*Puff*

I knew it was too quiet upstairs...

What?

Big Boy stuff

It seems like just five months ago, we transitioned Nate to his toddler bed.  Oh wait.  Yes, it was just 5 months ago.  Well now he's in a BIG, big boy bed. 

How awesome is the convertible crib?  LOVE the headboard

Nate loves it.  He had been wanting to take naps in either the guest bed or our bed so we thought maybe he's just ready for the big time.  I love it because now I can get really comfy when we read books.  I was giddy to shop for bedding too.  I love his new quilt and the cute polka dot sheets match and were a bargain at Target.

Also, way back when I said we were working on potty training.  Well, when I said working on potty training, I meant just doing what we've been doing for months.  Nate's a nudey butt a lot of the time when we are home.  He pees in the potty 100% of the time when he's naked.  Poop is another story.  He has sat on the potty a few times to poop and mostly it's false alarms.  I think he likes the idea of sitting on the potty and reading books.  He has gotten a wee nugget out twice so that's good.  But other times, he'll start freaking out whilst nudey and saying "Poop! Diaper, Mama!!".  I've tried to put him on the potty in those instances, but he gets wigged out and I just put a dipe on him and then clean him up 2 minutes later.

We did try big boy unders the other day.  He was excited to have a choice of characters.  He picked Lightening McQueen.  It lasted about 20 minutes until he was calling for me saying "Pee pee come out, Mama!"  When I took a look, he had only tinkled a bit, but he turned around and it looked like he had a tail.  So he peed and pooped in his unders despite our reminders to tell us if he had to go potty.  Oh well!  It was cute while it lasted.  He really hammed it up!

Wonderful Weekend

Yesterday we had gorgeous weather so we hit the Taste of Suffolk for a couple of hours.  We had some really good eats - a jerk pork sandwich, chicken curry (even Nate liked it), a hot dog for Nate, and ice cream.  Now that's my kind of lunch!  We ran into our friends and the boys were so excited to see each other.  We ate ice cream together then checked out the animals at the petting zoo.

Nate took off his hat and wanted to take off his shirt so he could GET IN the fountain!

Today was a rainy, stay in bed kinda day.  We did get up long enough to eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Then we headed back to bed around 11 to watch (what other than??) Toy Story 2 in bed complete with popcorn.  I "rested my eyes" while the boys watched the movie.  Once it was over, Nate rolled over, closed his eyes, and took a great nap.  Nate enjoyed his first (and second) pig in a blanket for dinner while Mike and I ate grilled cheese and tomato soup.  Did I mention I love this weather?  After dinner, we went to the store to add a new member to the family.

Meet Pookie:

HOME!

Dad's home from the hospital!  Happy dance!!

Happenings

It's been a bajillion days since my last post.  The past 6-8 weeks have been so long.  I've thought about what to write a hundred times, but I couldn't decide what to say.

My Dad had what we thought was routine gall bladder surgery back in July.  He recovered quickly and felt great.  Then he got pathology results a week later that showed malignant cells in his bile ducts.  It was a crushing, frightening, life-changing moment when he called.  You don't want it to be true.  There are so many questions, yet no answers.  I know people get cancer all the time, but not MY people.  It sucks.  And that's truly the most eloquent I can get about it.

He was referred to a surgeon and then on August 13th, he had surgery.  We didn't know what the doctors would find.  We didn't know what the surgery would entail.  In the end, they resected half of his liver.  Even with that, there were some malignant cells along the margins so there will be chemotherapy in his future.  He is still in the hospital.  It's been an up and down/ forward and back journey.  When there is progress, there are also setbacks.  So much has happened and so many emotions are involved.  I want to write about it, even if it's just for myself, but I don't think I can yet. 

We hope he goes home this weekend but I'm afraid to even say that aloud - I don't want to jinx anything.

I love you, Daddy.  Now get your ass home soon and I mean it!