No More Unpacking Please...

Well, it's actually labor day weekend. I can't believe how quickly the summer has gone by, but at the same time, I can't believe how fast it feels like home in our new house. We have boxes all over the basement, but most of the upstairs is pretty box free, so that makes us feel happy. But this weekend has been about NOT unpacking. It's our last day off until Thanksgiving, and with Daddy beginning his new job, we know it might be our last chance to have some time to relax and have fun.

We had a busy week unpacking and getting settled. Daddy had his first business trip for the new job Tuesday & Wednesday. Grandpa John & Grandma Bev stopped by for a visit to see the new place on Wednesday night. They, like everyone, seemed to love it. They also got to experience Owen in his element. Owen is always the most personable and energetic in his home. We played the fishing game, whack a mole, and cars, and so many games. It was great to let them see what a fun loving, smart little boy he's become.

Thursday and Friday were pretty uneventful. Since it was a rainy, cool day on Thursday, we skipped the pool and, got together with Ms. Robyn, Sofia and their friend Natalie at the bounce place in Cockeysville. Afterwards we got some lunch and had a great time. It's never easy juggling hungry toddlers and waiting for lunch to be served. But it was actually a successful outing. Maybe we're finally getting to that stage when you can reason with your toddler, explain what's going to happen and they actually understand... well, maybe we'll be there in a few months, but I can defiantly see it's coming!

Today we just relaxed, ran errands and played, and also got some projects accomplished! So exciting! Hopefully the rest of the weekend will go smoothly and we'll continue to be productive while having fun.

The Big Move

Well, it has been one big long crazy week. Since my last blog, Owen turned 20 months, got 4 new teeth, and became an adorable chatter box. We also became home owners again, the movers delivered all our stuff, we packed up and moved out of the crummy old apartment, we began the unpacking process... and so many other little things, it's hard to mention it all.

So I feel like I've missed so much, I don't know where to catch up, except to say that we're all so very happy and getting settled into the new house. Owen really is having a verbal explosion, repeating and learning so many new words. I think he's speaking at least one new word per day, which is pretty exciting, considering a week ago he only spoke about 25 - 30 words, I think he's almost doubled that. His imagination and pretend play is also getting into full swing. He's really developing a love of airplanes and helicopters, in addition to his already fascination with trucks, cars and trains. It's amazing how fast he's changing and developing. He also sings several songs, and knows about 1/2 of the ABC song (singing some letters and humming others). It amazes me what a sponge he is and it's all clicking.

The new house is also taking shape, we're almost box free on the first floor (which is sort of deceiving, because some boxes I just tossed into the basement because I wasn't ready to unpack them all yet (not ready to hang pictures, etc)... The second floor is also close, I need to work on my closet (which I'm supposed to be doing now, but am procrastinating) and also getting some of the collectables of Owen's displayed in his room. We also need to hang our curtains, but it's definitely livable and with many boxes in the basement, the main house is very homey. We love it here.

Owen has really come out of his shell. As if he finally understands that we didn't (as Pop says) fall on rough economic times, and we really had our eyes on something better than that crummy apartment. Speaking of the apartment. We packed up and moved out on Friday. We are still waiting to turn in the keys until later this week once we confirm the post office has our address change. But it was with great pleasure that we walked away from there. Even though I can't stop singing - Bare Naked Ladies - the Old Apartment song. It's been stuck in my head for a week now, with no plans of leaving. Oh well, there could be worse songs to play over and over in one's mind. Like the bear went over the mountain…

No matter what, it’s been a long but productive move. Owen has really been a trooper. Grandma and Owen spent the first few days of the move in the apartment. The Wednesday evening we finally brought them up and spent our first night in the new house. Owen was so excited to see his play room and all the toys that had been in storage. It was like he was in a toy store! He just couldn’t contain himself, was so excited just jumping from one thing to another. Then finally settled into pushing his vacuum across the entire floor. He was a little apprehensive going to bed that first night in his new room, but it didn’t take more than 5 minutes for him to fall asleep, and then the next day nap and bedtime went much smoother.

Owen and Grandma played at the house all day Thursday and Friday, while Mommy & Daddy unpacked and started getting settled. Saturday morning, Grandma had to go home, so Owen joined in on the unpacking process. He loved his little “supervisor” station that was set up in the garage. He just climbed in there and conducted his business while watching the whole process. By Sunday, we were feeling pretty good and took a little break from all the unpacking. We were so tired, sore and overall spent from the entire week. We all took a nap in the afternoon, but it actually helped us get ready for the work week. We did finally have a cookout, it is so nice being able to cook and eat at home and not feel we need to run out the second Owen wakes up. (Boy, I am not going to miss apartment life).

Monday was back to the workweek. Daddy began his new job, in his new office at the house. It’s so nice having a dedicated room for all the stuff, and it not being upstairs right next to Owen’s room. Plus it’s much larger and we have more space for the desk and all the equipment. Owen went back to school, and was a little nervous starting back, but he had a good day. It was the first day back to school, the summer had been camp – lots of extra activities and art projects, but the curriculum began back up Monday and we’re excited about what he will be learning this year. Just this month, they are working on manners, 3 letters, and colors.

After school/work, Mommy went back to work unpacking the living room and dining room. Then we had a nice dinner, cooked fajita’s in our kitchen. Owen loved it, for some reason, he loves bell peppers, especially in the Mexican sauce. He ate almost all the peppers out of the meal!

And with all the craziness, we capped off the week with a play date tonight. With Daddy in New Jersey for a business meeting, and the electrician still here hanging lights/fans, Robyn and Sofia decided they wouldn’t mind coming over to play here and have dinner with us. They hadn’t seen the new house and seemed to really like it. We all had a nice dinner, and then went back to playing. Granny and Pop also stopped by to see how the house was coming along. So it ended up being a really nice evening!

And probably the longest week ever… well to be honest, that 1 week past my due date might top this one, but it’s a very close race… But we all love our new house, and especially love seeing Owen so happy and content with all his space.

Weekend of Fun

This is the last weekend we will be staying in the apartment. Tomorrow we finally become home owners again, after a very long 2 months in the apartment. So, this weekend consisted of a shopping spree for things for the new house, and also lots of fun for Owen. We know this next week is going to be strange for him, because he's hardly going to see Mommy & Daddy, and will be spending most of his time with Grandma. Saturday morning we went up to the house, ran some errands and had breakfast out. Then Maggie (or Megli as Owen calls her) babysat so we could do some shopping.

Then Saturday evening we had dinner with the Alvarezes and then blew up our bouncy house in their back yard, and the neighborhood kids were also so excited to join in on the fun. It was so great to see so many different age groups having fun together! It was so nice to get the bouncy house out, we haven't used that since June, and had such good intentions of using it all summer, at it never happened... Owen had a blast in the beginning, then got a little shy as the neighborhood kids came in, then took off again finishing out the evening strong.

Sunday morning we went up to the house to check in on the painters, then headed up to the country club for some swimming. We had a great time. It was so nice to have Daddy with us, so that we could have a bit more relaxing time. When we first got there, we were the first to arrive, so we had the whole place to ourselves. Daddy had Owen cracking up in the big pool, it was cute to watch them play together. Overall, Owen had a blast, it was great to get up to the club because I know given our crazy week ahead we won't have a chance to get up there until maybe next weekend. He loved playing with the hose they had put in the baby pool, he was Owen the fireman, just having a blast.

After Owen's nap, we headed over to the bay house to have dinner. Since the bouncy house was in the car still, we decided to set it up in the yard. Owen again had a lot of fun, although I think he missed all the kids, so Mommy climbed in and played with him. Dinner was a little later for Owen than normal, so as expected it got off to a tough start, but he came around and finished his entire meal.

So tomorrow begins our return to normal. We settle on the new house, the painter will finish up painting, and we'll begin moving things into the new house. The official "move" date is Wednesday, and hopefully Wednesday (but probably Thursday) will be our first night in the new house. Grandma is coming down tomorrow afternoon to give us a hand watching Owen so we can focus on getting the house in order and unpacked. It's going to be a crazy week, but very exciting, we can't wait to be living there.

Good News

After several days of waiting we finally got the good news that Owen's test results were perfectly normal. We'll just keep monitoring, but we're very happy to have good results.

In other fun news, we had a great day. Maggie babysat Owen this morning so Mommy & Daddy could attend the walk through at the new house. The walk through went well, and we are so excited to move next week. Then this evening after Owen's nap, we ventured to Lowes to buy all the lights and ceiling fans for the new house. Owen was so good, he LOVES the ceiling fan section at Lowes, so he was quite content. After that, we headed to Denny's for dinner. What a welcome change Owen was at the restaurant. He was so well behaved, was very patient, and just so good. Then dinner came (pancakes) and he gobbled it up. It was such a different dining experience than we've had recently, and yes, it was only Denny's, but it was a great evening.

Owen has also started picking up loads of words. He's a little parrot, repeating so many words that we say, and language really seems like it's clicking for him. He can sing several songs and is just starting to put together some phrases, like - "i did it", "all done", "let's go". It's so great to see the communication building, and I know that will also mean a little less frustration with understanding each other. He's also really started answering questions, granted 99.9% of the time he answers NO, but he occasionally a yes slips out...

One more weekend in this apartment... then hopefully life will start to get back to normal.

A Very Long Day

It's been quite a long day, which began before 5am for all of us. Yesterday afternoon we got a call from the tech who was to do the test for Owen. He needed to reschedule his appointment for Wednesday due to a personal conflict. So we were able to actually move up the appointment for today at 6am. Since we would need to keep Owen awake later than normal we went to the Ultimate Playzone on Monday night to wear him out, and get us all out of the apartment. Owen was a trooper. He had an absolute blast at the play zone bouncing and running around. He had so much fun, it's been a few months since we've been there, so it was a welcome sight to see how excited an into it he was. The last time he went he was interested, but a little too young. This time, he was very excited and loved it. I can hardly wait to go back next week...

So that ended up being a life saver to keep us out of the apartment and not thinking about bedtime. We didn't even eat dinner until after 8pm. Then Owen took a nice long bath, and really was a trooper finally nearly begging to go to bed around 9:30. When I woke him at 5am, he looked at me like I was nuts, and we just headed out. We took him to the test in his pj's thinking he'd at least be comfortable.

It was a rough start to the morning, but Owen was actually very good, despite the circumstances we put him through this morning... He fought hard, but the tech did seem to feel that we got enough data. We did finally get him to watch the DVD player we brought. The whole process took about 1 1/2 hrs. He did not go to sleep as they had hoped, but we did get several minutes (about 20 or so) where he wasn't crying.

We got home about 8am and Owen was so funny, grabbing his toys, and just ear to ear smiles. It was as if he knew it was over, and was happy to be home. He had quite a nice hair do, but as crazy as it looks, it actually looked so cute. We took a ride to Bel Air and visited Great Great Uncle Albert who is living in an assisted living facility, and he seemed very happy for the visit. Owen even let one of the nurses use her stethoscope to listen to his heart and she put the ear pieces in his ears. Even though she had a white coat on, Owen let her do that. I was shocked given his morning. Then we went to Stacie Lyn Goetz park, and played for a little while. By this point though, it was after 11am, and Owen was exhausted. We didn't play very long before heading home, having some lunch and taking a nap.

This evening, Owen was my date... We went to Serpico for pizza, then a little shopping at Target, and then we capped off the evening watching the airplanes at Martin State Airport. During dinner, while waiting for the pizza to arrive, I gave Owen some stickers to put on the paper (a new fun "time occupying" game we play in restaurants). At first, he was putting them on the paper, but then he took them off and stuck them on his forehead and in his hair. Guess he thought the stickers looked better than the tape and electrodes from earlier in the day.

After dinner we quickly drove by the house to check in to see how it's looking. It looks so nice, and we're ready to settle. Our walk through is on Thursday, we settle on Monday, and the movers come next Wednesday. I can hardly wait to get into the house, get organized and start getting our life back to normal. How nice it will be to have a stove and oven (2 actually) that work. Our grill. A fridge large enough for a pizza box. You know it's the little things in life you miss. Not to mention SPACE!

When we got to Martin State Airport, Owen was beside himself watching the planes land (we only saw 3 or 4) but then the Channel 11 News helicopter (probably the traffic copter) landed. Owen couldn't contain himself - shouting 'ICOPTA' 'ICOPTA' over and over again. It wasn't far from where we were standing, so he could watch the helicopter power down, and he was just so excited. He carried his plane around the whole time flying it in the air and landing it on the ground. It was so cute, and almost made me forget how long a day it had been and how difficult it started out.

It's always something...

Well to cap off our bizarre and difficult week, we finally figured out why Owen had that fever on Tuesday... Shortly after Daddy dropped Owen off at school, Mommy was sitting at the settlement table in Lutherville, and her cell phone rang... Goddard School... GULP... my stomach turned, and I feared that something had happened. The director of the school called and said Owen had Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Now, let me just say, most parents would freak out and be super concerned about this, but given the week we've had, I was almost relieved... Ah, I can handle that...

Since I was in a settlement, Daddy had to go pick up Owen and brought him home. Owen and I went to the mall and had a smoothie for lunch, figuring that would be nice and cold and not hurt his mouth or throat. Then I took him to the pediatrician at 1:30. Sure enough it was hand foot mouth... which is basically little bumps and blisters on the hands and ulcers in his mouth. It explains why he didn't want to eat dinner and hasn't had much of an appetite. There's really no treatment, it just needs to run it's course, and he'll probably be able to go to school Monday, but definitely by Wednesday, depends on when he stops developing these bumps...

Boy it's always something.

Yesterday, Owen did have one episode of the eye rolling, but we're starting to feel like maybe it's a nervous habit, that helps him "avoid" an uncomfortable situation. He seems to do it when he's trying to be "shy". It's all very strange, and we're still trying to pinpoint the triggers, but maybe we just need to get out more and expose him to more situations with strangers.

Tonight we took to the Avenue in White Marsh, and there was a band playing, and we tossed pennies in the fountain and had ice cream for dinner... The poor little guy has been through so much this week, this just doesn't seem fair to him to be in pain, especially because he wants to eat but he can't swallow because it hurts. Hopefully he'll start feeling better tomorrow, and will have fun as we venture up to Hershey to see Grandma...

To be continued...

Well, as we anticipated, there is no end to the "worry" story today. We did see the pediatric neurologist, and he said if Owen was only presenting with one of those symptoms he would really think nothing of it, except to monitor and see if it continues or worsens. But since both seem to be happening so close together and seem to be manifesting together, he feels it's best to do an EEG next week to rule out anything serious. He did say that the treatment at Owen's age, even if it would be seizure activity would most likely be nothing. It's not hurting him and most kids grow out of it. Putting him on medication isn't warranted for such symptoms and obviously he's not in a position where it is limiting his schooling or ability to focus. This could all change over time if these symptoms get worse, but that seems to be the course of treatment as of now.

So we scheduled the test for next Wednesday. It's going to be a challenging day, because Owen has to be sleep deprived. I can't say I'm looking forward to any of this, but it's necessary to have peace of mind and know he's OK.

In other news, the last few days have been interesting and we've learned a lot about little Owen. One thing, he totally understands more complex concepts. He's becoming quite a negotiator. If you say, let's get our shoes on so we can go bye-bye, he runs the other way, and hides. But if you say - if you let Daddy put on your shoes, Mommy will give you a sticker. He thinks about it, decides how much he wants a sticker, and then will walk to Daddy and put it them on. So we're now in a give and take relationship - I'll do this, but you've got to reward me... it's very cute, and kind of amazing to see that even though he only says about 30-35 words, he clearly understands a lot more more.

He also loves the camera. Every time I grab the camera, he turns and smiles for the camera. It's SOOO funny! Even the video that I did capture that showed his hand movement started with him smiling and happy for the camera, too cute. The doctor called the hand movement a “shudder” stating that many babies have them when they get frustrated or agitated, at various stages in development.

On the house front, it's looking great, I could move in tomorrow. But we did have a few minor issues earlier in the week, all seem to be resolving themselves. The sod was laid in the front yard, the landscaping completed, and the grass seed in the back yard is down. The painters have been through with their final coat, and everything looks good. It's less than 2 weeks to settlement and exactly 2 weeks today from the movers coming. I know we are ALL very excited to move into the new house, and Owen is going to thrive with all the space we've created just for him. He'll have fun finding new hiding places and just being able to run more freely. I can hardly wait.

So, to sum up the day, Owen was much more his usual smiley, happy, normal self, especially after the doctor visit, he did not have a fever, and was more pleasant. Maybe he even sensed some of the stress off of Mommy & Daddy... We're certainly not out of the woods, but it sounds like no matter what it would probably be something he'll grow out of. At least we hope so. He had so much fun at the playground tonight, riding his "bike" around the tennis court. He ate a good dinner, and we got through the day without any episodes. Hopefully, the trend will continue and we'll all be "normal" again.

The last few days have certainly not been easy. In fact, it's been frightening, exhausting and emotional all at the same time. I know we’ll probably have bumpy days again in the future, but we’ll deal with them. It just goes to show how much we love and care for Owen. How could you not, what a cute, adorable, fun loving and sweet little boy. Before he was in our lives, I never realized how life changing it would be to worry about this little person so much, all the time. I especially didn't realize how early I would find out I can't protect him from everything. Loving someone so much can be very overwhelming!!!

Up and Down

It's been a long few days. I've been watching Owen like a hawk, and am emotionally drained from worry... Friday had ended with no unusual behaviors, nothing out of the ordinary, so the whole week was normal. I think we were feeling we were out of the woods. Saturday during the day, when Owen would get agitated or frustrated he did the eye rolling thing 2 more times. Not like we had seen last Sunday when he did it over and over, but just once each time. It's so hard to tell if this is deliberate or what, I just don't know...

Then Sunday while eating breakfast, Owen seemed to have something else happen. He was eating his yogurt, and was doing fine, then all of a sudden his arm got stiff. At first we thought he was playing, but something just wasn't right. He had a spoon full of yogurt, but couldn't get it to his mouth. It happened again about 2 min later, and I missed it. Then I realized something wasn't quite right... So I grabbed the video camera and got a 3rd and final incident on camera. It lasts less than 2 seconds total but it's strange to see him like frozen. Then later in the day while in the grocery store, he rolled his eyes. Since then we've seen nothing. But it was enough to give us reasoning to make a call to the pediatric neurologist. We go tomorrow. Mommy has been through the full range of emotion, but remains very concerned. If I hear one more time that he's going to be fine, I might just lose it. It's not going to be fine until the doctor tells us so. It's been very stressful, but hopefully after another night of lost sleep tomorrow will provide some answers. We'll see...



In an effort to feel normal, and escape the confines of this apartment, Owen and I headed to Sofia's house for a play date. We had a great morning, Owen was totally himself, playing and having a good time, and showing off all the songs he can sing. We also played a few rounds of Ring A Round the Rosey... the classic toddler favorite. Owen and I did it once, then we invited Sofia to play, and unlike the last time we invited a kid to play with us, Owen grabbed Sofia by the hand and we spun again. So cute!



Nothing else happened today, he woke up from his nap and had a fever, but broke with tylenol, not sure if that is teething or something more. But he was himself all day. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but we just hope and pray for the best...

Towson Street Festival

With the long week finally coming to an end, it was nice to kick back and relax this evening. We went to see Uncle Alex's apartment and see Sam Dog. Sam is doing great, and I really thought Owen would be excited to see her, but he really didn't care. It was nice to see her, and Uncle Alex is obviously taking good care of her. He lives right on Allegheny Ave (same place as Aunt Lizzie) and on Friday evenings they have a band and a street festival.

We met up with Ms. Robyn and Sofia who just got back from Spain on Wednesday. They've been gone for 3 weeks, and we haven't seen them in about 4 weeks, so it was great to hear about their trip and get together.

The street festival was so fun, and the kids even got on the Channel 2 news, so we'll have to see if they replay the footage on the 11 o'clock news. There was a band, moon bounces (although Owen and Sofia were way to small to bounce with the big kids), all sorts of stuff. A great way to spend an evening - for free... The festivals run through September, so I can see us going back again. Tonight was extra special because of a pep rally for the Olympian swimmers - Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff, probably why the news crews were out.

Sofia is super daring, walking all over the place, just free as can be. Owen is much more timid and takes a while to warm up. It's funny to see too very different personalities. But once Owen got going, he had smiles from ear to ear. He really enjoyed the band, especially when Daddy played drums with his hands!

What a nice way to kick off our weekend.