Trafton at 22 Months

Trafton turned 22 months last weekend. He is becoming more and more independent every day and also saying more and more words. My favorite new word that he says is 'Elmo.' Unfortunately, in asserting his independence the tantrums are continuing. Sometimes I just can't believe how angry he gets! Luckily using time-outs is still working for us. He is getting increasinly more interested in my growing belly, which is hilarious.

Showing off some skin on our front porch




Trafton enjoys being right in the middle of the cooking action - maybe because there's a chance he'll get a bite of whatever I'm working on. :)

One of Trafton's favorite things to do in the kitchen is get out the plastic salad spinner and wear it on his head. He likes us to wear it, too. He tries to get it to fall off by shaking his head and then he laughs hysterically.

Trafton has become quite the imitator and loves to help out by doing whatever he sees us doing.

Here he was pulling out grass that was growing between our pond stones.

Spring is here - it's so nice to spend time outside!

Trafton is absolutely fascinated by my belly in general, but especially by my 'popped out' belly button. I think he was comparing our bellies in this picture.

Ever since Trafton was very young we have danced with him. Now when he hears a song that he likes, he runs into the computer room and starts dancing. Then we have a dance party. Although we listen to a variety of different kinds of music, Trafton seems to appreciate traditional bluegrass and anything with a heavy beat the most. Here we are having a 'dance party.' Trafton's best move is his 'moonwalk,' in which he slowly walks backwards around the room.

'Dance party' with Daddy

I often make homemade juice in the afternoons, which Trafton really enjoys. As I was getting the juicer and fruits ready, I ran to the bathroom quickly. In that small amount of time, Trafton grabbed his stool and snatched a pear from the counter, which he proceeded to eat. This is how I found him when I came out of the bathroom. He proceeded to eat the entire thing.

Trafton and Daddy having a truck parade - another one of Trafton's favorite things to do.

Morning smoothie time - I cut the top off of a rubber sippy cup lid and this has worked very well for a no spill smoothie experience every morning.

Trafton is getting pretty big for his high chair lately. We recently got him a booster seat and he has really enjoyed sitting on that.

Chillin' with Charley Hogan

"I would really like to dig in that dirt, but I always get yelled at when I do that . . ."

While enjoying a take out lunch from our delicious local burrito shop, Trafton decided to take the paper bag that the burritos came in and put it on his head.

Trafton enjoys many walks around our house and neighborhood.

Enjoying the nice weather

The other day I heard Trafton giggling hysterically from the other room. When I went to see what was going on, this is what I found. He had used his stool to grab the spray bottle full of water that we use to spray the cats when they are bad from the top of the counter. He then figured out how to use two hands to squeeze the nozzle and get a stream of water to come out. When I found him he was chasing two very unhappy cats around the house attempting to spray them with water. He thought this was hilarious.

Trafton has started giving out kisses when we ask for one. He does not, however, have this concept completely mastered. He opens his mouth wide and tries to cover our mouths completely. It's sort of gross, but pretty funny, too. We call it his 'face suck.' We have to keep our mouths tightly closed, otherwise it's pretty much a full on French kiss.

Easter

This year we celebrated Easter morning at our home in Bloomsburg, then went to Daniel's father's house for the afternoon to celebrate with the Beyers. I wasn't sure how Trafton would do with Easter egg hunting - I thought maybe he wouldn't be into it because he would think that we were tricking him into clean-up time - but he did great! The weather was perfect and we enjoyed the drive to New Jersey and we enjoyed spending time outdoors. In all, it was a very peaceful and relaxing day.

Trafton's Easter basket


Look what the Easter bunny left along with the basket!

Opening a new book from Grandmom and Grandpop

He was very excited by all of his new books.

Of course he wanted Daddy to read him some books immediately.

Our first egg hunt - before we even got out of our jammies :)

Egg hunt number two - our backyard!

Found them all!

The Beyer Family

Egg hunt number three - Pappy's Cabin!

Ham, pierogies, and asparagus - what a great chef!

Trafton's aunts and uncles gave Trafton a bunch of goodies in Easter baskets! Trafton's favorite item (EVER!) was the bubbles that Aunt Melissa gave him. He learned how to say bubbles very quickly and would not put them down. He actually wanted to go to sleep with them at one point. We had to refill the bubble container two times. First thing in the morning - he asked for his 'bu-bu.' Definitely a new favorite toy!

Aunt Courtney showing him how they work

More Easter basket fun!

We took Trafton for a walk around the property since it was such a beautiful day :)

Tired out - time for a little Sesame Street

Look-Alikes

Here is a picture of Daniel at 21 months, taken in September 1980. I love this picture. You can really see the resemblance here since Trafton is the same age in the next picture.

Baby Owl at 27 Weeks

This pregnancy continues to go very well. I just hit 27 weeks and I am feeling very well. I had a few more incidences with sickness this second time around, but nothing much to complain about. I have also had some practice contracations - Braxton-Hicks - as the doctor says. The doctor says they are perfectly normal, even though I never had one with Trafton. I have only had a few in the last couple of weeks, but that's enought - they hurt! I have also had a considerable amount of heartburn and reflux, which is gross. I love being pregnant, but that is absolutely the worst part of it! I still, of course, indulge in spicy food. I have been taking natural papaya enzymes to combat the heartburn, but it doesn't make it go away completely. Other than that, I feel really great. I have gained a total of 15 pounds so far, which is pretty much exactly where I was with Trafton at this point. I think I gained a total of 23 pounds with him by the time I delivered. Baby Owl moves around a lot, but I don't think nearly as much as Trafton did. It's still so fun to feel her bopping around in there :)

Cristl Update

Cristl has made so much unbelievable progress and she continues to do so everyday! Here is some information from her dad's latest update:

Since arriving at Kernan's on February 29th, Cristl has learned to do the following things:

- Developed smooth and deliberate eye tracking
- Understands and can comply with commands
- Began speaking and can answer questions
- Initiates conversations
- Has gained and/or improved motor skills
- Has gained a range of motion in her left arm
- Has a much improved relaxed left hand
- Has greatly improved her right arm range of motion
- Has gained a significant use and control of her right hand
- Has gained some movement in her right leg
- Has gained a considerable amount of movement and some control of her left leg and foot
- Has gained substantial control of her head while positioned in an upright position
- Has progressed from being NPO, first to eating pureed only foods and then progressing to eating finely chopped food
- Her heart rate and blood pressure have come under better self control
- Continues to develop and use connections to long term memories
-Can identify and explain pain and pleasure
-Can count numbers sequentially (after beginning to speak, she could not count past 3)
- Can complete simple arithmetic questions (if stated in a way that she understands)
- Has developed a sense of humor. She has said a number of “one liners” that have amazed us
- Has developed a sense of humor and has “belly” laughed (usually at slapstick type circumstances)
- Gets embarrassed (during one of her catheterizations she stated that she felt that she was being violated (another example of humor?)
- Seems to understand the basics of right from wrong
- She is polite. She says please and thank you and uses polite responses such as “I am fine, and how are you?”
- Has become very self aware (but does not fully understand or know how or why she got this way)
- She is concerned about her dental hygiene and agrees immediately if she is asked if she wants her teeth brushed
- She enjoys company (although she would rather listen to conversations than to participate in them and she usually keeps her eyes closed but will still answer direct questions)
- Has a definite desire to return to normality (walking, eating, taking care of herself, conversing, working, going out with friends, talking on the phone, etc)

At Howard County General Hospital, Cristl’s ICU Neurologist did 2 MRIs, 2 CT Scans, and 2 EEGs (about 1 week apart). His prognosis at that time was that he did not give Cristl any hope. He did not describe to what extent that “hope” meant, but the implication was that either she was going to die or that she would never achieve greater than a Vegetative State. Thanks to all of Cristl’s friends, the power of prayer, and the positive energy that she has received over these 11 1/2 weeks, Cristl has been granted miracle after miracle. Cristl still has a long way to go, but she will get there.

Birthday

Last Friday I turned 33! Time just keeps on speeding up :) I had a wonderful birthday. We tried to go out to eat at Terrapin's Cantina, but, unfortunately Trafton was pretty terrible and we had to leave even before we ordered - what a bummer! That is actually the first time we've ever had to leave a restaurant because of bad behavior from him. It may be awhile before we try that again . . . So, we got take out from another Mexican restaurant, Playa Cancun, which was delicious.

The rain even held off long enough on Sunday morning for us to get a good hike in. We recently purchased a new backpack carrier and I was excited to give it a try! We went to the Loyalsock trail and hiked to Double Run. It had been raining for quite some time and had actually just stopped raining when we got to the trailhead, so it was wet and misty out. It was also extremely quiet. This particular part of the Loyalsock doesn't attract many casual hikers (there isn't even a real parking lot, just a cut out on the side of the road) and with the rain, there weren't many people out anywhere nearby. The last time we were on this part of the trail we were backpacking with our friends Jessica and Joe in 2006; we've never just come for a dayhike before.

Trafton was pretty into helping me open my presents!

Time to get started - Trafton absolutely refused to get in the backpack . . . so we started out letting him walk a bit.

It's hard to see, but while Trafton was walking down the descent, he had this really adorable intense look on his face - tongue partway out, lips pursed, and in total concentration.

Determined to keep walking and trying not to wobble

We made it down onto a flatter part of the trail - I just think Trafton is trying to look tough here since he made it so far without getting in the pack. :)

Trafton was starting to get pretty tired and kept collapsing in the wet leaves. We decided to get him in the pack. He squirmed and fought a bit, but once he got in, he was really content.

The Loyalsock markers are in the process of being changed from this signature red and yellow blaze to a solid red blaze.

Water crossing

Mmmm, snacktime! Bagels with cream cheese for us and bagel sticks for Trafton.

Trafton kept dropping his bagel sticks in the wet dirt, but he didn't seem to mind eating some extra leaves and mud. He was pretty dirty anyway.

Fun camera effect on this one

Hiking our way out

Time to get the tunes going and change out of wet and muddy clothing for a comfy trip home