January 2012 – Our Family Adventure

Super Ajax

This weekend was both relaxing, productive, and child-free. My parent’s took Ajax for the weekend, picking him up from the babysitters around noon on Friday. I hear my dad treated Ajax to a happy meal and an excellent hour of playtime at McDonalds. My parents said that Ajax did wonderful the whole weekend. They played outside in the barn, rounded up the animals, and generally had a very good time. Ajax insisted on having one of the dogs sleep with him, so around 11 or so my dad would sneak in and take the dog out, so that the dog didn’t inadvertently wake Ajax up. In the morning, however, Ajax would wake up and yell for the dog – how did you escape?

During our child-free weekend Dave and I worked very hard to wrap up the last few constructions projects around the house – some masonary work on the basement stairs, staining, and touch up paint/caulk. Saturday night we were both beat. Today we met my parents over my grandpa Nader’s house to pick up Ajax and then headed home. I got a ton of cooking done this afternoon – yogurt, waffles, falafel, sweet potato and carrot soup, and granola bars. Ajax of course helped and is getting much better about lending a hand… though for most of our cooking he was the self appointed taste tester.

After dinner and bathtime, Ajax was pretty wired. I believe he was simply way overtired. Well, he took to running all over the house in his hooded towel calling – Super Ajax! (he’s really into super heroes lately) He put the couch pillows on the floor and lept over them. He then would run and grab my legs/Dave’s legs and say – I rescued you! I will rescue everyone! He ran around for about a half hour before I wrestled him into his PJs.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mv4-NOheudY?rel=0&w=420&h=315]

Gangs

This morning when I dropped off Ajax at the babysitters, two other kids were already there and sitting at the kitchen table having a snack of dry cereal. As soon as we walked in they both shouted -Hi Ajax! Hey Ajax! Ajax walked right in, waved, and said, Hi guys! I had a moment of wondering how this gang operated during the day…. and all against one adult, lol. He really does get along well with the other kids at daycare and loves telling us all about his day during dinner. Oh, today for dinner Ajax ate mushrooms. As a side dish to our meal I made roasted potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms with a little olive oil and seasonings. Ajax ate everything and Dave and I were both amazed.

I also wanted to post a picture of me at 14 weeks. I’ve been squarely in maternity clothes for a while now as apparently your body gives up much quicker on kid number 2. That’s ok though; I forgot how comfy stretchy pants were.

Weekend adventures

This weekend went by way to fast.

On Saturday we finally got some snow, about 1-2 inches, not much, but it was at least enough for Dave and Ajax to play outside and for Dave to bust out the new snow blower. Ajax had a ton of fun playing outside, but because it was so cold he wasn’t out for very long. I stayed indoors as I am just getting over a cold and watched from the kitchen window while I cooked. When the guys came in I made us hot chocolate with marshmallows. Dave admitted that we should have bought a snow blower years ago.

Sunday was a bit of a jumble. Ajax and I went visiting over my grandpa Nader’s house to give Dave some time to work in the morning. While we drive, Ajax loves to know what road we’re on, what road were passing, and what city we’re in. It’s so interesting because he can recall where certain people live and on what street they live on. Ajax had lots of fun with his great-uncles and kept dragging them all over the house to play with him. At 12:30 pm I dropped Ajax back home for a nap and my mom and I went to a baby shower. After the shower, I went grocery shopping and then home to do some more cooking. I misjudged how long it would take me to shop and prep dinner to the point where I realized we wouldn’t eat till 7. That meant Dave and Ajax ran to grab burgers and fries for dinner, lol. Oh well, at least we ate at a reasonable time and I have dinner ready for tomorrow night.

The baby needs cool ranch Doritos

While I was grocery shopping this past weekend I splurged on a bag of cool ranch Doritos. I didn’t have a coupon, I didn’t look at the price, I just didn’t care. I needed them. I generally don’t keep many snacky items in the house because – 1. I’m cheap and 2. we just don’t need that junk around. But I felt that the baby really really needed those Doritos. Dave has attempted to eat a few and I have angrily demanded he put down the bag and back away. Ajax doesn’t even realize its in the house, which is good because that boy loves chips. I have also been craving tuna fish, but I don’t have to worry that anyone else in my home would even dream of touching that. On a side note, I’m 13 weeks along and just had my second doctor’s appointment yesterday. I listened to the baby’s heartbeat and all appears ok.

I feel it is now safe to say that Ajax is potty trained and I am simply amazed. We got him a step stool and seat that goes on the big toilet and he feels pretty confident using them. I think as a little boy he views pooing in the potty as a competition and brags constantly regarding how much/often he goes. He is also doing well off the dairy, though I haven’t noticed any major changes. He seems congested, but again, we’re all sick over here, so that’s not a good indicator. He hasn’t been pulling on his ear, so at least I know he doesn’t have an infection. I think after 30 days, I’ll introduce milk back into his diet and see if I notice any changes. I should point out, that as an attorney one of my top annoyances are people who google various legal questions and then spout off incorrect jargon that they picked up. Dave has pointed this out to me and that he is SURE doctors hate these same type of people who think they know more because webMD told them so. lol. The irony here is not lost on me.

Ajax asked me to take his picture while in the bath tonight-

Home

We got home last night from a long weekend up north.

Dave picked up his sister, Theresa, from the metro-airport on Thursday night (her flight having been sidetracked due to a storm that blew in) and we all headed up north together on Friday morning. Ajax did very well on the drive up and was quite happy to listen to the Beach Boys and Ramones. Our drive was a bit slow as the roads were very slick and icy. We got up north around 1 or so and then attended the viewing for Dave’s grandma. The viewing went until 9 pm, so I ended up taking Ajax home and putting him to bed around 7 pm. Dave’s parent’s home is kind of in the middle of nowhere and they have real bears up there. Needless to say I turned on every light in the house and kept all the dogs (three) in the house with me till everyone got home around 9:30, lol.

The funeral was on Saturday, with a luncheon afterwards. Although the occasion was obviously a sad one, it was nice for Ajax to see and spend time with his cousins (there are six great grandchildren-four are older than him- ranging from 7-4, with one younger than him – almost a year). The kids ran and played and wrestled constantly. Due to our hectic schedule, the only nap Ajax got was when he happened to fall asleep in the car. He was beat and slept for 12 hours straight last night. Overall, he did wonderful.

DSCN9452 — Sorry this picture is so dark, but I was trying to get a pic of everyone together.

Making donuts with Aunt Lisa, Aunt Theresa, and cousin Travis.

DSCN9460 — Playing with his cousin Jason.

Ajax loved this blackboard and was happy playing with it for a very long time.

Updates

Some more bad news. Dave’s grandmother passed away yesterday. She was 84 years old and a lovely woman who will be missed. This means that we are heading up north tomorrow for the funeral which will be held on Saturday. I think we’ll be coming home on Sunday. I hope the weather holds as we’re supposed to be hit with a snow storm tonight.

I also had my first trimester screen done today, which includes a blood draw and ultrasound and reports the chance of a genetic abnormality. We aren’t terribly concerned that about any risk, but it’s a non-invasive test and the ultrasound was cool. The tech confirmed that there was only one baby in there and that it appeared to have all it’s parts. So, that’s good.

Weekends

It’s Sunday night, another weekend come and gone.

Saturday I had a baby shower for my friend, Mary, as no other kids were going to be there I left Ajax home with Dave. I doubt Ajax would have had much fun, but I had a very good time. While I was gone Dave and Ajax ran to the store and then played outside as it was in the high 40s, low 50s. What odd weather. After I got home we did a quick dinner and then Dave left to go watch the Lions game at his cousin’s house with the rest of the guys. That left Ajax and I alone for the night, which was fine. I laid on the couch and watch a silly movie.

We also put a responsibility chart up on the refrigerator for Ajax. He loves stickers and his babysitter has a potty chart that he’s very proud of. I put things on it that I know he does (or can do) – like getting dressed, brushing his teeth, and picking up his toys. I also put things on it that we need to be mindful of – like using nice words (he’s developed a small habit of swearing), gentle hands, and an inside voice. He’s done well with the chart and likes the positive reward of putting a sticker up. He has done tremendously well with the potty this weekend and this morning came to me to actually poo in the potty (I hope this doesn’t embarrass him too much when he’s older).

Today was busy doing wrap-up weekend activities – grocery shopping, laundry, and cleaning the bathroom. I actually had energy this afternoon and made yogurt, granola bars, and dinner for Monday night. As Ajax did so well with the potty this weekend we let him pick out a new book when we were out and about today. He picked out a Thomas the Train book that’s actually pretty cute. Lately he’s been asking us to read the same 2 – 3 books at bedtime and I must admit I don’t think I could have taken it much longer.

I have also decided to remove dairy from Ajax’s diet for 30 days. My mom has suggested this in the past and I began doing some research on the connection between diet (specifically, food allergies) and recurrent ear infections. Last night I put together a complete timeline of all of Ajax’s ear infections/aches/etc. and prescribed treatment and was shocked to realize how many successive rounds of antibiotics he’d been on, to no effect, and am concerned regarding the current nasal spray situation. Based on my research – dairy – is the most common food allergy of small children, so that is what we’re starting with.

DSCN9450 — Ajax and his new book at bedtime.

Six Years

This morning when I was on my way to work my mother-in-law sent me a text saying, Happy Anniversary! (thank you Dara!). I took one look at it and said, nuts. I had forgotten my wedding anniversary. I immediately called Dave and it went straight to voice mail… that meant he was trying to call me at the same time. I hung up, redialed, and we connected. Happy Anniversary we both said. We then both admitted that our only reminder of our anniversary was Dara’s text! Six Years now and counting!

Ajax had another successful day of using the potty… except, he still won’t poop in it. We played Angry Birds for about 15 minutes while he sat there, lol. I have been doing some google searches and they all seem to confirm that this is completely normal, so I guess I’ll relax about the whole thing.

As one of Ajax’s rewards for using the potty Dave put together one of his Christmas presents- a Lego garbage truck- from his Aunt Theresa. He’s a little young for it, but loves it. He’s been driving it all around his bedroom lately.

Potty Update: 2

Just wanted to give another quick potty update.

It is way way to soon to say that Ajax is potty trained, but we are staying the course, lol. Tuesday he did wonderful at the babysitters and then at home with no accidents. Today was a bit rougher, but overall still very good. He had one real accident and one small one. The small one was while we were at the ear specialist. Ajax and I were in the waiting room and he told me he had to pee, but we just didn’t make it there in time and he had a very small accident. Tonight he asked to wear his big boy underwear to bed and because he’s been waking up dry we said ok. We’ll see how he does. He still isn’t pooing in the potty… we have to think of something really awesome to bribe him with, lol. Yes, we are those parents.

As for the ear doctor, he put Ajax on an antihistamine as he feels the fluid buildup is due to allergies (which he said could be anything… dirt, carpet, hair, lol), our pediatrician said the same thing on Saturday, so now Ajax is on two nasal sprays. I’m not terribly happy about this, but at this point we’ll do almost anything.

[sorry for no pictures]

Potty Update

Quick update: We made it through today without one accident! We even made a trip out to two different stores and Ajax did great. He napped in underwear and woke up dry. We stopped hounding him every two seconds about whether he had to use the potty and that seemed to help relax him. The only hiccup today was that he refused to poo in the potty today, though he has in the past. I understand that this is a big thing for ninos and we didn’t push him on it. I spoke with the babysitter who will continue our efforts tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes.