Belton Community Days

It seems appropriate Noah's first carnival experience be in Belton. The boy learned a little about his roots.... and the consequences of poor oral hygiene (none of the carnies had teeth) at Belton Community Days.

Elliot enjoyed the parade. That is until the big old trucks had to honk horns and sirens. Poor baby puckered up and just got so upset. :( The parade was pretty boring. The highlight was some dogs doing tricks from a company that trains dogs and the HyVee synchronized shopping cart routine.

We spent a fortune on rides.

By far, the least flattering, yet best picture ever. The scrambler.

Ate pure sugar.

And the boys jumped in the pouring rain.

It was a blast. Grandma Anita babysat Elliot so we could just have fun riding rides with Noah. We came back to find E passed out on her chest. They had some great one-on-one time together. (crappy mobile pic, but too sweet not to post)

Tonight at the pool

Noah didn't want to go home. "NO MAMA! NOT GO HOME! NOT!" Is anyone else's kid this defiant?


The "good" one happily hanging out poolside after some time in the baby pool and big pool



Pleasantly surprised when Dad showed up

Equally as happy to have Dad show up at the pool

Elliot's development

Elliot had a functional vision assessment as well as an assessment of his overall development at CCVI (Children's Center for the Visually Impaired) this week. Kansas City is very lucky to have this awesome resource available to the community. I've known about it for years since we've participated in the Trolley Run for so long, which is their number one fundraiser every year. But, I never thought I'd need their services.

What we learned about Elliot's vision wasn't a surprise. He focuses on objects as small as a cheerio at 6-8 inches, but loses them as they move further away. His peripheral vision is poor and only sees out about 45 degrees. At this age he should see out 180 degrees. It makes sense since his eyes turn inward. He has poor depth perception since he lacks binocular vision. This causes poor hand-eye coordination, and as he learns to walk will cause poor foot-eye coordination as well.

Developmentally he scored normal socially. Cognitively, Gross Motor and Fine Motor were all very scattered, but overall delayed. The areas in which he was delayed were secondary to his vision issues and nothing else. At this age development is highly visually motivated. CCVI recommended weekly occupational therapy from an OT familiar with visual issues. They will provide the OT.

On the spectrum of eye problems, his is low. They see much worse. Elliot is also very young and everyone is quite confident he'll catch up and be just fine. We just don't know how long it's going to be before his vision is normal. Surgery is still up in the air. And sometimes it takes more than one surgery. Hopefully it will be sooner than later, successful and we can drop the OT soon.

We have our next Opthamologist appointment Wednesday. We should find out how well his eyes are responding to the patching and hopefully, if they have equalled out, we can discuss surgery.

First Sleepover

Noah had his first sleepover last week. Cousin Charlie slept in his top bunk. This meant we had to break out the ladder (which up till now, Noah did not know existed). Climbing up and down is now a new hobby. And until he attempts to jump off the top bunk, the ladder is staying. Any bets how long that will be?

The boys had a fun time. Tuesday night Paul took them swimming until closing time at the pool, which meant Noah got to stay up later than usual. The next day we just played at home then went swimming again. It was all going well until Charlie broke out in hives from the sunscreen I put on him. Luckily the sunscreen I put on him at home before we left was fine. It was a second coat after we'd already swam 2 hrs (a different brand) that did it. So at least they got in a couple hours before we had to head home for some Benadryl.

Paul & I enjoyed listening to them on the monitor for quite awhile when they woke up. Or I should say when Noah woke up Charlie by climbing up to the top bunk. Charlie wanted to sleep in, but that wasn't happening with Noah in the room. They played so sweet. I kept hearing Noah "Use both hands, gotta be careful, watch me Charlie", as he was climbing up and down the ladder. And then I'd hear Charlie say "Good job, Noah."

So sweet waking up and playing trains in Noah's roomHaving breakfast. I was pretty pleased Charlie (the family carnivore) ate up my veggie bacon
Bath time

No pictures at the pool. My hands were a little full ;)

Elliot loves to swim too

We got pool passes at a local pool that rocks. It has several pools, including a baby pool that is huge, with sprayers and fountains. It starts out zero entry and goes to 2 feet. It has 2 shaded areas in the pool and plenty out of the pool. You can also bring in chairs and sit in the water in your chair. Best of all, there are 2 lifeguards at the baby pool alone and it's gated off. Perfect for a toddler and baby! We venture into the bigger family pool on weekends with Paul.

Last week was the first time Elliot got to swim. The other pools we'd been to so far had been too cold, but with the heat we've been having it's very warm now. He enjoys it. We've gone daily this week He splashes and just enjoys the water, and everyday he's been taking naps in my arms by the fountain while I sit in the shade/water and watch Noah play. It's been great. I'm enjoying the relaxing now, because I know next summer I'll be chasing a fearless one year old around who isn't quite tall enough to be in the "deep end" of the baby pool without close supervision.

Here is a video of him the first time he got in the pool.

Date night

Paul & I have been going out on regular date nights often since we scored this awesome babysitter for the summer, Erin. Unfortunately, she's moving to San Diego in the Fall to go to college. Usually we just go out to dinner, but last night we went to a fancy benefit. La ti da! Paul's company was a sponsor and we took our friends, Fred & Stacey with us. Did we bring a camera to capture how cute we were in our "Urban Chic" (look it up...I had to) wear? Of course not! So on the way home at 11:30 at night, here we are in the car headed home..... mobile phone pic :)

Going out for a few hours once every week or two has been really good for us. We should have started a long time ago. Of course, Elliot makes it so easy on us. He now refuses bottles, like Noah did, but he goes down early and stays down until usually 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning before waking to nurse...... Ahhhh sweet freedom to get out of the house for a few hours.

A little game....

Elliot is asleep. We have a pool date in less than one hour. I should be packing the bag and getting ready. Instead I'm reading blogs. You know why? Noah is quiet. Very quiet. This never happens. I'm going to go see what he's up to and take the picture. I'll post it later. You can post your guesses as to what he's doing. Reading a book? Playing trains? Watching TV? Destroying the house? Whatever it is........he is very quiet.

Ok off to take a pic and get ready for the pool!

Update:

So this is actually pretty boring, considering past experience. But, I am thankful for that. Steve was the closest, as crayons were involved. I'm happy to say although he dumped them, broke some in half and peeled off paper from some of them creating a mess, there was no crayon on the furniture or walls! He was busy watching this annoying show, Lazytown on Noggin.

Eye patch blues

It makes Mandy cringe each time she has to take Elliot's eye patch off. E takes it like a trooper - his eyes water up, but he doesn't cry. We'll be glad when the patching is done with, although that will mean surgery is next on the agenda, which brings its own worries.

(and yes, those are his toes in his mouth)

Drinking problem?

More like a hard day's play. He literally fell asleep while taking a drink.

Getting mouthy

Summer fun

One of the great things about living where we do is that there are little neighborhood parks tucked away all over the place. Just down the street from our house we have one that combines a wading pool, a sand area and a playground. If that's not a near-perfect combination for a little boy, I don't know what is.

E watching the action

Look at those legs

When did he turn from a baby into such a little boy?

"Helping" Out

Noah was a real help in washing the car on Saturday. Once I put him in his swimsuit and gave him a spray bottle, he knew something fun was up.

After a few squirts, it didn't take long for him to figure out the hose looked like a lot more fun than what he was playing with. I reluctantly let him have it, and he immediately thanked me by turning around and blasting me with water.

Whenever I had to take it back to hose soap off the car, he would stand there patiently for about 4 seconds and then start saying "Mine turn now!" over and over until I gave it back to him. Once, he blasted me again right after I gave it back - probably for taking too long in his opinion.
I'm all wet from him spraying me...

Serious business.

Next up, I see if I can get him to think mowing the lawn is fun...

It's hot

around here. I took this picture of my Jeep's console yesterday as I was leaving work. The only thing it's fun to do outside right now involves a pool.

At The Movies!

Noah bagged another first a couple weekends ago - he got to see his first movie in a theater. Our friend Dena invited him to see Pixar's new movie "Up". He was excited to go, and when she called to confirm she had tickets, he answered the phone "Dena, go to the movies please!!"

When the day came, we had him wear his own backpack with his diapers, and a drink. He was quiet at first - I don't think he really knew what the concept of going to see a movie was - but he gamely went wherever we were taking him.

We weren't sure how long he would last, but he made it the entire film. Popcorn and Twizzlers kept him attentive for a while until we had to cut him off. He's not used to watching any TV in a dark room Whenever it went dark on screen, he would say "Too dark, daddy".

The film itself was good, although maybe a little mature for a 2-year old. Not to give anything away, it's about a retired widower who finally decides to make good on his and his deceased wife's life dream to explore South America, and he (inadvertantly) takes a little boy with him. It was a good movie, although it had some sad parts. During one part, where the old man is sadly looking through an old photo album of his wife's, Noah said "that man is sad", and then turned to me and said "I want Mommy" like he was about to cry. I thought that was the end of the movie for us, but I sat him in my lap the last 15 minutes or so, and he made it to the end.


Posing in front of a movie poster before going in


Chowing (and I mean chowing) on popcorn.

We thought he might get sick he was eating it so fast. He washed that down with Twizzlers. We finally had to cut him off.

Going down the escalator

Posing with his date...Thanks, Dena!

Walking the dog

Noah has loved walking Wally almost since he could walk himself. He doesn't quite have the hang of it yet, but he's getting better. And when it's a 39-lb boy versus a 70-lb dog, sometimes pulling with all your might is not enough to keep things going. Without a Gentle Leader, even Mandy and me have trouble getting him to come along when he's not ready.

To make matters more interesting, Noah's concept of a walk is running - no time to stop and smell the roses. Wally's concept of a walk is a leisurely stroll, stopping to sniff every few feet.

Wally looks like he's thinking, "Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? Me in the grass, and you on the sidewalk?

Untangling the leash. Again.

Making progress.

Noah hasn't quite gotten the concept of obstacles vs. leash yet.

Ok, now we're making progress.

Ooops. Another obstacle. You better believe Wally's stopping at this one.

Making it look easy.

Little help here?

The perfect team - looking both ways as they cross the street.

Whoa there, big fella...

This walk thing is a lot of work.

Another pretty frequent occurence was Wally walking ahead and pulling the leash out of Noah's hands. Noah would run after him and try to grab the end of the leash, but would always miss by a few inches. It tickled him so much he started belly-laughing as he was chasing him, and it usually took Wally stopping to sniff before he could finally catch him.

I wish I had gotten a picture of him doing this last summer, when they were practically nose-to-nose.