Water & Fish... Oil

Today was a beautiful day! We played in the back yard for quite a while. David played in the sprinkler again. The hose has a leak & this puddle formed. David enjoyed splashing in it... he's getting ready for the river! Notice the cute swim trunks!!!

You may remember David's 1st experience with a fish oil supplement. It was several months ago. He got into his dad's bag he takes to work. I thought I had picked everything up, but apparently a fish oil caplet was hidden somewhere. First & foremost, I am thankful that he didn't choke on it. The day after this happened (and I didn't know I had missed the fish oil) David smelled like dead fish - his breath, his diapers, and his general body scent. I racked my brain to figure out what I had fed him to make him smell so bad. (We'd had a previous incident where I fed him something that had a lot of garlic in it & he stunk the day after that, too.) Finally I found the empty caplet under the couch & realized that he had found it and sucked the oil out.

Well, a few weeks ago, someone in an email group asked if anyone had tried giving their late talker omega-3 supplements. There was not much discussion on the topic, so I started doing some research & found that some think it does indeed help boost mood, energy, concentration, learning ability, and positive behavior. I found a company called Nordic Naturals that made a strawberry flavored liquid that was recommended for age 1 & up. Dad & I agreed that it wouldn't hurt to try & see.

David started taking 1/2 teaspoon this past week on Wednesday, 4/5. I gave it in a medicine dropper & he acted like he liked the taste of it.

On Friday, 4/7, while putting on his shoes to go outside, with me repeating "shoe" David started saying "sh". He has done it every day since when we put on his shoes. He got frustrated trying to tell us that he wanted to swing & watch a movie. We finally figured out that he was trying to pull the swing out. Swinging & movies go hand-in-hand, so I looked up the sign for movie & showed it to him. He did it right back. He's never repeated a sign that quickly.

On Saturday, 4/8, I asked him if he wanted a cracker. He signed cookie & looked at the box of vanilla wafers. And has started using other signs more, too. He has started nodding yes to "do you want" questions. He has started pointing at objects in books.

Today - Sunday, 4/9, his Sunday school teacher commented that he actually interacted with the other kids. I didn't have much time to talk to her, because other parents were waiting, so I don't know how he interacted, but she noticed it & she usually says he played by himself the whole time. Then we went to the fire station to see Dad. I always talk about going to see Dad at the fire station while we're in the car going there. As we're getting out of the car, I said as usual, "Here's the fire station, let's go find Dad." David started saying "fff, fff". I wonder if that was F for fire or F for find?

While there, we asked if he wanted to go see the fire truck. We waited briefly, then he went to the door that leads into the engine bay. After eating applesauce, I picked up the bowl & said, "all done". I usually make the sign while I say it, but didn't this time. David did it. First time for that one, too. Later in the car, he drank all his juice, dropped the cup, I said "Are you done?" and he signed "all done". I also waved my hands in the air talking about the pretty wispy clouds, and he did the same thing. I'm pretty sure he said "no" today, too, when I was calling him for a diaper change. He's never said that before, either.

Tonight while I was watching home makeover, he came in looked at the TV & signed "movie". I told him Mom was watching a movie now!

Coincidence or Omega-3? I don't know for *certain*, but I'm going to keep giving it to him.

SPRING: The Season of Balloons

This morning we went to HEB and were greeted by the Easter bunny! David just stared at him, so Mom accepted the sucker on David's behalf. They were also giving away balloons! As we stood waiting our turn, David got upset by seeing two other kids get balloons before he did! Patience Little One... lest we start singing the song!!!



Here is David shoo-ing Tabi away from his balloon. (it's behind him)

Speaking of "sh" - yesterday while putting on David's shoes & Mom repeating the word "shoe," David started saying, "sh, sh"! Mom got excited & continued saying "shoe" and I think one time he got it out sounding more like the complete word. Again today the same thing happened, so he's learning "sh" for "shoe"!


A little static electricity is fun! Here's David with the balloon stuck on his head!



Click on this one to enlarge it & you can see the little hairs holding the balloon there!

The Pumpkin that Never Died

When I started blogging in October 2005, this is the display that sat on my front porch. Before the season ended, I added a couple more smaller pumpkins. But the important pumpkin can be seen here on the far right. Purchased at HEB and selected for it's beautiful color and shape, I was quite proud of this one!

Believe it or not, this is the SAME pumpkin - photo taken YESTERDAY!!! I still think it's a beautiful pumpkin, but if I'm going to try planting it's seeds, I had to give up and cut the thing! It's been sitting in the back yard since December because I didn't want people thinking I was leaving a fake pumpkin on my porch, nor did I want some yahoo to smash it. As I stick the butcher knife in to pull the top off, David started screaming at the top of his lungs! Guess he's grown to love the pumpkin, too!


This is the first time I've tried harvesting pumpkin seeds and will be my first attempt to grow them. If it fails, you can sure bet that I'll be pumpkin shopping at HEB again this year! (the others all came from the big box)

OK, forget trying to fix yesterday's post. It can't be done. So, here's the picture of yesterday's balloon that wouldn't load.

You're not going to see the cilantro. Looks like alfalfa sprouts.

trying again... yesterday's post

Mom got a hair cut at the mall yesterday, so David got a new balloon from Chick-fil-a. As we strolled out of the mall, he was grinning ear-to-ear holding the string (which was also tied to the stroller). David did a wonderful job sitting in the stroller while Mom got her hair cut! Tabi & her claws played with teh balloon this morning while David wasn't watching, so this one didn't last long.

Garden Update: Exciting garden developments while we were away

Cilantro sprouts were started inside to transplant into the herb garden. I may give some to a friend who usually has a garden, too.




And here is one of my bell peppers. There is a fading bloom near the top of the plant!






The most exciting thing in the garden right now is this! See the two spent blooms turned down? The one on the left has a teenie-tiny yellow pear tomato inside!!! Whoo-hoo!!!





Bad photo, but this sprout is where I put the lettuce seeds.






This photo shows 2 carrot sprouts.





And the mammoth sprout - yep, squash!

David checks things out, too.

TEST

This is a test... I've been trying to upload yesterday's post since... yesterday. This is only a test. Should an actual emergency take place, instructions will follow.

Dad's Birthday Trip

After finding out that the termite guy couldn't even do the treatment on Monday, we got ready and headed to Grandma & Grandpa's house as our home base for Dad's birthday trip. Here is David kicked back & snacking in the car.

Tuesday, April 4 - Dad's Birthday. We started the day by touring the area to see how the landscaping has changed since we were last there.

We visited both new wells and the site of Uncle Bubba & Aunt Wee's new house.

It was sad to see so few wildflowers this spring after the lack of fall rains. Here is a lonely little patch of bluebonnets in an area that is usually covered with them.

From there, we headed to Fort Worth. Dad wanted to go to the Vintage Flying Museum at Mecham Field, but alas, it was closed.

Then we went to the Stockyards and went through the Cowtown Cattlepen Maze. We had to find and punch our cards at 4 letter stations: M - A - Z - E. It was pretty hard! But it was fun! After being in the maze for a while, David actually walked part of it. When he got to a dead end, he'd turn around and try another way!

Here he is holding up our punch card at the end to show that "We Made It!" He got a shiny sticker and a toy pinwheel for completing the maze! (Grandpa took these pictures for us from the look-out - see Grandpa's Blog for more pictures from the day.)


Then we walked down the street to the Fort Worth Stockyard Exchange building. Grandpa helps Grandma up the steps while he reminisces about coming here with his daddy as a little boy to sell cattle. Grandpa said, "It was bigger then." It always was bigger then... Inside the museum, we saw a window that Grandpa remembered seeing as a child.

Everyone was hungry by the time we left & Dad was hankering Riscky's BBQ downtown. Not the one at the Stockyards, the one downtown. Here we see to satisfied and full customers headed out the door. Grandma was about walked to death by this point!

Mom, Dad, and David headed up the street another block to the old Fire Station No. 1 which is currently housing the exhibit, "150 Years of Fort Worth." It was really interesting about the history of the town, the panther, the FW-D rivalry, and the beginning of the fire department. (the picture of Dad & David with the buffalo in the previous post was taken at this exhibit)


Here is an old FWFD helmet from the Panther Town display.




Outside, Dad tries to show David the skyscrapers, but the sky was really bright and cars & trucks kept driving past. Give David a wheel any day & then you've got a friend!

Ready to head home, Grandpa suggested stopping by the Trinity Railway Express station and got no complaints here! We never saw the TRE train, but there were several trains sitting there. Here, Dad tells David about them.


And there goes David, off to check things out for himself. The gold sticker on his back is from the maze.


Back at Grandma & Grandpa's house. What an exciting day!





We came back home on Wednesday. We left Grandma & Grandpa's about 10am, went to the school to see MawMaw & Aunt Laurie, then out & visited with Grandpa H, Norma, and Curtis. From there, we were going to stop by Grana & Papa's, but after calling on the way, they weren't home so we turned around. Had late lunch at Taco Cabana, then we went back to Radio Shack in Arlington(!) to exchange Dad's new scanner. Stopped in Weatherford for drinks & snacks, then here in Eastland to try to see a train come by. (We waited & then decided it would take too long.) Then to W-M in Eastland to go potty while Dad looked for a cable. Paused a bit later for Mom to take a picture and finally got home a little after 10pm! Can you believe it??? It took us 12 hours to get home!

Away From Home

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! WE LOVE YOU!

David and his parents are currently away from home on Dad's Birthday Trip. Check back later for more photos.

Hot Sunday

We've got a Sunday morning habit - David watches his Baby Faith DVD while Mom gets ready for church. He loves it! This morning it was also entertaining Tabi! If she can reach the buttons on the TV, that means that she's just a little bit shorter (when she's all stretched out like that) than David!

This afternoon was HOT! I was outside pulling weeds in my flower bed with David close beside me. The sprinkler was hooked up, so I turned it on low to see what he would do. He was very intrigued! I tapped on the window for Dad to look out & he brought the camera out. By then, David had already backed up some, but you can see from his shirt what' he'd been up to!


How did my tummy get wet?

David loves water!





Where did the water go???

Shoes, Slides & Toothbrushes

Happy April Fool's Day!

Happy Anniversary to Uncle Bubba & Aunt Wee! Here is David blowing a kiss to you!

Thunder & lightening has started in the distance, so I will blog first tonight just in case I have to turn off my computer! (My power supply got fried one time by lightening!) David got to bed a little bit before 9 tonight & I can hear him kicking the mattress - he lays on his tummy & kicks the mattress to try to keep himself awake longer.

Notice in the first picture that David is wearing some new summer shoes. I was tired of fighting squirmy feet to fasten a BUCKLE! These are soooo easy on & off - and they're water proof, so he can wear them when we go to the beach and river hopping!

Apparently they have good traction, too! I've never seen him get this far up the slide! My fearless little man! : )


A few months back I got myself this Oral-B spin brush, but I didn't like how it vibrated my eyes while I used it, so I haven't been using it. Yesterday, David spotted it and tonight he went for it again. Forget the cool Cookie Monster toothbrush, the one that spins is much more fun! And he does it himself now! And he does it for much longer than the musical toothpaste plays! In fact, he got upset when I had to take it away from him so that he could go to bed!

See his little tummy coming back? When we went to the dr the second time, David had lost 3% of his body weight due to dehydration, but he's making up for it now by drinking like a camel and eating like a horse! And we made it the whole day without Mom having to clean up a mess from one end or the other!!! He's still coughing a lot, but doing great otherwise.