ARCHIVES OF THE OLD...

Back in 2008, I started a blog, and I had ambitious intentions of keeping it updated and current.  But just as the world turns, my life never quite slowed down enough for me to make good on my intentions.  I finally have the time to dedicate to a blog since Sylas is now in preschool for 3 hours a day.

I'm starting fresh with my new blog, "Sylas Speaks".  But for posterity, I am going to chronicle the important posts from my old blog here.

Monday, July 28, 2008     "WONDER"

I'm a little jealous of my friend Stephanie who, albeit inconsistently (hey, we're all super-busy), has successfully maintained a blog for the past few years. I've always wanted to start a blog, and indeed I started a private one about a year ago, but it's still got only one entry, so that's that. I was having a "man I need a glass (or bottle) of wine" moment, so I sent an email out to her and a few other pals to set something up, and there it was at the end of her reply to me... Steph announcing that her blog was yet again updated. The little light bulb blew up in my head and I realized I'm ready to write. I used to write all the time in college, and I loved it, but for the past 8 or so years, I haven't really felt up to the task or even like I had the spare time. I've been doing some major research over the past few weeks and have been coming up short on the "where do I store this and where do I note that" end of things. So I thought... "a blog... I'll keep it all in a blog". Then maybe Steph will keep her blog more up to date too - because believe me, her stories are great to read and often hilarious... not only for the content, but for the way she puts words together.

I figure keeping a blog will enable our friends and family who are near and not so near to keep up with what's going on in our lives if they're interested. Not only that, but somewhere down the line, there is going to be a family in the exact same situation we are in today; they will be searching the internet for all the information they can muster about Down Syndrome, and they will be bombarded with 15 year old statistics that don't mean squat in today's world of medical and therapeutic advancement. Then presto, alacazam! they will find my blog on some search engine... up to date and more consistent than Steph's (well, maybe it will be), and they will bask in the triumph of my information preservation.

Okay, I've just woken up from that little dream.

But seriously, my intentions are just as I mentioned above, and I will try my best. I'm sure it won't be easy to maintain with 2 kids and a dog (and of course, my dear husband) but like I said, I will try. I would want to help someone in my shoes the way that all of our friends and family have helped and supported us over the past few weeks - by offering congratulations, support, love, prayers and lots of advice, resources and information. I cannot say enough about the kindness of strangers either - we have just started on this new path, and the folks I've met along the way thus far are beautiful, wonderful, helpful souls who may never know how much my conversations with them have meant to me.

In case you're not "in the know", on July 6, 2008, Mike and I gave birth to our second beautiful baby boy, Sylas Michael Fleming (baby Sy, as we call him). Moments after he was born, the doctors told us he may have Down syndrome. A week later, it was confirmed, although not yet to what extent in severity. The great news is he is 100% completely without any health complications, and the characteristics of Down syndrome are very few at this point. We are a little more settled in our thoughts and emotions after having had some time for it to sink in. After talking to so many people and doing so much research, I guess I'm almost ready to talk about it publicly so why not try. We are cautiously optimistic about the future of baby Sy, and we feel blessed to have such wonderful friends and family (and friends and family of friends and family as well - you are all amazing!). I feel today is a day of hope, and although not every day has brought me the same sentiment, I believe things happen for a reason. I do believe God chooses your parents and also that He does not give you more than you can handle. We are blessed with 2 amazing little boys and a crazy puppy who turns 3 on Saturday; so for that we give thanks. We hope you will celebrate with us in the birth of our new little wonder of this big old round world.

Did I tell you that baby Sy has "the best big brother in the whole world"? Zeke, our oldest son, is 29 months old going on 29 years old. He has the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known... even at daycare he's the first to console an upset friend by hugging him, patting him on the back and asking, "ya uh'kay?". He gives unconditional hugs and kisses, and he would play with "baby Sy's little tiny toes" and nestle "baby Sy's little tiny nose" all day long if I let him. He takes bottles to the sink, throws soiled diapers in the trash and even helps me pick out Sylas' outfit in the morning. He's way ahead of every curve, so I have no doubt he will be an amazing teacher for Sy as well as a true best friend. I'm sure they will learn so many things from each other in their lives.

It's 5:30 and I must get to work on making dinner...

Alas, the topic of my post... I know it was written about girls, but when I stumbled upon lyrics to the song "Wonder" today, it lit me up inside...

"Wonder" by Natalie Merchant

Doctors have come from distant cities just to see me
Stand over my bed disbelieving what they're seeing
They say I must be one of the wonders of God's own creation
And as far as they see they can offer no explanation
Newspapers ask intimate questions, want confessions
They reach into my head to steal the glory of my story
They say I must be one of the wonders of God's own creation
And as far as they see they can offer no explanation
I believe fate smiled and destiny laughed as she came to my cradle
"Know this child will be able"
Laughed as my body she lifted
"Know this child will be gifted with love, with patience and with faith she'll make her way"
People see me
I'm a challenge to your balance
I'm over your heads how I confound you and astound you to know
I must be one of the wonders of God's own creation
And as far as you see you can offer me no explanation
I believe fate smiled and destiny laughed as she came to my cradle
"Know this child will be able"
Laughed as my body she lifted
"Know this child will be gifted with love, with patience and with faith she'll make her way"

Thursday, July 31, 2008

I realize the last 2 posts were mostly about Sylas, so why don't I tell you all about Zeke's big "moment". It's kind of T.M.I., but he's well-deserving of some props, so read on if you dare (but I wouldn't recommend reading over lunch lol).

A few months ago, my mom bought us a book to read to Zeke called, "Too Big for Diapers" or something to that effect. This was months after we bought him his own little potty, which he uses more as a step stool or a chair than an actual potty. I was all about potty training him because I was pregnant and didn't want 2 in diapers once Sy was born, but let's face it, i was pregnant and miserable, and the potty training was more sporadic than Steph's blog posts. I never read Zeke the book my mom got us and we stopped using the little potty because I just couldn't handle hurling day and night, remembering to force myself to eat and being so whale-like I could barely walk, not to mention walk up the stairs every half hour to take Zeke to the big boy potty. I know full-well that consistency is the key with this kid, and admittedly, I didn't have it in me to be consistent.

Fast forward a few months to a few weeks ago, when a new teacher started at Zeke's daycare. Her name is Lindsay, she hails from New York, and she vowed to my husband that she'd have our son potty trained in no time. Then all the sudden Sylas was born, and I remember thinking to myself, "yeah right, lady. Do you know what kids do when a new baby comes home in diapers? They want to be the baby too. They want to wear diapers and drink from a bottle and cry all day like babies do, because babies are where the attention's at!" But I started telling Zeke on a daily basis that babies go pee pee in their diapers and big boys go pee pee in the potty. I asked him all the time if he wanted to go to the big boy potty and he always met me with a firm no. However he did start wanting to wipe his butt with a diaper wipe every time we changed his diaper, so we let him. Then he started wanting his diaper changed the second he went pee or poop. I thought, "this is all well and good, but it ain't the potty".

Yesterday Lindsay (the daycare teacher) has been pissed at us for having ratted her out to the director of the school because she didn't reprimand the kid I saw smack my son in the face last week, but she did manage to drum up some good old fashioned gusto when she told Mike yesterday that Zeke had peed in the potty!

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!

Into the house marched my little boy, all grown up and wearing the biggest, proudest, brightest smile I've ever seen, his chest sticking out just a bit farther than usual in that simply boastful manner. He was greeted with high-5's, hugs and kisses, and tons of lavish attention (that which has been mostly spent on baby Sy for the past few weeks). We took him to Frosty Falls on Willow's recommendation (and because she told us they have free train rides on Wednesdays). So, he had his favorite - chocolate ice cream with gummy bears and cherries (yuck) and loved riding the big orange train with daddy. We even beat the thunderstorm that never happened (gotta love weathermen).

Next is getting him some big boy underpants and spending a weekend officially training him. Boy can't I wait for that. It's a good thing we don't have carpet in the downstairs.

YAY LITTLE MAN! :)

I'm sure in a few years Zeke will be fully potty trained and ready to share his wisdom (but not his gummy bears) with Sylas. He certainly is the best big brother in the whole world.

Thursday, August 7, 2008     "EARLY INTERVENTION"

So yesterday we had Sylas' initial assessment with the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit. Two therapists and our case manager came to the house to talk, ask questions, and watch Sylas play and interact with everyone. His uncle and grandparents came also to learn a little more about Sy and how to help him develop. I was a little nervous at the beginning, but everyone was really nice, and they confirmed what I'd already suspected... Sylas is just like every other 1 month old... he's eating great, (and sleeping and pooping great), he's interacting with us and moving around as much as any little baby should. We truly are blessed that he's so healthy and has no critical issues. He needs to work on lifting his head on his own, which he can already do while on his belly, but not yet while he's on his back. The PT (physical therapist) who evaluated Sylas gave us a few pointers - lots of tummy time and lots of time on his side, which will help bring his legs together and teach him to use his arms more. We learned that while swings and bouncy chairs are great, they should be limited in their use, and that what will help baby Sy the most is having as much time playing on the floor as possible. We also learned that having Zeke as a big brother will help him more than anything - Zeke will be his role model, his teacher, his #1 cheerleader and his brother/friend! Actually wait... we already knew that! :)

I will write more later; I just wanted to let you know things went very well yesterday, and to thank you all for your thoughts and support.

Have a great day everyone!

Friday, August 8, 2008     "IT'S OFFICIAL"

It came in the mail today... I thought it was a bill and almost threw it out. But the envelope wasn't the standard invoice envelope; it was somewhat heavier... the paper itself was heavy, the contents even heavier. It shouldn't be a big deal, after all, we've known for a month now, but there it was, staring me in the face and weighing on my heart once again. I opened the envelope and found a letter from Sy's pediatrician stating that he has Down syndrome. Then I flipped to the next page and saw the preliminary results form stating how much blood was tested, what the results were, etc. No big deal. Then the third paper - his chromosomes, all 22 pairs and the x and y. And under 21, there was an arrow pointing to the third chromosome. Trisomy 21. Down syndrome. It's only science; it's just the way the cells were split. It's not WHO Sylas is, but what he has. It's no one's fault, and it's not even that big a deal in the grand scheme of things, but seeing it - the breakdown of my son's cells, I don't know, it was like hearing it for the first time all over again.

I know already that I love Sylas as I love Zeke... more than life itself. He's my little baby Sy. I'm simply writing this because I've been told by so many people that how I feel in the best of moments and in the worst and scariest of moments is completely normal, and so I want to be sure to express as much as I can, whether good or bad or scary. I know I will have good days and bad days. And it's okay that things will hit me harder on some days than others.

But an extra chromosome is not all that's special about Sylas... there is the tiny hand around my finger while I'm feeding him, the way he scrunches up his face when he poops, that he squeaks when he changes sleeping positions and that he's starting to smile at us with those big bright eyes... sparkling like a star in the night sky... blue as the sea and just as deep. There's my little baby Sy... the person, not the diagnosis.

Friday, August 8, 2008     "GIFTS"

In the book, "Gifts", there is a poem written by Charo Boggian, mother of Zoe, a little boy with Down syndrome. I have always felt about the world exactly how this woman does, and I couldn't have put it into words any better than she has.

My son
has mental retardation, they say.
But I say
mental retardation
have the ones that use bombs, that throw them
the ones that, anesthetized by money,
leave to die millions of children in Africa,
in India, in all the places of the world
the ones that, blinded by power,
destroy the environment
extinguish animals
poison the rivers and seas.
mental retardation
have the ones that, through ignorances,
discriminate
the ones that do not respect, neither accept others
just as they are.
My son
has mental retardation, they say
yet pure and brave he is;
a better way of living he has.
A form more simple
without aggression
without selfishness
without wickedness
without lies
A high form
full of happiness
closer to love
A form that those others
do not understand.


Wednesday, August 20, 2008     "PHYSICAL THERAPY"


We had a great first physical therapy appointment with Sue, Sylas' new therapist. She played with him for about an hour, and was extremely surprised to see how strong and alert he is. She says he's just as strong as any normal 2 1/2-3 month old, yet he's only 6 weeks old! I'm so glad he's doing well, and that we've been doing things right at home. Sue will be coming again next week, then every other week for a month or so, then weekly thereafter. She's a very nice lady, and she loves playing with Sylas. Sylas, of course loves her too (because she's a girl and he can flirt with her).

As for Zeke, he is officially done daycare until next spring and will be staying home with mom and baby Sy. He is happy to be coming back home, and has no problem saying he wants to stay home with Mommy. It's a lot of work, but so worth it. He's such a good boy!!!

Okay, I'm exhausted and have a ton to do tomorrow, so off to bed. Just wanted to let everyone know baby Sy is doing well. He has to have an EKG and echocardiogram (sp?) done on Friday morning (just a precaution) so wish him luck and say some prayers that his heart is okay.

Have a good night!

Friday, August 22, 2008     "BABY SY'S HEART"

Sylas' echocardiogram and EKG both came back perfectly normal. He's going to be just fine.

The doctor we met with was so nice too... she said when she was in school, she used to teach religion to down syndrome kids, and that half of them used to turn blue because they had untreated heart disease, which is why she chose to study pediatric cardiology. Isn't that sweet? She just loved Sylas, and she was such a nice person.

Zeke was a very good big brother and held onto baby Sy while he was having his tests done. He also got to watch Barney while Sy had his echocardiogram. Afterward, I took him out for pancakes to thank him for being such a good boy.


Tuesday, August 26, 2008     "I'M SO EXCITED!!!"

So I was given the old "ok" by the doctor to start working out again, and with having the kids home with me, I was trying to figure out the best option for doing so. Let's face it, toting around a baby carrier and chasing a toddler is work in itself, as is hauling laundry up and down 2 flights of stairs. But I want more, and running with a stroller, a 2 year-old and a dog isn't exactly practical. In the mail today, I found a flier for the YMCA. I thought, "that might work" because I know they have tons of kids programs and classes, and they have daycare!

I started flipping through the virtual pages of my local Y's website, and I found a link to the special needs programs, and when I got to the bottom of the page, I found a link to the Sandyland Playground. Even though it's not at our local Y, I decided to click on the link just to see what it was all about. The Sandyland Playground is a playground designed for special needs children, and dedicated to Sandy and JJ Touhey. "Touhey", I thought... "hmmm... I know that name". I kept reading, and in the following paragraph, I saw that a woman named "Susan Pytel" designed the entire playground. Then I saw Paul & Carol Touhey... and...

CLICK! AHA! LIGHTBULB! SUSAN TOUHEY!!!!! One of my best friends from high school! There were 4 of us girls and one poor boy who used to hang out together... Sheri, Tanya, Susan, John & myself. It was in fact her, confirmed by her parents' pictures posted throughout the article. Susan Touhey is now Susan Pytel, and she's a physical therapist for special needs children. And she designed this really cool playground at the Spring Valley YMCA in Limerick. (A link to the page about Sandyland is at the bottom of this post).

I found Susan's number on anywho.com and ended up talking to her for an hour last night. It turns out she runs a class at the Y for special needs children and their siblings, so I will be taking Zeke and Sylas to meet my old pal on September 8th, and every Monday after that. Woo hoo!

We will also be joining the Y as a family and I will be getting back in shape, (thank God for extremely inexpensive childcare)! Plus, the kids will have some fun programs to participate in, and Mike will be able to go with us as a family on the weekends. I think I may just head to the Y right now and check it out!

I'm thankful that I've gotten back in touch with a really good friend who I haven't seen in over 14 years, and that she does what she does. In fact, she says that Down Syndrome children are her passion, and she's already inspired me further and confirmed that my efforts thus far with Sylas are right on. There are so many people I know and many who I don't know rooting and praying for Sylas; I feel so blessed to have all of these people in our lives and on his side. Finding one more is sheer fate and I couldn't be happier.

Thanks again to all of you who are reading the blog and praying for Sylas. He is growing stronger and more aware and playful every day, and I continue to pray for the strength to keep up with him! :) :) :)


http://www.paymca.org/file/whatshap/Sandyland%20pages.pdf

Monday, September 22, 2008     "BAD SUE, BAD SUE"

Okay, so I promised I'd keep my blog updated and I haven't - for that I am sorry. The kids and I have all had bouts of the stomach flu in the past month and are now being hit by chest colds. But there have many more pleasant things occupying our time these past few weeks - an anniversary, a birthday, 2 vacations and some "firsts". Sorry it took me til November to update!

Let's rewind -

On August 31, Mike & I celebrated our anniversary by taking the boys to Minado, this Japanese buffet & hibachi restaurant that has like a trillion kinds of sushi. The food was pretty good, the wine and desserts even better. And the fruit - man you couldn't get fresher, more tasty fruit on a tropical island, it was that good. 6 days later I celebrated my birthday with a day of much-needed rest and a phenomenal reece's peanut butter cup ice cream cake (the gift that keeps on giving, as I froze individually wrapped slices!) But my favorite birthday present this year is the Keurig. I'm not quite the morning person, but having a stellar cup of coffee within minutes of waking up is slowly changing that.

The following weekend we took the kids down to Seaside Heights, NJ. As soon as we got onto the beach, Zeke freaked out because the sharks were going to get him. He did, however, love fishing with dad and going on all the rides on the boardwalk. He loved the roller coaster! Dad took him into the spooky house, which continues to be a topic of conversation around the house... Zeke's favorite thing to say is, "there's too many noises in the spooky house."

I have been taking Zeke & Sylas to my friend Susan's special needs playgroup for the past few months. Zeke has been meeting lots of new friends and loves Miss Susan. He loves the ball pit and the tricycle, which he's finally pedaling on his own. Sylas mostly sleeps through the class, but I have a feeling that will be changing soon as he's staying awake much more these days.

Sylas has started smiling, cooing, laughing, kissing and rolling over. He's only rolled over once or twice, and he didn't do it on purpose, so we're still trying to teach him how. He's having a hard time putting weight on his arms, but he's a trooper during his daily therapy sessions. Speaking of therapy, we have a meeting with our case manager on Wednesday to up the PT to once per week and to add an Occupational Therapist to help him with his fine motor skills. Our PT says Sylas is doing very well for his age and that the work we're doing is really paying off. And you should see his daddy (and mommy) light up with joy every time when he reaches a new milestone! :)

Last week we went trick or treating with Zeke (Sylas mostly slept), and he had a great time saying "Happy Halloween", "I'm a monkey oooh-oooh-aaah-aaah" and "thank you" to all the people we visited. Of course, the next morning he had pulled a chair over to the kitchen counter and helped himself to some chocolate before we even realized he was awake!

Finally, Mike and I were able to take a 5 day vacation to Cancun last week. It was a well-needed break for us, we stayed at 2 beautiful resorts (all-inclusive, of course) and met some fabulous people who we may end up vacationing with in the future.

I wish I had more time to write, but I will post some pictures here too. Hope you are all doing well!


Friday, November 28, 2008     "MY THANKSGIVING"

written to a mother-to-be who'd just found out her child had down syndrome, and on thanksgiving.

my husband and i found out our child had down syndrome on the day he was born, and, like you, we were extremely shaken up. it was a very hard adjustment. that said, just yesterday i was having my son's therapy with his PT and i just looked at him, at how adorable he was, how strong and determined, how happy, and thought to myself, "i can NOT imagine not knowing this little boy and loving his huge heart had we found out while we still had time to choose". there was a sadness within me for a moment and i felt like my heart had stopped. then he laughed and rolled up onto his side, and my whole body was flooded with joy and happiness! the things this baby does... it's amazing! i realized he, his brother and his daddy are my thanksgiving, my whole world, and i would be lost without any one of them. please keep this in mind when dealing with your decision should you need to make one. i am as pro choice as they come, but i can't imagine not having my little baby here with us... he's not even 5 months and doing the exact same things my 2 year old did at his age. in fact right now he's lying in his crib babbling to himself, which he does every morning when he wakes up. he's healthy, he's soooooooooo sooooooooooooooooooooo happy and he's just a wonderful being. i can't imagine having had to make a choice before his birth, so i pray you are able to do so should you need to. my thoughts will be with you and your husband, and that little one.

Monday, June 15, 2009     "HAS IT BEEN A YEAR ALREADY?"

and here i thought i'd post like all the time...

sylas' first birthday is in 3 weeks, and i haven't thought about this time last year in quite awhile. i remember sitting around crying and reading "gifts" over and over. i remember feeling paralyzed. i remember thinking why me, what did i do to deserve this? i remember wondering what would my baby ever be able to do? and i'll tell you what... it's a year later and i have NO TIME to sit around and wonder... i have a talker, a straw-drinker, a solid food eater with 2 teeth, a roller, a squeaker, a screamer, an army-crawler, a cheerio thrower, an attention-hog and the sweetest little cooer and laugher in the world... certainly not what i thought i'd have this time a year ago. our baby is just like his big brother in every way... in fact, the only way he's different is his T-21. 



FACEBOOK STATUS ARCHIVE from 2010-2011

1 YEAR OF FACEBOOK STATUSES

11/21/08
is happy and relieved after having baby sy's first OT appointment this morning...

2/10/10
Sylas fighting his bedtime tonight by dancing to the Freshbeat Band!

2/14/10
is it funny to hear a 3 year old say, "well, apparently" in correct context? yes. is it funny to hear him say, "mom, may i please have 9 tootsie rolls?" sweetly, as if it were as normal as asking for, say, 2? yes. is it funny to hear him say, "i'll get the bastard dad" and RUN SCREAMING into the living room only to find out he really said "blaster"? yes. perfect ending to a perfect day. :)

3/8/10
sylas has started with the terrible 2's method of sleeping... scream your lungs out until someone comes to get you then stop, then scream when put back in your crib. ugh i remember these days from when zeke went through it. not fun!

3/9/10
sylas discovered the stopper tonight in the bathtub... for the life of me i couldn't keep water in that darn tub!

Sylas was doing downward dog for like an hour tonight and every time the camera shot, the little stinker sat down!!!

3/12/10
zeke just said, "mom, my heart is pumping blood to my hands and to my feet and to my elbows and my shoulders and in my whole body. and to my hiney too." where do they come up with this stuff!

sylas moved the pack & play we were using as a gate... so all the sudden i turn around and he's on the 7th stair, heading all the way up! he did all 13 stairs! i've never seen him do more than 3!

3/15/10
quotes of the day from zeke: "mom, i'll be lou skywalker and you can be e-yoda". "dark vader is dark and hard to see; that's why his name is dark". "mom, you spell r2d2 r 2 d 2. i know that because i can spell". "we were wearing smallks and painting." me: what are smallks?" "smallks are big t-shirts we wear to paint at school. they're not small; they're really big so i don't know why we call them smallks".

3/16/10
my little leprechaun will be 4 tomorrow! bonus, when we were walking around in the yard today, we found a gold coin with a shamrock on it... he's so happy... he said, "the sky has rainbows after it rains and maybe it ended in a pot of gold in our grass!"

3/28/10
Today I did something I thought I would never in a zillion years ever imagine myself doing... I held the worm zeke was playing with in the yard so he could run in to pee. Such sweet (and GROSS) things we do for true love. It was, as zeke sayss, duhsgusting, but it was a very cool thing to see him so concerned about the worm not getting lost!

4/7/10

sylas just pulled my camera off the computer desk, handed it to me and said, "eeeeeeeese"... i'm assuming he wants me to take his picture?!?!? so cute!

4/11/10
who knows what bok choy is? zeke just said to me, bok choy is a vegetable. there's celery inside but you have to pick all the green stuff off to get the celery that's inside... " i said, "you're pretty smart" and he says, "you're not, you don't even know what bok choy is!"

4/21/10

i just asked sylas what he wanted to watch on tv and he said, "wow wow wow", so i assume that means "wubsy"... pretty smart of him. smart is not, however, standing on the table to replace ceiling fan blades and crashing it to the ground! that's TWO tables mike's broken so far!

5/1/10
Zeke has learned the chorus to "rain is a good thing"... "rain makes corn corn makes whiskey whiskey makes my baby feel a little frisky". Should I be worried?

5/14/10
Zeke is having his first real sleepover! It's really cute but boy are 3 kids a lot of work by yourself!

5/18/10
Its not the first time but it's still cute... I go to the computer and am surprised by a word doc containing the following type: r2d2c3por2d2c3por2d2c3po. ZEKE

6/12/10

Zeke, fighting his bedtime, likes to talk... tonight... "mom, your spit goes into your back then you make more. That's how you do it."

6/16/10
Zeke repeating a toby keith song line as I say it... hot dog, hot "dm&m" (hot damn)

7/15/10
Who's the dope who left the cheezits on the couch? 5 min after sweeping the floor of crumbs for the 2 millionth time this week, sy dumped the whole box...

8/9/10

What do you do when your 4yo tells you, crying, he doesn't want to go to camp bc one of the kids told him the other kids don't like him? Breaks my heart!

8/30/10
Dreaded day... zeke's first REAL punishment... video games, ALL toys and tv are gone until the "terrible 4s" attitude is gone! Grrrr long day!!!!!

9/8/10
Zeke and daddy playing their first game of Battleship... too cute for words!

9/9/10
Zeke's first football game is tomorrow night under the lights!!!

9/10/10
how do you punish a 4yo who says no 200 times a day? Kicking, hitting, pushing, not listening, defying, everything is "no" anymore and it's driving me crazy!

9/14/10

Zeke says..put a phone in the ground and put dirt on it and water it and it grows a whole bunch of phone. Then we could sell em for phone bills. Is that cool?

9/16/10
Sy just took 25 steps, steadied himself, then took 14 more!

10/3/10
sy walked half a lap at the buddy walk today... so proud of him!

10/13/10
Zeke: mom, you're going 29 and that's more than 25... you're going too fast. Me: it's okay Zeke. Zeke: ok well let's listen for the sirens...

10//13/10
Another Zeke quote upon hearing me hiccup... "I have some hiccups too but I don't use em that much"

10/19/10
zeke is reading the cat in the hat... sounding out and spelling and everything! what a proud day to be a mom!

11/10/10

2 years, 3 months and 4 days after his birth, sylas made his pooping in the bathtub debut! gross!!! but he seems pretty proud of himself!

11/20/10
sy likes to walk while drinking his sippy cup with no hands... he was too dizzy to walk so he sat down, spilled his milk, then cleaned it up!

11/27/10

sylas just said e-e book (mickey book) & picked it up, then said open & opened it, then said ooose (close) & closed it, then said ead book (read book)! i was just sitting there watching him... not one prompt on my part! it's like he was telling his own little story! so proud of him!

11/29/10
it takes a couple seconds to get him going (and excuse the house for being a mess during playtime lol), but sylas starts talking on the phone to "daddy", then gets up and paces around the room while talking, just like mom does! so cute to see him mimicking my actions and talking! no idea what he's saying though.

12/10/10
sy's new favorite thing to say? "no night night"

tonight is the second night of clear "no night night"s from sylas... it's been almost an hour... seems i forgot about the terrible 2's... they're baaaaaack!

12/18/10

so sy's 30 mo IFSP review is on tuesday and i'm doing a goal/vision statement for him today for the first time. it's funny how it's supposed to be short, simple, attainable goals, yet at the same time, you have to figure out how to include a ton of other things into the goal that he will learn while working toward the goal. i've definitely been doing too much reading today!

1/10/11
zeke just said to me, "tengo sed, leche por favor". i said, WHAT??? and he repeated it! guess the spanish is paying off!!!

1/12/11

sylas just watched the beginning of go diego go and then sang, "e ay o, e ay o"! then he said, "do e ay o do!"

1/14/11
zeke just said to me, "mom, can i watch more flintstones? that's a funny show because they talk funny. i mean, what's a nincompoop anyway?" i said, "did they say that word on the flintstones?" and he says, "yeah, they said poop."

1/17/11
yesterday sy and i we were feeding his toy puppy plastic bananas and strawberries and corn, then today he walked up the stairs into the kitchen with a plastic banana in his hand, looked at me and raised his arms and said, "uuuuuu" (up). i picked him up and he dropped the banana over with pile of real bananas on the counter, pointed and said, "eee nana" (eat banana). then he ate it!!! language is coming finally!!!

1/18/11

sylas sliding down the stairs on his belly... been trying to get this on video for a month!!!

somebody remembered how to use a straw!

1/20/11
dear sylas, please stop this "7 outfits in 1 day" crap. love, mom. 1. am pjs, 2. change out of pjs, 3. immediately spill milk and get new outfit, 4. making homemade oj calls for new outfit, 5. spaghetti all over that outfit; need a new one, 6. pee through that outfit, into pj's, 7. immediately spilling zeke's milk calls for new pjs. looks like i'm doing laundry (again) tomorrow!

1/23/11
sylas moved a chair over to the gate between the dining room and kitchen, climbed up on it and jumped off into the kitchen... and landed without falling! who taught him that?!?!?!? my thought? UH OH!!!!!!!!

1/27/11
so sylas DOES say his abcs... with his dad, not me! tonight, i heard him say a,b,d,e,g,h,i,j,p,s,t,u,v,x,z along with daddy! and he came up to me, did the itsy bitsy spider hand motion and said, "ditty ditty ditty"! so proud of him, again, he's amazed his mama!

2/1/11
so i come home from grocery shopping to find sylas shirtless... why? because he took his shirt off himself!!!

2/9/11
day 1 of sy sleeping in a big boy bed (well, on his crib mattress on the floor)... he's been in his room awake for 2 hours... obviously no nap going on today. how many days of exploring will it take before he conks out!? so not looking forward to putting him back in his bed every 2 seconds for hours every night until he gets it! any pointers?

‎4:45 and he's finally asleep... he tore every book off his bookshelf, threw around his stuffed animals, took the pillow case off his pillow and tried to take the sheet off his mattress... finally the poor little guy fell asleep with his head at the door... i was able to snap a quick pic but i couldn't open the door far enough to get his head. so maybe this will work!

2/10/11
SUCCESS! when i put sy in bed last night, he went right to sleep and woke up this morning still on his bed! had a great morning until about 20 minutes ago when he walked down the stairs with something in his hands, about to go into his mouth... when i looked at what it was, well, i smelled it... poo! GROSS! needless to say, we had a tubby and he's all clean, but man, gross! i guess my little man's growing up!

2/13/11
found my glasses in a laundry basket along with a remote, zeke's DS and sy's toothbrush after 30 minutes of blindly looking for them. BAD SY! on a good (and kinda bad note), dad/zeke saw sy in his high chair and dad didn't put him there... he climbed up on a chair and into his high chair all by himself this morning!