44 weeks and a new appreciation for single parents

Micah turned 44 weeks old this past Friday. This is the best picture that I could get - it's virtually impossible to get him to sit still and he LOVES to grab at the paper. So this past Saturday, I came down with the flu. Fever, chills, sweats, aches, sore throat, ear pain, swollen glands, the whole nine yards. Why does that always happen on Saturday when the doctor's office is closed? This is the first time that I've been really sick since Micah was born when Tim wasn't around to be the parent. So basically I've spent the last 48 hours caring for a ten month old when really all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and stay there for...the rest of my life. But Micah was really good. He slept for three hours on Sunday morning and let me take a nap. Other than being a little clingy, he was really tolerant of Mommy's inability to play a lot. In one of my Tylenol-induced better moments, I wheeled him around the living room in his little wagon that's supposed to hold his blocks. He enjoyed it! Daddy comes back into town tonight at 8:30. We can't wait!!

Clear Ears

Just an update to let everyone know that the procedure to put in the tubes went very well. He was a pretty fussy guy afterwards - who wouldn't be, especially when you don't know what's going on - but has since perked up and is his old cheery self again. He had yet another infection so it was good that we were able to have it done today. I can't believe he still had an infection after a solid week on antibiotics, but I guess that's why the tubes were so imperative. Thanks for all of your prayers and kind thoughts. Life should be back to normal by tomorrow, although hopefully our new normal includes healthier ears! Much love to all...

Family Fun

This weekend, my cousin Taylor danced at the Magic Kingdom with her troupe from Pittsburgh. The whole family came down to see her perform. It was really hot, but the only time it rained was while we were inside having lunch, so we were grateful. Here are some pictures from the day. Actually, the first one is Micah having fun at home. It was so cute, I couldn't resist putting it in. Brandon and Micah hang out! This picture has family history, but suffice it to say that the Williams and Szalajda families got a big kick out of seeing Jon and Micah ride Dumbo. Ah, flashbacks... Heidi had a good time on Dumbo too! Grandpa and Micah take in the sites on It's a Small World. It looks like Micah's asleep, but he's really just studying all the different stuff. Aunt Heidi bought Micah his first pair of ears. :) Surprisingly, he kept them on. Grandpa also took Micah on the carousel. Grandpa and Grandma held him while we took the train around the park. Here's Taylor during one of her routines. I love the costumes, and Taylor did an incredible job! Here she is during her first number. She's one of the more experienced ones on the dance team, and it really showed in the way that she carried herself on stage. Micah enjoyed the performance and watched the whole thing intently while sucking his thumb. The whole family together in front of Splash Mountain.

43 weeks and ready for fun

Our little guy was pretty happy this morning and it was virtually impossible for me to get him to sit still. Given that he was up at 5:15 this morning to take Daddy to the airport, with only a brief nap in the car on the way back, I'm pretty impressed that he was this joyful. He's wearing his plaid shorts as a shout out to Daddy. We miss you!

Conjunctivitis (kuhn-juhngk-tuh-vahy'-tis)

That's right - conjunctivitis. Or as they say everywhere other than a doctor's office, pink-eye. I won't disgust you and put a picture of that on our blog because all of you have probably seen it before. It's Micah's latest affliction. It popped up (or oozed out, really) this morning, and he has a fantastic runny nose to go with it. I have another "Have you" question: Have you ever tried to wipe the nose of a boy whose upper lip is really sensitive from a recent frenum tear? It's also very hard. Here he is finally passed out on Tim after fussing for a while this afternoon. The pink-eye has not been formally diagnosed. We have an appointment first thing in the morning. But when I called the ENT to ask if a boy with suspected conjunctivitis and a really runny nose could still have tubes in his ears, they said no. So his surgery is rescheduled for next Wednesday. Tim will have to miss it, and we will really miss him during it.

Happy Father's Day

In honor of Father's Day, I'm posting one of Tim's favorite pictures of him and Micah. I took it just a couple of weeks ago in Boston when the two of them were watching the ducks. Happy Father's Day to the best dad that Micah could have.

42 weeks and a freaky frenum fiasco

This is Micah sitting for his picture yesterday. The outfit is a little big - I got it on clearance at Macy's. It's an 18-month set, but he's wearing mostly 18-month stuff now. At any rate, I'm glad it was on clearance and that I got a picture of him in it while it was clean because I'm not sure that we can get the blood stains out of it to wear it again. Yes, Micah had his first daycare mishap. I'm sure it won't be the last either. Does anyone know what a frenum is? This is a frenum. (Obviously it's not Micah's since this person has teeth!) It's that little piece of skin that holds your lip to the gums above your teeth. Micah tore his yesterday. He slipped at daycare and bumped his upper lip, enough to tear the frenum, from what we can tell. Have you ever tried to open the mouth of an almost-10-month old who doesn't want his mouth open? It's very hard to do. The daycare called me at work and I went to pick him up. Apparently there's nothing that you do when this happens except watch to make sure it doesn't get infected. It supposedly also bleeds a lot, so I'm glad I didn't have to take care of that part! The good news is that by the time I got to the daycare to pick him up, he wasn't crying or bleeding and his lip was only slightly swollen. He ate and drank like nothing had happened. It's been a rough week for Micah and next is the tubes. Hopefully after that, he'll be all better!

Ear problems and dog issues

We got the verdict today. Micah's ears, which have given him so much trouble in the last few months, are getting some tubes put in them. Although it's hard to say, "Yes, put our baby to sleep for a while and insert foreign objects into his ears," we know that it's the best thing for him. We certainly don't want him to be on antibiotics any longer because we'll risk him building up an immunity to them. So please think about us and say a little prayer for Micah next Wednesday morning. We're told that he'll be his old self later that day, and we're excited for him to not have any more discomfort in his ears.Thankfully, the ear infections aren't affecting his spirit too much. Tonight he was crawling all around the house, and was really happy doing it. Notice the lovely food stain on his shirt (thanks, daycare) and the red knees from all the crawling around!Heinz has been having some issues lately so we had to put him back in his crate when we leave the house. He doesn't like this, and the other day we came home to find him not in the kitchen where we left him, but in the dining room. That's right, he had moved across the kitchen, pushed open the baby gate (which admittedly doesn't latch properly), and was resting in the dining room. And he did it all in his crate. I couldn't help but take a picture. We set up a videotape to watch him do it, and it's amazing. He can do all of that in 19 minutes - the first 19 minutes after we left the house. We love Heinz, and stand by our belief that he's one of the more intelligent dogs around. At least he has the decency to look guilty! By the way, we're back to giving both dogs free roam in the house while we're gone. Between them and Micah, it will be a long time before we see nice furniture again...

And finally, the weekly picture

We did remember to take the weekly picture. Here's Micah at 41 weeks in his cute little plaid golf overalls. I took a little video of Micah crawling around today. This is my first shot at posting a video so hopefully you can click on this and see Micah on the move!

Vacation: Part III

The final part of our vacation was a week at Indian Rocks Beach, which is about an hour from our house. It was so relaxing to spend a week with very little schedule except figuring out when to walk on the beach, when to nap, and when the best time was to get ice cream when there wouldn't be huge crowds. One thing we didn't plan on was buying a new camera after arriving home from Boston and before leaving for the beach, but that's what happened. We're really happy with the new one though, which has better zoom and takes pictures faster - imperative when you're trying to get a good shot of a baby whose goal in life is to get away! Here are some snapshots from the beach. Someone asked for pictures of Micah's first teeth so that's the first one. Grandma and Grandpa Williams got Micah his new bathing suit and matching frog coverup. See if you can find Micah in the puzzle pieces! It was all fun and games until he couldn't get out from under the table and couldn't touch us through it. Daddy gets in some R&R. We weren't sure how he'd handle it, but Micah loved the ocean. Of course, the water temperature was around 85 degrees so it was one big bathtub to him. I love this one of him sitting and playing with the sand. Micah got the hang of several new tricks this week - crawling, clapping (almost!), pointing, and pulling himself up to a standing position. We knew that it wasn't going to be a lot of time between crawling and standing, but we thought it would be longer than a couple of days! On Friday, Micah was a little fussy so I put him in the pack-n-play while I went to take a shower. I got to the bathroom and realized that I forgot something in the bedroom. So when I went back in, ten seconds after I left, this picture is what I saw. Micah standing, having pulled himself up. What was he trying to see better? Check out the next picture... ...his beloved Praise Baby! You can't tell because the TV didn't photograph well, but that's what's playing. Apparently, Micah didn't want to watch through the mesh, and this was the impetus he needed to stand on his own. The next day, he stood in his pack-n-play for more than an hour. He's really growing up. A better angle of Micah looking over the edge. On our last night, a storm rolled in. I just loved the different colors. Even a storm can be beautiful.

Vacation: Part II

Boston was the next step on our vacation tour 2008. Here's the skyline the night we arrived. The city reminded us of Pittsburgh with its small streets and winding roads. It was the first time I had visited and it was Tim's second time. This picture was taken on the path along the river near my sister's house. She runs on this path sometimes - I might be more inspired to continue running if this was my view!A family picture. Micah even smiled a little! The chilly Chicago weather followed us to Boston. We southerners had to bundle up - and this was taken at the end of May, which is solidly into the summer season in Florida! On Thursday, we walked through Boston Common, and one of the things that we saw was the statues of the ducklings commemorating the famous children's book, "Make Way for Ducklings". Aunt Heidi got Micah a copy of the book so we thought we'd take a picture of Micah visiting (or riding on) the ducks. "The Kelly Song" may not be the most famous song to come out of the "Cheers" series, but everyone certainly knows my name because of it! This bar was the inspiration for the great sitcom. Micah and Daddy checking out some ducks and a couple of swans. Before walking part of the Freedom Trail, we stopped for lunch at P.F. Chang's. Micah couldn't wait for the food and just went right for the table. Paul Revere's grave, which is one of the things we saw on the part of the trail that we walked. This is what Micah thought of the Trail! On Friday we visited Fenway Park and saw the (back of the) Green Monster. Two cities, two famous ballparks. Maybe next time we visit Boston, we'll make it to a game. We ate lunch at this bar right outside of Fenway, which is apparently famous - note the sign that says it's the #2 Baseball Bar in America. Despite internet searching, we couldn't find out what the #1 Baseball Bar in America is. Anyone have a clue? Daddy and Micah (smiling really great!) outside of Fenway. Tim and I celebrated our fourth anniversary on Wednesday, which was when we were traveling from Chicago to Boston. Tim surprised me in Boston with these beautiful roses. He was also nice enough to take Micah touring around Boston on Friday so that Heidi and I could catch the "Sex and the City" movie. Micah has a great Dad and I have a great husband. Micah and Aunt Heidi standing in front of the Citgo sign that is, I'm told, very famous. I'm not sure how your basic gasoline station sign gets qualified as "famous", but here it is. On Friday night, our last night in Boston, we hooked up with my parents, whose vacation we overlapped with. We all went out to dinner and then visited in their hotel room for a few minutes. Here's Micah with Grandpa and Grandma Williams.