Best $14 I ever spent! (A Multimedia Friday Special)

For the first time in her 17 months of life, Graceanne actually enjoyed a bath! Here's the proof:

(Apologies for how dark the video is--I took it with my digital camera, and the light in the bathroom isn't that great.)

Many of you may not realize what a big deal this is--it's just a baby splashing around in the tub after all. But Grace has HATED baths her entire life. Every single bath she's had, whether in the infant tub, the kitchen sink, or in the big tub, with or without her big brother to keep her company, she has screamed and cried through the entire thing. Just a week or two before this video was taken, I had to give her a baking soda bath for a diaper rash, and it was all I could do to keep her in the tub and sitting for 10 minutes. She cried, she wailed, she clung to my arm with a desperate and pleading look on her face. It was torture for her and us.

But the pool, many people ask. How did she like being the pool over the summer? Loved it. She'd get her little swimmy diaper on and splash in and out of the little wading pool, and she'd pour water and she'd laugh and giggle. So I finally figured hey, let me try getting one of those little blow-up baby tubs (thanks to Abbi for the idea--I think she mentioned that she had one for Damian), and VOILA!!! The video above was taken during her very first bath in the blow-up tub. Mind you, it took her 5 or 10 minutes of the usual reaction and me just being calm and encouraging, but suddenly, something clicked, and now ALL IS WELL. Oh happy day!

And here's a couple of recent pictures of the boys, just because they're cute. (You can barely see Matthew's scar...)

LAME

So yeah, it's been two weeks since I posted. I blame it on being
ridiculously busy, which is every blogger's excuse when they don't post
for a while. I have stuff I want to blog about; I just haven't had time
to put it together. And I don't have time now either, but I wanted to
get something up here so as not to let another week go by (remember, my
goal is to post at least once a week). So this is just going to be a
quick update on what's been going on.

Matthew's mouth is MUCH better. He got his stitches out the Monday
following the incident, and although he was worried that it would hurt,
he said it was fine. Looks fine too. Yes, he has an obvious cut on his
lip still (a healing cut for sure), and he will in all likelihood have a
scar there, but we're doing our best to minimize it, rubbing Mederma on
it a couple times a day. (We still have to get some Vitamin E--thanks
to Mom Foster for that tip.) Oh, and I actually got that shirt clean!! =)

Cub Scouts started back up for Jonathan last week. He's a Wolf Cub this
year, so he has what I consider the iconic gold and navy blue kerchief
now. Only had one meeting so far--just enough to get his popcorn order
forms, so all you grandparents and aunts and uncles that are reading
this, get ready for the phone calls! (Oh, and any friends, either here
or out of town, who need a good source for popcorn, let me know!!)

Graceanne proved she's one tough little chick yesterday. I found the
lab slip for her lead test (you know, the test they're supposed to get
at 12 months? Yeah, she's 17 months now.) tucked away under some papers
on the "landing strip" in our kitchen, and decided I'd better get that
done so the doctor can have the results for her 18-month visit at the
end of the month. Now, Mike took both boys for their lead tests, so
this was a new one for me. However, I imagined that taking any toddler
to have two vials of blood drawn out of their arm would not be a very
pleasant experience. Boy did this little girl prove me wrong. They had
her sitting on my lap with my left arm crossing over her chest and
holding her right shoulder, and my right arm holding her right
hand/wrist out straight so that she wouldn't bend it. I felt sure I was
going to need a third and possibly fourth arm to hold her down once she
started flailing. WELL. Not only did my stoic little one not flail,
she did not cry, she did not flinch, she did not squeak, and according
to the techician, she didn't even blink when that needle went in and the
blood was drawn. She just sat and sucked on her binky and WATCHED. *I*
don't even watch when I get blood drawn! I didn't even watch this; I
looked at the ceiling. That's my brave girl!

How I spent my Wednesday

Two and a half hours in the Rochester General ED:

Matt had a mishap while riding a scooter over at Patti's (our babysitter). I had just gotten there to pick the kids up. If you look close at that second picture and the circular imprint on his mouth, you can pretty much see what happened: when he fell, his mouth hit the end of the handle. All his teeth are intact though, thank goodness, but there was a TON of blood!!

He was a trooper though! Obviously he was VERY upset when it happened (and frankly, so was I--you would not BELIEVE how much blood there was. The picture of his shirt does not do it justice), and it was so cute how, as Patti and her daughter Lyndsey and I were packing him into the van to head to the hospital, he said through his tears "I didn't want to have this day." =} But at the hospital he was very brave as they put in the IV line (so they could sedate him while they stitched him up), and he really was great through the whole thing. We got home a little after 8:00 and he was asking for Scooby Doo macaroni and cheese for dinner. And this morning, other than the 5 stitches in his face, he's doing fine. He was on the computer doing PlayhouseDisney.com when I left for work.

BIG HUGE thanks to Patti and Lyndsey for (A) coming to the hospital with us to help keep Matt (and me!) calm, (B) leaving when Mike got there to go take care of Jonathan and Graceanne, and (C) taking the kids to McDonald's for dinner and then back to our house, where they ate dinner and played and were in their jammies ready for bed when we got home from the hospital. I say once again...we are so blessed to have them!

Happy Anniversary!

Yes, I know this day is a sad anniversary for many many people. But before September 11th became a noun unto itself, it was simply the anniversary of the happiest day of our lives.

We were married on September 11th, 1993, and today is our 15th anniversary. FIFTEEN years! Good grief! Do we look young and innocent? (Apologies for the picture quality--I've never thought to sit down and scan our wedding pictures, so this was the best I could do by laying the proofs out on the bed and angling my camera to avoid glare from the flash.)

Anyway, yes, we were young and innocent. Now we're...still young!...but we've definitely become more seasoned. We've had our ups and downs (now THERE'S a cliche!), more downs than some people, more ups than others, but I think we'd both agree that everything has balanced out pretty well so far.

Not to get all sappy, but I want to leave off with my favorite verse from Joshua Kadison's Beautiful in My Eyes, the song that would likely have been our wedding song had we been more familiar with that album at the time we got married. Mike sings this song to me all the time (NOW I've embarrased him), and I just want him to know that the feeling is mutual.

The world will turn and the seasons will change,
and all the lessons we will learn will be beautiful and strange.
We'll have our fill of tears, our share of sighs.
And my only prayer is that you realize
you'll always be beautiful in my eyes.

Thanks for 15 wonderful years Mike. I'm looking forward to many many more.

Multimedia Friday

Okay, this week's multimedia Friday is a video of Matthew's current favorite song in the car, which he asks for by saying "Mom, play the one that goes 'you promised you'd be there, whenever I call your name'," otherwise known as Endless Night from the Broadway version of The Lion King (if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing this, seize the first opportunity--it's AWESOME!).



(I was so please when this song replaced Matthew's previous favorite off that soundtrack, Morning Report.)

School Daze

Today was the busiest First Day of School we've had so far. First, we sent Jonathan off on the bus to second grade (and the first time Mommy did not accompany him to his classroom--*SNIFF*). Then, in the afternoon, we had Matthew's preschool orientation/open house. This was just an opportunity for the kids and parents to come in and meet the teacher, find the classroom, and get the "lay of the land" so to speak. Tomorrow will be his first real day there (preschool is half days--Matty will be going from 12:15 to 2:45). Here are a few choice shots of the day:

Ummm, could we look any happier guys?

Okay, that's a little better...

Matt tries for a smile (that's our neighbor Victoriah...she's the same age as Jonathan)

Off they go!

Matthew and Daddy at Preschool Orientation

Matthew--Man of Mystery

While I was getting Grace dressed for Church on Sunday, Matthew decided he wanted to play hide-and-seek:

"Mom! You have to find me. I'll give you a hint: I'm in...Grace's...closet."