Sean's Two!

I've been trying for weeks to get these posted. Yes, our little Sean-Sean is now two years old!!! Here are some pics from our little family party we had here at home. Since we were traveling that weekend, and so were most of our friends and family, we decided not to do a big shin-dig for his birthday this year (don't feel too bad- we skipped Rex's second birthday, also). Just Michael, Me, Rex, Sean, and Kaleigh. Besides, as long as Sean had cake, he couldn't care less who was here or how big his party was. A big change from his last birthday when he wouldn't even taste his cake- he devoured it this year and then had more! He may not eat much, but he knows what he likes! And after peeling the wrapping off of his presents one little two-inch piece at a time, he had lots of new toys to play with. It's so hard to believe how fast time has passed. Sean has changed so much over the past few months, and continues to make new strides every day. He's talking more and more, and feeding himself, and throwing mega temper tantrums when he doesn't get his way. (He's definately got some Irish in him.) He also loves to give hugs and kisses and snuggle up with you. He is very affectionate. We just ride along on the emotional roller coaster of having a two year old. The "ups" get us through the "downs." So Happy Birthday to our "little man." We love you to pieces.

July 4th Float 2008

Once again this year, the "Windmill Hill Ladies Association" sponsored a decked out patriotic float for the Annapolis Independence Day Parade. The neighborhood kids had fun stuffing the tissue paper all around the bottom the night before, and had even more fun riding down main street in the rain! (Except for Rex, who bailed halfway through and went up to ride in the truck!). Sean was not sure what to think about the whole ordeal at first, but once we got rolling, he loved seeing all the people. This year's float even had a bubble machine- which was a huge hit with the kids in the crowd. We had so much fun! We're already throwing together some ideas for next year's entry. (Suggestions are welcome!)

Farm Family Reunion

Here are some photos I promised from our weekend at the farm a few weeks ago. Our weekend got a late start since the boys and I all had a nasty stomach virus, but once we recovered, we headed to Virginia to one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I wish I had the words to describe what a special place "the farm" is. And with 20 aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandmas, it was even better. We started by having our first annual Family Olympics, complete with a hula hoop contest (being prego- I sat that one out), an egg toss, a water balloon toss, and lots of other fun competitions. Everyone had such a good time. Cousin Bobby was the grand champion this year- but I think we'll all be practicing for next year! The boys had lots of fun riding on the four-wheeler and climbing trees, and just plain running around. I don't think Sean sat still all weekend! They even got to watch the local farmer use his combine to harvest wheat out of the fields. How cool! We can't wait to do it all again next year!

Catching Up

Yes, I know- it's been a while since I've posted pictures. Sorry- life with two small children, one on the way, and a house under construction doesn't always leave enough time in the day for things I want to do. But here are some recent pics from Father's Day and from our yearly neighborhood trip last week to Dutch Wonderland. For Father's Day, we planned to take Michael on a picnic, but it was so blessed hot, we ate our picnic at home and waited until evening when it cooled down a bit to take our trip to the park. Rex loves going to the park, and doesn't stay still long enough to take his picture. Sean has become more adventuresome there recently. He used to just spend his time on the swings (who can blame him- swings are still my favorite!), but now he's climbing into tunnels and sliding down slides. I'm not sure if Sean just liked hanging out in the tunnel, or if he couldn't figure out how to get out of it, but he spent a lot of time in there!

Last week, the younger neighborhood kids headed back to Dutch Wonderland for our annual trip. The kids had so much fun- it really is a very nice park. Sean was old enough this year to ride on more of the rides, and Rex was actually tall enough to ride some rides without an adult! I love the picture of Rex scrutinizing how the park attendant is fastening the lock on the ride. He looks so skeptical! As if he knows how to do it better! And he takes "driving" a bulldozer very seriously. Sean is just happy to be along for the ride. Finally, the look on Sean's face with Ms. Penni on the huge slide is that of pure joy. We had such a great time! I'm already looking forward to next year's trip!

What else has been going on around here? Well, in the past month between the two boys, we have managed to survive a stomach virus, strep throat, and a staph infection. (The fun never stops in the McAllister household.) Little baby McA is growing and moving and kung-fu fighting each day. The last sonogram clearly showed that he is perfectly formed (no cleft lip or palate!!!), and he is doing great! I, on the other hand, am the size of a house. A big house. I would like to think that he's just a large baby, but I think it more has to do with the fact that I'm always hungry. For ice cream. And cookies. And apple pie. I'm not too worried, though. I think chasing three boys around the house will help to take these pounds off in the long run. Michael is still working day and night at his office and on the house. The poor guy never sleeps. And Kaleigh is still Kaleigh- always looking for a rub on the belly or a piece of food. And she merely sulks when she gets neither one. I think that pretty much catches us up to date. I promise to try to get back in the habit of posting pictures weekly. We are heading to the family farm this weekend for a family reunion, so I should have lots of pictures to share next week!

Blue Angels 2008

The rains held off just long enough this year for us to make the trek down to the Naval Academy grounds to watch the Blue Angels perform. Grandma Bernie and Uncle Paul came to visit to watch them, too- which made it extra special. I wasn't sure how the boys would react to being so close to the jets with the noise, but (thank goodness for earplugs!) they did great! They loved watching the jets zoom around doing their crazy stunts. So did the adults. It really is an impressive show. Poor Rex, (our little narcoleptic) was exhausted from the walk down, and fell asleep on Michael's shoulders on the walk back home. But he had plenty of energy after his little snooze to wear out Grandma and Uncle Paul during their visit with endless requests to play with him. Sean just ran around like a wild banshee the whole time they were here, soaking up all of the extra attention. Needless to say, we had two sad little boys when it was time for them to go, but hopefully we'll see them again soon.

It's a ....

BOY! Yes, that's right- boy number 3! We went for an ultrasound last week, and the little guy is looking good. The sonogram technician said this is the most photogenic in-utero baby she's ever seen! He was very cooperative. I must admit- the 4-D pictures are somewhat freaky looking. Kind of alien-like. (And that is the umbilical cord you are seeing-not the part that makes him a boy.) But it is very cool to catch a glimpse of what he will look like. Three boys. God help me. I'm going to need lots of energy, lots of patience, and a good colorist to cover up the gray hairs. Oh, and really good insurance. Michael says boys fight a lot. And I don't mean calling each other "stupid head," either. I mean rolling around, wrestling on the ground, fist fighting. There's bound to be blood, and someone's going to need stitches. For now, I will enjoy my two darling little angels as they snatch each other's Hot Wheels cars away, and knock each other's towers down, and wonder what kind of personality the third one will have. The first two couldn't be more different. There are only two things Rex and Sean have in common- 1. Their address, and 2. Their parents. It's fun to think about where the new one will fit in.

On a side note- Sean had his surgery today to replace his ear tubes. Everything went well and he is recovering nicely. The doctor said he should be able to hear much better now that all of that gunk is cleaned out. The new tubes are larger and should allow his ears to drain much better. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Happy Easter!

Just wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a Happy Easter! Here are some photos of my handsome little ones. Who says you can't dress up boys? They had fun at the neighborhood Egg Hunt. Rex ran around grabbing as many eggs as he could, while Sean just stood there watching all of the chaos. He did manage to snag a few eggs for his basket before it was all over. As I think I may have mentioned before, Sean is not exactly a good sleeper, but something wore him out today. He fell asleep as he was playing with his garbage truck! I guess he was just "eggs"-tra tired from all of his crying at 2 a.m.!

Little Leprechaun

Okay, so as a mom, I try to keep things as even as possible between my kids, but as I was looking through the past few posts, I realized that there are no recent pictures of Sean. So this blog is dedicated to my "middle" child, the one and only Sean-Sean. There is so much to tell, I'm not even sure where to start. Maybe that's why I haven't written about him. Sean is twenty months old today. He is an amazing little creature. As some of you know, we have been concerned about Sean's development. He always seems to hit milestones, but he consistently hits them very late. At his 18 month check-up, the pediatrician was very concerned because Sean was underweight. He has always been small, but he dropped from the 5th percentile down to the third percentile, and basically had not gained any weight in the past few months. I had already planned to contact the local Infant and Toddler Program because Sean was not talking at all and was not even trying to communicate with pointing or gestures. With his cleft issues, we knew he was prone to speech problems/delays, and we wanted to get him help asap. But now with his feeding issues causing such alarm, I called them as soon as I got home that day. Sean was first evaluated by a four member team consisting of a Speech Therapist, an Occupational Therapist, a Physical Therapist, and a Developmental Specialist. He was then referred to see a Developmental Pediatrician. In the end, they found that Sean has a developmental delay. His speech is almost a full year behind, and cognitively, he measures around a 13 month old. His physical development was a little behind, but still on target. He will receive speech therapy once a week for the next six months, and then he will be re-evaluated. We are very lucky to have a speech therapist who is very knowledgeable about cleft lip and sub-mucous cleft palate. I have very high hopes for her ability to help Sean. It seems like ever since I made the phone call to have him evaluated, Sean has been improving by leaps and bounds. I began using sign language with him, and he can now do 7 different signs. He has begun pointing to everything, and even says a few words. We still have a long way to go, but we are very optimistic. The developmental pediatrician understood our fears about autism, and saw the same red flags that we see, but reassured us that she did not feel that Sean was autistic. We do have an appt. in May to meet with a Genetics doctor to have Sean tested for any genetic problems that could be contributing to his delays. Right now, the doctor thinks that the delays could be a combo of personality (Sean doesn't want to communicate), heredity (Michael was a late talker- imagine that!), and his sub-mucous cleft palate (he may not have the mouth muscles needed to produce certain sounds). And with speech delays come cognitive delays. Everything is intertwined at this age. You can't learn about something if you don't have a name for it.

Now let me move on to his ear problems. (I warned you- there is a lot to tell!) Sean had tubes put in in August. He developed an ear infection in October. The tubes were not able to drain the infection because the drainage kept crusting up and blocking the tubes. We got that mess cleared up in November, and in December, his ears started draining again. At least the tubes were working now! The problem is, it is now March and his ears are still draining. They never stopped. We have tried four different drops in his ears, and a mega-dose of oral antibiotics, and nothing seems to clear up the drainage. So at Sean's appointment with the ENT today, it was decided that he would need another surgery to go in, clean out the ears, possibly take out the tubes, and see what the heck's going on in there. I feel so conflicted about this. I want to get his ears cleared up- but surgery! This will be his third surgery in less than two years. I'm trying to get an appointment with another ENT that I have heard good things about for a second opinion. Right now, it's a one month wait to see him, and his surgery is scheduled for two weeks from now. Poor little fella.

So here are some photos of my little leprechaun from St. Pat's day. As I said, he is amazing. Through all of this, he has remained such a sweet little boy. He melts the hearts of all who meet him. He loves to play and loves to cuddle. He will babble out a sentence without a single recognizable word, and yet I can't help answer him because he's just so excited about something. People always say the middle child gets ignored. And yes, come October, he will have a lot of competition for my attention, but there is a space in my heart carved out just for him that no one else could ever fill. Just look at this face and you'll understand....

Happy Birthday Rex!

Rex turned four years old this week. My, how time is flying by. I've learned something about four year olds in the past week. They ask even more questions than three year olds. And they don't take, "I don't know" for an answer. They want to know everything about everything. Rex overheard Michael and I talking about a satellite that the Navy was going to shoot down. From that moment , he was obsessed with satellites. "What is it?" "What does it do?" "Where is it?" "Can I have one?" This is right up Michael's alley- he loves to talk technical. Now Rex knows all about solar panels and high/low gain antennas. They took a trip to DC, and Rex got to see a real satellite at the Air and Space Museum. Talk about fueling the fire. Now he wants Michael to build one with him. Something tells me it won't be made out of dixie cups and chop sticks, either. His obsession this week is tornadoes. He loves to watch video clips of tornadoes on YouTube. Every time the wind blows, he swears a tornado is coming. And he is actually disappointed when one doesn't! He'd better not ask to make one of those...

Here are some pics of the inquisitive birthday boy from his birthday party. We invited his entire preschool class (all 22 of them!) to a local kids gym, and they had a blast! Gotta love that smile!

Good News!

The house is done! Okay, no, not even close, but a girl can dream. But it better be done by October, 'cause we've got a new resident moving in. That's right, the McAllister Clan is growing, (and so is my belly!). We are proud to announce that Baby #3 is due on October 4th! We are very excited, and we have a lot of work to get done before then! More news on the house later...for now, here is a photo of the newest addition: