Another first...one of the last

Yesterday Samuel had another "first". Just off hand, I think it might be his last first. I've been thinking about how I need to get him to the dentist for a long time...like...a year. I read somewhere, probably a parenting magazine, that their first dentist appointment should be when they have about 8 teeth. Samuel didn't cut his first tooth until after his first birthday. Actually, it was after he started walking. But it wasn't long and they all came in rather quickly. So he's had his 8 teeth for over a year. And that's about how long I've been putting off the dentist. Mind you, I'm not like most people and I don't really mind going to the dentist. It's not my favorite thing in the world, but as I've only had 1 cavity and never needed major dental work (except for braces), I don't mind my routine visits.

I was hoping it would be a better experience for Samuel. All in all, it wasn't bad. Our "check-in" time was 8:40 am. It took me about 5 minutes to do the paperwork and at 9:15, we were still in the waiting room. Not a big deal since their were more than enough trains and toys to entertain. Honestly, I think we could have stayed there all day as far as Samuel was concerned. But, around 9:20, things started to go downhill.

First, we met the hygienist, Natalie. She was great! Honestly, I think she was hand-picked for Samuel. Her mom had CF. She was familiar with the clinic doctors at PCH. They moved from Kokomo, IN to Arizona to escape the humidity for her mom's health. During all this small talk, we tried to get 2 x-rays of Samuel's teeth. Funny! We got 2 crooked pictures that actually weren't that bad, considering he was squirming the whole time but not how you'd normally see teeth.

Then, we went into the room were we discussed Samuel's meds, the effect it could have on his mouth health and pacifier usage. And don't forget the conversation about taking juice to bed. Natalie told me our action plan, meaning how I was going to hold Samuel down while she brushed, flossed and fluorided. Then the dentist would come in and we'd do it again.... Repeat conversations and wrestle the screaming boy.

At the end, good news all around! No cavities! I hope he inherited my enamel-of-steel. He's got one more tooth coming in (explain his constant runny nose?) and our brushing method is approved. Our method: 2 toothbrushes, 1 for him, 1 for me. He has his turn brushing, then mommy takes a turn brushing. It works for us. Even though he was NOT a fan of Natalie and the dentist, all was forgiven when we came out of the exam room and he got his token to get a price. He chose the bouncy ball. And he even got a blue balloon that lasted more than 5 minutes! It ended up on the ceiling of our next errand stop but it was OK.

All around, it was a busy day with the dentist, his story-time arts and crafts class, which he now loves, and fwim lessons. Since Samuel has become LOTS more comfortable in the water, we started him in swim (or, as he says, fwim) lessons. By the word "lesson" I mean, play. There is just 2 other boy in his group lesson, which lasts for 25 minutes. The other little boy is the same age and a natural fish. Samuel just wants to play with the toys while I hold him. A bit annoying but what am I going to do, leave him alone in the water? Since it's Monday-Thursday for 2 weeks, I'm hoping it will at least help him get some idea of what to do in the water. I can see, though, that our work is not even close to being over.

I suppose that's all for now. More news to come, I'm sure. More news like, how I'm doing on this C25K thing and eventual 1/2 marathon training. It's fun but not in the heat! And I've been having a hard time getting out of bed that past few days.

Oh, and no pics today. Sorry.

no!

It's true!

We've been having lots of fun with Samuel lately. He's really learning LOTS and it seems like he's changing and growing every day. He loves to point out planes and helicopters in the sky and has quite the eye for them. He can spot them from far away! It's really cute to watch him study the sky, see something of interest, then point up and say "See?" We are working on teaching him to say "airplane" but haven't gotten so far yet.

For about the past 2 weeks he hasn't been eating. Not too cool since we, well, he, has to weigh in tomorrow at the CF clinic visit. I'm hoping he breaks his 22 pound plateau. It seems he's been 22 pounds for the past 6 months. Why hasn't he been eating? Well, it appears he's getting 4 new teeth. I'm not sure how many there are in there now. I should count the bite marks on my legs, since that's where he's been biting me lately. Only me. He doesn't bite anyone else. I'm almost thankful for that, really. That's probably the quickest way to get kicked out of Miss Amy's house. :) The other day I was standing in the kitchen making dinner and he leaned over to bite my leg. I told him to find something else to do and so he laid on his tummy to get a better angle to bite my big toe! I couldn't believe it! The eating thing has been getting better, though. Last night (Cinco de Mayo) he was enjoying his staple, bean dip. Yum!

What else is Samuel learning? He's learning where his body parts are. He knows his nose, ears, eyes, toes, mouth and we are working on the fingers. He's also learning how to jump, which is so cute. He gets his whole body involved but his feet don't leave the ground. He is able to "jump" on command. Very funny!

It's becoming clear that Samuel hears the word "NO!" waaaaaay too much. I have to admit, it's not easy to say much else sometimes, but when thinking about it, it's a great learning opportunity to teach him what we want him to do, not just say no. For example, a staple line heard during meal-prep time would be, "Samuel, we don't play in Lucy's food and water bowls. Those are hers." Over and over and over again. Until I put up the gate.

So why do I think Samuel hears the N-word too frequently? Well, it's a known fact that when he is sleepy, he starts to hit. Not very nice. "We don't hit mommies, Samuel We hug and kiss mommy!" Last night, he came over and slapped my knee, then looked at me, pointed to my face and said, quite loudly, "No!" He could also say "Stop!" which comes out more like "Bot!" but still the same thing. It was very hard to hug and correct in love and not laugh at him, but laughing will only encourage the behavior, something I don't want to do.

Other things going on? We are starting to think about what we want to do in our back yard since it's full of dirt, weeds, and dog poop right now. It's a blank canvas. I've got this great idea to install a splash pad! Better than a pool on so many levels. It's been consuming my thoughts for the past few days. 

Pray that Samuel breaks 22 pounds tomorrow. I'm not sure how that will happen after 2 weeks of minimal calorie intake but miracles still happen. If it does, I'll  be sure to post the happy news. If not, I'll probably post that too.

Thanks for checking in!

I almost forgot! Team Samuel at the Great Strides walk! We did great, had fun and were successful. Still getting a team total, but thanks to all who participated!

Kevin Kelley, Lori Kelley Woods, Brenda Kelley, Audrey Sullivan, Tabitha Alexander, Suzanne Francis, Grace Nakazawa, Mike Gentry, Daniel Gentry, Lisa Sifuentes, Eddie Sifuentes, Alexis Sifuentes, Justin Tullock, Delaney Tullock, Amy Tullock (in spirit). Others who are really helping lately are Sandra Ramirez and Ashley Ramirez. Thanks to all of you! It's very touching to have your support and participation. All who donated to our team, thank you thank you thank you! You can be proud knowing your donation is helping to make astounding differences in research and development.

Other interesting pictures:

Chocolate pudding face

Easter Sunday