War Wounds

Last Friday, I walked into Eban's classroom to pick him up from school and I saw his friend with a huge bruise that took up the left side of his forehead. I made some comment like aren't you tough, and it sure does look like it hurts, etc. The teacher quietly pulled me to the side and said, "Miss Tracy, will you please sign this incident report?" I looked down to see that the paper I was signing was acknowledging the fact that my son had pushed another boy. I looked down at the little boy with the gigantic purple bruise and then looked back at Eban and incredulously asked the teacher if my son had done that!

She sadly said she couldn't answer but that there are good books about sharing and caring out there. I was sick with horror and I couldn't grasp that my sweet little 19 month old hurt another child...and after reading some books, they say the first cut is the deepest and it gets easier from here.

I talked to the director of the school at length and she laughed at me saying that all kids in this age group go through the pushing and shoving stage. They all say mine and no frequently and can switch from being bright little angels to demonic scary toddlers. She said I should just be happy that my kid isn't a biter.

It was a much more in depth conversation, but that's the jist of it. She made me feel normal and made me feel like I was a good mom. So Monday came around and I dropped Eban off at school. I was telling Miss Brittney about my conversation with Jena, the director, and she reiterated the fact that she was so thrilled that she had no biters in class. WELL WELL WELL...knock on wood...the phone call came in later that day that Eban had been bit on the shoulder blade. We asked if a chunk of skin was missing and they said no. They said it would just be a bruise and that they had applied ice. I guess that's karma? You can see from the two-day old bruise in this photo that it doesn't look bad at all for a bite wound!

And speaking of wounds...today, I got my first bloody lip from one of my kids. I picked up Eban and he didn't want to be picked up. Instead of telling me no, he threw a mini-tantrum and arched his back and threw his head back right into my lip. It was very nice of him to clock me in the mouth with his noggin. I'm sure they will be more bloody lips or noses in the future.

Eban has been chatting up a storm lately. We have no idea what he's saying but he likes to imitate a conversation with pauses and continuances.

Jack just isn't getting any better. The poor kid has trouble breathing all the time. It seems as though he has a constant runny nose and it sounds like there's fluid in his lungs. If he doesn't improve by Friday, we're taking him back into the doctor for something more drastic as he's waking himself up so many times in the night with difficulty breathing. We feel so bad for the little one!

EBAN'S WORDS

Nebulizer

I've never seen a nebulizer in use until I saw the TV show "John & Kate Plus Eight". Since Jackson has been fighting a severe cold since November, the doctor told us to use the nebulizer on Jack twice a day until his breathing sounds better. He hates it but hopefully it'll do the trick and fight his cold! Eban loves the thing as it has buttons and a mask with a fish on it!

Today was a first with Eban. He had his first conversation on the phone. Uncle Steve called from Chicago and Eban got on the phone. Steve knew exactly what to do and he created loud funny airplane noises which made Eban laugh hysterically. He'd be quiet and listen intently on the phone when Steve would start up again with loud funny noises. Eban would roar up again with fits of laughter which in turn made us laugh uncontrollably. This continued and it was so funny to see Eban laugh and growl on the phone. Eban usually just says bye which has been happening for a week or so. But this was definitely a first!

Our friends Jodi and Vince came over for dinner on Friday night to witness the mayhem of our house. They live less than a mile from us on several acres. They have two horses, goats, chickens and a ton of dogs and cats. We can't wait to go over there in the summer as Eban will think it's his own petting zoo! Plus, Vince makes the best mango margaritas and he uses fresh mangoes! YUM!
Saturday, I met up with Hayden's mom and Morgan's mom with their respective tots in tow and we visited the aquarium. It was the first time I didn't use the stroller. Once we entered the building, Eban wanted no part of his stroller and I literally chased him around for a couple of hours. He loved the fish, the running (which I'm sure there are rules posted that say no running), and he loved petting the sting rays in their interactive pool area. He was very friendly and said hi to all the fish that were on his level. I'm sure they loved the congeniality!

Well..this is Ryan's last week as Senor Mama...enjoy the pics and the videos!

Video of Eban Waiting for Hayden and Morgan (and Steve Winwood came on so he had to strut his stuff)

Eban Chasing Seamus -Seamus is a GOOD Boy!

Eban Giving Seamus Water - Then Taking Some For Himself. After I Tell Him No, He Turns His Back On Me Because He Thinks I Can't See What He's Doing. He's a Crafty One!

The Weekend Started with a Caddyshack Moment!

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity. Friday night started off with dinner at Chili's with Grandpa Bob. He came over after work and we were upstairs when we heard Seamus ferociously barking...he does that to Grandpa. Eban heard Grandpa's voice and squealed with delight and was attempting to get down the stairs as fast as he could. Grandpa met him on the landing and Eban giggled and threw his arms up in the air indicating that he wanted Grandpa to pick him up immediately. It's just so sweet to see him react to Grandpa like that...I wish all the grandparents could live close to get this type of welcome when they come into the house!

Saturday morning, we went to the Westminster Recreation Center for Hayden's first birthday. It was a hoot to see all the babies in the pool. Even Morgan had her first swim and she had a great time floating around with her mom. I didn't hear any tears from Hayden's friends when they were in the pool. Eban had a small mishap when he decided to trip on the stairs. His nose has a pretty scar to remind him to be careful while walking near the pool. Anyway, Hayden did great with his first cake. He dug in and got super dirty like he should! There was frosting all over his outfit, his hands, his face, and his legs. It was great to see him love it! Eban loved eating the frosting of the cake and I'm not too sure he had any cake...but he happily gorged himself on icing!

I forgot to tell you that once we all got out of the pool, the life guards closed the toddler pool area down. We then saw the long fishing net come out and they were "fishing" out items from the bottom of the pool. It was Caddyshack all over again. I said I hoped they were fishing out Snickers and Hayden's dad corrected me and told me Baby Ruths. Ugh...I wonder how long we were all swimming with the extra "gifts" in the pool???

After that, Nani, Eban and I rushed home and got Seamus. We started our drive down to Colorado Springs as the sun was setting which made for a real pretty commute south of Denver. Once we hit the Springs, we checked into a pet-friendly hotel. We asked where the closest kid-friendly restaurant was and the person told us Chuck E. Cheese...ugh, I'm SO sick of Chuck E. Cheese. But I sucked it up as Eban loves the place and we went around the block to the restaurant. Eban loves Chucky and got to sing and dance with him when he came out for a personal appearance. Eban loved being on stage while dancing and clapping! It's very reminiscent of his daddy when he used to be a Denver rocker!

We called it a night around 8pm and tried to get Eban to go to sleep...we used up all of our "please go to sleep maneuvers" and finally the one that worked at 10pm was when I put him in the car and drove him around Colorado Springs for 30 minutes. That worked until 3:45am. He got up and was in a fit and wouldn't go back down. Nani and I took turns walking him in the hotel lobby, the hallways, the event area...you name it. He was a total terror!

Nani and I had a TON of coffee with breakfast. Nani, in fact, had more sugar in her coffee as you can see from the photo. She must have had 8 sugars and one sweet n low in her coffee. She was still tired! As soon as we hopped in the car to go to Canon City, our little man was out. Of course we laughed at this as it was simply incredulous to be on vacation and have a screaming kid get you up at 3:45 in the morning!

I showed Nani the state and federal prisons that are housed in Canon City - some tour, huh? Then we headed up to the Royal Gorge bridge, which is the world's highest suspension bridge. It was a tad eerie as the only people at the bridge besides the workers were us! Seamus even had the opportunity to go onto the bridge, although it scared the hell out of him when a park ranger drove over the bridge. Since it's a suspension bridge, it shakes and makes a lot of noise when a vehicle starts to drive on it. Well, Seamus wanted nothing to do with the bridge after that experience, so I walked him to the edge to wait for Nani and Eban to stop exploring. Seamus impatiently waited for them by crying, whimpering and whining like he was being hurt. Finally when Nani and Eban walked back to us, he happily stood up and wagged his tail! You could actually see relief on his face when they returned...he's so sensitive!

Nani, Eban and I also had the opportunity to take the aerial tram across the expanse. I wasn't a fan of that trip but Nani loved it. In my age, I have stopped being a daredevil and appreciate the simple things. A trip, in what I call a small cage, across a huge gorge on wires isn't appealing to me for some strange reason. I did it because Nani really wanted to do it. Eban could care less about the whole thing, but I was white knuckled the entire time!

After the aerial tram, we drove across the bridge and drove through the wild animal park on the other side. Seamus loved the reindeer, the bison and the big-horned sheep. Eban pointed at the animals and enjoyed this piece of the ride as well. It was unnerving to go across the bridge (10 miles per hour max!) while listening to it groan and creak.

We drove on to the city of Cripple Creek, Colorado - one of only three gambling towns in Colorado. There used to be free-roaming donkeys in the town, but they have since caged the donkeys as it's busy with tourists gambling their money away...or winning fortunes, who knows? I visited Cripple Creek when I was really young on a family vacation and I remember waking up to a donkey peering into our motel window. It was really fun to see that as a kid. I guess they needed to revitalize the city and brought in gambling as it wasn't making any money as a former gold mining town...

We drove through Woodland Park and down the north side of Pike's Peak to the Garden of the Gods. We drove through the park and took all sorts of pictures of the rocks. Nani said she was waiting to see flowers but I had to explain there were only rocks at this garden.

We continued on to the Air Force Academy. Eban loved getting out of the car and looking at the planes they have sporadically placed throughout their campus. There were plenty of ooohs and aaahs coming from him as he happily pointed at all the planes! We went to the visitor's center where he petted the planes. I guess he is used to petting Seamus and Jackson, that he petted the plane they have on the floor. After that, it was time to go home and get some good zzzzz's.

Nani played soccer and scored her first goal! YEAH NANI!! I put Eban down at 7:45 and he didn't get up until 7:30 in the morning...it was about time he slept like that!

Today it's freezing and I've already dropped Eban off at school and I enthusiastically looked at Nani and told her I wanted to read a book. Maybe I'll read the last of the Harry Potter series...we'll see!! Here's a video of Eban who is clearly tired and then he got excited as we started talking about airplanes while at the Air Force Academy!

Here are some of Nani's pictures from the trip:

Daddy Eban?

HI everyone!

This is the paraguayan girl "Nani" writing on the blog for the first time! I'm so excited...thank you Lindsay!

So...about this morning, I dropped Eban off at school because Mama Lindsay had to leave early to work (5:30 a.m). That's crazy! Isn't it?

However, I took great photos from my little man "Eban being Papa" at school and videos while He was talking to the toys and trying to feed his classmate. So motherly at the same time...je je :)

Enjoy it!

Two nights without Jackson and I still haven't slept through the night

Well...darned if Eban didn 't get up three times last night. Maybe he's having nightmares, but who knows?? Of course he'd do that to me!

Nani made guiso for dinner and she was very nervous about me eating it. She kept telling me to make a pizza. I told her it was great...it was a chicken and rice dish. She said she made it without three ingredients one of which was laurels so it was different than Paraguayan guiso.

Hope I get a decent amount of shut eye tonight!!

Ryan and Jackson are having a great time in DC. Jackson went to Warrenton, Virginia to meet Grandma Kathy and will meet his great grandparents tomorrow or Saturday. He's been sick with a cold, so hopefully he gets better for the flight home on Tuesday.

I swear I thought he was only going to play with the plunger

A lot has happened this week!

Last Saturday, we went to the APEX Center in Arvada - it's the recreation center for the city - and there's a huge indoor swim facility that includes a lap pool, a toddler pool, and two water slides. It's HUGE for indoor water facility! Eban loved it. He wanted back into the water even though his teeth were chattering. I felt bad for him. Daddy even took him down a slide and they came flying through the chutes with such speed and force that it made me nervous....

On Sunday, we went to Chuck E. Cheese for Kalea's 2nd birthday - Jesse and Liza's little girl. (Lisa is the talented singer/guitarist that Ryan sings with...www.lizarocks.com.) We arrived at 10am and Chucky even came out to say hi to everybody. Eban really liked Chucky as he continually hugged and pointed at him. (It's pretty funny to see that we are now going to Chuck E. Cheese for parties and not some martini bar.) After the overstimulating Chuck E. Cheese, I had a wonderful girl's afternoon with 5 of my friends/co-workers in Denver. We bowled and took it easy. I haven't had many girl's night out lately as the kids have taken up so much of my time so I'm appreciative of my friends who can pick up the relationship right where we left off.

Nani had a soccer game on Sunday which her team won. The other team played dirty and there were a lot of two minute cards thrown by the ref for players who didn't exhibit sportsmanship. Nani said it made the game interesting, which was correct...but it made me nervous that the males on her co-ed team were getting picked on and they were fighting back. Thank goodness a brawl didn't ensue...maybe next week?

On Tuesday morning, Ryan and Jackson left for Washington DC to see the family. It was hard to see them go but I was also looking forward to getting a full night's rest. Well darn if Wednesday morning came and I got up every three hours in the middle of the night even though Jackson wasn't here! ARGH! I hate my internal clock!

Speaking of last night - Nani, Eban and I went to the alumni reception at Invesco Field at Mile High and had a great time. Eban was a good little boy and ran around the entire time. On one hand I was a tad embarrassed that he walked to every group and walked the entire evening, but on the other hand, I talked to everybody at the party - even if I only talked to them for 15 seconds as I had to chase after the wee one. Anyway, it was freezing out and after the food and the festivities, we were able to go out onto the field to throw a football or just run around. Well...Eban did just that. He ran around. As the alumni relations manager was trying to get a photo of the 50+ group, Eban decided to make a beeline in front of everybody and in front of the photographer. So I'm racing after him with a stuffed diaper bag and huge purse in tow and I grab him. This was the first time he threw a fit. He yelled NO at me and started throwing a tantrum because I picked him up. I lost my grip on the little guy and he went straight down on the 40 yard line kicking and yelling and crying at me. Well, the crowd ALL started booing me as I made him cry. Poor Nani was following me and attempting to help and the crowd kept heckling me to stop making the kid cry! It's pretty powerful when you hear 50 boos coming your way...Maybe this was one of the events that you had to be there, but it was pretty funny and comical! (In the photo to the right, you can see the goal posts behind us and you can also tell how cold it is as Nani's nose is a great indicator. When it's cold, her nose gets to be a beautiful shade of pink! I included the blurry picture of us on the field as you can see how vibrant it was with the colors...it was really neat.)

The last thing is the attached video...I was taking a video of him calmly playing in the bathroom with the plunger and you can see what he did with it. Yup...I wasn't expecting that as you can tell from the end of the video!