...

no pics today. z's eye is still pretty swollen, but a bit better. he didn't have such a good night again - making noise every 2 hours or so, and j was up with him for awhile at 4am (after catching a raccoon in the trap, too!). z slept until about 9am. we had to cancel speech therapy, but actually the therapist was sick too, so we wouldn't have had it anyway. his fever was much much better today, but i continued the motrin about every 4 hours. we found out yesterday that since he weighs 32 lbs, he needs more motrin & tylenol than we were giving him. grandma stopped by early after her language program, and let me have a nap. even with the nap, i barely made it through my teaching day (2:30-8). i'm really tired, but it's my night to get up with z. since he actually had a nap today, and was more animated than normal, i'm hoping he'll sleep more through the night. j & grandma took z to his doctor's appointment today, and he got 2 more shots in his leg. we don't need to go tomorrow for a third round, but instead will start a course of oral antibiotics. what a week/end...

congrats to e & v on their pregnancy! z will have a new boy cousin in april!

more scary drama

so, after we returned home from the e.r. yesterday, i noticed z's right eye looked a little puffy & smaller than his left eye. he continued to be fussy & feverish on & off throughout the rest of yesterday, and through the night. i ended up camping out on the floor of his room last night, because it was easier for me to fall back asleep (sort of) after getting up to give him water, tylenol, etc. my mom came over this morning to let me sleep a little before a doctor's appointment (for me). z's eye looked a lot worse, so i called his pediatrician to see if we should come in. they said yes, & scheduled an appointment for 4:10pm, which meant i had to cancel some teaching. he was so uncomfortable & fussy by the appointment time. i'm so glad i took him in, because he had periorbital (?) cellulitis. it required serious attention, and could have ended up much much worse if we hadn't brought him in. they gave him 2 shots (1 in each leg, so it would be less volume) of antibiotics. we had to wait 20 min to make sure he didn't have a serious reaction to them. i barely got home in time to teach my 5:30 students - super stressful. if he has another bad night tonight & bad morning tomorrow, we have to take him in for another shot of antibiotics. if he's much better & looking rosy, we have to start a round of oral antibiotics. he also has a wicked ear infection in the right ear. the dr said both are probably caused by the same bacteria. poor poor z. i could tell he was really uncomfortable & in severe pain. the dr & nurses said this condition is painful. if only he were better at talking & could've told me earlier. :( sad mommy. sigh. he fell asleep early for j this evening, after eating a decent amount, so i hope we both have an easier evening...

looong weekend.

mommy and daddy have had a bit of a long weekend. it began on friday morning, when z cried & cried before going to school. he continued to be clingy & weepy at school, so we left after 30 min. we went to a play ground at the rec center, but z wasn't interested in it, so we went home to see daddy before his phone meeting started. z fell asleep early before his nap, and woke up early with a fever, so the morning made more sense. i thought it might have been due to his flu shot on thursday, but the fever continued through the night (long night for mommy), so it was something separate. we've spent most of the weekend watching videos - lots of monsters, inc, bob the builder, etc.

this morning, when i took over from j, z's breath smelled overwhelmingly of nail polish remover (acetone). i was really scared, because i know this can be a sign of high blood sugar in diabetics. i've never smelled this before on z's breath, so after a couple of hours hashing it through in my mind, i called the pediatrician's after hours line & spoke with a nurse. she advised going to the emergency room immediately to get it checked out. we did take the time to get showered & dressed decently, but went to the e.r. at st. vincent's. they took us to the pediatric area right away, which was very kind of them. very little waiting to be seen. they did a toe prick, and his blood sugar was 145. they attached some sort of plastic baggie to catch urine, and then waited for a pediatric nurse to come take a real blood draw. with the help of two other nurses, with z's upper body wrapped up in a blanket, the super nurse made a successful draw the first time from his right ankle. quite the opposite of the Evil Lead Testing Draws of July 2009. i made it very clear before they started that my precious child is chubby, and has very small veins, and i would not tolerate lots of sticking. we did have to wait awhile for the results of the urine & 2nd blood test, and those came back more favorably. so, for the moment, the breath smell was most likely due to his not eating much throughout this feverish weekend. they do want me to follow up with his pediatrician, either with a glucose tolerance test, or some sort of blood test that can show the past month's history of blood sugars. for now, i'm incredibly relieved. i know how difficult the life of a juvenile diabetic can be (and often how short). i hope my son doesn't have to go through that.

so, long morning. mommy spent the afternoon judging a competition, and daddy went climbing in the evening. time for bed now!!!! (let's hope it's an uneventful night.)

and now, for some cute pics...

fun in the e.r. i can climb on this thing.

i can push it around.

isn't my outfit cute? (those gowns were super soft, by the way. kids have it so good!)

darn it, mommy, stop taking pictures of me from behind!

how is this thing put together, anyway? can i take it apart?

playtime.

z & i went to the washington park play ground on tuesday morning & had lots of fun. z is getting more adventurous, and mommy is getting more tolerant of z's playing in the sand...

friend from cim visits!

you can't see him too well, but my friend m was in town playing with the scottish band belle & sebastian, so i picked him up from the heathman hotel downtown & brought him home for dinner. here he is with vinny & persia. thanks for the visit!

hike

beginning of the triple falls hike. happy toddler, happy daddy!

in front of ? falls

pretty view of the gorge, with beacon rock off in the distance (where j loves to climb)

hike

daddy & happy passenger!

? falls

daddy, z, & uncle c

the trio, eating lunch above triple falls.

hike

triple falls, although not so clear due to stupid people eating at the perfect photo area.

wheee!!!!

too-too (choo-choo)!!!

pumpkin patch 2010

z is all ready for the pumpkin patch!!!

on the train, with the grandparents close by...

we hit the pumpkin patch at exactly the busiest time. daddy bought some kettle corn, which z loved!

pumpkin patch 2010

z meets a mule.

daddy makes a friend.

fun climbing on the haystack pyramid. z had fun walking inside with daddy.

thanks for coming with us, abuela & abuelo!

harvest festival

z's new preschool holds a fundraiser each year - a harvest festival.

z had fun with the "boo" basketball.

here he's enjoying making big bubbles with extra large bubble wands.

thanks for the cute outfit, uncle j & aunt m!

zonked out from the festival, complete with a necklace he made. we all especially enjoyed the bells. after the harvest festival, we drove to canby to visit a pumpkin patch with the grandparents.

zoo

we went to the zoo a couple tuesdays ago. there's always quite a wait to play on this old tractor. it's popular with the tykes.

my cutie!

z was fascinated with the zoo lights. he kept wanting to touch them. he didn't quite understand what they were (because they weren't lighted).

z's 2nd b'day

z in the morning. he just loves elmo these days!

we headed to meriwether's for brunch to celebrate being parents for 2 years. we enjoyed watching all the poor marathon runners running by the restaurant in the pouring rain. when we went in, the temperature was rather mild, but it had gotten a lot colder when we left. so glad i wasn't running!

z & mommy at breakfast.

daddy and his yucky looking belgian waffle with fried chicken & bacon.

z is happy with his toast & fruit.

a close up of daddy's yucky looking food. he loved it, and finished every bite!

z's 2nd b'day

z & auntie m

z & uncle j, & daddy & abuelo

mommy had to teach a lot over the birthday weekend. group class 7-9pm friday night, cooking & 3 hours teaching saturday & errand running, and group class 3-4 on sun, with party starting at 4. cake was decorated all mid-morning & early afternoon long, and daddy had to cook all the hors d'oeuvres & get things set up while mommy taught. daddy did a great job! long long day for all. z was tantrum-y by the end of the night. he was still so tired the next day that he fell asleep on daddy long before his bedtime, so for the first time in a long time, he went to bed without a bath.

z's 2nd b'day

z & his new bike (that he has no interest in riding at the moment)

spider web cake - daddy drew the spider web

z & mommy

blowing out candles, with big sister nearby...

z's 2nd b'day

spider cake. took a really really long time to make. would be faster the 2nd time, but will there be a 2nd time? most likely not. buttercream icing, guinness chocolate cake.

z and a lady friend, playing with the elmo toy.

devilish grin...

z and his "big sister" - fun with a magnifying glass!

violin lessons

hmm... is this the right way?

i'm trying it a different way. this thing isn't making any noise. doesn't sound like mommy's...

cupcakes

we went to get cupcakes today from cupcake jones in the pearl district, because they're donating 5% of their profits today to the metropolitan youth orchestra. many of my students participate in that organization, so i wanted to support it. z went with me to the cupcake shop, & didn't seem too excited at the time. however, in the car on the way home, he was really grumpy. when we got home, i realized why - he had been saying "cupcake," and i didn't even know it! he wanted to eat his cupcake! even though it will ruin his lunch, i let him start eating his. he only made it halfway through before saying "all done." mommy was craving doughnuts on sunday, and happily z didn't like them, so i'm not too worried about him getting hooked on junk food.

the 3 remaining cupcakes.

z attacking the bottom of the cupcake.

little pirate

here's a pic of z trying on his costume. it barely fits. i think he makes a pretty fierce, but adorable, pirate.