Trains, Trains and Smorgasbords

I've been very lax about posting lately and there's so much to talk about.

We've been trying to get a weekend away for as long as we can remember and last weekend we were finally able to do it. James, Seamus, and I took a trip up to Amish country in PA. The main event was a train ride with the Easter Bunny on an antique steam engine. It was a very nice trip into the PA countryside. The EB did make an appearance but it was pretty quick. Seamus was hoping to play with the Bunny ("Will he play Wonder Pets with me? Will he, will he?" Repeat continuously for a 3 hour car ride) but she was too busy seeing all the other kids. He did end up getting a lollypop out of the deal which was very exciting and he met some new friends. There was a little boy next to us who actually made Seamus seem like a quiet shy little kid, which is pretty hard to do.





We stayed at the Hershey Farm and Inn in a "rustic" room that Seamus declared was "awesome" as soon as we walked in. Daddy didn't quite share in his enthusiasm. Seamus spent the first 10 minutes running around the "awesome" room counting in Spanish very loudly. (I know, very odd but somehow it felt right.)

Then it was time to take a walk on the farm with Mommy while Daddy took a much deserved nap. We saw ducks and geese, who weren't as thrilled to see Seamus as he was to see them, and lots of goats and chickens. They also had a really cool playground where Seamus went on the big kid slide all by himself.

That night we went to a huge smorgasbord thinking there must be something for him to eat but apparently Amish people don't have milk, pork, and beef allergies. Everything was either in a cream sauce or had big honking pieces of sausage in it. Somehow we got some food in him while Mommy and Daddy rolled out of there.

The next day we went to "Chocolate World" in Hershey. Again, the allergies caused some issues. Seamus couldn't eat any of the chocolate and after having gummy bears and throwing up we remembered he was allergic to the gelatin they're made with. Thank goodness for jelly beans.

We had a nice Easter and had dinner with Ga and Pa. Seamus' new friend, the Easter Bunny brought him some nice stuff, including Easter monkeys. (You'll notice the EB doesn't read ingredients very well since he also brought marshmallow Peeps which were soon confiscated.)



We also had an exciting visit to a pre-school. I'll post more about that later.

Easter treats

"Seamus, who's coming this weekend?"

"The Easter Bunny and the Easter Monkey"

"What does the Easter Monkey bring?"

"Easter Bananas"

Of course.

Busy, busy

We've been very busy lately. I think it's been good for Seamus.

On Saturday morning, we went to a birthday party at one of those Extreme Bouncy places with moonbounces and climbing walls and slides. Seamus was in heaven since his most favorite thing is jumping and bouncing. Mommy was a little concerned about all the germs, but I just hoped for the best and followed him around with lots of antibacterical cleaner. Most of the kids were older than Seamus which makes him feel like a big kid.

Then we stopped by Ga and Pa's apartment and saw Uncle Woody, Alex and Cassidy who had come for a visit. He spent hours with them running around on the playground. Then we all went out to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse for Ga's birthday and had a fabulous dinner. Seamus loved his chicken critters so much he sat and ate and ate in silence and didn't ask once to go for a walk. He also got to ride on the horse saddle which was for the birthday girl who was too embarrassed to ride it.

Yesterday, we went back to Ga and Pa's to visit more with the cousins and Aunt Chris and Uncle Woody. He will sure miss them. Then later in the day we had a nice visit from Seamus' friend Lilly who he always has fun with.

And today, Seamus and Daddy had another outing and went and saw "Horton Hears a Who!" Whew, that boy's been busy!

Eerie

Alright, so I think Seamus is psychic.

Yesterday morning, I walked into his room and he was in his crib wide awake singing "Alex and Cassidy are coming to visit, Uncle Woody is coming. I'm going to play with them." That is my brother and his kids who live in NC who he hasn't seen since Christmas. They actually are coming to visit this weekend but James nor I have mentioned it to him at all. He is still talking about them coming even today.

Then this morning, when I went in there, he was wide awake and said "Mommy, I'm talking about animals. Tigers and turtles and sheep and cows and turtles and roosters and turtles. They are having a race." We discussed who is fast and who is slow and who would probably win the race. Later in the morning during his treatments, he was watching "Super Why" which is a great show on PBS about spelling and reading. The book that was on was "The Tortoise and the Hare" which is about... that's right, turtles in races. How weird is that?

Good week

This week was a good one. Seamus went in for his endoscopy and tube replacement on Wednesday and the doctor's initial thought was that things are looking much better than his last one in September. We still have to get the biopsy results.

He is only throwing up occasionally and is eating like crazy so they think maybe eventually he won't need the feeding tube. We switched to only using the part of the feeding tube that goes into his stomach instead of the part that goes into his intestines which is what he have been using for the last year. So far his stomach seems to be handling it fine.

Here's a video of Seamus. He really did finish the whole thing but I ran out of space on the memory card. That will make sense once you view it.

Rough Days

Anyone who has ever experienced life with a two-year old knows some days can be pretty rough. Today has been one of those days.

Breakfast this morning turned into a battlefield. Seamus wouldn't eat anything but his blueberries and formula. After accidentally spilling his cup, he discovered how artistic he could be with the berries. After Mommy cleaned it up and then caught him intentionally dumping his formula again and making "blueberry rainbows" on the table, chair, himself..., I'd about had enough. (Although, I do admit they were pretty.)

After trying to get him out of the bathtub numerous times, I finally gave in to his screaming and let him stay in there for 30 minutes. The pruny kid had surprised me by sticking some "friends" up the bathroom faucet. After pulling out the plastic scuba man and blue fish, I gave up trying to rescue the gold fish. The tweezers and screwdriver didn't help so he may be stuck permanently.

Then we get to the playroom. James and I make an attempt to get him to keep his playroom at least somewhat tidy. Today, not so much. I was in the kitchen and turned around and saw him dump his huge bin of stuffed animals (I'm talking 50-60 animals) on the floor and take a WWE-worthy diving leap into the pile. They're still sitting there.

I know he's stir crazy because we didn't leave the house on this freezing day and he misses his Ga and Pa. Pa is back in the hospital and Ga is usually with him.

I also need to remember little moments like last night when we were going to bed. We climbed the stairs together and when we got to the top he said "Thanks for holding my hand, Mommy". I love the little monster to pieces.