Thankful Thursday

1. The kids enjoyed seeing a play (put on by children) of Beauty and the Beast on Sunday afternoon. It was a tad confusing to them because the plot wasn't identical to the Disney movie (Ian kept asking where is Gaston?), but they enjoyed it. The surprising thing was that Oliver actually was watching. I realize he had zero comprehension, but I wasn't expecting him to fix his eyes on the actors.

2. On the way to the play, I made a really quick dash into a consignment shop. It was one I had not ever been to before. I hope I can go back there some day when I have more than 5 minutes to shop, but the quick stop was worth it because I got Oliver a suit (for church - especially Easter) and another pair of pjs. Some 0-3 month clothing still fits him, but he's mostly wearing 3-6 month clothing now.

3. On Tuesday evening Nadia took Paul to the library for a 50th Amelia Bedelia party. Nadia thought the woman dressed up really was Amelia Bedelia. She had a blast.

4. Oliver continues to gain weight at the pace of an average of one ounce a day. As of yesterday's Synagis appointment, he weighed 12.5 pounds, which puts him at one half of one percentile. At this pace he should hit one percentile by his first birthday.

5. So far the "baked milk" experiment with Ian seems to be going well. Time will tell as other times it has taken as long as 2-3 weeks before his esophagitis has flared up again. Last week he did get hives on his face once, but I *think* it was from walnuts. I can't say for certain, but I haven't let him eat those cookies since then, and the hives (which lasted for more than 12 hours) haven't come back. When the allergist calls us with the bloodwork results (the blood was drawn on Saturday), I plan to tell him about the hives he had last week.

6. Ian did a lot better with gymanstics yesterday. Last week I wanted to throw in the towel.

7. Oliver slept through the night last night. He has been very unpredictable the last 2 weeks; I am not taking it for granted that he slept 9 hours straight last night.

8. It was much warmer yesterday. I'm not a fan of the Arctic temps we've had lately; I really appreciated the milder weather although it was too rainy to go to the playground.

9. I'm planning to get a long overdue haircut this evening (first in more than 3 months). If she could get the gray out, that would be even better!

In Withdrawal

For several months in 2012 I was in withdrawal from chocolate, just like I was with my earlier pregnancies. It would help with my weight loss goal if I totally avoided chocolate, but I'm not willing to do that right now although I have been limiting my sweets. I am in withdrawal in three regards - first of all over my calendar. For more than 20 years I have carried a weekly calendar in my purse - one that was about the size as a checkbook. I have only tried to buy a 2013 one at two stores (CVS and Walmart), but they only have monthly ones that contain 2013 and 2014. I think the squares are two small. Thus far this year I've gone without a paper calendar. I'm using Google's calendar instead. If I had a smartphone, I'm sure it would be easy to ditch the paper calendar, but I'm still missing my calendar since I don't carry around my laptop. Hopefully I'll eventually get accustomed to the digital calendar and not miss the paper one any more.

Secondly, I am in withdrawal as far as holding a sleeping Oliver in my arms. When he sleeps at home I am not tempted to let him sleep in my arms because I can always think of something I can do with my time while he's sleeping whether it's teaching Nadia to read, cooking, cleaning, etc. At church on Sundays though I used to enjoy him sleeping in my arms, but between me teaching Sunday School again as well as the fact that he sleeps better in a crib or pack and play rather than my arms, I have been putting him to sleep in a pack and play at church. After having Ian sleep in my arms All The Time, I do know it is a big blessing that Oliver sleeps so well in cribs, car seats, and pack and plays, but holding a sleeping baby in my arms (every now and then) is a blissful experience. I miss it. I also have started to let him spend a little time in the nursery. This is always a hard transition for me, but he's starting to get too noisy to keep in church with me. Around 6 months old was when I started putting Nadia and Ian in the nursery, and that seems to be when it will be happening for Oliver also.

Third, I am missing wearing earrings. For the past 27 years I have worn earrings almost every day. Just like I feel naked without a watch around my left wrist, I feel very odd without earrings in my ears. I already stopped wearing makeup and nail polish a few years ago (because Paul prefers that I don't), and it's been even longer than that since I wore perfume. It's much harder for me to give up earrings, but this is a temporary thing. The problem is that Oliver takes my right earring out of my ear multiple times a day if I am wearing earrings. I am afraid of losing an earring or worse him tearing my earlobe. Hopefully he'll grow out of this habit in the near future.

A tale of two allergist appointments

On Monday Ian, Oliver, and I were gone for 3 hours for Ian's allergist appointment, and that included a few minutes shopping at a consignment store. On Thursday the four of us were gone for 9 hours for Ian's allergist appointment. We could have been home a little less than 2 hours earlier if we hadn't stopped and visited with some friends of mine whom I hadn't seen in more than 2 years. We were planning to attend their 50th wedding anniversary party in July, but we didn't make it since I was in the hospital. The five hours of driving (and about $50 worth of gas) were definitely worth it. The allergist on Monday said that Ian needed to have more than 10 more endoscopy surgeries. She was stunned that I wasn't interested in feeding my three-year-old (who only started chewing 9 months ago) foods like hummus, avocado, lamb, and shrimp. I left that appointment completely overwhelmed and discouraged. I know I will never win "mother of the year" award in terms of serving my kids the widest variety of foods, but I never expected to feel like someone was judging me over chick peas. I do know that as a mother I am going to fight to keep my children out of an operating room unless that surgery is truly necessary. I don't think it's good to go under anesthesia excessively.

On Monday the allergist questioned my decision to reduce how many scoops of EleCare I give Ian each day. She said he probably wasn't getting enough calories. Yesterday the allergist was amazed at how much weight Ian has gained since he saw him last. His weight percentile used to be lower than his height percentile. Now his weight percentile is much higher than his height percentile. I think that means he's consuming sufficient calories. If anything, he's consuming too many (definitely not too few). As to her recommendation for him to see a neurologist, the second allergist said I should ask the pediatrician. He could see what she was talking about with his forehead and said it might be because his plates fused together much too early, but he thought a pediatrician would be a better judge of that than an allergist. I plan to ask the pediatrician next Wednesday when I take Oliver in for his fourth Synagis injection.

On Monday the allergist said that she wasn't going to repeat any prick testing until April because she wanted him to have another endoscopy first. Yesterday the allergist tested him for wheat, soy, milk, peanuts, and eggs. He had a positive result for milk, peanuts, and eggs. It was the third time he had the prick testing over the past 2 years, and it was the first time he came up positive for milk. The allergist said there can be false positives. He gave me a prescription for bloodwork to test those three allergies. The bloodwork results will determine whether or not he'll give Ian permission to try things like scrambled eggs or peanut butter. Today he gave me permission to do a soy trial and a baked milk trial. I am going to try baked milk for three weeks first. If he has a negative reaction, we'll stop it immediately. If it goes well, then I'll try soy yogurt in 3 weeks. He said that just like Ian has done okay with baked eggs, he might do fine with baked milk. This would be a HUGE improvement for us because so, so, so many things I make for dinner (that are baked in the oven) have some sort of dairy product (mozarella cheese, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, cream of something soup, etc.). This means Ian can now eat things like lasagna, pizza with cheese on it, baked macaroni and cheese, etc. for the first time. I am so excited! I hope he passes this test and can continue to eat foods with baked milk. He said it might take even a year of baked milk before he can drink a glass of milk or eat cold cheese or yogurt. That's fine with me. I'm just hoping he can indeed eat pizza, tuna noodle casserole, manicotti, etc.

Yesterday's allergist said that it sounded like the allergist we saw on Monday is following CHOP's protocol. I said that she had said she was doing so. He said that she must not have read that they stopped using that protocol six months ago. He said CHOP admitted they were doing too many endoscopies. I wonder how long it will take all the doctors who followed CHOP's protocol to find out that CHOP isn't using it any more. All I know is that I will drive for 5 hours, use $50 worth of gas, and pay out of pocket for a doctor appointment (starting on February 1 we'll have an insurance that this doctor doesn't take), if it means saving my 3 year old from multiple surgeries.

I asked Paul to take Ian in for the bloodwork on Saturday morning on our way to the mall for Nadia's ballet performance. The most traumatic thing was for Ian to keep the sleeve of his shirt pulled up to his elbow for 15 minutes during the prick testing. That was sheer torture for him. The hardest parts of the day for me were #1 driving on slippery roads in the morning (snow covered) and #2 trying to keep the crying to a minimum during the 100 minutes the 3 kids and I were in the examination room. Whew. The best parts of the day were #1 knowing he's not going to have an endoscopy in the near future, #2 finding out we're going to try him on baked milk, and #3 spending time with Kay and Allen. If Nadia hadn't used the trash can we keep in the van for her when she got car sick, that would have become one of the most unpleasant parts of the day. She gets carsick at least once a month.

I love you, Nadia!

5 months from today I'll have a 5 year old. I love my sweet princess oh so very much!

I love...

1. Your love of books. You would love it if I read chapter books and picture books to for hours on end every single day. On Tuesday we finished Ramona the Brave, and we started reading A Cricket in Times Square yesterday.

2. Your beautiful smile and dimple!

3. How well you sleep at night. It's really rare for you to get up during the night. You are usually in your bedroom (aside from brief trips to the bathroom) from 8pm to 7am. Bless you, my child!

4. How much you love Oliver. You are such a wonderful big sister! You help me out by feeding him a bottle when you're both in your car seats and he's hungry.

5. How (most of the time) you love to help me out with things like setting the table, putting away clean silverware, collecting the garbage from the small trashcans on Monday nights, and folding the laundry. Your most favorite chore is definitely folding washcloths and hand towels.

6. How hard you work toward a goal. You learned to read the "Mat" and "Sam" BOB books very easily. The "Dot" book was more challenging, but you perservered and accomplished that goal yesterday!

7.  Hearing you sing.

8. How easily you can memorize your Bible verses.

9. Watching you play with Ian. You two have a LOT of room for growth in this area, but I treasure the moments when you are enjoying each other.

10. Listening to you pray at meal times and at bed time.

11. That you love to wear dresses. You'd wear them every day if I let you.

12. That you love your Daddy oh so very much. I often hear you say in the evening, "I want to tackle Daddy!"

13. That you are so friendly and look forward to interacting with other children and adults.

14. That you are a fellow chocoholic and lover of ice cream. I enjoy baking and enjoying treats with you.

15. Your new interest in playing with dolls. You've been playing with tiny little princess figurines for about a year, but over the past month you've been playing with your new Ariel and Rapunzel dolls as well as your "dollie" that you've had for more than two years. I enjoyed playing with dolls when I was little, and I like watching you enjoy your dolls.

16. The spiritual questions you ask me every day. We have many discussions about heaven and such.

17. To see all the progress you are making with your handwriting and spelling skills. Way to go, girl!

An overwhelming allergist appointment

Ian had an allergist appointment this morning, which was his first in 13 months. The reason for the long gap was because the psychologist didn't want us to attempt to reintroduce any foods to Ian for one year. The local allergist he had seen before had left the practice a couple of months ago, but we had actually met the allergist today once before as she had been the one to read the results of Ian's patch testing that was done in December 2011. I found out today that she follows CHOP's (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) protocol for Eosinophilic Esophagitis. That is not good in my opinion because their protocol involves on average more than 10 endoscopies per child. The allergist we started taking Ian to in February 2011 believes in trying to have as few endoscopies as possible (2-3 is his goal). He believes that if there aren't any symptoms (in Ian's case projectile vomiting), we can safely assume that his esophagus is fine, and we don't need a biopsy (EGD) to prove it. Today's allergist showed me a long list of foods and asked me what foods he was eating when he had the last biopsy (August 2011). I don't recall exactly what he was eating back then so I just said the foods from the list that he's never eaten. Although I told her that baked eggs had been added in after that last biopsy. She was very surprised that wheat had never been eliminated. I kept telling her that we only eliminated milk, soy, peanuts, and eggs.

She wants another EGD done as soon as possible. He now has a GI appt scheduled for next month. If it's all clear she wants us to introduce another food (ex. spinach). We have another appointment scheduled with her and a dietician in April. She said at that time she'd retest him for peanut and egg allergies (prick testing), and if he didn't test positive, we could introduce one of those into his diet (straight eggs rather than baked eggs). Then this process of biopsy, introduce food, biopsy would be repeated over and over and over again. I don't think so. Some of the foods on the list I never have served in my life. Why does he need to eat them and have a surgery to prove he can eat shellfish or avocados? I serve tuna and fish but not shellfish. Neither Paul or I like shrimp or crab or lamb or avocados. I've had those foods before, but I don't care for them. She acted shocked that I don't eat hummus. Oi vey. If anesthesia wasn't involved, I wouldn't be as upset about these biopsies. Ian was under anesthesia 4 times between 10-20 months old. I realize that the EGD's were MUCH shorter than the urological surgeries (10 minutes versus 3 hours). The pre-op and post-op time in the hospital is MUCH longer than the actual surgery. Things can go wrong just from anesthesia. I speak from experience. My lungs collapsed, and I ended up in the ICU due to anesthesia (the surgery was aborted). I do not want my kids to have a surgery unless it is absolutely necessary. I know that Oliver will need a urological surgery this year, but I was really hoping that would be the only surgery for our family in 2013. Ian and I each had one surgery in 2010. Ian had three surgeries in 2011, and I entered the OR three times in 2012. Nadia and Paul have never had a surgery in their entire lives.

In her battery of questions that she asked me, she asked about pets. I told her that we don't have any, but that he seems to be allergic to cats as shown by his reaction at my parents' house. I said the prick testing said he wasn't allergic to cats, but I don't think that was accurate. She said that prick testing often isn't very accurate before a child turns two. What?!? Prick testing is the SOLE reason we've been eliminating eggs and peanuts from his diet for 23 months, but it's not very accurate? I know he was (and possibly still is) allergic to milk and soy protein, but I am not convinced he was ever allergic to peanuts or eggs.

This is our last week on Blue Shield insurance (for now anyhow - who knows what insurance Paul will have once he gets a job in chemistry). We'll be without any insurance for four days next week, and then we'll go on Geisinger insurance (an HMO) on February first through Paul's dad's company. So the only pediatric allergist that our insurance will cover starting 2/1 is the one we saw today. The one we first took Ian to (back when we had PSU insurance which Geisinger doesn't accept) is 2.5 hours away from our house, but I'd rather drive that far if it means avoiding multiple surgeries. I called today and asked if there was ANY way we could see Dr. Anolik (the head of the group) this week. I'll be taking Ian out there on Thursday. I'm praying he'll do the prick testing for eggs and peanuts, and I'm hoping he'll allow us to go back to what we had been doing in the fall of 2011 where I would call his nurse once every 2-3 weeks, she would report to the doctor what I said, and then she would call and tell me what he said to do next. Even if we have to drive down there periodically (5 hours round trip) and pay cash to see him, it will be worth it to me if it means we avoid having a surgery every 2-3 months.

The allergist also suggested I should take Ian to see a neurosurgeon because his forehead isn't as flat as it should be. She asked me if he had developmental delays (aside from eating - no), if there was inadequate amniotic fluid during his pregnancy, etc. I was very surprised because no doctor has ever mentioned this before, and Ian has seen SO many doctors over the past 3 years in the NICU, at the Pediatrician's, at CHOP (urology, GI, ENT, and cardiology), Hershey (GI and psychology), and other doctors at Geisinger (urology, allergy). The next time I take Oliver to the pediatrician's office, I'm going to ask them about whether they think I should take Ian to see a neurologist or not.

After this overwhelming appointment, I made a quick stop at the consignment shop that is just a few minutes from the hospital. I had gotten a $50 gift certificate for $25 earlier this month. I used $35 of it today to buy two dresses for Nadia (one of them is super fancy and she loves it), one sleeper for Oliver, and a few outfits for Oliver (such as a Gymboree sweater and corduroy pants). They were doing triple punches on their punch cards today so my purchase resulted in me earning a $10 gift certificate so for $25 I'll be able to spend $60 at the consignment shop, and of course their original prices are much lower than retail stores, and some of the things I bought were new with tags! One thing I haven't gotten yet is a suit for Oliver to wear for Easter. I kept all of Ian's suits, but I didn't get him a suit in size 3-6 month because he wore that size in the summer. I wanted to get a suit for Oliver at the mall this past Saturday, but that didn't happen. I am going to make sure to get one this Saturday. We'll be at a different mall this Saturday because Nadia's ballet class is performing there. Even if I have to pay more than I usually pay for suits, I'm going to buy one for Oliver.

Paul went to school today to try to start wrapping things up - cleaning out his office, cleaning up the space he has been using on their servers, approving the proof of the journal article, making a few edits to his dissertation, submitting paperwork regarding graduation, etc. He also treated two research groups to lunch (a tradition they have). Thankfully that wasn't as expensive as I feared it might be. His advisor also wants him to start writing another article based on his dissertation research. He's going back in tomorrow and planning to start working for his dad on Wednesday. We found out today that he is getting paid next week. Earlier we thought his last check was the end of December (he gets paid once a month), but it turns out he's getting one more check.

He's DONE!

As of 12:30pm, Paul became Dr. Kennedy! There are now two Dr. Kennedys in the family. When I told Nadia that I became Dr. Kennedy 10 years ago, she said "You were born before I was born!". I laughed and said yes I became Dr. Kennedy before you were born. I was trying to explain to the kids that we're not medical doctors. I told them that Grandpa has a doctorate in the Bible, Mommy's is in teaching, Aunt Wendy's is in the violin, and Daddy's is in chemistry. Uncle Drayton should be the next one to achieve this milestone in our extended family. I hung a "Congratulations" banner, and Nadia made a card that read "Good job Daddy! I love you!". When he came home we greeted him with applause, cheering, and hugs. Paul will clean out his office and such on Monday and Tuesday and start working for his dad on Wednesday. We are so proud of Paul, and I am so relieved that his seven years of being a full-time graduate student are over now. We survived! Paul's parents are coming up tomorrow, and all seven of us are going to TGIF to celebrate. Paul loves a steak dinner!

Other happy news of the day would be that Oliver slept 10 hours straight for the first time in 5 days, Nadia can now independently read the first two BOB books, and I discovered that Ian already knows 17 letters of the alphabet. I hadn't tried to teach him any yet, but he overhears things that I'm teaching Nadia. He's motivated to learn the other 9 letters as then I promised him a pirate puzzle.

Thankful Thursday

1. Paul's dissertation defense is tomorrow at 11am. Thank goodness. I am soooooo ready for my hubby to not be stressed out any more. He's normally a very laid back guy. The end is truly in sight! I have a "honey do" list that has been on hold for four months, and now Paul can start tackling some of that list (ex. hang the wooden letters that spell Oliver's name on his wall).

2. Paul's parents came up last Saturday. On their way here they stopped at a consignment shop to pick up a gift certificate for me because the store was selling all of them for 50% off. I am planning to use it on Monday. They went out of their way a few minutes, and that saved me $25. While they were here I went to a different consignment shop (the one closest to our home) and got some clothes for Oliver. Since everything was on sale 40% off I spent less than $8 total for two (2 piece) outfits, a sleeper, a sweatshirt, and a pair of pants. Paul's dad also assembled a bookcase for Oliver's bedroom. I greatly appreciated their help, and the kids enjoyed spending time with them as always.

3. I was surprised when I got the mail yesterday to receive two cards in the mail. Before I opened them I admit I was puzzled as I couldn't think of any occasion (birthday, anniversary, etc.) that would warrant me receiving a card in January. One was from my colleagues at work - basically a "best wishes" type card regarding me staying home with the kids. I was touched that they each took time to sign it and write little messages in the card. Although I definitely want to be a SAHM, I admit I still feel some anxiety about the decision. After having a job for 20 years it feels "unsecure" to not have one, especially as I have been the primary (and at times exclsuive) breadwinner over the 11.5 years we've been married. The other card was from someone at church saying that she is praying for our family. These cards meant so much to me that I have decided to add another goal to my list for 2013. I want to send at least one card a month, and I'm not talking about birthday cards or Christmas cards or Valentine's Day cards. Cards can be such a big encouragement to others.

4. I joined a small group Bible study at someone's house who lives very close to us on Sunday nights at 6pm. The first session was this past Sunday. Since I am teaching Sunday School, it is nice to be in a study where I'm supposed to be learning rather than teaching. We're doing a study by the President of World Vision called "The Hole in our Gospel." I brought Oliver with me to the study so that I could nurse him. One of Nadia's friends was there (she's 2 years older than Nadia) so maybe I'll also bring Nadia next Sunday.

5. I'm really looking forward to our vacation in Florida. I'm thankful it cost less than $100 total for four airline tickets plus renting a car for 9 days.

6. I'm playing my flute at church on Sunday (with the choir). I am so thankful I still get to play my flute from time to time.

7. I'm really enjoying reading chapter books to the kids at lunch. In the past two weeks I finished reading them Socks and then read (in their entirety) The Courage of Sarah Noble, Ramona the Pest, and The Hundred Dresses. Yesterday I started reading Ramona the Brave.

8. I weighed myself this morning for the first time in 16 days, and I have lost 2 pounds so far this month. I have been trying to cut back on how much I eat lately. I attribute the weight loss to that. If I lose one pound a week, I'll achieve my goal before we leave for Florida. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!

9. The kids and I met my friend Cheri at a church this afternoon. They recently built a coffee house that has a playland - a really nice one (even bigger than the one at McD's). The kids loved it. I'm sure we'll be going back! I hadn't seen her for 3 months. Aside from Paul I rarely have a conversation with an adult most days. Whenever we move, I want to make a BIG effort to establishing at least one new friendship. Being a SAHM is lonely in terms of adult interaction. For that reason I was wanting to join the ladies Bible study that is starting in a couple of weeks, but I'm not ready to add a third morning that we need to be out the door by 8:30am. If we don't move between now and then, I'll rejoin the ladies Bible study in the fall.

10. Nadia's progress with reading pleases me! I need to try out my new video camera. I've still been using my point and shoot camera for videos.

Escaping, Reading, and Exercising

Yesterday Ian and Nadia were playing in the backyard. Nadia came in, and I thought Ian was still in the backyard, but he had escaped to the front yard. I was not happy about this because the fence was expensive. The whole point of spending thousands of dollars on the fence in December 2009 was to keep the kids in the backyard if I wasn't outside with them. I asked Ian how he got into the front yard, and he showed me that he could crawl under the gate. Lovely. I am hoping we can figure out a way to make it so he can't crawl under the gate as otherwise the kids can't go outside unless I am with them. Oliver woke up at 2:30 this morning (just like he did yesterday), and I noticed that we had gotten a few inches of snow while we were sleeping. Because all the schools around here had a two hour delay this morning, I decided not to go to gymnastics and the library. I am a chicken when it comes to driving in snow or ice. After I put Oliver down for his morning nap, I took the kids outside so they could play in the four inches of snow we got while I shoveled the driveway.

Oliver took two long naps on Saturday. It was the most he ever slept during the day. I should have woke him up, but since I kept him up until 9:30 that night it didn't bother me that he only slept 8 hours that night. However on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday none of his naps were more than one hour long, and most of them were only 45 minutes, which is unusual for Oliver. On Monday he had a feeding at 4am, and he had a feeding at 2am yesterday and today. Since he slept through the night almost every night for a little more than 2 months, I haven't been too thrilled with these middle of the night feedings, and his 45 minute naps weren't great either. His first nap today was short, but thankfully he's taking a long nap right now. I am hopeful that this will lead to a better night's sleep tonight. Usually he sleeps 10-11 hours straight, and the last few nights he's only slept 8-9 hours total (and that includes being up for an hour in the middle of the night).

Yesterday I got out an exercise dvd for the first time in a year. I didn't last very long because #1 I wanted to go to bed and #2 I am really out of shape. I had been planning on waiting until spring to get back into shape, but seeing that Jo is already exercising (and she had a baby less than 2 months ago) motivated me to start now, especially in light of our trip to Florida in early May. I want to lose 18 pounds before then. I'm not going to exercise tonight since I shovelved the driveway this morning. Once I start seeing some progress on the scale, I know that will motivate me to keep exercising even though I really don't enjoy exercise that is just done JUST for the sake of exercise, especially at the end of the day, but it will be wonderful to be able to fit into ALL of my clothes again! As you can see from the video above, Nadia's big accomplishment is that she can read some words in the "at" family. I've started using BOB books to teach her to sound words out.

We're going to Disney World!

In 2011 we spent a week near Orlando with my parents, my sister, and her family. When I say "we" I mean Nadia, Ian, and myself. Because Paul wasn't with us, we didn't go to Disney because Paul wanted to be with the kids when they experienced the Magic Kingdom for the first time. I took the kids to Sea World one day, but most of the time we hung out at the resort, which had many water slides and such. Since Nadia has been SO obsessed with every Disney princess and Ian still enjoys them as well (at some point I'm sure he'll decide that boys aren't "supposed" to like princesses), I thought we should make our first trip to Disney World this year. The kids are too young (in my opinion) for MGM or Epcot, but I think they'd love to spend a day at the Magic Kingdom as well as return to Sea World.

Paul and I traveled to China in 2006, and the frequent flyer miles we accumulated on that lengthy flight were going to expire in November. Usually for domestic flights we prefer to use Southwest since they don't charge for luggage, but our last trip (to Grand Cayman) just pushed us over the edge so that we had enough for a short round-trip flight. We couldn't fly from Baltimore (our preference) to Orlando. We didn't have enough miles for that, but I found that we had just enough miles for a round trip flight from Dulles to Jacksonville. So yesterday I used our miles to purchase two round trip tickets. I just had to pay $10 total for taxes. Then I used credit card points to purchase two more round trip tickets. We'll have to pay for luggage as these flights are on United, but not including baggage fees we're just paying $10 for the five of us to fly to Florida! My parents can take us to and from the airport so we won't have to pay for parking at the airport either. Since we're flying in and out of Jacksonville, we extended our trip for two extra nights. I have a friend in Jacksonville, and we each have an aunt who lives near Jacksonville. My aunt (Tina) has never met any of my kids so I'm hoping she will get to meet them in May! I'm thinking we'll spend some time at the beach and maybe go to the zoo. I also booked our rental car through the credit card. In addition to using some points, I paid $84.41 to rent a vehicle for 9 days. I'm also planning to use credit card points to get our tickets to Sea World. So the trip won't be expensive at all. The biggest splurge will be the tickets to Magic Kingdom.

Today I'm going to book a resort in Orlando through my time share, and we're hoping to stay in people's homes for the two nights in Jacksonville. Paul's parents will be joining us. Picking the resort was the hardest decision thus far. We considered returning to the same one we stayed at in 2011, then I was leaning toward a different one in Kissimmee, and then I ended up picking one in Orlando that has a pool area featuring a pirate ship with waterslides and water cannons. I'm excited! Four months from today we will Lord willing be in Florida! Our whole trip will be about 12 days long because we're also going to spend a couple of days in Maryland with my parents after Paul's graduation and before we fly to Florida.

I love you, Ian!

Ian has now been three for one whole month. I am still adjusting to the notion that I have a three-year-old. I still tend to think of him as a two-year-old. Not counting the time in the womb (Oliver wins that prize), Ian has been the most challenging child to parent of our three munchkins (thus far). Some things have been very painful for him - two urological surgeries, two endoscopies, having eosinophilic esophagitis, being allergic to many foods, overcoming sensory issues, and my extended absences this summer. With other things I'm not exactly sure why they have been so difficult for him - such as sleeping and following directions. No matter what, we love him oh so very, very much.

I love...

1. your zest for life. You attack almost everything with a great deal of enthusiasm, energy, and laughter. Your gymnastics teachers really enjoy your smiles.

2. how affectionate you are. You give the best hugs! I love that you ask for hugs or kisses or to be held at various times throughout the day. Some day you won't ask for these things so I'm soaking it up for as long as I can. I think your love language is physical touch.

3. seeing how much you love Oliver. You ask to pet him (although I keep telling you we don't "pet" babies) many times a day.

4. seeing how much you love Daddy.  You prefer Daddy to put you to bed, brush your teeth, etc. If you see him, you ask him to play with you. You love to tackle him!

5. watching you play with Nadia when you two are getting along nicely. You two have a long way to go in learning to share, but there are sweet moments as well.

6. your blonde hair. I realize it will most likely turn brown at some time, but for now I enjoy having a little towheaded boy.

7. your beautiful blue eyes, which you got from Daddy.

8. the way you stroke your belly button. It cracks me up, and you don't suck your thumb (which is proving to be a hard habit to break with your older sister).

9. your grateful spirit. So many times a day you say "thank you" of your own initiative, and at many moments at times I wouldn't even think to encourage you to say thanks. At least two times a day you tell me you are thankful I'm not at the doctors (hospital), and you often make the statement about Oliver also. I am so sorry that my absence was so traumatic for you, but I really appreciate that you don't take my presence for granted. I am so glad to be at home with you, Ian. I missed you soooooooo much this summer. It broke my heart to see you so little for so many weeks.

10. your ability to play by yourself for extended periods of time. Your sister could learn some lessons from you! You play with such a wide variety of toys over the span of a week. Yesterday you were playing with one of Nadia's castles (you play with it more than she does), and I saw that a Little People Noah, a Little People Superman, and a Little People kangaroo were all in the castle together. It cracked me up!

11. your imagination. I love to hear what you are drawing or making with Play-Doh.

12. the way you march around the room with the green rhythm sticks during music time. Your favorite songs at the moment include "Do your ears hang low" and "Tararabundaray."

13. your sweet voice. I know your voice will change, and I will miss it. I must take more videos!

14. hearing you burst into song all throughout the day. Again, I must take more videos!

15. that there are now a few foods that you really enjoy eating. It does a momms's heart good.

16. that you haven't had an accident in a couple of months. There are plenty of 37 month old boys who don't wear underwear 24 hours a day. I'm thankful, and I can't wait until you learn to undress and dress yourself (and get up on the toilet yourself) so that you could be a tad bit more independent in terms of going to the bathroom.

17. how you spontaneously tell me "I love you too" several times each day. I love you SO much!!