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January
2004 Journal
Have
you all made your new years resolutions? I think I may
try and cut my 2 year molars some time soon...and I
guess...since Santa brought me those big boy pants...start the
potty training thing.
Who knows what else....you'll just have to check back with us
often!
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Happy
New Year
January
1, 2004 |
Well...we
actually celebrated our New Year's at 9 o'clock last night (December
31st) since I go to bed early. Mommy and me made a cake while
Daddy made his Great Aunt's New Year's Eve sandwiches. He must
really like them because I heard him going on and on about them all
day! I helped Daddy to open a bottle of "sparkling white
grape juice". We drank out of special fancy glasses and
said..."cheers"! I liked doing that! We
counted backwards from 10 and Mommy helped spray confetti into the
air! It was fun...we had noisemakers too! I could
actually do them this year! I just had a good time running
around yelling "Happy New Year" literally, to everyone and
thing in the house! We called Grammy & Pap-Pap and Grandma
& Pa-Pa to wish them a happy 2004! I finished my
"bubbly" juice, helped clean up and went to bed!
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Our
First Geocaching Adventure - Oscar Lingle Nature Tail
January
1, 2004 |
Mommy bought
Daddy a GPS system for Christmas so we can go
"Geocaching". What is "geocaching"? Click here.
We went to a park that is near by to try it out. Our location
was somewhere in the nature trail and we had to use the coordinates
along with the GPS to find our hidden "treasure". I
had a GREAT time walking along the paths and choosing which way we
should go. It was the most fun when Daddy said we were getting
close and we got to walk off of the beaten path...through the brush
and to this really big tree. Well, at the base there were some
intricately placed pieces of bark. Daddy told me to dig
there...so I did...and there was something under it!! In a
Wal-Mart bag, inside a Ziploc bag, inside a Tupperware
container...was the "cache"!! It had some cool stuff
in it...toy lizards, a snake, some quarters, some erasers and a note
pad. Daddy wrote a message from us and signed our names (MAC),
while I checked all the stuff out. Daddy let me sign the book
too. I picked out a toy lizard and we brought some Silly Putty
to put in for someone else to find. Daddy carefully put it
back in the bags and I covered it back up. That was
neat! On our way back out of the nature trail we passed a
playground, so Mommy and Daddy let me stop there to play for awhile.
There are over 200 hidden "caches" just in the Harrisburg
area! I wonder how many we will find this year? It was a
nice day out and a nice beginning to the 2004 new year!
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Geocaching
Adventure #2 - Hummelstown Nature Trail
January
3, 2004 |
Even though it
was a wet, not raining, but foggy day...it was almost 60 degrees
outside! We decided to go in search of another
"cache". This trip took us to the nature trail in
Hummelstown, PA. I had been here once before with daddy but
this was Mommy's first time. The path was muddy in some spots
but okay. We walked in towards our first coordinate for about
20 minutes. The GPS was giving us some weird readings...which
caused us to go on quite a search. We started up a really
steep hill but with the mud and rocks...it was too dangerous for
me. Daddy went up the rest of the way...and came back down
with the decision that it wasn't the right way to go. So, we
pressed on and went in a different direction. We ended up
running into some fellow "cachers"....they were having
some difficulty too! So, we let them look for and find it
first. They were from North Eastern PA and were just in the
area to do some searching. There goal for the day was to find
about 20...there total so far was in the 200's. It was nice
visiting with them. They helped to send us in the right
direction...but didn't give us any real idea of where to look.
Daddy had to climb up in the big rocks and finally found it! I
was excited because there was a Silly Putty in this one...just like
the one we left the day before! So, I took that and left some
of my Dora and Buzz Light-year stickers! We took a different
path back to the car and it was right thru the wetlands...so we got
all muddy...but it was FUN!! When we got home...I was pretty
tired and took a nap. Forgot the camera...oops! Won't
ever do that again!
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Sesame
Street Live - 1...2...3...Imagine!
January
3, 2004 |
Mommy and Daddy
surprised me with a trip to the Giant Center in Hershey to see
Sesame Street Live! Wow! I really enjoyed the
show! Big Bird and his friend Samantha the mail carrier taught
us to use our imaginations...and we traveled all over the
world. We went to the ocean, Mexico, Africa, sailed on a ship,
pretended to be a dog and visited Elmo's World! I really liked
watching Elmo and Cookie Monster! They were my favorite.
Daddy bought me a cool Elmo Flashlight and an Elmo balloon!
The show was only 90 minutes long...which was perfect for me.
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I'm
2 1/2 Years Old Today!
January
6, 2004 |
Can you believe
it?!?! 2 1/2 years old...already?! Where did the time
go? It has been awhile since I did a "what am I up
to" entry. So, now I will try to give you a bit of
information of what it is like to be me! I haven't had an official
weigh in at the doctors but on Mommy's scale I weigh about
30lbs! I am around 37 inches toll. That is a very rough
estimate since I don't stand still long enough for Daddy to measure
me. My clothes are size 3T but it's funny...if it's long
sleeves a 4T is better....my 2T pants are getting short and Mommy is
afraid the 3T's will be too big around the waist. Good thing
Santa brought me that "choo-choo" belt! My shoes
size is 7 1/2 but it won't be long until Mommy needs to get me some
size 8's. Guess I am a growing boy!
I still am wearing diapers...but there has been some
"talk" around here about buying a potty and I got some big
boy pants for Christmas. I like to wear them over my
diaper! I can drink out of a cup pretty good...I just don't
care to. Guess since I gave up my bottle so easily...I feel
the need to hold on to something. Mommy has been giving me my
sippy cup less and less. We are pretty much only down to car
rides and trips to the store. I have a feeling by next month
or so...my sippy cup will be bidding a farewell. That's
okay...just a part of growing up, I guess.
Teeth? Well, I have 16 teeth. I am still waiting to cut
my 2 year molars. Mommy thinks that they are trying to come
in. I have days when all I want to do is chew on things or my
fingers....unfortunately, they have shown no signs of breaking the
gum!
Eating? I am your typical 2 year old...eat when I want and that is
not very often. I am pretty picking about what I will
eat...which I have a feeling is pretty hard for Mommy and
Daddy. I love peanut butter sandwiches or toast, waffles,
pancakes, corn on the cob, French fries, Mac & Cheese, toasted
cheese, hot dogs, crackers, oranges, bananas, apples and deer
jerky! Of course, you never know if and when I am going to eat
any of this stuff. I seem to like it one day and not the
next. Gotta keep those grown-ups guessing! You all know
how much I LOVE chocolate! I love "M's"...they are
my favorite!
Health? Dr. Besselman said I am a very happy and healthy
little boy! I am doing much better than I was last
month. My tonsils are still swollen, but my nose is not
running like it was. I still take my allergy medicine everyday
and that really seems to help. My air purifier does a good job
too!
I am going to see Dr. Hollowell this month. We don't know when
yet. I guess I have to go for another ultrasound to see how
things are. If she likes what she sees I won't need to go
again until 2005! We will keep you posted on that!
Now, for the fun, cute and interesting stuff. I am talking up
a storm...everyday I discover new words that I can say. It is
nice being able to tell someone what I want. I am curious
about everything..."what's that?"...is my favorite sentence.
I am getting pretty good at repeating words that I am asked or words
that I hear! Daddy says he needs to careful...not sure why he
thinks that. I still LOVE to play with my trucks and running
with them fast is the best! Santa brought me that awesome
train set and I have played with it everyday since! I love to
sit and read my books and have them read to me! I also like to
listen to my Wiggles CD...it makes me laugh! I still go to
work with Mommy everyday for a few hours....that is nice, I have
made some good friends there. I like to go for rides in the
car and to the store...I like to help push the grocery cart
too! I like to help Mommy around the house. I help put
clothes in the washer and dryer, water the plants, feed my fish, run
the vacuum and set the table! I am still a pretty good
sleeper, I go to bed around 8:30 and get up around 8-8:30!! I
"usually" lay right down and take my nap at noon and sleep
till Mommy gets me up!
Speaking of naps...it's about time for one. I hope you all
feel like you know me a little bit more!
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Mommy's
Scrapbooking Trip
January
9th-11th, 2004 |
Mommy left
Friday afternoon to go on a scrapbooking weekend trip to Gettysburg
with Amanda and about 400 other women. She had a really nice time,
did a nice job on her books but was really tired. She said the
the theme was Mardi Gras. When you finished 8 pages you would
get a string of beads to wear. Mommy brought hers home and
gave them to me to play with! She and Amanda worked hard on
their books and stayed up really late each night...after 3AM!!
WOW!! Amanda completed 40 pages, she probably would have done
more but ran out of pictures! Mommy completed 36 pages and
still has a ton more to do.
Daddy and I had lots of fun while Mommy was away. We went to
Gymboree and McDonald's too! It was soo bitter cold outside
that we didn't get to do much else. That was okay because we
had lots of extra time to play "run, Daddy" with the
trucks and set up my choo-choo!
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A
New Tooth!
January
11, 2004 |
Finally!
Evidence of a two year molar...it's for real, Mommy felt it
tonight! It was causing me some pain today so Daddy gave me
some Tylenol. I hope that helps and I hope, as history would
have it, that I don't cut them all at once. Right now it is
only the bottom left molar that has broken the gum...and right now,
it's only a corner of it. I wonder how long this is going to
take?
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PA
State Farm Show
January
12, 2004 |
Mommy, Daddy,
Amanda and me all went to the Farm Show tonight! I was really
excited to go and had been asking Mommy about it all day!
First, when we got there we went to see the sheep and pigs. I
really enjoyed petting them...and I wasn't afraid at all of any of
the animals. Daddy had to watch me sometimes since I would
just stick my hands (or arms) right into the pens...heehee! We
ate a yummy dinner there too. I, of course, had some French
fries and a milkshake. Speaking of milkshakes...I got to see
them milk the cows too! After we ate, we went in to see the
tractors. I could have run around in there all night
long! I had a great time crawling up on them...and some were
sooooo huge! I wonder how they even got them in there! My
favorite thing in that room was this cool snowplow truck. The
man would push a button and the truck would back up and then go
forward and then the plow would hook up on the front and then the
plow would move up and down, left and right. It was the
coolest thing! I just had to sit down and watch them do that
over and over again. Mommy got me a pamphlet from them to take
home but I couldn't wait, I had to read it right there. Once
they convinced me to leave, we went to see some more animals...we
saw some cows, horses, chickens, ducks, and rabbits too. I got
to see them feed a baby cow with a bottle...that was funny. I
got to pet a baby chick too! In another section, gee, there is
just so much stuff there...I got to sit in an old canoe that was
carved from a large tree. Plus, in that room there was an
"old farmer" sitting and his "chicken" was
talking to me! He, the chicken, even knew my name!!
It was a fun night and I had a great time...but the highlight of the
evening was getting to ride the big yellow school bus back to our
car at the HACC parking lot! I was chatting the whole way
back...everyone thought I was pretty funny!
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Swimming
Lessons (Parent/Tot II) #1
January
13, 2004 |
My swimming
lessons have begun again! Yea! I was sooo excited to be
there...that I wanted to jump in the water right away instead of
having to listen to the instructors explain the rules to everyone
again! We have the same teachers and a small class...there are
only 5 of us...and the teachers remembered us from the last
class...so he got us in the water quick! We swam all around
like alligators and I did it really good and all over the
place. We sang, "If You're Happy and You Know It"
and I blew some great bubbles! We practiced kicking and laying
on our backs. I floated on my back really good for Mommy for
about 2 minutes, which is HUGE...since I would never do it
before. I also did it for both of my teachers. I do need
to practice it though. We went under the water lots...at least
6 times today! We got to slide down Freddy too....I like
him! A new thing we did was at the end...I walked across the
pool and Mommy stood behind me, moving my arms, and we pretended we
were scooping ice cream. I guess that is going to eventually
teach me how to move my arms when I swim. I only have 7 more
classes...and Mommy hopes that I have as much fun at all of them as
I did today! Plus, we are hoping that Daddy can get to one of
my classes to either join in, take pictures or both!
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2
1/2 Year Pictures!
January
16, 2004 |
Mommy and Daddy
took me to Sears tonight to get my picture taken. We got there
at 7 but never got in with he photographer until 8 o'clock!
That was okay with me, I was too busy playing with the toys and
looking at the vacuum cleaners that were on sale! Boy, some of
those things are pretty nice...anyways....I was a little nervous at
first but Daddy sat down beside me and I was okay with that.
The photographers lady was really nice and funny too! She had
this froggy on her head, and she told me to blow him off...and when
I did, he jumped right off of her head and on to the floor! We
got some really good shots of me...they really show off my
personality! Mommy and Daddy were really happy. We can
pick them up the beginning of February and we will get them on the
site as soon as possible!
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It's
Sooo Cold!
January
17, 2004 |
It has been sooo
very cold here the last week...especially the last few days that
with the wind chill it has been well below zero outside!
Unfortunately with this cold comes problems. This afternoon
during my nap...and Mommy's too (Daddy was at work), Mommy heard a
really loud awful sound that woke her right up. The pipe from
the outside faucet upstairs burst!! It was a good thing that
we were home! Mommy went running upstairs, she was in the
basement. Within just this short time, there was water all
over the entrance way, mostly coming from the closet. Mommy
ran back downstairs, opened the water closet in the basement and
water was just pouring down in there...already about 1/2 an inch of
water on the floor! Mommy turned the water completely off and
called Daddy to come home from work. We called for a plumber
but they were very busy and he wasn't able to come until Sunday
morning! Fortunately, the pipe that burst was easily
accessible from the closet. He repaired the pipe, added a shut
off valve right there and left an opening so Daddy can put in an
access panel. I hope I get to help do that...since I wasn't allowed
to help the plumber! So, something that could have been a
terrible thing, wasn't soo bad since we were home....thank goodness
for that. What a mess we would have had if we had been away...
we shudder at the thought!
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Another
Tooth!
January
17, 2004 |
Just as I had
figured...I cut one new tooth and another one quickly follows.
Mommy saw my right lower molar today...it's barely through, but it
is there. It is no wonder I have been a drooly mess for
days! Still no sign of the top two yet.
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Swimming
Lesson #2
January
20, 2004 |
Went swimming
again today...and let me tell you...I am doing soo great! I am
having so much fun even if I don't pay attention to the teachers and
what they are doing. I just do my own thing sometimes! HeeHee!
We are still working on a lot of the same skills, blowing bubbles,
kicking, and floating on my back. I did that, floating thing,
even better this time. Ms. Joanne took me around once and we
looked for the birdie in the ceiling and counted the lights!
(1...3...7...9). We practiced going under the water a lot
too. Mommy and I used to dunk under the water fast...but this
time we did it slowly! I even did a good job of closing my
mouth when Mommy told me we were going under. The teacher put
some "fishys" (weighted rings) under the water, and I was
to bend and pick them up...getting my face in the water. Ms.
Joanne helped me do that and Mommy made sure that I
"caught" the fish! I didn't care for this activity
too much but I didn't object either. At the end of class we
played with hula hoops. I would put it over Mommy's head and
she would swim under and out of it. Then we would both get in
the hoop and under and out we went! Gee, I wonder what we are
going to do next week!
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Bye-Bye
"Baby Cups"
January
21, 2004 |
Well, I knew
that this day was coming soon. I actually had been not using
my sippy cups for about 2 weeks now. Today, Mommy and me made
it official! We threw all of them away..."bye-bye baby
cups"! I even called Daddy at work and told him all about
it!
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The
Lemmons Visit!!
January
23rd-26th, 2004 |
Jen, Scott, Sam
and Baby Sarah came all the way from Kentucky to visit. They
stayed at Jen & Darrin Hartley's house and we are all so glad
that they came back to Harrisburg! We haven't seen them since
the summer of 2002! We, the Hartley's and the Fisher's all got
together on Friday night! Sam and I were best buddies right
away and played all night long while the grown-ups visited and
played games. Everyone was excited to meet Sam's new baby
sister, Sarah. I thought she was pretty nice...every once and
awhile I would come over and check her out. She was pretty
quiet and kind of "boring"...no offense! Sam and I
had fun playing construction trucks and tractors. Everyone
thought we were pretty funny when we would hug each other until we
fell over!
Saturday, I didn't get to see them....I wasn't feeling great and
Daddy had to work all day until really late at night. I think
I heard Mommy saying he didn't get home until 4AM!!
Sunday afternoon, everyone came over here. We ordered food and
played. Darrin was my buddy...I had a good time showing him
all my stuff and I believe that he was truly interested! The
girls all went shopping for a little bit while us guys all hung out,
playing in the basement and watching TV!
Mommy said that The Lemmons are moving to the Washington D.C. area
in a few months! That will be great since they won't be so far
away anymore! Sam and I had a great time and I can't wait
until we get to play together again!
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Swimming
Lesson #3
January
27, 2004 |
Mommy and me
braved the snow covered roads to go to swimming lessons today!
We were a little late...but that was okay! Today we did some
new stuff. I got to jump from the side of the pool! I
did pretty good with this and asked to do it again and again.
I need to remember to put my toes on the edge of the pool and to not
reach out for Mommy...but we are going to work on it! We
practiced more kicking, floating and going under the water. I
am getting better at that. Today, I even opened my eyes under
the water! We worked on jumping up and down in the shallow
water because next week Joanne said we are going to go under and
push off from the bottom!!!
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Cole's
Ultrasound and Follow-Up
January
29, 2004 |
I had more
pictures taken of my kidney today! Mommy and Daddy took me to
Hershey Medical Center this time. I was a little scared at
first but Mommy said it would be okay and the nurse lady was really
nice to me. I told her all about my favorite choo-choo engines
and we tried to find them in the pictures of my kidney. I told
her that Gordon must have been hiding! After she was done
another doctor came in...he was nice to me too! He said that
my kidney was growing with me and that is a good thing to
see!
I was such a good boy there that Mommy and Daddy took me to K-Mart
and I got some Jimmy Neutron and Army trucks stickers! We went
out for lunch at Appleby's. I had some yummy chocolate milk
and French fries! Daddy spilled his entire glass of ice tea
all over the place...heehee!
Next, we went to see Dr. Hollowell. She was happy to see me
and couldn't believe how grown up I looked. She couldn't
believe I wasn't crying! As a matter of fact, I was quite
friendly to her. Daddy said that made her really happy!
Anyway, she said that my tests looked really good. The upper
pole had some dilation, it was miniscule, as you expect to have some
dilation. The reflux is gone and there is still some function
in the lower pole but not very much. (It's also been really
good that I haven't had any infections.) We have a tentative
re-test scheduled in 6 months, but she will push that back to next January
if the Medical Center confirms her diagnosis of the films. If
I get good results in 2005, we will never need to go back!
YEA!!
Dr. Hollowell gave me two really cool Bob the Builder stickers
before we left! I am going to send her a special thank you
card and a picture of me!
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