reminder...Carter is our easy-going, mellow child who rarely gets fussy unless his brother is picking on him
Saturday and Sunday night were a disaster with the poor little guy sleeping no more than 2 hours at a stretch. On Saturday all he would eat was ice cream. By Sunday he stopped eating anything and would only drink a couple sips of water. He kept saying his mouth hurt and "big sores in my mouth mommy."
Monday morning Sara brought him to his pediatrician who prescribed codeine - the magic drug! We remember when Logan had his tonsils and adenoids out the codeine would mask all the pain almost instantly. After crying hysterically from 9:30am-11:15am (all the way to the dr, during the dr appt, and while waiting for the prescription at Target), we finally got the codeine into his system and he came home and ate a donut. The magic drug! Last night he went to bed at 8:15pm and only woke up once at 4am when the medicine wore off. He is still sleeping now at 7am. Thank you God!
To add more stress during all of this, Carter's last nuk collapsed. Sara thought, "well he can't be any more fussy than he already is" - so time to transition off it. It appears to be going well per last night. He only used it to sleep anyway so I don't think he really needs it. Everyone else is healthy and looking forward to a long weekend. Shawn and Sara are both working 1/2 days today to cover Carter, tomorrow Shawn is off with the boys and then Sara is off with the boys on Friday and Shawn will work from Duluth (assuming we are still able to go).
More to come....
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Sleepless in Minnesota
Poor Carter. The little guy woke up with a fever on Friday and was fussy. By the afternoon he was crying non-stop and said his ear hurt. We took him to the clinic for an ear infection exam; no ear infection. They were then going to test for strep. When they looked in his throat they quickly said "hand, foot, mouth." We were surprised as he has had it before and we thought you could only get it once, but I guess not. This case is much more severe as he has bumps and blisters on his hands and butt and his poor little mouth is full of big sores. Yesterday all he ate was ice cream and apple juice. He hasn't slept for more than 2 hours at a stretch for 2 days without waking up. He is a mess...and so are mom and dad! He also has a fever of about 101. We was crying last night and said to Sara, "mommy, my mouth hurts." Luckily we are off Wednesday-Friday this week for Thanksgiving....he definitely won't be going to school Monday or Tuesday as well..time to juggle schedules.
Logan has a little cold but is doing great. It was the 50th day of school on Friday so all the kids dressed up in their 50's garb. The boys looked "tough" in their white tee-shirts and blue jeans and the girls were adorable in their pink poodle skirts. Shawn volunteered in the am and the kids had fun counting to 50 in different arrangements, having a bubble gum blowing contest, eating coke floats, going to a sock-hop and playing with hula hoops.
Yes - we also went "crazy" this weekend and put up our Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. Time to live dangerously! Figure if we are going to go through all the work we mind as well enjoy it. Have to admit, we are on top of it this year with tons of outdoor lights and the tree up....we have even purchased all of our presents for the 3 kids we adopted through church and a couple each for the boys. Next on the list - Christmas letter writing!
Logan has a little cold but is doing great. It was the 50th day of school on Friday so all the kids dressed up in their 50's garb. The boys looked "tough" in their white tee-shirts and blue jeans and the girls were adorable in their pink poodle skirts. Shawn volunteered in the am and the kids had fun counting to 50 in different arrangements, having a bubble gum blowing contest, eating coke floats, going to a sock-hop and playing with hula hoops.
Yes - we also went "crazy" this weekend and put up our Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. Time to live dangerously! Figure if we are going to go through all the work we mind as well enjoy it. Have to admit, we are on top of it this year with tons of outdoor lights and the tree up....we have even purchased all of our presents for the 3 kids we adopted through church and a couple each for the boys. Next on the list - Christmas letter writing!
Monday, November 16, 2009
A Weekend of “Firsts”
This weekend we experienced many “firsts” in our house:
1. Carter: He decided he wanted to wear underwear on Saturday. At 2 ½ we were a little apprehensive, but he only had one accident all weekend. Of course we put him on the “potty” every 2 hours or so. He was even dry during his nap on Saturday. Unfortunately the philosophy of our day care is that they will not put the child on the “potty” unless they respond “yes” when they are asked, “do you need to go to the bathroom?” In short, they need to learn how to manage the urge. We figure we will start working with him and see where it goes. I think Logan was a little less than 3 when he figured out the whole thing.
2. Logan: Went to his first concert, “The Trans Siberian Orchestra”, on Saturday with Shawn and Grandma Closer at the Target Center. This has become an annual Christmas tradition in our house and Logan really wanted to go. He sat for the entire 3 hours and loved it – he got a little scared when the pyrotechniques were right in front of us. If you have never been to their concert, here is a quick preview…the light show is unbelievable!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR3CKEC3lbs
3. Christmas Lights & 50 Degrees! Shawn broke down and decorated the outside of the house for Christmas yesterday. I think this is the first time we have done this without a jacket, hat, or mittens. As a result of the warm weather, I think people are really getting into the season this year as lights are being put up all over Lakeville. We decorated the house with 6 reindeer, several multi-colored bush nets, as well as some snowflakes above the main door and a string of red lights over the garage – not to mention covering the apple blossom tree with some lights. We don’t even want to think about taking everything down in January when it is -20 degrees! Maybe we will put up the Christmas tree this weekend :-)
Outside of that, just another week. Shawn is off to Philadelphia for 3 days this week. Our last parenting course is tonight, and we are in the midst of planning for Logan’s b’day party – he wants to invite 12-18 kids (the exact list changes daily). Next week we are both only working 3 days - it will be nice to have a break!
1. Carter: He decided he wanted to wear underwear on Saturday. At 2 ½ we were a little apprehensive, but he only had one accident all weekend. Of course we put him on the “potty” every 2 hours or so. He was even dry during his nap on Saturday. Unfortunately the philosophy of our day care is that they will not put the child on the “potty” unless they respond “yes” when they are asked, “do you need to go to the bathroom?” In short, they need to learn how to manage the urge. We figure we will start working with him and see where it goes. I think Logan was a little less than 3 when he figured out the whole thing.
2. Logan: Went to his first concert, “The Trans Siberian Orchestra”, on Saturday with Shawn and Grandma Closer at the Target Center. This has become an annual Christmas tradition in our house and Logan really wanted to go. He sat for the entire 3 hours and loved it – he got a little scared when the pyrotechniques were right in front of us. If you have never been to their concert, here is a quick preview…the light show is unbelievable!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR3CKEC3lbs
3. Christmas Lights & 50 Degrees! Shawn broke down and decorated the outside of the house for Christmas yesterday. I think this is the first time we have done this without a jacket, hat, or mittens. As a result of the warm weather, I think people are really getting into the season this year as lights are being put up all over Lakeville. We decorated the house with 6 reindeer, several multi-colored bush nets, as well as some snowflakes above the main door and a string of red lights over the garage – not to mention covering the apple blossom tree with some lights. We don’t even want to think about taking everything down in January when it is -20 degrees! Maybe we will put up the Christmas tree this weekend :-)
Outside of that, just another week. Shawn is off to Philadelphia for 3 days this week. Our last parenting course is tonight, and we are in the midst of planning for Logan’s b’day party – he wants to invite 12-18 kids (the exact list changes daily). Next week we are both only working 3 days - it will be nice to have a break!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Logan’s 1st Kindergarten Parent/Teacher Conference
The million dollar question – does Logan have “the brains” to get a full-ride scholarship to Harvard? Maybe Sara and I are too relaxed on education, but our perspective is that Kindergarten provides a foundation (both academically and socially)…not a place to get to stressed out about achievement scores. We definitely are very active volunteering in his school and working on homework, but I am not going to be a “helicopter parent” if my 5-year old missed one sound on the alphabet chart.
Summary:
-Logan is doing great!
-Math appears to be his strength. He can count to 109 and can handle most single number addition; starting to work on subtraction.
-He is starting word recognition and can read some simple lines.
-He can tell time on a regular clock (some minor errors).
-He knows all his letters. He missed (4) letter sounds: W,N, and some others. That placed him with an achievement score of 88. Unfortunately, this was one of the lower scores in his class. His teacher was very quick to point out that his class is not a good comparison. If you look at the scores in the other Kindergarten classes you would see scores in the 20-30s.
-Socially he is very polite and happy. His area of opportunity is to talk less and focus on his work….not a surprise to mom and dad! Logan definitely likes to talk! Since he talks so much he often rushes to finish projects and doesn’t focus on quality. We need to help him understand that not everything is a race or competition.
-His teacher commented that his class is the most polite class she has had in her teaching career. She says it is great as kids who may normally act out don’t since all the others are well-behaved.
In short, thinking back to when Logan was below the 3 percentile for speech clarity he has come a tremendous way! It will be fun to watch as the school year progresses. We are just excited that he is making new friends and loves to go – every morning he watches the clock and runs to the bus.
Summary:
-Logan is doing great!
-Math appears to be his strength. He can count to 109 and can handle most single number addition; starting to work on subtraction.
-He is starting word recognition and can read some simple lines.
-He can tell time on a regular clock (some minor errors).
-He knows all his letters. He missed (4) letter sounds: W,N, and some others. That placed him with an achievement score of 88. Unfortunately, this was one of the lower scores in his class. His teacher was very quick to point out that his class is not a good comparison. If you look at the scores in the other Kindergarten classes you would see scores in the 20-30s.
-Socially he is very polite and happy. His area of opportunity is to talk less and focus on his work….not a surprise to mom and dad! Logan definitely likes to talk! Since he talks so much he often rushes to finish projects and doesn’t focus on quality. We need to help him understand that not everything is a race or competition.
-His teacher commented that his class is the most polite class she has had in her teaching career. She says it is great as kids who may normally act out don’t since all the others are well-behaved.
In short, thinking back to when Logan was below the 3 percentile for speech clarity he has come a tremendous way! It will be fun to watch as the school year progresses. We are just excited that he is making new friends and loves to go – every morning he watches the clock and runs to the bus.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Only in Minnesota
One month ago (October 11) we came home from Switzerland and Austria and built a 4 ft snowman in our front yard. This weekend Shawn and Logan spent Saturday morning playing 9 holes of golf and wearing shorts. Carter and mom enjoyed the morning exploring the zoo trails. Crazy weather - but no complaining.
We enjoyed the beautiful weekend playing golf, going for bike rides to the park (it is fun having a child old enough that he can now ride his bike as far as mom and dad can run), mowing the yard and raking the leaves, and going swimming at the health club.
It did appear a little odd to go buy new ski jackets and pants Sunday afternoon. Typically Buck Hill opens a couple runs Thanksgiving weekend and Logan is counting the days to get his season pass out and hit the hill.
We enjoyed the beautiful weekend playing golf, going for bike rides to the park (it is fun having a child old enough that he can now ride his bike as far as mom and dad can run), mowing the yard and raking the leaves, and going swimming at the health club.
It did appear a little odd to go buy new ski jackets and pants Sunday afternoon. Typically Buck Hill opens a couple runs Thanksgiving weekend and Logan is counting the days to get his season pass out and hit the hill.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Rodent central
In the words of Carter, "BIG MOUSE!"
Fall must be here because our annual little rodent friends have once again decided to make their winter residence in our walls. So far this week we have caught (4) mice and based on the smell in our laundry room there appears to be at least one more decomposing in our walls (this is an annual smell we have learned to recognize that thankfully only lasts about 10 days).
Yes - we have a cat...but at 15 years of age poor Norman doesn't have the dexterity to catch them.
All I can say to our little friends is that if you keep inviting your little hairy friends over, be prepared for the "TRAP."
Fall must be here because our annual little rodent friends have once again decided to make their winter residence in our walls. So far this week we have caught (4) mice and based on the smell in our laundry room there appears to be at least one more decomposing in our walls (this is an annual smell we have learned to recognize that thankfully only lasts about 10 days).
Yes - we have a cat...but at 15 years of age poor Norman doesn't have the dexterity to catch them.
All I can say to our little friends is that if you keep inviting your little hairy friends over, be prepared for the "TRAP."
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Frankenstein visits our house
Below are some pics of Logan and Shawn's Frankenstein Rice Krispy treats.
Halloween was another week long event in Lakeville. Friday started off with parties at both of the boys schools. Sara volunteered in Logan's class and he had a great time making crafts, eating spooky snacks and going on a Halloween parade to the "big kids wing" of the school. Post from Logan - making my spider and playing Bingo was FUN! Carter had his annual daycare party - for some reason Darlys and Marlys thought Logan needed a bag as well as he is still officially part of the school.
Post from Logan: this week in school I counted to 59. I am also starting to learn to read. I know how to spell: red, the, see, a, I, apples, and some more words. I can also do math: 2+3=5! I don't know how to add a hundred plus hundred. Dad also taught me how to read prices in the store. For example: $9.99 equals 9 dollars and 99 cents....dad loves me walking through Target reading all the prices for him.
Halloween was another week long event in Lakeville. Friday started off with parties at both of the boys schools. Sara volunteered in Logan's class and he had a great time making crafts, eating spooky snacks and going on a Halloween parade to the "big kids wing" of the school. Post from Logan - making my spider and playing Bingo was FUN! Carter had his annual daycare party - for some reason Darlys and Marlys thought Logan needed a bag as well as he is still officially part of the school.
Friday night we went to a local churches Halloween party. They had hundreds of kids and tons of prizes. The boys grabbed another bag full of candy, stuffed animals and gift cards. They loved the music and games - Logan was a little scared of the Satan skit.
Saturday was the annual trick or treat extravaganza up our street. Logan and Ewen joined 2 of the older girls and got even more candy - thankfully Carter pooped out about half way up the hill.
In short, I think we got 5 bags of candy for each of the boys. Luckily Hosanna is doing a candy offering in HALO this week to collect candy for the local food shelf....I think a lot of our candy will magically disappear this week :-)
Post from Logan: this week in school I counted to 59. I am also starting to learn to read. I know how to spell: red, the, see, a, I, apples, and some more words. I can also do math: 2+3=5! I don't know how to add a hundred plus hundred. Dad also taught me how to read prices in the store. For example: $9.99 equals 9 dollars and 99 cents....dad loves me walking through Target reading all the prices for him.
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