Endocrine systems, a go!

I took Isaac to the endocrine clinic a few days ago. It's at a teaching hospital so we saw 4 doctors. The fellow (training to be a pediatric endocrinologist) did Isaac's assessment, history, and plan. She had a resident with her. The fellow was very well informed about UPD6 and even some obscure long term possibilities (way down the road) like HFE-associated hereditary hemochromatosis. I was very pleased with the research she'd put into it, and felt like we were on the same page. After she did her evaluation, the endocrinologist came in for a few minutes with an intern.

Since his diabetes is in remission right now, there isn't as much to be concerned about. In times of illness his blood glucose may spike, so we were given a script for insulin and advised to monitor him closely when he's sick. The fellow demonstrated how to dilute insulin at home so we won't have to rely on a special pharmacy on a weekend. Simple enough. It's all in a bag which I hope I won't have to open. It is reassuring to have it though, in the event...

Isaac is growing well! He's long, 75th percentile, and chunky, 90th percentile. His doctors feel that he is right where he should be as far as growth is concerned. They also did an A1c, which was 5.6. He's well within normal, non-diabetic, limits.

At the clinic, he was a terrible flirt. He charmed the nurse who measured and poked him. "Aww, what a cute little fellow you are!" He flashed gummy grins at all of the doctors, and kicked and squealed with delight when they smiled back at him. You can't help but grin at this happy, social baby.

Isaac rolling away. He rolls back to tummy and tummy to back with ease now.

A little water never hurt anyone

A little water never hurt anyone
Originally uploaded by jbellis

Rachel was taking a shower, so I didn't notice the sound of the faucet at first. When I did, it looked like it had just started overflowing, so I turned it off and put a towel under where it was dripping. Later I noticed it was _still_ dripping and opened the cupboard. It was full of water. I opened the drawers: also full of water, with the less-dense contents floating. The carpet nearby was squishy with water. I guess it had been running a little longer than I thought at first!

Wringing out towels makes your hands feel chapped and sore a lot faster than you'd guess.

Christmas Pictures

Well, better late than never!

Matthew had many questions about Santa this year. "But how does he get to all those houses in ONE night?" We just turned the question back to him, "Well, how do you think?" He had some pretty ingenious answers to his own questions. Someday he won't believe in Santa anymore, and I will be a little sad that the world is a bit less magical for him.

When Santa asked Melissa what she wanted for Christmas this year, she responded, "A candy cane!" That worked out well, as he just so happened to have one for her. I bet Santa wished they were all so easy to please.



The kids were quite busy exploring stockings and goodies left out. This bought mom and dad a few winks Christmas morning.

Melissa loved her beads. Truthfully, she loved everything Christmas morning. Very, very exciting!

Matthew read the note from Santa all by himself. He's getting to be a pretty good reader. I often leave notes in his lunch which he also delights to read. In some ways Matthew is really easy. After getting a jump start from his parents, he pretty much taught himself how to read. We encourage him and read with him, but nothing fancy or time consuming.








One of Isaac's favorite gifts this year was his taggie blanket made by grandma. He loves fingering, batting at, and most of all chewing the satin loops of ribbon all along the edges. It's a toy and blanket all in one!

Decent People

Our family seems to have the good fortune of running into good people everywhere we go, people who really look out for others and go the extra mile.

I took the kids to the hardware store to get a curtain rod and drapes. I needed an eight foot rod to fit the windows. On the way out I was carrying Isaac, a purse, the cumbersome rod, and holding Melissa's hand. Matthew carried the shopping bag for me. Naturally we were parked far from the exit. A young guy, probably in his early 20s, noticed us limping along and offered to help. Thank you! As we walked towards towards the car he talked about how he enjoyed being an uncle. He didn't have kids of his own yet, but liked babysitting his nephew. He helped get the rod in the car and then turned around to go back into the store. What a nice guy.

A chair and the top to the armoire got damaged in the move. The moving company called in a furniture repairman to fix them. He came by took the chair and the broken piece of the armoire and return two days later with both fixed. The chair's repair is so well done that you have to look very closely to see crack where the arm broke off. Nicely done. He was a cheerful, pleasant man native to San Antonio, and in his 40s. After screwing the top in place to the armoire, I asked him how I could fix the tongue that the groove which held drawer rested upon. He took a look at that and said, "Oh I can fix that in just a few minutes." And he did.

Afterwards he said he would be willing come back and help lift the armoire to slide something under the front feet to raise it a bit so that the armoire wouldn't angle forward so much because it was front heavy and the doors would close better. He did come back when Jon was home, and together they lifted. After that, he fixed the doors so they aligned nicely, placed new catches for the doors, and stained a part that was a bit worn. We bought the armoire several years ago at a scratch and dent sale for a fraction of the original price. While a solid piece of wood furniture, it had some problems. When the furniture repairman was done, it was quite a bit better than we had bought it. He spent a good half hour fixing it, and when he was finished, he wouldn't accept any payment. We were stunned. I did give him some Almond Roca, but it seemed pretty poor compensation for his efforts.

Wow!

A letter to Brian

Rachel told me her brother Brian was a little discouraged in Brazil.  This is what I wrote him.
I remember being dropped into the deep end of the foreign language pool. Actually, it wasn't a pool; you can easily get to the edge of a pool to take a break. It was a lake. Sink or swim. My trainer was Filipino and we were the only companionship in our apartment. I was the only native English speaker for miles. A lot of members spoke some English but it was easier to just talk to Elder Gamboa. I had no idea what anyone was saying; all the words ran together.

I looked forward to our weekly service projects since that (and district meeting) was the only time I got to speak to someone I understood -- there was another American in the next area over and we usually did our service projects together.

It was particularly frustrating because Elder Gamboa had been in the branch for close to forever. He was a friendly man and everyone liked him. For large parts of the day we'd have district missionaries with us, so everyone was chattering away with Elder Gamboa and each other and I had no idea what was going on.

Elder Gamboa didn't understand what the big deal was. "You speak Tagalog fine. Better than Elder MyFirstGreenie." I don't think he understood the vast difference between speaking a few words and being able to understand actual conversations, or if he had once, he had forgotten it. I coped by memorizing the first two discussions in Tagalog. At least that way I didn't have to read my discussion pamphlet, which was just adding insult to injury.

One night a couple weeks in, everyone was talking away as we walked towards a jeepney stop. I was frustrated enough that it showed in my body language and one of the district missionaries, a nice older woman (it's all relative -- I think she was 24, but I was 19) named Rose asked, "What's wrong, Elder Ellis?" I replied, in French, "j'ne comprends rien du tout et ca m'enerve!" "I don't understand," she said, puzzled. "Exactly," I said bitterly.

So I had a lot of time to go over the entries in my Tagalog notebook. Whenever I heard a word or phrase that I didn't understand I wrote it down, and when I had time I would ask Elder Gamboa what they were. Sometimes I got the word separations so wrong that we couldn't figure out what I had heard. And I got used to speaking like a two year old -- a slightly retarded two year old, at that. But whenever I had a chance to participate, I took it. If you're reluctant to look like a fool, you'll never learn a new language. Kids don't care; that's one reason they learn so quickly. And I tried to read; the Book of Mormon translation we had at the time was rendered into very archaic Tagalog, so that wasn't as much help as it might have been. But the Liahona was great.

You're right that sometimes ignorance _is_ bliss. I remember one time a tricycle driver tried to overcharge us. Mostly missionaries were immune to "the white tax," but occasionally someone would try to get a little extra out of us. Or maybe we were inadvertently stiffing him -- I don't know, but Elder Gamboa was certain that we were in the right and he was damned if he was going to pay an extra centavo. After arguing for a while the driver finally spat out something I didn't catch, wheeled around, and left. I asked Elder Gamboa what he had said, but Elder Gamboa only told me, "he was angry." You don't say.

Much later I found out that "puta ang ina mo" literally means "your mother's a whore" and is basically the idiomatic equivalent of "f*** you," and I realized, hey, that's what that driver told us!

Another one. About a year into my mission, when I spoke Tagalog better, I met a Filipino elder in my district who took a sly delight in teaching me a little about Tagalog double entendres. There was a popular song at the time titled Kama Supra (super bed), whose refrain went, "hihiga tayo at kakan...ta" -- "we'll lie down and sing." It turns out that by pausing in the middle of kakanta, they were implying that they were going to say kakantotan instead: "we'll lie down and have sex." That was an enlightening moment. I missed that guy when he was transferred.

She's on a rampage

She's on a rampage
Originally uploaded by jbellis

Rachel was fed up with fighting the kids about cleaning their rooms.
We decided to move all the toys to "the kids' area" at the top of the
upstairs landing. While she was at it , she unboxed the rest of the
upstairs, assembled a new toy chest for Matthew and two bookcases, and
re-arranged our furniture.

Unfortunately, I don't have a "before" picture, but here is the kids'
area "after."

Melissa gives a talk

Melissa gives a talk
Originally uploaded by jbellis

I took Matthew to the Primary room to practice his talk. Melissa
tagged along. When Matthew was done, she wanted a turn. She got up and gave a talk about her family.

Melissa is an unconventional sleeper

Melissa is an unconventional sleeper
Originally uploaded by jbellis

Modesty

Modesty
Originally uploaded by jbellis

Five Months Today

A little developmental update:

Isaac can now push his torso up off of the ground. He can also pivot around in a circle while on his tummy. Today I noticed Isaac pushing himself backwards with his arms. I don't think that was the desired direction, however. He was pushing himself further and further away from a toy and seemed quite upset by that.

Mealtimes with Isaac are more interesting now. Before we could just hold him on our laps and he'd be content to watch the action at the table. Now he wants to participate by grabbing utensils, napkins, and whatever else he can reach in his chubby fingers. If successful he'll either try to put it in his mouth or sweep it onto the floor. We've had a few close calls, but no plates of food dumped onto our laps- yet. We do keep some Isaac appropriate diversions on the table just for him, but he is still drawn towards the big people things.

Takin' it easy

I didn't want to tempt fate, so I stayed in pajamas until it was time to pick Matthew up from school.

Feeling much, much better today. The fever dropped dramatically several hours after starting the antibiotics. When it got down to 101 I was feeling almost lively.

Fever is gone today, but the right breast is still exquisitely painful. Why, why, why is it always the same side? I'm sorely tempted to just nurse Isaac on the left side. Never had a bit of grief on that side....

The trend is at least going in the right direction. With Matthew I had 4 bouts of mastitis before he weaned; the first when he was around a month. Melissa it was 3 times. The first was when she was 3 weeks, and I got so sick we decided to head to the ER- just in case. Had a raging fever of 104 despite being on antibiotics for over 24 hours and taking motrin. In addition, fluids weren't staying down. Turns out it was "just" mastitis. Felt rather sheepish about that. Still, they gave me an all purpose, stronger antibiotic which must have started eradicating the bacteria, because the fever dropped fairly quickly.

Isaac is 5 months, and this is the first and I'm hoping (knock on wood) last time. Please?

So why do I continue to breastfeed? When I look down at my deliciously plump, satisfied baby with milk dribbling down his chin, and then he looks up at me and grins, well, how could I not?

Don't shoot the messenger

Overheard in the car:

"Melissa, when you grow up you're going to have babies. It will hurt. A lot. And you will probably scream a little. You will get a sore bottom. And you will be glad to have your baby."

Don't show Melissa this picture

Don't show Melissa this picture
Originally uploaded by jbellis

She is very possessive of her ponies.

Yuck

It's a cold, rainy day, and I have mastitis.

I'm wearing warm pjs, a bathrobe, and thick socks, yet I'm still freezing. The thermostat says it's 70, but I think it lies.

Melissa can have anything she wants today.

Update: Melissa can have almost anything she wants. She wanted me to do her hair, and I'm not really able to remain upright for ten minutes at a time. A grand mal tantrum ensued, with Isaac joining in the chorus. 45 minutes of this and she tired of it. Then she wanted me to read a story. That I can do- lying down. Jiggled Isaac to keep him somewhat pacified. Body aches!!! Convinced little Miss to go wash her ponies in the bathroom sink so I could try to get Isaac down. Works. Isaac is sleeping and Melissa is happily splashing.

Now I'm only freezing on the lower half of my body. The upper half is on fire. I always forget just how miserable this stuff is.

Drinking lots of water, but am not hungry AT ALL. Uggghhh!

Update2: Can't do it, getting sicker, called Jon.

Why is this woman eating dinner in bed?

Why is this woman eating dinner in bed?
Originally uploaded by jbellis

An experienced husband knew immediately: she's hiding from the kids.

Peanuts

• Melissa, giggling: "Daddy! You have a squishy tummy!" Thanks!
  
• Today we dressed Isaac in pants that Matthew wore at 14 months. Remember that Matthew was around 10th percentile in size, so Isaac is not a total monster -- he's huge compared to our first two, but his cousin James (for instance) was bigger. Isaac is 85th percentile.
  
• Matthew could tie his shoes if he practiced a little, but he gets frustrated when it doesn't work the first time. "I'm never going to be able to tie shoes!"
• Church starts at 1:00 PM this year, instead of 9:00 AM. We were on time.
  
• Matthew volunteered to give another talk in Primary; I guess he enjoyed it. Rachel and I were a little less enthusiastic: helping him prepare is hard work. I guess it's a good thing though if he gets a head start in Not Being Petrified Of Public Speaking.
  

At the zoo

At the zoo
Originally uploaded by jbellis

By far, the kids' favorite exhibit at the zoo is "the riverbank,"
where getting sandy and wet -- especially, wet -- is encouraged.

They also have benches for timid moms and dads, so we stopped for a
good long splash.

The fun ended when Melissa persisted in throwing sand in the water.

At a restaurant by the zoo

We used to sit across from each other, gaze into each others' eyes, and talk about our plans for the future.

Now we have three kids. We don't plan; we put out fires.

Peanuts

• I kicked the new year off with a bang: I had my Cheerios in whole milk. Hell yes!
  
• Monkey see, monkey do: I complimented Matthew on his balance on Mommy's wobble board -- he's really quite good. As soon as he got off, Melissa jumped on to show her stuff. (Not as impressive.)
• We are now a two-TV family: I got a CRT SDTV at wal-mart for the kids' room. That way, the kids can watch DVDs while the adults do something downstairs. More importantly, I can play Rock Band and Guitar Hero. (Rachel does not want the instruments in her living room.)
• It's fun watching the kids discover things for the first time. Recently they tasted sherbet and loved it. (I'm not sure why it took six years -- I don't think Rachel is a big sherbet fan.) They are also enjoying pop-tarts as part of Operation Get Melissa Some Calories. I never had pop-tarts as a kid and now I am too old. (To my aged taste, they are far too sweet, but kids would eat sugar with a spoon if you let them.)
• Isaac looks like he's on track to sleep through the night by the time he's two, just like his brother and sister.
• When Matthew's mouth starts moving, the rest of him stops. He and Melissa are supposed to help me with the kitchen, and usually Matthew does a lot more than his sister since he's that much more capable. But last night he would not shut up, and Melissa and I did the whole thing while he stood by the silverware drawer chatting and not putting silverware away. As I recall, his subject was how he was going to save up for an iPhone and how cool it was going to be. It's a good thing that anticipation is part of the fun, because that's all he's going to have for a long, long time.
  
• Matthew has been trying to work "heck" into his vocabulary Just Like Daddy. (Sorry, Abby -- that's as strong as my language gets around the kids.) He's not very good at it: "What is heck that?" he will ask. Or this morning: "What is heck smells burning?"
• On the phone with Dad the other day, he mentioned that he liked to get us presents he wanted when he was a kid. Me too! That's why Matthew has so many video games.
  

Melissa finally gets to open her beads

Melissa finally gets to open her beads
Originally uploaded by jbellis

-Jonathan