Getting the Mail with Great Grandpa

We stopped by to visit Great Grandpa Needels for a few hours. We had a nice time. They are getting the mail together. Isn't that adorable?

New words

Diego is now doing the elephant sound when he sees and elephant. He does the chicken (bok bok bok). He does the bees buzz. He meows. He beep-beeps and choo-choos. He tweets.


He said owl this morning.
He started saying mine last night.
He has also started telling me when he needs a new diaper. He'll point at his diaper and say, "I pee." or "I poop."

Sharon Woods Nature Walk

We took Diego on a walk down the Gorge Trail in Sharon Woods yesterday. The trail is 1.4 miles and it is covered in gravel. We didn't go to the end but we hiked for about an hour. He carried his sippy cup the whole time! He did so well. I think he really enjoyed it. The weather was very warm.

Slideshow of the day

gardening with Diego

I have been spending the last few mornings outdoors with Diego. He was watching me turn over the soil in preparation for planting. He decided to help me out... he took my shovel and tried to step on the edge to drive it down into the earth. It was so cute, to watch him try to step up on that shovel. I had to hold it steady for him, of course. He decided he was better off with the little trowel. As I turned the garden bed, he sat next to me and broke up the large clumps of dirt with that little hand trowel... OH MY, was it cute! He was very focused and kept at it for at least twenty minutes.

He also loves playing with the little yellow miniature rake I have. He really loves chasing Lucy around the yard and she happily obliges.

New words

Diego has been saying a lot of words now. I will present you all with a list.

Ball (he almost always includes an article - as in "a ball")
bunny
bear
shoes
fish
banana
balloon
dog
meow
moo
beep beep
choo choo
hat
hot
no no
Brian
nose
eye
momma and dada (of course)

Newport Aquarium

We took Diego to visit the aquarium since he tends to gravitate towards fish. He has been saying "fish" since last summer, thanks to GrammaJulie and her fish tank. He says "shish".

He thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Newport. We stayed there for over two hours looking at all the shish and et cetera. It was really cute to watch him get excited and point. And it was hilarious to hear him saying shish over and over.

He enjoyed the alligator exhibit a lot because of the bridge with the see through bottom. He spent a long time walking over that and sometimes laying down and looking down through the bottom.

He didn't get much out of the penguin exhibit because he was obsessed with climbing up and down the stairs there. Getting practice using the handrail. Time well spent and I got to sit down and rest. A little girl about his age took great offense that he was doing that and kept telling him "NO!" but he just looked at her.

We had to carry him out of there kicking and screaming. And then we went back in the front to apply our admission tix to a yearly pass and he must have thought we were going back through. So when we didn't, he went bananas. He was inconsolable for blocks on our way back to the car. I guess he liked it. We will be going back.

playing outside

Debbie's Visit

Deb brought the boys over to hang out with us. We had spaghetti and veggie meatballs. Yummy.

Visiting Dustin

Jason, Diego and I went to Debbie's to see little Dustin. We had a really nice visit and the little family of FOUR is doing very well. Brian Jr seems to be well-adjusted so far. He very enthusiastically pokes Dustin from time to time but that is to be expected.

Diego and Brian Jr had a blast playing in Brian's room while we all stared at the baby. Brian Jr. has a thing for Jason and held him hostage in his room for a lot of the time. That was pretty cute and it gave Big Brian and Debbie a little break from Mr. High Energy!

Made a little fleece diaper cover

It isn't the most waterproof cover. Maybe the more I wash the fleece, the better it will get. I really need to get some old sweaters from the thriftstore and try to felt them up. Those are supposed to be the best.

Dustin

Little Dustin Woodrow Smith was born today!

Impromptu Playdate

Diego made a friend yesterday. His name is Vaughn. He is 17 months. We were getting coffee in Northside and they saw each other at the coffee shop. They played together for probably twenty minutes or so. It was really cute.

He's also started posing for pictures! Grinning like you wouldn't believe - unless you saw it.

Diego can catch a ball now!

Jason is playing catch with Diego. Very cute. We were pretty excited when he actually caught the ball. He throws pretty well too!

Cutest Diaper Covers

I heart applique. Check out these cutie patootie diaper covers and swim diapers at Olive Jane's shop at etsy.com.

One of my favorites. Carrot Tops Applique! She is giving away a free cover to a lucky randomly chosen winner if you blog about her shop. Pick me!

Collecting old wool sweaters

If anyone has any wool sweaters or mostly wool sweaters that you were planning on getting rid of, would you email me because I am collecting them to make wool soakers for Diego. I am really considering making the switch to cloth diapering at least part time and I found a pattern to construct diaper covers out of old sweaters. Now I just need the sweaters!

Diego and Brian

Debbie brought lil Brian over yesterday. We had a blast. Diego was so upset when they left. He was inconsolable! It was so sad. They played for hours. Diego is even trying to say "Brian".

Roasted Broccoli

Last night, I roasted some broccoli and it was divine. So much better than steamed. Diego loved it. He kept picking up a different piece and eating all the little blooms off the ends and putting it down to pick up a new piece. He didn't want much to do with the fake chikkin cordon bleu thingy on the plate.

I bought him a pack of crayons the other day at Kroger and he is obsessed with them. He holds them like a magic wand or something. He can't get the grip right to apply pressure and it makes him a little cranky. But he keeps trying.

We met a new pediatrician yesterday in Hyde Park. He was pretty cool and I think we will stick with him. The two docs we have met in Cinci before him were just okay, and way to far away. So this is just perfect. I hate meeting new docs but this went really well. He was engaging and chatty. He didn't seem rushed. He seemed interested in Diego and good with him.

Diego is 22lbs and 32 inches tall! He is in 50% for height and 10% for weight (I think). All in all, the doc says he's doing well. And the fact that he isn't a picky eater is astounding but it may not last!

I had to return his car seat that I searched high and low for because it doesn't fit well in our car. So frustrating. He has just about outgrown his infant seat so the search is on! I am looking at the Boulevard by Britax but it is so expensive even on sale! Grandpa N. and Laura bought it for us off our registry and I had to return it because it wasn't suitable for Diego as a newborn. It was supposed to fit 5lbs to 65lbs but he just looked so small in it and I wasn't comfortable. So I exchanged it for the infant seat (Go GRACO Safeseat!) and the stroller package, which worked out really well for us and we are still using it and will likely be able to use it for baby number two.

Oh and I got a potty seat for Diego. You are supposed to introduce a seat at 18 months so they get used to seeing it. He loves it but he thinks it is best for standing in at this point!

Released

Brian is being released from the hospital right now. His diagnosis is Histoplasmosis and he will be on twelve weeks of an anti-fungal medicine and should be fine! Yeeeehaw!

cancer free

Deb just got word that the biopsy showed no signs of cancer. It is 99.9% sure! Hoooray!!!!

Switched Room

They switched Debbie and Brian's room to the sixth floor room 48. That means they are off the oncology floor. So her room phone number will be the same except the last three digits would be her new room number 648. (Don't want to post the phone number on the internet.)

Brian's blood work came back positive for histoplasmosis. I guess they are waiting for another pathology report to verify. I don't really know. But Debbie is saying still it isn't for sure. I guess since histoplasmosis is prevalent in this area that he could test positive for it and still have lymphoma on top of it.

If you want to read up on Histoplasmosis, this site is very informative. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/histoplasmosis/DS00517

Serology. This test examines blood for antigens and antibodies. It's a quick and fairly accurate way of detecting disseminated histoplasmosis as well as chronic or mild cases of the disease. But false-negative results are a problem, especially in people who have compromised immune systems or are infected with other types of fungi. The test can also be positive in people who live in endemic areas and have had past exposure to H. capsulatum, even though their current symptoms may be due to something else.