Summertime!

Since we moved to VA 18 months ago, I've become more excited for the summer months. There's so much more to do around here in the nice weather than there was in NEPA. There's parks, pools, splash pads (our favorite!), museums (which could be a winter month activity), and just anything outside. My point being: there's plenty to do around here, whereas we were limited back north. A few weekends ago, Cael and I made our first season visit to the community pool and splash pad. I looked back at pictures from last June when we first went, and he's changed so much! He's running so much better, and he's so much more vocal. He can now express his enjoyment, disappointment, fear and excitement (he repeats everything now, so he's picked up so much recently). I love everything about it. It was a cooler day at the lower 70's and overcast, but we still had fun. After a couple hours, Cael was shivering, so it was time to go. I can't wait until we go again!

2013 and 2014

2013 and 2014

 

It's Personal

The annual gyne visit. Mostly dreaded because it can be an uncomfortable exam. I dreaded mine last month because of my result last year. I had an abnormal result last year that resulted in a colposcopy (cervical biopsy). Fortunately, that resulted in CIN1, which is the mildest form of cervical dysplasia. I didn't require any further treatment, and didn't even need a close follow up. Just a strict 1-year pap. Which brought me to the end of April. To be honest, I've been anxious about this appointment since January. 

My appointment came and went, and 2 weeks went by. They told me that it could be up to a month for results because the lab was behind. Great, just what I needed for my anxiety. I went to Long Island to attend the wedding of a friend I've been friends for, for 22 years, not really thinking about the results. I got home on a Sunday, and checked the mail on Monday. I had been waiting for a phone call, since that's what happened last year, while trying to keep in mind "no news is good news". In the mail that Monday, was my result. Everything was normal!! Thankfully!! I was so relieved, like a weight had been lifted. All that worry and anxiety for no reason at all. It again reminded me of what the patients I care for on a daily basis go through when they're anxiously awaiting results. 

So until next year...For my gyne exam, that is. :-)

Happy Easter 2014!

Happy Easter! Of course, this post is late, but better late than never. Cael had a fun Easter this year. The Easter Bunny hid eggs this yea, and he had so much fun finding them. And of course, also had fun peeling the wrapper off the chocolate eggs, and eating the eggs.

We got together with my BIL, SIL and niece, and did an egg hunt outside for the kids. After that, the 6 of us got together, and ordered Chinese food take-out for dinner. It was a great Easter!

Spring/Easter/Family Pictures!

We haven't had family pictures done since Cael's newborn pictures. So I decided, after buying a Groupon for $25, that this would be the perfect time for family pictures. We've been getting Cael's "half birthday" pictures at the same time as Easter and Spring pictures, so we just incorporated everything into one session. I'm so happy with how they turned out. I love my little family.

Easter morning post will follow.

Time Flies!

Wow it's been a while!! I guess time just flies by as life happens. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, my birthday, Valentine's day - have all come and gone! Cael is now 2.5 years old, and he is turning into quite the young brute! He is 110% boy - everything is cars, trucks, monster trucks, planes, helicopters and trains. Being fearless, he jumps off our bed and couch. He is smart, sassy, funny and getting so big! He is rather defiant (can someone say Terrible Twos!?), the pickiest eater I have ever encountered, and is a ball of energy - going from 8 am to 10 pm without a nap! Don't judge us, we're having sleep issues. Lack of naps is only the beginning. He's currently sleeping in our bed every night, and has been for several months. Like I said, don't judge!

The last we checked, which was sometime last month, Cael weighed in (at home) at 31 pounds, and measured about 36 inches tall. Both of these are around the 60th percentile, which I'm happy about. Considering the boy doesn't eat anything good! And it's not without us trying. Basically, all he wants to eat nowadays is cereal, cookies, pancakes and pasta. More recently, we tried the Dannon drinkable yogurt, which he loves. So I'm happy he's getting some nutrition from that. We were giving him Pediasure for a while, but it made his poop green, and seemed to give him gas issues.

Speaking of poop, we started back cloth diapering a few months ago. Money has been tight, and we were out of disposable diapers, so we just started using the cloth diapers. However, we switched back to disposables about 2 weeks ago because Cael's bowels have been completely and utterly uncontrollable. Probably from his poor diet. So that made changing disposable diapers disgusting and difficult.

Matt is still a stay-at-home dad. Am amazing SAHD, might I add. He's applied to so many jobs over the past several months, and finally heard back from a local Post Office. We'll see how that goes. As for me, work is going great. I love my job and what I do with such passion, and I'm so happy I've been given the opportunity to get back into it. I'm finally feeling like I'm fitting in where I work. It's taken a while, but I guess that's to be expected when you move to a completely new place, and join a team that's been established for a while. Either way, I'm finally feeling like I'm part of the "team".