Cooking and Baking!

Yesterday Benji and I made dinner for some friends and with the leftovers (chicken) I made the best soup ever!! I say it's the best soup ever because it's my grandmothers soup that she always makes ever since I was little. It's my favorite soup and really the only soup I like. She never wrote down the recipe, but I try to duplicate it and today it worked!!! It has an Italian twist and it's really yummy!! This morning I made chocolate chip pancakes and later in the day the kids and I baked cookies... below is our creation....

Let it Snow! It's a blizzard!

It snowed 2 plus feet here yesterday. It's beautiful! Next on our list... cookie baking!

Our long driveway that needs to be shoveled.... fun! fun!


Playing with friends during the blizzard!





Can you find Chloe??

Wyatt sleigh riding

Chloe's Christmas Program

I have been such a slacker with my blog, but I have a good excuse!  We are having an absolute blast celebrating the Christmas season, that I don't have time to update!  So you will find a few posts under this one of the things we have been doing this Decemeber such as attending Chloe's Christmas program, going the Nutcracker, visiting Santa Claus, etc...  The kids are at an awesome age where they both love Christmas.  We have watched Ruldolph, Charlie Brown, and Frosty over and over and over again!  Wyatt knows all the Christmas carols, his favorite are Frosty, Santa Claus is coming to Town, and Ruldoph.  He finishes the sentences to they lyrics.  Chloe's Christmas program at her pre school was so cute.  Only ten kids are in the class and they sang songs and had a party.  I am so proud of Chloe!  She stood on the stage so confidently, sang the songs, and enjoyed it.  Her very first ever performance!  Both grandparents and my sister along with Benji and I were in the audience.  Another neat thing is that Wyatt fit right in!  He joined the party and played with all the big kids.  In fact, one of the moms said that Wyatt was stealing food off her son's plate!!!  She had no clue about Wyatt's medical needs let alone that he doesn't eat.  I just smiled inside, because finally people are not looking at Wyatt, the sick kid with oxygen, but Wyatt the irony little boy stealing food!!!  I love it!  I will post  a video of Chloe's performance soon!  All Chloe wants for Christmas this year is a Jack and the Box and Wyatt wants drums.... we made sure we told Santa Claus!!

Chloe walking down the isle to the show.

Chloe and her teacherWyatt and Chloe eating party food

Girls day after the program, my sister working from home and Mom-Mom and Chloe making a project!

Gymnastics with Chloe

Chloe loves gymnastics and I enjoy taking her... it's our special time together:)

Brunch with Santa

My mother treated us to brunch with

Santa at a golf club in their hometown.  It was a nice brunch with crafts for the kids and then all the time you wanted with Santa and Mrs. Claus with no lines!  It was so picturesque, it was ashame my pictures didn't turn out better.... but it was worth it!

Super Cool Kid

My Super Cool Kid- Wyatt

Wyatt is one of the sweetest kids and looks up to sister so much.

Chloe's favorite stuffed animal is a pig, so Wyatt named his stuffed tiger (pictured below),

Piggy, so he could be just like his sister.  Is that love or what? I'm not sure the

tiger appreciates being called Piggy.  (I guess Wyatt is keeping of with the Tigar Woods story:)

Doesn't he look cute in his faux leather jacket and gelled back hair?

The Nutcracker

We took Chloe to see her first show- The Nutcracker presented by the Pittsburgh Ballet. 

Chloe thought it was magical and sat on the edge of her seat the entire time. 

Our first snow of 2009

This was our first snow fall of 2009.... we are expecting more snow tomorrow... possibly a foot!

Decorating our Christmas Tree

ECMO Holiday Reunion

We were honored to be invited to the ECMO Holiday Reunion this year. Only 40 kids this past year were on ECMO at Hopkins, so we feel privileged to be part of this "elite" group! We thought we found the "party room" but we went to the wrong place. Benji laughed and thought I had the wrong date and we were about to turn around to go home. Who shows up??? Dr. Berkowitz! He saved the day for the second time! He thought it was in the location where we were waiting. We both laughed and since he has connections, he made a phone call and he led us in the right direction! On our way, we bumped into Dr. Abudallah, who came to the party just to see Jack and Wyatt, and we bumped into Wyatt's buddy Jack. It was a great reunion, especially to see all the important people that played a part into saving Wyatt's life. First, Dr. Berkowitz was the doctor who treated Wyatt first in the PICU, put him on ECMO, administered CPR when he went into cardiac arrest, and followed him through his entire ECMO journey... even when he was no longer the attending physician. Dr. Abdullah and Dr. Chandler (who is now in Florida and we miss her very much!!)repaired Wyatt's hernia and stayed up with him all night after surgery, soaking up blood, putting in a chest tube at his bedside, and quickly thinking to give him Factor 7 to stop all the bleeding. We owe it to these doctors for making the quick, intelligent, and often risky decisions to save his life. We also have to give Dr. Fackler a big thanks for helping Wyatt get off ECMO. We also saw our good friends Vicki, James, and their two kids- Jack and his sister Anika (who is super cute!). I owe it to Vicki for being my mentor through this journey. Jack is doing wonderful and is running around everywhere:)) Maybe he will rub off on Wyatt:))hint, hint... We also met a nice family whose son is currently in the NICU because of CDH. After four long months, he is being discharged tomorrow. I am sure next year, we will get to meet him at the party! Click here to read about the party of 2008.

The hottest invite in town.... 40 people this year were on ECMO and about 50 percent survive...

Some of our favorite docs... Dr. A and Dr. B

Wyatt with his buddy Jack and the doctor that saved their lives.- Dr. A

Wyatt with his present from Santa

Santa came to visit! and he brought all the kids presents!! (my kids did not want to sit on his lap)

Jack and Wyatt



Chloe was a good sport even though so much attention went to Wyatt during the party.

Chloe at School

I had a great time with Chloe today at volunteering at her school. Today she learned about Advent, tracing her name, cutting using scissors, learning about icicles, eating Popsicles, and of course playing!!

Relaxing Thanksgiving

Since Wyatt's birth we celebrated every holiday at our house. I love being home for the holidays but it's also a lot of work too:)) This year we went to my parent's house to celebrate Thanksgiving. My mother made a wonderful dinner and Benji made gravy. He is known as the gravy guy in our family... he gets stuck making gravy for all occasions. It was rainy and cold outside which was a perfect excuse to just lounge around the house and relax on Thanksgiving. That night I got to see a movie for the first time since I think before Wyatt was born. My sister, Dad and I saw New Moon. It was my first experience with the Twilight series... I thought it was ok... It's a nice teenager love story but I really don't get what all the hype is all about???? I am sure the books must be much better:) Then the following day my mom watched the kids while my sister, Dad, and I went shopping. It's a tradition for my Dad to buy my sister and I tennis shoes on Black Friday. Mission accomplished and now I have new tennis shoes:)) On Saturday we saw the Christmas Parade on Main Street. Our town has a parade for EVERYTHING.... labor day, memorial day, Easter, etc... it's basically the same parade over and over again... but not this year. This Christmas it was the new and improved electrical parade. Everything had lights on it! Chloe went with her best friends Lily and Molly (it's a tradition) and we all had a blast! If you remember last year when we went to the parade, Wyatt became ill and we had to make a visit to the ER. He was hospitalized for a few days for a respiratory virus. Not this year! Instead, Chloe got a fever on Thanksgiving night, but the next day it was gone. I am very very very thankful for my healthy family this year.

My grandmother (86 years old) and Wyatt playing the piano together


Wyatt LOVES music... he knows all the instruments, his favorites are the tuba, drums, and violin.


My sister and Wyatt playing drums together.


Pop-pop (my Dad) and Chloe sharing special moments together



Chloe ate Thanksgiving Dinner sitting on my sister's lap. Well, kinda of... Chloe barely eats, she just takes tiny bites of everything!!


Wyatt eating Thanksgiving Dinner... or at least pretending to eat... He is such a good faker at eating because he uses the proper utensils, puts it up to his mouth and pretends to chew. At least he is trying and wants to eat.


Me checking my e-mail. My mother said there are never any pictures of me, so she was taking pictures of me all day. Just wait until you see our Christmas card, Benji jokes that he is a single Dad because it includes everyone's picture but myself:) I never get to check my e-mail in peace:) That's why I have to update my blog at 11pm!!


To pass time on a rainy day... playing Big Monster Trucks in the hallway and Abby our dog, seeking cover in the bathroom.


Our Thanksgiving Dinner (I got yelled at for taking too many pictures and not sitting down to eat:))

Love of Learning

Chloe is at an exciting stage now full of discovery and learning. Her vocabulary is increasing and so are her writing skills. Today we had her very first ever parent conference. It was the first time I was on the opposite end, being a parent rather than a teacher. Her teacher said that Chloe was excellent at sharing and that she adds a calming presence to the class. She asked if Chloe was always like that and I had to chuckle a little. I wish she would share more with her brother rather than pulling things out of his hand. Regarding the calming presence, just come to our house in the morning before going to preschool during breakfast and "time to get dress" time.... I don't think I would characterize it as "calming." But I love Chloe and everything about her.

One of the most exciting things is watching her learn how to write. Below is one of her first attempts of writing her name. It's backwards but if you look closely you can see a "CHLOE." Tonight we went to story time and it was all about your name. Below are the kids "signatures."


Chloe's signature...


Wyatt's signature...

Stone Soup, Tortellini Soup- A soup weekend!

Chloe's daycare read Stone Soup this week and at the end of the week the kids made

Stone Soup

for lunch! Here are a few photos of making Stone Soup.







Chloe had her first sleepover Friday night (me included). We stayed at my friends Laura's house. Chloe, Jack, and Ethan played while Laura and I had great girls night!!! She made a delicious Tortellini soup for dinner. Thanks Laura for your wonderful hospitality!






If you are following the story of my backyard which was once full of beautiful trees and animals... then a big wig developer chopped them all down to build houses that we don't even need. I took a little walk today and found that our tiny little bit of nature, a little stream is unprotected and the trackers are pushing the mud/sediment into it. I guess I have to call the mayor again:) Also, the white house that you see in the background is mine... They are nice enough to knock on our door to give us a two minute warning that dynamite is going to explode which shakes our house like an earthquake. I am just going to keep on smiling:))

The stick that you see is where a house will be... so I guess the good news is that it won't be directly behind me:)


Do you see a stream? Keep looking... it's covered by MUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!




.

Thankful

There are many things in my life to be proud of, but I was especially proud of Chloe today. When I picked Chloe up from pre-school today, her teacher said that Chloe really enjoyed the Thanksgiving party and the class made a banner of all the things they are thankful of.... What did Chloe draw? Chloe drew her brother Wyatt and told her class she was thankful for her brother. Tears came to my eyes and I was especially proud of Chloe and told her that I am thankful for her!!

Chloe and Wyatt act so much like a normal 2 year old boy and 3 year old girl who are siblings. Wyatt will take toys away from Chloe and push her, he will tell on her and like wise with Chloe. Then there are times, they sit and cuddle together, share, and are gentle. Wyatt even tells me when he is sharing with Chloe, he says "Mommy, I'm sharing with Chloe!"

Wyatt started saying "Not Yet!" at the most appropriate times! It's so cute to hear him say this. When we give him a bath, he will hold his hand out and say, "Not yet!" or when we change his diaper, or brush his hair, etc.... It's very funny to listen to him.

So many people commented on how well Wyatt looks in all the pictures, especially the pictures that involve food. He looks like he is eating just like the rest of us!! Wyatt is doing well, but he is faking us all out!! He really doesn't eat anything. He sits down at the table with us and at the table during play date lunches. He gets the same food as everyone else. He holds the food to his mouth and licks, then pretends to chew. He also takes "drinks" but never gets any liquid in his mouth. It's all fake. I am proud he wants to do this, especially when he picks up a hamburger with two hands and puts his entire mouth around it. Most kids like him gag at the thought of touching food to their mouth, but not Wyatt... he goes through all the actions expect chewing and swallowing. We are continuing to work with him and give him foods that he can actually swallow like yogurt, baby food, etc... He will lick about a teaspoon full and does ok. We are planning at sometime to do a swallow study to see if he can actually swallow.... but I wonder how you do a swallow study if your kid doesn't swallow???? Anyway, we will keep doing what we are doing, and hopefully one day he will swallow and chew, because he REALLY wants to eat like everyone else!!

BFF's forever:)

Tonight we had Chloe's friends over... Lily, Molly, Cate, and Jack and their parents. Lily and Chloe have been friends since birth and spent their days together with Nanny. Now all of Chloe's friends here are in daycare together. It's so nice, because they had a GREAT time playing together which allowed much needed grown-up time to catch up with old friends:))

Wyatt update- Wyatt saw the cardiologist on Thursday and got a good report. An ultrasound was done of his heart and it was normal. We also saw the behavior psychologist at KKI on Thursday for a 2 hour evaluation. The doctor was very nice and gave us good information, but she also said that what we are currently doing is great and she really did not have much to say. We are suppose to return in 3 weeks.

Discovering Nature in our Backyard....

Chloe and I went exploring today and this is what we discovered:)

It's a DOG Party!!

A perfect excuse to reconnect with old friends is throwing your dog a party!! Back in "BK", before kids, Benji and I lived in a townhouse and one of our neighbors was also a co-worker of mine. Our first year we were married, Benji and I got a dog from the Humane Society and Jim, our neighbor also got a dog that same year- Shadow, a little hot dog. Abby, was the center of our attention. She got three walks a day, special treats, playtime, playdates with other dogs, etc.... Abby's best friend, Shadow played together every day. Then we moved and had two kids and Abby didn't get all the attention that she had before, especially traveling to the hospital every day for 5 months. We still loved Abby, but things were different. Lately, we started returning our attention back to Abby. She goes on every family walk with us and we play with her along with the kids together. This year, Abby turned 8 years old, so we decided to invite our friend Jim over and surprise Abby by also inviting Shadow. Abby was super excited to see both of them, in fact she was so excited she peed on the floor. She has not done this since she was a puppy!!! We made cupcakes, a juicy hamburger for Abby and Shadow, gave goody bags, and Abby got presents. It was her special day!!... and a great excuse to catch up with an old friend!!

Fancy Nancy

Chloe goes to daycare with her best friends and today they had a Fancy Nancy party. This week, they focused on learning about manners and celebrated their good manners by dressing really pretty and having a tea party. The kids loved it!






Stay tuned for tomorrow.... it's Abby's (our dog) birthday party! Shh... don't tell her, but I invited her best friend Shadow to surprise her!! Abby was the center of our attention until Chloe and Wyatt came along. We love her very much, but she wasn't the only child anymore... so tomorrow Abby turns eight and it's her special day! She is looking forward to her yummy treat and all the attention she will be getting!

Making Pizza on a Friday Night

I hope we started a Friday night tradition of making pizza for dinner. Both kids loved helping to make it. Chloe like that we put her favorite topping on it- pepperoni!