BBQ's, Parties, and Animals...Oh My!

There's a lot to say about the past several days, so I'll try to keep the rhetoric to a minimum. Let's just say, Ian has had a lot of new adventures this week...so much that we are skipping his swimming lesson tomorrow to avoid overload (us and him) and so we can be a lazy bunch on what is expected to be a hot Sunday (it got into the high 80's today).

On Wednesday, Shawn's team had an "end of fiscal year" BBQ at an area swim and tennis club and Ian got to skip part of the day at school to chill with dad and his coworkers in the pool and partake in some killer BBQ. I joined later after my work day, and it was not only one of the first nice days of the summer, but a nice time introducing Ian to some of Shawn's daytime family who either hadn't met him yet or haven't seen him since his arrival home. One of my favorite of Shawn's coworkers, Edie, and her husband Jules, were there with their SEVEN adorable kids. Jules is from Indonesia and speaks some Mandarin...and is a stay at home dad who home schools ALL SEVEN kids.... Is there a special place in heaven for people like that? I hope so.

Last night, Friday, we broke the against-our-personal-code policy and drove the hectic Friday night route from our end of town to Shawn's parents for Trish's surprise retirement party. It was a tostada, corona, and sangria themed shin-dig, pulled off flawlessly by Shawn's dad with the huge help of a dear friend, Jo. Everything went off without a hitch, and a small group of about 20 of us enjoyed a wonderful congratulatory evening with Trish. Ian was awesome. Although he had been up since 5:30am with a shorter than usual nap, he was charming, sweet, smart, and EASY until after 9pm when we finally decided our luck was bound to run out soon...and loaded him in the car for home.

SHAMELESS PLUG: I must plug the bottled Sangria mixer at Cost Plus. I can't count how many times we all commented that there wasn't enough of that stuff in the world. Because of it, Tom needed a chaperon to the store to pick up the surprise cake he completely forgot he ordered...until he went to cut it. Oops!

With less than a full night's sleep, Ian was up at 7:30am this morning, had a full breakfast, hearty playtime outside, a nice 2 hour nap...all before we loaded him up in the truck again to head the 45 minutes back down to Tom & Trish's place to commence an outing to the zoo. I've been dreaming of this day... a trip to the zoo with Tom and Trish. He went to the Phoenix zoo with my parents in December, but was only home a few weeks at that point and wasn't even walking. He's really ready now, and it was another great (and hot) day. It wasn't awesome...just great. We were disappointed with the zoo overall, and by doing the math regarding the gas down, the time spent looking for a parking spot, the cost in, hotdog and soda, and finally ice cream (although the ticket and hotdog was compliments of Tom), we feel like we paid a ton of money for only a couple of decent exhibits.

The highlights were the Walruses and Beluga Whales. The Shark exhibit was also pretty nifty, but everything else was pretty blah. I know my parents like this zoo, so I felt bad for not remembering it like my childhood, but mom, your zoo down in Phoenix was much nicer. We have another zoo closer to us that I would like to try next time.

I would like to shout out to our niece Ashleigh, who sacrificed a precious teen-aged sunny Summer Saturday to come to the zoo with us. She is not only a huge animal lover, but a selfless and kind hearted young woman, who I trust completely with Ian...something I can't say for many people yet. It was great to see her, only a couple of days before her birthday, and enjoy the zoo together. Thanks Ashleigh! (She is also probably my youngest blog faithful).

My own enjoyment of the zoo might have been overshadowed by the fact that my sunscreen ran into my eyes shortly after arriving and I was in horrible pain most of the time. So much for trying to do the right thing and take care of my skin. Neutrogena Age Shield SPF 70 might leave me cancer free, but I'll end up blind. One or the other, not both. I didn't read the fine print apparently. By the time we left, my eye was so sore and fatigued, I could hardly keep it open, and I only had makeup left on one eye. Thank goodness I had my sunglasses most of the time.

Ian is fast asleep after several days of fun and great behavior (not a single incident...and he was very excited about the zoo). Shawn and I are burning through a pitcher of well deserved Cosmos and wondering how we'll top another wonderful weekend.

Below are pictures from Ian's adventures this week. Enjoy!

Ian hanging out with 4 of Edie & Jules' 7 kids.

"Ian, if you're going to be invited to a Corona party, you have to eat limes with the big boys." He made this face, but signed 'more' for another piece of lime.

Visiting with Cassie

To explain this photo: Note the wiffle ball that Shawn is throwing into the air. He was showing Ian that if he throws it into the ceiling fan, it will shoot across the room. Grandpa Tom came in the room a moment later and said "Shawn, what are you doing... That's not how you do it." They all proceeded to sling hard plastic objects into the ceiling fan for the rest of the evening.

A few minutes after arriving at the zoo... Ian and Grandma spot a peacock. I tried to get a picture with both of them, but the peacock ran off.

Ian with cousin Ashleigh

Three generations: Grandma Trish, Dad... and Ian. Having fun with the 1-2-3, swing game, down a hill.

Ian gets up close and personal with a giant walrus...

...Maybe a little too personal. This one hangs a BA as it somersaults against the glass. Like the aquarium, he could have stayed all day and just watched this one animal.

Holy moly. That's a big fish. Like the Walrus, this Beluga Whale left a BIG impression on Ian.

Taking a break while I tried to save my eye.

There was only one monkey. I was expecting more. Ian was, too.

We used to have a fish a lot like this in our old fish tank. Not quite as big... but just as cute.

Ian and a couple of the smaller sharks. Here sharky, sharky, sharky.

No better way to finish off a day at the zoo than with a cool refreshing ice cream cone.

...And then a little more ice cream.

...and because this picture is so irresistably cute, a little more ice cream.

No tops allowed (it's not what you think)

First off, thanks for all the support about our questioning of the quality of care Ian is receiving in his current daycare. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks we don't have to settle, just because they had an opening. And, looking into other options did create a nice domino effect that resulted in moving him to 4 days a week and ultimately significantly sped up Grandma Trish's retirement plans.

I took a tour of the facility first on our list for Ian and it is wonderful. From the secure lobby, there are glass doors looking in on any of the toddler, preschool or Kindergarten classes. I like the fact that a code is required to get that far, but that parents can see exactly what is going on in class at any time.

Ian will be in Toddler 2, once they have an open spot, and in that class...wait for it... they use BIG BOY CUPS! The realization sunk in quickly that we will need to start working with him on drinking from an open cup. No lid. No sippy. No straw. Drinking milk commando-style. What's next? Potty training? Big boy bed? Chills run down my spine just thinking such thoughts.

I sat with the director and rattled off question after question and walked away really feeling like we would be getting a much better learning environment for Ian, not to mention a lot more one on one attention (us and him)...and it's within walking distance of our house; a 5 minute drive from my office, so more "pros" to add to the list.

Back to the open cup thing... So, I came home from work today, put him in flimsy shorts and a t-shirt, took him outside, and gave him an open cup that would be easy to hold. I poured in a few inches of water and, well, he drank it neatly and asked for more. Was it really going to be this easy? He did great until he got bored, probably not understanding the purpose of the exercise, and after a few minutes was pouring the water in the back of his dumptruck, trying to pick up his bucket to drink from that... and ultimately watering the plants with the water I gave him. From somewhere, a fork materialized, and then it all started going downhill from there. His hands were in the cup, it was going for rides in the back of his dumptruck... It could have been worse, though, so I'm not complaining. It was a fun way to kill an hour.

Next, we'll try an open cup at his highchair. In the meantime, I got him a "spill resistant" tumbler, much like an adult travel mug, but made for kids, which will give him practice tipping a cup and holding something other than a sippy.

We were supposed to have dinner with a good friend and coworker of mine visiting our offices this week from New York, but our goal of meeting after his flight arrived Sunday was thwarted by weather delays, and tonight he was roped into dinner with managers... so Ian didn't get a chance to meet Big Mark. I'm pretty sad, but he'll be back in September, so there's still a chance for him to make the blog hall of fame.

Tomorrow, Shawn has a team BBQ at a Country Club near us and Ian will get a chance to swim and charm the crowd. I should get some cute shots there. Saturday, we tentatively plan to meet up with Shawn's folks to take Ian to the zoo! My parents and I took him in Phoenix during our visit in December, but Ian had only been home a few weeks at that point and didn't get the point. Just being outside was asking a lot then, but now... He is interested and curious about absolutely everything, and if the forecast for nice weather holds out, it should be a great time. I can't wait.

Below are some of the cutest shots from Ian's "open cup certification" training as well as a few other shots from yesterday and today.

First drink. Great form. Perfect grip. I give it a 10 out of 10.

More, please! No problem. Let's see if he can nail another attempt...

Ummm. No. However, he is showing how great he is at sharing!

He was very careful to set the cup perfectly in the back of his dumptruck...

Since it did not come equipped with cup holders.

After the water games got boring, he resorted to "Garbage Truck Olympics" on Polli. She's so patient with him... she just lets him do whatever he wants (although those ears say "Kid, I'm going to count to 3".)

Ian, where is Polli's foot?

Where's Ian's foot? (Don't you wish you were that flexible?)

Showing me his back

A cute shot... back when sippys were the 'in' thing (yesterday)

He was proclaiming "BIKE!!!!", although there was no bike around...

More Changes

Not much going on this week after such an exciting weekend. Ian saved up all his traditional 2 year old behavior, after being such an angel last weekend, and has been quite a pill this week. We're so not used to tantrums and irritability with him that I even called the doctor's office to talk to a nurse about the potential of an ear infection. Yes, I was completely jumping to conclusions…but we just don't have the terrible two's experience to tell the difference.

There are a couple of exciting changes to report. First, Shawn and I have been comparing notes on our impression with Ian's daycare environment and have decided that it is not the right fit for him or us. I think it was fine for transitioning him to being away from us during the day, but as a progressive learning environment, especially now that he has had 7 full months of exposure to English and our environment, it just doesn't cut it. When we pick him up everyday, without exception, we see young college girls watching them play. The interaction is minimal and we just don't see our money going to much more than organized babysitting. We also get less than optimal communication. We never have a conversation with his actual teacher (who is gone by the time we arrive to pick him up) and his daily sheet might say he was cheerful (which it says every single day), but they mention to us that he was cranky…it also said cheerful the day he was practically catatonic with fever when I arrived. I know they mean well and can only do so much with the resources they're given, but it just isn't for us.

For the past several weeks, I've been doing some hard thinking about where the cost factor should draw a line regarding what we need to do. In our area, monthly full time care is well into the 4 digit range per month, which forces parents to take sides: cost or quality. I want both; Call me crazy. We determined that for close to what we're paying now for 5 days/all day, we can go down to 4 full days with a provider that has better structure, healthier meals, and an overall better environment. What happens that 5^th day… well, that's where the next change comes in. Grandma Trish to the rescue!

Last weekend, we cornered her with the question "What are you doing on Fridays?" The answer we were looking for was "Pining away for my grandson". We got the answer we wanted, and starting in August, Trish will be making the long hike out to our house to spend one day a week with Ian!) It gives us peace of mind and allows him to grow up knowing his grandma. Now, if my mom were still local, we could really save a ton of money and take him down to 3 days a week… sigh. Sorry, mom… Phoenix is a long commute.

After a bunch of hugs, Trish wiped her tears and thanked us for giving her yet another excuse to retire. We didn't expect her to get so excited about quitting her job, but less than 48 hours later, she was announcing that her last day is next week. Because she has a lot of social and family aspirations, we will keep it to one day a week, allowing Ian the chance to interact socially with other kids the other days, plus his half day with me every other Wednesday before Speech Therapy, which I might end up doing on the non therapy weeks, also.

We have him on a waiting list for the Snoqualmie Ridge Early Learning Center, which is literally 2 blocks from our house and has gotten rave reviews since opening a few years ago. It may be several months before we can get him in, but at least we have him somewhere now…and although it's not our favorite choice, he's safe and familiar there. We will take him down to 4 days a week there until he can get in at SRELC. They have computer classes, music & movement, art, and library…for 2+. Once he turns 3, there are karate classes and other extra-curricular activities he can get involved in. They also have an online system where we can view the lesson plans, share feedback with the teachers, and download worksheets to carry over what he is learning.

Speaking of learning, Ian had his 3^rd Speech Therapy appointment Wednesday and is really doing awesome with her. She brings something out in him. He just talks up a storm when she's there. She is teaching us how to bring out conversation from him and how to get him to use certain sounds that his mouth muscles currently aren't used to making. There's also a great deal of strategy involved with his ear and the localization of sound, which I forget about, and tend to just talk to him normally…or (gasp) with my back turned, which is a big no-no. In general, we forget because he has adapted so well. It's not very often that he appears to lose track of where sounds come from, and he can hear even soft whispers from his microtia side. It amazes me how if, for example, I say "give Polli a kiss" at a whisper on his little side and, without looking at me, he will lean over and give her a kiss.

He came up to her with a spoon and she said "Look, a spoon". He answered, as clear as day, "I have a spoon". Knock me over. He said "I have a spoon". He hasn't said it, or any other multi word phrases, since… but she witnessed it, even if Shawn doesn't totally believe me.

I asked him to "Get the book with the bike and show Maura." It was a complex sentence with several commands. He walked over to his book cabinet, pulled out the "Cars & Trucks & Things that Go" book, brought it over to her, opened it, and pointed at the bike. He couldn't do that just 2 short weeks ago. She said he is doing as well as can be expected and better in many areas. Just this week, he started adding the 's' to the end of bus (comes out "bus-sss-sh"). It may not seem like much, but closing with consonants is exciting.

He is still addicted to bikes… and finds any excuse to say bike. He can spot one anywhere/anytime… and remembers where he saw one last. In the gym parking lot, there was a motorcycle parked near the entrance several weeks ago and he points at that parking spot and yells "BIKE" as loud as possible (to hear his echo in the garage), every week now. He does seem confused that the bike isn't there anymore, but still screams BIKE anyway.

Another anecdote that I keep forgetting to mention… Last week on the way to the locker room before his swimming lesson, we passed Slick Watts in the hall. He walked up to Ian, knelt down and said "Hey there little man, let me shake your hand". I was too surprised to remember the camera in my purse. My mom would have died to have a picture of the two of them. For those who don't know or remember, Slick Watts played for the Seattle Supersonics back in the 70's…I had his face on one of my night shirts, and he was one of my mom's favorite players. He and his son do summer basketball clinics at our club. I told Ian "He was a famous basketball player when I was your age". I'm sure that didn't make Slick feel old or anything. It was a cool moment. Ian didn't understand, but it was really cool for me. I wish Shawn had been there. Now, if we could run into Edgar Martinez in the halls (he's a member, too) I'd be VERY happy…and definitely wouldn't forget to get a picture.

Not much in the way of pictures this week. I've thrown in a few more from the aquarium trip last weekend.

Polli gets in touch with her inner bird dog

The "Jack" impersonation was so popular, I thought it deserved an encore. This is the "Risky Business" pose.

All three boys watching the puffer fish coming right at them

Matt insisted that he didn't need to hold Ian's hands... Shawn wasn't convinced. The fun ended right after this shot (not unlike my dad's shoulder rides in Arizona). We're just not ready for this yet! Maybe at his college graduation, uncle Matt! (p.s. you'll be 60! LOL)

Another great shot of Ian and dad... enough hogging the camera, Shawn! Geez!

Ian Meets Uncle Matt

I wanted to let the Father's Day post have a few days at the top of the page since it was so special to me (and Shawn), but now that a few days have passed, it's time to recap our busy Father's Day weekend and talk about the other highlight… the arrival of Shawn's older/middle brother, Matt! He and his wife Kristen and kids live in Fairbanks, Alaska, and for me, it's been years since I've seen any of them.

Matt is a pilot in the Air National Guard and was passing through Seattle on his way to training in California, and stayed with us for 2 days. Matt and Kristen are the epitome of role model parents in our eyes, and were our instant choice as guardians for Ian should something happen to us. It has been weighing on us heavily that Ian has been home all this time and hasn't met them. With this visit from Matt, we were able to accomplish half of that goal. He will also get to meet his cousins when they visit next month…Kristen, who knows. Maybe she can sneak down for a weekend at some point. If it weren't a fortune to get from Seattle to Fairbanks, we'd see more of them, but living in the middle of a frozen state has its disadvantages.

Matt came in on Friday night and Ian was sleeping by the time they made it to the house. Polli reacted in a way I've never seen before. She is always a bit apprehensive at first with grown men for some reason, but she was extremely agitated by Matt's presence and wasn't giving in to petting and snacks. To her, he was an intruder in our home and while she wasn't vicious, she was defensive and wouldn't get close. At first we thought it was the "wilderness" on his clothes causing such a reaction. He had just been hunting the day before. But later, after we were in bed, she knew a stranger was in the next room and didn't like it one bit. She faced the door with her ears up all night. I doubt she slept at all. The next morning, she was equally defensive until Ian woke up and Matt met and played with him. Almost immediately, upon seeing Matt interact with Ian without incident, Polli walked up to him and sniffed his legs…and they were buddies from then on. What an awesome big sister. Protecting Ian was her first concern.

So, back to Ian's first meeting with his uncle Matt. We had been preparing him by showing pictures. In a photo of the 3 boys with us wives, Ian could pick out Mark (Milk and Mark are the same word right now), Matt, and dad. He has a harder time with us girls, even me since my hair is really different now…But he had been staring at that photo, so I hope it helped reduce some stranger anxiety.

It didn't take long for him to go to Matt and they were perfectly comfortable together the whole weekend. He was appropriately shy at first and clung to my leg at times, but overall, it was a great meeting. Sunday morning, the first thing Ian did when he stood up in his crib was point to the guest room and say "Matt!" It was adorable.

I don't know that Ian cried or whined a single time all weekend, if that's even possible for a 2 year old. He was up by 5:30am on Saturday (Ugggh!) but was down for his nap by 9am, sleeping until noon. After lunch, we headed to the Seattle waterfront to visit the Seattle Aquarium. It was awesome! For anyone from this area or visiting Seattle, it is a must see. Ian was mesmerized at every turn. Six months ago, it would have been overwhelming, but it was perfect timing now. He is interested in everything now: Plants, bugs, animals…everything.

He spent about 2 hours with his mouth wide open in awe of the sea life. He especially loved the sea lions and seals. They were so huge and in the underwater viewing area, they would coast by the glass with their fins flared, playing and doing somersaults in the water. He loved every second of it and probably would have stood there for hours. I think they might have looked like dogs to him. He held Shawn's hand the entire time and never needed to be carried or put in the stroller. He couldn't have been better behaved.

After a stop to Ivar's on the waterfront for some clam chowder, we headed back to the 'burbs to enjoy some moose on the BBQ. Yes, I said moose. It took a while for me to wrap my brain around it and I apologize to my veggie loving friends…but it was darn good. Not gamey and very lean. As long as I don't picture Bullwinkle while I'm eating it, I might be able to convince myself that it's no different than buying hamburger at the grocery store.

Sunday, we started the day with the Father's Day gifts from Ian & Polli to Shawn. It was a bit of a theme gift… Seasons 2 & 3 of The Muppet Show episodes, Jim Henson's Storyteller series, which I think is a bit of a sci-fi/Muppet infused series that played on TV in the 80's….Right up Shawn's alley. He received a copy of "It's Not Easy Being Green", which is a book of anecdotal quotes by and about Jim Henson. He also got a big, beautiful coffee table book chronicling Jim Henson's life and work. As you might guess, Shawn is a huge Muppets fan. The piece d' resistance was the video on the blog post from Sunday, June 15^th. I'm proud of how it turned out and it was pretty emotional. Let's just say-Shawn didn't make it all the way through-and still isn't ready to watch the whole thing. I had no idea it would have such an impact.

So after breakfast, we headed out to Ian's swimming lesson and continued to our normal Sunday afternoon lunch spot, where we met up with Shawn's parents. We spent the rest of the afternoon getting silly on martinis while Ian napped, walked the dogs, and enjoying a rarely seen sunny afternoon in Seattle. It was a perfect Father's Day. Just perfect.

We so enjoyed having Matt for a few days and only wish Kristen could have been with him. If she had, I might have been rescued from the hours of discussion about bow hunting (snooze!). Below are a few pictures of the weekend, including the only picture of Shawn, Ian, and me together since we were in China. Since I'm the one behind the camera 100% of the time, it's hard to get pictures of me with Ian. It was hard to get pictures inside the aquarium. Since I couldn't use flash, almost everything turned out dark or blurry. Asking a 2 year old to stay still was about as ridiculous as asking the fish to stay still…at the same time.

Incidentally, I hit 30,000 hits this week! Thanks to all of you who have stuck by us through the interesting and the boring. We love that we can keep everyone in the loop through this one medium. A day might come that the blog becomes less anecdotal and more informational about Microtia and adoption, but for now it's fun to share our ups and rare downs with Ian. We've gotten to know a lot of great people through this blog and hope to meet many of you in person some day. Thank you for your friendship and support!

Meeting Uncle Matt.

Ian's in motion here, but still a pretty neat shot of the guys in front of the huge aquarium in the lobby.

Ian's best Jack Nicholson impersonation

He's not quite ready to touch the aquatic life just yet...but was content to stare and say "star" over and over again.

Look at all those toes!

Ian's thinking: "There is a sense of irony about the abstract point of view of the fish here. Who is the observed and who is the observer?"

Son of Mr. Limpett

Ian getting his pocket picked. Some of these fish are as big as he is!

These fish seemed to follow the kids around. They were so friendly.

Watching kids play racquetball after his swim lesson.

Hanging out with uncle Matt.

Father's Day with Grandpa Tom

The boys...minus uncle Milk, I mean Mark. We couldn't get them all to look in the same direction, no matter what we did.

Our first family picture since China!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the new and not so new dads out there.

A hello and virtual hug to my dad, who celebrates Father's Day with a cool drink by the pool; no doubt lounging on a floatie or lawn chair as my mom yells across the yard to him to come in and listen while she reads this blog post. I want to be sad that we're so far away this year, but it's hard to be upset when I stop to think that this is his first of many Father's Days living his hard earned dream as a retiree in Arizona. You deserve it dad... Just be sure you're wearing your sunglasses.

Happy day also to my Father In Law, who has been like a dad to me for what seems like forever. My ultimate Father's Day gift to him came 13 years ago when I took his highest maintenance son off his hands. You're welcome (I think).

Shawn is the last of his three brothers to become a father and after being together for 13 years as just the two of us and then adding Polli a decade into our marriage, it was a huge sacrifice and adjustment to our lives that Shawn has taken with great stride.

I know Shawn and Ian will always have that father/son bond that I will never share or fully understand. They may not always see eye to eye on everything, but one thing's for sure, they've had an amazing beginning together. I'm so proud that Ian's primary male figure can be Shawn. I cross my fingers that one day they'll share a passion for the good things in life: hockey, water sports, Muppets, and Peter Sellers movies...among other things.

As a special way to say Happy Father's Day to my husband: father to my amazing little boy, I've prepared the clip below. There's music-sung by one of Shawn's greatest idols-and speaks to the bond that he and Ian will hopefully share their entire lives. If you're at work, wait to view until you can watch with the sound...otherwise, turn up your speakers.

Grandmas, get your tissues.

Video Week Continues

Why stop now? Let's reminisce again about the second video we received last year...literally days after the travelling family sent that first video of Ian.

I'm not sure which order they were taken, chronologically, but I suspect this video is older, meaning Ian was just a little younger (maybe by a few weeks) than the video you watched earlier this week.

In this clip, he is perfectly content to have his toys taken away, leading me to believe this is an impostor baby and not really Ian (kidding). I don't even think it looks that much like him, now that he's been home for 7 months and this video is a year old. The little boy playing with him in part of the video is the boy from the other file we had reviewed along side Ian's. I know a family accepted his file right away, so he's in his new home now, too. As for the others, I wonder about them all the time.

Another note: I have not been able to find any information about the first song in the video. Many folks have asked me what song that is, but the agency doesn't know and I played it for our guides in China and they don't know either. I did download a Chinese Children's Choir CD to play for Ian in China and the vocals sound similar, but I'm not really sure.

Enjoy!

Happy June-uary!

It may almost be summer, but you wouldn't know it if you lived in Seattle. We are pressing our luck to get out of the 50's the past couple of weeks and our mountains are expecting snow! Not enough for the ski resorts to reopen (they just closed two weekends ago), but snow in June is ridiculous.

I think I might have blogged about each and every day we've hit over 70 degrees this spring, which I can count on one hand, and as I type this, the furnace is kicking on. Did I mention that it's June? Unbelievable.

The weathermen around here are calling this "June-uary" and it looks like it may shape up to be the coldest June in Seattle history. I've even heard a joke about making a fortune by marketing polar fleece bathing suits this year... I didn't think that was funny at all.

So, to battle the depression over the weather, I thought I would re-post the first video we received of Ian back in early June of last year. A wonderful family on a heritage trip with their daughter visited Ian's orphanage and took video for us. Many folks have watched it in the past, but it's always fun to reminisce.

We were so amazed to see an observant, quiet, PATIENT boy amidst the chaos of the orphanage... The observant part is still very true, but I'm not sure who this quiet and patient little guy is. It sure isn't Ian! We couldn't get over the fact that this chubby little cutie was our son!

On the Mend

Well, Ian had a rough Friday night of up and down fever readings. Through the night, he went as high as 104.9 and as low as 102.1. He slept until 9am Saturday, making for a nice 16 hours of sleep, which I think did wonders for him. By 11, he was ready for a nap, and was pretty much his chipper self by mid afternoon.

He stayed in his PJ's all day and I even turned on the TV for him, which I rarely do. We sat and watched a full episode of Go Diego Go, and he was really into it. It was a good way to get him to engage in activity without being overly active.

Today, he is at almost 100%. A little whiny...wanting mom a little more than usual, and took a long nap plus a power nap in the late afternoon, and is in bed for the night already...so he still needs the extra sleep.

His appetite came back big time today as did his thirst. He downed almost a full container of Pedialyte in the last 24 hours and drank 2 full glasses of water between dinner and bath time.

Thanks for the many comments and emails wishing Ian well. I apologize for being so dramatic on Friday, but it was pretty scary to see him so despondent and after reading that high temp on the thermometer, my mind went wild with the possibilities of what could go wrong.

Thank goodness for the nurses at UW Pediatrics. I'm sure they get calls like mine all the time. It's comforting to know that high fevers are pretty ho hum for them. I'm probably only one of a million moms who dealt with a high fever like that on Friday alone. I think next time I won't panic so quickly (or will I?).

Here's proof that Ian bounced back pretty quickly. These are from Saturday.

Jello for breakfast? Maybe being sick isn't too bad after all!

He's had Jello before, but it was an especially silly experience today.

Ian LOVES taking medicine. Any kind. It's particularly difficult to pry the syringe away from him afterward.

If you look closely, you can see some of the pudding on his face leftover from dinner. Jello for breakfast...Pudding for dinner! He deserved it after such a tough weekend.

Blanket is never far away...an oasis at the end of a long day.