Baby Sign Language Basics

Although Ethan has many words already forming in his vocabulary, he is also well versed in the basics of baby sign language. For those of you who will soon be visiting with the youngster, here are some basic baby sign language words so that you can better communicate with Et.

Kankles

Emily has never been to the Emergency Room in her short life of nearly four years; her brother, however, has now been there twice...once for an extreme cold, and once for Pushki Burns.

How did he ever get Pushki Burns?!?! We've lived here for three years and hiked in-an-out of these forests. I know all about Pushki...I know what it looks like...I know it's affects...I know not to touch it...I know not to get near it. Heck, Emily even knows how to identify it and to stay away!

Ethan, on the other hand, well...he's a toddler, and a little boy. I don't think I need to say much more.

We had a great time on Sunday picking berries at the Buskin River. Most of the plants were already picked over by others, or had berries that weren't quite ripe yet. I think, in total, we collected about 10 berries. My plan was to put them in some jello for the kids...well, that was before Emily spilled the basket in the sand, and there was just no getting those berries clean.

It wasn't a big heart-break for the kids, they really don't like the berries that much. So, oh well...we went on our way. We finished up our day and the rest of the evening was nice.

The following Monday morning the kids went to school and I went off to work. I picked the kids up later that evening. Ethan was rather fussy, but I didn't think anything of it. We sat down to watch a little TV and I noticed that his socks were SEVERELY constraining his ankles and that his calves were swollen. I took his socks off & just thought that perhaps the socks were too small.

When, about an hour later, the swelling and redness didn't subside, that's when i started getting worried. I called my family back home to get their opinion, and we video knocked with the iPhone so that they could see what I was seeing. They were horrified by the state of his legs.

At this point it was already nearly 8pm, and the only doctor available was an ER doctor. So, the kids and I packed it up and went off to the Emergency Room at the Hospital. Once there the doctor said that it was the worst case of Pushki Burns that he had seen and he was extremely glad that I had brought Ethan into the ER. They gave him a loading dose of steroids and a topical cream to get the swelling down and to minimize the pain. (This would explain Ethan's irritability earlier.)

The doctor that was on call at the ER that night was Ethan's regular doctor, so it was really nice to see a happy, familiar face. Dr. Hambliton is my favorite! He has been with us since Ethan was born...through the heart/lung monitors, through the colds, the baby shots, and now...through Pushki Treatments.

Poor Ethan will be on meds for the next week or so, and be required to see a doctor every-other-day to review his progress. The next morning the swelling in his legs had subsided to nearly normal, and the redness has gone away. (The picture taken was from the following morning, after the medication had already kicked in. The previous night those same marks were dark cherry red and severely swollen!)

What a mess!

And, it's not like he was bathing in the Pushki!

From what we've now learned, the plant oils excrete into the water within the forest. What we think happened was that Ethan simply splashed in a forest puddle and there were Pushki Oils in the water which absorbed into his socks and therefore caused his legs to be burned by the plant poison. Strange!

I think we will think twice before going on another nature hike through the forest!

McD's

We usually try to keep "fast food" to minimum around here, but every once in a while we get lazy or run short on time and end up at McDonald's.

We regards to "fast food" we only have McD's, KFC/Taco Bell, and Subway...nothing else. Needless to say, our diets have definitely improved since we've been in Alaska. Minimal fast food, and tons of fish & game.

The kids, however, love it when we run short on time, and end up at Mickey D's! It's always the same selection for them...Chicken McNugget Happy Meal with French Fries, Chocolate Milk, and Sweet & Sour Sauce as the "dip-dip."

School Girl

Emily started Pre-School this week.

She is transitioning from the Bear Room with the 3-year olds, and into the Polar Bear Room with the 4-year olds. The Polar Bear Room is a Pre-School Program at her current school, where she has been going for the last three years.

The program will begin to teach her how to read, write, and understand mathematics; as well as the fun stuff like cooking and drama.

To celebrate her transition mommy & daddy bought her her very first school backpack full of colorful school supplies! She has been wearing her backpack all week and enjoys that it symbolizes that she's getting older!

As you can see...Emily's favorite thing to wear is anything "Rainbow"! The more colors it has, the more she likes it! She reminds me of Punky Bruister or Rainbow Brite. For the most part, Emily dresses herself everyday and always picks out what she is going to wear to school.

On this particular day in the picture, she decided to wear her rain boots because it was raining and, according to her, they matched her pants...all of the colors in her pants are also on the boots...we're still trying to teach her that spots and stripes don't really blend well. But, in the meantime, it's fun to see how colorful and spunky she gets with her wardrobe choices!

We are very excited to have Emily in a pre-school program. She is one smart cookie and is more than ready for the next step!!

Big Boy Goes Pee-Pee!

We are on our way to becoming "DIAPER-FREE" - YEAH!!

We were all excited to learn that Ethan went potty in the toilet at school today! This was the very first time he has been potty in the toilet!

Potty-Training here we come!!

(We're so proud!)

Ethan Tip #4

Ethan is rather regular when it comes to his poopie diapers.
Be prepared to change a dirty diaper at 10am and 7pm daily. (Alaska Time)

If he's cranky, and hasn't had a regular BM, it is fair to assume that he is constipated...once he has a movement he'll be a happy-camper once more. :)

Happy Poopies!

(let's keep this blogpost for him hen he gets older...hehe)

Ethan Tip #3

Ethan is a Cuddle-Bug. He enjoys reading books, but only if he can sit in your lap. He loves hugs and kisses, and enjoys cuddling up to sit with you and watch TV. He's not a "sleepy cuddle guy" and he won't fall asleep while you're holding him, but loves to hand out hugs and kisses to everyone before he lays down for a nap or bedtime.

Ethan loves to be held, so start pumping iron because this big guy weighs about 35lbs!

Enjoy this little cuddle-bug during his visit, and don't worry, I will pack many of his favorite books for him to share with you.

...many hugs coming you way...!!!