Adventures of the Cohen Family

Long day, bummer news

Alright, my fourth post of the day, has to be a record of some sort! This one is not as interesting, and has no pics, but sums up most of our day and what Charlie and I did...although it was daddy's birthday, we had two big Dr. appointments that fell on this day, and so we spent the better part of the day doing that. The first was allergy...just our annual follow-up to make sure that all was right with the world and with Charlie's allergies. Dr. Banner was hoping to get him off singulair this year but I was not thrilled with the idea and neither was the allergist. He wants him to have one really healthy year before we start backing off on meds. I agreed and was happy with that plan. We came home, played for a bit and then back to CHOP to the ENT. Not only did we spend over three hours there, but the news wasn't great. He'll need another set of tubes...I was expecting this and not surprised, but still bummed that he's going back to the OR. The Dr. also would like to remove his adenoids and give him a chance to breathe better and help keep his ears clear of fluid. That's okay as well, but requires intubation, different anesthesia, and probably more pain after surgery. It also requires that he get blood work done to test him for a genetic condition (which I have) that prevents him from breaking down a certain type of anesthesia (of course the one they use for this surgery). So Friday, we are back at CHOP for his annual eye Dr. appointment (monitoring his retinas for his daddy's condition), and Xray to look at his adenoids, and blood work. Poor kiddo! Luckily, Alex will be coming with me to be in the Xray with Charlie and help hold him for the blood work. We'll take him out to eat afterwards and get him some sort of fun treat. I just feel bad for him! They did say that because it's a longer procedure with a different anesthesia, we shouldn't have the emergence issue we had with the last ear tubes...thank goodness!

Charlie's newest artwork

It continues to amaze me when Charlie advances to a new level of understanding, drawing, speaking, etc. One day he's speaking sporadically, the next he's telling whole stories of things that happened months ago. One day he's scribbling, the next he's coloring in the lines. One day he can't decipher more than 3 colors, the next he's distinguishing between them all. Yesterday was another example of such advancements. He normally draws pictures that are either a bunch of lines (that's his "writing" letters) or a bunch of scribbles that represent whatever he tells me it is. Yesterday while working on daddy's birthday card, I looked over and saw this:

He told me he was drawing cheeri-eeri-o's (what he calles cheerios) and eggs. Still looks like nothing much but it's a huge difference in his control over the marker. Normal development, I know, but how does it literally happen overnight?! Amazes me. That's all!

Celebrating daddy's birthday, part 1

We celebrated Alex's birthday on sunday because I am working on his actual birthday (tonight). Charlie and I got up early, not really, but we started working on daddy's cake as soon as we got up. We made him a carrot cake, complete with a carrot iced on top. It was yummy delicious! Alex loves carrot cake so this was a fun surprise to make him.

We had Alex's dad and brother's family over. I made ribs and baked potatoes and cheesy broccoli and we watched the superbowl and pigged out. It was lots of fun.

Here's daddy and his boy...

Mommy and Charlie making funny faces...

Ethan and Charlie helping Alex blow his candles out...

The boys after their bath...they love taking a bath together and had lots of fun racing matchbox cars back and forth across the floor. As Charlie gets a bit older, their age difference becomes less noticeable and they play together much better...Ethan is 10 months older than Charlie.

Happy Birthday Alex

My hubby turns 33 today! He's just as cute a s ever, except he's potty trained now! I hope you have a great 33rd year babe, you are the best thing that ever happened to me!