Making Friends

As I mentioned in previous posts, our big event of the weekend was making it out to Victor (way other side of the city) to see some long-time family friends. Here's the quick rundown. The Dohertys went to college with my parents and all four of them have remained friends ever since. They have three kids--Laurie is around my brother's age, Ricky is close to mine, and Dennis is a couple years younger. Over the years both families would get together periodically. The most memorable of those get-togethers was probably the Bills' playoff game against the Houston Oilers where they made that record-breaking comeback to win and head off to (lose) the Superbowl. We actually got to watch the game, which was blacked out in WNY, because the Dohertys could get Syracuse TV. Anyway...that was cool. At some point the family moved to Philadelphia for a few years. All of us kids were getting older at that point so the family get-togethers were pretty much over by then anyway. However...a few years back, Mr. & Mrs. Doherty moved back to Rochester and the parents have since resumed periodic visits, many of which center around Knighthawks games. In the meantime, all of us kids have grown up, three of us have gotten married, and now all three of us have kids. Crazy.

Well, last year around this time, when word started getting out about my pregnancy, it turned out that Laurie was pregnant as well. She (and her mom) became faithful blog readers (woohoo!), and it's spawned a nice friendship as we've gone through pregnancy and parenthood together, albeit 9-1/2 weeks apart. Our parents have also enjoying becoming grandparents together. Laurie and her mom actually met Jacob the day he was born, since Laurie happened to be in town for her baby shower and they were in the vicinity of the hospital. That was cool, since all of our interaction over the course of our pregnancies had been via email, and then she got to see my baby, and I got to see her with her cute little bump! Side note: I said this weekend that we should be the poster women for post-pregnancy life...we both got our figures back rather quickly (or so it appears in clothes anyway)!

Colin was born in late August and all along we've marveled at how similiar our paths have been, from smooth pregnancies to all these little baby steps (pun intended) of life with an infant. My blog is a preview for her of what's to come a couple months down the road, and I enjoy reading her mini-blog (on Colin's Shutterfly photo page) to see life in the rear view mirror a bit :) Although, Colin's doing better with solids than Jacob right now, so perhaps she'll start giving ME previews on more things as we go along! It's been fun, though, being able to share stories and experiences with someone going through the same sorts of things.

Unfortunately, she lives down near Philly, so we won't get to see each other in person very often. But this past weekend she ventured up (very brave to drive that far with a five-month old!) and at long last on Sunday we made it out to visit so Jacob and I (and Craig, too) could finally meet Colin! We had a really good time, and here are some pics...

Jacob loves his Christmas moose and routinely chews on his snout. He tries to do it to Mommy & Daddy's moose collection, too, but there's a reason he has moose of his own ;-)

Apparently all the activity got to be too much, and he used his moose as a pillow...so cute!

The boys were just hanging out...Colin didn't quite know what to make of Jacob just yet. Colin's also not a big fan of tummy time yet, but Jacob's getting to be an old pro. I can just see the wheels turning now when he's on all fours, thinking, "How am I going to get over there? Maybe if I just move this leg..."

Apparently the activity got to be too much for Colin, too...or maybe the rug is just that soft! But seriously, how sweet is this picture? Remember the commercial where the screaming baby just falls asleep when it hits the carpet? I think the boys were auditioning...

Does it get any more precious than that?

Well, Jacob did try to hold Colin's hand. That's pretty precious, too. Although he probably just wanted to do a taste test...Jacob's hands are probably losing some of their flavor considering how much he sucks on them.

The visit ended with Colin falling alseep while his grandpa had him perched on top of a big rocking armchair. It was so cute to watch his little eyes get heavy. All in all it was a nice visit and we're definitely looking forward to the next one. The boys will be that much more interactive and playful by then, so it should be a good time. Thanks to everyone for the hospitality, and we can't wait to do it again!

Fun Weekend

We had a pretty good weekend other than the fact that Jacob may be coming down with something. Yesterday was a little rough, with watery eyes, more of a runny nose than usual, a low-grade fever, and just a general lack of spark. Jacob still had his happy moments, but he always looked tired. I'm hoping it's not pink eye, but he had the watery eye thing going on a couple weeks ago for a day or two and it turned out to be nothing. We'll see how things go this time around. I feel so bad for him that he just can't seem to catch a break! Still, he was pretty good yesterday, all things considered. He got to go in his new umbrella stroller for the first time, which he seemed to like. We stopped at the dollar store after church because I wanted to look at their selection of wall stickers. I had seen them there before and decided it was time to look for good kid-themed ones to put up next to the changing table. Jacob's been really squirmy up there lately and I figured any sort of diversion would be helpful. I got a set of wild animal stickers (cute elephant, zebra, giraffe, etc.), and he seems to like them so far. My ultimate goal is to make some sort of texture assortment for that same spot, but I figured I'd get the animals for a buck and if he seemed to like them enough, then we'd be good until he gets bored with them. But as for the stroller, we're definitely looking forward to walks as the weather gets nicer and the days get longer.

The low point of yesterday was when he was falling asleep sitting up in the shopping cart at Target. He'd taken a decent nap (for him) earlier in the afternoon, but apparently the impending illness may have gotten the best of him. I had to keep him awake for the last few minutes of the shopping trip so he didn't slump over too badly. Poor baby. He seemed better this morning, though, so I'm definitely keeping my fingers crossed. (Side note: Later on while I was typing I did get a call from day care that his eyes are "gooping up" a bit...which they did from time to time yesterday...and he just hasn't been himself, so...bummer :( )

The only other notable thing yesterday was a couple new food options. I figured out that Gerber oatmeal does NOT have wheat in it (Beech-Nut does) so Jacob finally got to try oatmeal. He seemed to like it, at least when it was mixed with his favorite food, pears. I also tried giving him his first real finger food, a piece of this Baby Mum-Mum stuff. Imagine a rice cake that's been rolled flat and smooth...and that's basically it. It's got that styrofoamy feel to it, not a lot of flavor but a touch of sweetness. I'll admit--I tasted a corner before I gave it to Jacob, and it was pretty good for being a bland, baby-approved food! Our friends Laurie and Colin (more on them later) were nice enough to share a pack with us, and if Jacob takes to them I think we can get them at Wegmans. But by the time we got to the point of trying it last night, Jacob was starting to get cranky and didn't really want to hold it or bite it. We'll keep trying...I think he'll like it, though, because he's a big fan of holding on to things and putting things in his mouth!

His medication regimen is going okay so far. It's been a bit of a challenge working in four doses a half hour before feedings, though. He only has five milk feedings a day (and yesterday it was only four--I think the time change and our schedule threw things off a bit), and since he wakes up hungry we're really tied into a tight schedule. It's awkward to work around naps and trips out of the house, and I feel bad having to distract him for a half hour sometimes. It's just odd. I need to get some clarification from the doctor about the duration between doses, or what constitutes an empty stomach, because I may have to work around solid food feedings or make some exceptions sometimes when our schedule isn't as simple as it is on weekdays. Fortunately, he seems to like the taste of the Reglan a lot. It's butterscotch! He's not as big of a fan of the Prevacid, though. The dissolvable tablet really throws him off. I think the flavor is okay, but the texture of it all is a little odd. Yesterday he was drooling little bits of it out, and when I tried to help him wash it down, what was left of the tablet ended up in the dixie cup. So...time to figure out plan B. I know there's enough saliva in there to dissolve it, but it may just be a matter of laying him down so nothing drools out before it happens. His face is priceless, though...."what IS this thing?"

The highlight of our weekend was Saturday. We spent the evening with my parents, as well as Laurie and Colin and her parents. We were treated to a great dinner (still dreaming about dessert!!) and we had a blast watching the boys. They're still not very interactive, but just comparing and contrasting them was quite interesting. Jacob's quite adept at rolling over, while Colin's not a fan. Colin is the king of blowing raspberries, while that's a skill Jacob never acquired. Jacob was showing off his rocking abilities and tried to teach Colin how to use a bouncer, and Colin was showing off his unique (and hilarious) method of eating--following up each bite with his thumb :) It's going to be really fun to see the boys get older together...because even though there may be quite a few differences now, they're still only 9-1/2 weeks apart which will be nothing when they're older! We had a great time and definitely look forward to future visits!

Here are some fun pics:

The boys just chillin' on the blanket...

Jacob's trademark smile!

One of my all-time faves, I think. About two seconds after I took the picture, Jacob and the bag went toppling over. He was still smiling, of course!

The four of us!

Milestone Weekend!

Wow, was this ever a big weekend as far as milestones go! Lately I'd felt like Jacob had hit a bit of a wall as far as big milestones go. We hadn't had any new abilities or any new words...at least, not big stuff that he was doing or words that he was saying on a regular basis. Here and there we'd hear something that might sound vaguely like a new word that he'd repeat, but at best it was a mimic and not something he committed to memory. He still wasn't showing any desire to walk on his own, let alone stand. He was starting to do his grass crawl (up on all fours) more often on surfaces other than grass, which made it seem like he's starting the neanderthal man process...walking bent over, and slowly learning how to walk upright. But in general, although it seemed like he wasn't making any big strides, I suppose there were little, more subtle things changing over the past few weeks, and that was about it.

Well, Saturday morning brought milestone #1. Jacob has made a few attempts at climbing up on our ottoman. He's a pretty good climber when it comes to stairs, and he's been doing really well with pulling up and cruising along furniture for a while, so I figured the climbing was just a matter of time. Our ottoman has a bit of a crater in it because the padding somehow collapsed into it, and apparently that gave Jacob the inch or two that he needed. He managed to climb up the ottoman, by himself, in part because the crater made his entry point just a little lower. He's got to be careful that he doesn't slide back down via the crater, but since he did it Saturday morning, he's been getting up there pretty easily. It's sort of fun (though an added level of stress, as well) because he can now use that to crawl up on the couch. He likes playing with the moose that reside on the top of the couch, and once in a while will even snuggle up with me when I'm sitting there. Here he is later in the day on Saturday, posing with the freebie football we got at Bills camp. He loves that thing and is becoming quite the pro at throwing it!

On Saturday I also started hearing what sounded more and more like "Mama". Sometimes he'd say the syllables over and over again, often in a bit of frustration, but at least it appeared he was learning the M sound a bit. By the end of the day Saturday he was definitely saying it, and today he was repeating it a lot, and even directing it at me! So, I guess we can finally check that one off the list!

Saturday afternoon my parents came up and we visited again with our friends Laurie and Colin, and Laurie's parents who live in Victor, across town. This time Laurie's husband Kevin and their dog Marley came, too! It was nice to meet both of them. Laurie and I have gone through the pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood thing together (albeit a couple months apart), mostly via email, and it's always been nice to swap stories and visit from time to time. It's been fun this summer since she has made quite a few trips up to Rochester from the Philly area and we've been able to visit each time. This time the boys seemed to at least acknowledge one another's presence, though interactive play is still a tough one. It seems to improve every time, though! This time we tried to get them to play catch, which only lasted so long. Here's a shot of Jacob reacting to one throw...

They were really cute, though, each on their own. Colin's a couple months younger than Jacob but he outweighs him by a couple pounds and has eight teeth fully in! Jacob has three coming in now to get his total to seven. They seem to be pretty close in a lot of ways. They're both getting into everything and have only had marginal success in the standing realm. As I think I've mentioned, we've got Jacob to stand on his own for a few moments here and there by catching him off-guard and keeping his hands full, but for the most part the moments have been few and far between. Colin is much the same. His first birthday is coming up this week! After he opened the presents we brought, Jacob enjoyed playing with the tissue paper...

Later in the visit we headed outside to appease Marley, who was outside barking. He knew we were all inside, and apparently it was leaving him a little lonely! He's a big dog (though amazingly patient and gentle considering his size!) and I think Laurie and Kevin were hesitant to let him in with Jacob around. Of course, Jacob loves dogs and has no fear of them (yikes!) so we weren't that worried. The good news is that Marley's used to a little friendly abuse from Colin, so anything Jacob would do would probably be par for the course. Jacob was dying to get outside himself, whether it was because he could see Marley or because he was intrigued by what he saw out the window...tons of grass, plants, a little pond...definitely new territory! Once we were out there he had a lot of fun getting into everything. He crawled into dead pine needles under the pine tree (a little sap, but not too bad), pulled clumps of grass, tried to pull out flowers and plants, dipped his toes in the pond, and chased down balls. He did not want to stay up with the toys on the deck for anything! He did enjoy petting Marley and getting some wet kisses, though Marley rarely stayed still long enough for a good petting. Jacob loved every second, though! He also liked riding around and pushing this little dump truck...

So anyway, as we were hanging out, he was up on all fours in the grass, as usual. All of a sudden, he lifted his hands up and very slowly raised himself up to standing! I couldn't believe it! All of a sudden, out of nowhere, he stood up on his own and just kept standing! He stood for a good 10 seconds at least, long enough for my parents to snap a couple pictures! It was a big moment!

Ever since, he's been exploring the world of standing quite a bit. He stood up again this morning when we were in bed with him, and again during church. He stayed on his feet for a good three minutes tonight while Craig was playing with him, and in general he's staying on his feet without support a lot longer. Seems like it's only a matter of time before he starts moving his feet! It's all very exciting but it's also a little scary since it means that he'll be getting into a lot more in the weeks to come! I'm sure the folks at day care will be very excited when we get back there on Wednesday. Yes, Wednesday. They're closed Monday and Tuesday for their annual cleaning and teacher prep, so Craig's taking off tomorrow and I'm taking off Tuesday. Craig is still figuring out what their day will entail, but Tuesday we'll be meeting up with my college roommate Mary, probably with considerable time spent in Geneseo. It should be a lot of fun!

Other than the milestones it was a bit of a trying weekend. Jacob may be coming down with a little cold. He had a runny nose today, though I keep hoping it was just his enhanced outdoor experience yesterday impacting his allergies today. We'll see. He was just generally fussy today, not eating well and having random meltdowns throughout the day, despite three pretty good naps. He woke up once last night and had a hard time going down tonight. It may be his teeth as well. I can't imagine three coming in at once feels good! At times I think weekends are hard for him because he's off his usual routine. It's hard to take when your own baby's time with you isn't his best. I know that there isn't much we can do for him. By the end of the day today I was pretty tired of the meltdowns. When he refuses most of his food for two straight days, I eventually start to take it personally. I know I shouldn't, but it's hard and makes for a tough judgment call--do you cave and give him something you know he'll eat just so he's getting enough, or do you hold strong and try to give him healthy things and/or new foods, just to keep trying to expose him to different things to hopefully improve his eating in the long run...even if it means he might end up a bit hungry in the short term? It's hard. But no one ever said parenting was easy!

Still, the milestones help remind me how great parenting can be, as you see your child achieve something great. Let's hope they keep coming because I might need the reinforcements these days!

Not quite what we planned...

So, last weekend didn't quite turn out as we'd planned. That started on Friday. We braved the snow in the morning but by mid-morning I got a call that Jacob wasn't being himself. He wasn't as active in the morning and was complaining his head and throat hurt. Luckily, my office closed early due to the weather so I was able to go home, clear the snow from the driveway (thank God for our neighbor, who had already snowblowed most of it), and I made an appointment at the doctor's office. I figured that in the wake of his strep, and amidst a runny nose and all of these supposed ailments at daycare (he was supposedly tugging his ear one day, too), it wouldn't hurt to go get him checked once and for all. The poor kid is so traumatized from so many strep swabs and he freaked out, but he still had to get one more. And sure enough, positive. Seriously?!

I still feel lucky that his run-ins with strep aren't nearly as bad as they could be, but the big problem was that we were planning on seeing our friends, the Dohertys and McDonoughs, on Saturday. My parents were coming in mid-afternoon, and we were all going to visit Laurie, Colin, and Laurie's parents. We hadn't seen Laurie and Colin since last April, so we were really excited to get the boys together. Also, Laurie is pregnant and it would have been so fun to see her little baby bump! Last time we got to go through the experience together (a couple months apart), so it's a bummer that my "three years apart" plan didn't work because we could have done it again this time around. Still, I am so happy for them and very excited for when the baby comes--not just because I look forward to meeting him or her, but because I'll be interested to hear her stories of how she manages two kids. It is one of my biggest fears, so it will be nice to gain some insight from someone I know. Anyway...obviously the strep threw a wrench in our plans. Not only would it be a risk for Colin to get it, but the bigger risk was if Laurie got it. We didn't want to take any chances, so the visit was off. I'm not sure if we'll have a chance to see them again before the new baby, unfortunately, but hopefully that means we'll see them shortly thereafter!

My parents did still come visit and we went to the Knighthawks game that night. Jacob was his normal quiet self and wanted to spend most of the night on my lap. Other than his usual antics at dinner, he was a good boy. He was fading fast at the end of the night, but he did stay awake until after we were home. I knew it might make for a long day on Sunday, but what can you do? We hadn't been to a game in a while so it pretty much had to happen sometime!

During the game we sort of ended up deciding that we were all (me, Jacob and Craig) going to go to the National Lacrosse League All-Star Game, which was being held Sunday at Turning Stone Resort & Casino, which is in Verona, NY, just east of Syracuse. It would be a long drive but it would probably be an interesting time. So, we got up on Sunday and went. It was sort of fun to have an unplanned, spur-of-the-moment road trip, as we don't do a lot of that these days. Planning is sort of important when you have a toddler to consider, even if most of those plans get somehow screwed up. But it felt nice to have an unexpected fun outing. We had pondered stopping at a Cici's Pizza (that fabulous pizza buffet that you may have seen in commercials on TV--we've previously been to one in Orlando (when I was pregnant...best thing ever) and one in Erie last summer on our way back from Pittsburgh), but decided to get to the game early and hit Cici's for dinner on the way home.

I've been to Turning Stone once or twice before, but any trips were long before the resort is as it is now. We walked around a bit--mostly to let Jacob burn off some energy--and managed to catch this cute picture near this indoor waterfall.
We settled into our seats shortly before gametime with some arena food for lunch, and Jacob pretty much finished off a small box of popcorn on his own. And without further ado, the latest in our series of pictures of Jacob eating popcorn...

The game was a high scoring affair, but for some reason Jacob wasn't nearly as focused as usual. He was ready to run at halftime, and we found a nice open area for him to run. He was keeping the security folks entertained. Here he is showing off his shot...

While it was a fun event, I have to admit that the highlight for me was the giant Dale Chihuly piece in the lobby outside the entrance to the event center where the game was held. As you may recall, the weekend before I found out I was pregnant, I went with some family to see a Dale Chihuly exhibit in Pittsburgh. It was awesome. I also saw some of his work at the Corning Museum of Glass a couple summers ago. His work is so beautiful, and here are a couple shots of Turning Stone's piece...

And here's one more...

You wouldn't know it, but this one was taken amidst the most frustrating Jacob moment of the day. He was being downright evil at times. Again, sleep is really that important and seems to be a dividing line between pesky and just plain evil. So frustrating.

Things didn't get much better once we got to dinner, though at least we got to enjoy some tasty pizza (mac and cheese pizza, among others!) while trying to manage Jacob's misbehavior. Craig sat with him the whole way home and they watched a movie so Jacob would stay awake and go to bed normally. At least that part went according to plan and we all got a good night's sleep.

So, while the weekend was not quite like what I thought it would be, it turned out to be pretty good, frustrations aside. It went awfully quickly, and now here we are again at the beginning of another week. We'll see what this one has in store...

The Good and the Bad

Just some tidbits from the weekend through this morning...

The Bad: Jacob's pooping schedule definitely threw off our Saturday a bit.
The Good: He seems fine after all of that, and we still managed to have a fun weekend. Jacob went to his first indoor lacrosse game on Saturday night, and was a very good boy. He even got a mention on the radio when we went up to visit Daddy in the press box! On Sunday, at long last, all three of us had a lovely visit with Colin and Laurie. I will post pictures soon. Colin wasn't quite sure what to make of Jacob, but he is such a cutie! I'm sure as they both get older there will be many fun times ahead. We just had a really nice visit with the whole family, and it was a nice change of pace for a Sunday afternoon. We don't get out much, so it was nice to interact with some other people for a change! :)


The Bad: Jacob still didn't get a clean bill of health at the doctor this morning. While he seems a lot better and isn't audibly wheezing, the doctor could still hear some when she took a listen. It is probably an indicator that there's some asthma going on there. We have to keep up one nebulizer treatment a day to help strengthen his lungs against any illnesses he may get, just to get him through the winter cold season. We're going to a specialist in March, so we'll see what they find. In the meantime he's got to go get an X-ray and one other procedure that makes sure he's not aspirating food into his lungs. He shows a couple signs of acid reflux, which could lead to food aspiration, which can masquerade as asthma. He was on the reflux medication for a while, up until a month ago, and it turned out that the dose he was on was low for his current weight...but since he seemed ok, we figured he was probably better. But shortly after that, he started arching his back a lot when he was upset, which can be a sign of reflux. It's tough to say for sure that it's that, because his spit-up symptoms aren't that bad, but to be on the safe side he's back on it. We'll see if it makes a difference. He hasn't gained any weight in the last month, which doesn't surprise me at all. Between not feeling good, not eating well, and not taking solids, I was actually afraid he'd lose weight.
The Good: Despite all of this stuff, he seems to be feeling good. He was super happy for most of the weekend. The cough isn't bad but does show up periodically, eliciting sympathetic looks from people when we're out and about. But it's so much better than it was, and his mood is really great most of the time. The doctor didn't have much advice about solids, but said to keep offering them. She suggested a type of Yo-Baby (baby yogurt) that has cereal and fruit, so that may be something to try to keep up his iron. We can also try finger foods that dissolve easily, so we'll look into that, I guess. And hopefully the reflux medication means that he'll be back to eating normally soon--no more cutting out early, arching his back and whining. And tonight, he did eat some cereal and bananas...not exactly excited about it, but he did open his mouth periodically. That much can be considered progress around here, sadly! Daycare did offer to try to feed him cereal there, to take advantage of the peer pressure situation. I don't know why I'm hesitant...whether it's just because I don't want them to have to deal with potential meltdowns (particularly when I haven't conquered them myself yet), or I just don't know what to tell them to do because he hasn't done anything consistently enough here for me to have specific instructions. Something to think about, though.


The Good: The doctor noticed that you can just see Jacob's two bottom teeth under the surface of the gums. That was a shocker, despite the bad week of teething a couple weeks ago and the fact that he's been drooling and chewing on his hands for months.
The Bad: I am fearing those teeth like few other things in the world right now. All this time I've been hoping to make it to a year with breastfeeding, but teeth definitely complicate things. When Jacob gets lazy and gets distracted while eating, he tends to bite down. Gums hurt enough, never mind what teeth might do. The doctor gave me some tips for dealing with biting, to hopefully nip it in the bud (no pun intended) before it happens too often. I'm also a little sad that his 100% gummy smile will be going away sometime soon. I know those two little teeth will have a charm all their own, but when you've fallen in love with one smile, it takes some getting used to to think of it changing. One more sign my little boy is growing up fast!

The Bad: We still have a sick little boy with no real end in sight. It's discouraging because we've waited so long and tried so many things. I'm convinced Jacob has a longer list of prescriptions on file at Wegmans than I do.
The Good: What he has appears to be fixable. As I mentioned in another post a while back, at times like this I always try to remind myself that this isn't that bad. It may be hard to watch and a little inconvenient at times, not to mention expensive (co-pay after co-pay...), but it's not cancer, it's not some horrible disease, and it's not something that should stick around forever. It may not be easy, but in the grand scheme of things, we're blessed to have a relatively healthy and happy little boy. He doesn't seem that thrown off by most of this, so as long as he's happy, I can be happy too.

Week in Review

It's been a pretty busy week, but I think I can say that we're finally starting to settle into our house and have a little time to enjoy it. Last Friday night I stayed up late to clean up the house. I was tired of looking at the same boxes that I wasn't sure what to do with, and tired of seeing so many things looking so undone. And since we were having some company on Saturday, I decided to just do as much as possible...until I was too tired to keep going. And I must say, it went well. I got a lot done. As a result, the house was looking pretty decent by Saturday when company came. First it was my parents, and then we had a visit from the Dohertys and McDonoughs. The Dohertys are long time friends of my parents, and their daughter Laurie had a little boy, Colin, a couple months after Jacob was born. You may remember back to previous visits that I've reported on (see here, here, and here), and it's been fun to watch the boys grow up as we've had these visits. This visit was no exception, even if the boys still aren't quite at the point where they want to play with one another. There was a little more interaction this time, but a lot of that was stealing balls back and forth...though no one freaked out too much so I guess that was good! Here's a picture of the four of us on the stairs...look at those big boys! Too bad mine wouldn't smile!

After a little convincing from Mommy and Grandma, though, the smile came out!

At the end of the visit, Colin gave Jacob a very nice hug! Jacob doesn't look so sure, but it was a very cute moment!

And as you can see, Jacob was back to his crazy (and hockey-crazed) self shortly thereafter...

A side note about that hockey stick...I bought that stick way back in my prime hockey days when I was a teenager. That stick followed me to college and off to my first two apartments before ending up put away for quite a few years. When we moved we ended up with a bag full of pennants, posters and a handful of ministicks, which Jacob was obsessed with once he saw it. He's been allowed to play with a couple, including my beloved Sabres stick. I never would have imagined back when I bought it that my first-born child would be playing with it all these years later. There are a lot of things that Craig and I own that fall (or will fall) into that category...stuff that we bought because we liked it that will now have another life with Jacob. Funny how that works.

On Tuesday Craig had his big "Tip a Knighthawk" fundraiser at a local restaurant, Bugaboo Creek. It's been there for the last three or four years and been quite successful. This was Jacob's first time there--one of us was sick last year--and he had quite the time. He was really into watching the video games that were set up in the one corner, and was giving everyone a good laugh running around with his lacrosse stick. And then R. Thunder showed up. R. Thunder is a joint mascot of the Amerks and Knighthawks, and Jacob loves him. One time at a Build-A-Bear event that Craig set up, Jacob was leading R. Thunder around the store by hand. Poor mascot. And once again, Jacob was monopolizing him a bit. Here he his showing off his lacrosse moves...

And here he is with a big smile!

After this we had the great potty adventure. And no, no end to that story yet. I'll keep you posted.

Remember when I mentioned our trip to the dollar store earlier in the week? Last night I finally got to put up the stuff we bought. And here's the result...

I'm pretty happy with it and Jacob seems to like it too--both the variety of sports equipment and my rendition of the alphabet song while pointing to each letter. We'll see how long it lasts!

Not too many plans this weekend since Craig is traveling again, but we do have Jacob's first friend birthday party (his first little girlfriend from his old daycare) and I hope to hit up the zoo to enjoy the nice weather, too. Hopefully we can fit a nap in there and all will go well. Oh, and hopefully we can fit in a haircut somewhere...Jacob is looking shaggy! Have a nice weekend, everyone!

A Baby's Schedule

A baby's schedule never tends to exactly mesh with yours. No matter how you plan, no matter how well you think you know your baby, it always seems like they've got some sort of trick up their sleeve whenever you think you've got them figured out. I had our day all planned out. We had a lazy morning, mostly just working around Jacob's eating and my getting ready, and then we headed out to the bank and Wal-Mart for a couple things. I was thinking of going to Wegmans, too, but decided it was just for one thing and it was more of a hassle to run in for one thing when I had Jacob with me...much easier to do it alone or when Craig was in the car and could stay with Jacob. Not worth spending the time today. I grabbed lunch while we were out, and we headed home. Jacob napped a little while we were out, and when we got home he was hungry. I wanted to eat my food while it was hot, and Jacob happily played in his Jumperoo while I did. Just as I was finishing up, I heard and saw (via his "poopy face" that he makes when he pushes) that Jacob pooped. He woke up with a dirty diaper this morning, so this one made sense since he usually poops in twos. Jacob is now officially the king of the blowout. At least three of every four poopy diapers is a blowout of some sort. I've tried two brands, a few different types within those brands, and no luck avoiding the blowouts. Ugh. And I know he's not to big for the diapers, so I can't really go up a size right now. So yeah, big nasty blowout. I cleaned him up and left him rolling around in his crib while I went to scrub everything out, and when I came back up he ate. By the time he was done we were cutting it close to make it out to Victor before 3:30, the end of the open house hours to visit with Laurie & Colin, who I think I mentioned in my last post. Still, I pressed on. Well, just as he was in his snowsuit and carrier and sitting by the door waiting for me to get my shoes on, I heard him fart again. He made the poopy face again. Three poops in one day has happened before, but not often. Not willing to take a risk with the blowouts, I gave up hope of getting out to Victor and got him out of his seat and snowsuit to go change him. He had indeed pooped (only a little on his onesie by the legs), but while I was changing him (and in between diapers, of course) he pooped again. So that meant more cleanup. Ugh. I am REALLY sick of scrubbing poo out of stuff. Seriously. I gave myself a blister doing it before Christmas, and it almost came back today.

Well, I did a load of laundry (no time like the present), and we then took a nap on the couch for a couple hours until we had to start getting ready to go to the Knighthawks game. I never make it to games on time anymore, no matter how early I aim to leave. I think Jacob ate around 6, and I ate my dinner at the same time. At 6:30 I got him changed, put on my Knighthawks shirt, and started getting him back into his snowsuit and seat. I ended up running and grabbing a couple things while he was waiting for me, and just as I was ready to put on my second sneaker, I heard it again. Another fart. And another round of poopy face. Are you kidding me? Well, by the time I got him out, changed him (no blowout this time) and got him back in his seat, we were on target to once again be late. Ugh.

We got there about five minutes late, and actually had a pretty good time. He took a nap while we were wandering, and generally stayed in a good mood. Too bad the Knighthawks stink and lost again. Much closer this time than the rest of their games this season, though. Jacob fell asleep again on the way home, woke up smiling while I changed his diaper and got him in his PJs, and only fussed for a couple minutes before falling back to sleep. We'll see how the changed evening schedule impacts his sleeping overnight.

So, we shall try to visit Laurie & Colin again tomorrow. I hope it works this time, because I've been looking forward to this for a while, and I'm not sure when we'll get a chance again. Today was just one of those days when a baby's schedule takes over your world, and there's nothing you can do about it. Minor stuff, I know...but it definitely takes some getting used to!

Weekend Review

Despite the fact that it was a rainy, miserable, cold weekend, we managed to keep ourselves occupied and have some fun.  Friday's night's movie night (per my last post) wasn't exactly ideal, but in retrospect I take some solace in the fact that he probably didn't bother other people too much with his antics.  Much preferred to the screaming child or something worse, you know?

Saturday was a pretty low key day.  It was so awful outside that there wasn't much reason to leave the house.  I spent a good chunk of the morning sorting through Jacob's clothes, doing the much-dreaded every-few-month try-on to see which things from last season still fit.  I cleared out enough space in his closet to put in the new/hand-me-down stuff for the fall, and as the weather officially cools, I'll take out the rest of the summer stuff and stow it away until next spring's try-on session.  I also did a bit of work on my own closet, taking out the sleeveless stuff and selecting a few things for donation that I either haven't worn in ages and won't wear again, either due to style changes or (more often) my post-pregnancy belly that won't quite go away.  It's pleasantly freeing but it's still a bit of a melancholy process because it either feels wasteful or sad when the clothes no longer work for me.  I also worked on getting out the Halloween decorations and made a fantastic dinner--this really great creamy chicken casserole we fell in love with when someone gave us a batch during the week my grandma passed away.

We needed to go out to pick up milk anyway, and I had noticed that the coupon I had set aside for Jacob's Halloween costume expired that day, so we decided to head out in the evening to get Jacob's costume.  After originally insisting that he wanted to be a ghost, at some point in the last few weeks he settled on Batman.  As you may recall, he started on this Batman kick after the Labor Day long weekend trip with Craig's family when he saw some Batman DVDs and got Batman pajamas.  He now requests to be called Batman ("I'm not Jacob, I'm Batman!") and refers to Craig as "Robin".  Since he seems to be pretty deeply entrenched and Craig is fueling it (the weekend viewings of the old school Batman TV show on this new channel we have were among his fuel), I figured we could take the risk to buy the costume this early.  The coupon made it within my threshold, though not nearly as cheap as the few bucks we spent last year on his fire helmet (he already had received the jacket as a gift).  So much for attempting to make it through his childhood without a major branded obsession.  At least it's one that's stood the test of time, right?

So, off we went to Party City, where I had a $10 coupon and had pinpointed an acceptable costume.  There are many preschooler Batman costumes out there, but most of them are pretty odd looking.  Admittedly, so is the one we ended up with, but I think ours is exaggerated enough that you laugh more than thinking how pathetically store-bought it is.  We tried it on Jacob before we left, and I couldn't even get the mask on without laughing.  Once I got the mask on, I had tears.  So funny.  In a good way.

Check out the six pack!

Too cute!!

Now if we could just get him to stop asking to wear it.  I don't trust its durability and I am NOT buying another one if this one rips while he's messing around in it.

Sunday we met my parents at their friends' house out in Victor (east side of Rochester), where their daughter Laurie was visiting with her two kids.  You may remember them from our last day of vacation, when the boys got to play and I got to hold her new little girl.  Our parents had just returned from two weeks together in Alaska, and it was my first time seeing my parents in over a month, which is a pretty long stretch for us.  Colin was very excited to see Jacob, and the boys got right to playing...

One big McQueen, one small McQueen...the big one had to be shaken up and then it took off very fast!  They got in a pretty good groove taking turns, since the second shake-n-go car (Mater) was losing his battery power.

Eventually playtime headed to the basement, and they continued to have fun...

Puzzles...

Togetherness in the car!

They even set up a "gas pump" for the car, using an unplugged shop vac...

Fill 'er up!

They played very well together.  As usual there were a handful of sharing issues but they were very well-controlled.  They still did some parallel play, but that's to be expected since their interests are a little different overall.  Jacob was completely happy to throw a soft football to anyone who would play with him, though he probably got more than he bargained for when Colin tackled him!  They were both good sports, though, and in the meantime the moms got to chat about the joys of three year olds...potty training, ill-fitting pants (tiny waists, long legs), and tantrums.

I got to hold sweet little Kelly for a while, and later on I hung out next to her spot on the floor while she contentedly stared up at the baby gym.  Oh, how I miss that age, where they smile at your goofy faces and lay there completely content, unable to roll or crawl away.  I know there's a lot of hard stuff that goes along with that age, but she was just so sweet...and I even caught a smile!

urprised at how functional he was while we were there.  By the end, though, I could tell he was starting to crack.  We snapped one last picture of the boys, and then headed out...

Such big boys!  They're almost exactly the same height, despite how it looks here.  Let me tell you, they're both a far cry from our first visit!

We got in the car a little before 6:30, planning to go home, have some dinner, and meet up with Craig, who'd spent the afternoon at a lacrosse tournament.  Jacob fell asleep by the time I hit the end of the driveway (it was a longer than average one, but still!), and barely woke up when we got home.  I plopped him on the couch to get myself settled, but when I went to try to wake him up, he just snuggled into the couch more.  I left him for a bit and tried again a little later, but again, no dice.  Craig snuggled up to him at one point, but I decided that we really needed to do something--namely, get him up to his room and see if that woke him up--since normally the second he hits his bed, he decides he wants to be awake--or if he was really down for the count, despite not eating dinner.  He settled right into his bed and I left him just like I would at bedtime, but fully expecting him to wake up at a really inopportune time in the middle of the night.  Right before I went to bed (early--just in case we had a long night ahead of us), I changed him out of his jeans and into his pajama pants to make sure he'd be comfortable.  He slept right through that, too.  I was still convinced he'd wake up in the middle of the night or really early in the morning, so off to bed I went.  But sure enough, I didn't hear a peep out of him until just before 7am!  He slept nearly 12-1/2 hours!  Normally he sleeps about 10-1/2, no matter when he goes to bed.  I was hoping all that sleep would deliver us a perfectly sweet child, but no...he was perhaps more difficult than usual.  Other than dinner, that is.  He inhaled his dinner, which doesn't surprise me one bit considering his missed meal last night. 

So, yeah...crazy weekend, but really good.  It was nice to see my parents as well as the Dohertys/McDonoughs, and I feel happy knowing that we got Jacob's costume in case we want to take advantage of any pre-Halloween events, like the one at our zoo that we're always missing because I'm figuring out his costume at the last minute.  The weather was a tough reminder that winter will be here all too soon and we'll be stuck inside (or freezing outside) for months, but at least I got a jump on that too by organizing clothes.  On to another week--ridiculously busy at work yet again--and at least one adventure to look forward to this weekend!

This Week in Blog History

It's amazing to think that this blog has been going on for over six years now.  When I started it I had no idea how long I'd really keep it up.  I did well with a website back in the day, but eventually I stopped updating that...but would it be any different when it was about my own family?  Turns out I shouldn't have worried.  I do wonder how long I can keep this up, and I worry about Carter getting the shaft in the long run since I've documented more than five years (and counting) of Jacob's life, and what if I can't do the same for Carter?  Still, six years of posts is pretty amazing.

Sometimes it's fun to look back and see how we've progressed.  A while back I did a post like this and planned on doing it more when blog fodder was low, but I don't really think I ever did.  So, today, I will.  As a side note, we learned this weekend that Carter can climb stairs (while having a grown-up shadow, of course!) and that he's getting much closer to saying "Mama".  Well, he can say it, but we're not sure he gets it yet.  But he might, ever so slightly.  Fingers crossed on my end to make that word #1!  And now, without further ado...

2008 - I was doing some maternity shopping with mixed success.  I was waiting to feel baby movement.  I was enjoying most of pregnancy so far despite my all of my reading giving me a lot of things to worry about.  I put together a giant desk that moved into our office in order to accommodate some switcheroos happening in making our guest room into the baby's room and the office into an office/guest room combo.  It was a cautiously exciting time in general...so many unknowns, but so many exciting new things ahead.

2009 - Jacob was seven months old (equivalent to Carter when we were in Disney, for reference).  I was marveling at how life with a baby had become our new normal, and how exhausting but rewarding it all was.  Jacob was recovering from his second bout of bronchiolitis, both of which left him with nasty coughs that lasted for months.  Fortunately, he was in between bad bouts of sleeping troubles, which was a major relief.  He seemed to be getting closer to crawling, but in reality he still had more than a couple months before he accomplished that milestone.  He was still having a lot of trouble with solid foods, but I was hoping that daycare peer pressure would help him along there.  We also did our first visit with long-distance buddy Colin, who was a couple months younger than Jacob and in town visiting his grandparents with his mom Laurie.  It was so cute to see them together.

2010 - Jacob was nearing 18 months and was starting to talk.  He had a number of words in his vocabulary, including "Amerks" and "Knighthawks".  Very important words!  His love of sports was already quite clear, and in addition to running around the house with a stick of some sort, he was getting more creative in his play.  He was adjusting to his new daycare that he started at the beginning of the year, but it was a long process that involved a lot of tears and quite a few bad reports.  It seemed to take a long time for the folks at the new daycare to appreciate him the way the ones at the old daycare did, but now they love him despite his challenges.  His behavior was starting to get very challenging at times, and he even had recently jumped out of his crib in frustration one night.  We were in the process of selling our house, which was crazy.  We were close to getting an offer on our house, which was important to keep the deal we had on the house we have now.  Thank goodness it all worked out!  Craig and I enjoyed a night in Toronto without Jacob for a Knighthawks game, which was a nice break.  God knows we could use one of those right now!

2011 - We were starting to make real efforts to get Jacob potty trained.  I bought him underwear and created a potty chart.  It would be a while still before we had any success with that, though.  Nearly a year, I think!  We also had Jacob's mole removal surgery on his leg, which was stressful leading up to it but a non-event once it happened.  Luckily no other suspicious ones have showed up since.  The scar on his leg is barely visible, and someday it will all be covered in hair anyway!

2012 - Jacob was just getting over his pneumonia/strep throat/stomach bug debacle that almost landed him in the hospital.  He had crushes on his daycare teachers, and even claimed to have sent one birthday flowers from her boyfriend!  We were in the process of trying for baby #2, but pretty much at the point where we had to take a break from trying because of our upcoming trip to Florida--which of course didn't happen when it was supposed to after all.  The break was to avoid being massively pregnant when the trip was supposed to happen.  I pondered the reasons why God was allowing us to go through the fertility issues, and most of my reasons ended up being pretty true.  We were starting to deal with some of Jacob's behavior issues, but he was also showing us amazing skills like doing puzzles, which was really cool to see.

2013 - I was largely pregnant and getting very uncomfortable.  The bad pressure was starting and while I didn't know it at the time, I was only about 3-4 weeks away from Carter's arrival.  I was really worried about going early for a lot of reasons, and the discomfort was really starting to get to me.  We had gotten some major projects around the house taken care of, but the baby's room still needed a lot of work.  My co-workers threw me a small, surprise shower which gave me a big gift card that got used up pretty quickly when I went to replenish our stock of baby stuff!  I was worrying about life with two kids, and even wrote a letter to an as-yet-unnamed Carter about being baby boy #2 in our home.  I told him about his brother, about how I'd wanted a girl, how this pregnancy (and all the waiting leading up to it) had been, and encouraged him to stay in there as long as possible.  At least he listened for a little bit!

It's hard to believe how much history we've got behind us in this parenting gig, considering this was just a week out of each year and there were a lot of significant things happening almost every year.  As much as I'd like to think things were so much simpler then, I know that each period had stresses of its own (though, of course, nothing quite as serious and concrete as we're dealing with now, with major behavioral concerns and serious, permanent diet changes).  It's quite the history I'm writing, though, isn't it?

This Week in Blog History (plus a bonus video!)

Since I can't seem to formulate any other thoughts to expound on, I'll take the opportunity to start what I hope will be a periodic series here...this week in blog history!  I now have over four years to recount, so let's see where we've been:

2008 - I had just had my car accident, which totaled my first car.  It happened the week of my first baby shower, so it made for a tricky week.  Craig had to drive me to a doctor's appointment and got to hear the baby's heartbeat and feel around my belly, which was certainly more than he bargained for.  I pondered if getting a haircut would make it feel like a mom 'do, or if getting a new car would leave my old car as a symbol of my pre-baby life.  I looked forward to my shower, and ended up with some amazing gifts and a lovely time with my family.

2009 - We were dealing with some random sleep problems for Jacob, which looking back on it was probably just another round of teething.  Sleep was rare and we were exhausted!  He had also been diagnosed with eczema, which turned out to be pretty much a non-event, thank goodness.  After a conversation with a father-to-be friend of mine, I looked back on my labor experience and wondered how I might do it differently next time.  I still wonder about that, for that matter!  I recounted a very busy weekend that included Jacob's second-ever baseball game, a trip to the zoo, and outdoor dinner by the lake.  I discussed God's wisdom in preventing human babies from getting mobile as quickly as animal babies, which is funny to look back on in light of a picture my cousin posted on Facebook yesterday of a new foal that was born on her family's farm.  Amazing how it was up and walking, but thank goodness human babies have to wait until they start controlling their bodies and understanding the word "no" just a little better.  Finally, I took one of my favorite accidental pictures--a picture of a tulip in our yard with Jacob's and my shadow silhouetted on the house's foundation behind it.  Love it to this day.

2010 - We were still settling in from our move nearly a month earlier, but managed to get the house in decent shape before welcoming some guests--my parents friends, their daughter, and her son Colin, who's just a couple months younger than Jacob.  It was fun watching the boys finally run around together and talk just a little bit!  We'd just purchased our potty, which means we have had that thing sitting in our bathroom for two years now.  I'm ready to hide it and make Jacob start using the big potty, just because I know he can.  I discussed how Jacob really is just a small person, in how some of the behaviors I don't understand at first are actually no different than how I handle things as an adult...from sleeping to not wanting to eat certain foods, we all have our moments.  We had another hectic weekend, where we went to Jacob's little friend Angelica's birthday party (she turned 4 last week!), and had a great time at the zoo with Lori.  I still look back fondly on that day!

2011 - This week last year was Easter week.  I dealt with the difficulty of talking to Jacob about death in the context of Good Friday, and had a blast with him in pleasant weather on Holy Saturday, despite the fact that my mom had to spend the whole day at the hospital with my grandma, who was really starting to go downhill.  We had a nice Easter, though.  That week we took Jacob to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time.  The boys have been back since, but I've managed to avoid it!  It definitely wasn't my favorite place to spend an evening, but I'm sure we'll have to do it again soon.  Jacob's been asking.  A year ago I also attempted to get treatment for my lack of smell, which ended up not working.  I haven't given up hope, but it's been another year without two very important senses.  I also blogged about one funny experience when Jacob and I had to dash through the rain to our car, and while I was freaking out, he was laughing.  And I needed that!  That was just one of the little elements of Jacob's personality that was just starting to emerge.  We've seen a LOT of personality come out in the last year, that's for sure!

It's amazing to look back on how far we've come in four years. 

Speaking of that...check out this video from Easter weekend this year, when Jacob was giving his golf clubs their first workout of the season.  Kid's got some talent...or maybe I'm just used to my lack thereof...

Happy Birthday to Me!

Before I get into this post, I need to share for posterity the cutest thing going right now, before the phase ends and fades into our memories: Carter has "kids".  At first it was just Patrick the Hedgehog (from Christmas) and Colin the Bear (Jacob's gift to him when he was born).  But then a blue and white dog that was a hand-me-down from Jacob and a red dinosaur that I think was originally Craig's made it into the mix.  He puts them to bed each night, making sure they're covered and have a pillow.  It's so stinking cute.  Hopefully that means he's in training to be a great dad!  I just happened to catch them in my bed, where he tucked them in to watch TV on Saturday morning, and figured that cuteness needed to be shared.

Anyway, after freaking out about our weekend plans on Friday evening, I finally hatched a plan and we enjoyed some Friendly's Wattamelon Roll that Jacob insisted we get to celebrate my birthday early.  I woke up Saturday determined to have a good day.  We had a lazy-ish morning (well, if a run and some packing counts as lazy) and then went to lunch at Red Robin to get my birthday burger...finally.  Everything took longer than planned--getting packed, out the door, and having lunch--but luckily we weren't really tight on time and I was able to stay pretty chill about it.  We had a very nice lunch--so nice that the people next to us (probably in their 50s or 60s) complimented us on our well-behaved children!  Haha!  Admittedly, Jacob was pretty good that day and they probably didn't see Carter on a phone until after they spoke!  But we were having a particularly good family conversation, so I guess we looked good!  After lunch it was on to Minnehan's down near Geneseo to enjoy some mini golf on a beautiful day.

I did terrible, which I pretty much always do there since it's a really hard course and something about it makes my short game mysteriously awful.  Maybe how the cups are set into the green?  Carter even beat me--though of course we give him a few assists here and there--but Jacob killed us all.  He won by eight strokes!  It was also his day in the arcade, as he beat the basketball game high score twice!  First he hit 68, and then he got 73!

After golf, it was on to the main event--probably one I could only get family approval of on my birthday!  We headed to the New York Festival of Balloons in Dansville, which is about an hour from home but less than a half hour from Minnehan's.  I had never been before and really wanted to go last year, but with a family wedding on my birthday weekend, it didn't work out.  I almost forgot about it this year, but then a friend of mine went on Friday night.  It took a while for it to pop back into my head after our other plans fell apart, but then it all fell right into place once that became the centerpiece of the trip.  Even better, our route to Buffalo that night would go right through Geneseo, and was the same route I took home from school.  I'm always up for a little college nostalgia!

The balloon festival was fun!  In addition to the balloons, there were a bunch of food and craft vendors, so there was a lot to see while we were there.  The balloons were just starting to fill when we arrived, and we walked around a bit before launch.  At one point we found ourselves near the Nunda Mustard booth (selling all different mustards), and I did a double take because I know my boss moonlights as a booth attendant for them at events.  Sure enough, there she was!  However, it became apparent pretty quickly that she was having a tough time.  She'd been spending a lot of time lately helping her sister's companion (who Craig and I knew because he played for the Amerks decades ago and was a big part of their alumni association), as he'd been ill, and he had passed away that morning.  So she was clearly having a tough time, and was happy to see me and get some hug therapy.  She offered up awesome suckers to the boys while we chatted, and then eventually we had to let her go so we didn't miss all of the balloons.  I felt terrible for her to have to be there in the midst of all of that.

The balloons were so beautiful.  They took off one at a time over about a half hour span or so.  They were so colorful!

What started as just a few in the field suddenly turned into a colorful batch of bubbles popping up all over.

With the sky so clear and blue in places, they almost looked fake!

I loved how they just filled up and took off with barely a sound, aside from the cheering crowd, and just magically floated up in the air.  It was almost like when a bubble catches the wind and floats upward.  So serene and beautiful.

I loved the variety of colors and patterns.

This pig cracked me up and was the only oddly shaped one that actually flew.

It was so neat to see them all dotting the sky.  It almost looked like it should have been a mobile in a baby's nursery or something.  They seem to defy gravity when you don't see anything propelling them upward.

A couple vendors were selling fabric ones that hang and spin around on your porch, and seeing the real ones flying almost made me want to buy a bunch and recreate this view.

The sun behind them was so bright that I was surprised my pictures even turned out.  I liked the way it lit this one from behind.

After the launch, we grabbed the kids some snacks--lemonade and kettle corn for Jacob, and a hot dog and cotton candy for Carter.  Craig and I opted to grab a sub in Geneseo on our way through there later.  I grabbed a selfie with Jacob in line for kettle corn...

Photo credit to Craig on this one - he made the cotton candy look huge!

While we were getting food and looking at vendors, I saw some character balloons get inflated.  I could only get a sun glare picture of this one, as it was already starting to deflate by the time we walked back over to that side of the site.

I spotted this contraption flying high through the sky after all the balloons had passed.  Not sure you could convince me to do that!

Hard to see in this picture, but there is a plane towing a glider near the top of the glowing clouds.

There were more character balloons, too.  I missed the one that looked a little like Woody from Toy Story, but caught these...

The boys each wanted to do an inflatable--Carter picked an obstacle course and Jacob picked a basketball themed one, of course.  I guess they didn't take Carter's ticket on his, so he got to do a bonus slide.  I grabbed my selfie with him while we waited there.  And yes, it was getting cool out...darn you, ending summer.

This was Jacob's choice.  You can see him shooting...

This balloon was a tethered one.  It went up in the air a bit, then came back down.  A little higher and it might have been tempting!

I would love to ride in a balloon some day, but much like bungee jumping or skydiving, I'd really like a guarantee I won't die.  So many obstacles and not a lot of steering capability.  That makes me nervous!

We eventually got on the road to Geneseo, and I very much enjoyed my Aunt Cookie's sub.  They are just so good.  Turkey, mayo, lettuce, and banana peppers - simple yet perfect!  The ironic thing is that I ate too many subs in the dining hall at college (out of necessity since a lot of the other food was gross) so I almost never ate at Aunt Cookie's when I was a student.  But I feel I've made up for it since!

Geneseo truly is my happy place.  Had to say hi to Emmeline the Bear (on top of the fountain) as we passed by on the way back to the van...

I drove around campus a bit and pointed out a couple of my dorm rooms and some other landmarks.  I really do love it there.  Ironically, when we got to my in-laws the next night to celebrate Craig's dad's birthday, our niece was talking about Geneseo because her best friend just started there and she's considering going there.  She was even supposed to go with a friend on Saturday night to visit her best friend, who's a freshman, but that fell through.  She ended up getting a call while we were there to reschedule the trip for that night.  Hopefully she enjoyed her trip!  I would love to see her go there because it's a great school and just the right size for her.

I enjoyed taking my old route home through all the little towns en route to the Thruway in Batavia.  So many memories and mixed emotions of trips on that route--excitement to see my friends, dread of going back for another semester of classes or getting back in town for a Sunday night of questionable dinner and catching up on the studying I didn't do at home.  Still, I love it there.

On Sunday morning we got to go to the baptism of this sweet little nugget, Lucy.  

As usual it was a little odd being back at our old church, which is now just a shadow of its former self.  Just a small group of the remaining members, but nice to see familiar faces nonetheless.  I was disappointed that the hallway down to the gym was locked, as Jacob really wanted to see it.  The playground was looking a bit rough, too, but there aren't many kids (and no school) to use it anymore.  It always breaks my heart at how it has all gone downhill from the thriving, active church it once was.  Anyway, Lucy was an angel, and we had a very nice time at the party in the early afternoon.  I always love getting time with family.

After that we went to Craig's parents, which was surprisingly low key since his brother's crew (minus our niece) was at our sister-in-law's parents' place for the weekend.  We were also surprised to find a new little buddy there.  Say hi to Hank...

He was a rescue of sorts, and the absolute sweetest little guy.  Look at that tongue!  He seems to fit in perfectly with their other two dogs, and just made me smirk with his crooked teeth and expressive ears.

We had a lovely little mini-celebration there...

They sang to me, and then we sang to Craig's dad, and then we had a bonus visit from Craig's aunt and uncle.  Soon enough it was time to come home, but it was a very rainy drive.  We had a rather quiet day on Monday, our last day of freedom before Jacob's orientation days started.  We all started very slow in the morning, and then I finally worked out, did some laundry, washed Carter's backpack, blogged, and once again helped Jacob through editing his summer reading write-up.  I finally had to pass him off to Craig because I felt like Jacob was tuning me out after hearing the same thing over and over again.  I think he's pretty much done now, and thank goodness because it has been a bear.  They better teach him some critical thinking skills this year because I need this to be easier next year!

This morning began a new era in our house, but I'll save all that for one all-encompassing first day of school post, so you'll have to wait a couple days!