3 worse than 2?

Yes, I think so! It seems that the day he turned 3, he has been a pill! I swear I am going to lose my mind. He insists on doing everything himself... this includes, breaking the eggs, turning the French toast, cutting the bagels with the bagel cutter, getting out of the car alone, you name it. And talk about hard headed. What he wants he gets lately, because there is not reasoning with him. I hope that this ends soons.

One little pea

Dylan had his 3 year check up on Valentine's Day. He is 37 1/4" tall and 31 lbs. 50 percentile for both. He was most helpful with the doctor, holding up his shirt and such. She was ready to do some other things, but he turned his head and pointed to his ear... so it was time to check out his ears! LOL He was very cute and loves his doctor!

Well, during the appt. we found out Dylan has tactile defensiveness... no a bad case. He hates to get dirty and touch grass, dirt, playdoh etc. She said that would explain his super picky eating habits. The mouth is 10x more sensitive than hands. We have a few exercises to do with him, like digging in a bucket of rice for toys to get his hands used to different textures.

I bet you want to know about the pea. We went out to dinner last night and I was feeding Dylan mac n' cheese. Half way through, I stuck a pea in the middle of the noodles to see if he would notice. Immediately I see him having a funny look on his face and within seconds he had spit out just the pea. Guess the doctor was right.

The boy can eat up a storm... some days I would guess 2000 calories! But he will only eat about 15 things. Hopefully, with the exercises and just getting older, I can get him to eat more foods and have a better diet.

And the birthday party!

What a crazy day!! Everything was behind schedule and Dylan was being a pill. Brian was dressing Dylan and he head butted Brian right in the mouth... there was blood gushing and we thought he may need a stitch. He iced it and decided to take Dylan for a drive to get him to sleep. He was sleeping as all the guests arrived. LOL Helena and Brian woke him up and he was still so tired. But the train was waiting for him outside and soon perked up! He loved riding the train and did so for 45 min!!

We all came inside and the kids demolished the playroom. Since one of his friends had to leave early, we did cake next! I was very proud of the cake I made (see pic below) Dylan ate the icing as most of the kids did! They played some more and then pizza came and of coarse Dylan still wanted frosting. Oh well!! We opened gifts and played for a while longer.

When he went to bed he thanked me for his birthday party and gave me a big hug and kiss :)

My Birthday Boy

So what do you do when your little boy turns 3? You take him to Disneyland!! We had a great time. I almost broke into tears a few times watching my baby growing up. We had breakfast with Lilo and Stitch. Minnie and Pluto was there too. Dylan was star stuck and very shy, which is not my boy at all! He played Musical Islands with Stitch and held his hand the whole time. It was so sweet.

We was so behaved and stayed in his stroller most of the day. We got very lucky and saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald right off the bat! Dylan did jump out of the stroller when he saw Donald Duck and had the biggest smile on his face! He also loved getting their autographs. He would hold the book out to them and say thank you when they were done.

The downside was going on the Snow White ride in Fantasyland. It was SCARY! So that took care of alot of rides! He wanted to go see Pirates of the Caribbean until we walked in and it was dark. We made him go and he had his head buried into my side until the donkey and dogs were around. LOL Poor guy!

We got annual passes, so we will be going back! I was a perfect birthday for a perfect little boy! He was asleep in 15 minutes and slept like a rock all night :-)

For more pictures, click here: http://web.mac.com/lauraroemmele/iWeb/Site/Disneylan.html

Poor little Dylan

When he woke up from his nap on Friday, I took him into the bathroom to go potty, but instead he threw up. I took him upstairs and put him in the tub to clean off the vomit and he was fine... playing with his toys. After the bath, we went and layed down in my bed and watched Robin Hood... unfortunately he threw up again and all over both of us and the bed. In the shower we go and off went the sheets. When we got out of the shower, he threw up again and passed out for a few seconds from the heat of the shower. Back in bed we went, but armed with lots of towels. He ended up falling asleep and throwing up in his sleep... I had to turn him over, because he was laying on his back and I was afraid he might choke. He woke up at 11pm and wanted to sleep in his bed, so we go in there and he drinks some water and 20 minutes later he throws up all over his bed... couldn't place the towels fast enough. Back to my bed and watching Thomas. He only lasted 15 min. and fell asleep again. He was throwing up in his sleep until about 2am.

The next day, he didn't eat much and didn't throw up, but had a temp around 100. He was very out of it and just wanted to snuggle, which mommy and daddy were very happy to do!

Luckily, he is ok now! There is nothing worse than seeing your child sick.

What is annoying?

Annoying is getting AF at 3am and having to get up to only go back to bed and not be able to fall asleep until an hour later... then an hour later have your almost 3 year old continually squirm, move, turn and twitch for over an hour. All you want to do is sleep, but Dylan wants to play trains (it is 6am) He will not go without me and keeps telling me to wake up. Happy Tuesday!

The Sun!

Dylan was waking up at 4:30 - 5:00am and I would tell him he could not wake up until he saw the sun. It kind of became a ritual, so as most mornings, today started with Dylan standing on the edge of the bed and pulling the curtains open so he could see outside. I asked him what he sees and he replies "The Sun!" He came back to bed and told me to close my eyes, which is what I tell him when it is time to go to sleep. After I had my eyes closed, he poked me in the face and told me to wake up... at least he didn't grab my head and try to shake it this morning!

Then he told me all about the owl he saw that was over by the lamp. The owl said "whooo whooo" and the owl flies in the sky. He went on and on. LOL After that, He held on to my chin looking at me and told me he loved me. Such a great moment for a mommy!! Then we went under the spooky, scary covers and had more conversations about Thomas the Tank Engine and Toad. He went on and on again. He is a chatter box! After we can out from the covers he got lots more kisses and hugs. Mornings can be the best time of day even if you have to wake up at 6am.

Potty Training??

Dylan WAS doing great with potty training!! He would be in the potty and not have too many accidents. Poop, well, that was another issue! Once and only once would he poop in the potty.

Lately, he has decided to have accident after accident after accident. In fact, he has no pants left from all accidents this week. Last night he wanted to sleep in his underwear, so he did. All is great until we wake up. He wanted to play with his trains, but I told him he has to pee first. So he did... in his underwear and pj pants with a huge puddle. To make it worse, he was in the bathroom!! GRRRRR!!!

He also has to climb up on the toilet and sit like a frog on the potty to go pee. And as a little boy, does not have good aim.

I guess I am going back to pull-ups for a few weeks and see how he does then. The fun of being a mom!!

The Birth of My Second Love

If this was labor... I could have had a 100 kids!!

On Saturday, Febuary 7th,my phone was going off the hook. I talked with my sister in law, Cathy, she had just got back from her vacation and was surprised that the baby had not shown up yet. Then I talked with my Dad and told him that he did not need to come down with everyone else because the baby was not making an appearance anytime soon and I would call him back on Monday after my doctors appointment. Then my niece called and I told Carin I would call her back bacause I was on the phone with my Dad. Brian’s mom, Paula, called but I did not even pick it up because I was on my way to the bathroom. And lastly, Holley, my niece called to to let me know that her, Richard, my brother, Damian, his girlfriend, Helena and Harrison, Damian’s son would be coming down soon and to make sure I still felt like going out to lunch for her birthday.

We all went to lunch at the winery. Helena would softly knock on my belly and whisper to the baby to come out and play. Of coarse, the baby was the main topic and I told everyone I figured at least another week. I had not even had one contraction yet and I was not dialated or softened at all. We went back to my house and showed everone the babies room and talked more. They left around 6pm.

I watched some TV and then went upstairs to call Paula. While I was on the phone I felt some pressure low in my belly, but just assumed that the baby was moving about or gas. After I got off the phone, I realized that the pressure would come and go. Then I called Carin. As I was talking with her, the pressure would come and go so I started to watch the clock and the pressure would come every 7 minutes. I was really estatic! Most were like pressure, but a few were more like a mild cramp. After about 40 minutes, I told her I think we might have a baby soon. Brian came in and I told him I was having contractions every 7 minutes. He came back and checked on me every so often. After the third time, Brian started changing his clothes rather nervously. Finally around 10:30pm, I told Carin I better get off the phone because I had to go to the bathroom. On my way to the bathroom, Brian asked me if I was all packed and I told him no, I just needed to pack toiletries. He went and got me some Ziploc bags while I was in the bathroom. When I came out, I started finishing packing... and my contractions were coming every three minutes. Now Brian was getting really nervous. I finished packing. I went and woke up my mom and told her we were going to the hospital. She popped out of bed and anxiously got ready to go. Erin was still over and I asked her if she was ready to go to the hospital, she was the only one calm.

The hospital was only a few minutes away. When we got there, we did not know where to go and drove around the parking lot. We finally figured out that we had to go through the emergency room. I signed in and they took me down to maternity. Of coarse they were full, so I got the little room that is like a closet. I got undressed and waited for the nurse and Brian. It felt better to stand durning the contractions, which were much stronger and painful now. The nurse came in about 10 minuites later to get some information, but had to leave again to attend to another mommy. She did get Brian and he came back and helped me with the contractions. After a while, the nurse came back and finished the paperwork and checked me. I was only a fingertip dialated, but my cervix was 80% soft. She was also concerned about my swelling and checked me for toxemia, even though I told her I was fine and this is how I was for 2 months. She said I was one of the worst she had seen as far as swelling goes. The constractions were like bad menstral pains, but went away and came back every 4 minutes. We watched the monitor spike from my contractions and his heatbeat. Finally at 2:30 am, the nurse came back and checked me again. I was only at a 2. She gave me some options, either stay or go home and get some sleep. I was really nervous about leaving and something happening and not being able to get my epidural. The nurse assured me I would be fine and gave me a shot of demoral so I could relax and sleep.

We went home and I layed down on the couch and fell asleep. Mom slept in the chair, Erin sleep on the other couch and Brian went upstairs and tried to sleep, but did not do such a good job since he was very anxious. I finally started to wake up around 6ish with the pain killer gone and strong contractions every 2 minutes! Everyone got up and got ready to go back to the hospital. The pain was so bad that I threw up, luckily in the garbage can.

When we got to the hospital, they remembered me and the same man wheeled me back to maternity. They gave me the same room. I got undressed and went to the bathroom. I could barely stand it. Standing did seem better than laying down, but of coarse they needed to check me and hook me up to the monitors. The nurse came in and checked me and luckily I was a 4 and could get the epidural! She went to request the anasteologist. The other nurse came in and put in my IV. My nurse came back and said it would be 1/2 hour or more for the anasteologist and if I wanted something in my IV for pain. Of coarse I wanted drugs! This was painful! She came back and put in some stadol. What a wonder drug - after 5 minutes I felt no pain. We watched the monitors and saw my contractions spike, but I was feeling nothing.

A new nurse came in to take over the shift just as the anasteologist came in. I rolled onto my left side and he gave me some shots to numb the area. I felt nothing, but Brian looked like he was going to pass out because the needles are really long. He got everything done and taped me up so the cathader would not move. Heaven at last. Everything went numb, even my legs unfortuately. She positioned pillows around my back and between my legs to keep me comfortable.

The nurse noticed that we had a cord blood kit and decided to read the directions so she would know what to do. When they came to take my blood, she gave them the vials from the cord blood kit so they would not have to take blood twice. After that, I slept and slept and slept. I was progessing very slow, but did not care much since I felt nothing and got to sleep.

Around 12ish, they had a bigger room open up and they moved me over there. Yeah, a window! By this point, everyone came in to visit. We showed Dad what the monitors meant and he was amazed. Shortly after my nurse came in again to check me and sent everyone out. I was only at a 6. Brian asked if he could go home and take a shower. The nurse said yes, but not too long. Shortly after he left, Dr. Hayton came in and checked me - I was at a 7. She decided to break my water - did not feel a thing. She also tried to hook up an internal monitor to check my contractions, but could not get it to work. She checked me once more and low and behold, I was a 9 with some edges, basically a 10. She said I was ready to push. I panicked because Brian just left. I had the nurse dial the phone and Erin answered and I told her he had to come back now because I was ready.

My nurse went and got the table with all the stuff needed. Then she showed me how to push and off I went. I went through maybe 5 rounds before Brian showed up. I was in the middle of pushing when he walked in. Boy did he looked freaked out!! At almost every contraction, Brian would hold one leg and the nurse would hold the other and I would push. My nurse put me on oxygen since I was working very hard. Dylan was coming down the birth canal very slow. After about 1 1/2 hours, In the mirror, I could see his head peeking out with lots of dark hair. Finally, Dr. Hayton came in to check me and he was so close, but I was exhausted from the pushing. She decided to use a vacuum to help us along. She hooked up the vacuum to his head and on my next contraction, I pushed, the vacuum sucked and out he popped at 3:15pm. I actually could feel his arms and legs flaring about as he came out. Brian cut the cord and the baby let out a few cries and then just looked at all of us with his big beautiful eyes. They cleaned him up and then laid him down on my chest. He latched on perfect the first time and nursed while the doctor sewed up my 4th degree tear. Then they started to push on my stomach and I asked if they were trying to deliver the placentia, but she said it delivered right after the baby.

When she was done, Brian said he would go out at tell everyone he had arrived and asked me what name? I looked at the baby and then smiled out Brian and just shook my head yes... he could name him the name he choose a few days before. Brian named our beautiful baby Dylan Rand. He came back with My Mom and Dad, Christy, Erin and Brandon. I was so tired, I kept falling asleep and waking up. All I care about was holding my baby in my arms at long last.

And Baby Makes Three

The only thing I had ever wanted to be was a mom. Nothing else. But, Brian was determined to make sure we waited until we were ready both mentally and financially.... even though he was right, he had many problems keeping me on track! You know how loud that clock can bang around in your head!! LOL

Once we decided to have a baby, it took along time. After almost 2 years, we started infertility treatments for a few months. But, like they say, when you aren't trying it will happen and it did. We were on a brake and I just wasn't feeling right, so I called the doctor. He fit me right in and did some test and checks and sent me on my way.

Later that afternoon, I was laying on the couch in our spare bedroom when the doctor called. Brian came in as I was talking to him. The doctor asked me if I knew what was up with me. I told him no, that is why I came to see you this morning. He laughed and told me I was pregnant. Brian was just staring at me and I ran my hand above my stomach, making a big belly. I think Brian was going to be sick. I was beaming with happiness.

I knew pretty early on that we were having a boy. Mommy intuition! During my ultrasound the tech asked if we wanted to know and Brian said NO! He wanted to be surprised. Not 5 minutes later did she tell us we were having a boy... look there is his penis! LOL At least I knew I was right!!

I think all in all I had a great pregnancy. No morning sickness which I was very thankful for. I took lots of naps and after my 7th month, I began to swell like crazy. I would lay with my feet up for hours and the swelling never went down. Of coarse, I was not always comfortable in my last month, but sleeping on a waterbed was a godsend... just getting up and out was the issue. LOL

The Wedding

On May 11, 1991, we got married. It was a fairy tale wedding. We got married in the oldest church in Princeton, NJ... the Trinity Church. It was beautiful. The warm glow of candlelight filled the church along with the sun gleaming through the stained glass. I never had a moment of doubt as I walked down the aisle with my mom and dad on each side. Everything was perfect. I was marring the man I loved, my soul mate.

After we tied the knot, we were whisked away in a horse and carriage along the streets. People were waving and honking. It was truly the best part of the day because I had my new husband to myself with nobody to bother us.

We were finally delivered to the reception, which was held at an amazing old mansion, which is now home the Boys Choir of Princeton. After pictures on the lawn with our families, we finally enjoyed a scrumptious meal prepared by Brian's dad. He was an amazing chef. We danced and enjoyed the company of our guests til late into the evening.

Even though we spent way more money on the wedding that we should have, looking back today, I would have done nothing different.

The Love of My Life

In love, you could say I am the luckiest woman alive. I first met Brian when I started working at his dad’s restaurant when I was 15. I was the hostess on Sunday mornings. Soon, I started working more, bus girl, salad bar girl and finally waitress. We would talk a lot, but nothing romantic. He was definitely my friend first. As we got to know each other better, we started flirty with each other and writing little notes back and forth while we worked. The notes ended up being more challenges to see who would kiss who first. Finally, one night, we were the only one left working and Brian would drive me home from work anyways. I was sitting in a booth looking out the window, waiting for Brian to finish up and he slid into the booth next to me and kissed me. And then kissed me again and again. We have been practically inseperatable since.

We would talk on the phone all the time, I would even fall asleep with the phone off the hook while he was on the other end of the line. I would cook him dinner, or we would go to the mall and shop and have dinner out. We loved to go to the beach. We went everywhere together.

After a few years, Brian bought a townhouse and we moved in together.