Polly want a cracker?

We now have a parrot in our midst - for the past two weeks, Micah has started repeating everything I say! He particularly enjoys repeating words like "this" and "bang" and "duck." I can't believe how much he is talking already. He is constantly babbling, and I swear, he thinks he is communicating. I don't understand what he is saying most of the time, but he is absolutely trying to talk. He looks at me very seriously sometimes, says something unintelligible with a wise look on his face, I say something random back to him, and he nods and smiles at me. I just want to scoop him up he is so adorable!

Guess what?

Micah FINALLY has teeth! Yes, teeth - not just one tooth, but TEETH! After much cranking, moaning and crying (and being awake from 3:00 on this morning), Micah now has two little teeth poking through his lower gums. We started to see them pushing up the gums late last week, but yesterday afternoon, the first little tooth broke through, quickly followed by number two today. It is possible there are 2-4 more right behind this, although I hope we at least get a little break for a bit! As far as I'm concerned, teething is not so much fun. Can you imagine - my little baby has TEETH?

Near miss with a pig and teething

We got that dreaded call today from Micah's daycare..."your son is running a high fever and you need to come get him." There are kids with swine flu all over the place in that daycare - the most recent was a kid in his classroom last week. I thought we were beyond the incubation period, but naturally the first thing I thought was "great, swine flu, and I'll be getting sick, too."

So, I picked Micah up from daycare, and went up to the pediatrician. I kept thinking "just our luck!" since our pediatrician got in the thimerosal free (and squalene free) h1n1 vaccine and we had an appointment set up for Micah to get vaccinated on Saturday. A small part of me, I must admit, did think "well, that will settle my agony - no need for a needle once I get the flu!"

We made it up to the appointment, and Micah's temperature was at 101.8. The doctor checked him out, and did a nasal swab to test for flu. He checked Micah's ears (currently all clear) and I asked if this could be a sinus infection because I had been wondering if he had one again since his last cold had been lingering for several weeks. The doctor said it was possible, and he would also send out a nasal swab to check for a sinus infection. While we waited for the results of the flu swab, I mentioned to the doctor (the one who always laughs at me for thinking Micah is teething) that I was convinced Micah was teething again. He smiled at me, and I said "Look, one of these times I have to be right, don't I?" He laughed at me, checked Micah's gums, looked at me very somberly, and said "well, I have to say...he is definitely teething! I can see two teeth getting ready to break through on the bottom." Finally!! My toothless wonder may not be toothless much longer. I also mentioned Micah's horrible diaper rash that cropped up this week while I was out of town. After a quick check, he confirmed that Micah has a yeast infection, so we have to apply lotrimin 2x/day until it is gone.

After waiting 15 minutes, much to my surprise and amazement - Micah's flu swab came back negative! Instead of writing a prescription for Tamiflu, he sent us home and told us to try and keep his fever down. If his fever is not gone by Friday, we should bring him back in to re-check his ears and his throat. We should also have the results of the nasal culture back by Friday, too, so he may require antibiotics at that time. Unfortunately, if he is not better by Friday, we'll have to cancel his vaccination appointment - he has to be fever free for at least 24 hours before they will vaccinate him. So, hopefully we can keep us all swine flu free.

Traveling, Parties & Computer Issues, Oh My!

Well, I'm back from Minneapolis. It was an exhausting, whirlwind trip. My flight was scheduled to leave at 6:30 pm - but, of course, nothing goes as planned. We sat on the tarmac for over an hour due to "computer" problems. Eventually, they fixed the issue and we took off over one hour late. I arrived in Minneapolis around 10:00 pm, and went and checked into the hotel.

I have to say, I've been dreading this trip - the client has postponed the trip several times, and they have been difficult about the work product. I initially sent a draft script in June, but heard nothing back until October - when they asked me to completely re-write the entire thing! I had no time blocked off for that, and the request really annoyed me. I understand that they are the client, but it truly showed no respect for my time. I was traveling, but managed to get another draft done. I then learned that they expected me to videotape the entire piece without using a teleprompter! I was supposed to "wing it" but stick to the script. Yeah, right.

On the day of the taping, I got there and we did a trial run. I was reading from my notes, but needless to say, it did not look good on camera to have me looking down. The "interviewer" for the segment complained and requested that I be given a teleprompter. Thankfully, that all worked out well! I only wish the decision had been made beforehand - there are a number of changes I would have made to the script if I had known they were going to let me use a teleprompter. I'm dreading seeing myself on video.

My journey home was uneventful. Micah was asleep, and I was simply exhausted. I crashed pretty early, as I had a busy day planned the following day.

This morning, Micah woke up at 8 when the phone rang - because Elliot apparently forgot the phone extension in Micah's bedroom. We fed him breakfast, and I had to decorate a cake for a birthday party. Thankfully, Elliot baked the cake while I was out of town. I just printed out an edible image and slapped it on the cake - nice and simple. In the meantime, Elliot took Micah for his 10 month photos (a little late). I have been terrible about giving monthly birthday updates lately! We do not have pictures yet - due to our tight schedule today, Elliot did not stay and pick out the photos, so I'll take care of that later this week.

After picture time, I took Micah up to playgroup to celebrate Joseph's birthday. The kids had a great time - playing in a ball pit and crawling around. Here are a few fun pictures of our babies:

We still have a lot more to do this week. I've got a ton of work, and Micah is back to daycare (and all the swine flu circulating there). We've got class on Thursday, and I have a bunch of meetings on Friday. Thursday night, Elliot and I are going out to a very nice dinner for date night. We're also meeting with the architect to discuss house renovations. Wish us luck!

Halloween

We've had a great Halloween week! I'm feeling much better, my father was released from the hospital late Wednesday, and we've been Halloween party fools! Micah was dressed up as a dragon for Halloween (we had a hand-me-down costume from our friends Jen and Dave). We kicked off Halloween with a parade and party at Micah's daycare:

After the daycare party, we went to Kidville for a Halloween party and Little Maestros concert! Micah had a ton of fun dancing and clapping.

Today, we went to celebrate my niece's 2nd birthday. Unfortunately, Micah was a bit cranky, and we forgot to take pictures of him in his Jack-o-Lantern shirt. We made a chocolate peanut butter Mickey Mouse cake for Peyton, and it was a big hit! What could be bad about Mickey, balloons and peanut butter?

After my niece's party, Micah took a long nap in the car. We decided to swing by Micah's friend Zach's birthday party. I had also made a birthday cake for him - ELMO!!

We arrived quite late (and had to wait for Micah to wake up from his nap), so we missed the Little Maestro's performance, but he still had fun playing with all the gym equipment.

Tonight, Elliot took Micah out trick or treating for a bit. We had a mad rush of kids, so it was a good thing they went out - without their treats, we would have run out of candy for the kids coming by! As Elliot says, reduce, reuse, recycle!

Micah is now quietly tucked away in bed. We're exhausted, and I have to pack and get ready for ANOTHER business trip tomorrow. I'm off to Minneapolis - I hear it is FREEZING there.