milestone | The Angel Forever

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A Baby’s Eye View

Posted on May 10, 2008 11:50 pm by TheAngelForever

There are days that I wish I could read JSL’s mind. What does he think of the giant world around him? What exactly are those little blue eyes looking at?

In just a few short hours we will be having JSL’s 1st birthday party with our family. I can only imagine what he will be thinking with everyone at Nana and Papa’s house. Will be love or hate the attention? Is he going to enjoy frosting for the first time? So many firsts all in one day for a little guy who has not seen the world for an entire year.

As I sit here the day before Mother’s Day I have tears running down my cheek thinking about the year that has gone by.

A year ago I sat so horribly uncomfortable waiting for my little guy to arrive. He ignored all of the notices to vacate and came on his own schedule. JL and I tried to cherish the last moments with NHL before he became a big brother.

On Mother’s Day last year I had no idea what the following 24 hours would bring. I was exhausted that day and quite uncomfortable. My body must have known something was going on and made sure I took a long nap. JL brought NHL to the park and had an amazing time there while I caught up on sleep. It was a very lazy day, but a great one none the less.

The following morning I had the surprise of my life as my water broke standing up getting out of bed. The sound of the pop sent chills down my spine. I knew I was going to be a mommy again and was so thrilled to know I would soon meet my new little fellow.

Over the next few days I am going to try to gather things to showcase JSL’s 1st year before he officially turns one on Wednesday.

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone – have a wonderful special day!

Categories:
birthday jsl looking back milestone photos

Park adventures with my boys

Posted on April 27, 2008 10:14 pm by TheAngelForever

Last Sunday before the second Passover seder we decided to take the boys to the park for some fresh air. We also thought it would be wise to let NHL to run off some steam. It was an absolutely gorgeous spring day.

Upon arriving at the park NHL bolted from the car (with permission) like this:

JSL was not so sure about the thing in the sky. Thanks to the long, dark, cold winter he forgot what the sun was like. For a while he was content to stay in his stroller under some shade with his sun hat on.

We watched as NHL climbed on anything and everything in his path. My what some amazing therapists can do for a kiddo. Last year at this time he would have asked for some assistance. Now, he could care less if we are there.

Wahoo - sliding fun!

Quickly JSL was getting very antsy and wanted out of the stroller. He saw his big brother having fun and wanted to get closer. JL decided to show him around the park. Please note the big smile behind his binky.

Unfortunately for JL, the little guy did not remain entertained by being out and watching for long. Before I knew it all three of my boys were running all over the playground. The first stop the BIG slide.

Do you think JSL liked his first adventures on the slide? Check these out to see what you think. Be sure to hover over the photos for some captions from Flickr.

Wait for us NHL

Check out who won

JSL's first time down the slide

Even more fun the second time

Third times the charm!

The little kiddie swings here were not too great. They were made for ages two and up and we quickly saw why.

Swings a little too big

When this did not work out JL and JSL ran to catch up with NHL to try something else. The two boys wanted to do a brother train down the smaller slide together. Run ~~Forest~~ JL Run!

The boys go on the slide together

Smiles all around

NHL ran all over the place while Daddy and JSL tried to keep up. Still it was amazing to watch JSL be so happy following his big brother and being in Daddy’s arms.

NHL was very serious as he contemplated the next location to go to in the park.

Serious kiddo

Before I knew it they were all off again . . . to the other side of the park. Before arriving at their final destination, JL and JSL stopped for a quick swing. Not NHL trying to be patient in the background while the other boys were swinging.

Look at NHL waiting patiently in back

Then it was time for everyone to go round and round and get a little dizzy. At first JSL was not too sure about this. Before long he was barking at JL to go more!

Soon it was time to go and get ready for our second Passover seder. Before heading off it was time to catch a quick ride on the T-Rex.

This afternoon we went back to the park for another fun trip before the rain comes in for the week. JSL immediately wanted to go and play. He is so anxious to be able to go and run with his big brother. Soon enough we will be yelling at both of the boys to come back to us.

The nice thing with today, hours after we went Passover is officially over! It is now time to break out the bagels, pizza and other yummy chametz people!

Categories:
brothers fun jl jsl laughs milestone my boys nhl photos weekend

Wordless Wednesday – Baby on the move

Posted on April 9, 2008 9:44 am by TheAngelForever

Wow - look at all of the things up here

Look Ma - no hands!

Hmmm. . . get the toy or not?

Keep on going

Look at the little jeans - *sigh*

Categories:
jsl milestone weekend Wordless Wednesday

Weekend of baby walking, knitting and Passover preparations

Posted on April 6, 2008 11:15 pm by TheAngelForever

This weekend was very busy for all of us in Angel Land. We had a 50th birthday party for our neighbor Saturday. The party was very nice. We were able to see many of the people who had become strangers over the winter months. NHL went with us, but we brought JSL to stay with Nana and Papa. He went there a sweet baby who could crawl and get into mischief. He was returned to us a determined child who wanted to walk holding on to anything and everything. He learned to walk with a ride on toy. Nana and Papa actually gave him his birthday present early and he is in LOVE with it. Photos to come later (no time to edit now). The nice thing we just keep him up and walking and he gets lots of energy out easily. Unfortunately it means his hands are higher and able to get into more.

I changed my mind, here is a sneak peek. . .

*ACK* – My baby is growing up way too quickly!

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Before the weekend I finished a washcloth that I had promised NHL when he was sick. He asked me to make him something new and selected one that looked like Snoopy (free pattern found here). This is what it looked like when I was finished.

This morning the last rows of another knitting group were revealed. Once again ten rows were given daily and at the end everyone has the same great cloth. This one was from Shirley’s Knitting Knook Group on Yahoo and designed by Melanie of Lil Knit of This & That. This was the first KAL of the new group and is adorable. I believe I saw that Shirley called it Showers in Spring, but not sure what the official name is.

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NHL went out for the morning/afternoon with Nana and Papa. While they did this we went to purchase Passover groceries since it is just around the corner. We spent an obscene amount of money on kosher for Passover products. Although our receipt showed that we saved $30 – I did not smile. The only part I was happy about was our deal on diapers. The store had a deal on big boxes of Pampers for $19.99. I had a P&G $2.00 coupon and the grocery store was doubling P&G coupons today. Thanks to this I was able to get JSL 72 diapers for $16 – not too shabby!

After putting away groceries and eating lunch, we went to pick up NHL and set up my parents new wireless printer. When we came back home I was set to dry the load of laundry that I put in this morning. Little did I know that I would take on another project. While putting things away I noticed that JSL barely has any clothing that actually fits. I hauled out all of the containers of 0-12 month items, put things away and took some out. Then I went and brought the 18-24 month things up. I decided to put all of those things into the wash. Then I made sure that everything that was 24 month and 2T was ready to grab easily for later in the summer. I certainly got a work out going up and down the stairs to the basement more times than I can remember.

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Randoms thoughts:

My baby is going to be one in just over a month – WAHHHHHHH!
Plans need to be made and set for the 1st birthday party that we will be having on Mother’s Day.
Passover is coming way too quickly. . . I am NOT ready for this.
I want to knit tonight, but I think I am too tired. I am working on a back scrubber for JL (he actually requested this).
New Moon is sitting and gathering dust waiting for me to read.
Wednesday I am going to NHL’s Seder at school – it should be so cute!
Thursday JSL goes to the dentist. Although he has been before they are counting this as his first official visit.
NHL is having problems breathing again (he is winded just talking). He will likely need to go to a specialist to figure out the cause and to help us treat it successfully.
Who Needs Sleep by Barenaked Ladies is my theme song – really it is!

Categories:
deals holidays jsl knitting milestone nhl shopping weekend

Fevers, coughs, nebulizers and the flu – oh my!

Posted on March 27, 2008 11:42 am by TheAngelForever

As previously mentioned we had several doctor visits on Monday. This is how NHL looked on Monday before going to the doctor. He was exhausted from being up almost all night (two evenings in a row) with a horrible barking, croupy cough that would not go away.

Things were worse Monday night. NHL was gasping for air. JL went to work and NHL fell asleep on the couch from sheer exhaustion.

The poor little guy could not catch a break. Every time he would fall asleep he would wake up coughing that dry barking cough again and again. At about noon he was in tears asking to leave. He said he hurt from the cough. His entire body was shaking and he was gasping for air. I put in a call for the doctor since the breathing was getting so bad and Motrin and Tylenol together were barely keeping his fever under 100 when given together.

While waiting for the call back JSL was quarantined to another room with me (not worth much, but it was all I could do). He was having fun playing with his Nubby sippy cup. All of the sudden he started "talking" to me. I was floored. It was not simply play time. . . he was drinking water. I could see him doing the proper sipping motion and see water in his mouth. Wahoo! This was a much needed thing since the baby will NOT take a bottle since he was in the hospital in February. So now he knows that the sippy cup is not only a fun water toy to get soaked with, but also useful to drink! Another milestone during this was JSL saying "cheese" when I fed him a slice of cheese. His words just keep adding up.

Smiling while making a mess

Getting some water in!

At about this time the nurse called back. They were going to call in a nebulizer for us to use with NHL along with medications for it. After much "fun" (note the sarcasm) straightening out all of the co-pays, getting a pharmacy that actually had the medication we were all set. At about 3:00 the machine was delivered and Papa brought the medicine soon after. Here is the top of the new handy dandy nebulizer.

Dragon mask to make it more interesting

We have used this for the one medication since Tuesday night (2 times a day) and we have started to notice a difference. The barking cough is much less pronounced. NHL is also able to run around and talk without getting winded. The fever still does not want to back down. However we may have turned the corner. Last night we went without replenishing Motrin and Tylenol during the night. So far with only Motrin we have kept things below 100! If this stays true then he will be set to go back to school tomorrow – he is SO ready to go back.

Oh, and NHL is such a sweet little boy. He shared with Mommy. I have a 100+ degree temperature, aches, sore throat, headache, congestion . . . ick! I am taking Motrin and Mucinex for the congestion since that is all I am able to take when nursing. Now we just have to wait and see if the other boys in the house (JL and JSL) get this nasty flu that seems to originate at the school that NHL goes to.

With any luck the rest of the day will fly by and JL will be home so I can go back to BED!