Whistle Down the Wind

Okay - the title may not be totally appropriate for this post, but, hey, I thought the Broadway reference would entertain my father when he gets out of the hospital (hopefully today). You see, today I have movie references and my Grandma "Cookie" on my mind. Do you ever think that some habits/actions of lost loved ones are somehow...reincarnated in our children? Perhaps it signals as a reminder from those who are gone.

You see, Grandma "Cookie" could not whistle. There is no judgment in that - neither Elliot nor I can whistle either, so clearly, it would be a genetic challenge for Micah to acquire the whistling acuity of HIS grammy (my mother). Cannot whistle, you say? Well, why didn't she just put her lips together...and blow? (Are you smiling, Dad?) Funny thing is, she did. All the time. Mostly unconsciously. It was actually quite an annoying habit. If you asked her to stop whistling, she would tell you that she could not whistle. It started to become so awful her last few years that we would sit around and mimic her. Often when she wasn't with us, one of us would start making that infertnal...blowing...noise. Even now that she is gone, every once in a while, one of us will still do that as we smile and fondly remember Grandma "Cookie."

Why am I reminiscing about Grandma "Cookie" today? Naturally, it is because of Micah. You see, regardless of ability, he too, likes to sit and "whistle." He puts his lips together and makes that same awful noise. He sometimes does it incessantly! This morning, for example. He was sitting in his high chair, absentmindedly...."whistling." And I thought about Grandma "Cookie." I hope she is smiling.

Craziness

All I can say is "What a week." On Thursday, Micah and I went to our gym class. There is a part of the class where we have the babies all stand up, and we let go. Micah stood on his own for 15 seconds!! He sat down, and looked a little scared afterwards, but I was amazed - that is the longest I've seen him hold a stand on his own so far. I'm pretty sure he'll be walking before he is one year old.

Lately, Micah is obsessed with his Daddy. He howls and runs to the door and bangs on the screen door screaming "Dad" or "Dada" when he steps out. It is kind of adorable. He also has a new trick - he likes to feed mommy food from his tray and he laughs hysterically as I "gobble" it up. We tried catching it tonight, but Micah tends to find the camera a bit of a distraction and prefers to "mug" for the camera.

Here is another recent video of a few of Micah's "tricks":

And Micah playing peek-a-boo:

So...onto the crazy part. Micah and Elliot had a private night together on Friday - while I went out for a girls' night for my friend Stacy's birthday. I made her a cake - we bought her a mah jongg set for her birthday, so mah jongg was the theme! We went out to an Indian restaurant that was more like a Moroccan restaurant. They had a Bollywood/belly dancer, and we sat on cushions low to the floor and shared big plates of food (with no silverware). We had so much fun!


On Saturday, we were supposed to go to a birthday party, but the weather was lousy and it was canceled. Saturday night, we went out to our friends Hirsch and Lisa's annual Sahmain Soiree - a "Black tie potluck" event. We got all dressed up, and my parents came to sit with Micah for an hour or two while we went out. When we got home, my Dad was complaining that he had the chills. I took his temperature, and it said 101. I immediately suspected he had swine flu, and I sent them off to the hospital. Needless to say, I was worried for him and for Micah. After a long wait, and a CT scan of his sinuses and a chest xray, they decided he had pneumonia. No cough at all, just fever and chills. They admitted him to the hospital and put him on IV antibiotics. Unfortunately, he does not seem to be responding, so they added more antibiotics - he is now on 3 of them. I'm hoping he starts to respond better by tomorrow. If all is well with the bloodwork tomorrow, they'll release him.

I also think I have a sinus infection - so sickness seems to be going around. My mom's friend Mona was in town today, so she came by to see Micah. We went for a long walk, and I was exhausted. I crashed for an hour, but then Micah woke up, and I was back to mommy duty.

Just wanted to say, feel better, Daddy!

ETA - I decided to take myself to the hospital tonight, too. I seem to have developed a case of bronchitis, and I thought I should hurry up and get antibiotics. Mostly, I was starting to worry it could be the same pneumonia my dad had, so I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. After the doctor was incredibly rude to me (and informed me that they don't treat bronchitis with antibiotics - they just call it h1n1 and give people Tamiflu), she finally wrote me the script for antibiotics (and a prescription for Tamiflu). I mean, seriously? I'll take the Tamiflu if I develop flu symptoms - but I just have a low-grade fever, my chest hurts, and I *know* that I have a sinus infection/bronchitis. It is the same thing that happens all the time to me. I had a mild cold last week, so a secondary infection following a cold is par for the course for me. Ridiculous! Oh, and according to this lovely doctor, they no longer prescribe antibiotics for bronchitis or sinus infections. Um, hello - maybe they wait a few weeks for most people, but that is NOT a good idea with asthmatics and people with chronic sinusitis. She didn't look up my nose, or at my throat or my ears, she didn't listen to my chest, and she didn't feel my glands. I found the whole experience annoying and off-putting - but I'm glad I have my antibiotics now.

Swine Flu and Baking

It is official - we have a case of swine flu in Micah's daycare class. Apparently, a child went home sick on Friday, and he and his parent have been diagnosed with swine flu. I'm hoping that since we have shown no signs or symptoms yet means we have passed the incubation period and all is well. To make matters worse (as if I'm not already freaking out about germs), the caretaker in Micah's class had a cold yesterday. Yes, a cold. I went to pick Micah up, and she was all stuffed up, coughing, and well...sick. I'm sure it isn't the flu, but really - did she HAVE to expose Micah to her cold? He just got over being sick last month! And I certainly don't need to be sick with all of the traveling I'm doing. I do not need my lungs compromised in any way if there is a chance I could catch the flu!

I hate all this fear about flu. I've never worried about the flu before - in my life, I've only had it 2 times. It has never been a big deal. It is funny - I catch everything else, but I've been relatively flu-free most of my life. I've never gotten the flu vaccine either. I am still not concerned about the seasonal flu, and to be honest, I am just not that excited about H1N1. For whatever reason, if I catch it, I just do not think it will be a big deal. Perhaps I should, but I feel like I'll go to the doctor, get Tamiflu, go on antibiotics if I get a lung infection, and all will be well.

In the midst of all of this, the H1N1 vaccinations have arrived at our pediatrician's office. Both Micah and I cold get vaccinated, but they do not yet have the thimerosal-free (and squalene-free) version yet. So - do I give Micah the vaccine now, or wait an extra month for the safer vaccine? I hate these kind of decisions! I am currently leaning towards waiting. Most of the cases of swine flu seem to be no worse than regular flu. Not that I wish flu on either one of us, but part of me feels that getting the flu might be safer than taking the vaccine. I am also not certain that Micah did not already have swine flu last month when he was sick (although, I suppose Elliot and I would have caught it, too, if it was swine flu).

This morning I called to schedule his second dosage of the regular flu shot - and was told I should call back in November. I am so frustrated by all of this! They would not give me information about which version of the H1N1 vaccine they are currently using, or when they expect to get the thimerosal-free version. I cannot get good information about what to do. The CDC recommends vaccinating, but declines to comment on either thimerosal or squalene at this time. While they will not approve these ingredients in other vaccines, the FDA has suspended most of the guidelines for the H1N1 vaccine for the next six months. I'm sorry - if something was unsafe last month, and it will be unsafe again in six months, isn't it unsafe now?

On the one hand, the studies show there is no connection between thimerosal and autism. Fine - I believe that. HOWEVER, we are encouraged NOT to feed children fish with mercury because even the low doses have been shown to affect brain development. Okay. I can accept that. Then how is thimerosal in the H1N1 vaccine safe? To make matters worse, due to the shortage of vaccinations, there are adjuvants that contain squalene in this version of the H1N1 vaccination. Apparently, there is some relatively new and untested research that indicates that adjuvants *might* cause autoimmune disorders in both adults and children. Until better research is done, how can I comfortably give such a vaccine to Micah? Several states have banned doctors from administering the H1N1 vaccine to pregnant women and children under 3. Moreover, this vaccination has been rushed to market prior to FDA approval and without testing. It is presumed the vaccine will do no harm because it was developed with the same techniques as the regular seasonal flu vaccine. But, with different ingredients in the vaccine, how can they be sure?

In other news, I'm busy cake-baking. I have a cake to do for a friend (I'm making a pumpkin chocolate chip cake) and next weekend I have a cake for my niece's second birthday, and my friend's son's first birthday. I'll be baking my pants off this week in order to get everything finished on time! The good news is that it appears my edible image printer should be back in order! We purchased a new printer head, so tonight I will attempt to replace it and hope that it starts working again. I'm not sure how I will get through the next week without it. I'll post cake pictures soon.

Happy Birthday, Elliot!

Today was Elliot's birthday - his first one as a Daddy. I'm sure I don't ever say this often enough, but Elliot is a wonderful husband and father. He is absolutely one of the kindest people I know, and it is clear to everyone how much he adores Micah. We always manage to have fun together, and I am so glad to be sharing my life with him!

Unfortunately, I think today was a bit of a disappointment, though - it was an entirely underwhelming birthday. A lot of that was my fault - it has been crazy around here, so I did not plan anything really big or special for today. I was having a hard time coming up with a gift idea, so I finally just asked him what he wanted and told him I'll order it later this week. I've been racking my brains trying to think of a good idea, and he always goes so far out for me, and I feel awful. I was toying with taking him out to dinner tonight just the three of us, but we decided to reschedule family dinner for my mom's birthday (and Elliot's) to tonight. So, we braved horrible rush hour traffic to meet my parents, Jen, Jeremy, Paige and Peyton halfway in Columbia at the Olive Garden. Fancy dinner, right? We needed a good family restaurant, so it really was perfect. Micah enjoyed breadsticks, pasta, minestrone soup and pizza. I love watching him eat real food! The girls were adorable, and we had a fun night.

I think Elliot also got a bit short-changed on the cake. I had grand intentions of making him a Bugs Bunny cake this year, but with my edible image printer broken, I just don't seem to have the bandwidth to freehand the bunny. Since we were also sharing the celebration with my mom, Elliot didn't even get his own cake - it was a joint cake with my mom! (I guess my mom was short-changed, too - she had to share the cake with Elliot!) I just made a very simple cake - a delicious chocolate truffle cake decorated simply with buttercream icing and chocolate icing. I made some pretty fondant stars on wire and had them spraying out from the cake. It tasted yummy.

In better news, we do have a fun night planned for date night - we are going to a nice Indian restaurant for dinner, and we'll wander around for dessert and enjoy the beautiful weather. Perhaps we'll also grab a movie if there is time. I did come up with one good idea that did not exactly pan out as I had hoped. We've been wanting to go eat at Volt (for those of you who are watching Top Chef, it is Bryan Voltaggio's place), so I called and made reservations. Unfortunately, the first available Thursday night reservations were not until October 29, so I took those and plan to take Elliot to part two of his birthday celebration there. When I mentioned this to Elliot, he said he'd rather go in November and celebrate our anniversary there, so perhaps my fun birthday surprise will become an anniversary gift instead.

In Micah news, we have entered the world of diaper acrobatics. Trying to change Micah's diaper is a major undertaking. He flips over, climbs up the walls, stands - pretty much anything to make diapering impossible. Half of the time, we diaper him while he is standing! The diapers are never on properly, and it is a constant struggle while he complains loudly and fights us. We've tried toys (for some reason, he seems to enjoy playing with the thermometer the most), but those no longer seem to be holding his interest. I think I'm ready for potty training!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Just wanted to take this opportunity to wish my mother a VERY happy birthday today! I'm so sorry I can't be there to share it with you, but I'm thinking of you. Dad has something from Micah, Elliot and me for you hidden at the house. Let's hope he can find it! Unfortunately, I did not have time to pick out cards yet - but, hey, how much advanced preparation can you really expect from me? Just know that I love you. Thank you for everything you do - you mean the world to me, and we'll celebrate together when I come home.

Pumpkins, music, and epi pens, oh my!

On Sunday, Micah and I had plans to meet my parents, Paige and Peyton at the pumpkin festival at Butler's Orchard. We arrived around 10:30, and off we went! There was so much to do - face painting, pony rides, games, a maze, a tractor ride, some playground stuff...it was a mad house! They also had a pumpkin chuck machine, festival food, and big slides. We had such a good time - we played, took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch (Micah ate straw and loved it), and enjoyed our day outside. Paige and Peyton took a horse ride and jumped on the moon bounce. Micah spent the morning in the Bjorn carrier - he was having so much fun! While the girls were on the moon bounce, we looked through the mesh on the side, and Micah's feet just touched the edge of the bounce, and he was bouncing, too! After a long day, we ran into some friends from our playgroup. On the way out, we tried to stop and pick raspberries, but there were none left. I grabbed a bag of apples from the market there (I see more apple pie in my future!), and we headed home.

We got home around 2, and Micah kept me running the rest of the afternoon while Elliot was at a conference. Micah was exhausted, but he just wouldn't nap. Elliot came home around 5:45, and I crashed on the couch for a while Elliot fed Micah dinner and played with him. We then put Micah to bed at his usual bedtime.

Monday was a federal holiday, and Micah was not in daycare. So, Elliot and I took him to a special "Columbus Day" performance of the Little Maestros at Kidville where we got to spend time with some friends. He had a great time - crawling around, dancing and laughing. He just LOVES Kidville! He even spent some time crawling around in their playspace. We came home around 12, and he napped for 3 1/2 hrs!!

Naturally, Tuesday was insane. I had to leave in the afternoon for a conference in Miami. To make matters worse, I had forgotten that my driver's license expired (I learned that on my last trip when they weren't going to let me through the airport), so I had to get up early to get it renewed. I was up and out of the house before 8:00 am. I waited in line forever, finally got it renewed. Of course, I also had to squeeze in an appointment at 9:45, so I went racing down after I finished at the MVA. Naturally, traffic was HORRIBLE - it took me 45 minutes to make a 15 minute trip. I finally got to the office, and Elliot was there waiting with Micah (he needed to hand Micah off to me so he could go to a meeting). Unfortunately, Micah had a big old stinky diaper going on (Elliot conveniently didn't smell it before he left), and Micah did not want to sit still for mommy. Oh - and did I mention it was Micah's nap time AND Elliot forgot to bring a bottle for me to feed him? Yeah, that was a fun appointment!

After I was finished, I took him to the car, strapped him in, and had a decision to make - we had class at Kidville at 11:45, and it was already 11:00. I was 10 minutes from the house, and 15 minutes from Kidville. I needed to decide if I should go straight to class, or try to drive home (10 minutes), get a bottle and some lunch food for him to try and feed him in class, and THEN drive back to Kidville (about 20 minutes from the house). I knew from experience, going home would mean Micah would wake up, not nap well, and we would be late for class. I decided to drive straight to Kidville and hope Micah napped and could hold out for his bottle until after we got home from class.

En route to Kidville, I realized I needed to stop for gas (I was on empty and knew I wouldn't have time to refill on the way to the airport). After refilling the gas tank, I realized I was STARVING and stopped for some lunch (Burger King was the only drive-through in the area...so veggie burger it was!). Naturally, I was late getting to class. We went inside, and Micah had fun, but he was very clingy - probably hungry. After class, Micah had a total melt down on the way home - he was sobbing as if to say "Mommy, I'm starving and going to DIE if you don't give me a bottle." It was heartbreaking - I kept telling him I was trying to get him a bottle, but he just did not understand.

When we got home, I realized that it was already 1:15. I gave Micah his bottle, fed him lunch, and started to try and plan the rest of my day. I had a lot on my list, and only a few short hours left to get it all done and get to the airport. Much to my surprise, Elliot showed up relatively on time...only 10 minutes late. I still had to finish packing and load up the car and then I ran off to run one more errand before heading to the airport. I made it to the airport, only to find out my flight was delayed 30 minutes. How annoying!! We finally took off, and the flight seemed to last forever. About 15 minutes before landing, the girl in the seat next to me accidentally ate some salmon (she tasted something the little old lady at the end of our row offered her)...and she is allergic to salmon! She had an epi pen, but didn't know how to use it (apparently, her parents had always administered it in the past). The flight attendants were freaking out when she asked if someone else could give her the shot, so I stepped up and offered to do it. So I grabbed the pen, quickly skimmed the directions, ripped the top off, lined it up, gave her fair warning and hit the trigger. I also had benadryl in my purse, so I gave her some of that.

She was worried about what to do when she landed, so I told her I'd call my friend Tammy (with whom I would be staying) who is a thoracic surgeon and double check with her what she had to do next. Upon landing, I called Tammy who said it was all good, but encouraged her to continue taking benadryl for the next 24 hours. I felt like such a mom - I was explaining to this girl how to transfer her prescription refill down to Florida, and I gave her benadryl from my stash in my purse to take with her, and I made sure she found her boyfriend who was picking her up. She seemed so scared - she was only 22!!

When I finally arrived at Tammy's (that was an adventure - according to Garmin, her building doesn't exist!), we went out to dinner. We ate at a place called Yuca, and it was delicious. I was so exhausted, though, and when I got back to her condo, I did some work, then went to bed at 1:30. On a side note, I have decided that Garmin sucks in Miami. The Garmin seems perpetually confused, it has a hard time finding the satellite, it calls out turns and directions at the last second, it changes its mind about the route a number of times, and sometimes, you do what it says and then it decides it no longer likes the route! I don't think I could keep the Garmin in Miami.

Tammy and I woke up this morning, grabbed breakfast together and then I came to the conference. I sat in boring meetings all day, and finally left a bit early. They have a networking event tonight, but I think I'd rather stay back and go out to dinner with Tammy. Tomorrow is my presentation in the afternoon, and then I will be flying back home!

Simchat Torah

This time of year is packed full of Jewish holidays. It starts off with Rosh Hashanah (New Years), followed by Yom Kippur, then Sukkot, the celebration of the harvest (you build an open-top hut and are supposed to dine outside under the stars and enjoy the harvest). Tonight was the start of another special holiday called "Simchat Torah," which means rejoicing of the Torah. "Torah" is the Hebrew word for the bible, which includes the 5 books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is what many Christians refer to as the "Old Testament." The holiday marks the completion of reading the Torah from start to finish, and starting all over again. In synagogue, the final chapter of Deuteronomy is read, and then the first chapter of Genesis is started.

This is considered one of the two most festive holidays during the year. Tonight, we went to the synagogue to celebrate. It is tradition to bring all the different Torahs out of the ark (the place where they are stored) and march them around the synagogue while singing and dancing. We circle the Torahs around the room 7 times (called 7 hakafot, the Hebrew word that means circles). There is a prayer that is sung while each circle happens, and then everyone breaks out with additional singing and dancing for 5-10 minutes before the next circle. Everyone can take a turn holding the Torahs, and there are usually little mini-Torahs for children to carry (and stuffed toy Torahs).

My nieces Paige and Peyton happened to be in town staying with my parents, so all of us went to synagogue together. We had a stuffed Torah (think stuffed animal, but a Torah), and they all took turns carrying it around. Elliot carried Micah in the baby bjorn, and we danced and sang and my nieces ran around. They had flags to wave, and they were handing out candy, and there were shots of vodka and gin for the adults. Kids were running all over the place laughing and playing and dancing and twirling, and it truly was a wonderful evening!

Last year at this time, I was pregnant with Micah. I had just been placed on bedrest, and was unable to go to synagogue to join the festivities. It was so much fun to bring Micah with us this year! He was grinning from ear to ear, he held a flag in his hand the whole night and flapped it up and down, and he was "singing" along with everyone. He loves to make singing noises and he would intermittently squeal with delight. I was amazed he had such a good time - it was after his bedtime, but we got him to take a very late nap today and he seemed to do just fine.

So, chag sameach! (That means happy holiday!) This holiday is the conclusion of our Fall celebrations...next holiday, Chanukah!

Dance, Dance Dance!

I'm constantly amazed by what a "big boy" Micah has become. He definitely understands words, and he will also mimic me when I talk or do things. If you tell him "No" - he understands (but often chooses not to listen." He loves to dance, so if you say to him "dancing, dancing, dancing" he'll start bouncing and dancing! Here is some video proof:





He also loves to laugh - he laughs all the time, and he has the wonderful big belly laugh that just burbles up from deep inside. I melt each and every time I hear that wonderful sound. He sounds just like he did as a little infant - only louder. I caught a bit of video of him giggling because the dog was touching him. He LOVES interacting with her, and he squeals with delight any time she nuzzles or licks him.



Lately, his new game is to follow me around the house. He also will try and climb up the stairs every chance he gets. He climbs over, goes straight up the stairs, hangs a right around the railing, and usually heads straight to our bedroom to play with his toys. I chase after him multiple times a day - who needs a stairclimber? We have GOT to get those baby gates installed ASAP. We've started telling him it is time to go upstairs for bed or a bath and letting him climb up on his own. We tried to capture that on video tonight, but he was hamming it up for the camera. Here is the footage we did get:



On Sunday, we went to a BBQ at a friend's house. Micah decided to head off on his own and go exploring - up their stairs. Here is some video of Micah in action:



For good measure, here are some pictures. We never made it in for his 9 month pictures - between my computer dying, Micah getting sick, and my business trips, it just didn't happen this month :(. I might go this week for his 9 month pictures, and then go in 2-3 weeks for his 10 month pictures. Not quite accurate, but who cares!

Stories....

Sometimes, when Micah is relaxing and cuddling, or just playing, he makes these cooing....pigeon noises. It just makes me laugh. He has also become an expert at "so big!" - we just have to say it, and his hands go up in the air.

Recently, he has started to play peek-a-boo on his own - he grabs a towel or a blanket, and he covers up his eyes and then yanks it back down. It is just so cute to watch HIM decide to play with US.

Micah loves his bath. For quite some time, he has loved to climb the stairs and go straight to the bathroom, but the other morning, while I was getting ready, Micah went into the bathroom and climbed into his bath tub that was sitting on the floor.

We are also starting to have issues with Micah and opening all of the kitchen cabinets. It is time to baby proof the house!