Gumdrop's Journey

Deck the halls....

2011-12-13T15:49:00.000-05:00

Just can me 'Tinsel Man'

How many ornaments do you think I can hang from a single branch??

Cheesers!!

Christmas Tree Hunting

2011-12-09T13:57:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we made our annual holiday trip to the Christmas tree farm to cut our tree down. We have gone somewhere different every year because we have never been completely satisfied, but I think we found a winner this year. The blue skies and lack of snow, made it feel like we should have been hunting for pumpkins rather than trees, but it was perfect all around and we got a beautiful tree!

All smiles on the wagon ride out to the fields

our tree!!

Charlie catching a ride with Aunt Bridget

while we waited for the wagon to return

Tchaikovsky!

2011-12-06T11:44:00.003-05:00

Last Friday night we kicked off our Christmas holiday season with a family date out to the ballet to see The Nutcracker. Charlie was so beyond excited and told every one he was going to see Tchaikovsky (which he pronounces surprisingly well!). We got a great price on great seats through Groupon and it was the children's ballet with lots of other kids there and we ended up with no one sitting in front of us! It was perfect!

Charlie stood for much of the first act with his elbows resting on the seat in front of him, propping his chin up on his hands as he watched - - I wish I could have gotten a picture of him like that! And he knew there would be mice in the show so the moment the lights came up, he yelled out "Where's the mice?!?" and got quite the chuckle from everyone around us. He got to pick himself out a couple little Nutcracker ornaments before leaving and was a happy boy. It was a really great night all around!

October Rewind: Pumpkin Carving

2011-11-08T11:24:00.000-05:00

Pumpkin carving was a big hit in our house and we ended up with some great results. Charlie directed daddy as to what shapes were needed where and Eman took charge with the marker, drawing his jack-o-lantern face before his mom helped him carve it up.

Cheesy smile Charlie

Helping to dig out the guts

Team Trouble

Look at that concentration!

Very closely observing daddy's progress

Just about done!

Pumpkin teeth!

Eman's finished product

And the final display

(Before we put them out on the porch and they were eaten by squirrels!)

October Rewind: Apples & Pumpkins

2011-11-04T17:26:00.000-04:00

There's not much better than apple and pumpkin picking on a sunny fall day....

Taking a break from his apple to show me that super smile!

cousins and apples and smiles, oh my!

Charlie and Grandma picked out a good one!

October Rewind: Abbott's Farm

2011-11-03T13:38:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, we had a nice fall outing to Abbottt Farms where we got to visit some animals, get lost repeatedly in a corn maze, and enjoy some delicious fall treats. It was a chilly, grey day - but it was a good time!

Charlie was intrigued by the turkeys

The chickens came running expecting to be fed,

but then Charlie growled at them instead...

Sorry chickens. :-)

posing with the pumpkins

mmm... warm cider donuts...

Such a goof ball!!

Trick-or-Treat!!!

2011-11-01T21:06:00.003-04:00

Charlie and his little friend, Noah, were a big hit in the neighborhood while trick-or-treating in their thinga-ma-jigger last night. I have to give credit to our friend, Melissa, for coming up with the idea and making the awesome blue wigs though! We did nothing but buy a t-shirt and pair it with some red footie pajamas. They were both super cute and had a great time raking in the goodies!

Thing 1 and Thing 2 ready to go go go go... on a trick-or-treating adventure!

Posing with The Cat in the Hat (aka, Melissa)

Eman the skeleton and Thing 2 raring to go!

cute face!!

Happy Halloween from Thing 1 and Thing 2!

Camp Week: Walks at Sunset

2011-09-21T15:21:00.000-04:00

Just about every day at the beach ended with a slow and leisurely walk along the beach at sunset. Camera in hand. Charlie often with a freeze pop from courtesy of our camping neighbors and good friends, the Sherwoods. Life doesn't get much better. The beauty of sunsets at Southwick never cease to amaze us, even after years of being in awe of them. Each night is just a little different and spectacular in its own way. Here are a few pictures from throughout our week. Enjoy...

Camp Week: Big Wheels

2011-09-20T08:42:00.000-04:00

One of the best things about camping at that the super fun outdoor toys are always ready and waiting to be played with. This year, Charlie brought his big wheel (handed down from cousin Emanuel) and had a great time riding all over. There was also of course lots of time for frisbee throwing, ball bouncing, bubble blowing, tee-ball hitting... :-)

This is the look I got when I said

"Charlie, show me your cute face!"

riding big boy style :-)

Camp Week: More Beach Time

2011-09-19T13:52:00.000-04:00

Another day, another beach picture...

And another nap on the beach :-)

Camp Week: Sandcastles and Sunshine

2011-09-16T13:11:00.000-04:00

We all managed to escape our week on the beach without a single sunburn. That does not mean that we didn't get to fully enjoy some sunshine and beach adventures. Charlie's newest infatuation this year - SANDCASTLES! He wanted nothing more than to fill buckets with sand and dump them into simple little castles over and over and over and over. :-) Filling buckets with water and bringing them back to where we were sitting was also a big hit. It is safe to say that he thoroughly enjoyed himself and playing on the beach.

Taking a very quick break from his work to say

"Cheese!"

My little engineer/architect hard at work

The end result of all that hard work:

A nice nap on the beach

(this was almost a daily occurrence)

Camp Week: Playground Fun

2011-09-15T15:38:00.000-04:00

Charlie LOVES playgrounds. Pairing a week at the beach with being able to wake up and go to the playground first thing every morning made this a week in heaven for him. There were no "baby" swings at this playground, but Charlie loves to swing more than anything else and was willing to brave the big boy swings in order to get his swinging time in. The only down side of that is that swinging tends to lull him into a very relaxed state - this does not bode well for hanging onto the big boy swing without falling. Luckily we avoided any disasters!

Who wouldn't want to do this every morning?!

A visit from Abby was not complete without some

playground time as well. In fact, I don't think any

visitor we had managed to escape without

some time spent on the playground!

Camp Week: Let's Go Fly A Kite

2011-09-14T14:47:00.000-04:00

We had some REALLY windy days while we were at camp last month. Charlie has been interested in kites lately, so we thought it would be a great time to go kite flying. Didn't go exactly as planned and we learned that kite flying can be extremely hazardous to your health... BUT it was a good time and we had a good laugh about it all! After many, many failed attempts and more than one close call involving kites crashing to the ground forcefully very near to innocent bystanders, we called it a day for kite flying. There is such a thing as too much wind when attempting to fly a kite, so we will have to try again some other place and time.

This was probably taken after the kite had come

crashing to the ground - it happened more than once

in the course of our kite flying adventures!

SUCCESS - as short lived as it may have been! :-)

There is no one immediately present in this picture,

but I would be willing to bet that it came crashing to

the ground scaring the bejeezus out of at least one person.

Camp Week: Getting Settled

2011-09-13T09:22:00.001-04:00

Last month we spent a week at Southwick Beach as we do every summer. Charlie thoroughly enjoyed himself and would have been completely satisfied staying even longer if given the opportunity! It was a really good time spent with people near and dear to us. Life doesn't get much better than beaches, campfires, good food, and special people!

Charlie helping put up the screen house

(He is sporting a super nifty outfit put together from diaper bag

remnants after taking a dip in the lake while wearing his clothes.)

:-)

Bedtime stories by flashlight with Grandma

On our way to the camp store in search of hot cocoa

(No camp trip is complete without a rainy hot cocoa day!)

favorite summer pastime

2011-08-01T09:53:00.000-04:00

Charlie's latest favorite summer pastime... Watering the plants. And in effect, usually watering himself. We had to buy him his own watering can just for helping us.

a trip to the zoo

2011-07-28T15:57:00.000-04:00

Making our way to the zoo for a couple hours

up close and personal with a big cat

posing on the statue in the new elephant exhibit

being entertained by the penguins

in awe of the peacock

a new sprinkler

2011-07-22T09:10:00.000-04:00

Stay cool out there! :-)

Warning: 2 year old with a hose....

2011-07-19T09:52:00.000-04:00

boys of summer

2011-07-15T18:50:00.000-04:00

There is little that Charlie loves more than playing outside with the sprinkler or the hose or the water table.... You get my drift! He loves every minute of it and we have plenty of options. :-)

And of course he is a boy that loves all kinds of sports as well - basketball and baseball are a couple of favorites. Our nephew, Emanuel, being a little older 'gets' the concept behind the sports a little more and is actually getting really good at baseball. Who knows, maybe some day he will be rich and famous and support all of us!

photo shoot

2011-07-13T15:04:00.000-04:00

I am taking an online photography class right now and took some time the other evening to do a little photo shoot with my favorite boy. He wasn't too keen on sitting still and cooperating, but he played along..... I am sure the promise of M&Ms didn't hurt! :-)

super cute pic, but this was him seeing how much he

could move before being asked to sit still again!

sweet little smirk

love him!

one assignment was to take a close-up pic of hands

the bluebird stamp is from our music class

and the promised M&Ms!!

June Rewind: Strawberry Picking

2011-07-12T10:17:00.000-04:00

Strawberry picking is one of our rituals of summer that we look forward to. Nothing can quite compare to fresh local strawberries, especially after months of eating fruits shipped to the area from across the country. We now have sliced strawberries frozen and ready for shortcake whenever the mood strikes us!

Charlie's first strawberry picking involved him sleeping in his carseat in the middle of the field. Last year, he was eating strawberries as quickly as we were picking them. This year he really 'got it' and was intent on picking strawberries and filling everyone's containers. His favorite phrase was 'It's perfect!' as he would hold up his latest berry treasure! (Unfortunately, they were often less than perfect after being man-handled by him as he struggled to pull them off the plants - - but he was so excited, so how can you argue with that?)

ready to hit the fields

searching for the perfect starting place

working hard

helping Grandma

'It's perfect!'

showing off his bounty

June Rewind: Preschool Graduation

2011-07-11T15:09:00.003-04:00

Last month we were able to celebrate with Emanuel as he reached his first of many school milestones: Preschool Graduation. It was a cute little ceremony with cookies, juice, and lots of picture taking afterwards. He had amazing teachers this year who really reached out and included Charlie in things whenever they could. Charlie loved Ms Carm and Ms Barbara and has already asked about wanting to see them. Charlie might miss preschool more than Emanuel right now!

Emanuel and his proud mama

Poppop and Emanuel

(Emanuel was beyond excited that my dad came to his graduation!)

the amazing Ms Carm with the boys

(I am a teacher, but could never in a million years

do what this woman does every day! There is a special

place in heaven for teachers of children this young!)

Mr Potato Head - Charlie-Style

2011-07-07T10:33:00.000-04:00

Charlie came up with this look all on his own and was quite proud of himself. He proceeded to wear his glasses for quite some time and had indentations in the sides of his head to prove it. Such a silly little boy we have!!

June Rewind: NICU Reunion

2011-07-06T15:53:00.000-04:00

Last month was the Crouse NICU Reunion. It is typically organized as a "Preemie Reunion" so Charlie's name tag boasting 7lbs 11oz seemed a little out of place, but he didn't seem to mind.

The ceiling of the whole room was literally filled with mylar balloons.

Charlie was in awe. :-)

Aunt Dee and her little man.

June Rewind: Greek Fest

2011-07-01T11:31:00.000-04:00

For as long as I can remember, my family has gone to the local Greek festival in early June. My great grandfather actually came here from Greece when he was 12 or 13 (lied about his age and came here by himself!!). But regardless of the heritage link, who doesn't love Greek food and a couple hours of music and dancing?! Some of our friends joined us and it was a perfect early summer evening.

watching the band

our friend Melissa and her son Noah

(Melissa has been going with me to Greek fest for years!)

every kid's favorite Greek fest tradition: Loukoumades!!

(delicious little dough balls soaked in honey

and sprinkled with cinnamon... heaven!)

Charlie was not shy about his love of loukoumades!

A Boy and His Trains

2011-06-27T19:38:00.000-04:00

There is some unnatural connection between boys and trains. Charlie loves them. His daddy loves them. We just recently learned that my grandfather used to have his own model train. Charlie's collection has grown and I think he has a special love for each and every piece...

him and his newest Thomas

(you can never have enough Thomases)

he is so intent...

Brought Charlie to the library for the first time a few

weeks ago and what should we find - - a huge table full

of Thomas and friends. Needless to say, he was not too

interested in books and we are in search of a

new library to frequent...

Picnic in the Park

2011-06-15T22:08:00.000-04:00

Our parish picnic was a couple weeks ago and we made it to mass in the park and the picnic with two boys in tow! We were impressed with ourselves to say the least. This is the first time we have gone to our parish picnic and we had a great time. It is a huge parish, so it is hard to feel a real sense of belonging sometimes, but this was a good day,

the boys sitting together during mass

finally getting to hit up the playground after being

very well behaved through the whole mass

big boy needs to do it all on his own!

:-)

Hard to tell who enjoys the swings more -

Charlie or Grandma and Grandpa

Such cuties!

heading towards the lake to check out the ducks

Special Times in Saratoga

2011-06-13T14:44:00.001-04:00

We spent Memorial Day weekend in Saratoga with Charlie's GG and Poppop. It was a great family weekend and as an added bonus Uncle Will and Aunt Priscilla surprised us with a visit while we were there! It was so good to see them, as they are not around that often!

Charlie and Aunt Priscilla

Celebrating the Gemini birthdays

(mommy and Aunt Priscilla)

We found a playground nearby on a VERY hot afternoon

Isn't my goddaughter, Brianna, super cute?? :-)

family picture

Will and Priscilla, my Uncle Charlie and two of his daughters

(Brianna and Kimmy), my Nana and Poppop with their dog KC, and us

Strawberries...

2011-06-09T11:26:00.001-04:00

We added some strawberry plants to our garden adventure for this summer. We have no experience with strawberries and were more than a little surprised when we opened our little paper bag from the garden store. They were an after thought, so they are in pots instead of an actual garden bed for this year. They are growing and have some flowers on them, so we will wait and see what comes of this effort!

The rest of our garden is actually progressing really well! (Considering any plant we touch tends to whither and die...) We have zucchinis starting and flowers on our tomato plants. Peppers are hanging in there. The mistake we made and realize now is that we planted 6 tomato plants and 2 zucchini plants in one bed and 6 pepper plants and 2 zucchini plants in the other bed. Zucchini plants should have all been on their own and away from the other plants because they are bordering on smothering the tomatoes and peppers. We are learning as we go! I will have to take and post some garden pictures soon to show off what we have going on! :-)

May Rewind - visiting with Kayla Mae

2011-06-08T16:28:00.005-04:00

Last month our favorite little girl, Kayla, was in town for surgery to repair her patch and diaphragm again. Poor thing was such a trooper and didn't let much of the ordeal hold her down. And her mommy and daddy made it through relatively unscathed as well (in all honesty, it was probably harder on them than it was on Kayla and I don't know how they held it together so well!)

While we obviously wish the circumstances had been different, we LOVED being able to go and visit (almost) daily and spend some quality time with the Olmsteads. It is too bad that we live so far from each other. At the beginning of their stay, Charlie and Kayla didn't really want much to do with each other and were content doing their own thing. But by the time Kayla was discharged and went home, the two of them were best of friends, sharing hugs and kisses and enjoying their time together. So cute!!

Kayla is doing great now. She had her check up with Dr Ratner today and he is very pleased. She is a rock star!!! (and darn cute too!)

The day the Olmsteads got into town we met up at the playground for some fun and then took them out to dinner and ice cream. Its so nice to be "normal" with people who we started a relationship with by being NICU neighbors!

Look at that hair!

Charlie got soaked throwing rocks in the water

Charlie's first visit to see Kayla a few days after surgery

(He had not been allowed in the ICU where she was initally)

riding in style

The children's hospital in Syracuse just opened last year and this was our first time seeing it in person. It is amazing and it is so good to know that we have such a nice facility right here if we are ever to need it.

They LOVED the playroom!

playing house :-)

(They make such a cute little couple!)

serious Kayla rocking in the solarium

not sure what this was called, but it had sticks you used to

hit metal pipes with to make "music" - fun stuff!

I caught a smile!!!

(Probably because she was rocking like crazy and

knew she was giving her mama a heart attack!)

Love those smiles!!

Not sure if they were having a business meeting or what,

but I am willing to bet this is a sign of things to come!

so sweet!!

our little helper

2011-05-16T10:30:00.000-04:00

We built a couple of raised garden beds in our backyard and Charlie was more than eager to get in there and help. :-)

(Pay no mind to the winter boots on his feet.... we decided that was the better option for tromping around in the post-winter backyard without a diaper on.)

in training

2011-05-13T14:06:00.000-04:00

My Mother's Day Gift...

2011-05-09T20:34:00.001-04:00

Rochester weekend continued...

2011-05-07T12:30:00.000-04:00

Of course the weekend would not have been complete without hitting up a few of our favorites...

:-) garbage plates for dinner...

ready to visit the hotel pool...

Charlie was incredibly excited

icecream at Reed's after swimming

Charlie's evening attire

breakfast at Infantino's

Strong National Museum of Play

2011-05-06T22:00:00.000-04:00

This past weekend we took a little family vacation down the Thruway to Rochester where we lived for 8 years before moving back to Syracuse and our friends and families. We loved Rochester, but missed the people from home. So, this was hopefully the first of many family trips back to the city we came to feel as our second home.

There is an amazing children's museum in Rochester that we had been to once before, but going with Charlie was more fun than we could have imagined! Even though he fought off taking a nap on the way there as we had hoped, he ran and ran and ran from one thing to another for over four hours until Mommy and Daddy called an end to the fun because we were exhausted! We didn't even get to see all there is at the museum, but we are sure we will be back again before too long!

Looking for "Nemo"

working at the bus station

Sesame Street!!

Charlie cannot help but laugh at Mr Noodle in Elmo's World

trains, trains, and more trains!

riding on the train with Daddy

fishing for some nursery rhymes

sliding at the Berenstain Bears Clubhouse

And some fun in Papa Bear's Workshop

Taking one more ride on the train before heading out

weather craziness

2011-05-05T09:23:00.001-04:00

We have had some crazy weather around here lately. Luckily, not as destructive and devastating as other parts of the country, but crazy nonetheless. We are on a 20 day streak of rain and have had some pretty strong storms come through. Last week one thunderstorm also brought on some hail (something we don't see very often). Charlie went from yelling out the window, telling the clouds to "stop bumping," to being completely amazed at the new sound of quarter-sized hail pelting our house and car. He went out afterwards to collect some to show to daddy when he got home a little later.

Daddy's birthday

2011-05-04T14:20:00.001-04:00

Daddy is another year older and Charlie thoroughly enjoyed all the birthday going-ons. Presents and cupcakes rank right up there on Charlie's list of favorite things, even if they are not meant for him. And he was extremely excited to pick out his own gift to give Daddy - - Thomas the Train puzzles to play with together.

Potty Training at its Finest

2011-04-29T09:54:00.001-04:00

Someday he will hate me for this.... Until then, its just too cute not to share! :-)

Birds and Squirrels

2011-04-28T11:33:00.000-04:00

Upon hearing Charlie playing in his crib after nap time...

Daddy: "Charlie, are you ready to get up?"

Charlie: "I want to feed the birds and squirrels."

Daddy: "You want what?"

Charlie: "I want to feed the birds and squirrels."

Daddy: "Ok, but you have to get up first..."

Charlie: "Its a deal."

Charlie armed with his bagful of stale bread

ready to feed the birds and squirrels.

Taking Pictures of Boys...

2011-04-27T09:02:00.002-04:00

...is not an easy task!!!

Mommy: "Charlie, you're not looking at me!"

Mommy: "Charlie! Let go of Emanuel's face!"

Mommy: "Emanuel, now I can't see Charlie's face..."

Mommy: "Not bad! But Charlie, can you

smile instead of yelling 'cheese'...?"

Mommy: "No Charlie, sit down please..."

Mommy: "Charlie........."

Mommy: "That isn't helping, Emanuel..."

Mommy: *sigh*

mail call!!

2011-04-26T08:58:00.000-04:00

Charlie was incredibly excited when we went out to the mailbox the other day and I handed the one and only piece of mail we received to him...

Easter greetings from GG and Saratoga Poppop :-)

Easter Weekend Rewind

2011-04-25T15:40:00.000-04:00

I was so excited to post our pictures from the day yesterday that I forgot about our egg dying adventures! We went out to Nana's house Friday night and shared our egg dying with her and Eman who had spent the week with Nana. Quick work was made of 3 dozen eggs with no major catastrophes or messes. :-)

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T21:38:00.004-04:00

The Easter Bunny was good to Charlie!

Breaking into his goodies.

Styling with Grandma and Grandpa

one blessed family

He was posing because he wanted his M&M's back...

finding Easter eggs...

another one...

Eman being a nice cousin and helping Charlie find his last egg :-)

Egg hunt success!

Playground time again!

2011-04-23T10:35:00.000-04:00

The weather has been so touch and go lately that we have tried to get out and enjoy every glimmer of good weather we have gotten. Last Friday afternoon gave us the opportunity to hit up the playground again and made for a very nice afternoon outing. :-)

"CHEESE!"

As I took this picture he was yelling "Hi girls!"

to a couple of high school girls that had just showed

up at the park. He is such a flirt!

handsome boy...

Preschool Practice

2011-04-18T16:01:00.002-04:00

Last week Emanuel's preschool teacher invited Charlie and I to join their class for the day (it was a scheduled half day, so things were a little more laid back and fewer kids actually come to school). Charlie loves Eman's class and teachers, so we were excited to have some play time with them. It was a great morning and Charlie enjoyed every minute of it.

dumping every block bin on the floor before quickly

losing interest and moving on to something else

building a little something something...

counting the candles on the cake

Preschool followed by Pizza Hut lunch buffet

makes for a pretty good day in Charlie world :-)

trip to Nana's

2011-04-18T16:00:00.002-04:00

Uncle Will and Aunt Priscilla are in town, so we headed out to Nana's for a surprise visit last week. Nana has three big and very loud dogs who make Charlie a bit nervous (most dogs are intimidating compared to our Chloe who lays around sleeping all day and never barks). He warmed up to Kodi though after a bit.

cuddling with Kodi on the floor

treats!

the boys love Aunt Priscilla!!

Playground time!

2011-04-18T15:55:00.004-04:00

The weather has finally improved enough to venture out to the playground! The boys were more than ready - full steam ahead - and had a great time!

1 -2 - 3!!

Charlie escaping across the bridge

And stopping to take in the view of the water below...

No fear!!!

Cadbury Eggs

2011-04-18T15:35:00.002-04:00

Sharing with Mommy :-)

A boy after my own Cadbury loving heart...

Catching Up

2011-04-18T15:04:00.004-04:00

It seems like we might finally be free from the germs that have had a hold on our house the past couple of months. Well, more accurately, Charlie seems germ-free... Mommy and Daddy are still battling the perpetual congestion. We are getting there though. Here's a bit of where we have been over the past month (minus the days we have spent laid up on the couch!).

Our Totally Charming little man on St Patrick's Day

Never to early to start a Shamrock Shake tradition!

A taste of spring

(there was definitely a couple more ground covering

snow falls after this was taken a month ago, but we

are hoping that we are in the clear now!)

March Madness!

Taking a little ride around the yard.

Soaking in as much sun as we can!

Thanks for the great birthday gift

Aunt Sheri and Uncle Trevor!

We are hoping to try our hand at gardening this spring/summer

and decided to try starting a few seedlings ourselves.

Charlie was glad to help.

We will have to see if this helps him develop a taste for veggies!

And this is the beginning of what we hope

will be a nice little herb garden as well!

Keeping our fingers crossed!

(We don't typically do very well with plants!)

Can't Catch a Break

2011-03-31T21:27:00.003-04:00

The cold wintery weather is holding on as long as possible this year which means these winter germs aren't backing down at all either. Everyone has been fighting off a cold these past few weeks and it finally caught up with Charlie a few days ago. Started with the sniffles and then he developed a cough. Unfortunately it became evident that we were dealing with more than the common cold when he got a fever that just kept climbing and wouldn't go away despite regular motrin. Poor thing was miserable with tons of congestion and mucous making him cough pretty much nonstop and gag regularly.

I brought him to the pediatrician's Tuesday morning after his breathing became obviously labored and he wasn't making any improvements at all. Turns out his cold had developed into an ear infection and a rattling in his right lung that might be another round of pneumonia. The NP who saw us didn't want to expose him to another chest xray unnecessarily, so he prescribed an antibiotic that should be able to handle the ear infection and whatever is going on in his lung.

So after two days of antibiotics and no improvement at all, we went back to the pediatrician this morning. Our poor pitiful little boy has literally spent the bulk of this week on the couch requesting movies, cuddling, and sleeping whenever his cough allows him a break. The NP was obviously concerned. We ended up getting a CBC, nebulizer treatment, chest xray and inconclusive diagnosis. There is no sign of pneumonia, but they did detect irritation in his bronchioles.

The thought is that Charlie caught a cold, the cold aggravated his reflux, and his reflux has irritated his lungs. Because of the fever there is some infection somewhere, so they are being aggressive. He was given an antibiotic injection in the office and we were given a script for a new antibiotic for the next 10 days and are hoping this does the trick!

Today was CDH Awareness Day and we will be putting together a special post in honor of today as soon as things settle down here a little... and by settle down, I mean not being forced to sit on the couch and watch Elmo and Thomas for hours on end while trying to convince Charlie to drink more juice and water. :-)

Where does the time go....

2011-03-16T15:13:00.005-04:00

More than a month since my last post and I have no idea where the time went! Following his birthday, Charlie had a couple appointments - 2 year physical and his regularly scheduled check up with the surgeon. Charlie has taken huge steps backwards in terms of his anxiety level at the doctor's office. It is a struggle to keep him even remotely calm at all. At his physical he cried and fought so hard while getting his vitals that he fell asleep in my arms while waiting for the pediatrician to come in (a blessing in disguise!). He has never been completely at ease at the doctor's, but we were making some progress before he got sick last month. That appointment with feeling completely miserable, having an RSV test, a breathing treatment, and a chest xray while confined in that stupid Pigg-o-Stat contraption put him right over the edge.

Luckily the technician we had at the hospital for Charlie's chest xray prior to seeing the surgeon does not believe in putting children old enough to communicate and remember things in the Pigg-o-Stat. Though the trauma he suffered the time before was obvious and it took 4 xrays to get 2 clear views because he was in a melt down. Dr Ratner was happy with what he continues to see on the xrays though and has said we only need to come in once a year from here on out for checkups. His only concern was the fact that everyone believes the pneumonia in the beginning of February was caused by his reflux and aspirating something into his lungs. He wants us to see a GI specialist to get their input and make sure someone is keeping closer tabs on where things stand with his reflux. That appointment is in a couple of weeks. Sadly, this was our last time seeing Dr Ratner because he will be retiring this summer. He is an amazing doctor and person and we were so lucky to have him on our team these past 2 years.

Other than doctor office drama, Charlie is amazing. He speaks so clearly and (when he is not screeching in temper tantrum mode) he communicates really well. His latest thing in pretend playing. He sleeps with a few stuffed animal friends and many times I have heard him in his crib role playing with his friends, having full on conversations, playing hide-and-seek under the blankets, putting them to sleep... its so cute! He has also mastered the art of manipulation. We went to put him to bed the other night and he said, "no Daddy...want to watch basketball with you..." Of course Daddy let him stay up after that! He knows how to play the system!

We are looking forward to spring and warm weather. Charlie is just itching to get outside and insisted (in the aftermath of a major meltdown) that he wanted to sit out on the porch and swing. It was a bit chilly, but still light out, so we bundled up with blankets and swung on the porch swing for more than a half hour. Hopefully he will always want to just sit on the swing with us from time to time.

Truck/Train/Vehicle infatuation still going strong!

Seeing this made me seriously wonder if he has too many toys...

He created himself a "bed" with all the pillows and blankets

on the floor and then added every single stuffed animal

within reach and all of his books. He then proceeded to "read"

to the stuffed animals. All without any prompting from anyone!

Momma made play dough!

Don't know why I bothered to make different colors

because they all just got smooshed together into a

greenish brownish swamp color by the end...

Throwing stale bread out for the birds and squirrels

He loves to color!

Thomas!

And this is what I came back to find at the dining room table

after walking away to get something. Who knew bologna and

cheese could stick to your face so effectively?! :-)

Can't Believe You're Two Years Old!

2011-02-10T09:37:00.003-05:00

Looking back at the information we shared here about you as a 1 year old, it is hard to believe how much you have grown up in just 12 months! No one was lying when they said cherish everyday because they are gone in a flash... You have become a little boy right before our eyes!

Charlie, here are some of your current stats, loves, and special times:

Physically:

-25lbs 12oz (though I think this is inaccurate and should be a little less - you would not sit on the scale at all and when I said you had no reason to be freaking out you proceeded to repeat over and over, "I'm freaking out! I'm freaking out!") This weight puts you in the 20th percentile which is a drop from where you were 6 months ago.

-35.5 inches tall -This puts you in the 80th percentile for height and is an almost 3 inch growth from 6 months ago!

-2 year molars are in on the bottom, but not on the top.

-Still walking on your toes too much, so we have to keep working on stretching those ankle tendons out.

-Still on medication for your reflux. Prilosec taken before bed seems to be working for now.

Developmentally:

-You run and jump and dance all over. You can be a bit of a clutz (especially when it comes to socks on the hardwoods!), but have not done any permanent damage yet! :-)

-Your language is amazing!!! You have full conversations that, for the most part, are completely understandable! Many people have commented on how clearly you speak and some of the things you come out with shock even me! (Such as your diatribe on broccoli being "gross" at dinner the other night...)

-We've tried potty training here and there over the past few months, but you really are not into the idea. Even the prospect of an M&M reward or Thomas the Train undies isn't enough to entice you!

-You sleep 10-12 hours a night and even if you wake up early, you just play contentedly in your crib. You also take one nap a day, about 2 hours long. You still let me cuddle you and rock before your naps sometimes.

-You can walk up and down the stairs holding someone's hand and do so really well!

Eating:

-You eat fairly well, though you go through definite phases (ie: the Only Things Crunchy Phase, the Sprinkle Cheese Phase, the Ketchup Dipping Phase)

-You typically will eat three meals a day with some snacking in between. Honestly, breakfast seems to last all morning sometimes for you, as you graze from one thing to another.

-After switching to sippy cups completely in the fall you never drank as much milk as you once did, but we have at least started getting some into you again as long as there is some chocolate syrup added... a boy after his Mommy's heart!

-You love drinking your juices and will drink water well too.

Favorites:

-Food: Kix and Cheerios, Wheat Thins, unsalted mini pretzels, pizza, fruit (especially blueberries and strawberries), greek yogurt, "circle cheese" (sliced provolone), hotdogs

-Toys: anything Thomas the Train, anything Sesame Street, blocks, play food and kitchen, trucks and cars

-Comfort Objects: paci (we have been trying to break this habit!), Rhino, Mooney (stuffed gorilla), Bess (teddy bear), Blair (your blanket/bear), jungle music box (the one we bought to duplicate the one you had in the NICU so that there would be something familiar when you came home... you still request that we push the button every time you go to sleep!)

-Books: Goodnight Moon, The Velveteen Rabbit, Little Blue Truck, anything Thomas or Sesame Street or Dr Seuss, any of the Give a Mouse a Cookie books

Health Hurdles Crossed:

-RSV in January 2010

-an allergic reaction to something... still not quite sure what!

-ongoing reflux issues that we are always trying to keep in check

-multiple colds and sniffles

-a stomach bug in January 2011

-pneumonia brought on by aspirating something just this past week

Things We Did This Past Year:

-trip to Florida in June

-trips to the zoo (Rosamond Gifford, Buffalo, and Lowry Park!)

-camping at Southwick and Green Lakes

-first swim lessons

You LOVE:

-going to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner every week and playing with Riggi while you are there

-Aunt Dee!!! She is always at the forefront of your thoughts and you are always so excited to see her

-going to pick up Emanuel at school and seeing his teacher Ms Carm (The other kids all love you too!)

-saying "hi" to people in the grocery store. Heaven forbid they don't answer though... You make it your mission to get a "hi" in return!

-playing at the playground

-getting blueberry muffins for breakfast before we go grocery shopping in the morning

-having books read to you

-chasing (and tackling) Chester

-giving Chloe treats

-helping put the dishes away

-showing off to ANYONE who will pay attention to you!

We could not be prouder of you or possibly love you any more than we do... though that love does seem to grow more and more every day. We love to see you all snuggled up in your bed every night before we go to bed. And seeing you play and make believe with your toys is amazing. We don't always know what we are doing, but you seem to be making out just fine regardless. Cannot wait to see what this coming year has in store for us as we continue to watch you grow.

Farm animals

2011-02-07T20:43:00.000-05:00

Charlie talking about his birthday

2011-02-07T20:39:00.000-05:00

Feeling Better in time to Party!

2011-02-07T17:25:00.006-05:00

This past week started with Charlie getting a little cough. Nothing to slow him down; just an annoyance. By Tuesday evening, however, he was laid out on the couch feeling miserable. The cough had worsened and he was running a fever that we couldn't seem to control. So, Wednesday morning I called the pediatrician and they got him in right away.

I fully expected another "his lungs sound fine - its just a cold - fluids and rest" kind of diagnosis. That seems to be what happens when I get over anxious about him coughing or not acting quite right. But the pediatrician definitely heard something in his left lung and was concerned. They ran an RSV test (that came back negative) and gave him a breathing treatment in the office. She listened to him again and sent us to get a chest x-ray. Luckily our pediatrician's is located within a medical center that has a radiology office so I was able to just scoop him up and carry him down the hall. He was so miserable he was fighting every step of every procedure he was subjected to. It was heart wrenching. They did see something in the "upper section of his lower left lobe" and diagnosed it as pneumonia. Since he had no symptoms leading up to this, the guess is that he aspirated something into his lungs that caused the pneumonia. He had choked during dinner right before this started, so we don't know if that is when it happened or another reflux episode. They put him on a five day antibiotic and breathing treatments every four hours and thankfully he bounced back fairly quickly. By Thursday afternoon he was able to get off the couch and play a little bit, though he got winded easily. And he has just continued to improve since then. He still has a cough and gets short of breath here and there, but is basically back to normal!

Which is good since we had a big weekend planned! Friday was Charlie's 2nd birthday! :-) On his birthday we brought him out to a diner by our house for dinner then over to the pet store to pick out his present...... a cute little goldfish! Mommy and Daddy are not exactly "fish people" but Charlie has taken a liking to goldfish thanks to Elmo's pet goldfish, Dorothy. We thought he would name his after her, but instead he chose to name him Nemo. He gets so excited to feed him every morning and it seems to have been a good choice in presents since he certainly didn't need any new toys! He requested a blue birthday cake with Elmo, so that was what he got and he was quite pleased! Grandma and Grandpa joined us for cake and it was a great day all around.

On Saturday we had a birthday party at our house with our friends and family. He has been looking forward to this party for weeks and was so excited. I have a video of him talking about his birthday that I have to figure out how to post (it is on my phone and I cant quite figure out how to get it here...) We stuck with the Sesame Street theme and it all came together really well. Charlie loved seeing everyone (including the Olmsteads with Charlie's special girl, Kayla!!!) and soaked it all in! He completely bathed himself in Elmo red frosting making for some pretty messy picture moments. It was a great time and we are so lucky to be able to surround ourselves with such an amazing group of people to who love us and Charlie in particular.

Big boy insisting on holding the nebulizer mask himself.

Blue birthday cake with Elmo and M&Ms :-)

trying to blow out the candle

cake time!

He is trying really hard to get Elmo with his fork!

the next morning: learning how to feed his fish

(lesson learned: 2 year olds need to learn by example.

Do not put the food in his hand and expect him to

know what to do because you will end up with fish

food being thrown at the tank rather than sprinkled into it!)

cupcakes ready for the party!!

the birthday boy (with a mouthful of goldfish crackers)

enjoying cupcake #1

For some reason a frosting facial

sounded like a great plan to him!

And cupcake #2

Much damage was done

(Can you guess which Muppet this used to be???)

Goodbye hugs for Kayla Mae

so sweet!!!

Everyday fun

2011-02-01T15:57:00.005-05:00

Charlie's newest infatuation is lining up all his vehicles just so.

While picking up toys the other night after he had gone to bed

we found this line up. Couldn't bring ourselves to put them away!

The line up at the bottom of the stairs a few days later luckily

did not end in any disasters! Not quite sure how the Hulk fits in!

Charlie "helping" mommy make pizzas for dinner.

This included picking at the crust and shoveling

pepperonis into his mouth as quickly as possible. :-)

Sweet boy hoping to bring SU some luck by sporting some orange.

It didn't work. :-/

Such a big boy! Studying his words... :-)

An M&M treat with cousin Eman.

(On a side note, Charlie had a really difficult time laying

on his belly comfortably - not sure why. Kept trying though

because he so wants to be like his cousin!)

Big smiles out playing in the snow!

Starting to get a little chilly...

Poor Chloe wondering why we were still outside in the cold :-)

December Daily: making up for lost time!

2011-01-08T23:10:00.010-05:00

Sorry for the delay, Charlie lovers! :-) Here is some more Charlie to make up for dropping the ball on December Dailies as the month wore on! Happy New Year to all!

Aunt Cynthia came and brought some great new books!

(This may have been about the 22nd time he made her read this one to him!)

Charlie needs to go to Paci Addicts Anonymous!

Santa brought Charlie a big boy basketball hoop for Christmas.

(Please note the backwards dunk - - dont know if thats legal or not!)

Cooking up some Christmas morning breakfast with his new stove.

Lounging amidst all his Christmas morning loot :-)

Cheering on the Holy Family CYO team at the holiday tournament

Loving his coloring book and crayons

Trying to communicate with Daddy in the basement through the cat door :-)

And more snow...

Gotta love the rosy cheeks!

December Daily: Day 26

2010-12-27T13:55:00.003-05:00

Convinced Charlie to let me rock him to sleep.... Mr Independent doesn't let this happen very often, but I so cherish the time.

so sweet...

He has a paci infatuation. 1 is never enough and the

others are usually on his fingers or being poked

into his eye balls. Very strange... :-)

December Daily: Day 25

2010-12-27T13:48:00.003-05:00

Christmas morning was a ton of fun this year! When he came downstairs he ran right to a pile of presents from the Olmsteads and tore in! (After the initial shock wore off, of course)

Kayla knew just what Charlie would want! :-)

After presents we convinced Charlie to stop playing long enough to eat some breakfast. When we went out earlier in the week, I let him choose what his Christmas morning breakfast would be. His choice...

powdered donuts!! :-)

Hope everyone else enjoyed their holiday as much as we did... every precious minute of it!

December Daily: Day 24

2010-12-25T00:18:00.004-05:00

We wish you a Merry Christmas... and the most blessed of New Years! :-)

December Daily: Day 23

2010-12-25T00:13:00.004-05:00

Charlie the Elf, Official Cookie Taste Tester

December Daily: Day 22

2010-12-22T21:55:00.003-05:00

This past Sunday we celebrated Christmas with some of our favorite people. We have been getting together for a Christmas party every year since we were in high school. It's always a good time!

Charlie cuddling up for a picture with Aunt Jen

my boys :-)

Charlie playing his new favorite game - horsey - with Aunt Monica :-)

December Daily: Day 21

2010-12-21T00:14:00.004-05:00

This past Friday we were finally able to make it to the mall to see Santa! (Haven't scanned the actual Santa pictures in yet, but they are coming!)

:-)

The boys were completely enthralled with the fake reindeer!

Charlie and Grandma even got to take a ride on the carousel.

December Daily: Day 10

2010-12-21T00:14:00.001-05:00

December Daily: Day 20

2010-12-20T23:59:00.003-05:00

Charlie took full advantage of the fact that I was busy baking in the kitchen the other morning and completely emptied an entire box of tissues all over the family room. He did however ask me if I needed a tissue after he had been caught! This was what I found as I came around the corner...

December Daily: Day 19

2010-12-20T23:57:00.003-05:00

Our new TV was delivered last weekend. Not sure which one was more excited for the big delivery truck outside... :-)

December Daily: Day 18

2010-12-18T10:57:00.003-05:00

Flashback to Thanksgiving pictures that never got posted...

Too cute not to share! :-)

Wouldn't eat a bite of turkey or potatoes or stuffing or veggies....

But was all over the pumpkin pie!!

December Daily: Day 17

2010-12-17T15:52:00.003-05:00

Ring around the rosie...

Pocketful of posies....

Ashes, ashes....

all

fall...

DOWN!! :-)

December Daily: Day 16

2010-12-17T12:16:00.005-05:00

Smiley boy decided his backpack and SU hat were a must the other morning

He has also been all about his cool vehicle puzzle that he got

from Uncle Ted for his birthday months ago!

Deep in thought...

Then Daddy had to go to work and our morning stopped going so nicely... :-/

December Daily: Day 15

2010-12-15T22:57:00.003-05:00

KNOCK ON WOOD... Our progress towards "real" food has been going quite well! Pasta and pizza are always a hit. Sandwiches became a little less popular, but are gaining interest again in the past week. Managed to convince him that chicken and cheeseburgers are good dipped in ketchup. He even ate some kielbasa tonight! Still trying to push the veggies, but progress is progress! :-)

Noodle aftermath!

Bath night, anyone?? :-)

December Daily: Day 14

2010-12-14T21:31:00.002-05:00

Flying Charlie!! Weeeeeeee..... :-)

December Daily: Day 13

2010-12-14T21:26:00.001-05:00

Charlie getting his groove on watching a little Glee with Mommy and Daddy :-)

December Daily: Day 12

2010-12-12T23:49:00.004-05:00

Went out and did some shopping today while Aunt Bridget spent some time with Charlie...

Text message #1 (from Bridget)

"I heart yogurt"

Our friends Courtney and Tony then stopped over to visit with Bridget and Charlie...

Text message #2 (from Courtney)

"I brought him a present"

followed by: "He is literally covered in sticky

spit right now. I promise to clean up my mess :)

Charlie loves when mommy and daddy are not around! :-)

December Daily: Day 11

2010-12-11T21:11:00.000-05:00

Today's word of the day is.....

COOKIES!!! :-)

December Daily: Day 10

2010-12-10T12:01:00.008-05:00

While I strongly considered decorating our tree in the dark of night (well, after Charlie's bedtime at least) in order to keep him from assuming that it is ok to touch ornaments and the tree, ultimately, it is a family experience and how could I rob him of that. :-)

Each ornament was like a little wrapped up present to break into

This stocking was from Aunt Bridget last year.

(She's so crafty this time of the year!)

And Charlie found his rocking horse ornament

from Grandma and Grandpa

Sitting down to admire his work :-)

Picture perfect!

And.... its being undecorated already... sigh... :-)

December Daily: Day 9

2010-12-09T11:17:00.004-05:00

Now, I know you all tune in for your regular dose of Charlie, but I could not help but share these. You do not live in upstate NY without expecting a fair amount of snow every winter. However, snow that literally does not stop for days on end is not typical! Last I heard we were at 96 straight hours of snow, totaling close to 4 feet (but it is still snowing here in our neighborhood). These were taken yesterday afternoon during the only break of sunlight we have seen since last week.

the snow that has blown onto our covered front porch

the view from our front porch across our front yard

Note the buried cute little tree decorations we put up at the bottom of the pic

the 4 foot chain link fence in our backyard

(You cant see any of the fence this morning!)

our neighbors' back deck

Despite all we complain though, how can you question the beauty of this??

December Daily: Day 8

2010-12-08T20:41:00.001-05:00

Charlie was so patient all day long waiting for daddy so that he could play with the train. It is his new favorite thing in life! :-)

December Daily: Day 7

2010-12-07T19:53:00.005-05:00

Six years ago I bought Vince a rather pricey Lionel train set for Christmas because he really is just a big kid at heart. We got it out last night and had high hopes for Charlie enjoying it and he did not disappoint! He was enthralled and this first words out of his mouth this morning were "Play train?"

Helping Daddy set things up

"I do!"

Here we go!!

He really was excited, just never managed to catch a smile with the camera

He started laying flat on the ground and as the

train went past he would jump up laughing :-)

(And the train makes Chloe a little nervous, in case you couldn't tell!)

December Daily: Day 6

2010-12-06T11:15:00.005-05:00

This was year number 4 of going out tree hunting with our friends. We have tried a different farm every year, but this year was what a true tree chopping experience! Snow, wind, snow, cold, snow, wilderness, and did I mention snow?? :-) It was a great time and we all found perfect trees to chop down and bring home!

Charlie was not so sure about what to make of

being hauled out into the winter wonderland!

Our Christmas tree crew braving the elements

Our happy snowy family

mmmm... snowflakes!!

December Daily: Day 5

2010-12-05T21:33:00.002-05:00

Vince always thoughts I was exaggerating when I would tell him about how absolutely ecstatic Charlie would get when his Aunt Dee comes to see him. He experienced the happy dance of joy for himself this morning when she came to bring him to the NICU Christmas party. No doubt that he LOVES his godmother!!

coloring while we wait for the big man to make his appearance

Had to wait and wait for his name to be called and when his turn came...

wouldn't even think about letting go of Dee! :-)

Finally convinced him to take the present from Santa

And quickly got away to unwrap his treasures

Remote control dump truck = Santa success!

December Daily: Day 4

2010-12-04T22:24:00.004-05:00

The Charlie method of frosting Christmas cookies:

A little frosting for the cookie...

A little frosting for me...

Add sprinkles and you have a holiday masterpiece!

I am and artist! And I wear my work well!

Thank you Klaehns for a great Cookie Party! A good time was had by all! So glad we were able to make it!! :-)

December Daily: Day 3

2010-12-03T15:05:00.002-05:00

Two-fold decoration approach this year - - usually we try to do it all at once. This year we got the general house decorations out this past weekend and are getting the tree this weekend. Despite still being a little under the weather at the time, Charlie was hands-on and rather excited to help where he could.... like with my rather expensive nativity set that I splurged on a couple years ago. Luckily there have been no casualties yet!

December Daily: Day 2

2010-12-02T20:57:00.005-05:00

Charlie seems to be bouncing back from his cold, so our pneumonia worries are gone. Past couple of days have been all full energy little boy running around like a constant sugar rush! He still has an occasional gunky cough, but much much better than it was! There really is no way to tell if the new reflux meds are working or not yet because of his cold, but we are hoping for the best!

Mac and cheese from Panera was a BIG hit with Charlie!

Followed up with a vanilla Snack Pack...

(This is what happens when Daddy comes shopping with us and I stop

to compare nutritional facts on new breakfast possibilities...

but he did thoroughly enjoy it! )

December Daily: Day 1

2010-12-02T12:33:00.003-05:00

It seems that there is a holiday "tradition" of posting daily during the month of December. This seems a bit of a grueling task to take on since this tends to be one of the busier times of the year in general, but I am going to see if we are up for the challenge - - even though we are already a day late. Thats how we roll around here! :-)

December 1st brought Central New York our first substantial snow fall of the season. So, we bundled up and headed out to explore! This is the only smile I got because shortly after this he picked up some of the cold stuff and proceeded to cry and yell "OW" with his hands up in the air for the rest of our time outside! Its going to be a looooong winter!

coughing and coughing and coughing

2010-11-29T11:35:00.005-05:00

So, early in October we all came down with a cold. Charlie never seemed to get over the lingering cough. It was really more of an annoyance than anything else, but October 28th I brought him in to the pediatrician just to have him looked at and make sure it was no big deal. We saw a doctor new to our office and she said she has seen a lot of kids with a cough that sticks around and his lungs sounded fine... no worries.

Days and weeks pass... on the 9th he went for his flu shot and I again mentioned the cough and they said no biggie. It seemed as if he was coughing more and more and it became obvious that he was having more trouble when he was running around playing hard. The cough would also flair up throughout the night. So, I called and made another appointment and brought him back in on the 15th. We saw Dr Gallagher, whom we often see and really like. I relayed all the information I just shared with you, she listened to him really well and deduced that the cough was being caused by excess saliva from teething (His two year molars are coming in on the bottom). We accepted this conclusion and had no real reason to question it since he was acting fine other than an aggravating cough.

Tuesday night before Thanksgiving Charlie spiked a fever and was obviously not feeling well. His temp was up to 102 and he just wanted to be cuddled. SO, we headed BACK to the ped's office and saw the nurse practitioner this time. I didnt even mention all of our previous visits and diagnoses, but he asked me to explain what his cough had been like before that day. I recounted everything I had told at the other visits and he put a whole new spin on things:

(1) what we were dealing with right now - the fever, the gunky cough, and (as he put it) the "snots" - was a cold and we just have to wait it out.

(2) the obnoxious cough we had brought him in for twice before this was probably caused by his reflux irritating his throat. The timing and manner in which the cough flared up points to this. He was already at his max dose for zantac (Dr Ratner had bumped it all the way up in August in hopes that it would curb the problems we were having then). So, we have discontinued the zantac and started him on prilosec. Its more challenging to administer because it is a pill that has to dissolve in his mouth and it is hard to tell if it is working or not, but we will go back and reassess right after Christmas.

BUT, considering all these facts, the "cold" that we are waiting out right now could possibly be the beginning of pneumonia that could have been caused by aspirating something into his lungs during a reflux episode. He had a really bad choking fit just a week before, so this is completely possible. When we were there, his lungs sounded clear, so its just a wait and see game. Last night was rough - lots of coughing and gagging. I talked to a nurse at the pediatrician's this morning and if he doesnt improve by tomorrow they want to see him to take another listen to his lungs.

So, that is our Charlie saga for now! We are hoping for a simple cold and a speedy recovery! The holiday season is off and running and we would hate for him to miss out!

Didnt even cry when he got his flu shot!!

Has been a bit picky with his eating,

but you can never go wrong with blueberries!!

Poor baby feeling the germy blues... :-(

Thankful...

2010-11-18T08:56:00.007-05:00

This year we are thankful for...

- the incredible growth and changes that we see in our little man everyday. He never ceases to amaze us!

- our health. Despite sniffles and sneezes along the way, all in all, we have all been blessed with good health this past year.

- the freedom to spend time together as a family doing things that we love.

- our home that suits us just fine. It may not be big or grand, but it is us and it is home.

- our family who continues to show us love and support day after day. We have thoroughly enjoyed seeing Charlie come to recognize and love each of them this past year and watch their love for him grow.

- the opportunities we have been given to connect with our community, giving us a sense of purpose outside our immediate world.

- our friends who have are an immensely important extension of our family and provide us with more and more reasons to feel incredibly blessed.

- the experiences we have had this past year: traveling and visiting with friends and family.

- the ability to stay home with Charlie every day. We know we are luckier than many in this respect.

- all the CDH families whom we continue to keep in touch with and have such a special bond with. Please know that you always hold a special place in our hearts and are a source of inspiration day in and day out.

- all our blog followers whom continue to lift us up and support us through our every day lives.

- our faith that gives us reason to believe that all is right with the world no matter what we are faced with.

- our love for each other than has been unwavering through our darkest moments. We have been shown that what we have is not typical and cherishing each other and our love is an absolute necessity in life.

- our love for our amazing son Charlie that continues to grow and blossom day after day. Every time we think it could not get any better, it always does.

Its the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

2010-11-04T20:22:00.003-04:00

The Peanuts crew at our friends' annual Halloween party

Wolverine hamming it up for the camera

while Charlie Brown looks on, baffled by it all

"hmmm.... lets see what I got... these look good..."

Charlie Brown posing like Joe Cool :-)

Pancakes!!

2010-10-30T13:35:00.003-04:00

Breakfast together is a favorite weekend tradition of ours that is even better when we have something particularly yummy, like pancakes! :-)

mixing up the batter with daddy

enjoying the fruits of his labor :-)

Pumpkins!

2010-10-29T21:39:00.006-04:00

"Oooooh... pumpkin..."

"Mom??? Where is Daddy taking me???"

"Come on Dad!! Put your back into it!"

"Pumpkins!!"

"Best part of pumpkin picking?? The apple fritters!!" :-)

"Yeah, just like that... Good job, Dad!"

Happy Halloween!!

October Fall Outings

2010-10-28T12:12:00.010-04:00

We have been blessed with some AMAZING fall weather this month in central New York! We have had the occasional rainy days, but cannot complain in comparison to the rest of the days we have had! It makes for some pretty spectacular fall pictures - so many that I will probably have to split this post into multiple posts.

Over Columbus Day weekend, we make a trip to Saratoga to visit my grandparents. It was a great time as always! We had Emanuel along with us and he loved having a new audience to entertain for a couple of days! While there we went to the Cider Festival at Eagle Mills near Saratoga. They had lots of fun little things for the boys and they we able to run all over and have tons of fun!

Beep! Beep!

Driving the tractor...

"This thing doesn't move very quickly guys!"

"Hey there, buddy... What's your name?"

GG and her three little men!

We got to meet my cousin's son, Hunter, for the first time.

On one of the beautiful blue sky days we have had, I dragged Charlie (stroller in tow) along to Green Lakes to take in the fall foliage and get some pictures. I rewarded him for putting up with our stop and go pace around the lake by allowing him some time on the playground when we were done. He is getting rather brave on the playgrounds and goes up and down by himself pretty well now! Makes me a little nervous from time to time, but he thinks it is great fun!

"I can do this by myself mom... I think..."

The colors were just amazing!!

This does not even do it justice!

We made another trip to the playground by our house after picking Emanuel up from school this week because it was just too nice to go home! The boys thoroughly enjoyed the unexpected stop and did not want to leave.

Cheesing on the big boy slide!!

leaf play time...

the closest I was able to get to a picture in the leaves...

Charlie booking it across the bridge...

Charlie on the same bridge a year ago...

Incredible!

Autumn is Upon Us!

2010-10-07T14:50:00.008-04:00

We love the change of seasons around here and especially love fall. This time of the year also allows us to take part is some more fun activities out and about.

apple picking!

Food always tastes better when you share with someone else...

...unless its a fritter all to your self! :-)

feeding the ducks and geese at Webster Pond

He would much rather be chasing ducks than posing for a picture with mommy!

"I LOVE PLAYGROUNDS!!"

big boy down the slide by himself!

the big truck event at the quarry in Marcellus

not quite sure what to think...

Last, but definitely not least - - Charlie and his new best friend Mooney.

Everything Charlie does, Mooney must also do!

Faith * Hope * Love - Family BBQ

2010-10-07T12:24:00.004-04:00

I have fallen way behind on blog updates and now there is too much to put all in one logically. So, we are starting here! Last year after Charlie came home, we decided to have a "Welcome Home" picnic to gather some who had loved and supported us through our journey. Vince stepped to the plate and lumped it along with a birthday celebration for me at the end of last May. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to make it an annual event.

Holding off until fall seemed to be more conducive for our schedules and it was well worth it! It was an absolutely perfect day for weather and we had a great time at our Faith*Hope*Love - Family BBQ. Charlie thoroughly enjoyed himself - flitting from one person or table to the next. Luckily someone else always knew where he was because I couldn't keep up with him! Cant wait to do it all over again next year!

getting the grill fired up

posing with Grandma and Grandpa D'Angelo

first course: grapes

delicious and nutritious

second course: Goldfish

I love Goldfishes cuz they're so delicious! (and whole grain!) :-)

third course: candy corn

Charlie: "Mom's not coming, is she???"

We are so incredibly blessed!

A Week at the Beach

2010-09-08T09:12:00.000-04:00

Vince's family has camped annually at Southwick Beach with family friends since he was a kid. When we started dating, I started to tag along and after getting married we inherited our own camper and joined the festivities. This year we brought some more friends along and our summer event took up 5 camp sites along the beach. We have expanded to 3 generations of friends and family enjoying each others company. It is always a special time spent with good people, eating fabulous food, and remembering what is really important in life and we look forward to it year after year.

Charlie and Noah chill with some lunch while we set up camp

(just before the rains came in!)

sandy puddle jumping with Aunt Bridget

Daddy's futile attempts at keeping Charlie dry

"Ugh... I got some sand on my tongue, guys..."

sleeping peacefully....

"I love mini muffins!!!"

Charlie and Mommy sharing a cupful of Cheerios

finally made it down to the beach

SPLASH TIME!!

"I LOVE THE BEACH!!!"

family time at sunset...

took a trip to the playground

"Let me go! Let me go! - - WHEEEEE!"

"This time we are going all the way to the top!

Big slide time! Grrrrrrrrrrr..."

Big slide didnt go so well...

tweaked his foot a little on the way down and ended up with a sprain.

Had a little limp and ace bandage for a week or so, but all better now!

purple frosting makes everything feel better!

One of our many great sunsets of the week

Simply Beautiful...

Choo Choo, Blue, and Three

2010-08-18T12:41:00.006-04:00

Charlie is such a boy! How is it that boys know just what it is to be a boy?? I just dont understand it! I dont think we have pushed him in any way or another, but he is ALL boy!

Among his new favorites is any kind of vehicle - - cars and trucks passing by the house, planes flying overhead, the train we can occasionally hear from our house. Most things with wheels are referred to as "car" and they all seem to make a "choo choo" sound according to him. Regardless of his confusion about their names and sounds, he lives for pointing them out whenever he sees or hears any of them!

Another misunderstood favorite of Charlie's is the color blue. We have been pointing out the colors of things for awhile now, but he has taken a liking to the word "blue" and uses it to categorize just about everything that he does not have a word for. No rose colored glasses for this kid! Though he is happy enough to see things as blue.

Charlie runs and climbs and leaps like he is part jungle monkey and it is a small wonder he hasnt suffered anything more than the occasional bump and bruise. His latest trick is "counting" before he sends himself hurtling towards his next unsuspecting victim. However, he avoids the number one like the plague and wont say it for anything. So, it goes something like this: Charlie gets his target in sight (ie: a stuffed animal, the arm of the couch, a pile of pillows, an unsupsecting mommy), he starts to gear up for the attack positioning himself and gaining the proper balance, then he counts ("three, two, THREE!") and he hurtles forward, throwing himself onto his victim while laughing hysterically. It really is quite funny, but I am a little afraid he is going to end up hurting himself or some one on the receiving end. Really though, how are you supposed to stop him from doing it?? Maybe I am just not a good disciplinarian, but I dont see how!

We went for our 18 month check up at the pediatrician's last week and he was great! No crying at all, except for during his shots, but thats to be expected. He is now 24 lbs 1 oz (up only 13 oz since May) which is the 25th percentile for weight and 32 3/4 inches which is the 75th percentile for height. He is long and lean! The pediatrician attributed his slower weight gain to the fact that he is fairly active!

Over the past year or more, I have asked multiple people in our pediatrician's office about having Charlie's hearing tested. Not that I think there is a problem - - he shows no indications of hearing loss and speech-wise is developing fine - - but there is a connection between CDH and hearing loss. Whenever I have asked about it, whomever I have been talking to has put my fears at ease and told me we would know if there was a problem. But its always been in the back of my head and I know other CDH babies get hearing tests regularly. A couple months ago, we received a newsletter from a CDH genetic study we are taking part in and they had an article on hearing loss and explained it a little more. SO.... I asked our ped (the one in the office whom I have come to like the most) and she said of course we could check it and there was no harm in doing so. So, they ran the test and he passed, just as I expected, but it is good to have that affirmation!

The only things we need to work on are (1) continuing to try to transition to sippy cups (He wont take them with milk, but he will drink juice and water from them.) and (2) his tip toe walking (His tendons are starting to get a little tight from him being on his toes too much). When he first started walking, it was only on his toes, but then after a few weeks he went to flat feet. Then a couple months ago he started walking on his toes again - - not all the time, but often enough to be noticeable. So, now we have to be a little more cognizant of it and remind him "flat feet!" when we catch him. He's a sneaky boy though - - if he knows there is something we dont want him to do, he will want to do it all the more!

Nothing else of great concern at our check up. They did increase his zantac dosage to correspond better with his weight as per Dr Ratner's request. He is now at 3mls and will probably stay there for the next 6 months before we start weaning him again. And by weaning, we just wont increase the dosage as he grows. Hopefully by then he will be reflux free!

We celebrated our friends' son, Noah's, first birthday earlier this month. Charlie's gift to Noah: lessons on how to appropriately eat a birthday cake.

"First you start with a little taste on the finger tips..."

"Then, Noah, I prefer the grab and smoosh method..."

"How am I doing guys?"

"Do I have something on my face?"

Last weekend we spent some time in Buffalo for a family party. We extended our trip with a visit to the Buffalo zoo. This was my view most of the afternoon (not that I am complaining! Its a great view to have!):

Elephants

Polar Bears

Giraffes

My good friend, Addie, and I finally got together after far too long! She brought her two boys over and we had a great little play date with the four boys together! Four boys make A LOT of noise, but Addie and I were still able to catch up!

This took some effort!

L-R: Nolan (18mts), Charlie (18mts),

Max (2 yrs), Emanuel (almost 4yrs)

Charlie asleep during lunch once again!

Seems to happen more often than not lately! :-)

Where does the time go???

2010-08-04T13:02:00.008-04:00

Charlie is 18 months old today! A year and a half! Only 6 more months until he is 2! Time does fly! It seems hard to believe!

We just had a checkup this morning with Charlie's surgeon, Dr Ratner, as well as a chest xray. He did great! He sat still for the xrays and didnt need any do-overs. Everything looked great! The patch and his diaphragm are holding up fine and his lungs look equal. This does not necessarily mean that they work equally, but they both sound good and he could continue developing lung tissue for up until he's is 2. He didnt cry at all for any part of the exam! He had gotten to the point of screaming as soon as we put him on the scale to be weighed, but he was calm, cool, and collected today. He did give some pretty serious glares just to assure everyone that he was still in charge, but I will take that over screaming any day! Hopefully that will continue next week when we see the pediatrician!

We had put a hold on giving Charlie his zantac for the past couple of weeks, just to see how he would do, since we knew this would be topic of conversation today. While we thought that things went well (he only puked a handful of times over the course of 2 1/2 weeks - - and those time were only on 2 different days), Dr Ratner wants him to continue the zantac for at least another 3-6 months before we try tapering off his dosage. He thinks the choking and puking we see sporadically is a sign that the reflux is still an issue and by continuing the zantac we will protect his esophagus from being damaged. We obviously understand this and will continue it as long as Charlie needs it, but we were looking forward to the possibility of being free from daily meds! All in due time though! Charlie does things when he wants to and not a minute sooner!

In nitty gritty Charlie details - - he is talking like crazy! Knows lots of people's names, knows his toys, any kind of vehicle, his food. I am trying to make a list of everything he says so that I can post it - - just for my record keeping more than anything else. And his eating has been improving still. He LOVES fruits - - pretty much any fruit we give him, he will eat now. He likes sandwiches and of course all his crunchy things. He has eaten chicken for us a couple times. Still not too interested in pasta - - which is mind boggling since we would be happy eating pasta every day! His bottles are now about 50/50 soy formula to whole milk. He usually only takes two 8-9 ounce bottles a day and he is still giving us a hard time about switching over to sippy cups from bottles. But, he will drink water from the sippy with no problem - - and, of course, apple juice (which he loves!).

There really is not too much else to report on in terms of Charlie adventures. We are in the midst of another 2 week swimming lesson session. This is a smaller class so he gets a little more attention from the life guards and they all love him. He just stares them down though - never talks! We brought him and Emanuel to a sunflower maze near where we live a couple weeks ago. It was a fun time and they enjoyed running all over. We also made a trip to the zoo and the playground recently - - always a good time! Last weekend we brought Charlie to Thornden Park - a large park in the city right near SU campus. They have an amazing rose garden there and we had had our wedding photos taken in the garden. I also have pictures of myself there as a toddler. Charlie wasnt very good at posing for pictures though. He was far too intent on running as fast as he could up and down the aisles of roses. He did stop to smell a couple though!

Other than that we are just continuing to enjoy our Syracuse summer months and trying to make plans for the coming months. Fall in upstate New York is an amazing time and while we dont wish for the summer to pass by too quickly, we do look forward to the fall! We have more summer fun ahead of us though!

SO much fun at the playground!

Pretty flowers!

It is very challenging to take a pic of two little boys together!

New porch is finally finished!

Our new favorite hang out place.

Our friends Jon and Katrina got married last Friday

Charlie was styling!

The view I saw the most of at Thornden Park last weekend.

Stopping to smell the roses...

"Hey mom! I beat you!"

Adventures in the Amphitheater.

Summer Colds in a Heat Wave

2010-07-12T09:03:00.010-04:00

Its been a while since we last updated and while it seems like things have been too busy to sit down at the computer and post, at the same time, there is not much excitement to report on! Just been spending lots of lazy, hazy, summer days here in Syracuse!

Last week was a HOT HOT HOT one here in Central New York. Now, I know people down south are probably thinking we are complaining for no good reason, but just as a couple inches of snow is enough to paralyze southern cities, days and days of heat and humidity have a similar effect on us! Charlie (and mommy and daddy) does not handle it very well, so we have been doing all we can to keep cool! Lots of air conditioning and water fun!

Everyone around here has caught a cruddy summer cold the past week or so. Lots of sniffles and coughing, but we all seem to be on the road to recovery. Before the cold, we were working hard at switching Charlie from bottles to sippy cups. Our pediatrician wanted us to wait until we got the stomach/puking issues under control and (KNOCK ON WOOD) he has not puked since the end of May! So we were slowly but surely working towards the sippy, but when he got sick he went back to bottles and is now back to square one. Well, not quite square one - - he has progressed enough that he will use the sippy for water and juice, but now refuses to take his milk/formula combo from it.

As for his dairy intake, he is eating yogurt and cheese with no problem now, but when we increased the amount of milk in his bottles I think we went a little quicker than his system could handle and it wreaked a bit of havoc on his belly. No hives or reactions like that, but we took a step back and are progressing VERY slowly to give his system ample time to adjust. Right now he gets about 6 oz of whole milk and 12 oz of formula throughout the day and it seems to be working for him!

Eating real food has been getting better and better (again, KNOCK ON WOOD!). We have given up trying to feed him by spoon because the battle just wasn't worth it. The nutrients we were forcing into him were not worth the trauma of the process. So, now we just try and find as many good foods as we can that he will give a try. We spent weeks and months offering him foods (things we knew he liked!) only to have him promptly throw it across the room without even trying a bite. BUT... the past couple of weeks he has become a little more mature about things! He is eating grilled cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches regularly. He will eat a variety of fresh fruits - - he has a deep love for blueberries right now! He likes rice cakes with peanut butter on them He had a little pizza the other day. And - not that this is something to brag about, considering how hard we have worked to instill healthy eating habits - he ate nearly an entire McDonald's cheeseburger last week!

In all, Charlie has been happy and loving life! We took him to swim lessons for a couple weeks and are going to attend another two week session later this summer. He progressed a lot in just two weeks and by the end would let me dunk him under without freaking out. He loves playing and is truly a rough and tumble little boy! We can't keep him off the couch for anything, even though he has taken many spills over the past few weeks. He fell off the couch yesterday and managed to land on a pillow and roll to the floor. After laying there shocked for a few seconds, he laughed hysterically, climbed back on the couch, and jumped off. We have a real daredevil! I am going to start taking bets on how long it will be before he breaks his first bone! Not that I want to experience that! I am just assuming it is a guarantee at this point! We will have to see what mischief the rest of the summer will bring!

mmm... strawberries

Charlie was eating them almost as fast as we were picking them!

Charlie and Noah get their first tastes of

Mommy's famous brownies on the 4th

AHHHHH!

I love the sprinkler!!

Keeping cool with Cousin Eman in the sprinkler

Our neighbor bought this Buzz Lightyear rocket that hooks up to the hose when her grandson was in town a few weeks ago. The two three year olds made Charlie set the rocket up while they shared the controls. Charlie has NO FEAR!

"OK guys, I think its ready!"

"AHHH! It got me again! This is so much fun!!"

eating a big boy breakfast

swim lessons

He LOVES floating around on his belly!

warming up after pool time

Didn't quite make it through lunch after swim lessons this day!

Swimming makes him a sleepy boy!