It was such a nice day today that I brought the boys to the park - twice! No pictures, but they had a great time. Max is so much better than he used to be about listening to me and not running off. Sam sticks pretty close to me for the most part, although he did try follow a strange family out of the park. They had a two year old boy, and I think he was fascinated to see someone even closer to his own height than Max.

I'm watching Enchanted for the second time in as many days. It is such a cute movie and Max likes it, too!

Do not try to eat anything around Sam unless you want to share it. Hiding in the kitchen doesn't work anymore. I'm doomed.

I forgot to say, I had my EKG done on Thursday. Other than a first degree AV block (which they say is a benign condition) my heart was fine.

So, I think I just need to make that opthamologist appointment and set up the physical therapy, and at some point find a genetic counselor, or whatever they are called.

*From what I understand, The AV node is a group of cells in the heart located between the upper two chambers the lower two chambers that regulates electrical current.

A first-degree AV block is when electrical impulse travels from the top of the heart through the AV node to the bottom of the heart just a little more slowly than normal.

(more to come)


( Click here for 7 more pix! )

This article was written for doctors, but I really recognized myself while reading parts of it.

http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/40/5/487

You know, I always thought I was a pretty good big sister to Andrew. I bought him a big wheel with my baby-sitting money for his birthday when he turned three and everything. Then I was talking to him on instant messenger and we were talking about the movie Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

Apparently, in our younger years, I tried to convince him that Large Marge from that movie was his real mother. I don't remember that, but I do remember threatening to have the goblins from Labyrinth, come and take him away. I may also remember leaping out behind him during the 'scary parts' of Are You Afraid of The Dark?

I guess there is a reason my other little brother Brandon always says I am, "Kind of fun, but kind of mean."

Maybe next year I should get Andrew a gift certificate for a therapist?

Sorry Andy! Have the best birthday that you are psychologically capable of having!

The jeans and shirt I ordered from Old Navy came today and they fit great! It made me want to go shopping out for clothes, and that normally scares me! Wearing clothes that fit right looks so much better, and you can really see how much weight I have lost.

I'm supposed to avoid iron and calcium for two hours before and two hours after I take doxycycline because they inhibit its absorption and therefore its effectiveness. I was told to take it twice a day, with food breakfast and my evening meal.

I tell you, it's a lot easier to find lists of foods high in calcium and iron than lists of things low in it. Plus, so much stuff actually is fortified with one or both.

I've been watching a lot of Avatar: The Last Airbender with Max on DVD. It is a cool show, and it is something we can both enjoy.

This is something I heard him excitedly saying while we were watching it:

"This is FANTASTIC! Aang is in trouble, but his friends are going to rescue him, because they are his friends, and that is FANTASTIC! Because they are friends, just like Tigger & Pooh, and that is so SUPER FANTASTIC!"

The best way to get Sam to drink out of a sippy cup is to give Max a cup of milk, too.

I have come to realize Sam is saying a heckuvalot for a 12 month old. At first I wasn't sure how much was just mimicking and how much he understood. Plus he talks fast and doesn't enunciate, but a lot is going on in that little head. When we were shopping for clothes for him he actually yelled, "I won't wear it," at Jon about a pair of pants.

Today he is messing with Max. He keeps holding out toys to Max and when Max tries to take them he yanks them away and runs off. Max actually managed to get a hold of a stuffed animal, and Sam yelled, "Don't angry me!" Max just got this long-suffering look on his face, dropped the toy and walked away. Poor Max!

ETA: Sam was just chasing Max around and hitting him with a sippy cup.

I feel terrible this morning. To makes things fair to Max I should really take a picture of my misery, but I'm the mama. I don't have to be fair.