tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56635438377360920672024-03-13T01:31:56.081-07:00Adventures in Parenting (and Life)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-62465878681840191412015-05-31T17:15:00.000-07:002015-05-31T17:15:15.071-07:00No Longer Adventures in Parenting, but also Adventures in Home-Owning!<br />
Outside our polling station for the 2014 elections stood a Friend and long-time community member. Our sons mostly knew him as a donut-maker for the local fire company from the summer fair. In addition to a donut, he asked the wife and I if we were looking to buy a house. I'm always looking, I told him. W knew I was always thinking about buying a house and she indulged me a bit (she's never looking!). I asked about the backyard, he said it was a 1.6 acre parcel! W and I went inside to vote (WW, now 5, also "voted"). As we walked out of the polling station, Friend asked if we wanted to come see it and we told him we would think about it as we began walking away.<br />
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Barely 100 yards from the polling station, W turned to me said (words I will never forget), "I'd buy that house in a heartbeat!" And thus began our crazy adventure. We looked through our finances and budget and decided it was worth looking into a bit more. I contacted a friend of mine who I knew was a realtor. She was fabulous and awesome. She got us in touch with a broker she commonly uses to see how much we get pre-approved for. After doing some basic research online, W and I had a figure in mind and we were able to get pre-approved for a bit more. Hooray!<br />
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Next step was looking at the house. The house is a stone house built in 1939 by a man named Carroll Brown who was a long-time English teacher and faculty member of Westtown. The wife of the family currently living in the house was his niece. Being an English teacher, it only made sense that this is the living room:<br />
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W and I were in love!<br />
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To make a long story short - we bought the house!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-68666916670375157572013-06-10T18:05:00.002-07:002013-06-10T18:05:39.649-07:00Of Poop and PoniesWe've all had those parenting days where it seems that one thing after another just doesn't go our way. Well, tonight my wife had one of those nights. After a difficult end of school year, the first Monday after the students moved out was not an auspicious beginning to her summer.<br />
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H needed a bath tonight and since I was cooking dinner (Lemon Chicken Breasts with Roasted Asparagus!) she was giving him one. While pulling dinner out of the oven, I hear a frantic "Brit! Brit!" coming from the bathroom. As I ran into the bathroom, I tried to fool myself into thinking I had no idea what awaited me. Oh but I did. I have heard that frantic tone before during bathroom and it could only mean one thing: poop. Yep. That's right. My poor wife hardly knew what to do. <br />
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Now WW pooped in the tub many times by the time he was H's age, but alas, I think this may have been one of the first times for H. But H didn't just poop in the tub, he then attempted to play with it. When W scooped him up out of the tub he then promptly contaminated her Drink with it. How dare he!? Well, H was removed from the situation and I proceeded to decontaminate the bathroom. Sadly, the Drink did not make it. <br />
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After dealing with that incident, W offered to get WW into his jammies. He was thrilled by her offer of leap-frogging into the bathroom and gleefully proceeded to get down on the floor so she could leap frog over him. But, alas, tonight was just not my wife's night. After about 2 leap frogs over WW, her knee unfortunately (and ever so slightly) brushed against the back of WW's head. Well, for any tired and worn-out 3 year old that is quite an event. WW immediately jumped into my lap and tearily asked if I could put on his jammies. How could I refuse?<br />
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As he started to calm down and, but still in between sobs, he asked if I could give him a pony-ride. Of course! So off we rode into the bathroom. . .<br />
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While W may not have had the best of nights with our boys, we've all been there; where no matter what we do just doesn't work and we have to rely on our spouse. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-81235923911192447242013-06-04T03:11:00.000-07:002013-06-04T03:11:17.570-07:00We Made It!Well, despite a very stressful day we all managed to get through H's surgery! It was a longer procedure than expected, but everything went very well. We spent one night in the PICU and then two nights on the regular neurosurgery ward. I'm so grateful and thankful for the wonderful nurses and doctors at A. I. duPont; they are truly amazing. <br />
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I'm also amazed by the incredible support we have received from our family and friends. It really does take a village and we are lucky to be surrounded by such fantastic people.<br />
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H and I came home on Sunday and I feel like I've been trying to catch up on my sleep ever since then. Of course it doesn't help when WW gets up at 5:15 am!<br />
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My running got put on a brief hiatus, but I'm hoping to start up again either today or tomorrow. I'm also hoping that my training has not suffered too much. <br />
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My Dad has been in town since Friday. He and WW have been having such a wonderful time! I love that they are getting this time to bond and hang out. It's funny because I can't tell who is wearing out whom more! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-4878602859504103932013-05-27T17:03:00.000-07:002013-05-27T17:03:21.327-07:00A Very Long Time. . . So, the last time I posted, I don't think H was even born! Bad blogger! I am going to try to make a renewed effort to post weekly, but we'll see. . .<br />
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H was born last July just a few short days before his big brother's birthday (since I'm on my iPad I'll post pictures later). The Wife did a fantastic job birthing him! She was a pro. He is a peanut compared to his older brother! However, he is the happiest kid I've ever seen! He is constantly smiling, giggling and cooing. Although those coos are beginning to sound more and more like words. He has opinions about what he eats (or at least what he eats first). <br />
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WW is a fantastic big brother! He loves his little brother to bits. While he continues to tower over everyone his age, he also has the biggest heart. He is doing great at Oak Lane and continues to be very interested in music.<br />
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In the last year, I have turned into a runner. While I swore I never would run, I needed to do something to get back into shape, so I started running. I have run 3 5K's since November and am currently training for my first half-marathon (eeekkkk)!! I've lost 20 lbs of fat and gained 6 lbs of lean muscle! Much of that is due to my amazing trainer at <a href="http://www.nextsteppersonaltraining.com/" target="_blank">Next Step Personal Training</a>. <br />
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At the office, I am now Director of Compliance which is a position I really enjoy.<br />
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The Wife is doing fantastic!<br />
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While everything sounds like it is going on swimmingly, the biggest news is that on Thursday, May 30th, H will be headed in for surgery on his skull. He was born with a birth defect in which two of his skull plates fused prematurely. This condition is known as craniosynostosis. Luckily, our pediatrician caught it at H's one-month check-up and immediately referred us to a neurosurgeon.<br />
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The neurosurgeon has been terrific. He, along with his colleague at surgical specialties, presented us with two options for initially handling H's condition. The first option was a minimally invasive arthroscopic procedure whereby the surgeons would recreate the space in between the fused plates. This procedure would require that H wear a molding helmet for 15 - 18 months. The second option, called a frontal orbital advancement, is much more invasive and really akin to a reconstructive surgery the fused part of the skull.<br />
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We chose the first option. <br />
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Unfortunately, that was not as successful as the surgeons had hoped, so now we go back for the second option. The more invasive surgery. The good news is that H hasn't had to wear his helmet and won't have to wear another one! The bad news is this surgery is much more invasive and quite a bit longer. So that's what we're dealing with.<br />
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I hope to post more later in the week. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-23317434338367694602012-03-31T04:59:00.002-07:002012-03-31T04:59:52.303-07:00Just Trying to HelpOn Friday mornings, Will and I take our time getting ready. I don't work and so we have a lazy morning and I try to get him to Oak Lane by 9:00 so he can participate in Morning Meeting. Yesterday was a great example. We got up, watched a bit of Thomas the Tank Engine and moved into the kitchen for breakfast. One of Will's favorite breakfast items is an Eggo waffle with "Mama's stuff" (Nutella) on it. When I asked him what he wanted to drink, he very clearly said "Airplane juice!" (Pineapple juice which he had for the first time on an airplane). I put a straw in the airplane juice and he happily ate is breakfast while I prepared his lunch.<div>
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It had only been a few minutes and he accidentally knocked over the juice and it spilled on the floor. I quickly grabbed the paper towels and put them down on the spill. While the paper towels were soaking up the airplane juice, I took the opportunity to put Will's lunch out by the front door. When I got back to the kitchen, there was Will looking very proud, with Nutella smudged all over his top lip, and about fifteen sheets of paper towels stretched across the kitchen floor, from the counter to the spill. Before I could even really register what happened, he looked up, and, very sincerely, stated, "I clean up mine mess, Mommy. I do it." All I could do was smile, give him a big hug and attempt to salvage some of the paper towels. Yup, he did it!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-26223803097922829102012-03-31T04:44:00.000-07:002012-03-31T04:44:45.508-07:00Goodbye New Year's Resolution!Well, I know it has been an extraordinarily long time since I posted. I (obviously) did not keep my New Year's Resolution of posting once a week. Oh well! It has a busy 2012 so far!<br />
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After reading my last post, Whitney remarked that I did not share perhaps the biggest news concerning our family: Whitney is pregnant! She is due June 24th and we found out that we are having another boy! We are both extremely excited and Will talks about his little brother all the time. He enjoys kissing Mama's tummy before bed. It's really cute - I will some pictures of Whitney up here soon!<br />
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Will is continuing to grow and provide lots of entertainment. Although, with the growth comes even more energy! <br />
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My Mom and stepdad, Russ, recently visited us and Will had a fantastic time! He continues to ask where "Gaga and Grandad" are!<br />
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More posts to follow!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-27623121919947057492012-01-11T18:10:00.000-08:002012-01-11T18:10:21.496-08:00A Belated Christmas Post<br />
This year was a quiet Christmas for the Suttells. It was just Will, Whitney and myself. Well, and the new baby!! Whitney is 16 1/2 weeks pregnant! The Little Sprout is due in June! I will post updates periodically.<br />
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Okay, so back to Christmas. It was really nice to be just the three of us, although we missed being surrounded by our extended families. We went to Christmas Eve Meeting for Worship. We were very excited to read a passage during Meeting. Will was champ through most of the service, and he looked adorable in the outfit Nana made for him!<br />
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And (finally) a family photo:<br />
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As mentioned in my last post, Will picked out our tree. Here is a picture of the decorated tree:<br />
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And after Santa came. . .<br />
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Will was excited about Christmas this year, but took his time getting through all the presents.<br />
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He particularly enjoyed the electric Thomas the Tank Engine train set from Grandpa Bill, Sam and Summer. Here is a picture of me making sure it would work first thing in the morning:<br />
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And here is Will - clearly in love!<br />
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Later in the morning, he was delightfully serving up some wonderful apple pie, compliments of Nana:<br />
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He also enjoyed cuddling with his baby snow leopard - although the cat's were a little wary!<br />
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And let's not forget about the Santa picture! Will liked the idea of Santa, but was a little wary of sitting on his lap. So Mommy was invited to join!<br />
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Of course after Christmas, there was New Year's and an illness (bronchitis) for Will. All are well now though! Will is happily back into his routine with Oak Lane, Whitney and I have started back at school and basketball season is in full swing! Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-27272218191164836642012-01-01T06:15:00.000-08:002012-01-05T04:16:31.470-08:002012 is Here!Happy New Year! I cannot believe that I have posted something in six months! Ack! My New Year's resolution? Post at least once a week on this blog - we'll see how well I do with that.<br />
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There have been happenings in the last six months, so I'll briefly state them here.<br />
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Will is now officially two and he is <u>very</u> two! Here are two pictures of him enjoying his Thomas the Tank Engine birthday cake:<br />
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We then trekked half-way across the globe - literally to visit my Dad, Sam and Summer. While the views were breath-taking:<br />
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Will only wanted to play in Grandpa's Jeep:<br />
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It was a wonderful trip and Will still discusses how "Grandpa make a noise blowing up mine pool." When we arrived home, my Mom and step-dad, Russ, came for a quick visit. "Gaga" and "Grandad," as Will calls them were very fun to play with. Gaga even made some of her famous homemade bubbles!<br />
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And then there was the Hurricane, and then school started. It has been a busy busy school year! Will has been doing great in his "Busy Bees" classroom at Oak Lane. He brings home some artwork or craft almost daily. Some days, he doesn't even want to come home!<br />
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Whitney has been doing a great job teaching three different classes and as the costumer for the theatre department. I am working at the law firm in the morning, teaching a class and coaching. In the fall, coached JV Field Hockey, now it's JV basketball and in the spring it will be Softball. Craziness! But I love it!<br />
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Here are pictures from our Christmas adventures:<br />
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Will picked out our tree this year.<br />
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And enjoyed the Advent calendar that Auntie Ashley made last year! <br />
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This is WillWill at his holiday show at school. He and best buddy, Max, freaked out and insisted their Mommies join them down front! (They are the only boys in the class.) <br />
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Will helping Mama decorate the Christmas tree.<br />
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And enjoying the fabulous toys at Grandma Doris' house during her Christmas party. <br />
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Actual Christmas day pictures will follow in the next post!<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-20955946672734914942011-07-02T10:11:00.000-07:002011-07-02T10:11:14.211-07:00A Quick Diaper StoryYes, I know, I still need to post about our remaining days at the beach. We have been home a whole week and no new beach stories. I will post a synopsis with the highlights soon. Maybe even with pictures! In the meantime, here is a quick post to hopefully tide you over. . .<br />
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This morning Will was wandering around the house in just a diaper and smurf-blue crocs. It was quite a site! The diaper was also sagging quite a bit. So, I told Will to bring Mommy a new diaper and I would change him. He toddled off and a minute or so later brought me back a fresh diaper. Well, really he kind of tossed it into my lap and then was off again. I was sure that he was just avoiding the inevitable.<br />
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Several minutes passed and I waited patiently in our family room for him to return. And return he did. With his changing pad that is normally on top his bureau! He very nicely laid it down in front of me, then proceeded to lie himself down on it! All ready for his diaper change!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwi9pnzqaB4x9HskoxN5AA-__ekfAMP-nnoL1r6Ktv759KV9xh0shYk4AUFcvwpo7SMmq9JGenblniU10SFqvXya9a3SpCoULPTsOl9S7qBpdFS4zd1Hdvdlh8weN2aOusfei6HWzJ7Sxt/s1600/DSC03172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwi9pnzqaB4x9HskoxN5AA-__ekfAMP-nnoL1r6Ktv759KV9xh0shYk4AUFcvwpo7SMmq9JGenblniU10SFqvXya9a3SpCoULPTsOl9S7qBpdFS4zd1Hdvdlh8weN2aOusfei6HWzJ7Sxt/s320/DSC03172.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-23509429854759442772011-06-20T08:52:00.000-07:002011-06-20T08:52:26.947-07:00Beach - Day 1Our first full day at the beach also happened to be Father's Day. It was very nice that Brad was able to be here at the beach with his two kids. What I enjoyed about it, was Brad took me for a nice spin in his Bahama Yellow 1968 Porsche 911 that he fully restored himself. It was awesome! Everytime I spend some time with Brad, I always wish that I knew more about cars. Anyway, Brad and I went out for a nice spin, got a couple beers and some shrimp. It was a good day for us to spend Father's Day! (I've decided that while Mother's Day is nice, I tend to like the idea around Father's Day, it's just a little more my style!)<br />
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Of course, before my afternoon outing, we spent the morning on the beach. Will was fearless (but we knew that!). He headed straight for the water and plunged right in! Walking all the way up to his chest! Unfortunately, his feelings toward the water cooled a little after a wave knocked him off his balance. But he happily played in the sand! It was quite a nice morning!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-81539828178818114872011-06-20T08:41:00.000-07:002011-06-20T08:41:32.604-07:00To Lewes, DE by way of Woodbury, CT. . .Every year Whitney's family plans a week-long trip to the beach. This year the rental on the beach house was from a Saturday to Saturday. About a month before the vacation, we found out that my Nana was coming out to Connecticutt the Friday before we were going to the beach. Now this is the same "I don't fly anymore" Nana, so we decided that we needed to see her!<br />
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So Friday afternoon (as in three days ago), we drove up to Connecticutt. Now, unfortunately, it was a terrible driving experience. Will was a champ most of the time. He sat in the back and watched Sesame Street and Elmo's World on the iPad. The problem was the Garden State Parkway and thunderstorms. Not fun. It was bumper-to-bumper traffic and it took about 6 hours. Ugh. But we eventually made it, safe and sound to Aunt Jane and Uncle Gabe's lovely house in Kent. Nana-Banana was there to greet us! It was so nice to see her and spend time with her!<br />
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Saturday, we were having a surpirse luncheon celebration for my Great Uncle Greg's 85th birthday. In addition to those of us who stayed at Aunt Jane's, my Great Uncle Wade and his wife, my Great Aunt Barb, cousins Shawnee and Dylan all showed up. It was a great time. (I would post pictures, but, according to Apple tech support, I bought a faulty digital camera connector for my iPad.) Unfortunately, Will was not such a champ at lunch. He was very fussy and ended up going for a car ride with Whitney about half-way through lunch. He returned just in time for cake! What impeccable timing he has!<br />
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After cake and several rounds of family pictures, Whitney, Will and I loaded up into the car and began our drive down to Delaware. . .<br />
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During this leg of our journey, I couldn't have asked for a more cooperative kidd-o. He slept for the first 1 1/2 hours, then played nicely by himself for the next 1 1/2 hours and then hung out and watched Elmo and Sesame Street. Whitney and I were both very impressed. <br />
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By the time we finally made it to Delaware (5 hours or so), it was way past time the kidd-o's bedtime. After a brief visit with cousins Oliver and Vivian and Maisie and Uncle Brad and (Will's) Nana, Will went down. Thus began our week at the beach!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-73507571308365955472011-06-20T04:24:00.000-07:002011-06-20T04:24:25.984-07:00Summer Begins!Oh my! I cannot believe it has been over a month since the last post. It has been a busy month in the Suttell household. The school year here at Westtown wound down and I went back to the law office part-time.<br />
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Will is continuing to grow. But even more exciting is how much he is talking. Every day he comes out with a new word. He is even stringing some words together. It is so much to hear him finally be able to say what he wants - even if we don't always understand him, or give him what he wants.<br />
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Last Sunday Will and I had a great day together. We went out to the local diary farm to pick up some milk and visit the cows. Will can both say and sign the word "cow." Unfortunately, the cows were on the other side of the pasture. That was okay though because we found some goats!<br />
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Well, it was okay until the Mama goat came over and bit Will's finger! He was fine, a little startled. <br />
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And then for the next week, Will would randomly say (and sign) "cows" and then say "goat!" Then he would hold out his finger and, in his little Will way, tell us that the goat bit his finger. Apparently this made quite an impression!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-19244541743279874752011-05-06T10:13:00.000-07:002011-05-06T10:15:28.353-07:00The Legend Continues to Grow. . . (Part 2)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Will needs tubes. That is the first part of today's story. He had many ear infections over the past 12 months, including one that has been lingering since February. Not so much fun. On Monday, our pediatrician referred us to an ENT doctor down at A. I. DuPont. We saw him yesterday. He basically confirmed what we already knew was coming: Will needs tubes. We scheduled surgery for next Thursday, May 12th (Happy 5th Anniversary Mamas!). </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">While that was important news to get out of the way, let's turn to the real topic: The size of the punk. As with every visit to DuPont, Will was weighed and measured. He weighs in at just over 34 lbs. This wasn't so surprising since he has been right around this weight for sometime. What was more surprising is that this kid can grow vertically at an amazing pace. Let's reflect. . . </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">On March 9th he was </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">34 1/8 inches.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #222222; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Yesterday, May 5th he was 3 ft even. Seriously! People keep saying that he will slow down, but it really hasn't happened yet. So yes, the legend of Bigfoot Will continues to grow. . </span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-76038497655059601682011-05-04T17:16:00.000-07:002011-05-04T17:16:53.276-07:00A Belated Easter PostHow did this happen? It's already May! Time has been going by much too quickly lately and everyone in our house seems to be extremely busy. <br />
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I interviewed for a sabbatical replacement position here at Westtown, but did not get the position. I remain hopeful that there will be an extra class that I can teach though. We'll see. . . My mantra these days has been "way opens!" I've been spending my afternoons as the assistant coach of the Varsity Softball team. We've had a middling season, but the girls are great. They are all very positive this year and definitely a more cohesive unit than we had last year.<br />
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Whitney has been busy with costuming for the Senior Play. It's the final play of the year and will be finished this weekend. I'm very excited to see it. <br />
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Now, for the one you've all been waiting for - Will!<br />
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He's doing great! Everyday his vocabulary is getting bigger and bigger. Some new favorite words/phrases include: "Bus"; "uh-oh", "uh-huh", and his all-time favorite word "more!"<br />
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He remains a giant in his class over at Oak Lane, but he is a gentle giant. He has many great buddies at school and hardly looks back when either Whitney or I drop him off! <br />
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The family enjoyed a "pre-season" Easter Egg hunt with our friends who have two kids, Kaleb (4) and Vivian who is just 2 weeks older than Will. Here are some pictures:<br />
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Easter was very nice and unexpectedly warm. Will was very enamored with the M&M's the Easter Bunny left, as well as the Star Wars cookies Mommy got. After that, we went on the annual Westtown Easter Egg hunt. It had rained quite a bit the night before, so he was well-equipped with his Thomas the Tank Engine rainboots. <br />
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Here is a picture of Will and his Nana off on the search!<br />
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Found one!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVxHixTczeSf2sk_tPT2P5FF3IgQy3Fh4k-lAP9ien0N9aWi9H2Qti9lVsKl4TOz1HcApad8o1rIEa5ACYueAtTq9h3T48-gH_EKBJj0T6c8gWrf7-iJebSj347HFYyn1AbVU-OAVU4W6/s1600/DSC02963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzVxHixTczeSf2sk_tPT2P5FF3IgQy3Fh4k-lAP9ien0N9aWi9H2Qti9lVsKl4TOz1HcApad8o1rIEa5ACYueAtTq9h3T48-gH_EKBJj0T6c8gWrf7-iJebSj347HFYyn1AbVU-OAVU4W6/s320/DSC02963.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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But perhaps the best part of the morning was getting to play with the mini-John Deere tractor! (Note: For any grandparents that may be reading, the below would make a <u>great</u> birthday present for Will. And besides, how cute is he on this!)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9rLgA-Btn8JtNIDcIwyoi7RK82MXaneRCZ3_deXsSUEHt_DqaTREXht0kq_dB4kfG60tWqqAKTK1WUDTv_Q3o4FioW_sVPqH21muZUaKFsMzCpks0KjkeKd0czupHwSXWYwkucDT534es/s1600/DSC02967.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9rLgA-Btn8JtNIDcIwyoi7RK82MXaneRCZ3_deXsSUEHt_DqaTREXht0kq_dB4kfG60tWqqAKTK1WUDTv_Q3o4FioW_sVPqH21muZUaKFsMzCpks0KjkeKd0czupHwSXWYwkucDT534es/s320/DSC02967.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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After the Egg Hunt, we went to Meeting for Worship. This is another one of Will's favorite activities and every morning he says, "Meeting?" (Only it really comes out more like, "Meeming?") Will looked positively adorable in the gorgeous outfit this his wonderful Nana made him. The Mommies were thrilled! After Meeting we stumbled upon even more Easter Eggs! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-hKUL2o1UnLP1FKgo6V5A9KVH8sXM_hGVi9ycrrBSXs-KUI_X1GKbenYSc-KWJcjhTH1T1fx0DK4Df8cEuo9zdNTxtK736-FXAk39YJLZ_NqZ3C9Jxj9-EZCZdTSNpiCsV3yOWyVXBm1/s1600/DSC02973.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-hKUL2o1UnLP1FKgo6V5A9KVH8sXM_hGVi9ycrrBSXs-KUI_X1GKbenYSc-KWJcjhTH1T1fx0DK4Df8cEuo9zdNTxtK736-FXAk39YJLZ_NqZ3C9Jxj9-EZCZdTSNpiCsV3yOWyVXBm1/s320/DSC02973.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Next on the family agenda is Mother's Day!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-59027248797881231212011-04-14T17:39:00.000-07:002011-04-14T17:39:12.980-07:00The Return from the Great Wolf Lodge<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">This past weekend Whitney, Will, our dear friend Anastasia and I headed up to the Great Wolf Lodge for an overnight. The overnight was sponsored by Philadelphia Family Pride so we were able to partake in discounted room rates and a couple discounted meals. Now, I was not familiar with the Great Wolf Lodge until recently. It is a resort with an indoor water park geared directly to and for kids. The Lodge is in the Pocono "Mountains" about two hours away.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">We left midday Saturday so Will could nap in the car. Once we arrived, we unloaded our bags and hit the water park! At first it was a little much for Will, who wasn't quite sure what to make of the place. But then he got into the spirit of things. The Lodge has an entire section dedicated to toddlers which is wonderful. There is a zero-entry pool, which means no steps or anything for Will to worry about navigating. He was a little wary of the slides at first, but he realized they were just like the ones at the playground- only with water - he had a blast! </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The toddler section had three different types of slides: First was an orange one that had a bump in the middle and certainly got the kids wet and dumped them into the pool, so one of us had to be ready to catch the little dude. The second slide was blue and was just a straight forward slide with water. It flattened out at the bottom so that Will rarely made it to the pool. The third slide, was a little more traditional in terms of water park water slides, it was curvy and spilled into a pool. By the end of the first day, Will had tried all three! Although, after multiple runs down the third type of slide, he got turned around and came out face first. He was pretty scared and decided that was enough of that particular slide. One word to describe Will though is resilient! He bounced back and was back on the blue and orange slides pretty quickly!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">There also was a wave pool! Will thought that was awesome! The waves weren't too powerful if you stayed near the "shore" and Will loved just sitting down and letting water come up on him.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">That evening we had a group dinner with PFP and Will was a champ. After dinner and getting back to our room, the little man was exhausted! We changed into jammies and went straight to bed - well after his normal 7:00 pm bed time. He had a great night's sleep and didn't wake up until almost 8 the next morning!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Once everybody was up and ready to go the next morning, we again ate with PFP at the group breakfast and all compared notes as to which water slides were our kids' favorites. Then we headed back to the park!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">By now, Will was an old pro. He toddled right up to his favorite slides and kept on going! After a brief chat with one of the lifeguards, we decided to try the big family slide. We had to climb to the highest perch of the indoor water park. Once up at the top, Anastasia, Whitney, Will (in a life jacket) and myself climbed into a giant circular raft and down we went!! There were lots of turns and water splashed all around. Will loved it!! He was giggling and squealing and had an enormous smile on his face. Until the end.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">When he saw the big pool of water waiting to catch up and white water that was bubbling at the end of the look of shear and utter terror flashed across his baby blue eyes. But once the raft stopped and he blinked a couple times (probably realized he was alive), he quickly signed and said "More?" I guess it was a success!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures because we were too worried about breaking our nice new (and third) digital camera.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In other news, Will is doing great! He is loving the Spring weather and loves wandering around the lawns outside the main building and saying "Hi" to everybody! He also know hows to give fist bumps. Very exciting! Especially since half the basketball team will now come up to him and give him fist bump. The latest developmental milestone is writing on the wall - thank goodness it came off!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">And a final quick cuteness story: Today is Whitney's birthday. William colored her a birthday card and then wandered around the house looking for his Mama to give her his present. It was adorable!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-18025466656851047482011-03-31T10:04:00.000-07:002011-03-31T10:04:17.776-07:00The Legend Continues to Grow. . .It was not even a week ago that I posted the picture of Will's enormous foot and already there is more to add regarding his feet. With Easter coming, Whitney and I knew that Will needed a pair of brown shoes since he only had a pair of sneakers. Since I was at King of Prussia on Saturday, I went to buy him a pair. I found him the most adorable pair of light brown topsiders! It was so excited. I bought a size 7 1/2 because that was the current size of his sneakers.<br />
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The next morning, Whitney and I attempted to put the shoes on Will's feet. After a mini-wrestling match, we were successful. But shoes aren't supposed to be <b>that</b> difficult to put on. Despite how ridiculously cute they were, it looked like we were going to have to return them.<br />
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Tuesday morning Will and I trekked up to KOP for our adventure in returning and/or exchanging the topsiders. We first went to Nordstrom's to see what its selection of brown shoes looked like. Of course all Will cared about were the balloons. The saleswoman was very friendly and offered to measure his foot. I thought - "Heck, why not!?" Rookie parent naivete: I didn't think his foot grown much in the last 2 months. Oh how wrong I was!! The punk's foot is now a size 8! That is bigger than a 3 year old we know! And other 3 year olds at his daycare currently wear a 9! <br />
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Now his foot may have measured a size 8, but since it is going to keep growing (apparently forever) we needed to buy an 8 1/2. Hmmm. . . the sneakers he was currently wearing were a 7 1/2 . Yup, that meant unexpected purchase of some new sneaks. <br />
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Unfortunately, Nordy's did not have any brown shoes in the bigfoot's size, so we went back to Stride Rite to exchange the topsiders. Luckily, they did come in an 8 1/2 and were in stock. We slipped those shoes right on without a fuss! Yay!! Success!<br />
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An hour later, we were back in the car with TWO new pairs of shoes and a happy little punk with a blue balloon.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-56343796057353483542011-03-25T08:57:00.000-07:002011-03-25T08:57:59.846-07:00Sasquatch Spotted in Southeastern PA!As you all know, Will is quite the big kid. He has been since the day he was born and it has not stopped. At least he is proportional, still in the 90th (or so) percentile for weight and height. Perhaps even more surprising is the fact that he can fit into 3T clothing and the 4T Packers sweatshirt from Grandad and Gaia doesn't look *that* big on him. Scary stuff! <br />
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When Will was born, like any baby, he had his footprint taken. Well, his feet were already so big that his footprint barely fit on the piece of paper. I mean his toes were practically off the edge of the top and his heel was practically off the edge at the bottom. And in 20 1/2 months, not much has changed. While he was at Oak Lane this week the teachers took the footprints of the kids in his class (infant - young toddler). Will is not the oldest kid in the class, but he is by far the biggest (surprising, I know). Here is a picture of of the footprints, see if you can spot your favorite toddler's?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTny69vFxj1QLYmMi7zl_y1quzT24d8ciYNikPWhFPBNjIXBosh_RtbWQZ_0UW-i__lQ_I0yMiA1V1VQ86TwZOK_bnpFLGFG-AxVb9nSEUEZHO-z3e1wJKpNKZuCZEpi52F8j64FBexa4O/s1600/Will%2527sFoot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTny69vFxj1QLYmMi7zl_y1quzT24d8ciYNikPWhFPBNjIXBosh_RtbWQZ_0UW-i__lQ_I0yMiA1V1VQ86TwZOK_bnpFLGFG-AxVb9nSEUEZHO-z3e1wJKpNKZuCZEpi52F8j64FBexa4O/s320/Will%2527sFoot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-1399340332842357452011-03-20T17:42:00.000-07:002011-03-20T17:42:42.324-07:00What an ending!As Spring Break winds down this evening, I thought I would reflect back on what a wonderful day Whitney and I had today. A favorite local restaurant of ours, The Whip, has been serving brunch for several months and I have been dying to go. In fact, for those past several months I have been dropping hints to Whitney about how much I would like to go there. Well, today she took me! It was such a nice grand finale to what has been a nice break.<br />
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Auntie Deb graciously took Will after Meeting for Worship this morning and Whitney and I headed out. Driving through Chester County horse country on such a beautiful day, I think both of us were in a bit of shock at all the time we were about to spend together without our son.<br />
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Now, parking at The Whip is tight, to put it mildly; but my parking karma helped us out and just as we pulled up a parking spot became available right in front! Anticipating a long wait, we took the Sunday New York Times with us. However, because we were such a small party we barely finished the sections we started before we were seated. Now for those of you who have not experienced The Whip, one of the best things is its wonderful selection of beer. I was excited because there was a beer that they listed on their facebook page which I had the opportunity to try. It was a coffee infused stout and was delicious! For an appetizer we had the Welsh Rarebit, a favorite of Whitney's. For the main course, I ordered the Smoked Salmon Bubble & Squeak (a potato pancake, filled with sauteed leeks and cabbage, topped with Scottish smoked salmon and a sunny side up egg) and Whitney ordered the Eggs Benedict. <br />
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Our food arrived, at least mine arrived as well as another dish that looked nothing like Eggs Benedict. After gently questioning the server, it turned out that instead of putting in Eggs Benedict she entered in the regular Bubble & Squeak. So she left us the Bubble & Squeak and put in Whit's Eggs Benedict. When the Eggs Benedict came, we enjoyed our wonderful breakfast. The Eggs Benedict were quite possibly the best Eggs Benedict either Whitney or I have ever had. The wonderful meal and date ended with the requisite and divine Sticky Toffee Pudding. It was a wonderful way to end break.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-40956692965415141562011-03-15T18:00:00.000-07:002011-03-15T18:00:22.610-07:00Spring BreakWell, we are half-way through Spring Break and I thought I would post a little update about our adventures. Although, I suppose I should really say I will post about Will and Whitney's adventures since I spent all of last week sleeping. <br />
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Last Thursday Southeastern Pennsylvania was inundated with a major rainstorm but by Friday morning the sun was shining. Whitney took Will to meet up with some friends at Longwood Gardens. This was a brilliant plan, in theory. Unfortunately, in reality, all roads leading to Longwood were underwater and thus the trip was changed to a morning at the helicopter museum. On the way to the helicopter museum, Whitney passed the "new" YMCA. It has been there for a couple years, but we have never seen it. She was instantly enamored with the mini-water park it has for its outdoor pool. <br />
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That evening, after I spent all day sleeping, the whole family ventured out to a friends house to eat pizza and play let our children run around like the wild animals they are. It was great. They had a Wii and Lego Star Wars, what more could I ask for? Well, little did I know that their 5 year old is an insane Wii player! I was laughing so hard watching him shake his body all over the floor of their living room that I could barely play. He kicked my butt at the sword-fight Wii game, but only because when someone goes that crazy with the Wii remote there is no defense. His Dad described it aptly as General Grievous with all four arms out and spinning four lightsabers. What the!!!??? Needless to say, the evening left Will and I exhausted. I'm pretty sure we both fell asleep on the ride home.<br />
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Moving right along, Sunday night we went to dinner at Ruby's Diner. Nothing super-exciting but Whitney and I did have a conversation that I cannot believe we actually had. So, Will has this book <i>Sheep in Jeep</i>. It's all cute and rhyming, making it pretty easy to memorize. I start reciting it (oh yes, I am at that level of parenthood), Whitney then corrects me. At this point, we then begin debating for several minutes the correct version of the book. Does the line, "Oh dear! The driver Sheep forgets to steer!" really come that early on? After laughing at our own insanity, we look for a new toy in the diaper for Will and what do we pull out? Oh yes, <i>Sheep in Jeep</i>. <br />
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In other news, I'm still working on getting a video of Will and his "nnniiiiiiiiiiiiccccccccceeeee" touches. The fact that we have a new and working camera should speed things along.<br />
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And now back to the Y. This morning we took a tour and were both completely enamored. The cardio machines, the basketball courts, the (indoor) kiddie pool, the spinning room, oh my! And I forgot to mention the free 2-hours of child-care per day while you workout! I'm getting worn down. I see a Y membership in the near future. . . .Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-33539656032368120242011-03-09T10:09:00.000-08:002011-03-09T10:09:27.879-08:00Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiccccccccceee!No, I am not trying to quote from a certain Sacha Baron Cohen movie, but instead my son. A little background, Will is huge. At the last measurement check almost a week ago, he was 34 1/8 inches and 33 or 34 pounds. In other words, a big dude for a toddler. Whitney and I have been conscious that he has no idea of his own size or strength. Sometimes he is not gentle when he plays with us or other things. So, a few months ago we started teaching him about "gentle touches;" we gently touch the cat, the dog, Mommy and Mama.<br />
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It was going really well. He would start to be inadvertently rough with something and we would say "Will, you need to be gentle" and he would give the thing/animal/human a hug, snug, or kiss as a "gentle touch." Then Whitney came home last week. Will started playing a little rough and I reminded him that he needed to be nice to her. <br />
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Out of nowhere, WillWill pats Whitney with one long stroke and says "NNNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCEEEE!" He also semi-grunts the word when he says it, so it almost sounds like Frankenstein. It was hysterical! Whitney and I couldn't stop laughing. In fact, every time I think about it, I start laughing. We will do our best to get this phenomena on video because it really is priceless.<br />
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In other news, strep throat would have been easy right? But why settle for strep when you can have mono?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-70198195618504953142011-03-05T07:08:00.000-08:002011-03-05T07:08:55.859-08:00I made it out alive! (barely)So, Whitney came home yesterday afternoon from her weekend in Washington, D.C. Yay!<br />
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WillWill and I had a very nice week, but it was much more hectic than I would have thought. Every morning, except Friday, Will woke up earlier than normal and we made breakfast. Then began the whirlwind of making his lunch, getting him dressed, getting me dressed and getting everybody out the door. While I was successful every morning, it sure made me need an extra cup of coffee by 9 am! In the evening, after softball, I would pick WillWill up and then immediately head to dinner. He would usually crash in the middle of dinner and we would head upstairs for jammies and stories. I would then collapse in exhaustion on the couch.<br />
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At first, I was not surprised by how little energy I had to spare, single-parenting is tough stuff! But then, as my body and mind quieted a little more, I realized that my body in fact was rebelling. By Thursday, I woke up and felt like I had been hit by a truck and my throat was the victim of some terrible slasher movie. It only worsened that night, when I awoke in the middle of the night with a low-grade fever. (Of course, unfairly, one of my first thoughts was that of course I would get sick while Whitney was out of town!) A couple tylenol and several hours later, I woke on Friday feeling almost as good as new. Or so I thought. . .<br />
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As the morning hours on Friday slowly crept by, I felt worse and worse and worse. In fact, I called the doctor. I was pretty sure that the kidd-o's possible manifestation of strep throat had indeed become a full manifestation of strep throat in MY throat. After the 10 minute trip to the doc's (literally), it was confirmed. I went to the pharmacy to pick up my anti-biotics and the pharmacist was worried that it was for Will, but I assured it was not. When I came from the pharmacy, there was my wonderful wife just having returned! Yay!<br />
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Saved by Whitney! The moral of the story is that single-parenting is fun and hard. Will and I were able to feast on such great meals as mac & cheesy; sour cream banana chocolate chip pancakes slathered with peanut butter and goldfish for breakfast. Despite the awesomeness of our time together, I must not forget that eventually, he brought me down with his dreaded little toddler germs.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-34226309792849916422011-02-27T11:19:00.000-08:002011-02-27T11:19:37.348-08:00Sunday Morning at LongwoodThe answer is yes, Will indeed still has an ear infection. We are now going on round 3 of antibiotics, and this is just for the month of February. Poor dude. But, thanks to a great idea by my wonderful wife, Will is getting better at taking his medicine. The video posted on facebook by cousins helped too. <br />
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Anyway, today has been a really nice day. Will and I made sour cream and banana pancakes, to which I added chocolate chips and then slathered with peanut butter. They were a big hit! (And it's a good thing Whitney wasn't here because she would not have liked them!) After the big and filling breakfast, Will and I headed out to Longwood Gardens. The skies were nice and blue and it wasn't too chilly.<br />
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Will had quite the time playing in the children's garden. It's neat how much he <u>loves</u> water! He kept trying to climb in the fountains! He ran around the fountains, played with some musical instruments and got thoroughly soaked! After a quick change of clothes, he got to lounge in the stroller with some crackers and look at the beautiful orchids. We also went through the rainforest room, the banana room, and then (Mommy's favorite) the roses. I took Will out of the stroller so he could smell the roses, then he pulled one apart! So back into the stroller he went.<br />
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It should be noted that the entire morning, he kept asking for his Mama.<br />
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All in all, I think we had quite the successful Sunday morning!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-81272814011333781052011-02-25T06:57:00.000-08:002011-02-25T06:57:29.385-08:00The Fever Strikes Back!Life was going on quite well for the last couple days. . . until this morning. Will was way clingy-er than normal towards me. He would not let me out of his arm's reach. And he felt very warm. I first thought it was just our apartment, then I realized that it felt more like (dun dun dun) a fever. Since he just finished battling an ear infection, I took him temperature. Yup, he has a fever.<div><br />
</div><div>Then, I asked him if had an owie somewhere. He tugged on his ear. Ugh. Another trip to the pediatrician's is scheduled for this afternoon. While I know I am being a responsible parent, there is a little voice in my head that says, "Really, Brit? Another trip to the pediatrician's?" </div><div><br />
</div><div>On the bright side, he seemed much happier while wearing his Thomas the Tank Engine rain boots that our friend, Kate, bought him. Hopefully, he will also be happier after having a morning nap - something he doesn't do these days. I guess that's another sign that he's not feeling up to snuff; he woke up around 7:20 this morning and was tired enough for a nap less than 3 hours later. Poor dude.</div><div><br />
</div><div>So, we will be off to the pediatrician's office this afternoon. I'm hoping we can find time for Whitney to get a pair of jeans before she leaves for Washington, D.C. - TOMORROW!! Ack! That really snuck up on me.</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-83279259871021511672011-02-23T08:30:00.000-08:002011-02-23T08:30:55.275-08:00Baby Bear<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">It never ceases to amaze me how important sleep is - not just for the kidd-o but for his Mamas too. Will is back to normal sleep habits of sleeping through the night - yay! Not only is he happier in the morning with more energy but so are his Mamas. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">In fact, when Will has slept well he is more likely to play independently. This is an additional benefit because it can allow me some time to (finally) catch-up on e-mail and get a cup of coffee. The other morning, he wandered out of our family room where I was checking my e-mail. At first it was very quite, then I noticed some pretty regular and intense babbling coming from our bedroom. When I peeked in on Will, there he was on our bed with some books happily "reading" away! We just bought him a new Eric Carle book, <i>Baby Bear, Baby Bear</i>, and he is love with it! So, I joined him on the bed and asked him if he would read it to me. Very excitedly, he closed the book and started at the very beginning. First pointing to Baby Bear and saying "Baby Bear," then moving along the pages babbling at the animals he knew, he even hissed like the rattlesnake! It was absolutely phenomenal! I just cannot believe how quickly he is growing up!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Now that the last couple weeks are behind us, things are looking up! Although there is some new snow on the ground the sun is out and that always helps!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5663543837736092067.post-83386370181864546772011-02-18T13:08:00.000-08:002011-02-18T13:08:25.863-08:00The tipping point. . .So I have been toying around with starting a blog for about the last year, but this week I reached the tipping point. There are just too many crazy things that we do as parents and feel the need to share them (along with random musings on my life).<br />
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Last week, Will had surgery. He was a champ and did great. Whitney and I thought the worst was over, or at least did. Then came the recovery. The first day after surgery, Thursday, was okay, but it quickly went downhill from there. Will refused to take his pain medication. Then a Saturday night trip to ER was needed when the kidd-o spiked a fever. Good news: no infection. Bad news: he still won't take his pain medication. After a couple more sleepless nights, Monday morning came and we took him to his regular pediatrician. The pediatrician found the culprit, a nasty ear infection, and prescribed some amoxicillin which Will has had before. After a couple doses of wonderful modern medicine, he then broke out in a nasty rash. The rash necessitated another trip to the pediatrician's. Ugh. Diagnosis: Likely allergic reaction to amoxicillin.<br />
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Now this did not come as a complete shock to me because I am allergic to amoxicillin. But after the week-and-a-half long saga of Will and doctors, I was just a little tapped out. Now we have a prescription for a baby z-pack! And Whitney and I are going out tonight! Hopefully, this will be the happy ending we've all been waiting for. . . but you never know!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15977136548393305786noreply@blogger.com0