Caleb and Katelin

Yesterday, we went to McDonald's with friends. Caleb enjoyed playing with Katelin. He let her ride on the motorcycle with him, but I think that he was more excited about the motorcycle. He likes to run and play with her, and hold her hand when walking.

Where did my toys go?

Truck Integration Process

Caleb received a new truck yesterday. I documented his process to integrate the truck into the collection.

1. Test how the truck rolls.
2. Test how the truck sounds. Faces are required to ensure accurate sound creation.
3. Introduce the truck to other trucks and the parking lot.
This truck was successfully added to the collection.

Fun At Chuck E. Cheese

We went to Caleb's favorite place, Chuck E. Cheese. It is always fun to watch him there. He loved the rides, and he enjoyed spending time with Katelin.

Greenville Zoo

"Mommy, you don't know how to use the book."



Lee and I took Caleb and Graysen to the Greenville Zoo yesterday. Caleb loves it there. He is a regular safari guide. He goes from animal to animal, and has part of the zoo memorized. He carries around his "zoo book," opens it to the page of the animal which we are viewing, and then shows the page to the animal. It is really cute.

"Geoffrey, shots"

Caleb had to get a vaccination shot today. I was amazed at how well he did. He brought Geoffrey, and we talked about the shot on the way to the appointment. Caleb kept saying, "Geoffrey, shot, Geoffrey, shot, ..." I thought that he might be confused on who was getting the shot. When the time came, he did great! He sat in my lap, hugged Geoffrey, and let the nurse do the shot. I was very impressed.

Caleb and Emily

Caleb spent the afternoon with Emily yesterday. He had a blast with her. They are really starting to interact and play together.

Graysen's Surgery is Scheduled

The surgeon's office called today, and Graysen's next surgery is officially scheduled. The surgery will be on September 24th. We have to be at MUSC at 9 AM on the 23rd for the pre-surgery work up (echo, blood work, consent forms, etc...). We plan to leave for Charleston on Monday, September 22nd. Graysen will receive his full repair (Rastelli), and will have 100% oxygen saturation after the surgery. What will he be like with so much oxygen!?!?! I can't wait to see!

Our Anniversary

Yesterday, Lee and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. Lee and I went to the Biltmore Estate, while Aunt Kim watched the boys. We had a wonderful day, and I know that Caleb had fun at Aunt Kim's.

Sheets...Door...Sheets...Door...Sheets...

Every night, Caleb runs into a Catch 22. He likes for mom and dad to tuck him into bed, but he also likes to shut the door and say, "night night." It is impossible for him to both be tucked in, and shut the door. Every night he becomes frustrated, as he continually tries to do both. It is a vicious cycle, and Lee and I tire easily of the game. We know that he is just trying to evade going to bed. This picture was taken while he was stalling at his door. His tactics worked. Lee took out his camera and did a photo session with him.

Busy Day

The boys and I have had a busy day today. Graysen had a PT evaluation this morning. The PT does not think that there is anything wrong with him. He looks great, but is slightly behind. It is not a big deal at all. He will receive weekly PT (in addition to the EI) to help catch him up to speed. The delay is due to loosing development time due to his first surgery, and his low level of oxygen. He will be able to catch up quickly after he has his second surgery and has 100% oxygen.

After the PT evaluation, we went to the pediatric cardiologist. (Well, we stopped at McDonald's inbetween appointments and got a snack. McDonald's sure knows how to market to a 2 year old. Caleb LOVES McDonald's.) The cardiologist said that Graysen looks great! His O2 stats are at 75%, but it is not a concern because he is going to have surgery soon. The drop in O2 is expected. The cardiologist receives all of the information from MUSC. He said that the surgery request was for November, and that we should be hearing from MUSC shortly on the exact date. (Nothing is definite until the surgeon sets the date.) His office is going to follow up with MUSC, and contact us within a few days. Overall, Graysen is doing really well, and he doesn't have any concerns.

After the doctor appointments, we had lunch at Alisha and Katelin's house. The kids enjoyed playing together, and it was nice to relax for a while.

Play Date at Emily's House

We went to Lisa and Emily's house today for lunch and a play date. All of the kids had fun. Caleb enjoyed cooking meals in Emily's pretend kitchen. Emily enjoyed holding Graysen and singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star to him." Graysen enjoyed being pampered and was tucked in by Emily when he got sleepy.

Conversation

Caleb is starting to play with Graysen more and more. Today, Caleb put both "Bumbo" seats by each other and told me to put Graysen in his. I think that he can't wait for the day when Graysen can appreciate cars and trucks.

A Day in Pompeii

On Sunday, we went to the "Day in Pompeii" exhibit at Discovery Place. The exhibit was facinating, and we enjoyed spending the day in Charlotte.

Suprise Visit!

Lee, Kevin, and Erica worked together to surprise me this weekend. I thought that Lee, Caleb, Graysen, and I were going to have a normal, relaxing weekend. Lee came home Friday afternoon, and warned me that there was a suspicious character in the stairwell. I did not think anything about it. Then, I heard a loud knock at the door. I told Lee not to answer the door. He went towards the door, so I dialed, "9, 1, 1," and was ready to hit the send button at the slightest sign of trouble. He opened the door and Kevin and Erica walked in!!!

We have had a blast with them today. We spent the morning with the Taylors, Erik, Amanda, and Sarah Grace, and then went to Greenville for the afternoon. I did not suspect anything, and was completely surprised by their visit.

More Chuck E. Cheese

We went to Chuck E. Cheese in Gastonia today with Lisa and Emily. Caleb lucked out this week by getting to go to Chuck E. Cheese twice. I am pretty sure that it is one of his favorite places to go.

Lazy Day

The boys and I had a very relaxing day today. Graysen had Pluto on his onesie, so Caleb brought out his Pluto to play. Graysen loves to play, and Caleb is a great big brother. He even helped feed Graysen today.

Playdate at McDonald's

Today we met Lisa and Emily at McDonald's. I am pretty sure that McDonald's is Caleb's favorite restaurant. It was sweet to see Emily share her juice box with Caleb. I also think that Caleb is more brave when he is around Emily. He went up to the second level of the play area for the first time ever!

Thank you Chuck E Cheese...well, maybe.

As some of you know, Caleb is afraid of the potty. The most that I could get him to do was to sit on it with all of his clothes on.

Today I received CEC's monthly email. Caleb saw it and got very excited. He started yelling, "Chuck E. Cheese, Chuck E. Cheese, ..." The email included reward calendars. The calendars have spaces for the parent to mark off an accomplishment, and then the child can bring it into CEC for 10 free tokens. There was one specially designed for potty training. So, I decided to print it and tape it next to his potty. I told him that he could go to CEC if he went pee in the potty.

He took of all his clothes, and his diaper. He sat on the potty and kept saying, "Chuck E. Cheese." I was amazed. I decided that since I actually had him on the potty, I was going to take full advantage of it. I gave him five 8 oz full cups of juice and I sat there for a hour with him.

After a hour, he started to pee (2 drops). He freaked out!!! He started crying, stopped peeing, and got really scared. I left him to see if he would calm down. (I had 5 sippy cups of pee that I had to account for. Two drops were not enough.) I came back, and he was hysterical and one sippy cup equivalent of pee was on the floor. I decide that he had enough with the potty. I went and got him a diaper, and he peed out the other four cups.)

He calmed down. I marked off the certificate and gave him lots of praise. We even called daddy, who was very proud of him.

We went to CEC and had a fun night. I also learned that Caleb is not ready for potty training, and I do not plan to try any more attempts until he is three years old.

All Clean

Graysen loves to take baths. A bath always puts him in a good mood. We are having a relaxing day today. Graysen and Caleb's EI is coming to do PT with Graysen and speech therapy with Caleb. Caleb loves doing speech therapy. I do not think that Graysen likes PT very much. I think that he would rather be left alone.

Morning Aerobics

I exercise in the mornings by watching work out videos. Caleb enjoys exercising with me. He always calls it "dance."