Once There Was A Snowman

I'm blogging about this on a day where it is nearly 60 and hardly a cloud in the sky.  It's hard to believe that these pictures were taken only a few short weeks ago.

We've had some decent snowstorms this winter but not snowman-building snow.  It has to be just the right consistency: not too dense and heavy to move but not so powdery that it falls apart.  FINALLY the conditions were right and S and Bean headed out just before dinner.

 I had Boy trying to get out the door and I was trying to get dinner on the table, so these pictures are as close as I got that night.  But a little later in the week I took Bean out so we could get some pictures of her and her snowman before he melted.

We read the Snowmen at Night books so Bean was convinced that her snowman was going off somewhere and partying all night while we slept.  Every morning she was so excited when she would look out the window to see that he had come back.  She talked about it all of the time.

She took him melting away better than I thought she would...

Boy goes to Primary's

Boy has had goopy eyes since he was born.  Some mornings it was bad enough for him to not be able to open his eyes at all.  It's fairly common and most kids outgrow it.  But at Boy's 15 month appointment, his pediatrician said he wasn't outgrowing it and that it was time to take him to see an ophthalmologist.  We took him to Bean's ophthalmologist who, after examining him for like a second, said that Boy did indeed have blocked tear ducts and that he would need a minor procedure done to open them.  Basically they take a small golf-tee shaped tool and inflate the end like a balloon, thus opening the tear duct.  It's actually something that can be done in the doctor's office, if you are cooperative and not 18 months old.  

So we had to take Boy up to Primary Children's Medical Center early one morning in January to have him put under general anesthesia for a 20 minute procedure.  I was nervous about how Boy would react to being woken up early and hauled out in the freezing cold.  I was more nervous about how Boy would react when he had to fast for the procedure.  But neither ended up being an issue at all.  

They start the cases at around 7:00 in the morning, youngest patient first.  Boy was case number two.  This still meant that we had to be to the hospital at a ridiculously early hour.  (Plus I had to work the night before and didn't get to bed until maybe 1.)  We had no problem getting there and, though it had been snowing off and on all weekend, it took hardly any time at all.  Plus getting there so early meant we got an awesome parking spot.

We checked Boy in.  He loved alll of the toys they had in the waiting room, but ended up spending most of his time flirting with other people.  He's such a charmer.  We had to wait the longest in the pre-op exam room.  Boy got this awesome pair of hospital jammies.  So cute!  I wish I could have taken them home with us!

They finally moved us to the pre-op waiting area where the doctors came and debriefed us.  Boy had fun playing with more toys.  By the way, he's in the middle of a major blankie-attachment phase, in case you couldn't tell...

When it was time to go, we handed a screaming Boy off to the anesthesiologist and we went one way while they went the other.  I felt kind of bad for the OR staff, but the anesthesiologist assured me that it was only a matter of seconds before they fell asleep.

Boy did terrifically!  No complications at all!  He did have a hard time waking up in PACU, but coming out of anesthesia is a really gross feeling so I don't blame him at all.  He was pretty mellow the rest of the day, making up for a lot of lost sleep that morning.  The best part of all is that the procedure worked almost instantaneously!  No more goop!

The story should end there, but while Boy was getting examined for his procedure, the ophthalmologist decided to do a complete eye exam on him since Bean has problems with her eyes and guess what? *drumroll* Boy is extremely far-sighted as well!  I have no idea where our children get their vision problems from.  I guess my lifetime bragging about my perfect eye-sight was bound to catch up with me at some point.  When we were discussing what to do with Boy, his doctor told us about a nationwide study involving children just Boy's age with just Boy's problem.  There have been lengthy debates about whether it is best to correct poor vision early on with glasses or to just let the eyes correct themselves (meaning glasses could be a hindrance.)    Since S nor I (nor Boy's doctor) really have a preference, we enrolled Boy in this study which means he gets free eye-care for the next 3 years.  I have to admit I breathed a sigh of relief when Boy ended up being placed in the study group that does not wear glasses.  Boy isn't even compliant with wearing socks.  Or pants.

Bean's Dancing School: Year 2

I was cleaning out my files when I found this gem:

It's one of those pictures that I plan on holding onto for just the right teenage moment.

This is from Bean's picture day during the previous school year.  I remember waking her up to get her ready and she was so mad that I wouldn't let her wear her pink leotard and skirt.  She held a grudge the rest of the morning.  It sure made for some funny pictures though!  The photographer tried everything he could and I finally, kindly, told him that Bean was the most stubborn girl here and that there wasn't anything he could do.  If Bean didn't want to smile, she wasn't going to smile.  (Incidentally, I cannot remember his name to source him here--this is not my photo.)

Anyway the recital came and went and here we are in Bean's second year of dance!  It is remarkable how much she retained over the summer and also how much she has learned since last September.  She pirouettes all over the house.  She had trouble with her leaps last year and she is finally getting them down.  So proud of this girl!

I was able to go to observation day again in November, but I had Boy with me and anytime I get my phone out it spells disaster, so I only managed to get this one picture:

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Bean missed her recital in December due to illness.  S was literally on his way to my work with her and Boy so that I could put curlers in her hair when Bean threw up all over the place.  Then she did again.  And again.  And a few more times during the night.  It's too bad because by noon the next day she seemed perfectly fine.  Unfortunately the recital was at 10 and we had to be there by 9:30 and I just didn't want to take the chance of her having an unfortunate mishap on stage.

Bean was disappointed but, for the most part, understood.  I had to work that evening so, while I was gone, S let her build  her own stage and put on her recital costume and 'perform' for him and Boy, then sent the pictures he took to me.  It was very sweet!