Last weekend, we went to a BBQ. And on Wednesday, for the first time ever, Zachary didn’t cry when he was dropped off at daycare! He also received a birthday present from my friend Julie – 2 books and the Leapfrog fridge magnets.

It was a pretty normal week until Thursday, when I received a call from day care. Zachary had a fever. We’ve since had to go to the ER twice because his fever was at 105 (yesterday) and 104 (today.) They checked for a kidney infection, strep throat, pneumonia … which translates to chest X-rays, a blood draw, a catheter for a urine sample, and a throat swab. Nothing. So it’s probably viral, and we’ll try to contain it using baby Tylonel and Mortrin. The volunteers in the ER room gave him TY Beenie Babies to play with and take home.

I think the ER section of the hospital is understaffed. I was in the ER a total of 8 hours (mostly wait time) in the last 2 days. I understand. As a mother, I consider a baby with a 105 fever an emergency. But it’s not as urgent as, say a patient who was shot or in a car accident or having a heart attack. And with ER, it’s not first come, first serve. It’s based on the severity of the emergency.  Now get this, get this. While I’m holding Zachary, I look around the waiting room and make eye contact with a older guy (50s) sitting across from me. He’s holding a tissue in front of his face.

Me: Are you okay?

Guy: Yea, um. I have a bloody nose.

Now I am annoyed. A bloody nose? I have a sister that used to have bloody noses daily. How is his bloody nose comparable to my baby’s high fever? Or the little girl who was bitten by a dog? Or the grandmother who was just rear ended? Unless, of course, he was a hemophiliac. But that’s doubtful as he’s had the same tissue against his nose for over 5 minutes. What I say next is somewhat rude, but I am frustrated, and I have a crying baby in my lap.

Me: Do you consider a bloody nose an emergency?

Guy: I haven’t had a bloody nose since I was a teenager.

Me: You might be waiting here for a very long time.

Hello! We’ve started looking for homes in El Dorado Hills. Saturday morning, we went to visit a builder (Pulte) - there was a huge line. Everything was sold out. People camped out the night before to get these properties – and there were no model homes so they basically bought the house based on the floor plan diagram. We grabbed some free coffee and donuts and went to another builder … they had a waiting list of 500 people … they open up 20-25 homes per month and the price goes up 10-15k per month. There were some new homes available, but they fell in one of the 3 categories:

1. Smaller than our current home (which is 1900 sq ft, so it’s not like we live in a mansion)

2. Unacceptable floor plan (I really want a kitchen with a large island that faces the family room – great for entertaining!)

3. Way over budget … as in $750k+ starting … not including upgrades so I’d get the icky white tile countertops and linoleum.

The houses we looked at weren’t even in the school district we wanted. I’ve since decided that school district is extremely important, so we’re open to getting a used home. There are a few new developments opening in the next few months in the school district we want (Buckeye), but I don’t even want to guess the cost of the homes.

Zachary is doing much better in daycare – he cries when he gets dropped off but stops as soon as we leave (we can check on him through a window.) He’s starting to participate more – he did his first art project last week (he usually circles the table and observes the older children).

I will now share a story of my misfortune. Every day Zachary wears his Osh Kosh navy jacket to daycare – it’s the one my parents gave him when they visited last Thanksgiving. On Friday I went to pick Zachary up and he was wearing a navy jacket. I didn’t think anything of it until I did the laundry this weekend.  The jacket was a no-name brand and the zipper was broken. Someone swapped jackets with him! Ugh!!!

I’ve determined that people who use slings, LOVE them. We have a Baby Bjorn Active … the darn thing cost us $120 and is complicated as heck to use (so many straps!) The weight limit is 25 pounds. Anyway, I was talking to some moms about it, and I now have THREE slings. Two are borrowed, and someone from my on-line mom’s group sent me hers (it’s brand new but too big for her … fits me fine!)

1. New Native (cream colored)  2. Moby wrap (red) 3. Over the Shoulder Baby Holder (blue w/yellow stars and moons)

Which one do you like best?

Last Sunday we went to a baby open house – we got to see baby Luke for the first time. He is really cute – I can’t believe Zachary was ever that tiny!

This weekend we went to Picnic Day at Davis. There were lots of kids events – Zachary played with play-doh, water, and bubbles. He also saw part of a play and listened to a story. I think what he liked best was running around in the grass though!  

On Sunday, his gym (EncouraGYM) had a open house. They had a bounce house that was fun – although I started feeling sick after a few minutes.  I saw 2 of my mom’s group friends there, and Zachary got to use markers for the first time. (Note: The “washable” Crayola markers don’t come off skin as well as you might hope.) The best part was that they had a drawing, and Zachary won a free month of gym class! The class is for 15-26 month, but it was the youngest evening class, and there were no weekend classes available. He’s gonna get trampled … although nothing he hasn’t already experienced in daycare!

A note about me … I’m getting a new job. Yea! And my sister is in Singapore. Part of me really wants to travel and the other part really wants to sleep. I suppose I could do both, as the plane ride is 18 hours.

 VS

We did it! Zachary has been in daycare for 1 week! On his actual birthday (4/6), I took the afternoon off and brought cupcakes to his daycare class. Is it just me or does he looks so much smaller than the other toddlers? After daycare, we went to Mikunis for dinner, where he got to spin the wheel for a birthday prize. He ended up with some caramels (can’t eat them), toys that were choking hazards (can’t play with them), and a sushi chef head band that we accidentally left at the restaurant.

Zachary’s personality has changed a bit. He cries a lot more, and he’s become very needy. He doesn’t want his dad to hold him because his dad takes him to daycare (I pick him up.) We went to a wedding this weekend, and he was so fussy the entire time. Also, he used to get up really early … as in 6pm or even earlier. Now he sleeps until we wake him up. In fact on Friday he had a doctor’s appointment in the morning so we let him sleep in – I waited until 8am and then walked into his room. His eyes were open! I know the feeling. When I was a kid, I also dreaded school. On weekdays, I’d sleep in as long as I could. Even when I woke up, I hid in bed until my mom came to wake me up.

Speaking of doctor’s appointment, Zachary is 30.5″ (75th percentile) and 20 lbs 4 oz (15th percentile.) He’s getting skinnier because he eats so poorly. He takes after his dad because I love food (notice the big smile in the above buffet picture). The doctor said he should be saying 1-2 words, but so far he hasn’t made any word associations. His ears got checked - lots of ear wax but he can hear just fine… so words should be coming soon. He is babbling so much more though and walking  better too – I wonder if it’s because he’s trying to keep up with the “big kids” at daycare?

Zachary’s 2nd day in daycare today. He loves to be read to. His dad used to read to him for about an hour a day. When he was fussy and throwing a tantrum, we could calm him down by reading a familar book. We have to hide books because he’s want us to read to him all day. When he visited daycare last week, he would try handing the books to the other daycare kids. They just took the books and walked away.Yesterday I went to pick him up at daycare. He was sitting on the floor with his back facing the door. He was trying to stand a book up on its end. No one was reading to him. When he saw me, he smiled and hugged me very tight for a very long time.

Today, he was playing with a ball when we left him. He got up quickly to try and chase us, but the door shut before he could get there (he’s not very fast, he just started walking less than a month ago.) He started crying. That is, until the teacher gave him Cheerios. Food makes everything better.

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY to ZACHARY! (Okay, not quite … he was born on April 6th, but we had his birthday party this Saturday.) It was a sports theme. My sisters and I made cupcakes that looked like baseballs. For favors, each child recieved an inflatable sports ball (basketball, baseball, football, soccer ball.) There was a tag that said “Thanks for Coming to Zachary’s 1st Birthday Party – We hope you had a ball!” SO cheesy!

You know how most kids smash cake into their face, making a huge mess? Well, Zachary just picked off a few pieces of the cupcake and was done with it. Rats – missed photo opportunity! Here’s a huge photo dump:

Oh – and he visted daycare with his dad last week. He’ll be going there full time this Monday. (Do the other kids look way bigger than him?)

Hello – here are some more reading pictures. Doesn’t it look like he actually understands the story?

Last Sunday, James’ family and my sisters came up for Easter dinner. We had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. Contestants were allocated an extra 5 seconds for each year – for example Sophie (23 years old) could start searching for eggs 20 seconds before Alice (27 years old.)