The latest on the whole crew
I have been thinking about getting Evan a fish for a few weeks and finally I decided it was time. We went to the pet store yesterday to get the tank and all the necessities (including a bubbling Volcano) and let it set over night. Today I went back to pick out a goldfish for him and Evan was quite excited. After asking Evan what he wanted to name the fish – he told us he wanted to name it “Evan” – so everyone meet Evan. 😉
Last night was going to be the first Thursday that I did not see any ER action since it’s first episode 15 years ago. Apparently there was one last (hopefully) Thursday night ER drama that had to unfold. It was 630pm – I just got Evan out of the bathtub and into his pajamas while Amy was getting ready for ballet. Evan was playing in his room while I was cleaning up the bathroom.
Amy was in the living room. The next thing we heard was a loud bang and then Evan crying. (Evan is not usually one to cry so you know if he is something is bad.) I was the first on to get into his room. He was standing up by his changing table and I did an initial scan to make sure he had all his teeth and was not bleeding. No blood so I was happy. Amy rushed in and said “oh my god look at his head!!” and I looked and look and did not know what she was talking about. She then told me to look at his forehead where there was a growing by the second lump over his eye that was getting more black and blue as it grew.
Amy and I decided as soon as it kept getting bigger and bigger (like someone put a bouncy ball under his skin) that we needed to call 911. Amy got on the phone and got him some ice (which he screamed more about using that than the actual injury) and I tried to keep it on his head. The fire company and ambulance arrived within a few minutes and as soon as Evan saw the 5 men come in the house he stopped crying and wanted to give them all high fives and see the fire truck. Of course Amy and I are the ones crying now.
The guys checked him out, tried to give him ice for his head, but Evan was more interested in wanting to show them his room “Come on man, come on man” as he was going to his room with me to get his shoes. The guys then let him go sit in the ambulance where they decided it was best to go to the ER to get it checked out.
We waited a few hours to get checked out and the entire time Evan was thankfully himself – greeting everyone, running around, and all around happy (and very tired). We came home, put him to bed and then checked on him every 2-3 hours to make sure he was responsive. He is now in the livingroom with Amy watching TV and is doing great.
On a side note – last night I decided to try out my magnesium stick, flint, and fire making skills before this all happened in the backyard in our fire pit. After many unsuccessful tries I just used some matches and started a little fire to burn some of the hundreds of twigs in our backyard. Before I went inside – I grabbed the hose, put it out, and then gave Evan his bath. When the fire department was getting ready to leave they asked me if I left my grill on because it was still smoking and then jokingly said “because we would not want to have to come out here again”. I said yes because I was not sure if there was a time/day that you could have a fire going and so I went in the backyard hoping they would not see it was a fire pit. I grabbed the hose, filled the pit with water this time, and as it was going out – one of them walked back, but thankfully did not say anything (probably because my son was in the ambulance.
What a night!
Last night I put Evan to bed in his crib and then went in my bedroom to watch a little Guiding Light. A few minutes into my show – I heard Evan talking and then about 15 minutes or so later he started to call for me. I went with the intention of rocking him for a few minutes and then putting him back in his crib.
As I was rocking him I was talking to him about how George (Curious George) and Diego both sleep in a big boy bed and he said “Yes” to confirm it. I then asked him if he wanted to sleep in his big boy bed and he again said “Yes”. I then picked him up, put him in the big boy bed (twin) he has in his room and laid down next to him so he would be more apt to stay in the bed.
We talked, sang songs quietly and then he finally got to a point after about an hour or so of being tired enough where I felt I could get up and he would stay still.
I went into his bedroom this morning to wake him up and he was still in the same spot on his bed (he is a flip flopper). I told him how proud I was of him, got him up and then started our normal routine.
I am hoping tonight he will also want to sleep in it so in a few days when his sweet car bed gets in – we can move the crib out of the room for good.
Evan has recently started volunteering as our official taste tester when we make any sort of cookies. After one failed attempt of making my favorite cookie (Christmas Candy Canes/ Spring Shamrock/Shillelagh Sticks) I decided to make them again and Evan did a great job with cleaning his beater.
Whenever he sees us in the kitchen baking something, he goes into the dining room, grabs a chair, and then moves it to the kitchen so he can stand on it next to us.
Evan has been a busy boy in the last two months. When we have not been running from one place to another, we have been busy at home making homemade pierogis, cookies, and cakes, and popcorn right off the cob. Evan also attended his first Build a Bear birthday party, and hung out with some friends in Evanston, and went to another party in Oak Park…not to mention a sweet Super Bowl party as well! He is a busy boy so check out the latest photos of Evan in action.
How do you keep gloves on a two year old who wants to go outside, but cannot seem to keep his gloves on? Tape. I was joking with our babysitter about how I needed to do something drastic to keep Evan’s gloves on and mentioned next time I took him out I was going to duct tape them on. Today – when I picked Evan up – Denise (E’s babysitter) showed us how she taped his gloves on – and it worked like a charm!
Amy and I have been working with E for a month or so in the morning to try to get him to to associate getting up with going to the bathroom in the bathroom and not in his diaper. It is a big treat for him because we take him in there, make him sit down (not a treat) on his sweet Elmo potty chair, we read a book to him, and then he gets to get up, wash his hands, brush his teeth, and then get dressed.
While he is not a fan of the potty chair – he does enjoy washing his hands and brushing his teeth. This morning however – he actually went where and when he should have. I am not sure who was more excited – me or him, but I hope this becomes more regular. I am really getting tired of the diapers.
Evan’s latest trick is looking at pictures and being able to recognize himself. He will look at the pictures, think about it for a second intensely and then with much excitement say “that’s me.” It is really cute 😉
Here he is..the amazing harmonica player…with his first fan, Colby!
King Evan