Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Where can I buy an immune system?

Zayd is sick AGAIN. This makes I believe the fourth unscheduled trip to the doctors office this winter. I am counting at least one strep throat, one sinus infection, one cough accompanied by labored breathing and wheezing, and now Coxsackie B Virus. Ugh. This new diagnosis is related to Hand, Foot, and Mouth but without the hands of feet and with a considerably higher fever. We've been running in the 103-104 range but what's new? Zayd is always rocking an extreme three digit temperature whenever he feels even slightly under the weather.

So, what does this leave us to do? We have enlisted the help of an immunologist as recommended by our pediatrician. We have a two hour workup next week (hope Zayd doesn't completely break down) with allergy and immune testing. So, then the question becomes, am I hoping they find something?

I keep saying "Where can I buy an immune system and just inject it into his little body?" Maybe this immunologist has the answer. All I know is our ped is none too happy that Zayd has been steadily losing weight at every appointment since January. I defended us by pointing out that it was the same the year before - Zayd barely survives winter, then I fatten him up all summer long.

January 2013

Last Week
When he was a baby (with the same problems) I always thought that once he could tell me what was wrong it would get easier. It turns out "mouf hurts" *my mouth hurts* doesn't give me much to work with. Especially not since he is now better at refusing medicine or, heck, even fluid. Ugh.

Last night Zayd slept for around 5 hours total. Thirty minutes laying on top of me in (my) bed with me continually patting his back. If I stopped, he would wake me to tell me to start again IMMEDIATELY. So, was he ever sleeping? I don't know. The same type of sleep on the couch for a bit. Then into the guest bedroom. I think he got half as much in a wrap. Yes, I wrapped him. I had about an hour of crying in my arms before all bets were on the table. We watched two episodes of Sesame Street in the middle of the night (the only sleep I snuck in, BTW). I bounced him like when he was a colicky infant. But his best sleep was two hours driving around loop 410. So, off to bed. Don't want to veer off the highway at 4am while trying to get my shivering, burning-up little tot to rest.

Friday, April 26, 2013

You're not ready...

And neither am I.
But Zahra sure seems to be. (Given you put a box under her feet.)





Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Zahra's First Children's Museum Escapade

Warning: I literally fell asleep trying to post this tonight. So, the grammar etc reflects my current exhausted state.
The San Antonio Children's Museum has really been spruced up since we had Zahra! We had our first trip back this week (since November!)  and it was delightful!
The new science room was a huge hit. They have you build Lego cars and then race them down a ramp to test their aerodynamics. There was an earthquake simulator to test your engineering and architecture skills with foam blocks. There were around a half dozen activities that captivated Zayd and the fourth graders buzzing all around us. They would run off somewhere as a group and Zayd would run with them. He definitely wanted to be part of the crowd.


I had also never seen the Tiny Tots room for 0-36 month old kiddoes. They had a series of drums, light sticks, and a firetruck to play with. Sold. It also offered respite from the throng of 9 year olds running a muck. (They were perfectly sweet and having a great time but they made me feel twice as exhausted.


Then down to the grocery store where Zayd served us all food he "prepared" himself. :) Turns out Zahra loves fish too.


Umma chi had a great time as well.



Saturday, April 20, 2013

For Small Children Only

This video was filmed on a mechanical horse labelled "For Small Children Only"

ENJOY!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Our Best Drumming Circle Yet

Umma-chi is in town and today it really helped lighten the load. When Zahra is mad, it's mother-of-two-tinies rough as usual. But today during her happy times, I let the ladies bond and got town to toddler business with my tot.

We had a drumming circle that escalated from hands to spatulas to wooden spoons. Sam says all we were missing was our beaded necklaces.

We built a fort and read a bunch of super cute Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie books that Nene Crystal gave the lentil. So cute!

And we started a letter activity that we'll post about soon.

This was all before 9 am when we headed to the children's museum!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Zahra Finds Her Feet

This might be the beginning of a life filled with shoe shopping. Or the study of podiatry. The world's her oyster!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Zahra is Four Months!

My goodness how time flies! Let's count down some of Zahra's skills and stats:
  • Zahra is in the 10-percentile for height and weight at a whopping 12lbs and only has a 25 percentile head! (Given Zayd was always in the 75th-95th percentile this was shocking!)
  • Zahra loves loves loves to talk.
  • Z-bear likes to play with toys in a way Zayd never did. She explores their textures and the noises they make just like the books say she will!
  • She can roll over easily from tummy to back.
  • Occasionally, she goes to sleep completely independently.(What-on-EARTH?)
  • She laughs and it is the world's best little laugh with her mouth agape.
  • She can sit and stand on Sam's command (with support). It is actually crazy to see and doesn't work for me. Dr Cevey did marvel at how Zahra stood up as soon as she got leverage and a hold of the doc's finger.
  • She likes to pull hair.
  • She has more saliva than I have ever seen.
  • She can shake a maraca like a little mariachita. (I invented that word, I believe. It means small female mariachi lady.)
  • Zahra has a fuzzy little head of hair that has recently sprouted a full set of new growth.
  • She is gorgeous and we are truly in love.







Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Yum!

Zayd's first taste of fresh whipped cream. Can you imagine how disappointed he was when I then whipped up 12 egg whites for our angel food cake. He thought they were going to taste the same.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The Day Zayd Turned Two

I am pretty sure that shared traditions and memories are what make folks a family. Sam and I both think its important to make traditions that define what we Mammens are all about. When Zayd is at college, celebrating his first birthday away, I want him to be able to say, "My parents always did X on my birthday."

The first of our birthday traditions calls for balloons when you wake up. Check! Happy Zayd? Double Check!


The second of our birthday traditions calls for pancakes just down the street. I'll be honest, Zayd ate two bites of his breakfast treat, but we parents tried.



This year we wanted to take Zayd somewhere special to celebrate. We debated going to the driving safari at Natural Bridge Caverns but decided on Morgan's Wonderland and I LOVED IT. So did Zayd. Morgan's Wonderland is best described by their website.
While other theme parks accommodate people with disabilities and/or special needs, Morgan’s Wonderland was created with them in mind. This park was built to emphasize inclusion, so we want everyone to come and enjoy Morgan’s Wonderland!
...Our Morgan’s Wonderland team began by identifying what obstacles and barriers occur within the special-needs community and then designed our park to help individuals with special needs overcome those challenges and be able to have fun like those without limitations.
This park was AMAZING. Perfectly suited for a two year old or a ten year old, with a special need or just a special curiosity. We will definitely be going back AGAIN and AGAIN.

There was an enormous water table that we headed to first.


There is a carousel where nearly everything moves - even the benches! There was every animal under the sun and it was hands down the cleanest carousel I've ever seen!

Fun for all ages and abilities!


Hiya!

Zayd got to drive his own car around the track! 

Zayd driving a Jeep
There are a few playgrounds at the Wonderland with some of the coolest equipment I've ever seen. There was a rocking "ship" that accommodated tots, kids, parents and wheelchairs and swayed as you shifted your weight. There were horizontal monkey bars that you could pull yourself across while laying on a rolling bed. To be honest, we missed most of it because we were singularly obsessed with the playground equipment Zayd recognized. I was so happy though to have Zayd in an environment where a kid in a wheel chair playing on a jungle gym is NORMAL. What a valuable life lesson we gave him on his birthday - people are different and yet the same.








Zayd probably spent 45 minutes of our 2 hour trip in one of four large sand pits. Scoop, pour, scoop, pour, scoop...try to work the construction diggers. He would move minute amounts of sand with the mechanic diggers, then get stuck, decide the digger had broken, and move on to another...until it too was stuck. I can't wait to see how he does a year from now.



There is a xylophone park where daddy and Zaydie made music together on at least a half-dozen different instruments.


This is how we sold the trip - "Do you want to ride a choo choo?" In the end, the choo choo was the least of his excitements once he learned about everything else at the park.


After a long day out, and an even longer nap, Nani and Nene arrived to celebrate Zayd's birthday. We moved outside to enjoy the cool March weather (soon to be replaced with the insanely hot March weather, and yet again replaced with golf-ball size hail - it was quite a birthday/Easter weekend)!

Here Zayd is enjoying banana juice, a new favorite blend of milk, honey and banana that we drink EVERYDAY.





And the first round of a weekend full of presents...


Zayd apparently loves cards that talk when you open them.

Meet Rick the fish! He's a baby betta and he lives in his new bowl with two real plants. We are going to watch him grow, learn responsibility by feeding him three times a day, and growing our creativity by watching his funny movements. (It turns out that occasionally mommy is going to rescue Rick because he has swum under the big glass rocks in his bowl and can't find his way back out...he really is a "baby" baby.)





And what does Zayd really want for his birthday? To sing "Happy ME!" over and over and over again. So that is just what we did. All weekend.