A picture by Paul- my sneakers- and tubes #2

From Paul III- "This is my shoes in the car. I was sitting in my seat. I took a picture of them because you were driving to the ear doctor."
For those who have followed Paul's ear sagas, we have another chapter- at our every-3-month visit to the ENT this morning there was still a good amount of fluid in Paul's left ear and some in his right. For the past year or so we've watched as the fluid seems to have alternated between his left and right ears. One visit, the left would have some fluid; then three months later it was the right with a little bit in the left.
So he'll be headed to surgery for 2nd round of ear tubes on Friday, February 12, which is something we're not necessarily excited about but know it's in his best interest to prevent any long-term hearing problems. They're also going to give him about 20 pricks for allergy test while he's "under" to see if there is an underlying allergy which is causing his body to produce extra fluid, which is then getting trapped in his ear canal(s). The doctor told me that about 10% of children need a 2nd set of tubes, and he's felt all along that Paul might fall into that category.

An Ice Cream Picnic with Paul and Kaitlyn

One of our recent family events has been periodic "ice cream picnics"- usually Paul, Daddy and I sitting on a "picnic blanket" in the living room eating a small amount of ice cream after Kaitlyn is in bed (this has been the big treat for Paul as he continues to have great success with his potty use).
Last night we decided to involve Kaitlyn in the ice cream picnic- it was her first taste of ice cream and she was quite shocked by the cold treat:



(sorry for the delay in posts- it's been a busy few days in our house).

A weekend with Uncle Chris and Aunt Megan

We had a really great weekend- Uncle Chris and Aunt Megan arrived Friday night and left this afternoon after watching a bit of the Dallas game (sorry, Uncle Ry!).
Paul and Uncle Chris made some banana bread on Saturday morning:

There was some baseball playing (the sun finally came out and it was above freezing!):



I think we can all agree that this interchange involved something with "Uncle Chris, why.... why... why...":
And then some football:
The two buddies hanging out:
Some play doh playing this morning (the kids were too focused to even think about the camera):
Sorry Uncle Chris, the play doh head decoration was too good to pass up...
Kaitlyn is not only walking (she's taken several 5-8 step 'tours' of the house) but is also walking on the kitchen table:
And the best picture of the weekend- daddy and Uncle Chris both in the tent... note that neither of them are fully in the tent (I think little Paul was in it at the time):

The Birthday folks- inluding BB's 70th!

This past Saturday we celebrated Gram's 68th birthday, Aunt Char's birthday and BB's 70th birthday. We enjoyed a wonderful turkey cooked by Paul and it almost seemed like Thanksgiving- but with happy birthday plates for the dessert.
A "70" cupcake arrangement (thanks, Gram, for the idea):



BB opening his scrapbook- with memories from about 30 friends and family (he stayed up until 11:30 Saturday night reading it!):

Paul pretending to use little Paul's fireman axe to cut the turkey (be sure to check out little Paul's hand reaching up to try and "help"):

My favorite quote from the night was when, since he didn't have his reading glasses, BB couldn't read little Paul's new "Bob (the Builder)'s birthday" book... so Paul asked: "BB, why can't you read?"

Looking at the great pictures in "This is your life, Bob Bennett" by Gram (pictures from all 70 years!):

Christmas 2009 Video