Olympic fun

 We let Liam stay up to watch the Opening Ceremony.  Here he is in his pj's and enjoying his popcorn, way past his bedtime.

Brennan with his flag during the Men's archery finals.

 Liam wearing one of my track medals from high school. Boy was he excited. He wore it all day, including when we went to the store.  He showed everyone who would listen.

 Olympic Bento.

 Boys and their flags during cycling. 

Go USA!

Medical Updates

We received Brennan's results of his EKG.  Turns out he has a functional heart murmur, whatever that is.  The good news is that there doesn't seem to be anything more serious going on with his heart that might mimic a murmur.

Then yesterday we went and saw the pediatric ophthalmologists. This had to be the most frustrating appointment ever. We got there at 8:45 since I knew we would have to fill out paper work before Brennan's 9am appointment. We finally got called back to see the nurse at 10:20, who proceeded to ask me questions about Brennan's referral and gave him three sets of drops to dilate his eyes. Note: Brennan nap starts at 9:45.  Afterwards they sent us to a "dark room" while we waited for the drops to kick in. Finally we got to see the doctor at 10:50am.  Brennan surprisingly sat still for the doctor while he examined his eyes.  He was so over tired he just sat there and stared into space, which was perfect for examining him.

So Brennan has what is known as pseudostrabismus, aka false cross.  His eye tracking is perfect but because the way the skin folds around his nose and eye it gives a false sense that his eyes are crossed.  According to the doctor, as he gets bigger he will grown into his skull and the cross should less noticeable.  Brennan is a bit near sighted but he may still grow out of it as well. However he may need glasses before kindergarten.

The image to the left is an example of the difference, explained better than I could. The image above is Daddy and Liam playing video games while we waited for the doctor.

Also Brennan took his first steps Wednesday. I'm so not ready for this.

Just another Friday Here

 Today I invited Kayla to come over so the kids could play and we could hang out and have coffee.  Well...that quickly turned into catching tadpoles out of the pond.  We, as in me and Kayla, had so much fun. lol. The kids really enjoyed it too.  Here's Liam and Poppy with the bucket of tad poles.

 One with legs and one with out

 Kayla adding her tadpole to the bucket.

 Today was the first day we have ever brushed Brennan's teeth.  He's not to sure about that, but he loves the tooth brush.

Happy McGiggle Pants and his toothbrush.

Hospital Trip

On Wednesday, we took Brennan to the hospital for his echo cardiogram.  The tech obviously hasn't had much practice on small children with it being Florida and all.  He was getting more and more frustrated with him and the more I tried to pin Brennan down the more he freaked out.  After 40 minutes the tech told me we should take a break and he left for twenty minutes.  However, when he finally came back he had another female tech with him.  Apparently she used to work for a pediatric cardiologist.  She just let me hold him and she got the scans through his back in less than five minutes.  What a difference when someone is used to kids.  Don't know when we will have the results for his heart, but I'll keep you posted.

9mth Checkup

On Monday, Brennan had his 9mth check up, even though he is now 10mths old.  I have never been more anxious about a doctors appointment in my life.  See, what you may not know is what happened on the previous Monday:

I had started a load of laundry while the boys were eating dinner.  When they had finished, I scooped them up, carrying them at arms distance, trying to not get covered in their leftovers.  I got them undressed and filled the tub. I so happy that Clay would be coming home soon. It was one of those days. After setting them in the tub, I took the disgusting rags that slightly resembled clothes to the washing machine.  On my way back, I heard lots of loud splashing. Not totally out of the norm, but somewhat alarming.  When I walked back into the bathroom, I went straight into panic mode as I saw Liam angrily holding Brennan down, who was face down thrashing in the water. I ran across the room sweeping Brennan up.  He was so limp, like a noodle, staring off into space, and in a state of shock.  His breath was faint as I rubbed his back as he proceeded to vomit up water. Over and over again. What seemed like hours and gallons of water, Brennan turned bright red and was coughing.  I have never been so excited to hear a coughing baby in my life. I yanked both boys out of the tub and out of the bathroom. Liam when straight to his room, naked and all. Where as Brennan and I waited impatiently outside for Daddy to get home, so that I wouldn't hurt Liam. Not really sure what happened, but from what I can gather, Liam got mad at Brennan when he took his toy fish.  Liam being frustrated held Brennan underwater.


This scary life lesson has taught me two things.  First is that on those rainy or hot days, when the kids are all couped up and driving you nuts, even though they are driving you insane, they are blessings.  I know I sometimes lose sight of that. This week was a huge wakeup call to me.  I have never been so happy to hear my kids whine as I have this week. Those two boys are my heart and soul. Just the thought of possibly losing one of them gives me the chills. I'm going to savor every moment I have with them.  The second thing I've learned is "is it worth it".  Is it really worth it to step out of the room while they are taking a bath, answer the phone while their eating, checking facebook while the baby is crawling on the floor, or leaving them on the changing table to grab extra wipes.  I stepped out of the room for a couple of seconds.  Seconds people. What would I have done if something happened to Brennan so I could finish some laundry?  I would have never forgiven myself. I know as moms we multi task, it's hard not too. I'm going to try really hard to only focus on the task at hand and try not to be two steps ahead of myself.  Be in the moment.


I'm not writing this to tell you about my awful week. Or how I felt like a failure as a mom. I was actually really embarrassed that I stepped out of the room (I never do that). Or to tell you how angry I was at Liam for not showing his brother some kindness and mad at myself that maybe if I was even more strict with discipline that this might not have happened. I am writing this all down for myself so that I don't forget what happened. That it stays fresh in my mind, and maybe hopefully it might help some one else, even if its just a reminder.


Even though I was extremely anxious and now you can see why, Brennan's lungs look great.  He is also 20lbs and 30in long, which is 90th for height and 30th for weight.  He met all his milestones, except one, which is his pincher gasp.

ABC'S

Trip to Jupiter

 This past Saturday we drove down to Jupiter to visit with Aunt Dana and her fiance Mike, as well as the Gilmores.  Here we are at breakfast.

 Brennan being silly and making faces.  He ate almost all of my eggs and half of my hashbrowns. What a little piggy.

 We took Liam to the turtle rehabilitation center.

 Weighing and cleaning Salty.

 Liam next to the leatherback turtle skull

 Daddy and Liam at the pool

Dana and Papa cooking dinner at Dana's and Mike's house.
More fun filled pics.

Sunday Family Kayak Trip

On Sunday, we took the boys out on the kayaks.  This is what we saw in the river.

4th of July Part Two

 Family Mass.  An older man said if Brennan would smile he would give him a dollar, which he did. That's my boy.

 I met Tara in Greenville, SC for lunch and then we went shopping.

 Liam playing with Lily's IPad

 We went to an army museum with Gramps, Tom, and Lily. Afterwards, we sat next to the train tracks and watched as a train went by.

 Liam found a brick for Popi

 We hiked to Toccoa Falls

 Liam and Tom looking at the falls

Brennan at the water fall.

4th of July Part One

This year we made our annual trip to GG's and Grandma Marny's house for the 4th.  As we left, we saw the rocket launch from I95. Liam was so excited.

Liam's new chalk book on the long drive

Marny, Liam, and Lily at the kid parade

Liam and GG

Viking gourd hat at one of the vendors booth after the parade.

Liam and Lily on the kiddie train

Time to cool down.

Kayaks!

So Clay and I have been wanting kayaks for a while now (like two years), but didn't have the money to buy one, never mind two.  We even looked on Craigslist to find better deals.  But today, Dick's was having a crazy deal where basiclly I bought one and got the second one for free and it was still cheaper than anything we have seen. Woohoo! So what did we do today? Take the boys out of course.

Daddy and Liam

Brennan's first kayak trip

Liam helping Daddy paddle