2 Year checkup

Michelle was conveniently away for work on the day of Samantha's two year checkup. I armed myself with animal crackers, goldfish and a water bottler. I even consider having some M&Ms in my pocket if things were going to get bad.

I picked Samantha up during snack time at daycare. They packed up some turkey and apple slices for the road for me.

We get to the doctor and check in. They give me a 20 question questionnaire to fill out about Samantha's development. Samantha also hands me a piece of chalk. The doctor's office has a big chalk board, not to mention a ton of toys in the lobby. We do some drawing on the board for maybe three minutes and we are being called in the back. I think 'CRAP! I haven't filled this questionnaire out yet'.

Samantha also was not happy we left the playroom. Luckily from the window, the EL runs every few minutes. She kept waving to trains. During this time, I start answering the questions. I also strip Samantha down to her diaper.

The Nurse comes in and we try to get Samantha to stand on the scale. EPIC FAIL. The nurse scared her and she wanted me to hold her. After a min, she stands on it long enough to get her weight, 26.2 lbs. She is now crying and in my arms. During this time the nurse measures her head circumference. I did not get that number. We then lay her down and measure her from head to foot. She was SCREAMING. She is 35 inches tall. I pick her up and the nurse leaves.

With her in my arms, I finish filling out the questionnaire. We sit down, watch trains, and calm down. The doc comes in next.

This doc has a few kids and is really good with Samantha. He pulls out laminated pictures of his kids that he has in a ring. He works slowly and talks to her the whole time. Samantha holds these pictures while he examines her. She loves them. Genius of the doc to have them.

Bottom line, everything is good. She is progressing very well. We do not have to buy whole milk anymore! WOOHOO! He then tells me we need to do a blood test (finger prick) for lead (because of Chicago water) and two shots.

Nurse comes back in. Samantha does not even flinch with the finger prick or seeing her blood go into a very skinny tube. Now, when the nurse puts the band-aid on I swear she just misses where the finger is cut but it seems to be soaking it up. The shots come next, both in the same leg, and cause Samantha to flip out. Fine. I was expecting this. Nurse leaves.

As the nurse leaves. her finger starts gushing more blood outside of the band-aid. Along with the pain in her leg, the sight of her blood coming out is causing a GIANT meltdown. Where are those M&Ms when I need them! ARGH! While holding her, I grab a paper towel. Blood is getting all over her hands, my shirt, etc. I am trying to calm her down. She wants the band-aid off. I finally get her shirt on and the blood is slowing down. I get her pants, socks and shoes on and tell her we can go play in the lobby.

The paper towel was covered in blood. I blame the nurse but when I examined the band-aid later it was soaked too.

We get to the lobby and she is playing with legos. I wait for the blood work to come back. Everything is good. Her lead count is so low it does not even register in the machine. I tell Samantha that it's time to go but she does not want to leave! I end up having to pick her up and carry her out.

When we get to the car, I take off her band-aid, wipe her hand off and give her the box of animal crackers and the bottle of water. She was excited for the animal crackers. On the ride home, she kept telling me the animals.

In conclusion, her progression and numbers are good and animal crackers make everything better.

Movie Night with Samantha!

I love movies. My love of movies really blossomed in college with the influence of Smitty. Through my 20s, I did a pretty good job of keeping up with movies. Now that I have a family and especially since Samantha was born, the amount of movies I watched has dropped about as fast as the stock market crash of the 20s.

Well, Samantha turned two last weekend and with each passing day, she has shown more interest in TV (good or bad). Last night while Michelle was getting ready to go to bowling (I have a bit of an injury...another blog for another time) , I turned to Samantha and said, "It is movie night. Do you want to watch a movie?" I am pretty sure she has no idea what I mean but she seemed excited. Anastasia was in our instant queue on Netflix so we decided on that. Michelle left for bowling and Samantha and I were on the couch starting our movie night adventure.

Now, did Samantha sit for a whole movie? No. She was fairly good though.
Did she even make it through the whole movie? No. She went to bed about an hour into the movie.
Did she play with stickers and other things during the movie? Sure. No way she going to pay attention the whole way.

Did she have popcorn in a purple bowl? OH, you bet!







Watching on the floor was fun for a while...but....



the couch is the way to go (as she learned VERY quickly).



I think she was taunting me in that last picture.

Anyway, we had a good time and I am looking forward to many more movie nights!

We have progress!!!!!

So, earlier in the year, I wrote a blog about the power of the granddaughter.

Let me fast forward to yesterday. Michelle tells me that her father just got an iphone. I found this a little funny because 1 - Vic is not very fond of cell phones in general and 2. He has struggled in the past trying to use them.

Well, yesterday in the middle of the day, I get a call on my cell phone from Vic's phone. I figured he accidentally called me but I still pick up. All I hear is a very loud rumbling noise. I say hello a few times and hang up.

Well, about 10 minutes later I received a video that I can't open on my blackberry. I need quicktime. Did Vic really send me a video from his new phone?

Here is the video.



We have a motor working! Consider me impressed. We are going down there in two months. Looks like the boat might be fully operational by then. The power of the granddaughter!

The Life of Stickers!

Here is another story into the life of a father with a toddler...

Samantha, like every other toddler, likes stickers. She loves to put them everywhere. It is quite enjoyable to see her mind wander with these stickers. Sometimes they go on paper. Sometimes they belong on my knees, shoulders, elbows. Sometimes they go on paper for a minute and then belong somewhere else, maybe the table. Anyway, from my side, I do enjoy watching her imagination working with these stickers.

For Valentine's day, Samantha's sticker collection grew immensely and because of this, Samantha and her stickers have led to a couple funny stories involving yours truly.

Story 1- I am pretty sure this story happened when Michelle was out of town. I was getting Samantha ready for school and she was playing Dora stickers. As I was putting her into the car seat, she put two Dora stickers on the collar of my winter jacket. We get to school and she points to them as I get her out of the seat. As she is taking her jacket off by her classroom, one sticker falls off. She stops, picks it up and makes sure it is on my jacket. As soon as I drop her off in the classroom, I take it off.

Problem is I forgot about the second one and it was higher up the jacket so I could not see it. Let me now fast forward to being in the elevator with a co-worker (who happens to be pregnant for the first time). She looks at me and laughs, "You have a Dora sticker on your jacket." Without missing a beat I say, "Tell Chris (her husband) this is what he has to look forward to."

We had a good laugh about it. In the end, it could have been a lot worse.

Story 2 - Last night I was on my way to the gym. I grabbed a random sweatshirt to wear instead of a jacket. I get to the gym and head over to a warm up area. There are a few people in there and as I am walking over, I get a few strange looks. Now, the gym I belong to is not your average commercial gym. There is both an octagon and boxing ring in this gym.

Well, I take my sweatshirt off and all over the top of it are Snoopy Valentine's day stickers. See below.



Now I know why everyone was giving me this strange look!

Lesson of the day: Do a once over in a mirror before leaving the house!

Random Thoughts

1. Time has been flying around these parts. Depsite time flying, the temp has not changed. It is cold and I am TIRED of it. It is March people! No more freezing weather. Annoying.

2. Our place officially went on the market yesterday. Now, will it sell anytime soon? Only time will tell.

3. Last week Murph's campaign came to an end and it was an honor and privilege to be a part of. With that being said, standing outside for hours in 20 degree weather is not a rationale decision...ever.

4. You know what else is not a rational decision...having kids. I love Samantha but kids are not a rationale decision.

5. Bowling has started back up and I am bowling ok despite not bowling for about 9 months. Week one was not good but I have been picking it up. Also, three weeks in the Purple Otter is in 1st place. CANCEL the rest of the league!

6. I am tired of hearing about the NFL lockout/new CBA negotiations. Listen. NBA is great right now. College bball is going into conference tournaments and spring training for baseball is in full swing. Stop talking about football.

7. Lets hope LU can win a couple games in their tournament and end on a high note. I am not holding my breath. In fact, I am considering not renewing my tickets. I might get tickets off the court for the family instead.

8. My bro turned 40 on Saturday and he threw a party at a hotel with a dj/karaoke. It was awesome and having at a hotel was great. Happy birthday bro! Way to kick off your 40s in style!

9. With Michelle's parents in town this weekend, we had an early celebration for Samantha for her 2nd birthday on Sunday. It was a good time but I got teary eyed singing her happy birthday thinking about the first two years. What the hell is wrong with me? What has this child done to me?

10. The ROCK has come back! I think I count on my hand the amount of wrestling episodes (not PPVs) I have seen since the Rock left 7 years ago. I was sooooo excited to hear he made it back. I am DEFINITELY watching Wrestlemania. Consider me excited!

11. Happy Tuesday! Enjoy the week.