A Very COOL Festival

I love festivals and never like to miss them so when I heard that there was one this weekend, I was in! Dan wasn't as enthusiastic, but he humored me. We got up early and made the trip downtown. It was a beautiful sunny day!

They actually closed the off ramp from the expressway and filled it with snow for tubing. I thought it looked like a lot of fun, but neither Dan or Tyler wanted to test it out. Tyler promised me that he'd do it with me next year.

The first thing we did was make our way to the ice maze. It is the largest in the world... made official by the Guinness Book of World Records.

I borrowed this picture from the festival website. None of us had ever been through an ice maze before, but we're already looking forward to it next year. How cool is it that there is a Buffalo in the middle? You've got to give the city credit for capitalizing on their weather reputation.

Tyler was very excited. Come on, follow me!!

He took a brief rest on an ice bench inside the maze.

We made it to the middle of the Buffalo and Tyler tried out the ice throne.

One more picture on the way out.

They had these huge ornaments scattered around the area... a perfect photo opportunity.

Tyler had to sit on the ice table.

The highlight of the day was a ride on the subway/trolley. Here's Tyler waiting for the train to arrive.

Here it comes!

Tyler could hardly contain himself. Poor Ryan just wanted to go inside.

We're on! Woo Hoo!

It was really neat when it went underground and started going really fast.

Doesn't Dan look thrilled to be there? How could you not smile seeing Tyler so pleased??

Even Ryan played along.

One last bit of fun before heading back home.

This festival is now on my list of those we must attend annually. I'm going to hold Tyler to his tubing promise!

One Great Weekend

Finally! We had a weekend where nobody was sick, we didn't have too much planned, but at the same time we weren't cooped up. Perfect!

About two months ago we started a reward chart for Tyler. If he earned 12 stickers by eating dinner without complaining, he would get to go to the Monster Truck Thunder Slam with his friend Liam. You wouldn't think that 12 stickers is a lot over 2 months unless you've been to our house around 6:00pm. Unfortunately the incredibly shrinking Tyler is a bit picky at dinner. He finally earned his last sticker the night before the show. Last week after a particularly difficult dinner, Tyler told me what his choices for dinner were. I responded by telling him he would get to choose when he got a job and earned his own money. He then looked at me really seriously and I thought for sure he was going to tell me he was getting a job, but instead he said "well, I'm going to make a wish on a ladybug, then I'm going to leave him alone and it is going to come true!" So there! Ha!

Tyler did earn his reward so Tyler, Liam and the daddy's headed down to the arena. Here are the boys waiting for the show to begin.

I'm told it was a very good show with races and free style. Tyler liked the free style (whatever that is...)

Doesn't it look interesting?

I love this picture. It is totally blurry, but check out the body language. They were obviously having a great time.

Awesome! It tipped over!

Tyler insisted on taking a few of his own pictures...

Unfortunately I made a very rookie mistake. I thought it would be a good idea to buy each boy a monster truck for after the show. I picked out two "Monster Mutts." They were both dogs, but different breeds. This was the beginning of the end. Why didn't I buy two of the same truck? At 11pm Tyler and Dan came home and Ty was sobbing. It seems that Liam got the brown truck and Tyler wanted it. He cried all the way home. He was distraught and it was really late so I reminded him that he still has some Christmas money and if he really wanted that truck he could buy it with his own money. I finally got him in to bed and told him that I missed him while he was gone. I knew he was going to be ok when he said very calmly "I didn't miss you a bit! I was so distracted by the monster trucks that I didn't think of you at all." He was so serious. I told him that made me very happy because that meant he had a great time.

So, off to Target we went today...

And now Ty has two Monster Mutts. I hope the lesson isn't that money fixes everything. On the way to the store we talked about problems having different solutions and to think about this the next time he gets upset. We'll see...

We also went sledding today and Ryan joined us. I decided that we could walk to the park. Unfortunately my neighbors did a good of a job of shoveling their side walks so I couldn't pull the boys most of the way. And Ryan is very heavy!! We did make it to the park... barely.

It was a beautiful day. Poor Ryan was having a tough time with the sun.

If you look close you can see the tears. Poor kid.

Tyler got very daring. He went down the hill sitting up, laying down, on his tummy, backwards... I was impressed.

I did take Ryan down the hill once. As I was walking back up the hill I decided to wave the white flag. I called Dan on the cell to come pick us up in the car... yes, I am a wimp. It is a pretty sad state of affairs when you can see your house from the hill, but you know you can't make it home.

While we waited, Tyler went down a couple more times. All by himself. Yay!

We had another Ryan first today. We were all hanging out in our pajamas this morning and I asked Ryan for a kiss. Much to my surprise, he turned and gave me an open mouth kiss on the cheek. Woo Hoo! Later he gave Dan one too. Love you Ry Ry!

Indoor Bubbles

I discovered these pictures on my camera from last weekend when I downloaded the pictures for my last post. I was desperate to distract Ryan so I decided to blow a few bubbles inside the house... shhh... don't tell Dan.

Both boys loved it. Here's Tyler dancing around trying to catch the bubbles as Ryan looks on.




Ryan had his eye on a big bubble here...

It was worth a little soap on the rug for a smile.

Maybe it is time to blow bubbles outside again to see if they freeze...

On The Mend

Finally! It is amazing what 24 hours and a strong antibiotic will do. We're getting smiles and laughs from Ryan again. Yay! I really hope that we're over the hump.

Here he is tonight ready for a pillow fight!

It is so good to see this smile.

Tyler was getting in on the good vibes tonight too after Ryan's bath.

Smile!

One Step Forward

... and THREE steps back!!

Ryan just can't catch a break. He still wasn't feeling well this morning so I took him to the doctor. He's really cranky, not eating or drinking well, and sleeping more than usual. I was concerned that his ears weren't better. The doctor said that he still has fluid behind his ears, but there is no redness so the antibiotic has cleared the infection and now the ears just need to drain. He said that the other symptoms are teething and a cold so basically I was told to wait it out. The hidden message was that I am an over-reacting mom. I left with a pit in my stomach knowing that something wasn't right.

Fast forward to 4:00pm when daycare called to tell me that Ryan spiked a fever. I called the doctor and left a message with the nurse saying I wanted a different antibiotic called in to the pharmacy. The doctor called back and said he'd do it, but didn't sound happy about it. I arrived at the pharmacy at 5:45pm and was told that they didn't have the prescription in stock. The pharmacist had already called the doctor back and then called around for me, but couldn't find another pharmacy with it in stock. It seems that the doctor called in a strength that is never prescribed!! Grr! The thought crossed my mind that it was done on purpose. Of course the doctors office was closed by then so I went home and called the after hours service. Meanwhile, Ryan continued to crank. I received a call back at 7:10pm and was told that the doctor was calling in the same script in a different strength. Dan went to get it and when he got home I read the label only to discover that it was amoxicillin... the same antibiotic that cause Ryan to get hives less than two weeks ago. Seriously?? Did that really just happen??

All that effort and I ended up giving Ryan the antibiotic that we already had. Now he's asleep and I've got my fingers crossed that he feels better in the morning. I can't stand to see him this way. It is a very good thing that the doctor is not in tonight. I think cooling off overnight is a very good thing. My baby is hurting and I am a mom on a mission.

The Saga Continues

Ryan and I are home AGAIN today!! I put him to bed last night believing that all was well since he is on an antibiotic. I was so wrong. Ryan woke up really cranky this morning and then got sick all over me. YUCK!! So, here we are. Can't this kid catch a break?? He's sleeping peacefully now and I hope he stays that way for a while.

Two Rough Weeks

Ryan has had a really rough couple of weeks.

• Two weeks ago today I was home with him as he was recovering from the stomach bug.
• The following Saturday I took him to urgent care with an ear infection.
• That Wednesday (one week ago today) he had a reaction to the antibiotic and got hives causing him to scratch his face.
• This past Saturday he fell into the window sill causing a nasty scrape on his chin and a bruise on his cheek.
• On Monday he took a header at day care and has quite the bump on his forehead.
• Today I took him to the doctor and confirmed he has a double ear infection.
  

And, on top of all that, he got a bad haircut over the weekend!! Poor kid! Is winter over yet??

Luckily Tyler hasn't had a bad winter... yet. Hopefully this means he's developed some immunity from his previous winters although he did have pink eye last Friday.

I am so ready for some nice weather and healthy children. Ugh!!

We also had a visit with Grandma and Grandpa C. We tried for a good picture with Grandma, but Ryan was having a tough day... now we know why :(




He did give me this smile. You can see the scrape on his chin and a bit of the bruise on his cheek. The scratch on his forehead is one of the remnants from the hives. Oh, and the crazy haircut. His bangs are too short for me to try and fix it. Hopefully it won't take long to grow out.



This picture reminds me of my hope that Ry wouldn't have ear infections since he has big(er) ears. Well, the last two weeks sunk that theory.

Click Clack Moo

On Monday I chaperoned Tyler's field trip to see "Click Clack Moo." When the permission slip came home I had no idea what it was, but discovered it is a wonderful story about cows that type and conspire with the chickens to get blankets from the farmer. (All good childrens stories are a little odd, right?) The musical version was a lot of fun.

Tyler's bus was the first to arrive. I'll always remember his excitement at seeing me when he bounced off the bus. It isn't often that someone is that excited to see me... and I know that he'll grow out of it soon. (sob)

We weren't allowed to take pictures during the show so this is all I have. Here are the boys anxiously awaiting the show to begin. They were very excited to be there and were bouncing off the chairs, but they all did a good job staying still during the show.

Tommy is behind Tyler and Tyler K is behind him. Tyler K is the reason that our Ty thinks his name is spelled "TYLERD." We're getting there, but this causes much confusion! Who would have thought??

I thoroughly enjoyed my stolen hour with my boy.