Well, Gramps has gone. We had a great day yesterday though and it was really nice to see him. He took care of Ethan almost the whole time, and was generous enough to care for Ethan during his wake-ups last night so Ken and I got a full night’s sleep together. NICE! He brought a big box full of blocks for Ethan to play with, and that’s going to be a big help in Ethan’s development. Dr. Chalman was concerned about Ethan having some deep palm touch aversion – and blocks help deter that (it’s quite common in preemies). We’ve not seen it at all in Ethan, but blocks are good for other reasons too. He’s starting to look at things, now, before mouthing them – which is cool to see. Gramps was also very amused by Ethan’s never-ending supply of raspberries. I’ve been pretty excited to see new changes in Ethan’s vocalizations the past week. He’s making more cooing sounds every so often and slipping in more variety of soft consonants. He rolls like crazy now, though it’s frustrating because it’s hard (read: impossible) to get him to stay on his tummy to strengthen his back muscles.

Speaking of which, I’ve decided to replace the computer chair (during the day) with my exercise ball. My tailbone still bothers me sometimes – especially if I sit in these chairs too long, and the ball might help that. It’ll also help strengthen my core muscles which definately need the work. I’ve slacked off a lot, and am getting tired of catching glimpses of myself in the mirror with such poor posture. I know it’s habit from holding Ethan, but still – unacceptable to me.

Some photos of the past two days with Gramps:

This one is going into his “who loves baby?” book – it’s a photo album of faces of people that are part of his family so that he can better learn to recognize them, now that he’s interested in photos.
A good photo that I wish wasn’t fuzzy – darn auto focus!
Better and so cute!
What a great job!

Wayne really is great with Ethan, and the love is very mutual. I know where Ken gets his great fathering skills from.

Some good news, too, is that Auntie Jess is coming to visit!! End of June and I couldn’t be more excited!

Yeah, they contacted us. Well, our lawyer, actually. They keep sending things to our street address instead of our mailing address (if they had two address lines on that ONE application page this wouldn’t be a problem – or if our post office wasn’t so screwy) but our lawyer, Brian, emailed and let us know that he also got a copy (thank goodness) and that we need to print off page A (fwd’d) and go have me be fingerprinted (again – though this time not in the killer city of Newark – I’m serious about the killing part) in Philly within the 87 days after the date of the notice (April 23). So we have until mid July to have it done. He’s under the impression that since they’re doing *something* it means my case is finally moving and I should have an interview scheduled shortly after we have the prints done. W00t!!

*does dance of joy*

A Poem in two parts
by Ethan M. Helberg
(filmography by Kelly L. Helberg)

Part 1 (5.7mb)

Part 2 (6 mb)

Fin.

Mkay, this whole not sleeping thing is getting ridiculous. I’ve become the SUPERPOWERED light sleeper of the planet, and once I wake up I’m up for hours. I don’t get it. I’ve never had insomnia this consistently before. Maybe once every few months I’d have trouble getting to sleep, but it’d only be for one night and just at the start. This is hitting me around 1am and lasting for hours. I need some sleep. It’s darned good that I can nap with Ethan whenever I want during the day since he’s got so many naps. It’s also good that we have tea around. GBT!

1. What is your favorite or preferred physical exercise?
Walking. All time favourite. I love walking.

2. Who is your most unlikely friend?
I don’t know that I have any unlikely ones…

3. What is your favorite room or part of your home?
It used to be the dining room before it became a nursery and then a dining room (while it was still a sitting room). Now it’s the bedroom cause that means SLEEEP!

…at least when you go to bed Sunday night swearing it was Saturday and wishing for just.one.more.day. Not that it was a bad weekend at all, just one of those “what day is it again?” ones.

Rained buckets on Saturday – while we were out grocery shopping – so we were soaked but it did good things to the local flora since this morning the leaves decided to come out of hiding around us. It’s nice to see. We also noticed a few live bits on the maples out front and the forsythia as well. The daffy’s are continuing to grow (no heads yet) and the clematis is showing a weak sign of life. My lilies are doing well also. We picked up a bunch of formula at the cheaper price (yay) and a rattle for Ethan. It’s got clear ends with little beads in them that make noise with the tiniest amount of movement from him. It’s good for him because it’s helping him notice small objects (something he didn’t do for the developmental people this past week) and encouraging him to rotate his wrists (something we were encouraged to get him to do).

We started a new food yesterday – apples (or apple sauce, at least). Mackintosh (since Courtlands weren’t available) and it’s quite good even without the tiny bit of sugar I add (.25c for 6-8 apples). I froze cubes of it (3 trays worth – it’s going to last a while) and we tried it out on Ethan Sunday morning. As expected from his previous experiences licking apple slices, he loved it! We got to experience apple sauce poops this morning. :O Words do *not* describe. So today he got a combo of oatmeal and apple sauce. They both went down well – he’s eating larger amounts daily, it seems – and he was good about letting us know when he’d had enough (and then going on to devour a good amount of formula afterwards). Next weekend we’re likely going to pick up some sippy cups for him so we can get him to drink some water with his food. Water is important now that he’s eating, since it eases the burden on his kidneys. Not that he has to drink much – few tablespoons per solid feeding – but still.

He turned 6 months Corrected Age yesterday (6 months from his due date). I’m amazed sometimes at how big he’s gotten. His weight didn’t change from last week (not unexpected) but he grew – even since his appointment with Dr. Chalman!

Stats:
W: 14.8lbs
H: 26.5″
Hc: 43cm

At the dr’s office on monday he was 26.125″! 3/8ths of an inch in a week! He’s not grown that quickly in a long time. He’s still teething, so his eating is still down, but I expected it would drop as soon as I realized he was teething and I’m not worried about it.

We’re going to be doing some shopping for him (and us) near the end of this week. On the list is his highchair, puzzle mats (letters and numbers – we’ll use them on the deck so he doesn’t get splinters and downstairs in his room), new bathtub (it’s bigger and will help him sit during these transition times – he’s outgrowing his current infant one), sunglasses, an activity gym (click the “5-in-1 Stages” button – good design, huh?). We’ll also be getting some things for us. A bed (we currently have the frame and mattress, but no head/footboard), a new sheet-set for our bed, a computer, and a beanbag chair. I’ll also be picking up some fabric and stuffing to make some large floor pillows, curtains for Ethan’s room, and towels for the kitchen. It’s all stuff we’ve been planning on getting for a long time (save the pillows, curtains, towels and sheets – those are recent decisions).

Oh, and we’ll be paying for Ethan’s heart surgery. We were informed we had 10 days to make the payment, else it goes to collection. We waited too long to appeal it, so we have to pay it (not that the appeal would have gone through, but we hoped). I’m irked about that, since we shouldn’t have had to pay it to begin with, but we don’t have a choice now.

Ahh well – means less time for us to wait on the computer, bed, and beanbag chair (the top three things we wanted to get).

In the land of camera’s, I have a sleepy moment, and a 4wk update of my treeskirt progress. I’m hoping to have the greeery done this week, then the bit of ribbon, then it’s on to the next panel (and the edges of this panel that don’t fit on this hoop). YAY!

Still Life, action shot! (5.7mb)

Yes, yet again our son’s psychic teeth are aware of a coming visitor and choosing now to act up. He’s not been teething-cranky for a few weeks (since the last familial visit) and now… guess what? How do they KNOW?!

This Morning.

Update of where the tree skirt project is at. I’m already proud of the work I’ve been able to get done and how it’s looking. Once I’m done the blue ball (in progress on the left) I’ll be filling in the background with foliage and ribbon, then this panel is done and it’s on to the next!

I haven’t got much else to say right now. The weather’s beautiful – it’s supposed to go up to 80 today (it’ll be higher here) – but I’m feeling crappy and moody. Meh. Maybe the sunshine will help (let’s hope).

We saw Dr. Chalman yesterday afternoon. The drive was nice – sunny and warm, Danville’s a nice little town too. We managed to find the office (the hospital is a maze), get fed before the appointment was due to start, toss that up beforehand too (though not out his nose, so he wasn’t screaming afterwards but I’d failed to bring a change of clothes *or* his diaper cloth which was in the car), and then get started with the actual appointment. A therapist came in and evaluated Ethan, saying that he was at a 5 month level and that was good since they’re treating him as a 5 month developmental level. They use the Bailey system, which basically takes his chronological age and subtracts his prematurity – so 8 months minus 11wks puts him at 5 and a bit – and if the measurement is xmonths+14days they count it as xmonths not as ymonths. *shrug* Whatever. He did just fine. Dr. Chalman came in afterthat and evaluated him himself and said he’s very pleased and that Ethan is right on track. We don’t need to see him again for another 6 months (w00t!). The therapist suggested more frequent visits from the early intervention people (she believes in getting every last little bit of help for kids as early as possible) but I think Dr. Chalman agrees with us that as long as he continues doing as well as he is, there’s no need to push things. The therapist gave us a few tips on how to encourage upper body strength (he’s a little weak in the shoulders) and how to stretch out his hamstrings since they’re a little tight (he loves that one though!) and we got a few good ideas of toys we should look for to encourage specific development for right now. It’s a good thing he’s got blocks coming this weekend, since that’s one of the things that will help (preemies tend to have an aversion to things touching their palms so we should expose that to as much stimulus as possible – thus the blocks since they have odd angles). We also might be making a peg board type thing like Dr. Chalman had. We’ll see.

All in all, it went well and he’s wonderful. The nurses all fell in love with him – the therapist said that though occupational therapists tend to help kids cause they can get them to do things parents can’t necessarily do – but she’d not be able to since Ethan’s so smiley and charming and cute.

We got in late last night because a tractor trailer full of lettuce decided to go airborn on the interstate and make a mess of things, so it’s bathnight tonight. Eating is continuing to go well, though because of the late night last night his night feeding schedule was off and he had a rather small breakfast.

The weather is beautiful today, and the windows are open and we’re likely going to spend some time on the back deck enjoying the out-of-doors.

I’ve just heard that the newest Pope is Joseph Ratzinger. CNN has given an overview of him, and I’m afraid he’s not the type of person I was hoping for. I had hopes for someone who was more like the recently deceased Pope – someone to reach out to other religion and new members. It sounds, however, like he’s the very opposite – critisizing and insulting other religions and ways of life, being hard on rules and controlling of details. Pope Benedict XVI… hopefully I’m wrong.

We made this yummy last night. Super healthy, hearty, and yummy! (not to mention easy)

Tomato Bean Soup

2c. (1 bag) dry red kidney beans (reconstituted)
1 med onion (diced)
1c. (4 stalks) celery (diced)
1c. (4) carrot (diced)

Layer in order in 5-7qt crockpot.

1tbsp. cumin
1tbsp. corriander
1tbsp. paprika
2 cloves garlic (minced)

Sprinkle over top. Do Not Stir!

6c. chicken/vegetable broth

Pour around edges of everything. Cook on low 10 hrs (or high 5hrs).

28oz (2 cans) diced tomatoes
1tsp sugar
sprinkle of salt

Add, stir well, cook on high 30 mins.

1 box frozen chopped spinach (thawed)

Add, stir well, cook on high 2-3 mins (until spinach wilts).

Questions
1. What physical attribute are you most thankful you got from your gene pool?

That’s a hard one, cause there’s a titanic sized boatload of medical crap following me around. I think my smile – it’s like my Mom’s but with Dad’s dimples. That and my eyes – green like Mom’s but slightly moreso (less yellow/brown that made her’s hazel).

2. What’s on your burger?

Tobasco’s Garlic Marinade, dill relish (not sweet), mustard, mayo, bacon.

3. What’s your Scooby Snack (snack you created for yourself)?

Hmm, that’s a toss between
a) kaiser roll with as much variety of sliced deli meats and cheeses as I can find (think family reunion lunch tray), mustard, mayo and plain non-ruffled potato chips – assemble then smush down to break up the chips (make sure they’re next to the mayo and/or mustard so’s they don’t fall off the sammich)
and
b) Loblaws baba ghanouj and bread sticks :drool Damnit I miss that store (and the PC brand in general).

We had a busy weekend. Saturday was groceries and Ethan stuff (more later), Sunday was finishing moving Ethan’s stuff into his room (the change-table) and setting up the dining room as an actual dining room , then we moved down to the family room downstairs and moved the bulk trash into the garage and Ken’s tools into the garage (workshop for the summer) and figuring out which cable worked in which room so that we could set up the tele. In a week or two, once the weather’s a tiny bit warmer, we’re going to move the computer down there and set up a more family area (rearrange some boxes into another corner), then rearrange the living room furniture to be more like a living room and less like a family room. I’m sure none of that make sense but it does to us.

Now, the Ethan stuff. Saturday afternoon we were having a grand old time. I was sitting stitching, Ken was to my left at the computer munching on crackers, Ethan was in front of me watching Ken. Here’s what we saw (7.7mb). It made us laugh so hard and we figured he’s very ready, so I made up some porridge and the newest adventure with the Little Man began. His first meal was messy, and confusing for him, but we got him to eat some. Yesterday we got him to eat a bit more, this morning even a bit more. We’re getting less messy (who’m I kidding?) and figuring out the “open mouth when spoon approaches” and “swallow when there’s stuff in my mouth” bits. He tends to swallow more with larger mouthfuls, which doesn’t necessarily make sense but ah well. He’s not gotten constipated in the least and is having regular movements as per usual. He’s a bit more gassy, but not too much (understandable, considering he’s adjusting to a whole new thing in his tummy). I’m glad I decided to go with oat porridge, instead of a rice cereal though.

So that’s about it. We don’t have pictures of it because one of us holds him while the other feeds. In a few weeks we’ll get him a chair and maybe then we’ll get some messy food-face pics up. Next weekend we’ll likely try him on yogurt or applesauce – likely yogurt.

I’m still a bit nervous about it, but it’s better than the first feeding. I was nervous about screwing up. It’s like this is a whole new step in his development that *we’re* in charge of – it’s not him learning on his own, it’s us teaching him, and I’m worried about screwing up. I think we’ll be good though. Beginners jitters, I guess.

My amazon order finally finished arriving last night. They sent one book on it’s own (the book cost $0.40) and then another book and…the part I’ve been waiting months for…my new deck! *does happy dance*

I’m now the proud owner of a beautiful deck called The Gilded Tarot. I chose it because the images, more than any other deck, spoke to me. There were a few others I considered but the one that comes most readily to mind was too “busy”. I love these cards. They’re beautiful, and on a purely aesthetic sense I’d get them just as a collectors deck (if I were a collector – but I’m not). The package came with a bag for the cards (though once I start using them I’ll likely make my own) as well as a box (cardboard – so again I hope to find a replacement) and a very complete book. I’m going through this book first before continuing on with my Green Witch book. So far I’m doing exercises to familiarize myself with each card and develop my own connection to them. I’m enjoying myself thoroughly.

Problem is that my “spare time” is so limited, and until now I’ve been using evenings as stitchin’ time. Now, though, stitching is going to have to be something I snatch tidbits of time during the day for, and evenings are for education. I don’t want to rush my learning, so that it’ll soak in better, but I want to complete it.

Well, someone’s hollerin…