Oh boy

My sweet darling angel hit a boy at school today. He was playing superheroes and the other boy was the bad guy. This whole superhero thing is getting out of control.

It's weird because his teacher told us at the beginning of the year it wouldn't surprise her if there was some kind of physical altercation at some point between Seamus and this boy. This little boy was not in the class last year so he didn't know that Seamus was the "Alpha Male" and everybody followed his lead. Seamus wasn't used to sharing the spotlight. I was appalled when the teacher told us this.

When we told her all the girls loved Seamus last year, she said "Well, maybe the 2 year olds.." Again, I was annoyed. My little boy is perfect and charming so of course, the girls would still love him. Well, my charming little toddler has turned into a rough, tough boy always on full speed. It's no surprise the girls in their princess costumes and nail polish want nothing to do with him anymore. Okay, Miss Anne, you know your stuff.

Here are some pictures as promised...

I haven't posted pix in a long time so here are some of the highlights from Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's (notice the hats and the "dudes").

I'm back

I'm just going to pretend it hasn't been two months since I last posted and start the New Year off right.

Our holidays were very nice. We went down to North Carolina and saw lots of people. We saw my brother and his family who we haven't seen in more than a year. Seamus adores his cousins, Alex and Cassidy. We celebrated Christmas and Alex's birthday the week before actual Christmas day. We spent some time with James' sister Carol too whom we hadn't seen in a long time.

We visited with our old friends Trish and Joe and their kids. They are much older than Seamus but are they were so nice to play with him for hours. At the end of the day, he send "Mommy, this is a great play date!"

Santa was nice to Seamus. The big present was Pluto (guess who named him?), our new doggie. He's the sweetest thing but he came with a long list of unexpected ailments: heartworms, kennel cough, vomiting, and enlarged prostate. We're working on getting him better.

Uncle Rick came to help us celebrate New Years. Seamus always loves to see him. We spent New Years Eve playing the Dr Seuss ABC Stretching Game, which is like Twister for little folks, even though most of us are not so little. And of course, we made hats which is the tradition in our house for any special occasion.

Seamus' newest obsession is Shrek. He asked for Shrek toys for Christmas but Santa had a very hard time finding any so instead he got the first two Shrek movies. We've discovered Seamus is a very good impersonator. He does a mean Shrek walking around the house saying "dawn-kay" and you've never heard anything as cute as "Jingle Bells" in a little Scottish accent.

Our newest hobby is drawing and cutting out all kinds of paper "dudes". We've made hundreds, everyone from Santa to Buzz Lightyear to all the kids in his class. There is a whole sub-genre of super heroes like Super Sponge Bob, Party Man (whose super power is throwing great parties), and even Super Pillsbury Dough Boy. Today, we made Dancing Man, whose ability is to change bad guys into dancers and Bow Bear who is a bear but can change into a bee and turns bad guys into logs when she stings them.

Reading is going really well. He's picking up lots of words and is starting working on writing his letters. We still do words-of-the-day and his vocabulary is pretty impressive, if I say so myself. We were playing a game the other day that I found frustrating and I said "This is maddening". Later that night he was getting annoyed with something and told me it was "bald on the head, that means frustrating Mommy."

He started taking a tap/ballet class. He's the only boy with 14 girls but he doesn't seem to mind. Some days I can tell it takes a lot out of him but he has fun.

His health has been relatively good. We've been really lucky respiratory-wise, no bad colds to speak of but he's gone back and forth a lot to the GI doc and had another scope. Even though he's in pain, they couldn't find anything new so he's still on the same regimen. Everyday it's a struggle with pooping and we know it can't go on like this. It shouldn't have to always hurt and you can't imagine how hard it is to have nothing comforting to say when he says "It hurts Mommy."

I have lots of pictures which I'll update soon, I promise.

Goodbye My Friend

We lost a very close friend this week. Our cat, Izzy, had to be put to sleep on Tuesday because he had "thrown a clot" which means somehow a blood clot found it's way to his hind end and we found him paralyzed on the basement floor. By the time James got him to the vet, his heart was giving out and his lungs were full of fluid.

Izzy was fifteen and had numerous health problems so the vet was always amazed at each visit at how well he was doing. He was my original baby. We were together long before I met James or ever thought about Seamus and when I decided to move to DC all alone fourteen years ago, he was the one who kept me company on lonely Friday nights. I also had another cat, Alice, but I adopted her as an adult and she never really needed me the way Izzy did. Izzy was cool because he was very loving but not overly needy. He was huge, 32 pounds pre-diabetes, and was much more dog-like, than cat-like.

He was so sweet with Seamus. I think they saw each other as kindred spirits, both took lots of medicine and went to the doctor's often. After this last hospitalization, Seamus was lying on the couch one day getting his dreaded hydrocortisone suppository and was screaming and sobbing. Izzy ran right over and tried to jump up in between us . After we pushed him away, he ran to the end table near Seamus' head and jumped up again. Now Izzy was huge and old so he did not jump often, but nothing was keeping him from his pal Seamus. We pushed him away again and then he jumped onto the back of the couch, which I have never seen him do. He reached his paws down to touch Seamus to let him know he would protect him. And it calmed Seamus right down.

Tuesday night, we told Seamus that Izzy was in heaven now with his grandpa and was keeping him company. He said "That's a good idea." We went on to say that Izzy wasn't sick anymore and didn't need any more shots or medicine. Seamus looked really happy and I knew he was thinking about his own treatments and medicine. Then he said "Do they have little kid stuff in heaven?" I had to choke back the tears when James said "Yes, they do" and all I could think of was "Yes, but I wish they didn't need to."

Good bye, Izzy, my love. We will all miss you terribly.

Update from the hospital

Well, it finally caught up with him. All these months of home clean outs that never fully cleaned him out has left Seamus almost totally blocked and back in the hospital. It never fails, every July he ends up in the hospital. For those who don't frequent hospitals, that is the worst month to be in one. All the new doctors start and there is lots of confusion. Last year, we had a nightmare hospitalization but this year, it's been okay so far.

At first, we got quite a scare because when I called Seamus' GI doc and he heard Seamus sobbing in the background, he said "That is not the Seamus I know. Get to the closest hospital and get an x-ray now." When they looked at the x-ray, we were told he had a full obstruction and needed surgery but that hospital didn't have a peds surgeon so we were going to be transferred to Hopkins, which is our normal hospital. They wanted us to go in an ambulance because if he "coded out", they could help him. That was pretty hard to hear but after waiting 4 hours for them to come, we decided we'd risk it and drive the 40 minute drive ourselves.

When they looked at the x-ray here, they said it wasn't completely blocked and no surgery was needed. This has happened to us on numerous occasions. I really think they need to have better classes on reading x-rays in medical school because no one seems to agree on what they are looking at. Seamus was put on the full blown Go-lytely treatment to break it up. He's doing well, just hanging out watching Toy Story over and over and over, pooping, lots of pooping and charming all the nurses.

Prior to all this, we had a nice holiday weekend. On Friday, we went to the University Town Center for a picnic lunch and Seamus ran through the fountains with lots of new friends. Then we came home and made brownies topped with bright blue frosting, four kinds of sprinkles and jellybeans to get ready for Uncle Rick's visit.

Seamus and Uncle Rick spent lots of time playing football, tennis, the Wii ... I think Uncle Rick had a hard time keeping up. On Saturday, we started at our town's Fourth of July celebration and then headed over to our pool. It would have been a really nice day if Seamus hadn't woken up at 11:00 PM crying in pain, begging us to turn off his feeding tube.

Hopefully, we won't be here too much longer but Seamus has said he will not go home until we get the Toy Story DVD.

Mommy laid up

Yesterday, we were all ready to go get Seamus' x-ray when I bent down and my back completely went out and there was no way I was getting up. It was quite a logistical nightmare because we were still waiting to hear from the GI doc who was supposed to send an order to the X-ray place and then after the x-ray, we were supposed to go the pediatrician to review the film. So my not being able to move really put a wrench in the plans. To make a long story short, somehow I got to the doc with my mom basically carrying me while James and Seamus did his stuff.

The good news is the x-ray was clear so Seamus' treatment seemed successful, but the bad news is I'll be in bed the next few days on major drugs. It supposed to rain for the next few days so at least I won't be missing out on good pool days. But I'm not a good patient, I keep thinking, "Oh, my back feels better" so I get up but after about 10 minutes, I realize it's a bad idea. Seamus is being a good helper filling my water glass and bringing books and games in here to play so I won't be lonely.

Great Strides and Faeries

Our Great Strides Walk was great! Team Go Seamus Go! had about 30 people walk and made $3400. The weather started out a little shaky but actually ended up being a nice day. Thanks again to everyone who donated and/or walked with us.

The only issue I had was it was at a park with a big playground and all the kids were playing together. They had stickers for the kids with CF to wear so we could keep them apart but Seamus was about the only one wearing one. I mentioned being worried to another CF mom and she acted like I was totally overreacting. Do they take precautions at other GS walks and was I being too concerned?

Here are some pix from the day:









Yesterday, we spent the day at the Maryland Faerie Festival. Very interesting, sort of like a mini Renaissance Fair. Seamus had a blast and really enjoyed talking with all the different people. And I do mean different. My first reaction when seeing some of them was, truthfully, not the most open minded but Seamus is so open to everyone, it really made me stop and think. They're not hurting anybody, so what if they're grown men and women dressed like elves and fairies.

Mothers Day and Littlest Heroes

I had a great Mother's Day yesterday. We met with Mary Kate McKenna, a fantastic photographer who did Seamus' Littlest Heroes photo shoot. If anyone needs a photographer in the DC/Frederick MD area, I highly recommend her. Here are just some of the great pix she took. Seamus absolutely loved it and was vogueing it up. I think I saw a few "Blue Steel" moments.

Tonight, we had our fundraiser at Franklin's. It went well, we'll find out tomorrow how much we've raised. It stinks that his nursery school is doing a fundraiser at the same restaurant tomorrow so lots of his classmates didn't come tonight but I think it was successful anyway.

Easter 2009 and Fundraiser

It was nice to have a little break from the CF world and just concentrate on toddler life. We had a nice relaxing Easter weekend. Saturday, we went to a birthday party for Seamus' friend, Brigid, and had an Easter egg hunt. Then we came home and decorated our own eggs which Seamus loved. Sunday, the Easter Bunny made Seamus work for his jellybeansby leaving him clues like Blues Clues. He came downstairs and found the first egg with a picture inside of the washing machine. At the washing machine, he found another egg with a picture of the computer. Then at the computer, he found an egg with a picture of the tv. Finally, under the tv he found his basket. He got a big kick out of figuring it out. Later in the day, we all went to the park and had a picnic and rode the carousel and train.

Today, we got some great news! One of the local restaurants in our area, Franklin's in Hyattsville, has agreed to do a CF fundraiser for Team Go Seamus Go! It's a great place with microbrew and yummy food, especially the potpie. It's going to be on May 11th. They will donate 20% of your bill to CF all day. They also have a really fun general store with all kinds of funny gifts, jewelry, wine, etc all of which will be included in the fundraiser! I'll post more details later but if you're in the Hyattsville MD area on May 11th, stop by.

Bedtime

Seamus and I have a routine every night. He brushes his teeth, gets his pj's on and we read a bedtime story (or 4 or 5). Then we cuddle in my bed and chat for a little while until he's ready for his bed. These are some of my favorite times and something I hope he always remembers about his childhood.

Tonight, we read a Dora the Explorer book about the circus, then we named all the colors in Spanish, even all the made up colors like pink-blue and brown-white.

S: "Seamus is tired. Is Mommy sleepy? Is Pa sleeping in Heaven?"
M: "Yes, he is, Sweetie"
S: "What color is his plane?"

It took me a minute and then I remembered this conversation we had last summer.

M: "He's not in a plane, Honey. He's in Heaven."
S: "Heaven is in the sky, right? So he's in a plane. Why is he in Heaven?"
M: "He was very old and sick with cancer."
S: "Why was he old and sick?"
M: "Some people just get cancer"
S: "Will I get cancers?"
M: "No, Honey. Pa is happy now and he's not sick anymore. He doesn't need to use his wheelchair and he can dance."
S: "He can dance? Good." Then I heard him softly whisper "wheelchair, wheelchair".
S: "Mommy, how do you spell wheelchair?"
M: "W-H-E-E-L-C-H-A-I-R"
S: "Wheelchairs have wheels. What else has wheels?"

He rolled over on his elbows and looked just like Doris Day in Pillow Talk while we listed everything from cars to wheelbarrows. He thought of some good ones like skateboards and "sometimes, beds have wheels" and of course, planes.

I love how his brain works.

Recent pictures and video

Seamus and his ever-present Ketchup


Getting ready for the snow


With Miss Terri on Pajama Day


At the polka birthday party


With the Dudes


The latest moves
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Valentines Day 2009

I woke up this morning with a scratchy throat, feeling achy and congested in my chest and sounding like Scarlett Johannson. I decided to stay home not so much because I felt bad but didn't want to spread anything around my office. It's a weird kind of feeling, it doesn't really hurt to breathe, but it definitely takes more of an effort to take a deep breathe and I'm very phlegmy. I wonder if this is how Seamus feels every day and thinks every one else does too.

We saw a really good movie this weekend, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. On the surface, it's about some teenagers running around New York City looking for an underground concert but really it's about the two main characters looking for more out of life and finding each other. At the end (Spoiler Alert!), they don't end up seeing the concert and Norah says to Nick, "I'm sorry you missed it". He replies happily, "I didn't miss it, this is it." That's my new motto.

We had a very adventure filled weekend. I had a meeting in downtown DC which let out early so James and Seamus met me at the Natural History Museum. Seamus loves it there and we thought he was ready to handle the 3-D Dinosaur Imax show. Well, he disagreed. We went in with our 3-D glasses and as soon as the first meteor came at us, he yelled "This is scary. I should not be here." We left and got a refund and went to the butterfly exhibit instead. It's a big greenhouse with tons of butterflies flying around landing on people. Then we went to the American History Museum and saw the old trains and cars. We ended the day eating at a little French bakery where Seamus ate more food than I've ever seen.

Saturday was Valentines Day and we spent the day decorating cards and going with Ga to the University of Maryland to take pictures to share with her friends back home on her blog. He had celebrated V-Day at school on Thursday and loved the whole idea of it. All day, he kept wishing us all Happy Valentines Day. He told me when the sun went down it would be Valentines Night so then he kept wishing us Happy Valentines Night.

Sunday we went back downtown to the National Building Museum which has a Kid's Building Zone, where Seamus played with huge Legos and other building blocks. Of course, I ran after him with sanitizer all day, but still with all the exposure he's had lately, I'm surprised he's not the one sounding like Scarlett Johannson.

Finally, Christmas pictures

We finally got our computer back so I could upload the pictures from our camera.

I also wanted to post about New Years. The four of us went to dinner and then Ga went to church so the Colemans had a little celebration at home. We all made hats (that seems to be a big thing lately) and had sparkling grape juice in wine glasses. Seamus really liked his glass because when we went around and made toasts about things we liked, he kept saying "Here's to Cups!" Then we all clinked our glasses and said "Cheers!" After about ten rounds of that with increasingly harder clinking, we had a little countdown and he went to bed in his brand new big boy bed. He really felt like a big kid.



On Saturday, we had a big party to celebrate our new addition. Seamus was in heaven again. He just loves being around people and being the center of attention. He's such a ham.

Thanksgiving 2008

We started the day watching the Macy's Parade. Seamus was in awe. "Mommy, who's that? Who's that?" I don't think he could believe that Big Bird, Underdog, Dora, Thomas the
Train, and Mickey Mouse could all be in the same place. And with Santa, are you kidding me?

While Daddy made dinner in our brand new kitchen and Ga was out being very nice serving dinner to the homeless, Seamus and I decided we would surprise them with a craft project. We made Pilgrim hats and Indian headbands and turkey name place cards for dinner. Here are some pix of our new kitchen and our artwork.







The next day Seamus decided we all were super heroes (including Super Bunny). We all spent the day with capes, or what non-super heroes would call towels, on and big letters attached to our shirts: S for Super Seamus, M for Super Mommy, D for Super Daddy and G for Super Ga (obviously). All day, we could only answer to our Super name.





We didn't leave the house much all weekend except to go to Watkins Park to see all the lights. They have one of those drive through light displays with thousands of lights. It really is amazing and of course Seamus loved it.

He hasn't felt like doing much lately because the cold he's had pretty much since school started has now turned into a nasty cough. On top of that, his GI issues are acting up. We're watching him closely on both fronts but basically he's feeling pretty crummy but even with all that, I still couldn't ask for a better kid.