Gentle Boy

Jack's newest word is "gentle". He hears it so much...be gentle with your brother, gentle with the dog. So he finally started saying is nearly two weeks ago. He sounds so cute, comes out more like "daytle" but we know what he means.

So he will say it and then gently touch his brother's head. He seems to love his brother's hair! Then last week I was telling him to be careful with a picture frame he was playing with. He then said "gentle" and gently put it back where it belonged....turned to the right angle and everything! That was a first. Usually he throws it on the floor.

All is pretty much the same with the Dalrymple clan. We are finally getting over our colds. Last week we were home all week and it was somewhat lonely (except for when Uncle Nick was in town). But after Wednesday it got boring, Jack not being able to play with his friends.

Saturday we had some friends come to town which was nice. A couple of Josh's cycling friends from college came and we all went out to lunch. Needless to say there was a lot of bike (bicycle, not motorcycle) and car talk! Luckily one brought his wife and daughter so there was other conversation too.

This week we'll be stuck home during the day since Josh is working on the Stick of Butter and using my car. Wednesday though Jack is going to his first sporting event...Ewan's first too. We're going to the USC vs. UK basketball game. We'll see how it goes with the two boys!!! Josh's friend from college is going too.

Looks like the weather will warm up later this week. Hopefully we'll be able to take more walks again. Between a little rain and our colds we've been a little lazy. Luckily we did get out yesterday.

Fun Times

We've been having fun times with Oma, Opa and Uncle Nick lately. Ewan is loving his swing he got from Oma and Opa for Valentine's Day. Jack got some adorable spring clothes he should be able to wear soon.

Sunday we had a nice photo session with the whole family. This was Oma's bright idea...been over 20 years since we last had family photos done, other than our wedding of course. We had them done at a nearby park. Can't wait to see the proofs.

Yesterday Uncle Nick and Oma came by to get their boy fix. Jack had fun playing with Uncle Nick. Of course he had to show off his new adventure....just got over his black eye so he decided it was time to scrape his chin! Such a boy!!!

Last week we managed to meet our goal of walking every day. Not this week...mainly because of our colds. Jack shouldn't be spending too much time outdoors til he feels better.

Yesterday I did manage to go through the boys' clothes though. Seems they keep growing! Put away the small clothes and got out the next size up for Ewan. Kind of fun looking through all their cute stuff...so much from Oma. She has great taste. Of course there is so much out there now....boys clothes have come a long way over the years.

Happy Valentine's Day

PICS: Valentine boys; eating hair; new "do"; chocolate chip cookie face!!

Happy Valentine's Day one and all!! Our day started with Ewan getting up early as usual. I actually got a few things done after he ate and before Jack woke up. Then the boys and I went to get Daddy who was feeling lousy. We all have colds right now and Daddy also had a pounding headache. Things improved as the day went one though. We enjoyed a yummy lunch with Oma, Opa and Uncle Nick. Ewan fussed in the restaurant for a while and finally settled down...he enjoyed walking in the bar with Oma!! After a restful afternoon we're now at Oma and Opa's waiting for Uncle Nick to cook our tuna dinner.

It's been an eventful week. Wednesday Jack was very busy. In the morning he got into trouble with the cupboards again. The locks aren't exactly Jack-proof. He opened the cupboard below the kitchen sink as much as he could and was twisting the Clorox trying to get it out. In the process he opened it and it spilled on his pants and the floor!! After Daddy got home they played chase me....Jack ran into the dining room table and his eye swelled instantly. So now he has his first black eye. Then that evening as soon as Daddy left to go get Jack's big boy (aka toddler) bed Ewan leaked through his diaper. While I was changing that I could hear Jack emptying the dog's water bowl. Seconds later we heard him toss it on the floor and break it. So we ran downstairs to do damage control. Jack didn't enjoy staying out of the kitchen so he learned quickly that a wet floor is slippery! Finally, Jack got a major haircut that night. He looks like a whole new boy!! Where did my Jack go?

Thursday Uncle Nick came and we had a yummy lunch with him at Moe's. Jack loves Moe's!!! And that night the whole Weitzel group had dinner Oma and Opa's...a Weitzel tradition, super nachos. Jack and Josh both loved it.

Friday Jack had a grand time at lunch with the Weitzels again. We went to Which Wich and Jack got a chocolate chip cookie with his lunch. Needless to say a warm cookie isn't the best for kids...very melty chips all over the place!!

And best of all Josh and I got date night last night. Oma and Opa decided to celebrate their date night by watching the boys. But then again what grandparents wouldn't want to spend quality time with the grandkids?! Friday the 13th is their date night...their first date was on a Friday the 13th and they celebrate every Friday the 13th. But this time they celebrated with their grandsons. Oma and Opa are the best!!! Josh and I had a great dinner at Hunter Gatherer. We love it there but never seem to get there much, or it's too crowded.

That brings us to today. Still waiting on dinner, it smells great. Uncle Nick is grilling horseradish mustard, basil and garlic marinated tuna with rice and salad. Dessert is a heart shaped red velvet cake. YUMMY!!

Healthy Big Boy

Pics: My argyle boys, Jack and Daddy hiking in NC, Ewan's first slide ride in Brevard.

Ewan passed his follow-up visit with flying colors!!! Yippee!! Our BIG boy is healthy again. He is allowed to eat as much as he wants again and have his cereal in bottles again. Needless to say he took full advantage of this too...he chowed down yesterday and doesn't seem to want to stop!! Maybe he is hitting another growth spurt.

After our successful doctor's visit we went to the park while we were downtown. Ewan snoozed in the stroller and Jack had fun playing. His favorite is still the slide, and of course eating mulch!

My goal for the week is going well so far...we are working on a schedule. Well not a strict schedule or anything, but some kind of a routine so that I can at least get a few things done. The boys rarely nap at the same time and one always needs something from me so it's difficult to get anything done, especially chasing Jack and keeping him out of trouble. But this week we've managed to get a walk two days in a row. Great for everyone...I desperately need all the exercise I can get and the boys like the outdoors. The dog also needs her exercise to help calm her down just a little! I even had time to sort through paperwork yesterday and make our Valentines! Of course I realize today may be another day of getting nothing done, but I'll take what I can get. I'm just sick of everything being so unorganized. It's driving me nuts!!

Only one more day til Uncle Nick gets here!!! We can't wait to see him again. We last saw him when we went to Glacier Park last August. Jack is so much bigger now and doing much more. And Ewan hasn't met him yet. We're all getting our pictures taken Sunday so we look forward to that too. It will be nice to have some photos of the whole group...the boys change so much these days.

Pics: Jack hiking in NC, Jack eating mulch at park in Columbia.

Weekend Getaway

Ewan enjoyed his first weekend adventure to Oma and Opa's mountain house. Josh and I took the boys there this past weekend...our initial hope was to see some snow with the boys but it was in the 60s!! There is a snow tubing place there, but couldn't even do that since Jack would have to ride alone and he just isn't old enough for that yet.

We had a great time anyway. We enjoyed a fire in the wood burning fireplace, took a short hike, found a great playground and ate well. Jack still loves it up there. Hopefully we'll have time to enjoy it more in the future, whatever that holds for us. Looks like Josh's job will end in July so we hope to find something before then...preferably here in Columbia!

Jack is finally learning a few more things. Well I should say he always learns, he's just now starting to repeat things like we ask!! He will say "mama" after much begging. He will also now point to his ears when we ask him where they are. Slowly but surely I'm getting him to do a little more. He would rather play of course!

This morning we decorated valentine cookies with our playgroup at the house. Jack wasn't much of a help except in eating a cookie! He does love to eat cookies and knows that word now! We look forward to Uncle Nick coming to visit this Thursday. He'll be here for Valentine's Day and is cooking a yummy dinner for the family. Uncle Nick rocks!! Valentine's Day is big in our family and we're thrilled he'll be here to celebrate with us.

Not much else new going on. Just the usual chasing Jack off the kitchen table, out of the trash can etc. He keeps me very busy!!

Tomorrow Ewan has his follow-up visit with the surgeon. He is recovery very well. The only problem is he doesn't care for his eating schedule. He is limited to no more than 4 oz per meal every 3 hours and he would rather have more at a time. So...he gets very fussy when he is hungry. He gets up at night a little more too since he is hungry. Hopefully the doctor will let us start putting cereal back in his bottles to fill his belly better. He's a big eater like his older brother!

No pics this time around...cable is upstairs and I'm exhausted!

Ewan's Surgery

Ewan's first illness was not a reaction to his vaccines nor a virus he picked up at the pediatrician's...it ended up being pyloric stenosis. Wednesday Ewan was still vomiting so I took him to the pediatrician. They tried to stimulate his bowels, no luck getting a BM out of him. After looking him over the doc suggested it might be pyloric stenosis. I quickly learned that this means the muscle between the stomach and intestines is too big, as a result it won't open. Therefore all the food goes to the stomach and then comes back up since it has nowhere to go.

Thursday we had an appointment for an upper GI test at the hospital. I woke Ewan at 4:30 that morning to feed him one more time since he would not be allowed to eat after 6AM. He vomitted up that meal as well. I had a meltdown and cried...it was so difficult to see him look confused and hurting when he would vomit, yet still remain hungry. I washed his hair a little since it got dirty with vomit and Josh decided he would go with me to the doctor.

Oma arrived to take care of Jack and Josh, Ewan and I were off to the hospital. The upper GI test was relatively painless. Ewan drank a bottle of barium and then had x-rays taken to see how he digested the barium. The x-rays showed it stayed in his stomach, a VERY SMALL amount went to the intestines. So we were off for an ultrasound to confirm it...and it did.

So before you know it they were saying we needed surgery and it would be right now! At the ped's office they said usually they would try to medicate it first so I was a little shocked to be going straight to surgery.

After much waiting in the children's hospital admissions floor we got a room. The place was booked!! so we ended up getting a room on the cancer floor. The nurses there don't see many babies so they were glad to see us.

Ewan had his blood checked...not an easy task since they couldn't find a vein because he was dehydrated. Then he got an IV....in his head. It was very difficult to listen to his screaming while he got poked so many times trying to find veins in his little body but I managed to survive it all somehow.

It took some time but by 7 that night he was in surgery. Oma and Opa brought Jack to meet us in the waiting room. The surgery lasted about an hour. Ewan had a breathing tube during the surgery (luckily I never had to see this)! Josh and I went to see him in recovery, he needed to stay there for an hour. Josh took Jack back to Ewan's room and I held Ewan in recovery. His little oxygen mask was there (though he was no longer using it). Once his hour was up they wheeled us back to his room (I was sitting in a recliner holding him...they wheeled us in the recliner).

Jack checked out his IV tube and after a while the big boys headed home. I spent the night with Ewan in the hospital. His first meal was at midnight and he had a strict schedule. If he vomitted he would have to repeat a step. He did well and by morning I went to the kitchen to get some oatmeal. When I returned he had vomitted! So we had to repeat that meal.

He did relatively well during the day but his appetite was low. Oma and Jack came for a visit and Josh came for lunch. As he was beginning his final meal of the schedule he vomitted. Well because it was late in the day they decided we would have to spend the night again. BUMMER!

Josh and Jack came for dinner and after sometime in the playroom across the hall Jack and I headed home. It was Daddy's turn to spend the night with Ewan.

I called Josh the next morning and Ewan did well, one vomit during the night but held down his last 2 full meals. Jack and I picked up bagels and went to the hospital. After finally seeing the doctor they kicked up out!! YIPEE!!!

I have never been so excited to go home in my life! Ewan is now recovering at home and doing very well. This was an experience we never wish to repeat. I will say, though, that we had a few positive things come of this. We learned how fabulous the staff is at the new children's hospital in Columbia! And I got to spend some special bonding time with my little boy. I haven't had a chance to just hold him like that for so long since I also have Jack at home! Both boys enjoyed flirting with all the nurses!!!

Thanks to everyone who sent their love and prayers.