Dr. H & El.mo

I was going to wait until Halloween to post photos of Adam in his Halloween costume but these photos taken yesterday are too cute not to share right away. =) We met up with Rachel & Sarah at the library and the kids participated in the Halloween parade. There were stories first and Adam's first question after the stories was "WHERE'S THE CANDY?!?" -- definitely OUR child!!! Adam (Dr. H) and Sarah (El.mo) were so darling together, marching around in the parade hand-in-hand. They are 10 months apart and have known each other since Sarah was just a few weeks old. Rachel and I met right before I got pregnant with Adam, over 3 years ago. We always joke that we have to take lots of pics of the kids now... you know, so we have it for their wedding slideshow in 25 years! You never know... they are precious together, aren't they?

Look at that smug little smile! =)

Adam & Sarah... and if you look closely, you can see the "little pumpkin" in Rachel's tummy! =)

Dr. H & Elmo posing with the library crew

Adam & Sarah coloring together after the festivities

Adam found the candy!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL OUR "BLOGGY" FRIENDS! =)

Wordless Wednesday -- the many faces of LL

After Adam's bath on Thursday, I let him watch Li.on King videos on the computer. His favorite Li.on King songs are now the ones performed by Elt.on Jo.hn. He'll literally say, "No, I want to hear the Elt.on Jo.hn. song!" It's hilarious. Anyway, here are some photos that I captured of LL watching the videos last week. He has always been an extremely alert little guy and has several hundred (or so it seems) facial expressions. Here are some that I captured within a 5 minute span:







Even though our photographer has infered that "smiling shots are boring", they still are my favorite:

Doing better (knock on wood)

Adam slept well last night except for waking up at 2 AM, very hot & bothered. He had a fever of 101.5... I gave him some tyl.enol which quickly kicked in. He slept until after 9 and woke up fever-free! Yay!

He remained fever-free all day and did not "get sick" (aka throw up!) either. Seems like it was just a 24 hour bug. What a relief.

The only thing is that LL did not eat at all today - only 1/2 a bagel but he drank lots of water and diluted juice. I guess this is to be expected since he was down for the count yesterday but it's still a little upsetting. Especially since he has only gained half a pound in almost 5 months. They weighed him at the Dr's office yesterday. With clothes on, he was 27.4 pounds. However, he had thrown up about 10 times before the visit, though, which I'm sure didn't help. Anyway, hopefully he'll be eating normally again tomorrow.

stomach bug =(

I totally jinxed myself.

Just yesterday, I was thinking that Adam hasn't been sick in months (except for a few colds) and I couldn't remember the last time he has thrown up (which says a lot since he was a "reflux baby" and used to throw up/spit up several times a day -- until he was about 6 or 7 months old). ANYWAY... I was JUST thinking that AND...

Adam woke up at 4 am throwing up! AAHH!

Long story short... he threw up every 30 minutes for 5 hours straight... fortunately, he's only thrown up 2x since 9:30 am. The last time was during Shabbat dinner (he was just drinking water). He stood up on his chair, said "Why, Grandma, Why?" (about who knows what?!?) and BAM... there went our nice dinner. We actually found it quite comical (in a really gross way)... it was like a scene out of a movie!

He has also been running a fever (about 101) all day but Tyl.enol seems to be working (Thanks, Namaste, for suggesting Children's Tyl.enol instead of Infants -- seems to be working better now that he's 2.5)! I took him to the Dr. this morning (since he wouldn't stop throwing up -- it was getting scary) but she wasn't too concerned -- thinks it's also a stomach bug (or, as she professionally put it, gastroentorolical symptoms").

On a promising note, he BEGGED for mac & cheese around 8 pm... and managed to keep it down. Also, it seems as if his sense of humor has returned (he was quite clingy and lethargic earlier in the day). As I was (about to) kiss him good night, he said "no kiss"... followed by "Mama, when I wake up, you can kiss my cheek. Tomorrow". That's my sassy little love! Here's hoping this is only a 24 hour bug!

On another note... Happy, Happy Birthday, Aunt Elizabeth! Can't wait to see you in December! XOXO

Book Love =)

Steven and I both LOVE books. In all honesty, we hoard books -- we both have huge boxes of books that we refuse to part with. I have loved reading as far back as I can remember. I actually have vivid "book memories" such as:

- Going to the "big library" in Fairfax with my dad as a little girl and checking out TONS of books.

-- Going to bookstores (or any store!) with my dad, with specific memories of "Crown Books". My dad basically would buy me whatever I wanted at the store (unlike my mom who wasn't as easy to convince to buy me anything/everything). Usually I just picked out markers, stickers or, of course, a book. I specifically remember being at Crown Books with my Dad -- I must have been 7 or 8? -- and seeing a Beren.stain Bears book that I HAD to have. Only problem was that it was in Spanish. Not that it stopped me -- or my dad -- from buying it. It was called "The Beren.stain Bears and the New Baby (Bambino Nuevo)?" and it was about Sister Bear. Such a great book! =) I'm glad that Beren.stain Bear books are still popular... I even have a set at work. Great lessons in there!

-- Reading "Little Mommy" with my mom (over & over again) as a little girl. Golden Books re-issued it last year so I'm psyched to have another copy of it. The pics (very 70s!) are the same but the format of the book is different than how I remember it.

-- I remember that the first book that was ever read aloud to me at school was "Where the Wi.ld Things Are"... what a classic, huh?

-- I learned to read with a "Dick and Ja.ne" book -- no kidding.

-- The first "novel" I remember reading was "Ramona Quim.by, age 8". I quickly grew fascinated with Ramona and absolutely ADORED all Ramona/Beverly Clear.y books. I discovered Judy Blu.me soon after. Judy Blu.me is still one of my favorite authors.

-- The first biography I read (probably in 3rd or 4th grade) was of Helen Kel.ler. I also remember reading the biography of the founder of Girl Scou.ts -- Juliet Low? I believe? The things you remember!

-- Other favorite picture books as a kid were (in no particular order): Corduroy, Frog & Toad, Amelia Bedelia, Ira Sleeps Over, Danny the Dinosaur, Lyle the Crocodile, Harry the Dog(?), Dr. Seuss books, anything Disney (esp. Donald Duck) and Snoopy... the list is endless.

ALL THAT BEING SAID =), you can imagine how excited I was to have a child to READ to! Yay! The first book Adam was read to was a "Tag.gies" book called "Sweet Dreams" and it was a present from my mom's friend, Judy. Since then, Adam has probably acquired close to 100 books. He has received tons as presents (books are such great gifts) and a lot of his favorites of come from Grandma and Bobbe & Zaide. I also scope out yard sales, library sales, etc. for books. You can find some real classics there. Fortunately, Adam has taken on my love for reading. We usually read about 5 books a day to him and he also reads books to himself. Here are the books that we are currently reading (you can see we read a variety of books -anything from "Goodnight Mo.on" to "Barney goes to Sch.ool!":



I found this book a few months ago and thought it was HILARIOUS. The only words on the pages are "No, no" and "Yes, yes". Of course Adam has done virtually every one of the "No, nos" (he's a very mischievous & spunky little love) found in the book. Steven read it to Adam tonight and said to me afterwards, "You know, Adam has done almost all of these things. It's so funny!". Exactly. =)


Happy Reading! =)

Winchester, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant & other randomness

We've had many adventures with Little Love this past week. Here is a recap of the past week, in photos & captions (since I'm very sleepy at the moment):

Trip to Winchester, VA (a little over an hour away) to visit the Children's Museum: Children's (err -"Discovery" Museum in Winchester)

There was a little "pretend" hospital area, complete with the inside of an ambulance. Look how smug LL looks here! I love this look of his. Let's just hope this will be the closest Adam is to an ambulance - EVER!

Adam loved filling up the bucket with apples and pulling the lever... he spent about 20 minutes doing so! You might notice that the very first photo here is also from this "experiment". I have no idea why Adam found the need to "taste" the bucket (I didn't even realize his tongue was there until I took the photo!). Reminds me of the kid (Ralphie?) in that infamous Christmas movie! =)

Rock climbing! There was a huge rock climbing wall -- this was the farthest LL got (not very far)!

Adam loved throwing "monies" in the fountain... all of Daddy's change went to the town of Winchester. Click on the picture if you want to see a close-up of Adam's face here... priceless expression!

Today Adam & I had a wonderful afternoon with Grandma. First we went toy shopping which is always fun. Adam was shockingly GOOD - I seriously had my mom feel his head to make sure he wasn't warm - he was THAT good. When we were leaving the store, Adam came upon the Mickey ride:
Adam LOVED riding this Mick.ey Mouse ride which Grandma happily provided the coins for (3 times)! Funny, I always remember being told as a kid that I couldn't go on these "rides" (Mom remembers differently). Hmm. Guess that's one of the differences between being a parent and a grandparent!!! =)

Afterwards, we ate at an authentic Italian Restaurant where Adam was (still!) amazingly good:
Adam eating his spaghetti & meatballs

Adam & Grammy giving each other BIG hugs

We've also had some quiet (or not-so-quiet) moments at home with LL:
Squeezing El.mo's nose -- Adam laughed hysterically each time he did it -- guess that's why this little red monster is such a hit!

This is Adam's new favorite puzzle. He can usually do it in about a minute now and *always* shouts "I Did It!" when he's done

Sharing his chocolate milk with Big Doggy

Reading Cur.ious George, his new favorite book. The actual stories are a little too advanced but the pictures are fantastic (I'm a little biased -- I adore Cur.ious George!!!)

All in all, a busy week... but we'll do anything to see this precious little face all lit up:

P.S. Many thanks to all my friends across the blogosphere who gave such great advice & feedback on Adam's recent, um, "hitting" episodes. I found all the comments to be very comforting and helpful. I'll update you all on the latest in the next post. =)

Help!!! The Terrible 2's have returned!!!

So... I will start off this post for a request for any/all advice, words of wisdom, etc. Adam has reached a new stage of "The Terrible 2s". I actually read that this isn't too uncommon when kids actually hit 2.5 which he did a few weeks ago. In general, Adam is the most amazing little guy. Seriously. I know I'm the Mama and all, but he's a pretty cool kid. He's sweet, smart, lively, hilarious, fun, etc. He's the best. Now, that being said... he can also be very *challenging* at times. In a nutshell, Adam knows what he wants... and doesn't take "no" for an answer (or without a complete meltdown). Fortunately, at school, he's pretty manageable (or at least he has been... I SO HOPE I DIDN'T JUST JINX THIS!!!). Miss Lucette said last week that he's doing great... sometimes has trouble sharing.. but that's not uncommon with kids his age. She didn't seem that distressed about it so I wasn't either. Until yesterday. We were at a Halloween playdate with Adam's old buddies: Tomas, Addie, Asha, Benjamin & Nathan. At first, all went well and Adam enjoyed decorating pumpkins with his buddies:


For the first 2 hours that we were at Addie's house, he was pretty well behaved... some grabbing of toys/not sharing, but nothing too extreme & it seemed like all the kiddos were having this issue. Then, all of a sudden, Adam lost it. I was enjoying Stacey's baby shower (as part of our brunch/pumpkin playdate) and walked in the room to find Adam hitting Benjamin. Be still my heart. It seemed like Benjamin had a fire truck that Adam wanted and when he didn't give it to Adam, Adam hit him. OMG. Before I could even get to him, he went up to Nathan and tried to get his green truck. When Nathan didn't give it up easily, Adam pushed him. That was it... Adam said he was "sorry" without prompting (I guess my face said it all) and I packed up to go... but not before Adam went up to Asha and took the chalk out of her hands. Can you hear my loud sighs over the internet??? I was MORTIFIED and so very angry that Adam was acting this way!!! I'm a counselor, for goodness sake!!! (Deep breath). I realized once we got in the car that all Adam had to eat that day was 2 apple slices & chocolate milk (he was too excited at the playdate to eat). He devoured a bagel in the car. So I'm thinking hunger was probably a cause of his terror... but still. It's been 36 hours since the playdate and I'm STILL upset about it. We went to the library today for a class and he was great... until the end... when he, once again, hit somebody because "I wanted the bubbles".

Please, my lovely readers, any words of wisdom would be wonderful. I'm thinking of adopting a "Zero Tolerance" rule for aggression... as in, pack up and leave immediately. Any thoughts on that? Also, if you -- or anyone you know -- has gone through this, please do tell. Knowing that I'm not alone in this really helps. Of course I hit the Internet and the bookstore last night, reading article after article on toddler/preschooler aggression. Yes, I realize that this isn't too uncommon but when it's YOUR kid being aggessive... well, it's just so upsetting. Especially since Adam really IS such a sweetheart... usually. See?

Fun at the Farm

It was a beautiful fall day so we headed back to the local farm where they are hosting a pumpkin patch/fall festivities all month. We went last Sunday but I didn't have my camera. =( Last weekend, we went on a hayride and went to the "real" pumpkin patch, maze, etc. Today we let Adam run around and explore, which he enjoyed. He also liked going down the big slide and even went down it himself 3x(pictures below). He also had fun feeding the goats and picking out pumpkins. What he DIDN'T like was the haunted house. We were standing next to it and the creepy noises were quite loud. Of course Steven, being the big kid that he is, wanted to go in the haunted house. He walked in and Adam FREAKED OUT about Daddy going in! Adam also saw a "scary man" (big hat, white beard, overalls, etc... he looked like a nice Grandpa-type to me, but he scared Adam) that he kept talking about when we left. Besides that... we had a really nice time... and I'm sure we'll be back there (or another local farm) next weekend. Gotta take advantage of the beautiful fall weather! Here are some pics from today...

Feeding the goats "feed"? and bamboo stalks



Running up to go down the slide...

Whee!

Sliding is fun!



Finding apples(?) and a green pumpkin

Our little tree hugger



Since Grandma was away in Pittsburgh for her birthday, we celebrated it tonight at Out.back Steakhouse (my mom loves a good steak)! Adam & Grandma love to give each other "nose-ys":

Adam discovered his love of high heels back at Grandma's House =):

Also... on the way home from Grandma's, I put my head down & closed my eyes for a second (I was sitting next to Adam). All of a sudden, Adam says: "No, Mama, don't got to sleep in the car. Wait to go home and sleep in the bed." It was so funny... especially since he promply fell asleep -- in the car! -- 5 minutes after saying that! =)