Trip to the Firestation!

On Friday Elias and I headed to the firestation with some friends for a tour. It was lots of fun and the firemen were so nice and wonderful with the kids. Elias was not sure what to think of the loud noises and being close to a firemen with all of his gear on, but he still really enjoyed himself. It was pretty neat because right when we were done they got a call and were dispatched. Elias was scared at first with all the comotion and loud noises, but then he got very excited to see them leave with the sirens on. He kept yelling "bye bye firetruck." Now when he sees firetrucks in books he gets really excited. Not only was it lots of fun I didn't realize the importance of it. The firemen explained how vital it is for kids to be familiar with firemen (and all the gear) so they don't hide if they need to be rescued by them someday. I had never thought about that before. Free+Fun+Great learning experience=It doesn't get better then that! :)

Elias' 2nd Birthday!

It is hard to believe this past week Elias turned two. I had been working with him the last few weeks to say he was two when asked. On his actual birthday he figured it out and started saying it, which was fun. Elias enjoyed being surrounded by family, opening gifts, playing with his new toys, and eating cake on his special day. Here are some pictures from the party. He is such a fun little boy and we are so blessed to have him in our lives!!





How crazy is this sign!?! It is spelled wrong! We kept it up anyway... :)

Basketball, laundry, and a wonderful visit...

Last Saturday we headed to a Regional Varsity Basketball game. It was fun for Todd to go as many of the kids he has coached are now playing in high school. It was also Elias' first Varsity Basketball game experience and he seemed to really enjoy it. He pointed and said "deejball" throughout the game. We hope to teach him how to really say "basketball" soon. In the second half he had to be occupied with coloring and playing with cars, but what can you say he is a toddler. But you must give him credit because he would stop whatever he was doing to clap (even if it was for the other team). I am sure this is only the beginning as he will be going to many more sporting events in the future! :) With all of this said I am realizing that I hope Elias likes basketball because it looks like March Madness will be shared with his birthday every year. Can you believe he will be 2 tomorrow!?! It seems like yesterday we came home and Todd was laying on the couch with our almost 6 pound baby Elias watching the tournament. Two years later his birthday party will be in the midst of the first day of the tournament. We have had to reassure our family that we will have it on! :)

On Monday one of my best friends from college came with her son to visit for a few days. Ashley lives a few hours away so I always treasure our time when we are able to be together. We had a wonderful time and it was fun watching our boys play together. She has such a servants heart and I was truly blessed by her visit. Since I have been slacking she helped me wash all of Gertrudes "pink" baby clothes and organize them all in the dresser and closet. It was such a wonderful gift for her to do this for me! Things are coming together for Gertrudes arrival and we are getting so excited to meet her soon!!!

I am also adding a few pictures of how I found Elias the other day when I was doing laundry. Not sure if this was the best idea, but he loved it. I think from now on we may have to restrict this behavior.

Funny Big Brother...

Elias has done a few funny things recently as he prepares to be a Big Brother. We bought a 2nd bouncy seat for a great deal off of Cragslist the other day (we love craigslist). Shortly after we got home this is how we found Elias. He was sitting so contently playing with the toys in the seat. Is this a bad sign? Is he going to push Gertrude out after she arrives and takes occupancy of it? ;)

We also just got Gertrudes nursery put together and the crib up. While we were doing this Elias came in with one of his favorite books and put it in the crib for "baby". It was very cute. He is already sharing. We have been referring to the room as "baby's room" so he often says that when we are in there. Also, if we say to go in the babys room he knows right where to go. So, Elias is already being a cute Big Brother. This is before she has arrived of course....he really has no idea what is coming! ;)


Sin

Silver Nitrate in Newborns eyes

Another procedure given to babies soon after birth is Silver Nitrate--or as I refer to as the clear gunk they put in babies eyes. What is this and is it nesessary to give to each infant?

Silver Nitrate is an antibiotic ointment that is rountinely given to each newborn incase the mother has gonorrhea or chlamydia. Since it is hard to know who actually has it they give it to each infant for precautionary reasons. If the baby passes through the canal and becomes infected with this bacteria it could cause blindness. If the mother knows she has a sexually transmitted disease then it is absolutely necessary in preventing the infection being passed on to her baby. If the mother knows that she does not have a sexually transmitted disease or that the baby wasn't exposed to merconium during delivery there is no need for administering it. It can actually cause irritation to the eyes and blurry vision for several weeks.

It is very easy to decline this procedure in most states and hospitals if you choose to not have it done.

Here are a few links for further info on this topic...
http://www.givingbirthnaturally.com/silver-nitrate.html

http://parenting.ivillage.com/newborn/nhealth/0,,3q83,00.html

http://www.nei.nih.gov/neitrials/viewStudyWeb.aspx?id=19

http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/newbornbabies/a/babytests.htm

Snapperz and Gertrudes PINK Nursery..

On Friday with my Mom's Group we went to Snapperz. They had lots of fun inflatables and play areas that Elias loved. He especially liked going down the huge slide. The best part is that for kids under 2 it's free. I have to take advantage since we only have a few more weeks of this!

Then on Friday night we (or actually Todd) started the process of transforming Elias' old nursery into Gertrudes. It is definitely PINK and such a change. I like it, but it is going to take some time to get used to. I am not sure what Elias thinks about his old room either. You can tell from the pictures that he was very interested in these changes. Everytime we go in there he says "bye bye paint" and points around the room. I must admit it was a little sad to see him walk into his old room and see it all pink. It definitely doesn't seem like his room anymore, which I still have a hard time realizing. I try to tell Elias that a baby sister will soon be taking over this room, but no matter how much I try to prepare him I don't think he will ever realize until she is actually here. Below are a few sneak peaks of the the transformation from this weekend. I will post more pictures later when it is all done.





All primed and ready to start the transformation....


Elias walking into his changed old room for the first time....

Touching the walls and seeming a little confused...

Not sure that he is very happy about this....