In Memory of my Mom

Greetings to family and friends,

It is springtime, which means that I have re-registered to participate in the Freihofers Women's 5K as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training which will take place on June 2nd in Albany.

Again I am completing this event in memory of my Mom, who lost her battle to lymphoma in August of 2009 when I was pregnant. Her photograph is right here on my desk as I write this, and Andrew, her namesake, now "knows" her by face and name. Time passes and losses become easier to bear, but the fact that they'll never meet each other weighs heavy in my heart. I can't do anything about that, but I can commit to helping to find a cure through fundraising.

If you can (no pressure - I know there have been times where I could not) please consider making a donation through my website, big or small, to support my participation in Team In Training and help advance LLS's mission. Last year I raised $1280, which far exceeded my goal of $500. I hope to beat that record this year with your help. There's little more my Mom would have wanted than to prevent others from having to endure the pain and treatments stemming from the disease that took her life at the young age of 54.

Last year's race inspired me to continued running, challenging myself by increasing my distance and speed. Anytime that I am tired or in pain, knowing that Mom pushed through much tougher times, gives me the motivation I need to continue training. My goal this year is to finish in 30 minutes.

Cancer is rarely described in positive terms, but occasionally it brings about a new opportunity for healing. In this year's race I will be joined by my sister, who is fundraising for the same cause. Should you know her too, please consider splitting your donation between us. Mom would have loved that we were doing this together.

All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop blood cancers from taking more lives. On behalf of my family, thanks in advance for your support, though both fundraising and friendship.

Please donate here:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/uny/frihfrFT12/slawson4a4

Be well, stay healthy.
Love, Susan

More Crazy Boys

Not looking as crazy this time, but having lots of fun. Trevor 3.5, Alexander 3, Andrew 2, Westley 1.

Crazy Kids

Enjoy the madness of a 3.5 year old, 3 year old, 2 year old, and 1 year old running around like lunatics. Very cute lunatics, of course.

Itty Bitty Things

The latest craze at our house? Sorting itty bitty things by color, shape and letter. If you have jars of buttons or marbles that are collecting dust, please consider donating them to Andrew!

Saying Goodbye

We're really bummed to be saying goodbye to our friends Julie, Alexander and Westley. There have been countless playdates this past year+ and many laughs shared. Good luck in your new home! We'll miss you!

Still Getting Settled In

A big part of getting settled back in was making baby Andrew's room into toddler Andrew's room. Its odd to me, visually, but it will work until we get him a bedroom set. I do still enjoy all good feelings exuded by the homemadeness of it all (quilt on the wall, quilt above his crib, curtains, rug....) We took the front off the crib, removed furniture so he couldn't topple it over on himself, and relocated all his clothes into a closet. It works pretty well - I'm not sure what I'm going to do with that pile of pillows and dolls....if anyone wants them, let me know. Each night we read 3 books together in his bed (its pretty weird sitting in his crib with him) and after he goes to bed I leave a different toy on his rug that he finds in the morning. This buys me some time to wake up and get dressed before tending to the little guy. We gate him into his room, much to his dismay. Although he can do stairs by himself now, I don't really trust him enough to give him free range. If you haven't contacted me yet, we are out and about reconnecting with friends, so feel free to call or email and we'll make it a date.

We're Back!

Sorry to be MIA....we got back last night after a 2 day drive back from Ohio. All our belongings are in bags, scattered throughout the house so its a bit nuts! While I try to get my life back in order, I'll leave you with this cute collage that my friend Meg shot/compiled while we were in Ohio.

Thank You!

A big thank you goes out to Nana and Pop Pop for babysitting a few nights this week while Shawn and I went out for dinner.

First Haircut

Andrew had his first haircut! Well, not quite. His first mullet-trim. The hair on the back of his head was much longer than the rest because it came in first. So Nana worked her magic and it looks a lot better. We saved some of the curls for his scrapbook. They are the cutest, about 1 centimeter ringlets!

Portraits

As usual, while we're in OH, my friend Meg took some beautiful pics of Andrew for us. Thanks, Meg! Andrew is 2 years and 3 months old.

Retro Toys

Sorry for the delay in posting, I still haven't set up my computer here, and probably won't bother. As promised here are the 1970s/80s toys of Shawn's that A is playing with. Remember any from your own childhood?

Greetings from OH

Just a quick note to say that Andrew and I arrived here in Ohio last night. The flight was easy. Andrew played games and watched movies on the iPad with his new, totally awesome orange tiger headphones. Shawn. Bosley, and Pop Pop are expected this evening. Its far warmer here than I expected, in the 50s. So not a huge shock to my body. Luckily at Xmastime I sent Nana and Pop Pop home with some winterwear for us all.

We woke up after a good nights rest and have spent the entire day checking out Nana's seemingly endless stash of 1970s/80s toys. She saved most everything from Shawn's young years, so its been fun to take a walk down memory lane for me as we had some of the same ones! I'll be sure to post some photos of these toys; I'm curious how many of you also recognize them - most are fisher price classics. We have a fun 2 weeks planned - a combination of R&R that involves never getting out of pjs, tasty food, and lots of movies as well as outings with friends and day trips to Columbus and Dayton.

For those who are interested, we plan on getting home on 3/16...just in time for the birthday party of Andrew's best buddy, Alexander!

Leavin on a Jetplane

Here are a few pictures (courtesy of Pop Pop's new iPhone!) of how we spent our last hours in Florida. Andrew and I are off to the airport this morning. Nana will pick us up in Dayton and bring us back to their farm. Shawn and his Dad will be driving our things, and Bosley, in a 2 day trip. Gotta say, its been a pretty amazing winter! So sad to be leaving. Andrew has changed SO MUCH in these 2 months: potty trained, big boy bed, plays without help on playground equipment, sits without a booster chair at the table if need be, helps cook our meals. I think its been just as great for him as it has for us.

Bye Bye Florida

Its our last day here so we're soaking up the sun while we can. Its been a dreamy 2 months that have given us memories to last a long long time. I may not be able to post for a few days as we make our way to Ohio and get set up for a couple of weeks at Shawn's family's farm. We always have a great time there visiting with family and friends, so the fun continues!

Merry Go Round

Another first for Andrew - riding on a carousel.

Dylan and Andrew

Dylan was Andrew's first friend. They were born 1 month apart and we have the good fortune of visiting with he and his mom every few months since infancy. As it happens, they were in FL this weekend, lucky us!

Barista-in-Training

They're not kidding when they say it takes 10 times as long to do anything when you're with a toddler! A quick task, such as grinding coffee beans takes 4 minutes and 34 seconds according to my little movie. But Andrew takes such joy in helping Shawn that we never say no, and always encourage him when he's interested in learning something new. Andrew helps to prepare all our meals. I'm so glad he inherited Shawn's love for cooking - since I'm disaster in the kitchen. Enjoy the movie of our Barista-in-Training. It's a great illustration of his vocabulary, motor skills and general enthusiasm at this age.

HERE'S THE MOVIE LINK!
https://picasaweb.google.com/107672593978976801439/Barista?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCP_Dpv7Jz9TYlAE&feat=directlink

A's Great Grandparents

For a few days this week, I was in the Fort Lauderdale area visiting my grandparents. Shawn stayed behind with Andrew and Bosley. I had such fun! As I told them, I miss being mothered, and a visit to their apartment, which is a landmark in my head and heart, would be just the thing I need. So Grandma made me tasty food, we talked about family history and current events, went shopping...it was wonderful! They are so in love with Andrew, its really wonderful that they have shared their hopes and dreams for him with me. Over the years I look forward to bringing him down to FL to get to know them better.

ABCs

Andrew's first music video. Sadly he inherited his parents inability to hold a tune. It's still cute, nonetheless.

Out and About

Today we were daring and took Andrew out and about for the first time in his underoos. The kid's awesome. He stayed dry the entire time, and once I offered him pottytime (we keep one in the trunk) and he made a command performance in the public restroom. This is only PT Day 6 and he's only 26 months old. Not bad! For who are interested, we spent our day at the Tampa Train Station (40th Anniversary Celebration Exhibit) and walking around Ybor City, the latin historic district of Tampa.

New Favorite

We took Andrew to a toy store, let him choose whatever he wanted (we've had the same small collection of toys here in the FL house for almost 2 months now). What did he choose? A pink hula hoop. He rolls it round and round the yard. I'll enjoy his inexpensive taste while it lasts.

Mama

Andrew has lapsed back into a "want just mama" stage. Mama does the potty, Mama to the playground, Mama reads the books. I wonder how many more times I can expect this to happen, or sniff sniff, shall this affection soon be a thing of the past?

Potty Training, Continued

So far so good! No accidents yet today (though afternoons never go as well as the mornings) AND Andrew told me when he had to pee, then performed the deed on the potty. That's what I call progress! He's a quick learner, this is only day 3. Half the time he's running around naked, and we've also introduced underoos. Sorry about the poor quality of the photo...and no his waist isn't really that small, he's just sucking his belly in for the camera. Doesn't he look proud of himself? Every time he pees in the potty, he drags Shawn into the bathroom to see it.

Potty Training

Since we're here in the warm weather, I thought we might try to potty train Andrew, letting him run around naked. 26 months is pretty young, but so far so good. We have more success than accidents and its only day 2. He seems to really enjoy his sticker reward (no sweet treats involved, surprisingly) and loves making a big deal about it when he peepees in the potty. We read books mostly, but occasionally I'll let him play with the iPad. The next step (ideally) will be for him to tell us when he has to go, rather than be prompted by me. Keep you posted! I'd love to be done with diapers but understand that sometimes the initial attempts at training don't work. After all he has to be the one that is ready.

Lucky Andrew

Happy Valentine's Day!

Grandpa Richie

Grandpa Richie is here, and Andrew is very happy about it. The last time these two saw each other was almost a year ago! There is a huge difference between a 13 month old infant and 26 month old toddler! Andrew is pretty much an entirely different person now so its been fun watching them get to know each other again. Yesterday we went to the zoo, and played at home. Today we're meeting Great-Aunt/Uncle Nina and Michael for brunch! Finally Andrew seems able to join us at restaurants and not disturb anyone, thanks to the iPad and its fun apps.

Glazer Childrens Museum

Aside from it being a zoo (note to self: call ahead to find out if there are any school field trips scheduled), we had a lovely morning at the Glazer Childrens Museum in downtown Tampa. But really, when is this kid not enjoying himself?

Arts and Crafts

We've gotten to the point where Andrew enjoys experiences rather than toys. Which is fine by me. I can only take so much of pushing little vehicles around. We are already pretty active, physically. We go on long walks, or to the playground, or beach. So Shawn suggested we buy him a bunch of arts and crafts and see what he likes. The answer was, EVERYTHING. He likes fingerpainting, brushpainting, stickers, markers, you name it. I'm really excited because the options are limitless, and fairly inexpensive too. If there are any toddler arts & crafts activities you can suggest to me, please do!

26 Months Old

At 26 Months You Could...
Use large words like appetite and container
Start your own imaginary play
Figure out jigsaw puzzles and memory games
Use iPad apps
Sing the alphabet song in its entirety
Tell me what it is you do, and do not, want
Help walk Bosley
Help Dada make his morning coffee

At 26 Months You Would...
Mispronounce a few words in the cutest way. My current favorites are "La Room" (living room) "Lellow" (yellow)
Make a furrow browed when you don't understand something.
Sleep in a big boy bed
Start each morning with a "Pick You Up! In the La Room!" (meaning, pick me up, bring me to the living room)
Have lots of fun dancing, clapping, jumping and playing instruments at music class
Go to the playground every day
Give a play by play of the street lights we pass as we drive "Green Go! Red Stop!"
Always get stopped by strangers, telling you how cute you are.

At 26 Months You Loved...
Netflix TV. Your favorites are Curious George, Pocoyo, Blues Clues, Super Why, Thomas
Yogurt, Blueberries, Ice Cream, Sprinkle Cookies
Your yellow blanket
Matchbox cars
Trains
Collecting seeds in the yard
Climbing up/sliding down
Screaming "Oh Yeah Oh Great All Right!" when you're happy
Being chased by other kids, and chasing them

At 26 Months You Hated...
Veggies and Meat
The snot sucker (nosefrida, check it out, great for parents with sniffly kids)
Shopping carts that do not have a forward-facing toddler seat
The "time for nap" announcement

You are such a little boy now, I can hardly see the infant you once were. I admit that I'm having more fun with you now than ever before. You have such an exuberance for everything in life. You talk nonstop which is mostly a joy, except for those longed for moments of silence now and again! You are very good at expressing what you love and very good at expressing what you don't. I have so much fun with you each and every day and enjoy showing and teaching you new things. Now that we are a few months into the terrible two's I can say they aren't so terrible. Some days you get cranky and might have a tantrum but those days never outweigh the days that you are wonderful. You're such a smart one, it keeps me on my toes! We've been here in Florida for 5 weeks now and I can tell you've really enjoying having both parents with you all day, every day. We've been taking walks, going to the beach and reading together. Though you won't remember any of this, it will be fixed in my memory as some of the happiest days of my life.

Animal Kingdom Lodge

We had loads of fun visiting with our friends Kate and Cliff at Animal Kingdom Lodge yesterday. From their big beautiful suite we could view all sorts of African animals on their savannah. We also visited the pool, playground and restaurant. Mainly we just hung out and caught up with them. Andrew adored Christopher, their 8 month old son - we look forward to seeing then all again soon!

Lowry Park Zoo

The last time we took A to a zoo was in March 2011 while in DC, he was 15 months old and not really into it. What a difference time makes! Now he knows all the animals by name, and was really interested in watching them do their thing. His favorite were the meerkats going in and out of their holes. We walked around for a couple of hours, he didn't even seem to tire out. For sure we'll visit again, maybe with Grandpa Richie when he visits us this month!