Self Fulfilling Prophecy

I was chatting with Allie on Friday and giving her an update on the boys, among other things. She asked how the boys were doing because Tyler had a fever earlier in the week and was still acting a bit off and Andrew caught whatever Tyler had and developed a fever Thursday morning. Well, in the course of that conversation, I said something to the effect of, well at least they aren't vomiting. I should have kept my mouth shut!

***Warning, this post talks about throw up***

Friday night, still under the weather from his fever, Andrew threw up in his bed in the middle of the night. He started crying and calling out so I went straight upstairs and I am still shocked that I did not freak out because his face was covered with red smeared vomit that from far away looked like blood. It was the strawberries from his strawberry short cake -- yummy.

Doug heard what was going on and came up to help. We came up with a plan of action -Andrew ended up sleeping in our room on his inflatable Thomas air bed (the bed we took to Italy with us) surrounded by towels with a bucket next to him. Good thing we had the bucket because Andrew eneded up having to use it several times -- but I was so proud of him because he got everything in the bucket. Andrew was feeling better by lunch on Saturday (no fever, no vomiting) and I thought we were in the clear. Then, right before bed Tyler threw up all over me! Thankfully, it was a one time occurrence.

I am happy to report that everyone is happy and healthy today. I pinpointed the vomiting episode to the strawberries and/or blueberries we bought on Friday. Tyler didn't have any on Friday and he was fine, but he had them for a snack on Saturday and clearly he had the same reaction as Andrew did. Needless to say, we won't be having any more of those.

I hope everyone else had a throw-up free weekend!

Surgery was a success!

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update on Tyler's surgery. He was a total champ -- very laid back and cooperative with the nurses and doctors. The staff at Memorial Hermann was phenomenal. The pre-registration process was fast and they called us back almost immediately to prep Tyler for surgery. The room was ready for Tyler with a baby hospital gown, teddy bear and the flat screen TV on the Disney Channel. Everyone was very nice and reassuring.

We were only separated from Tyler for about 25 minutes for the surgery and initial recovery. He woke up with the nurses and did not cry even though he did not recognize anyone. All of the nurses and doctors commented on what a cutie he is and how happy and cooperative he was. For about 30 minutes after his surgery he laid on my chest and finally fell asleep -- clearly the anesthesia was still working because he never cuddles like that anymore. I so enjoyed our cuddle time!

Time will tell whether the tubes keep the ear infections at bay and help with the pressure in his ears. We are just thankful to have the surgery behind us!

Happy Father's Day!

I am so lucky to not only have an amazing and wonderful husband, but to also have a partner who is a hands-on incredible father. Being a parent is the most rewarding experience in the world and to be able to share it with someone whom I love and respect is such a gift.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there ... and to the Dad's to be too!

Reminder - click on photos to enlarge. Enjoy!





Lest you think that my boys were angels when posing for these photos - here is a large version of the outtakes that are highlighted in the previous collage.

Guess who Andrew's favorite is? ...

Me, me, me, me, me!!!

I know that there is something inherently wrong about asking a child to pick favorites, but we play this game with Andrew anyway (I know, I know ...) and he usually will pick one of us and then add, "and Mommy or Daddy (the one who was not originally picked as the favorite) and Tyler, etc"

He is such a politician ... that is, until tonight! Tonight, Doug asked Andrew who is favorite was and he picked me and no matter what Doug did to try and disuade him (and he tried!), he replied, "Mommy!" He he he!

Andrew's Class Performance

Andrew's school had their graduation ceremony yesterday for the children that are moving to Kindergarten this fall. Andrew's class did a performance at their graduation ceremony and I was so proud of my big guy -- a vast improvement over his Christmas performance where he didn't sing at all! The children in the very front are actually wearing caps and gowns! The scary part -- that will be Andrew NEXT year!

Doug's Dragonfly

Doug got this great photo of a dragonfly that was perched on his antenna with our new little point and shoot camera. Isn't he talented? :)

Playing Hooky

It is officially summer time in Houston. School is out and it is HOT outside. Summer time also means the optional 9/80 schedule at work where employees can work an extra hour every day to get every other Friday off. I typically work longer hours anyway, so I try to take advantage of the Friday off when I can. I convinced Doug to play hooky from work today to spend some quality time with me and the boys. I planned a fun-filled family day starting with picking blueberries.

Andrew loves berries and he had so much fun at the blackberry farm. He did a great job of just picking the ripe berries. Doug and Tyler had fun too, but I sent them off to the shade after a bit because it was super hot outside and Tyler was sweating and getting really dirty trying to pick up all of the berries he saw on the ground.





2.5 pounds of blueberries(a half gallon) and $9.00 later we drove to Brenham, TX to visit the Bluebell factory. We took a tour and then we each got the biggest scoop of ice cream you can imagine. Strawberry (for Andrew), Pralienes and Cream (for Doug), Mint Chocolate Chip (for Anne) and Cookies and Cream (for Tyler -- that he ate with his hands). As we walked through the factory we passed the kitchen/break area and Doug noticed an ice cream freezer. They truly do "eat all they can and sell the rest" just like their ad says. I highly suggest that you finish reading my blog, close your internet browser and drive to the store to get your very own pint of your favorite flavor of Blue Bell icecream.

Did you know that Blue Bell was named after the flower of the same name that naturally grows near the factory? They make 50 flavors, 19 flavors are available year round and the remaining flavors are special editions. Homemade vanilla is the most popular flavor. Blue Bell uses milk from dairy farms within a 200 mile radius of Brenham to make its icecream and it takes milk from 50,000+ cows every single day to keep up with their production. Blue Bell is sold in 17 states, as far west as Arizona and as far East as North Carolina (sorry, Allie!).

After our tour and ice cream tasting we started the trek back to Houston, via Hempstead, where we stopped for lunch and a trip to the Farmer's Market. No good finds at the market, but I did find an awesome field of flowers that I took the opportunity to photograph. On the drive home I turned around to find both of my boys passed out in their car seats, sleeping in the exact same position with their mouths open. It was too sweet!









It was a wonderful family day and the best part is that we still have the whole weekend ahead of us!

Gobbles

Andrew is fascinated by goggles, aka, gobbles and he wants to wear them all the time. Against my better judgement I let him ride his bike to the pool on Monday with his gobbles on. He now knows that gobbles are for the pool and bath tub only and he insists on wearing them in the tub. Tonight during his bath he declared that Tyler needed a pair of gobbles too. What a sweet brother!

Andrew loves going to the pool, but he lacks the confidence he had after his swim lessons so we are going to sign him back up for a refreshed course to get him acclimated to the pool again.

How cute is this? Andrew biked nearly .5 mile to get to the pool all by himself with his helmet and gobbles on ... and his rings on his handlebars!






One of Tyler just for fun ... I was playing with the depth of field

Outtakes

It seems nearly impossible these days to get photos of the boys together -- or even harder -- to get photos of one or both of us with the boys!

Just one example:



And just because I like these:

Homework

Andrew, hard at work tracing his name: