First Birthday cake

Nicholas likes birthday cake:



We had a small (as in 4 of us) birthday party for Nicholas yesterday afternoon -- and that was after a small birthday party for him in the infant room at daycare.



I think his birthday was well celebrated -- how many other one year olds go on their first trip to Walt Disney World for their birthday?

Happy 1st Birthday! and some photos from Disney

Happy 1st birthday to my sweet baby boy Nicholas!

We have been SWAMPED since coming back on Saturday -- the weather was GLORIOUS at Disney (in the 80s all week) and we all had a magical time. We are already planning a return trip on Thanksgiving Week in 2006!

I'm sharing only 10 pictures as you don't want to have to wade through the over 150 of the ones we have online.

Breakfast with princesses...Natalie meets Belle (from Beauty and the Beast):


Nicholas meets Princess Mulan:


and he ends up with a big kiss on his forehead:


Then Natalie meets Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty):


and they really like her:


and Nicholas ends up with a kiss on his cheek:


Natalie meets her hero, Jessie from Toy Story 2:


Nicholas gets a haircut at the Magic Kingdom:


Natalie meets Minnie:


Nicholas meets Tigger:

Broken shoulder...

DH's mom (age 81) broke her shoulder. She didn't get a flu shot (none was to be had for her) and she got the flu (was sick over Thanksgiving) -- she was disoriented last night and fell down and broke her shoulder.

I did ask DH if he wants me to cancel our trip on Sunday and he said no -- he said there was nothing we could do anyway but sit around, so we are still going to Disney as planned.

Dance class

I went to Natalie's "parents can come to our final class" dance class today.

Can I just say how hard it is to take pictures with a digital camera while your eyes are filled with tears???

All the girls are beautiful, but watching Natalie as a "caterpillar" and turning into a butterfly, where she told her dance teacher that her wings are "purple and pink with oranges and red and black and some brown too" just sent me straight to tears. I am so unbelievably thankful for her in my life, and I think about all the women on that have been trying and trying and trying to have children come into their life and have had no success/fortune/luck/whatever-you-want-to-call-it, and it just FLOORS me.

My daughter floored me today. What an exquisite daughter I have in my life.

*sniff sniff*

My princess and her princess friend...

Natalie and her best friend wore their Halloween costumes to preschool today. Natalie and "J" have been SO excited about having magic wands, wearing their "princess" dresses, etc. So here is my Cinderella and her best friend Sleeping Beauty...

What a night...

What can I say but CONGRATULATIONS RED SOX!!!!

Bath time

There is something special about bath time -- to see my two sweet children having such a great time together makes the (VERY) long wait for them to be in my life SO worthwhile. Here's a picture of them from tonight:

Open House at our local firestation

Brought Natalie to the open house at our local fire station -- here are some pictures:































They had all the gear out at the fire station and the kids LOVED that! Natalie tried on the boots, the "fire coat", and the masks. Plus she got to see the gear "behind the doors" of the fire trucks.

My brother is home from the hospital

He saw his cardiologist on Monday and was ordered to do "nothing" for this week. He had developed some form of pneumonia (according to my father) while in the hospital (HUH???) so he has no energy to even use the computer. So he is sitting at home watching TV. The visiting nurse starts to come by on Wednesday.

It's hard to get the "real deal" from my father because he paints things with such a gray brush -- he said, "It's touch and go with Bob" and I asked what he meant. "Dad, if he's "touch and go", wouldn't he still be in the hospital? "Touch and go" would be someone waiting for a quadruple bypass, right?" And my father says, "Yeah, you're right." So I have no idea what the "real" situation is.

Thoughts on Pedro

Thanks for the thoughts about Pedro. I bought Pedro as a "special" friend on September 22, 1982. He helped me through SO much. Losing him has been hard, and it is doubly hard as I see what my mom is going through. She LIVED for that bird. She sang to him every night, covered him in his "special cover" on his cage. She played with him when he snuggled up to his mirror and stuck his head inside his bell and yelled. My father wrapped Pedro's body in his cover and buried him with his mirri and bell in the backyard under their St. Francis of Assisi statue. I'm going to get some Cherry Berry hosta for next year to plant at the statue as the hosta has deep red stems -- it'll remind my folks of Pedro's red "patch" on his head.

More on my brother...dad's visit

I think this post is going to be a bit disjointed as I should be in bed but I'm up researching stuff.

My father has a blood condition where he has "thick blood" -- he has to take a blood thinner (not sure which one -- a la coumadin (sp?)) and evidently his half-sister had this when she was alive, and their mother (my Nana -- 2nd wife to my dad's father) also had it. Well, they found this with my brother, too. (His blood was so thick they could not do a blood draw.) He went for a test today -- not sure which one -- and they found that they "unblocked" whatever was blocked strictly through medication (which sounds like heparin to me but who knows). My father said that the dr. said that my brother has been wearing a monitor in the hospital and that his heart stopped beating a few times today for 3 seconds or so. That leads me to think potential pacemaker, but I'm no cardiologist.

Anyway -- he won't need to go for the catheterization at Mass General since he is now "unblocked". But the bigger question is if this "thick blood" thing was the cause of his heart attack. (I say it is impossible to know for sure, but a smoker with high blood pressure and high cholesterol and no exercise has a whole lot of other factors to consider besides the "thick blood" part.)

Anyway...my brother has had a high sugar history (type II) and I know that this "thick blood" thing happens with age, but it also happens with other disorders such as chronique fatigue syndrome, fibromalagia, and others -- I'm wondering if his dystonia goes hand-in-hand with this, and I'm also wondering if they are just looking for something to hang a hat on.

*sigh* Maybe I shouldn't worry as much but I do.

My brother's update

My brother is now in ICU and out of the PCU. Again, the issue of factual-based News is brought to the forefront -- I have been told by my mother that he's having a "test" done at Mass. General in Boston -- maybe tomorrow (???) -- I asked if it was catheterization -- my father emailed me back saying that is what he's having done. I'm guessing they are going to try an embolization (like Vice President Cheney had for those that followed that story) but I am only guessing. My SIL has the medical insurance and she just changed jobs and I am guessing that he may or may not have some/any health insurance right now so the dr. at the local hospital is doing the best he can to get good treatment for my brother but also being mindful of the medical bills.

This whole thing is just so hard -- especially with my mother and her situation, and my father then gets into it, and I'm trying to do what I can, but.....I'm thankful that my brother is ALIVE.

My brother

One of the tough things about living 500+ miles away from your entire family is the ability to get The News and to get The News in some sort of close-to-factual form.

Well, my brother (age 55 -- and my only sibling) had a heart attack at 2 AM this morning. From what I have been told from my mom, my brother could barely speak -- my SIL almost did not hear him and she was told he was just minutes away from not being able to revived. Anyway, he's in ICU in Massachusetts and my SIL is trying to get him transferred to Mass General Hospital in Boston.

Bye bye, Pedro

My cherry-headed conure Pedro died yesterday. Pedro was living with my parents ever since I got married (13+ years ago) and my folks cared for him. He was 22 years old. Pedro was a funny bird -- every night he would "ask" for his cover to be put on his cage. He would LOUDLY ask for his cover, too -- as in you could not hear the television in the living room at the other end of the house!

My mom is particularly upset about all this. She REALLY loved him.

Not sure how I will explain this to Natalie. She'll know, that's for sure. Maybe she's only 3 years old, but she'll know.

Logic of a 3 year-old

DH is home on Friday since daycare has an in-service day. I call home to check in.

DH: "Natalie wants to talk to you. She has a Blue's Clues band-aid on and she wants to tell you about it."

(hands phone to Natalie)

Natalie: "Mommy, I have a boo boo."

Me: "I'm sorry, Natalie. Do you have a band-aid on it?"

Natalie: "Yes, Mommy. It hurts so I put a Blue's Clues band-aid on it."

Me: "That's a good idea, Natalie. Where's your boo boo?"

Natalie: "It's under my band-aid, Mommy."