photos | The Angel Forever

Category Archives photos

Ready for the bobsled team

Posted on September 23, 2008 8:50 am by TheAngelForever

Think back to your childhood for a minute. Did you like to go on amusement park rides? If you did were you more of a merry-go-round kind of kid, or did you like the thrills of any or all fast moving rides?

Saturday at Six Flags we quickly confirmed that NHL is into thrills. He was disappointed that he was not allowed onto two rides that were interesting to him (you had to be 48 inches tall), but quickly found one that was his absolute favorite by the end of the day.

After leaving Wiggles World for the first time, I convinced both of the boys to go with me on the Alpine Bobsled ride. JL was not too sure about this, but I promised him it was a very fast yet controlled ride. The boys agreed and we went onto the ride in seconds since there was absolutely no line.

Both of the boys were pleasantly surprised with the ride. NHL actually asked to go back on it immediately. JL took him on this time and I caught up with them for some photos. Here are NHL and JL in the Team USA bobsled. NHL was not looking at the camera since he was paying attention to the bobsled ahead of them.

Next they come around to check and make sure the bars are in place and locked correctly.

Then you wait for your bobsled to head up the hill of the track.

Here are the boys on the last turn of the journey.

Can you tell they like it? Oh wait, perhaps you can not see NHL since he is a little low in the bobsled (you can barely see the top of his head). Still you can tell JL’s response. This is just before coming back to the station.

NHL adored this ride and went on it four times during our day at the park. In fact at one point when we offered to go back to Wiggles World he said "No Mommy, it’s boring there I want to go on the Bobsled!"

LOL – that’s my boy!

Categories:
fun jl kid talk laughs nhl photos road trip weekend

Adventures in Wiggles World

Posted on September 22, 2008 4:00 pm by TheAngelForever

For months we had promised NHL that we would take him to Wiggles World at the Six Flags park near us. We finally fulfilled this on Saturday. We were not disappointed. Wiggles World was absolutely gorgeous. The area was masterfully designed and easily makes you fall in love with the bright primary colored land.

As soon as you enter Wiggles World you are greeted with familiar characters. The first item you literally could bump into is Henry right in the middle of the area.

NHL immediately wanted to go and drive one of the Big Red Cars. We went over there and he got on immediately since there were almost no lines the entire day.

While the boys were busy Toot Toot Chugga Chugg-ing along I looked around. Everything was in Wiggles theme, even the snack bar where they sold Fruit Salad of course!

The familiar colors that scream Wiggles were on everything. Even the park benches were donned in the Wiggly yellow, blue, red, and purple.

After the Big Red Car ride, NHL went for a spin on Dorothy’s Rosy Tea Cups. No adults on this ride, so he was flying solo on this one.

The final ride in Wiggles World was the Big Red Plane. JL and NHL went on this one while I took photos. Later on I went for a spin on this and boy does it give you a fabulous view of Wiggles World.

Wiggles World also had a stage for a show. We watched parts of the show two times (photos to come later). NHL enjoyed this, but we were too spoiled with the real Wiggles shows.

When we left Wiggles world the first time Henry was out visiting people. He posed for a photo before we left to find other fun rides to try.

Even if you are not visiting Wiggles World you must follow this advice:

Categories:
fun jl nhl photos road trip weekend

Wonder which way

Posted on September 21, 2008 9:26 am by TheAngelForever

Saturday we spent a beautiful Mommy and Daddy day with NHL at a local Six Flags park. We had an absolutely wonderful time. We arrived when they opened at 12:00 and left at about 6:30 (they closed at 7:00). As soon as we stepped foot into the park NHL was focused on one item. He wanted to get to a certain section of the park.

We looked at the street signs to figure out which direction to go. We were able to figure it out thanks to some familiar faces on the sign.

We started our adventure and saw that the park was already being decked out for Halloween. It really is hard to believe that October is just around the corner. (Note to self – get a costume for NHL soon!)

On our way to the location of interest we stopped for a quick ride on the Merry-go-round.

We even took a special photo for Nana of her favorite animal that happened to be there.

Then we continued to wander in the right direction. After walking around corners, up hills, and past the Looney Tunes National Park and Justice League we finally saw familiar signs of yellow, blue, red and purple!!!

It was finally time to check out Wiggles World and see the beautiful little land hidden within this Six Flags park.

Wiggles World adventures and more to be continued later.

Categories:
fun nhl photos road trip weekend

Decision day and dentist visit

Posted on September 18, 2008 8:36 am by TheAngelForever

Tuesday was a day that I was hoping we could skip over. It was the afternoon that I had a dentist appointment for NHL and had made the much debated MMR vaccine appointment for JSL. I cried many nights over this. I did not want to do the vaccine just yet, but felt so much pressure from so many different sources. I basically felt I was damned if I did and damned if I did not do it right now. In the end, I got sucked into doing it now. With NHL in school and the rise in Measles all over I went for it. Now we must wait to see how he does. The doctor told me to give him ibuprofen 2 hours before, acetaminophen 1 hour before and rotate them every three hours after the immunization was given for two days.

The little guy conked out after the vaccine like I have never seen before. I am sure the trauma combined with no afternoon nap was the reason behind that. He seems to be doing really well. My guard is still up though. The reaction I had to the MMR was a week later. All of the information from the CDC even states that most reactions that happen will occur 7-12 days after the administration of the shot. So we are watching and waiting to see how things go.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Before going to the nurse appointment for the vaccine, we went to NHL’s dentist visit. He really loves Dr. N and so do we! They called us in a few minutes early. Then a surprise was thrown our way. Now that NHL is five they like to do x-rays to check for adult teeth formation and cavities of existing teeth. Problem, the machine scared NHL and I had no warning to talk with him about it before this. That is my only beef with this office. If you know something new is coming next time at least tell the parents so they can get their child ready. NHL was close to allowing it, but we opted not to fight it this time around. He claims that next time he will allow it.

Everything after this went extremely well. When he got into the room he sat down in the chair and was asked what toothpaste flavor he wanted. Check out the choices:

The first time I saw this list I was shocked. I know that when I was little and went to the pediatric dentist we had possibly two choices – bubble gum or cherry (I believe). Now they have seven choices or may opt for no flavor at all. NHL selected grape this time around, but last visit he had cookie dough (that’s my boy).

NHL was very good at waiting for the hygenist to come into the room to clean his teeth. He watched the cartoons that were on the televisions right above his chair and played with a toy.

When the hygentist came in NHL did a fabulous job. He stayed still, kept his hands down, and was great at letting her clean his teeth. He was not a huge fan of the tarter removal, but who is really? When she was done cleaning his teeth I noticed that she got a small cup of slimy looking gel. She had a toothbrush and put it on NHL’s teeth. I assumed what it was, but had never seen it before. I was correct, it was the fluoride treatment. My how it has changed since my youth. I remember hating that part of the visit because of having the air in my mouth for 15-20 minutes and being bored with my mouth partially open. The hygenist told me that this new treatment is amazing, they only brush it on for a minute and the kids have to wait 30 minutes before eating/drinking and it is done. She checked and I was right, it was NHL’s first time and he had no clue it was done!

The dentist came in and confirmed that NHL has one six year molar almost completely in and the one above it has cut as well. She said that could certainly be why his hands are in his mouth more, but if that is the only sign we should not complain. Of course she said his teeth look great, but she is not 100% sure there are no cavitites since he did not allow x-rays. That was my chance to mention something about a warning before coming in with something new, but I was a little distracted. JSL was fussing and my mind was too worried about going across the street to our family practice for the MMR.

Hopefully if all goes well NHL will have his x-rays done at the end of March for his next visit.

Categories:
decisions doctor jsl milestone nhl photos

Toddling Times

Posted on September 16, 2008 12:05 am by TheAngelForever

Do you remember where your children were the first time they walked multiple steps on their own? JSL started really toddling on his own in the last two weeks. It made me think back to when NHL took his first steps. We waited so long for that day to come that I recall where we were, what was going on, and exactly what the little guy was wearing.

We were visiting my brother and sister-in-law. NHL had just started physical therapy after qualifying through Early Intervention. He was diagnosed as having low muscle tone and was hyper flexible. In other words he could touch his nose to the floor while sitting and struggled just to have enough balance to stand, no less walk on his own.

We had no clue at the time that this was going on. He was our first born and we thought he was so close to walking for months. He could toddle holding simply a finger, but without it could not.

Just a few days after starting PT we went away for a weekend. All of the adults were talking when we suddenly noticed a little boy walk by us. We did many double takes and then hooted and hollered since NHL was indeed walking on his own. JL quickly went to get the camera to capture these first steps on his own. Before we knew it he went back down the hall on his own. Later that afternoon we went to the Fisher Price outlet store. My little guy walked in the store on his own, chanting Elmo when he saw all of the toys he wanted to go to.

Here are NHL’s first of many solo steps and relaxing on the couch in his Mickey Mouse PJ’s. These were taken July 6, 2005 when NHL was almost 23 months old.

We always joked that JSL would walk for the first time at Uncle I and Aunt M’s house. That was not to be in July when we visited. JSL did things on his own schedule and really started to perfect things this past week. By the end of the weekend visiting for Cousin S’s first birthday he had really picked up speed.

While gathering clothing from NHL to get ready for JSL I found a lot of summer items. Included in this were the Mickey Mouse PJ’s that NHL was wearing when he walked. I thought it was only fitting to take these with us this weekend to get some photos of JSL. These photos were taken September 14, 2008 as JSL turned 16 months old.