Social Butterfly

James and I both like to think of ourselves as social people but Seamus has us beat by a mile. He never went through that stage where he was afraid of strangers and only wanted Mommy. Put him in a group of people he's never seen and he just shines.

This weekend, he was in heaven. We started at Lilly's birthday party on Saturday morning. As soon as we walked in, he was off like a shot, playing with all the kids. It was about 95 degrees and everybody was swimming in the kiddie pools (which are full of bacteria and not good for CF kids) but he had fun in the sprinkler and running around. He also had to stay out of the sandbox, for the same reasons, but he really was good and listened to us. We had to tear him away after the pinata before he melted into a puddle (CF kids also sweat more).

After a little nap, we got ready for another party to celebrate with our friend, Jenn, who just finished her PhD. There were lots of kids there too, as well as a DJ and dancing. Well, that was all Seamus needed. We didn't see him for the whole evening, except from across the room. Every once in awhile, he would look our way and give us a little wave. He loves the older ladies, but usually they are only a few years older. On Saturday, he was hanging out with the 30 year old ladies and putting on some serious dance moves. I even found a lipstick mark on his face and it wasn't my color.

Then on Sunday, I told him we were going to another party. ("That will be 3", he said.) Seamus' friend Neve was having a picnic at a park with an awesome playground. Again, it was about 95 degrees but that couldn't stop him. There was more kids, squirt guns. and another pinata but that playground was the best thing ever. It was huge and at one point we lost sight of him for a minute. We found him over at another picnic at the next pavillion. I'm telling you that kid loves people. (At some point soon, we're going to have to deal with stranger danger)

Needless to say, he slept pretty good last night.

From the Brain of Seamus

After belching at dinner tonight (and saying "Excuse me", what a polite kid), Seamus said "How does Kai Lan say burp in Chinese?" Kai Lan is basically the Chinese Dora, the Explorer.

I had never thought about it but here it is: Burp in Chinese

By the way, Dora says "Eructo", in case you were wondering.

...and I had to walk 2 miles to school in the snow

Last night, I had a stomachache. I said to Seamus, "Mommy's tummy hurts."

He responded "Well, when I was a girl, my tummy used to hurt too."

I guess Mommmy and Daddy tell a lot of childhood stories.

Bubbles

Here's the bubble video (see post below)

Darn Mr Brown

It's been raining here almost every day for the past couple of weeks and we've had some pretty crazy thunderstorms. Today, Seamus came down from his nap and as soon as he saw the clouds, he smacked his forehead and said "Oh, the Heck. Mr Brown again?" For those of you with kids, you probably know that Mr Brown, of Dr Seuss fame, makes thunder and lightning noises. Not long after that, we lost power and just now, after 2 and a half hours, it came back on. Seamus and I have been having fun playing in the dark.

Uncle Woody, Alex and Cassidy came for a visit this weekend. They brought lots of presents, just because they're so nice. Seamus had a great time playing bubbles, squirt guns, and reading the new books they gave him. I have a good video of them playing bubbles at Ga's house but for some reason I can't post it right now.

They also came with us to our last music class. Seamus did a mean shaker performance and got to dance his last Teddy bear song. After class, the class went to McDonald's and Seamus didn't even mind that he couldn't eat anything. He was too busy running around playing monsters with Sam, Isabelle and Gigi.

Now we're on to swimming lessons. He started on Saturday and loved it. He really got a workout and after half an hour he wanted to get out and was exhausted. I think he's on the verge of getting something or never really got over the ear infections, because his energy level has not been the usual full speed craziness lately. Also last night he told me he felt sick and when I asked where he pointed to his tummy.

Serious talk

"Mommy, why do I have this?" That's what Seamus asked me pointing to his stomach Saturday night as I was setting up his feeding pump. It took me by surprise because he asked in such a serious way and it was the first time he seemed to know something was wrong with him. We talk about his "boo boo" in his tummy all the time but he always seemed to just accept it. We also read a book about kids with CF and he knows he is like them but of course, he doesn't understand what CF means.

On Friday, we went to Sesame Place again and he's old enough now to notice that none of the other kids have a hole in their stomach with a piece of plastic sticking out. And the other kids definitely noticed too. I was hoping we had a few years before the tough questions started. I always tell him the truth but I don't want to scare him.

Ga and Pa went with us on our trip. We stayed the night in a nice hotel which Seamus thought was just great because he got to sleep in the big comfy bed with Mommy and Daddy. Unfortunately, Pa felt too sick to go into the park so they ended up sitting in the car all day. They really wanted to spend the day with Seamus but at least we got to share two wonderful meals together.

We had a nice Father's Day. We started out at a yummy brunch where Seamus got to eat doughnuts (it's hard to find dairy free). Then we went to the cemetery to visit James' parents. Seamus has seen pictures of them but he is still confused. We told him we were going to see their grave and that they were in heaven in the sky. He thought that sounded great:

"I want to be up there too".

"No, Honey, they died and that's why they're up there."

"I want to die too."

"No, Sweetie, it's not your time yet but we will be going up in the sky when we fly in the plane to Chicago next month."

The rest of the day he kept insisting Grandma and Grandpa were in Chicago and we were going on a trip to see them.

Things we've been up to:

- Sitting in the ER all day last Wednesday and not being admitted.

- Spending a lot of time indoors away from Code Red days with 100 degree temperatures.

- Playing in the Elmo sprinkler in the mornings before Code Red sets in.

- Missing a trip to Sesame Street Place due to double ear infection and aforementioned Code Red days.

- Dancing to Laurie Berkner and Raffi videos.

- Sitting on the front porch watching thunder storms.

- Trying out every "big boy bed" in Ikea. "I love this one, it's great for me!"

- Learning to walk on our hands

- Mastering all the puzzles in the house. Seamus really is amazing at figuring them out.

- Reading lots of Dr. Seuss books

- Watching the construction guys build our addition. Seamus has grown quite attached and told me he missed the guys tonight.

Seammy and Mommy's Adventure

Today, Seamus and I had a nice adventure, or as Seamus calls it, our "venture". We spent the afternoon at the Baltimore Inner Harbor being pirates.

Our afternoon started with an unexpected visit to the GI clinic. Since his ER visit last month, we've been doing various treatments at home, none of which have been very effective. Today at our visit, the GI doc today told me "Mrs Coleman, there is nothing else we can do. We've tried everything." I really don't know what I'm supposed to do with that. It seems like I should be upset but I'm not because I refuse to believe it.

After leaving the clinic, I decided we needed to do something fun. I asked Seamus what he wanted to do and what he wanted more than anything was to get a lollypop, a "big, big green lollypop." We set out on our adventure to find it.

At the Inner Harbor, we found a red lollypop (next best thing) and some fruit punch and sat and watched the boats. You'd think he had won the lottery. They have paddle boats shaped like dragons which he loved. Maybe we'll ride them on our next adventure. I know it's cliche, but seeing things through his eyes really does make me appreciate them more. I didn't remember how good fruit punch tastes.

After we finished with our treats, we took a tour on the USS Constellation, a real Civil War naval vessel, but to us it was a real pirate boat. Seamus got to steer the ship, play with the cannons and run around like a swashbuckler.

He is going to get x-rays tomorrow and there's a good chance he'll be admitted again.