The Daily Nusz

This has been a very busy summer!  What’s up with each of us?

Kevin:  He’s passed his board exams!  He’s now a board-certified ophthalmologist (Pppssst!  This is a really big deal apparently.)!  He’s also in final negotiations of his partnership in the ophthalmology practice in which he’s worked for the past two years.  Plus, due to diet and exercise, he’s all buff and manly.

Tara:  I’ve finally received confirmation that the budget cuts taking place at my place of work will not impact me for the next school year.  This is great news, since I love my job, and I have the opportunity to be involved in some exciting new projects next year.

I also was lucky enough to get to go on a girl’s weekend in Rochester, NY in July.  The hostess was my high school friend, Lindsey.  She gathered a group of her closest friends to celebrate her 10th wedding anniversary, as all of us were part of her special day.   We ate, talked, ate, practiced some yoga, some of us knitted (not me), ate, looked at old yearbooks, ate . . . you get the idea.  It was a nice time away.  Although some of the women were ladies whom I did not know well prior to the visit, I thought we all “clicked” and had a great time.  By the way, it was freezing in NY.

Erin, me, Meg, Amy, Kerry, Lindsey, and Tracy

Savannah:  Back in June, as I noted during a prior post, Savannah turned four!  She celebrated with a pool party with all of her neighborhood friends.  We swam, decorated cookies, ate pizza and cupcakes, and opened gifts.  She had a great time.

Blowing out her candles (Savannah helped me make the cupcakes)

Decorating cookies. This is Tommy, Sara, and Kelly's cleavage.

In addition, Savannah completed two weeks of swimming lessons at our local YMCA.  I originally signed her up at the beginning of the summer when our neighborhood pool had just opened and she was very hesitant in the water.  Since then, she’s gained confidence and skill.  Because I had signed her up for the beginners’ class, her skills surpassed all the other kids’ in her class.  She loved this, as she was able to swim without a floating device while other children cowered on the edge of the pool and sobbed.  She just started another series of swimming lessons today.

On another note, I’ve come to the conclusion that Savannah is behaviorally delayed.  By behaviorally delayed, I mean that she’s just now decided to enter the terrible twos.  I’ve always thought of her as being exceptionally easy to discipline, extremely receptive to positive reinforcement, and very adaptable to change.  Um, in the last two to three weeks, she’s turned in a tantruming, oppositional, resistant child who has spent a significant portion of her time in time-out.  She has also heard me say ugly things like, “I don’t like how you’re talking to me.  If you keep speaking to me in that tone, I am going to wash your mouth out with soap”.    Oh, Savannah, where are you?  Where is my sweet girl?

Declan:  Terrorizing everyone, as usual.   He turned two on July 12, and is not behaviorally delayed.  He has also entered the terrible twos. 

Some of Grammy's fudgy chocolate cake

We celebrated his birthday with Kevin’s side of the family, and he received some great gifts, such as a T-ball set, a golf set, some elmo books, and some adorable blue crocs.  His language is become more sophisticated, as he is using 3-4 word phrases (usually to tattle on Savannah or explain that he wants something to eat).   He just went to his 2 year well-baby checkup, where he weighed 25.4 lbs (20th percentile) and 34.5 inches tall (55th percentile).  The doctor said we need to fatten him up.  When he was given his shot, he didn’t even cry.  He just pointed to his thigh and said, “Otch, Mommy, otch”.

Finally, it should be noted that we just returned from a 4 night trip to Minnesota to visit with our dear friends Amy and Randy and their two children, Katherine (6) and Luke (almost 3).  The trip was overshadowed by their daughter’s mysterious illness.  She kept vomiting, resulting in dehydration and hospital stays.  After we left, she was diagnosed with what was believed to be a benign tumor at the base of her esophagus.  Last Friday she had surgery which resulted in the removal of the mass and the reconstruction of her esophagus.  It turned out that the mass was a cyst, believed to have developed in utero.  She’s on the mend, but her healing process is slow and painful.  I can’t even imagine how frantic her parents were.

Because Katherine’s illness hadn’t reached a crisis point during out visit, we did get to spend time with their family (and had a brief visit with my brother and his girlfriend too!).  Here’s some pics to reflect our visit:

Kevin holding Dec and Randy holding Savannah . . . we were at the ice cream shop.

We took the kids to ride ponies . . . they were practicing here. Oh, and Dec heard one of the ponies whinney, so he got scared and didn't go on.

Savannah and Luke wrestling . . . they were having a ball. I think they both have the same violent streak.

There was a park within walking distance. And since it wasn't 100 degrees in Minnesota like it is here, we got to spend alot of time there.

Teaching Dec to give a thumbs down to Daddy's bowling . . .

My youngest brother Kevin and his girlfriend Amy. They live about 1.5 hours from where we were staying, and they came to see us for the day. We went bowling, which Savannah loved!

So, that’s what’s going on with us!