Trick or Treat (part 1)

Sunday afternoon was Trick or Treat in my parent's city (where I grew up!). They always have it the Sunday before Halloween. I actually like it that way. Its a lot safer for the kids and the weather is almost always gorgeous (you never know what the weather will be like in late October in New England).

Here are some pictures of my skunk! (The monkey is my parent's neighbor.)

Picking out some yummy treats!
Here is his stinky backside! (LOL) Devin has the perfect personality for this costume. You KNOW he was getting lots of comments, "Pee-you!" and "Don't spray me!" and so on as we went about the neighborhood. Devin just laughed them off or made a silly face!

Yes, we will still go Trick or Treating around our development on Halloween night. He is excited to go at night time too.

He's my "Lil Stinker" as it says on the bum!

Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin carving is not exactly the most entertaining thing for a 3.5 year old. There really isn't a whole lot for the child to do to help in the process. Sure, he can help plan the jack-o-lantern face, take out the pulp and seeds, and, well, watch the Carver. That's about it.

Don't get me wrong, when we did our first family pumpkin carving tonight, we all enjoyed the process, it just wasn't very entertaining!! Devin ate his dinner while Erick was doing the hardest part of the cutting, which was probably best (less he bug Daddy) and he just watched while he ate his American Chop Suey and garlic toast. I was multi-tasking: cooking dinner and cleaning the seeds/cooking the pumpkin seeds.

Here is the pumpkin carving process in pictures:I must say that Devin was very excited with the final result and can not wait until Halloween night, when we promised him we would put a candle in the jack-o-lantern. Honestly, I am kind of excited for that too!!

Random Ramblings

Phew, it's been a while since I've blogged. I've been busy! Let's see...we've had a birthday, the first snow flakes, pumpkin picking, and I've been at a training for work. Told you I've been busy!

I will start with the really boring stuff- work. For 3 days last week I had to commute into Cambridge, Ma with some colleagues to attend a training for a new reading intervention program we are going to be using. The training was great, but the days were extremely loooooooong. I am not used to being out of the house for 11-12 hours, traveling 1.5-2 hours each way, using the subway etc. I had to arrange alternate care for Devin (Thanks Dad, Mom, and Carolyn!) and be really prepared ahead of time. It was a lot of work!

Friday and Sunday also brought the first snowflakes of the season. It is so early for snow! Sunday it actually snowed most of the afternoon. It did not accumulate much- mostly on cars, but it was quite a sight to see in mid-October!

Friday was Erick's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Hunny! We celebrated by going out to dinner at Tokyo Japanese Steakhouse. On Saturday Devin and I made Erick a birthday cake (I was way too busy with the training to do it on Friday). It was a nice, but uneventful birthday.

Saturday Devin and I went to Wilson Farm. It was a crisp sunny fall morning. We went for a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch and visited the animals. We also got caramel apples, vegetables, and hot chocolate. It was a fun morning.

Drawing

Devin has recently started to "blossom" ehh ok blossom might be taking it a bit far, but he is finally taking interest in his fine motor skills, which were previously starting to make me nervous. The teacher side of me wants my son to be academically ready for absolutely every side of learning before necessary to ensure that he is going to have a positive learning experience all throughout his schooling. The logical side of me knows that Devin will be fine. He loves pre-school, has a great knowledge and understanding for letters and sounds, asks questions constantly and wants to learn.

Anyhow, those fine motor skills such as drawing, writing, coloring, and cutting were before the last couple of weeks just of NO interest to Devin! In the past 2 or 3 weeks he has started to ask to cut, color, paint, and draw. Here is an example of the adorable people Devin is now making. (I have a soft spot for the rudimentary drawings of small children!)



It's a picture of Devin, Shaun, and Aiyah (his Godmother, Erin). Shaun is Erin's boyfriend.

One Year Later: Asthma Edition

The History:
It's been one year since Devin had his first (and so far only) major asthma attack. I remember it well. It was scary. I did not know what was going on with my baby. He was having such trouble breathing. He could barely get two words out. I first blogged about Devin being sick here.

My original post, once we were home from the hospital the next day, is here. I decided to leave the post in its original form. I had only had two hours (of interrupted) sleep at that point. The raw form of that post exemplifies the anxiety for the health of my son.

The Update:
Overall, Devin has done really well adjusting to this asthma thing. He takes his Nebulizer daily, and like a trooper! Last winter his Pulmicort was increased due to a lower Pulse Oxygen Level. This summer we (in conjunction with his Ped) tried to take him off the Pulmicort (most kids can come off for the summer), but he became so short of breath and unable to play, with a lowered Pulse Oxygen Level, that he had to go back on and this time to the higher level because playing was still too cumbersome on him. That's where we are now.

The Future:
We hope that someday Devin will outgrow his asthma. We hope that someday he will be able to run and play with other kids without needing medications to help him do so. We hope that Devin will be able to play sports, if he chooses, without becoming short of breath and "needing a break."