New Words and Abilities

Both boys are growing so fast! Dawson says a few new words. He says "yeah", "wee" when going down a slide, "up", "no" though I've only heard that one once. I think there's a couple others, but I'm not thinking of them yet. He's also climbing more and getting into more things. He likes to take all the towels out of the closet and pile them onto himself. He also likes to tear all the keys off my laptop, so I have to be more careful with that now.

Tyler is talking now too! His first word was "mum", followed by "dada", "mama", and I think I heard him say "hi" a couple times too. He babbles a lot, you'd think he was telling a story. He's getting the right person when he says mama and dada too. Dan came home tonight and he was saying dada a lot. Then Dan sat down with him and he was just babbling to him, with an occasional dada thrown in there. It was so cute! Tyler can also scoot backwards, though he's quite upset about it since he wants to go forward. He can sit without holding himself up with his hands. Today he sat up by himself for a good 10 minutes or so. He can also sit himself up when he's laying at a slant, like in his carseat, his muscles are getting so strong! He can stand holding onto something for a few minutes and he can take steps when I hold onto him.

Playtime in Tyler's crib

Dawson climbing to reach VCR

Dawson's favorite spot, door in my computer desk

Dawson still likes to get in all of Tyler's things. He wasn't so happy about how this turned out though.

Trying to get a new pic of the 3 of us.

It's not easy!!

Being at Home Pics and a Funny Bathtime Story

They have new options here now, I can upload pics from my photobucket account, which is a lot faster! You can also click on any pic to see the full size version. Here's some pics of the boys the past couple weeks.

Tyler loves standing! He can stand holding onto something for a couple minutes at a time.

This is Tyler with my friend's baby. Her baby is 3 weeks old, he makes Tyler look huge!! 

Tyler loves eating his toes now. Can't believe how chubby his legs are!

Dawson and Tyler in the laundry basket. Dawson doesn't like Tyler on his lap, so he was kicking Tyler, which is why they both look unhappy! Tyler liked sitting in there though, especially when Daddy came over.

Napping at the same time, a rare thing! They both still love having playtime in Tyler's crib. It's a nice way to get something done quick, they are both contained and happy. :)

Here's the boys coming home from the hospital. I turned Dawson back around rear facing. He doesn't mind it at all and he fits just fine. I figure since we'll be doing a lot of freeway driving, it's safer that way. Plus they recommend rear facing until the limits of the carseat, and he isn't there yet. In some states it's already a law! Also, this way they can both watch the DVD player, which really saves me on longer trips!!

A bathtime story!

I was getting Tyler ready for his bath. First I undressed him and swaddled him in this blanket so he wouldn't pull at his tubes.

Then I coiled his tubes and put plastic wrap over them, with mecical tape on the edges. While I did this, the bath water was running.

I go into the bathroom to turn off the water and this is what I found!

So they both got a bath. Tyler loved it! He was kicking his feet, splashing and laughing. It was so cute!

Dawson wanted back in after I took him out! Poor Tyler had a rash where the tape was after I took it off though. His skin is so sensitive. We had to change diaper brands to Pampers, and even those make him a little red. Not really sure what to do about that, they are the softest diapers out there!

Tyler's 6 Month Appointment

We had a busy week. We got in a routine for being at home, just in time to head back to the hospital again. Tyler just had his chemo and we're heading back home tomorrow. Dawson is enjoying being with me all the time, he's doing a little better with sharing my attention again.

Tyler is doing more, getting stronger and more active. He's sitting up better, pushing his chest off the floor, turning in a circle while on his tummy, he can go about 1/4 of a circle. He's rolled over a couple times too. He can stand up on his own while holding onto something for short amounts of time. He even took some supported steps when I stood him up Sunday night.

He was 19 pounds 6 ounces and 25 inches at the Dr on Friday for his 6 month check up. They measured him today in the hospital and he's actually 26 1/2 inches. He was pretty tense at the Dr. He got 3 shots, including the flu shot. He got a 100 degree fever that night but it went away with some Tylenol.

I'll post the pics later, it's not letting me post them.

We're All Home Again!

It's been great having Tyler at home. Though we've had a lot of jealousy issues with Dawson, he's not used to sharing me all day long. Usually when Dawson had enough, we'd leave and the nurse would take over. Not really an option here! My sister came over and played with Dawson for a while on Friday, it was really nice. I got some cleaning done and it was nice to have a break.

Dawson has been calming down a bit, getting in routine with having Tyler home. We go for a walk and out to play everyday. Tyler has to stay in his infant carrier with the sun/bug shield on it. It's a bummer that he can't lay on the ground and explore the grass like other babies are doing. He's not allowed near the dirt. It's hard to know where to go these days.

We go shopping at hours where there aren't as many people, and always with his mask on. People give us funny looks. Yesterday someone came into the register line behind us, saw Tyler and moved over a lane. Probably thought he had something contagious. I've had several people ask if he has that H1N1 "swine flue" thing that's going around. I say "no, he has Leukemia" and then we get all the questions. I don't mind, it keeps things in perspective. It's still hard to believe that our baby has cancer.

Seems like almost everyone we know has something in their home that we have to avoid...pets, mold. We also have to be careful around kids, especially unknown children (schools, daycare, general public). We have to avoid kids because you never know what they're carrying and they aren't mindful of germs yet. They don't understand that they can't touch the baby or get in his face. So it'll be hard not to go to those places.

I'm hoping to get more cleaning done today, the nurse is coming tomorrow to draw labs, then my mom is coming for a couple hours in the afternoon, then my friend may be coming with her baby to visit for a bit. Then Wednesday we should be admitted for a day (hopefully just 1) for chemo. That'll be the end of round 2 chemo. Tyler has his 6 month Dr appt on Friday morning.

Dawson has been learning some new things lately. We've been working on using a spoon, which he can now do all by himself. He can also swing on a real swing on the playground without falling off. As of today he can also take off his shirt. Haven't actually seen him do it, but this is the 2nd time he's come to me grinning without a shirt!

Tyler loves this seat. He played until he fell asleep!

He also loves to sit in his highchair and watch me in the kitchen

Here's a video of Tyler in his Jumperoo, he loves it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSPOxk6UKpI

Dawson's First Week at the Hospital

I ended up taking Dawson with me to the hospital because Jen's kids were sick and Amy's mother in law now has cancer, so they were both unable to take Dawson. So I called the social worker and she got us a room at the Sheraton and got us on the list for the Ronald McDonald House.

We ate breakfast, at McDonalds or the cafeteria, then headed up to Tyler's room. Nursed and played with him for a while. Sometimes a volunteer would play with Dawson for a bit, but he usually didn't like that too much, especially if they tried to take him out of the room. I'd play with him in the playroom upstairs and go back in to feed Tyler. Then we'd go get lunch, then I'd drop off Dawson at the sibling playroom. They watch siblings for 90 minutes, twice a day. He did pretty good in there. He did better each time he was in there.

It was nice to get that time to spend with just Tyler. I'd feed him and spend some time on the mat, working on sitting up and rolling over. He still gets physical therapy, but he enjoys being out of the crib and on the floor for a while. Having Dawson in the room is stressful on all of us. Tyler can't eat in peace and quiet, he's often distracted and after a while he just starts crying and looks frustrated. He gives me the saddest looks! So I try not to have Dawson in there for too long at a time. After Dawson was done in the playroom we'd go back upstairs and we'd often go for a walk. I'd put a few toys in a wagon (they provide wagons and strollers) and Dawson would play in the wagon while Tyler is pushed in the stroller. Then I'd feed Tyler once more before we left.

After that we'd get some supper, visit Tyler once more to play a bit and feed him before heading to the hotel. We'd get to the hotel around 8-10pm, depending on how he was lasting at the hospital. If we got there earlier, we'd go swimming, we did a couple times. Dawson is really liking water now. He liked playing on his own on the steps while I stood next to him. Then he thought It'd be funny to jump off the steps at me. After that he decided to get away from me and jump off in the other direction, with that mischievious look on his face. I caught him, but let him go under a bit. That freaked him out, and he didn't do that again. Getting his face wet doesn't bother him quite as much as he used to though.

After the pool we'd go back to our room and watch TV, play with his cars, go online and update Tyler's blog while Dawson ran around the room. He had so much energy. It was often 12-1am before he went to sleep, and he only slept if I cuddled with him, unless he was really tired already. I also discovered that he's quite a roller in bed! He flops all over the place, ends up sideways and sometimes off the bed, so I had to make a wall with the pillows next to him. So he spent most of the night flopping up against the pillows and making me nervous! So much for a good night's sleep!

Thursday, Sept 3rd was our 4th Anniversary. I got a call from the Dr saying we can go home! The day before I had gotten a call from the Ronald McDonald house saying we can go there the next morning, so I had already started to pack up our stuff anyway. We took about an hour to pack and leave, and another hour at the hospital packing, getting meds and leaving. Dawson was pretty impatient, especially since we kept going to the car and leaving it again, poor boy was confused! Of course the playroom didn't open until 1pm that day and it was noon when we left, so I couldn't make use of that like I'd hoped. But I was happy to get out of there. It's such a good feeling to be heading home with everyone. :)

Dawson had fun with the pillows on his bed. He liked jumping into them and flopping down on them. There were 5 pillows per bed.

Tyler relaxing on the couch once we got home

He was so comfy he fell asleep and napped while I unpacked

Como Zoo and the State Fair

Friday we got out by ourselves. My cousin stayed with Dawson at our place and stayed overnight. We visited Tyler, Dan hadn't seen him in a few weeks. Then we went to the State Fair and stayed at the Sheraton overnight.

Saturday morning I walked to the hospital (3 blocks) to give them more pumped milk and walked back. My cousin met us at the Como Zoo with Dawson and another little boy Dawson's age that she babysits. There we got together with 2 ladies from Tyler's iVillage message board and their babies. They are getting so big! I wish Tyler could've been there, but the zoo isn't allowed even if he was out of the hospital because of all the people and bacteria from the animals. We had a lot of fun, saw the animals and the Sparky the Seal show. Then we went on some rides and played in their play area.

Sunday we visited Tyler and then went to the State Fair with Dawson. He loved it! He went on rides, ate some new foods and enjoyed seeing everything. His favorite thing was the cars, we had a hard time getting him away from them. We also watched some horse shows. First a 6 horse hitch, then a short Morgan competition, then the Tommy Turvy show. He rides his horses with no saddle or bridle. It was very interesting to see. At the end Dawson went on rides, we watched the fireworks, then went home.

Here's Tyler with Dan. He was very happy to see his daddy too.

Dawson on rides at the Zoo

Me and Dawson in a Challenger at the State Fair.

The 6 horse hitch competition. It was fun to watch!

Tyler was happy to get some play time in with us over the weekend.

Visited Tyler

Dawson and I visited Tyler today. Dawson did really good actually. He watched Blue's Clues on his portable DVD player on the way down there and didn't fuss until we were close to the hospital. They didn't have enough people in the playroom to watch him, so I brought him up with me. He was surprisingly patient while I labeled all the milk (57 bottles!) and then we went and saw Tyler. He did pretty good. He kept trying to see outside, the window is pretty high. We didn't stay in there long, just long enough to nurse Tyler. We got something to eat after that and then checked Dawson into the sibling playroom where they watched him for 90 minutes. He did great! Cried a bit they said but he lasted the entire 90 minutes, a record for him! He has a lot of seperation anxiety from being bounced around so much during the week, so it's been tough.

Tyler is looking good! He's 6 months now and weighs 18lbs, 4oz. He can sit by supporting himself with his arms, can stand with support for several minutes, can hold his head up well. All these things he used to be able to do before the hospital, but had to relearn because his muscles got weak. The nurse says he can roll, but I haven't seen it yet. He was starting to before, but his stomach got swollen and sore so he had no interest in it.

Here's a few pics of Tyler showing off what he can do

One arm! He's getting stronger! :)

Dawson saw me with the camera and decided he wanted a pic.

Trying to look out the window.