January 20, 2016

Friday was a big day, the kids got to see Francis's lab. They were very excited, though the trip didn't go as planned. First off the boys skipped nap (I tried), so when we arrived on campus at 3:30, Robert had passed out in the car. Francis carried him as all 5 of us walked over to the Lab. William was super interested in everything. Francis patiently explained things and I took a few pictures. It was a nice time. Well, one of the demonstrations involved a heat gun (think high powered hair dryer). When it was set back down (as we were getting ready to leave), William reached for the same spot on the table and the heat gun and Williams hand met mid air with the hot tip brushing across the edge of William's right hand. The next couple of minutes are a blur, but as William's skin on his hand blistered and turned white, we knew we would be heading to a doctor. We tried the nearby urgent clinic, but they quickly turned us away and sent us to the ER of the hospital (which was thankfully also close). There was no wait, and after an examination, it was determined to be mostly a second degree burn with a little first degree burn around the edges. The whole burn is roughly the size of a quarter, but I know it hurts. we got him all fixed up with burn cream and bandages and brought him home. At the end of all of it (after screaming a crying for an extended period), William announced, "This was a great day! I got to see Daddy's lab and even though that accident happened, I'm going to be ok!" He's a great kid. They all are. The blister is still deflating and hasn't popped. The doctor said it will be around a week before he can leave it unbandaged. 

Robert still has a great affinity for the green Mr. Potato head light saber and we lost it yesterday. Not good. Poor kid went around all day (even after we looked for HOURS) saying "Yoda" (what he calls the light saber) sadly and whimpering. It was sad enough, Francis and I actually went ahead an ordered another "Luke Frywalker" so we have a back up in case this one is never found. It was cheap, and he's worth it. I'm still hoping it turns up though. Robert's love of singing has developed even more since Christmas. I have to keep on my toes, because he will start singing and want me to join in. It takes me a while sometimes to figure out the song he is trying to sing, but I usually get it. His two favorites are happy birthday and Rudolf the Red nosed reindeer, but he'll try to sing any random song he's heard  if the fancy strikes him. He's in underwear more and more and having less accidents all the time. He's my cuddle bug and wants to be touching/loving on/cuddling me in some shape or form most of the day. It love that he loves me and he has even started to tell me so even when I don't say it first. Talk about melting my heart!

Hannah is sitting up for longer periods and doing her best to keep up with the boys. She tries to chase them in the walker, but still has a ways to go. Her grabbing is spot on. I can't have anything within reach of her without finding at least one (if not two) little hands on it in the blink of an eye. Everything goes in her mouth...except baby food. Baby food is met with surprise and disgust at first and if I continue, crying. She likes to gnaw on things, so she will suck and chew on anything I but in the mesh teether. Banana's, grapes and bread seem to be her favorites. She's got an opinion about it and she won't let you forget it, but she is still easy going as ever. Not sure how that's possible, but that's the way it is. Oh! Although she occasionally says "ma" or "mama", mostly still makes random (though frequent) sounds. On Monday when Francis was leaving, I was standing by the door holding Hannah. Francis said goodbye, kissed me and then said goodbye to Hannah. She reached for him with so intentionally that I was surprised (usually her arms just wave about) and said "Da!" with delight. Francis and I both smiled and encouraged her to do it again, but she just laughed and started babbling. She knows her daddy. It totally made his day.

One last thing. We cut cable and are now just using an antennae for TV.  We got a Tivo to record shows and have access to Netflix and Amazon Prime so don't feel too bad for us. It's saving us close to $70 a month and we are trying to spend less. I'm missing some of my cable shows, but I know I'll forget about them soon enough. The biggest draw back is that ABC (the network channel) is not coming in like it should. Sometimes it's perfectly clear and other times it's a pixilated mess. Francis has been working on the problem, but so far no solution has worked. It seems silly (so silly I probably should delete this paragraph), but I do want to find a reasonable solution. Ok, no more complaining for me! 

Till next time!