If you haven't already, read this wonderful story and watch the video about Mason Thibault, an 11-month-old who needs a small-bowel transplant.
It's one of those stories that makes you stop and realize how lucky you are. Mason's story makes what we went through with Noah seem easy to handle by comparison.
Hope you and your children are well.
My little Noah is all boy.
He loves anything with wheels. He looks longingly at motorcycles when they drive past.
He went down a small sliding board the other day, the turned around and promptly climbed up it -- something Sam never even considered doing until she was, like, 4.
And right now he's fearless.
Sam was swimming in our blow-up pool in the yard this weekend when she swam toward me.
"Mom," she said, "what happens if four-leaf burglars get wet?"
"Four-leaf whats?" I said.
"Four-leaf burglars," she replied. "Like this." And she held out a tiny leaf that looked a bit like a clover.
"Oh, you mean four-leaf clovers," I said.
"Yeah, sure," she said. "So what happens to 'em? Does it take the good luck out of them?"
"No, I don't think so. I think they just get wet," I said between laughs.
There was screaming in my house two nights ago.
Wails, cries, pleas to stop it, pleas not to do it again, pleas to "hold me, Mommy, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease just hold me" and enough tears to sink some bathtub toys.
And it was all over a splinter. About a quarter of an inch long.
Noah has been adding to his vocabulary pretty much daily for the past few weeks.
He's also learned how to bellow to get your attention. So, for example, he likes to stand at the top of the stairs every night at bedtime and call down to Daddy that it's time for kisses:
"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad! Ublty boblty abah nite-nite!"
He's also added "Spongebob" to his repertoire, although I don't think I can re-create the sounds he uses here to convey that name.
But my absolute favorite is what he said to me for the first time this weekend.
We were cuddling and playing on the couch, and I grabbed him and squeezed him against me and said, "I love you."
"Ah-dee do," he said back.
He's said it a few times now -- including at 5:30 this morning when he woke up -- and every time I just melt.
I'm such a sucker for a cute guy with a good line.
I've had four people in the last three weeks ask me if I'm pregnant.
For the record, I am not.
I'll readily admit that I've gained a good chunk of weight in the past six months, thanks to some personal issues and medication changes (and brownies and pieces of cake and bowls of ice cream and ... ).
But the comments have come from a gamut of people: A woman at the Chinese restaurant, my old boss, a former colleague and Sam, who was arguably the most relieved.
