Bonding time

We convinced Brendan he wanted to hold Owen again the other day. It didn't go so well.

Bless you, baby Jesus

An admirer (or stalker?) pointed out to me yesterday that it had been SIX whole days and no new post. Shame on us. This post is for you, my dear.

Sunday was Owen's baptism. A good time was had by all. Owen slept peacefully thru the entire process. He didn't even flinch when they poured water on his head.

I didn't take many pictures for some reason. I will have to dress the poor kid back up and take some pretend pictures. He will never know the difference 20 years from now. Unless you guys tell him.

Face meet Concrete

Last week one night after Jeremy and the boys got home Brendan was playing out on the back step while Jeremy unloaded Owen and I made dinner. From the stove, you can clearly see Brendan. He loves to sit out there with Kitty (who is no longer allowed in the house). I looked and he was happily playing. I turned back around, just as Jeremy was going out to get him, and he was gone. When Jeremy opened the door, Brendan was letting out a horrible scream. He had fallen on the concrete steps. We aren't exactly sure what happened. Kitty won't tell us. Jeremy scooped him up, brought him in, offered him a bath, and all was perfect with the world. When he got out of the tub, I could see a bit of a red mark on his forehead but nothing too major. When he got up the next morning you could clearly see the scrapes from the concrete. The following day it looked even worse once it had scabbed over.


On Thursday we had to take Owen to his doctor appointment and I was cringing at the thought of what the doctor might say about Brendan's face. When he walked in he took one look at Brendan and said "Oh my....." I was bracing myself for the call to the social worker as he finished the sentence with "you look just like my son!" Phew.


I was mad that I didn't take a picture of it because it's pretty well healed now. I noticed that Jeremy did take a couple morning after shots so I thought I'd share. All three pictures kind of look like mugshots. The last one made me actual laugh out loud. Not at his pain, just the overall picture. I assume that was his morning look.


Oh yeah, check out his new do after his first haircut. Ok, so maybe it doesn't look all that different.

Alone time

Can't you see that I'm perfectly content just chillin' all by myself, watching Amos bathe himself?




Now you insist upon sticking that darn camera in my face?








It's crazy, but I kinda like it.

Daddy Boot Camp: Phase II

Jeremy commented in a previous post that he puts Owen thru nightly "Daddy Boot Camp" to strengthen his neck. Basically, it's just tummy time and sitting him on your lap and making him use his head and neck to strengthen those muscles. He's been doing relatively well at it. Last night he was on his belly on the floor and when he got pissed off enough, he rolled over onto his back. We're not sure if it was intentional or just pure accident. He rolled, nonetheless.

Jeremy said tonight he wished he had a chair that forced him to sit on his own to make him really make it work. I went down to the basement and brought up the Bumbo chair. He's too small for it still, but it served the purpose. When he gets tired his head tends to fall backwards. Since the chair wasn't high enough to support it, we put his Boppy behind to catch the bobbing of his head when needed. It's a very Redneck creation, but it did the trick. He wasn't overly thrilled about it, but he sat in his chair for awhile supporting his head. Here are some pictures...

Enough already!

Two months

Time flies when you're having fun! Owen is two months old today. We had his 8 week check up with his pediatrician. I just realized that Jeremy has never named him. Hmmm... Owen is up 9 lbs 4 oz. and 22 1/2 inches. He is still just a little peanut. At this age, Brendan was just shy of 12 lbs. The doctor said that if he didn't know Owen's history he would never know there has been a problem. He was happy with his movements, his cooing, and overall progress. He was thrilled that there is no immediate need for the shunt.



I think next week we are doctor free unless something else comes up. We don't have another appointment for Owen until October 1st when we go see Dr., er, I mean, Gramps Creeps. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he continues to see no need for the shunt.


Here are some pictures I took on Sunday when we were playing outside with Brendan. As you can tell, Owen was having a blast.

I think I can, I think I can...

I think I mentioned before that Brendan got his new swingset early this summer. He has never been able to play by himself. We always had to go out and lift him up to be able to go down the slide. He has finally mastered the ladder to do it all by himself. (don't even get me started on the swing. He still wants nothing to do with it.)



Here he is on his journey caught on camera.

In other "what has Brendan done lately" news, he went to Gomma's last week. (No, I'm not spelling impaired. That's what it sounds like when he says Grandma. He started calling her Gum months ago and it's transpired to Gomma over time. Yes, with a bit of an English accent at times.) I was diligently working, because that's what I do, and my phone rang. It was Gomma on the phone. She wasn't too pleased. Her exact words when I picked up the phone were "I'm going to kill the little*@%$..." Of course I had to pause and think to myself, "whoever could she be speaking of in this manner?" She went on to say that they were all out on the deck. They being her, Brendan, and her bird who was sunning himself in his cage. Brendan must've decided she was cramped in there and set her free. They tried to rescue her, but no luck. When you ask Brendan about what happened he changes the subject. I was told that he did some serious sucking up trying to win over Gomma for the rest of the day.

He also got his first hair cut last week. Yes, his first. We can't all be follicly blessed. There wasn't a ton to cut, but it needed some serious shaping. I'm sure that it will grow like a weed now, or not.

That's about all the excitement for the moment. I took a few cute pictures of Owen yesterday that I will post later this week. We have his 8 week check up this week, which means shots. Yikes! If it's any consolation to him, me and Jeremy are going to get our flu shots at that time so he doesn't feel picked on.

Don't Torture Your Kids....It will Bite You in the Butt

Thursday managed to fail to go as planned...but that is a rather typical thing in our household, so we were not surprised...

April went to work for a while on Thursday morning which gave me the morning to spend with the boys. Owen was well behaved. He ate and relaxed on the floor. I would lie down next with him and talk to him and then proceed to do something else. Brendan, on the other hand, was a force to be reckoned with and terrorized the house and was all in all a beast. He would leap off of the toilet onto the floor. He tried to push the laptop on the floor because I would not read to him in that instant. He needed attention and was not afraid to make it clear there would be hell to pay if I failed to notice. By the time I needed to get the boys ready to leave for Madison, I was fit to be tied and had no patience left whatsoever. I began to wonder whether bringing Brendan along to Owen's appointment with Dr. Elmo would be a good idea or not. Unfortunately, it was late enough that doing anything other than taking him along would be an impossibility.

Once we loaded up in the car and started driving to Madison...Brendan did a complete turnaround and became a perfect angel. As we drove to Madison, he happily ate some chicken nuggets April had picked up for him and watched his DVD. Everyone once in a while he would tune into what was playing on the radio and would dance a little. It was a nice surprise.

We were running a bit behind but managed to make up for lost time in transit and made it to Madison just in time for Owen's 1:45 appointment. We rushed to the elevator and up to the 2nd floor. As April checked in with the receptionist, I set Owen down on a seat in the lobby and unbuckled Brendan from his stroller. As I looked up at April I could see her face was looking flushed which meant something was not right. I eavesdropped in on the conversation and heard the snippy receptionist tell her that Owen's appointment had been scheduled for this past Tuesday an 9:30 in the morning. She said Elmo was over at the children's hospital and would not be back today. When April asked if there was any chance of seeing him today the receptionist did not feel we could. I was so pissed! I had switched my day off to attend the appointment. I was very anxious to hear what Dr. Elmo had to say...and I did NOT want to drive all the way back down to Madison again for an appointment I was already there for. The snippy receptionist finally agreed (begrudgingly) to call Dr. Elmo's nurse to see if we would be able to see him or not. A few minutes later...we were thrilled to find out that we would be able to see him at 4:15. Of course it was over 2 hours away...but at least we would be able to see him. We buckled Brendan back into his seat and left the office.

In order to kill some time...we headed over to Noodles and Company for lunch. I was irritated...but I thought we would find something to do while we waited. Brendan chose to run around and play in the restaurant (which was no big deal since there was no one there) in lieu of eating. I decided to give my sister a call and see if maybe she wanted to come over to the childrens hospital to play with Brendan while we were waiting since he would need some entertainment to not get bored. She agreed so we decided to head over to the hospital and wait.

We made a stop at the bookstore next to the Noodles and Company and we received a call from Elmo's nurse letting us know we could get in right away if we would come right now. April told her we were just moments away and we were on the way. As luck (almost) would have had it...Sammi was already at the hospital with her friend Nicola so she would still be able to entertain Brendan. We scurried into the waiting room and checked in. Brendan immediately discovered the large fish tank and was enamored instantly. "See Em!" he would tell Sammi and kiss the side of the tank. He realized there were all sorts of cool things to do in the lobby and would rush from one thing to another as content as can be. The lobby was teaming with people...so Brendan enjoyed all the activity. It was not too long and we were being called back to the doctor's office.

A cute little Chinese lady took us back and weighed Owen. She was very spunky but I could not understand a thing she said. Owen had actually gained more weight...9 lbs. 4 oz. I was impressed! Chineka moved us from one room to another and asked us a series of questions that I am sure we answered incorrectly because we could not quite understand what she was saying. I know I answered a few accurately because I was watching her type the information...but other answers...well, we winged it. This was about 3:30 p.m. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Elmo's nurse came in and spoke with us. She apologized that we had to wait in the lobby for a bit and explained that she thought Elmo's 3:00 appt. was a no show, so she called us in...and then they showed up late. But she said she did not feel it would take long and the doctor would be in shortly. This was at 3:38 p.m.

Owen had just finished a bottle and was very active and content. I was happy he was so lively because I really wanted Dr. Elmo to see his great behavior. As the next 30 minutes came and went...Owen calmed down a little bit and we sat and waited. People walked down the hallway and stared in at us. Gramps Creeper walked by a couple of times and glanced in at us. 4:30 came and went and I could hear someone mooing down the hallway. I don't know that they were actually mooing...but that was sure what it sounded like. In my extremely bored and restless state, I started to think...AHA! Those pictures of animals and such with arrows next to them did make sense! The hallway marked cow DID indeed have cows in it! Yes, I was that bored. A couple of minutes later I had switched gears from being ridiculously delirious to absolutely annoyed. I was panicked that Brendan was coming unglued in the lobby and my sister had not responded to the text messages I had sent checking in. I had to pee like a Russian racehorse. I did not want to leave the office for fear he would show up as soon as I walked out...so I just sat there and stewed knowing I would soon pee myself and probably have an aneurysm from getting so bent out of shape. My butt was going numb from the uncomfortable bench and Owen was getting drowsy.

When 4:45 rolled around...April finally started hanging around the office door hoping someone would notice. That halls had gotten increasingly quiet and fewer people were walking about. We waited so long the cows went home. Once she sat back down, we could hear Elmo talking to someone and knew it could not be long now...he only had to walk a few feet....but soon...the voices were gone and there we sat. Another period of time passed and Chineka peeked in on us and seemed shocked that we were still waited. I was not shocked...just homicidal. She said she would go see where Elmo was. A few moments later...she popped back in and said he would be here in just a couple of seconds. I did not believe a word of it. We were supposed to have gone to the UW for an ultrasound for Owen at 5 but because he had the MRI a couple of weeks ago they had decided to hold off. It was a good thing because we would not have ever made it on time.

At almost 5 o'clock...Elmo finally graced us with his presence. He apologized for the delay and we both smiled and nodded..."it's no problem." Why do we say that? Why, when you get stuck waiting an infinite amount of time to get into a medical appointment do you say "No Problem." when the doctor apologized for being late. Who knows? Maybe it is just me. Anyway...he came in and talked to us about Owen's MRI scan from last week. He brought it up on the computer and showed us the picture. He explained that the ventricles should be thin and slit like and that Owen's were more sausage like towards the back of his brain. He said that while it was still cause for concern...the fact that his head had not swelled up more and the ventricles had decreased in size, that surgery was not needed yet. Dr. Elmo said all of the blood was indeed gone and the concern now was the fluid left in the aftermath. He showed us the portion of the brain (on the rear right side) that had sustained permanent damage as a result of the bleed. He said the damaged part was a relatively quiet area in the brain (meaning it does not serve any distinct or major purpose). Right behind the damaged area is a portion of the brain that affects sight. He did not feel this part was damaged but said that if it was...Owen may have issues seeing to the left in both eyes. Right from day one he has said that if there were motor issues or other issues, it would probably be on the left or pertaining to the left side of the body. He pointed out again that his recovery and progress was nothing short of amazing and that if he had been adult he would not have survived. He said the the difference in the healing mechanisms in children as opposed to adults is incredible. He stated that he was pleased with his progress and if things continued this way, there was a chance he may not require a stint. Also, he felt that there was a fair chance that permanent side affects of the bleed could be minimal. Now that is what I wanted to hear!

After he finished looking at the scan he did a physical exam of Owen. I do not feel it was completely accurate because Owen had been awake for a while and was half asleep by the time Elmo arrived. His assessment was that his upper body strength (arms and neck) was still a bit on the low side. He was not concerned, nor did he think it was substantial...but it was something we should work with him on. When he examined his eyes, he was pleased that he was tracking and that he was responsive to the various tests he did. His reflexes were good and both sides of his body were active and responsive. We asked what he would like to see Owen doing in the future and he replied he would like him to have a consistent social smile in the next month. We are also supposed to watch and note if we see one side of the body as being more active than the other or if we felt we saw any problems with movement.

Dr. Elmo was content with Owens progress and did not think he would need to see him again for 6 months unless something changed drastically. He knew we would be meeting with the other doctors regularly and if we were alerted to an area of concern, we could contact him at that time. So overall, it was a good appointment.

By the time we walked back out in the lobby EVERYONE was gone with an exception of Brendan, my sister Sammi and her friend Nicola. Nobody else was around...even the receptionists went home. I point this out only because we waited for EVER. Sammi told me Brendan was well behaved the entire time we were in there (6 years) and was just getting antsy when we came out. I was so impressed!

After leaving the hospital we made a trip to the mall and Target. While at Target...we wandered through the toy aisle and I decided to torture Brendan with a couple of the toys. There were a couple of puppets that I put on and talked to him with. He looked petrified and said ALL DONE! There were a couple more toys that made noise and when I pushed the switches..he was annoyed and pushed me away. I found a Yo Gabba Gabba boombox and played that for him and he signaled me to hand it over. I was horrified. I was supposed to be picking on him....he was not supposed to want the toy. For the remainder of the trip through the store...we heard YO GABBA GABBA YO GABBA GABBA over and over and over and over again. It was a $25 toy and we were NOT wasting our money on something that irritating. Brendan never wants to sit in the cart...he likes to get down and walk. Sometimes he walks everywhere but where you need him to go...but today he was staying put and playing with his toy. There are the red balls in front of the Target building that Brendan loves to play around. Every time we go there he asks to walk around them and play. As we approached the check outs I needed to distract him from the annoying Yo Gabba Gabba toy so we could put it back. I offered to let him get down and walk. "NOPE." he said and played with his toy. I asked if he wanted to go outside and play by the ball. "NO" he said and concentrated on the toy. Feverishly I looked around the store trying to think of something he would be interested in...nothing. When I got to the checkout...I tried to get the toy out of his hand and he gripped it for dear life. I realized that this damn toy was coming with us and it was all my fault! The moral of the story....don't tease your child.

So that's my story for today....until next time....

Spectacular, Spectacular

We visit Dr. Elmo for the first time since leaving the hospital in just two days. I think he will be impressed with Owen since he growing like a weed and getting stronger every day. His head control has increased ten fold in the last week. My biggest concern about him recently has been how steady he keeps his head...but he has been doing so well with it that I am no longer real concerned. April weighed him last night and he weighed 8 lbs. 12 oz. That means he has gained almost a pound in a short amount of time. He coos now when you play with him and has continued to be a pretty well behaved baby. I am certainly not letting my guard down completely...but I am feeling quite a bit calmer for the moment.

We have yet to get Brendan and Owen on any sort of synchronized schedule...but we have managed to accomplish a little rhythm in the way we do things. One of us usually tends to Brendan while the other deals with Owen. When it comes to bedtime...one of us concentrates on getting Brendan in his pajamas and to sleep while the other swaddles and feeds Owen and gets him to bed. We have even managed to finally start venturing out a little bit more and introducing Owen to all of the people that haven't had the opportunity to meet him yet. We all went to a Cowan family celebration over the weekend and he got to meet my mom's side of the family. He has made his rounds with April's family and meeting all of our co-workers. It's been nice being a little bit more mobile again. Brendan has become a much better traveler and seats himself in his car seat without any great struggle and that makes getting them from here to there much easier.

One of the comments I have heard a couple of times during our visits is that Owen "looks normal". Of course it was meant as a compliment and so I smiled and nodded, but he is an average newborn. I don't like the word normal because it implies there is a standard that one must live up to in order to be considered like everyone else. I am all about individuality and normal to me means that you lack that little something that sets you apart from all the rest and takes you from being "normal" to spectacular. So with that in mind...Owen is not just normal....he is spectacular! But from a medical perspective...he really has been meeting all of the milestones an average child of his age is meeting. Sure there could be a problem some day but there also could not. He has proven to be pretty resilient so far and I have no doubts that he has more surprises up his sleeves (which are still too long because of his petite stature). Owen really is a little warrior and takes himself to a new level almost each and every day.

Brendan also continues to exceed all expectations by descending into his terrible twos ahead of schedule. His intelligence can make him a force to be reckoned with at time. As I write this I hear him throwing dog food into the water dish and laughing maniacally. Something he has been scolded for doing numerous time...but something he takes the opportunity to do every chance he gets. Owen has just woke up and I am heating his bottle. Brendan just tore through the room and into the bedroom where I hear silence followed by a loud thud. That would be because he is climbing up on the bed and jumping off the side. Nothing is sacred or safe from the likes of Mr. Brendan Lee. He is not all bad though. He has also been gaining some positive attributes. In just the last month, he has become much more social. He will actually let people talk to him and in some cases actually make physical contact with him without coming unglued. He will repeat and remember anything, including names, with absolutely no effort whatsoever. His passion for books has actually increased and not he will sit patiently listening to entire stories now without diverting his attention to something else. I am also most thankful for the fact that he is becoming just a little more self sufficient again. He still demands a great deal of quality time with Mom and Dad...but he will go and play by himself for periods of time once again and that is terrific. Except for right now when he sees I am typing. He is handing me a book and trying to close the laptop. When I set the book aside and start typing faster...he is trying to get my attention by doing his poop schtick. Bye poop! Love you! See You Poop! Never a dull moment in his world.

So now I am off to feed Owen, read to Brendan...and dare I anticipate a nap for the older of the two Lee boys? Yeah, I didn't think so.

TGIF (The Great, Impossible Feat)

The day really got rolling at 5 a.m. when Owen woke up for his bottle. I am not a morning person...so the closer it gets to morning...the more irritable I get. I much prefer the feedings in the middle of the night. There is something about getting up and going back to bed again only to know that you will need to get up for the day soon. It is also a sad reality that Owen likes to eat slower in the morning as if he to purposely minimize that amount of rest you would have remaining. The reason I mention this is because I never did fall back asleep. I went to bed and laid there...soon after April got up...I cannot sleep when I hear someone moving around and before I knew it, I needed to get up for work.

Needless to say, by the time I got the boys in the car and headed off to work, I was feeling quite irritable. As I drove down the road....I checked out the facebook statuses and saw a series of yaaay it is Friday and TGIF....since I knew holiday weekends meant no rest for me, and actually more work...I wanted to sharpen the T, the G, the I AND the F and shove it up their....................

Speaking of brown....after a long day at work, I decided to shoot for a few minutes of peace by settling Brendan in the other room with an Elmo potty training video. This plan quickly backfired when I was required (by Brendan) to sit and watch this video with him. First of all, I am an old school Sesame Street fan. When I watched Sesame Street Snuffy was still invisible and considered make believe, Mr. Hooper was still alive and Elmo (Thank God) did not exist. I am not a fan of Elmo. 2 years ago, I would not allow Elmo in my home...but the joys of parenthood have made me susceptible to all sorts of evil like Elmo, Dora and Yo Gabba Gabba. Also I am not a fan of excrement. I can change my children's diapers like a pro, but I do not want to talk about bowel movements. I do not want to hear 3 year olds say that "I say I poo", "I call it deuces", "I call it tinkle". It is very unsettling. So to have to watch a whole feature on potty time...well it was painful. Especially when they start singing about how old people do it, pets do it....it was too much to handle. But I did it for the greater good.

After the wonderful Elmo extravaganza concluded....I watched Brendan bounce off the walls as Owen fussed in April's arms. It was almost 8 p.m. and I was foreseeing another evening where bed time would come late and relaxation time would be non-existent. During Owen's stay in the hospital, Brendan really learned how to work the system. He is a clever little sucker and has taken our great appreciation for him to the next level and uses it to his advantage. One of the ways he does this is to make April or myself (and in many instances both of us) sit with him in the room until he falls asleep. This is something new since Owen was born and something we allowed because we felt sorry for him for all he went to while we tended to his sibling. Lately, he has gotten a bit over the top. I was tired and saw my chance of rest, or even a nice walk slipping farther and farther away as time ticked by. Brendan was getting more and more riled up and I decided I was about to challenge myself and him.

I decided it was time for bed for Mr. Brendan Lee shortly after 8. April stayed out in the living room with Owen and Brendan and I went to the bed. I started out in my typical wishy washy mode...by allowing him to rest and watch TV. He watched for a bit and headed out of the room to get April. So, I decided I would show him. I turned off the TV...shut the door tight and laid him in bed. He fussed for a second and headed to the door. He tried it and it did not open. He attempted it again and failed. I laughed to myself...ha ha ha I will show you. But in actuality, he showed me. The third time was a charm and the little sucker opened the door, turned back towards me and grinned and walked out into the living room.

His disobedience burned my butt and I marched right back out to the living room and picked him up off the couch that he was beginning to bounce on and dragged him back to bed. This time I locked the bedroom door and laid him in bed. Brendan immediately jumped out of bed and tried the door. Fail! "Stuck" he said as he tried again. No success. I picked him up and laid him back in bed. As he prepared to jump off again I warned him I would take him to his crib if he moved. He begrudgingly laid on the pillow and started chanting...."Momma...moomah...mom...momma." He attempted his departure again and I calmly threatened him again. He sang his momma spiel followed by "eeeee-eeee, oooo ahhhh....bottle....dad...doooo ....dad". It was clear he was trying to break me and this would be a battle of wills. I offered to rub his back (because that is a great fighting tactic). He told me no and proceeded to chant and roll and bounce. He laid sideways and pressed his feet against my stomach. He whined and sat up and fell back several times. After about 20 minutes I heard April try the door and I ignored it. I was not going to let him win this challenge. He laid on me a while fake whining and continuing his momma schtick. I wanted so bad to scold him, but I knew I would be acknowledging his poor behavior. I wanted to laugh at some of the ridiculous words he would make up as he sang...but I knew he would think he was funny (which he was) and play it up for all it was worth. I rolled to my other side and breathed deeply. It was about a 45 minute experience in all...but that little guy fell asleep and I won! HURRAH! Phase One of project getting Brendan to sleep independently so Mom and Dad can have peace and quiet time once again was a success!

Afterwards, I put on my most secure training bra (this is a joke, however if I don't put down the twinkie's, moobs are in my future) and I headed out into the full moon night feeling exhilarated at my accomplishment. Not just because I got the beast to sleep, but that I was still going for a walk instead of sitting on the couch like a blob. Werewolves of London played on the ipod which I thought was fitting for the evening and I had a tremendous walk/jog. I felt good by the time I got home. The thought crossed my mind that Brendan could challenge me again tomorrow...or that this one good workout was not going to alleviate all of the flesh caused by months of stress eating....but then I reminded myself that that was tomorrow and today is today. This instant I was victorious. A complete success story of my own making. I reminded myself how ecstatic I felt at that instant for challenging myself. I thanked the powers that be for my two great kids and my wonderful wife. I officially marked a point on the board for Team Mom and Dad....and I wrote this blog to you. And now....it is off to bed. Until next time folks.......

Calgon took me away

Who isn't happy as a clam after nice, warm, relaxing bath?

Zero to Three

Life has continued to trudge along in the Lee household as we continue our quest for normalcy. Little by little we are beginning to resume some semblance of the way it used to be prior to Owen's birth. Of course, life isn't the same as it used to be and we have to find a whole new strategy to balance our careers and two boys...while also tackling all of the little extras that get tossed in our direction.

A trio of ladies from the birth to three program visited our house on Monday. Their purpose was to evaluate Owen's overall appearance and capabilities to see if he is meeting the expectations of an average infant of his age. They did a number of different things with him. Moving him into different positions to test the strength of his limbs and head. Attempting to get his attention in a number of different manners from startling him, to just talking to him to see if he would react or track their movements. They asked quite a few questions to April and myself to give us an opportunity to let them know the things we have noticed or to address any concerns that we may have. They also wanted to know what we have been doing with him as far as strengthening exercises. I copped to my daddy bootcamp. I have a very dry, warped sense of humor...so I am not completely sure they knew I was kidding when I told them that I work him out because I do not feel he has any incapability....he is just lazy. Although...I am not sure I was kidding? When I sit him up, he is very capable of holding up his head and will...then decides to let it flop around until he decides to hold it back up again. I have seen him turn his head from one side to the other when he is laying on his back or on his stomach...yet he does not seem to do it enough.

Anyway, their overall opinion of his behaviors and movements were pretty positive. They felt his head and neck strength could be a bit stronger, but the rest of his body seemed very strong. They thought he focused well on people when they tried to get his attention...but would like to see him track people around a bit more when they move. But once again, it poses the question to me...is he in need of concentrating more on following people with his eyes and head...or does he just lose interest and is too lazy to follow through? I am not sure. For now, they are planning to visit once a month until he gets a little bit older. They said there really is not a great deal they can do with him when he is so small and they need to know a bit more about what he may or may not do before they can make a more definitive game plan. So....more waiting.

Today was April's first day back at work...which she headed off to begrudgingly. While I was not given as long of a period of time to spend with Owen once he got home...I can still relate to the fact that you anticipate X amount of time to spend adjusting to your new life with your new addition and then all of a sudden...everything is thrown out of whack...your actual amount of time you were hoping to spend at home has been shortened significantly and next thing you know you are back at work. This was my first day I spent alone with the two boys and overall...it was a success. Neither of them slept the night before so I began the day tired (and come to think of it...I am concluding it that way too). Brendan stuck to his typical Brendan day demanding as much time and attention from me as possible. Although he was much easier to handle in the food department than he usually is. He was willing to get in his high chair at mealtime without me having to pin him down and drag him through the kitchen with his arms flailing while he kicks and screams. I have played that game too many times before. Owen was pretty even tempered and ate and laid on the floor or sat on my lap and cooed a bit. Their naps did not coordinate with one another (which I anticipated but was still disappointed by) so there was no napping for Dad...but I didn't die. It was not until the evening when both April and I were home that they both decided to become unruly and holler in unison and make our night completely unrelaxing.

The rest of this week should be relatively calm in the appointment department. I am home with the boys again tomorrow and Thursday will be my first day of dragging the two of them off to Aprils moms before work. April should be able to ease herself back into the her workdays. Next week is Dr. Elmo and I am anxious to see him because I want to know what he has to say. I also want him to see Owen and let us know how he feels about his progress.

And now....the part that you have all been waiting for...the What Strange Thing Brendan is Doing Now...portion of the blog. The night before last he dirtied his diaper in a more brown manner :) and April asked if he wanted to go to the potty. He agreed (although the deed had already been done) and she sat him on his toilet and then flushed the contents of his diaper down the toilet once they were finished. That was the last attempt I know of where we worked with him on potty training. This afternoon...he was jumping on the coffee table like he knows he is not supposed to when all of a sudden he stood at the end of the table facing me and said "Bye poop! Bye! Miss you!" He grinned as I looked up at him and then began to raise his hand above his head and wave..."Bye Poop! Love you! Miss you! Bye Poop!" This went on for a while and while I was entertained (and disgusted) I had forgotten about it by the time April got home until he once again crawled up on the coffee table and when he was scolded to get down he began his farewell to poop performance once again. I'm really not sure why we need to bid adieu to the brown...but clearly it is something he finds very important.