of course, for him this means that he basically doesn't smile 100% of the time - only about 50% of the time.

He's doing better today - though Ken and I have likely caught this too. I'm feeling like I've been hit by a truck, though that could be from the lack of sleep. Kieran got up at 2 am due to stuffiness and I didn't get back to sleep until 3:30. Ken blessedly took over when Kieran decided he wanted to play at 3 am. I had been up since quarter of two since I heard him over the monitor snorting and coughing.

Like I said, he's doing much better today and is in a better mood. We'll see if daycare calls me to pick him up.

And in Immigration News...
Ken just started his own blog. His is very business-focused on immigration and legal issues surrounding it as well as some information regarding employment and labor law. Check out his blog by clicking on the Ken's Immigration Blog link under Friendly Links. It has some very interesting information on it. If you're vaguely interested in what it is that Ken does, check it out.

Fourteen Years is Not Long Enough

We made the hard decision Tuesday evening to put Milo to sleep. It was hard as he seemed to be doing fine at the time, but the vet said that what Milo had been experiencing (which I had mistaken for neuropathy) were seizures. He had torn open his leg and would have needed anesthesia to get it stitched up, not recommended with his heart murmur.

Ken and I are doing OK. I feel awful because I didn't want Kieran in the room when it happened, so I left Ken in there alone with Milo. We both loved that cat fiercely, but we knew that this was coming. He hasn't been well for a while now. Everything we've done has been to stave off the inevitable. We'll pick up his remains on Tuesday.

Milo was a very good cat - the best that we've had. He will meet up with some other good furry friends of ours - Boo, Beaners, Neci, Mandy and a few others. I have a picture in my mind of Milo and Neci stretched out on their backs in front of a roaring fire with silver bowls of food and water nearby. We miss him, but I really think he's a happier cat now, no pain, no worries and all the food he can eat.

A Wonderful Friend

Milo may be leaving us soon. Last night at quarter of 4 in the morning, Ken heard something downstairs that woke him. He went downstairs only to find Milo flopping around seemingly unable to move. He calmed him, picked up after him, then fed him. He seemed to recover OK but this is not the first time this has happened. He seems to be doing this more and more often.

We'll be talking with the vet today, but with his diabetes, heart murmur, etc I'm not sure there will be much they can do for him. I'm worried about leaving him alone all day because he may end up with a heart attack, freaking out because he can't move. Or he may drown, if he can't move when he's by the water dish. Anyway - I'm upset but resigned as I knew this was coming. He's 14 years old, has had a very good life and has been a wonderful friend.

I'll keep everyone updated once we know something for certain.

Moving and Shaking

Kieran is just loving daycare. Last night I went to pick him up and he was having a grand time on their playmat area. He's really close to figuring out the crawling thing - I think. He keeps getting up on his hands, but doesn't seem to want to get up on his knees at all. It's possible he'll skip crawling in favor of walking early - he loves to be vertical.

Because he does love the standing-up thing, I'm going to try and get him an exersaucer (second-hand). I've been up on craigslist and there are several available in the area, most for about $10. It's really nice since he probably will only get about 5 months' use out of it before he outgrows it.

Mom-Vibe
Apparently I give off the "MOM" signal. I think it's visible only to children. I got to Kieran's daycare very early this morning and so had some time to sit with him before I went to work. While I was there Kieran was in a seat at the table and I was walking around putting his things away. There was one baby being fed and one baby on the lap of Miss Chrissy (in addition to Kieran). The baby on her lap reached out for me as I was standing next to her (talking to Kieran) and so I picked her up. She held tight to me for about 5-10 minutes while I stood there talking with Chrissy and to Kieran. The little girl is about 18 months old. She was a doll-baby and was having a rough morning. But it was weird to have the kid just reach out like that. I guess I'm really a mom now.

Anybody Want a Cat?
We've been trying to find a new home for Tucker (one of our cats) as he has not reacted very well to Kieran being in the house and we have no time for him. Unfortunately all of the no-kill shelters are full this time of year and none of my ads for adoption have been answered (successfully) I've gotten lots of spam from them, but no real interest. Quite a few people claiming to want him but are from other states - very fishy to me and I'm not about to let him get researched on. It's quite upsetting to see how people will try and snow you to do that.

Anyway - things here at the office are doing well. Finally caught up on most of my projects and have some time to plan for other things next week. We'll have fun going to the fireworks (or I will at least). Kieran goes to bed before they start so Ken will stay home with him while I walk down to the park. Not sure how he'll react to 1/2 hour of loud booming.

OK - that's it. Brain is now empty - will blog again soon.

Growing Pains

He's so even tempered that even 5 minutes of crying when he's not tired or hungry is weird/difficult. I guess I've been completely spoiled by Kieran.

Yesterday he did a whole lot of eating and sleeping. Unfortunately that meant that he was up at 3 am and again at 5 am, even though he didn't go down until after 7. Oh well.

Also just read that I'm supposed to start weaning him off of feeding before going to bed. Yeah, right. I have a hard enough time keeping him awake enough to finish eating let alone move the feeding "up" in his bedtime routine schedule. I think that may wait until he's a little older (like 1 year or something...).

Ken's having a good time at his new job. Already has some work assigned to him as well as some immigration work. He's working hard to get additional clients for the firm. It's somewhat stressful, but also nice to know that he's able to court clients and whatnot.

OK, I am back to work (tired as I am). Going to blog again when I'm more awake.