Evan's World Part I

Here is a slideshow of Evan over the last few weeks. Many new things he has learned, but not quite mastered....hopefully we have some time. He is at a perfect age and we love every moment. Enjoy!!

A few weeks ago, Alex and Evan made a stepping stone for the yard. It was a Father's Day gift from Mommy, and the boys had fun one Sunday afternoon.

One morning I went to get Evan and he was more than ready to get out of his crib. Luckily, he hasn't tried this since...

Like most of the children coming upon their 2nd birthday, Evan has some naughty moments. The corner by the front door is reserved for his timeouts. He's only had two timeouts so far, and the first worked quite well. He stood in the corner and didn't even cry. However, a week or so later, he was misbehaving, and he went to his corner. He was so mad, but didn't try to leave his spot. Pitsy gets very protective when he cries so she came to comfort him. (Pitsy is our very nervous cat that never wants to be held and hides whenever we have company. She jumps so high at the slightest movement towards her. But anytime Evan is crying, she comes right to him!)

We were getting ready for our trip to Nana & Pops and I was doing laundry and packing. Evan has been a great helper and likes to carry his clothes to his room. I open his drawer and he sets the clothes in and closes the drawer. This time, however, after we put them in I left with a few shirts to pack and found Mr. Trouble doing his own reorganization...

Lastly, we found a Superman t-shirt for Evan just like Daddy's. Like father...like son...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

SUPERMAN RETURNS!

Did you hear that Superman has returned? Nearly 30 years later, the man of steel (or more like chubby cheeks) who leaps tall buildings in a single bound and faster than a speeding bullet is back to save the world....

The Greatest Birthday Gift

Our week has been hectic to say the least. I needed to update our blog and had so many things to write about but that was last week. This week is another story...

Forgive me if for the lengthy post. Although our week was tough, I would go through it all over again in a heartbeat...because being a mother is such a rewarding and amazing gift.

I had one of the worst weeks ever, but the best birthday.

Evan has been teething tremendously--more so than ever. He has always been a huge drooler. He developed a pretty bad diaper rash a couple of weeks ago, and we applied his prescription ointment. I wasn't too worried as it was a common symptom of teething. So, last Wednesday was Evan's 18 month checkup! He weighs a whopping 28 pounds and barely 31 inches tall. The doctor found an ear infection in one ear and prescribed medicine. The week prior he had been wheezing which typical for Evan when he gets a cold. He had a bout with RSV and he will always have a bad cough when he's ill. So she put him on the nebulizer and felt he needed allergy medicine. We thought everything was just fine. Evan battled high fevers all weekend long following the Dr visit. I called in to the hospital and the nurse assured me it was typical for teething and ear infections. I gave him Motrin around the clock and all Mr. Evan wanted to do was "BEEZ". This meant Bee Movie. He would climb on to our bed and point to the TV and says "BEEZ". He also has been saying "Please" for everything, but there is a distinct difference in Evan's tone. BEEZ is much more demanding than the sweet "Please" when he holds his cup for more milk.

So, the fever just wouldn't break for good. They would go and come back but his temps remained between 101 and 103. Monday morning I called for an appointment and found our doctor had left for vacation. So off to the Urgent Care we went. We were seen immediately and I was pretty confident the ear wasn't getting better. Well, in fact it was. It was clear, but the other one was worse. Bizarre that Evan had developed a 2nd ear infection while on antibiotics. So, they decided to prick his finger and run a simple test to determine if it was simply viral or more. To my surprise, the doctor returned to the room with a concerned look and said we need to run more tests. Evan's white blood cell count is too high for an ear infection and furthermore, since he's been on antibiotics. She ordered a Strep Test, Chest X-Rays, Urine Analysis and the dreaded blood from the arm test. I was at a loss of words...only tears came out.

By the way, Alex was out of town for all this. He returned Monday night, but has been hosting a huge training seminar with the newbie sales reps all week. I have only been in his presence between the hours of 10pm and 5am. These are only 4 times a year. But I was rescued and so was Evan. The visit took 4 1/2 hours because they wanted to wait until Evan had completely calmed down in between tests. Well, every time the nurse, lab tech, or doctor returned, he got all worked up. I would too if you pinned me down to draw blood!! Jill, our next door neighbor, works at the hospital and came down with a carton of milk for Evan and entertainment. I thought I was smart playing magical cups with Dixie cups and cotton balls. But Jill, had much more up her sleeve. She brought much needed relief and smiles!! Evan managed to crack a smile and let out a few giggles once she blew up a glove like a balloon. When Evan smiles, I smile.

We left at 12:30pm with a new antibiotic and a diagnosis for Viral Pneumonia and and ear infection. Again, I thought Evan would be fine, I could relax. Nope...he gagged and got sick every time I tried to give him his medicine. All over me, our couch, the bathroom.

Jill to the rescue, again!! She truly is SuperMom. Jill took over bathing Evan for the 3rd time and dressed him for bed and put him down while I was on the phone with the hospital again. He went down easy as usual, and I relaxed. Phew....The doctor called shortly thereafter with "The Pink Stuff". My favorite as a kid. I left to pick it up while Jill watched Evan. He took the medicine just fine and even said "MMMM" and smacked his lips. Phew...

We returned for a followup blood test on Tuesday and things were back to normal. Phew...

Wednesday got another message from the hospital with alarming test results and she had called in an additional antibiotic. Of course no further details were given, so we played phone tag. The urine analysis from Monday showed that Evan had developed Staph Infection and needed an additional antibiotic. It sounded so much more serious on the voicemail, but I was reassured by SuperMom (Jill) that he was and would be fine.

Oh, and it was my birthday week to top it off. Let me reiterate, "Although, our week was tough, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat." I have been blessed with a wonderful and healthy child and these moments I will cherish forever. You take the good with the bad. But looking back, it has made me realize how truly blessed I am.

Evan gave me the best birthday gift ever. It was the simple reminder of how amazing motherhood is. How despite the stress and uncertainty of his health, praying he'd be okay, and wishing I could endure his pain, that those fears and tears were the greatest gifts... I was reminded that I was chosen to be Evan's mom and I was chosen to nurture him, to soothe him and to watch Bee Movie 20 times in 4 days. This gift lasts a lifetime...what more could you ask for.

Tonight, Evan was all smiles and gut busting laughs as we played hide-and-seek.

Side note: Alex also gave me a wonderful gift this week. Last night was a dinner for the trainees to meet the "Corporate Spouses". I was looking forward to finally spending time with my husband, especially since it was my birthday. Dinner was wonderful, and Alex surprised me with homemade cheesecake prepared and presented by Hormel's Corporate Chef. Our 40+ dinner guests (trainees, VP's, spouses) serenaded me for my birthday.

So, thank you to my boys for a very memorable birthday. And thank you to Jill for the gift of friendship...which I know will last a lifetime as well.

Visiting Lela and Marissa's Party

So after the fair Friday night, we headed north to Lake Tetonka where my mom's cousins and aunt have a lake house. Lela is 98 years old and I was named after her sister Marguerite, and both are sisters of my mom's dad. My mom's cousins Jackie and Nancy, and two of their daughters were there too. Evan had fun playing in the sand and especially the boat ride out. However, once we anchored for a little bit, he was antsy and hungry. We had a great time visiting everyone. Evan had grown so much since last summer. He was shy at first when we arrived, but quickly opened up. Unfortunately we couldn't stay long, as it was Marissa's birthday party that afternoon. I made cupcakes for her pool party and like any 11 year-old, she had a blast!

The Mower County Fair!

Living in a small town is wonderful!  This was our first visit to the county fair.  Mower County fair was August 5-10th.  We went Friday afternoon and it truly makes you feel like a child again.  I was reminded of the movie Charlotte's Web for some reason.  There were 6 buildings that each housed specific animals....sheep, cows, horses/llamas, pigs, poultry and rabbits!  The animals had ribbons for their shows and Evan had a blast.  Good thing he learned how to moo and neigh before we arrived!  One area was a children's zoo where the kids could feed the animals ice cream cones filled with corn feed.  Evan loved the 740 lb hog...so of course we took a photo with Daddy and the hog!  There was a donkey too, that loved to eat from Evan's cone.

We filled up on cheese curds and funnel cakes and took Evan on a pony ride.  I didn't think he was going to enjoy it...but boy was I wrong!  They had to stop the pony ride to clean up pony poo and Evan started screaming.  He was so mad they stopped and as soon as his pony started going around the circle, he was laughing.  Once the ride was over, he screamed again and the lady allowed him to keep going.  (We went back on Sunday for a final ride, and we had to walk by the ponies on our way out and Evan was reaching out of his stroller for the ponies.)

After the ponies rides, it was off to the real rides!  I rode the ferris wheel with Marissa and Evan cried the whole time I was on the ride.  So, Alex took him on the train.  Not a happy camper....guess he was still mad about the ponies!

On our way out, we stopped in the combine yard.  There were antique tractors, combines, etc in one area, and then the monster combines outside!  We could resist the photo-opp!  The last exhibit was the fish and Evan was fascinated by the big fish in the tank (and so was Marissa!).  We were so grateful to have taken part in this Midwestern summer tradition!!  Can't wait for next year!

Mooo Says the Cow!

It's been a great week for us. We've been enjoying the summer, hanging with friends and swimming. We visited the pool in St. Ansgar, Iowa (population 1200). It is about a 25 minute drive, but they have a wonderful pool. It reminds me of Little Squirts Island at White Water in Atlanta. I'm sure I've talked about this pool before, it has zero-entry, etc. Well, Evan and I wanted to show Daddy what is was all about so we drove down on Saturday. We passed many a corn field to arrive at our summer oasis! Kallie and Marissa came too. The girls and Alex had lots of fun jumping off the diving board and racing down the 3 slides. Even our little man got to go down the big winding slide! Evan loves the water and we can't wait to enroll him for swimming lessons at the Y this fall.

So, back to the title of today's post...

Alex normally picks Evan up in the afternoons as he gets home before me. (he goes in much earlier too!!) On Tuesday, I picked Evan up and felt like the worst mom! I forgot to sign Evan up for lunch. They of course fed him, but you never want to be told by the teacher that you forgot!! If there's any justification, it was our first day back since Thurdsay, and only our 2nd week at the new school. Last week, the teacher showed me where the sign up sheet was and we filled it out for the whole week. So, I'm a newbie.

Once we got home, we played and I put Evan in his highchair for dinner. He was eating and we were conversing about his day. I pulled the notes out of his Batman Back Pack and out came a cut out of a cow. Evan began to "Moooo". It was the cutest thing ever. I hadn't even talked about the cow yet. The county fair is in town this week and the kids are learning about all the animals at the fair. (Not sure why they didn't review the pig first...guess they figure the babies in this town were born knowing what a pig says!)

I was so excited for Evan and we played with everything farm animal. Hopefully, he's not "mooed" out as we plan to visit the fair tonight or tomorrow! Pops was next to hear Evan "moo" and Evan carried on a long conversation with Pops. We've all gotten a kick out of it, especially when Evan "moos" for every animal, except the duck. He clicks with his mouth for duck sound instead of saying quack quack!

We hope you are having a great week!

Evan's New School

This week was very special for Evan! He started a new day care on Tuesday. He's now enrolled in at the best center in Austin. We were really excited to learn that they had an opening for his age group and it was a perfect time to transition from his "at home" environment. Evan has come home full of stories about his day and very happy. The first two days were a little scary, but the teacher called me at work and comforted my anxieties that he was a very busy little boy and enjoys socializing. He ate well (of course) and slept perfectly for 2 hours on the cot. What a relief!

Unfortunately, today we stayed home because he has a runny nose. Who knows if it was from the center because he just started two days ago. He woke up crying hysterically at about 4am this morning and was wheezing. Since Evan had rotavirus when he was an infant, his colds seem more severe than they really are and he wheezes terribly. He's acting just fine, but the doctor suggested to be safe and stay home today.

We went shopping Monday for some school supplies (diapers & wipes) and Evan found a book bag. He dragged it around Walmart, so of course, I couldn't resist buying it. It has wheels and rolls like a suitcase and just big enough for his blanket and "Georgie". He grabs it every morning to go "bye bye".

OPPOSITE DAY? NO MEANS YES!!

So, earlier this week we were at the dinner table with Evan and discussing how he says "no" to everything. He clearly doesn't fully understand the meaning. Evan was fussing for something so Alex began to ask if he wanted more peaches and he replied "No". Alex continued..."Do you want more cheese? No. Do you want more milk? No. Do you want to get down? No. Do you want some water? No. Evan, do you know what you are saying. Evan paused and looked at Alex and answered matter of factly, "Yeah." We could not contain our laughter. Both of us laughing so hard it hurt. Evan must of thought we were crazy, because he just looked at us with a straight face!