Saturday, December 23, 2006

Pre-School Chivalry

One of the reasons I blog these stories is so that I don't tell them too many times. But, this one, I think I've already told 4 times. I must also blog it because posterity needs this story.

We got back from our Disney World Vacation last night. We were there with another couple who have two kids about the same age as our kids. Their daughter is about 6 months older than Trevor, 10 inches taller, and Trevor may have a little crush on her.

They held hands as much as they could, sat together at dinner, lunch and breakfast, and Trevor once even threw my hand away so that he could take hers. I'm not jealous, really. I was just surprised.

One night, we had dinner at Cinderella's Royal Table which is located inside the castle at the Magic Kingdom. When we walked in, each prince was given a plastic sword and every princess was given a magic wand. Trevor had also been given a button earlier in our trip that said "Today is my birthday" and he wore it most of the time we were there. At one point during the dinner show at the castle, the Fairy Godmother asked if anyone was celebrating a special occasion, and we indicated we were and showed our server the button to prove it. She brought Trevor a sprinkle covered chocolate cake.

After dinner, Trevor used his plastic sword to cut his little birthday cake in two pieces and then handed his friend the larger piece.

It's like, chivalry is not dead. Not even for pre-schoolers.

Monday, December 11, 2006

I like it when...

...Daddy is in charge of the kids, and I listen in from the other room. He's giving them a bath right now, and here's what I overheard:

*small crash*

Dad: "Oh, Devin, are you ok?"

There was no panic in his voice, only a small hint of mild concern, and there were no cries of pain or even surprise from Devin, so I continued to overlisten.

Trevor: "Oh, Ducky, are you ok?"

Again, no panic and only a small hint of concern...

I assume that Devin fell onto the Ducky in the tub.

Monday, December 04, 2006

Dental Hygiene is very important

Dad: "Trevor, go brush your teeth."
Trevor: "Why?"
Dad: "Go brush your teeth."
Trevor: "Why?"
Dad: "Go brush your teeth, and I'll tell you when you're done."

Trevor padded off to brush his teeth.

Dad to Mom: "Wow. I'm surprised that worked."

Trevor to Dad after brushing his teeth: "Why did I have to brush my teeth?"

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Our babies look like...


Mommy and Trevor


Daddy and Devin

Every now and then, I'm an idiot...

We invited the babysitter over yesterday so that we could go Christmas shopping and just enjoy an afternoon and evening without the kids. It was great. In addition to monster shopping, we also visited Texas de Brazil, Caribou Coffee, and Cold Stone Creamery.

We also visited Skechers because Daddy needs a new pair of shoes, and I like those little Euro-looking Skecher Shoes.
Daddy was a little concerned they wouldn't be waterproof. I wasn't too concerned about that. I would just ask the little salesperson who had walked up next to us and was looking at getting himself a new pair of shoes what he thought. I handed him the shoe, and I asked if it was waterproof. He took it. He was a little shy for a salesman, but he took it. He looked at the inside, and then he examined the outside.

"Uh, I'm not sure. Maybe. Maybe you can ask that guy over there," pointing to the guy who had greeted us when we came in.

Slightly annoyed with this guy's lack of complete competence, I went over to what I thought was probably his manager to find out if the shoes were waterproof. On the way over to the manager, I thought about some things I had observed.

The first salesperson was looking at shoes for himself. He had a little $10 off coupon just like I was given when I walked in. He wasn't a salesperson at all!

I went ahead and asked the greeter if the shoes were waterproof. He didn't have a very good answer, either. I went back and apologized to nice customer who tried to help me with my shoe question, put the shoe back, went to the Lego store where I nearly lost it as I recalled the way the customer really considered my question and tried to answer it...

Friday, December 01, 2006

How lucky are we...


Is that love or what??


Devin is adorable++ when he cries. But, I've been unable to get his picture when he's sad and adorable++. So, last night, we asked him to act like a sad baby. This is what we got.

Here's Trevor's impersonation of a sad baby.




This is Trevor in a time-out.




SNOW DAY!!!


BEYOND CUTE! Am I right?

Three Little Pigs

I've been taking the boys to and from daycare since I started my new job. It's a good thing. But, Trevor talks and talks and talks and asks me to tell him stories and asks 1,000 questions. It's both lovely and exhausting. Daddy gave me an iPod last year for my birthday, and it has stories on it. So, instead of me telling him a story, I've been letting the iPod tell him a story. Last night, it was the three little pigs.

As I listened to Holly Hunter tell the story in an energetic and entertaining manner, I wondered what lesson could be found in the Three Little Pigs. It occurred to me that the lesson was that little pigs who make good decisions and work hard don't get eaten by wolves.

So after the story was over, I paused the iPod and asked Trevor, "if you were one of the three little pigs, would you build your house out of straw, sticks or bricks?" He responded, "I would be a wolf!"

I guess he gets it about making good decisions.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Who's the boss of Devin?

Daddy and the boys are finishing up their dinner. I'm in here, taking a moment. I just heard this exchange:

Daddy: "No, Devin, that's not juice."
Devin: "Juice."
Trevor: "No, Devin, that's not juice!!"
Devin: "Juice."
Trevor: "DAD, PUT HIM IN A TIME-OUT!"
Daddy: "It's OK, Trevor, he can say juice."
Devin: "Juice."

My moment is over now.

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Thanksgiving


Devin had a yummy looking double stuffed potato, so I gave him a fork. He took his pig-in-a-blanket in his hand, shoved the fork in the tasty pastry dog, and ate it like this!


Here's how Devin enjoys Thanksgiving dinner with Aunt Momo. (At least, that's what I think he was calling her.)




And, here's how Devin enjoys S'mores around the traditional Thanksgiving Bonfire (Ok, so the bonfire isn't a Thanksgiving Tradition, but that sounds so nice.)




Here's we are making the traditional Thanksgiving Gingerbread House (see note above regarding Tradition and Thankgiving, please.)


Trevor enjoying tradtional Thanksgiving Gingerbread House candies.


Traditional Thanksgiving Toddler Head Massage


A closeup of our Traditional Thanksgiving Gingerbread House.

Trevor made a new rule. When we take five pictures of the house, we can eat it. We've taken 2 closeups like this so far. So, if you see this house, no photos please.

My other mimic

Yesterday, we took the El train to Chicago from Rosemont. On the way back to Rosemont, a homeless man came on to our train and asked for some money because he needed a sandwich. He must have left an impression on Trevor who today, about 20 hours after his experience with the homeless man, said to me, "I just need a little money for a sandwich."

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

HAIRCUTS Before and After, et al


Devin BEFORE


Devin AFTER


Trevor BEFORE


Trevor AFTER
(think he likes the haircut??)


While I'm at it, here's Trevor CLEANING! I know he's laying down on the job, but he.is.CLEANING!


Here's Devin doing what Devin does best.


And here's what Devin looks like when he discovers a camera is pointed at him.,

Broccoli Girl

Trevor just got his pajamas on and he came downstairs and told me that I am BROCCOLI girl. I think it's because the HULK on his pajamas looks like broccoli.

I agreed to be broccoli girl and went back to reading MSNBC. A few minutes later, he comes over to me and says, "OK, Broccoli Girl, I need your help. I need you to throw broccoli at the bad guys." I did that for awhile, and it was fun. Then, Trevor says, "Oh, let me see what time it is." Then, he looks at his wrist and says, "Yep, it's time to get to work." Then he says to Daddy, "Come on, Spiderman, we've got a job to do!"

Imagination at work...

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

It's not all about Trevor!

Devin has been doing some pretty cute things, too. First, he continues to mock us all very well. Last night, he was standing on his changing able, and I said, "Don't Fall" in a mommy sing-song voice, and then he said, "Don't Fall" in a Devin sing-song voice.

He also continues to say, "Wait Me!" when it's time to go downstairs. Recently, he spent a good bit of the afternoon saying, "My Turn!" And, his favorite drink is still either "Choc Milk" or "Juish" (which used to be ju...recently he's added an S-ish sound to the end of his favorite drink.)

Last night, he told Daddy he wanted more juish (he was also signing more), and Daddy asked if wanted Apple Juice. Devin told him "NO, NO WAY! JUISH" That was fun...

He's also very much into the Simpsons. When he wants to watch the Simpsons, he signs more and says "More O, MORE O!" I think this means More Homer. If we're not quick enough, he was also retreive the remote for us. And, he refuses to watch commercials. Commercials cause him to make little noises of protest and sometimes cry. Someone recently asked me what toys he likes to play with, and all I could really come up with was TV. He loves TV. I suppose I should be teaching him to ride a bike or play checkers soon...

We do love our little Devin.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Games in the car

I got to drop off and pick up the boys at school today. Trevor likes to ask lots of questions in the car. One of his most confounding question formats begins with "Mom, why should you never..." and ends with something like "...scare people when you are trick or treating?" or "...go to Dino-land?"

"Why should you never go to Dino-land?"

How do you answer this type of question? How do you answer this question when it's the 55th such question in a series of similar questions? My answer went something like this...

"I don't know why you should never go to Dino-land. I don't even know where Dino-land is. I think it's possible that if Dino-land exists, it might be ok for me to visit. I just don't know how to answer your question, Trevor!"

He answered something like this.

"UUUGGGHHHHH!!"

Which was his way of saying, "Stop Talking!"

Then he went on to say, "The reason you should never go to Dino-land is because the Dinosaurs live under the ground like earthworms!" So, he knew all along.

In an attempt to regain my good humor, at this point in the conversation, I asked (with lots of enthusiasm) if Trevor was interested in playing the quiet game (I seriously tried to win this game when I was a kid...what a sucker!) Trevor told me that NO he did not want to play the quiet game. In fact, he did not want to do that because he was playing the "QUESTION GAME!"

Why didn't he tell me it was a game??

Anyway, I really was tired of answering Trevor's overly complex questions, so I told him that I was going to play the quiet game myself (I used to be so good at it.)

This was upsetting to Trevor. He told me that I was not following his rules. So, I asked, "what are your rules?"

He told me, "you can't play the quiet game when I'm playing the question game!"

I just laughed and laughed and tried to call Vikki to tell her how funny Trevor is. But, she was in class and wouldn't answer my call.

I didn't even know the Question Game even existed.

Now I know.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

My little manipulator...

So tonight, we went to Max & Erma's for dinner. This restaurant has a nice little sundae bar. Trevor has a nice long memory. Near the end of his meal, he reminded me how good the ice cream was last time we were there. He could either tell me he wanted ice cream, or he could plant a little seed, and make it seem like it's my idea. He chooses to plant a seed. I think that's fascinating.

Last week, he tried to convince me that The Little Mermaid castle that he sees advertised on Nickelodean could be a boy toy or a girl toy. His reasoning is that Eric, Flounder and Sebastian are all boys. It's like he's already way ahead of me. If he would have asked for the Little Mermaid castle, I would have told him it was a girl toy. He always avoids the girl aisles at Target and the Toy Store. He has set the precedent that he's not into girl toys at all. So, he didn't ask me if he could have the Little Mermaid castle. He just planted the seed that the Little Mermaid castle could be a boy toy or a girl toy. You can decide for yourself:




But, I'm not convinved this one of those toys that could go either way. It looks like a girl toy to me.

(It's currently $37 online at toysrus.com. It IS a girl's toy, a pricey girl's toy!!)

Monday, November 13, 2006

I am his favorite mommy in the whole wide world, but...

Trevor has been saying lately that I am his very favorite mommy in the whole world. In fact, it was the first thing he said to me Sunday Morning. The very most perfect start to any day. I told him that he was my very favorite Trevor in the whole wide world, and he told me that he was the only Trevor in the whole wide world. He named four of his friends, none of whom are named Trevor, as proof that he's the only Trevor in the whole wide world. Can't really argue with that...

He had also started (and has since stopped) telling me or Daddy to argue with the other in his defense. Last Monday, we were at the local mall and were about to go to one of the food courts. He did something that I told him not to do, so I didn't take him to the food court as he had planned. When I took him to the car, he said "I want dad! I want dad! I want Dad to argue with you!" Anyway, this thing where he asked me to argue with Daddy or Daddy to argue with me only lasted about a week. I have no idea where it came from, but I guess I'm glad it didn't last.

And, I decided to teach myself to knit. I bought really large needles because that's what the pattern on the skein indicated that I would need. The needles are plastic, and they do look like toys. Now, Devin prefers to take Mommy or Daddy elevator up and down the stairs. But, yesterday, he got my new knitting needles, took one in each hand, and slid down the basement stairs on his belly, giggling like a mad, mad baby all the way. He was very upset when I took away his weapons of mass self-destruction.

Devin can also mimic us better than ever, and we think he can get all the way to G in the Alphabet now. He loves Trevor, and does every single thing Trevor does. Trevor screeches, Devin screeches. (Oh, how I hate the sound of a child shrieking.) So many things...Trevor does it, and then Devin does it. One thing Trevor has stopped doing, though, is saying Die, Die, Die. I kept telling him it was ugly thing to say, and the message finally got through. Devin hasn't gotten the message, and he will still say it. Trevor screeches for him to stop because it's ugly. This makes Devin say Die, Die, Die even more. This usually happens in the car. It happened just yesterday. So, the moral here is that Devin will do whatever Trevor does and whatever Trevor tells him not to do.

Speaking of which, Trevor will tell Devin to stop engaging in any and all inappropriate activities. Apparently, playing with marshmallows is not appropriate as Devin was hitting two marshmallows together yesterday, and this just made Trevor crazy.

So, that's it for today. Marshmallows are on top of your blog casserole. Appropriate, given the season, I suppose...

Monday, November 06, 2006

Halloween Pictures


Trevor, the intense Green Power Ranger


Devin the Batman sizes up the white dog. Scary, villianous, white dog.


This is how Devin participates in the Halloween parade.


Mask On.


Mask On.


MASK OFF!!


YAY! MASK OFF!


YAY! MASK STILL OFF!!




I like the way Trevor knows just where the camera is...


More Halloween on parade.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Can this happen?

We had an extremely busy day as a family. We were out of the ouse at 7:39, had breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and then went to Chicago to the the museum of science and industry.

After our busy day at the museum, we came home and straightened up the house while waiting for the babysitter to arrive. We had planned to go out to dinner with Daddy's sister and brother-in-law. We had not been out without the kids in 2 or 3 months, and we were both really looking forward to it. Trevor had other plans, though.

As soon as the babysitter arrived, Trevor started crying that he wanted to "come with." Over and over, he told us he wanted to "come with" as he cried pretty hard. He cried for about 10 minutes as Daddy and I made out final preparations for our night out without kids. Just as we were getting ready to leave, I hugged Trevor, and he felt warm. I asked Daddy to feel him, and we exchanged bewildered looks as he confirmed that Trevor felt warm.

I wasn't messing around, and I gave him two Tylenol Meltaways right away, even before we confirmed his temperature. These are reasonably tasty, and even if his fever weren't that bad, I figured giving him the Tylenol would calm him down.

Daddy brought me the thermometer, the temporal scanner, and it revealed a temperature in excess of 102. We took it a few more times, and we eventually got readings over 103.

OK.

It was possible he was warm from all the crying, so we took his temperature with the ear thermometer. 103.3.

Weird.

I found an oral thermometer. 103.

This kid really had a fever. But he was acting fine, beyond the crying, which really was normal since we were leaving. And, he had been acting fine all day long. And it was just time for us to leave.

So, we left.

I mean, the babysitter was there. And, we hadn't been out for months.

Actually, we left on the condition that we would call within 20 minutes, and if he was still feverish or acting sick, we would come home. When I called, his temperature was 99, and he was acting a little tired and asking for us, but he was fine.

We went to dinner, and it was very nice.

So, here's my question. Can a kid cause his temperature to rise to over 103 intentionally???

Friday, November 03, 2006

I wish...

...that this story would translate in such a way that you could feel the joy and contentment that I feel when this type of thing happens.

This morning, it was not quite 5 am, Devin woke up (and since he was in our bed, he also woke up me, Daddy, and Trevor who has taken to waking up with us) and the first thing he said was:
"Ma Ju, Ma Ju, Ma ma ju!" while making the sign for more.

It was cute and sweet, and he was thirsty.

(Devin Translation: "More juice, More juice, More More Juice.")

Monday, October 30, 2006

Love your brother...

We live at the end of a dead end street, and the only cars that ever come all the way past our mail box belong to me, Daddy, someone coming to visit us, or the neighbor who lives across the road.

It's a good location for toddlers who haven't yet learned that wandering into the road is not very safety conscious.

I was raking leaves today, and the boys were playing outside. The leaf pile must be right by the road so they can be picked up, so we were all down by the street.

Devin wandered into the street twice. The first time, I told him to come back into the yard after Trevor started screaming for him to get out of the road. Trevor has learned the lesson about not playing in the road. He has learned the lesson, indeed. I gave Devin a chance to come back to the yard on his own, and when that didn't work, I went after him. He started running up the road in his own version of the "come-get-me-game." He has NOT learned the lession about road safety.

A few minutes went by, and Devin wandered from the leaf pile to the road once again. Once again, Trevor yelled for Devin to get out the road. Again, I tried to give Devin a chance to come back on his own. Before he really even had a chance to get back in the yard, Trevor yelled, "GET BACK HERE! I WON'T HAVE A BROTHER!" At that point, I just retrieved Devin. Trevor got a little quieter, but he kept talking about how he wouldn't have a brother if Devin played in the road.

I pointed to the line that seperates our driveway from the road and told Devin he could not cross it because it is not safe to do so. He said, "kay." I think we're all good now.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Wake Up, Dad (and Trevor)

Devin likes to wake up before the rest of us, go downstairs, get some breakfast and go watch TV every now and then. He did just this thing this morning. After awhile, he came back upstairs because he was poopy. While he was back in our bedroom, I told him to wake up dad. He said, "Way, Da! Way, Da!" Then I told Devin to tickle Dad awake. So, he pulled his hand away from his face and said "Way, Da! Way, Da!" again.

Now that Dad was awake, I told him to try and wake up Trevor. I had a fleeting thought how this could end badly. But I did not heed that thought. Devin started shaking Trevor awake and tried to pull his blanket away. Trevor pulled back his blanket and said, "ROOOAAAARRRR!"

No joke. Trevor roared at Devin first thing this morning.

I asked him later why he roared at Devin. He said it was because he wanted to wake himself up.

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

More on Boo-ing

So, we got boo'd again last night. I hung my ghost just like I was supposed to, but I guess the ghost that dropped off the new treats just didn't see it.

Or, Trevor had another theory.

He thought that maybe what happened was the ghost who boo'd us the second time snuck in, took down the ghost sign, dropped off the goodies, and then put the sign back up.

It's a pretty good theory, especially since Trevor had already taken the sign down once himself.

Monday, October 23, 2006

You've been Boo'd!

There is a tradition of Boo'ing in our neighborhood. In this tradition, that is at least 3 years old, a neighbor will leave a bag of Halloween goodies at our door with a ghost and a note. We hang the ghost to show that we've been boo'd, and then we Boo two more neighbors.

We got boo'd on Saturday night. And, Trevor has not stopped asking questions about the ghost who left the bag of goodies. Yesterday night, it was our turn to boo. Trevor wanted to get dressed up like a ghost, but he settled for a power ranger. Devin put on his batman costume. We filled a bag with candy, and we gave Trevor these very specific instructions: Drop the bag in front of the door, ring the doorbell, and run home as fast as you can.

Daddy and I watched from the porch.

He was stealthlike as he strode across the median on the way to the neighbor's house. If it weren't for his bright green costume, I'm sure no one would have even seen him. Devin plodded behind gracefully with slight pigeon toes. Trevor continued with his stealthlike stride as he climbed the two steps to the neighbor's porch. Devin had to climb. No stealth there.

Trevor dropped the bag and passed Devin, who was still climbing to the porch, on his way home. Devin turned around so that he could return home. Right before Trevor reached home, he said loudly, "I CAN'T FIND THEIR DOORBELL!"

Daddy converted into stealth mode and went back to the neighbor's porch to help find the doorbell. Devin turned back around so that he could continuing BOO'ing. Daddy read a sign on the neighbor's door that said, "Don't use the doorbell, please knock."

He instructed Trevor to knock, so he did. Then, stealth mode returned, and Daddy and Trevor rushed off the porch.

Daddy rushed all the way back to our porch. Trevor rushed all the way back to our driveway. Devin just stayed on the neighbor's porch.

Since Trevor was in charge of this boo'ing, he turned and yelled for Devin, "COME HOME DEVIN! DEVIN, COME HOME!" until, finally, Devin plodded home, slightly pigeon toed, in his batman costume.

Did the neighbors catch the boys boo'ing them? No.

I'm pretty sure they weren't home.

More Language

Devin is talking more and more, he's got pretty good retention, and he's forming sentences.

He likes for me to carry him to the basement in the morning so that he can watch TT (TV). We have a little routine. He stands at the top of the stairs, yells "WAIT ME!", I go down two steps, he hands me his food and drink, and then he "jumps" into my arms. As we get to the landing, and he makes comments on the pictures we have there (that we have had there as long as he can remember.) His comments include "Tra-Tra" (Trevor), "Bay-bay" (Devin Baby), Cat.

We got some new books recently that showcase emergency vehicles. Each of them mention the emergency number, 911. The first time I read the books, I tried to teach Trevor the emergency number in case he needed to call it sometime. I would ask him later, "what's the emergency number?" and Trevor would say "9-1-1."

When I ask Devin the same question, I actually get the same response, except it's more like this: "ni-wuh-wuh." He also knows his ABCs. He even sings it. A-B-C. He stops there.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

An Exceptional Kid

Trevor has always been exceptional, and we've known that for a very long time. Most kids do not get a belly button infection, for example. But, Trevor did. The doctor was so surprised to see his belly button infection that she had an older doctor confirm what she was seeing. Then, we had to take him back to the doctor every day for 3 or 4 days, including a Sunday, for a belly button check and antibiotic shots.

But, the rare belly button infection was nothing compared to his first week of life.

After being discharged from the hospital, we took our new son home, and I proceeded to take care of him as well as I could. I was nursing. Since he was our first child, I was new to nursing, had no idea what "let-down" felt like, and marvelled at how I could nourish this newborn baby.

He was a little jaundiced when he was discharged, but his level was so low that their guidelines allowed him to be discharged. We were instructed to bring him back the next day for a repeat bilirubin check.

We took him back to Condell, where he was born, for his first re-check. It was the middle of the day, probably 1:00. I had already noticed that his mouth was dry, and I thought I should ask the phlebotomist about that, but I didn't. And, she wouldn't have been the right person, anyway.

When the doctor got his results, she called and told us to take him to Victory for another check. Victory has a bad reputation, but it was closer. After a couple of hours, she called us back and told us to do another recheck. We took him to Victory again. Daddy and I were getting a little uneasy. Neither of us had any idea what was so serious about a little jaundice. You can cure it with sunlight, for goodness' sake!

A little after the third re-check, the doctor called us and told us to take him to the ER because his level was bilirubin level was rising quickly.

During this day, third day of life, I think, I had noticed his mouth was getting dry. In hindsight, he was also becoming lethargic and losing interest in trying to eat, but babies sleep alot, and I just didn't think too much of the dry mouth or even notice the lethargy. I've always been around babies, but never had to care fulltime for a newborn. I didn't realize it wasn't normal for a baby to have absolutely no moisture in their mouth.

We took him to the Victory ER. Daddy and I were both scared at this time. We didn't know why, yet, but we were both very scared. It took about an hour for us to get admitted. During that hour, we called the doctor and asked if we should stay at Victory because they weren't getting us a room. She had told us they would have a room ready for us. She assured us we should stay put.

When Trevor finally got to the room, the doctor got to work right away. I don't remember exactly what happened, but the doctor told us, "You have a very sick baby." I think Doctors only use these words when they want to prepare you for the worst, but that didn't occur to me at the time. I just wanted to know what we needed to do fix him. The doctor continued, "the jaundice is the least of your problems. Your baby is very dehydrated."

I had tunnel vision, I think, and all I could see was the doctor. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Daddy was green and about to pass out. I think I may have hollered, "ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?" The doctor asked a nurse to get him a soda.

They took Trevor to a room across the hall, and they kept my screaming newborn in there for about an hour while they tried to insert an IV. They tried his arms, his legs, and finally settled in his head. His veins had started to collapse because of the dehydration.

The thing that is so scary about this to me is that I never asked about his dry mouth, and the doctors were only concerned about his jaundice. The jaundice, left unchecked, could cause permanent brain damage. The dehyrdration would have just killed him. I think if it was known how sick he was, we never would have waited an hour in the ER. I think they would have seen him or sooner, or we would have driven to another hospital.

The doctor ordered that his blood be checked every hour for sodium and bilirubin levels. The first check showed things were getting better. The second check, the sodium levels were normal. The doctor was NOT pleased with this, though, because the levels were falling too quickly. Things were adjusted, and his dehydration was under control by the next morning.

He was in the hospital for the next 5 days in an incubator under and top of lights with his little eyes covered. I think I stayed every night, and I was able to sleep part of the night by the third night. I think they brought me a bed by the fourth night! My ankles became swollen for the first time ever, my skin became dryer than ever, and I was Trevor's primary care-giver. I changed him, weighed his diapers, nursed him once my milk came in, and gave him bottles of formula. The woman who brought me food was very pleasant and helpful, the nurses, not so much.

The problem was my milk hadn't come in. The bilirubin levels weren't falling because he wasn't peeing because he wasn't getting any milk, and he became dehydrated for the same reason. And, our baby was very sick.

After this, I would tell anyone who would listen to watch for signs of dehydration in their new baby! But, there was really no need. Trevor is just an exceptional kid, most kids don't nearly die from dehydration and jaundice in their first few days of life even if their mother's milk doesn't come in. Trevor was just an exception. He's just always been exceptional. I expect he always will be.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

a Trevor-ism

We were out shopping today. To be honest, I thought I would have time to get Devin some great birthday present before his birthday, but it didn't work out that way. So, we had been shopping at Toys'r'us for Devin's birthday. We got him a Bob the Builder Factory, 1 monster truck, a little golden book with a Baggy Saggy Elephant toy, and a T-shirt that says, "I do my own stunts." (We got one of these for Trevor, too, so they'll match.)

Anyway, as we walked outside of Toys'r'us into the brisk afternoon, Trevor said, "it's so 60 degrees!"

******************************************************************
Here's my next story...

The monster truck that we got for Devin was actually one of a three pack that we got for the boys to share. Trevor was explaining that he got two and Devin got one. When Trevor said, "TWO", Devin responded, "TWO!" So Trevor told him "No, Devin, you don't get Two!"

Devin responded, "Two!"

"No, Devin, you just get one!" Trevor said.

"One," Devin responded.

Those aren't the exact words, but you get the idea. It was a real "Who's on First?" moment.

More Devin Birthday Pictures




Daddy becomes a target of chocolate cake fingers


All the presents.


Trevor looks for his presents.


Devin is saying "Pooh" here because the birthday card has a picture of Pooh (Winnie the Pooh, that is.)




He needs a little help with the ribbon.


But, then he's good to go.


Trevor's feeling a little left out.




But Grandma and Grandpa didn't forget about him!


What's in this box?


It's a car! (And that's what Devin is saying in this picture.)


Here, I think Trevor said, "Do you want help, Devin?" and Devin said, "Yeh."


Trevor continues to be a helpful young man.

THE END

P.S.

And, here's what Daddy got himself for Devin's Birthday.