Feelin' a little bit crazy

Just a cute little crazy babe to share today.

Unlikely first words

A few months ago I know Ralphie yelled "Maaaaa" a couple of times when I would leave the room. Lately I haven't heard this. We work on saying mama all the time, but nothing.

While we were waiting in the exam room at the doctor's office on Friday, we had to get creative. My oldest son and I ended up playing catch with Ralph's Elmo doll. Rose was with us, too, and I know that the whole office could hear us. Ralph would CRACK UP when Wesley tossed Elmo and I helped him catch. Then Rose would squeal in response to Ralph. Wesley and I would laugh in response to her! This game helped to pass much time.

This is the Elmo doll Ralph received on his birthday from the nice lady in the waiting room at the hospital. She felt so bad about him being sick on his birthday that she bought this Elmo at the gift shop and sent it up to Ralph's room. When I first gave him the doll, he grabbed Elmo's hands and proceeded to make him pat-a-cake!

We love pat-a-cake. We play it all the time, but I was still surprised that Ralph made Elmo play it. I was even more surprised on Friday to hear Ralph say PAT-A-CAKE! I thought I was hearing things but Rose and Wesley heard it, too. It sounds a little like tah-tah-take! For a baby who doesn't say mama or dada yet, I think these are unlikely first words.

You know you're in trouble when...

You know you are in trouble when the nurse offers you all a can of soda. Dr. Pepper? Sure, we have that. Sprite? OK. Ralph's cardiologist appointment was originally scheduled for 9 a.m. yesterday but something came up and they asked us to come at 3 p.m. I hate afternoon appointments. They just seem to take forever when the clinic gets backed up and Ralph gets cranky if he misses his afternoon nap.

You also know you are in trouble when the echo tech asks you to wait in the echo room, just in case the doctor wants to take some more pictures. I tried to give Ralph an early nap, but nothing doing. The echo seemed to take forever and when Ralph finished his bottle he just couldn't handle any more handling. I know, by now, some of the things that the doctors are looking for on the echo and I didn't like what I saw. It couldn't be right.

Well, the doctor did want more pictures but Ralph was melting down by now. He took some quick measurements. I was right, his pulmonary pressures were high. Very high. Two times higher than two months ago. How did this happen? I was so certain that the heart repair would help bring the pressures down! Pulmonary Hypertension is so silent, so evil. How could I know?

The rest of the visit was very rushed and I didn't get my questions answered. And, this is weird, the doctor asked me when I want to come back! I think I must have just looked at him like I didn't understand, 'cause I didn't. Then he said, "One or two months?" One! By then it was after 5 p.m. and I was late to pick up James at the airport. Ugggggh.

So here we are. The doc wants to be aggressive. We have upped his medications and upped his oxygen to 1 liter. The good news is that his heart is much smaller that it has been in a long time, I didn't want to forget that. We just still have a long way to go with the lungs.

Little Mommy

One of my favorite things about parenting is delegating responsibility. When it comes to regular chores, forget about getting Rose to help without putting up a fight. But, when it comes to baby care she is more than willing to help. Whether it is diaper changes, organizing toys, dressing or giving a bottle she is game.

Yesterday I was busy with something, don't remember, so I handed her a jar of baby food and asked her to go feed Ralph. You should have seen her eyes light up! I haven't seen her this motivated since the day I asked her to come tell me if anyone was being naughty in the basement playroom. Little girls crack me up!

So I snapped this hilarious picture a few minutes later. She did a great job feeding. She only dropped a couple of glops and had the whole "open up and take a bite" face down pat.

Wordless Wednesday

Do I really have learn to walk?

Hot hot hot

Finally, it is getting hot here. All of a sudden it feels like summer! Maybe my grass will stop growing so fast-the mower died over the weekend.

The kids and I went to the pool today while Ralphie napped. We took a couple of turns on the lazy river. I taught Rosie how to push off the wall to get going underwater. It wasn't very crowded at all.

While I was working with Rosie, I noticed a mom helping her daughter walk in the water. The young girl looked about eight years old and she appeared to have Cerebral Palsy. I was so happy to see them at the pool. Sometimes I just watch people at the pool and I wonder where all the kids with DS and other disabilities are. I know they exist. I just hardly ever see them in public and I am fairly observant. Oh well, I was just thankful for this beautiful mom and daughter.

Leroy-ism

I took everyone to Target today. We were out of diapers and Leroy needed some new shoes. In the shoe department:

ME: Wow! Look, they have jellies! I haven't see jelly shoes since I was in high school.

LEROY: Do they have peanut butter shoes?

He is brilliant in an odd sort of way! He spent the next 15 minutes singing about peanut butter shoes! I did buy some jellies for Rose. They were on clearance for $1.97!