Jason, Barbie and Alex

Things Alex LOVES

2009-06-14T14:43:00.010-05:00

BASEBALL!!!

He loves to play and watch. He can even say Red Sox and cheers when Papi hits home runs!
THE PLAYGROUND!!!
He loves the slides and especially the climbing!

WONDER PETS PAJAMAS!!!

He carried them through the store when we bought them and begs to wear them if he sees them. The cape is the best part!

ROCK BAND!!!

He loves the drums. He goes looking for the drumsticks and has so much fun playing with Daddy. Their band is called Schulbus!

THE CHEESY GRIN!!!

Needs no explanation!

Tractors are Awesome

2009-06-01T18:30:00.004-05:00

I can't tell who enjoyed this more!

Time flies when your not insufflating the combustive exhaust of the genus nicotiana

2009-05-26T13:39:00.004-05:00

Ahh, good ole 1999. I was in college, having just turned 21, so I was having a great time. It was pre-9/11, so America was invincible. Life was pretty good. And at the time, I would punctuate this with a good ole Marlboro Red.

Can you see where I’m heading with this?

Then, over the phone, mom more or less bribed/dared me to quit. $500 bucks vs. my car stereo.

I guess we both won. I didn't realize until my boss asked me about my love for hard candy(especially tootsie pops). Thats when I started to do some math, and realize it had been 10 years since I quit.

Thanks mom =)

Where is it...Gone!

2009-05-24T20:01:00.003-05:00

Lately if Alex can't find something or see it, it is just gone. There is no other explaination, just gone. Oh, he loves schoolbuses and always wants to see more, so we try.

Two years ago today...

2009-05-18T20:03:00.003-05:00

We finally met Alexander Gerard Theriault. The time has sped by and I can't believe what a smart, handsome little boy he has become. I can't wait to see what the next year will bring!Happy 2nd Birthday, Little Man!

Two years ago today...

2009-05-17T06:15:00.004-05:00

We thought Alex was going to come out. We went to the hospital only to be sent home a few hours later. He wasn't quite ready to meet the world!

Big Boy

2009-05-16T07:59:00.002-05:00

It's been so long since the last post, I thought I'd put up a picture in case you forgot what Alex looks like! He is growing so fast!

A blog vacation

2009-05-14T15:09:00.002-05:00

Yup, blog's been kinda dead lately. It's just been kinda crazy couple of months. But not crazy in any sort of intresting way, just run of the mill, 2 working stiffs with a kid crazy.

But C'est la vie. So, lets see...hmmmmm.
*streaches blogging muscles*
*you don't want to know*

Ah, so here's somthing- Alex is about done with his tubes. Yup, he was a little run down last week with a fever. So, fearing swine flu might make his arms fall off, we (and by we I mean Barbie... I love you honey=) ) took Alex to the doctor. Well, lo and behold, he had a double ear infection(no swine flu). And the doc, using a doctor tool(again, I wasn't there) removed one of his tubes. I guess it had been loitering around his ear canal.

According to Barbie, it looked like it was caked in honey.

Lets just assume, for the sake of not gagging, that it was, in fact, honey.

Anyway, the other one, I guess, was still soldiering on. However, it appeared to be clogged, perhaps with honey. So if it doesn't unclog or fall out....

Well, Alex is gonna not like it.

Happy Anniversary!!

2009-04-22T05:37:00.003-05:00

I love you!

Happy Valentines Day!

2009-02-15T18:30:00.002-05:00

This is the Valentine that Alex made for us at daycare. I love it!! They do tons of projects with the kids and for every holiday the providers find a different way to incorporate your child's hand prints into the artwork. He missed the party on Wednesday but they did send home his Valentines from the other kids. I had to buy and fill out Valentines for 17 of his classmates who are not quite 2 to not quite 3. I got the one's with lollipops since none of them can read. I wasn't expecting to have to do this until at least kindergarten!

Linda is famous

2009-02-13T06:46:00.003-05:00

Aunt Linda was on the news last night. Caught me and dad off guard(I was over at mom and dad'[s collecting Gizmo from bring dog-sat)

It's a story about how they were giving out roses with the meals on wheels program.
Anywho, here is the story with video. Linda is at the end. I thought you guys might think it's cool =)

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=100535&catid=2

Sick of Being Sick

2009-02-11T19:45:00.010-05:00

Sorry for the long delay, but we literally have been sick for the last month so here is our catch up. Note that most of the pics of Alex are in his pj's. I think we wore pj's more than regular clothes in January! Alex is now 21 months old and had his 18 month well child check on Jan. 9th. We're a little behind on the Dr's appointments due to all of his ear problems last year. There were a couple of times that he had a fever and couldn't get shots. He weighs about 25 pounds (just under 50th percentile) and is almost 3 feet tall (just over 50th pct). I don't have an accurate weight because in order to weigh him, I had to take his shoes off and he is very particular about his shoes. If he can see them, they must be on his feet. He was mad and wouldn't stand or sit on the scale long enough for it to settle on one number. The rest of the exam was done with him holding a shoe under each arm until it was time to put them back on. He is stubborn!

The following Monday, Alex was hit with the nasty stomach bug that had been making its rounds through the daycare. Poor kid, I found him covered in vomit and diarrhea and had to put him right in the tub. We stayed home, he slept a lot and needed 2 more baths before the day was over. He seemed much better by evening and even went back to daycare Tuesday. The charming thing about this stomach bug is that it keeps coming back. The daycare called around 11am on Thursday to say that I had to get Alex as he had blown through his entire outfit. When I picked him up I learned that he couldn't come back the next day either. The child is supposed to be symptom free for 24 hours before returning to daycare and they had a list of 7 kids that were banned for Friday.

Jason and I both caught the bug over the weekend, but everyone was fine again by Monday to go to work and daycare. The next few days were quiet and every one seemed to be getting better. But by last Sunday I was feeling sick again and had to stay home Monday. Luckily my wonderful sister was on vacation and she took Alex for the day. It sounds like they had a great time. He played with the cats and dogs and went to my cousins basketball game that afternoon. She said he had a blast at the game. He wanted to sit next to her, not in her lap, on the bleachers and he cheered the whole time. He is such a sports nut!

We visited with the Theriault's on Super Bowl weekend and celebrated Christine and Mike's birthdays. Barb and Diane had gotten a huge bunch of balloons that Ally and Alex hit around while Evan crawled around with them and tried not to get stepped on. They played with those balloons for hours and had so much fun. Jason had a cold and was feeling under the weather and I was starting to feel the cold coming on too, so we were not much fun. We went home during half time of the Super Bowl and all went to bed. Jason was feeling better by the start of the week, but the cold knocked me down. I have been coughing for almost 2 weeks and am just starting to feel better.

I thought that we had made it through all the sickness, but on Tuesday morning at 8:15am I got a call from the daycare. Alex had a case of gastric distress, was covered in diarrhea from his neck down into his shoes, could I please come get him and no, he can't come back tomorrow. The whole no symptoms for 24 hours rule again. I wanted to cry, I was so frustrated. I understand why they have the rules. They need to keep bugs from spreading and several kids were already out sick. I had only been at work for about 45 min., it takes me 55 min. to get there. I missed 4 days in January between Alex and I being sick and now I had to add another 2. Plus the daycare is closed next week for school vacation and I only have 3 of the 5 days covered so I might have to take 2 more days off. Arrrgggghhhhh!

Only one post?

2009-02-02T07:05:00.002-05:00

I know, only one post in January. It's pretty bad. But in our defense, we have been real sick all month. We had a stomach flue for a couple of weeks(yes, weeks). It was not pleasent. On top of that, we are currently battling the cold.

So hopefully Feb. will be be a better month.

Mind of my own

2009-01-02T17:35:00.016-05:00

I have had several people tell me that age 3 is actually more difficult than 2. That their kids were cute and well behaved and didn't get ornery til they hit 3. Ours is ornery now. It has been coming on for a while now. The favorite new words are "NO" and "mine". I have heard them a lot over the last few days and where did that stubbornness come from all of a sudden? Never mind, I probably don't want to hear the answer to that. Alex woke up crying twice in the night. The first time was just as Jason and I were going to bed and again at 2:30 in the morning. Each time it took over an hour to get him back down. He and I both have colds, so I'm sure the stuffy nose and itchy throat were what kept waking him. The lack of sleep probably didn't help either of our moods.My office was closed, so was daycare and Jason had to work so I was looking forward to spending the day with my boy. It started out fine. We had pancakes for breakfast, watched some Noggin and went to do a few errands. Alex fell asleep on the way to the first store, he woke up when we got there, slept to the next stop and then again on the ride home. I should have just put him down for a nap when we got home, but I thought he would sleep longer if he had lunch first. That was a big mistake. He had lunch and when I put him in the crib, he screamed and cried for half an hour. I tried to get him to lie down with me but he wouldn't stay, so I put him back in his room. He cried for another 20 minutes or so and then there was silence. I peeked into his room to see him standing with his arms on the rail of the crib cradling his head. He was asleep and every time his body would start to slump down he'd jerk back up to the railing.I tried to lay him down, but he woke right up and spent the rest of the afternoon teasing Gizmo, hitting the TV with his play hammer and taking dirty clothes out of the basket and putting them in with the clean ones in the laundry room. The last straw was when he started throwing Cheerios while looking right at me and then laughing and throwing more when I told him to stop. I took the Cheerios away and put him in the jumperoo. It is a good thing he's cute!

Merry Christmas!!! (part two)

2008-12-28T18:52:00.011-05:00

Christmas morning we finished wrapping presents and went over to Jason's parents house. Nothing like waiting 'til the last minute! Just as we were settling in to open presents, the power went out. It was very windy that morning, but CMP had things back online within a couple of hours, thank goodness. Alex was a bit overwhelmed with the presents. He would open one, play with it and not want to bother with anything else. So, I ended up opening most of the rest. He got enough pieces of musical equipment to start a band and will be holding auditions this week : ) After a quick nap, we went to Jason's dads office for the Kennedy party. Alex had a blast with all of his second cousins. Jason's dad had set up and area in the entry way for them to play in with a Dora house, train set, and several other toys. They kept going into the house and pushing it over from the inside and giggling like mad as they toppled over each other. Luckily no one got hurt!Jason got the wagon out and took Alex, Marie and Will for rides around the office, in the hallway and even took them up to the next floor in the elevator. They were a little squished, but they loved it! Marie got Alex in the gift swap and got him an electric guitar and a pair of jammies with monkeys on them. The guitar plays several different songs and lights up. He played with it in the car Christmas night and had the light up part right over his eyes. He was mesmerized.After that party, we went to my dad's house for the final celebration, thank goodness. While the grown ups visited, Alex played with all of my cousins kids. He really likes little babies so long as I don't hold them. He kept following Tucker around wanting to hug him, but just kept flattening him into the floor. We need to work on being gentle.

Merry Christmas!!! (part one)

2008-12-26T17:35:00.011-05:00

We started our holiday celebrations last Saturday at my aunt and uncle's house in Turner. Jason gave Alex a candy cane on the way, it made for a very cute picture, but a big mess. Alex and my cousin's little girl, Autumn, played with the train under the tree and then chased balloons around the living room. They had so much fun together. After Alex opened his first present, he wasn't interested in anything else. He got a dog shaped xylophone/piano from his great Grammie and loved it. He jumped impatiently while we tried desperately to get it out of the packaging. I don't know what the toy manufacturers were thinking, but those toys are hard to get to. Just when you think that you have it free, there is another set of wires. One toy was even screwed to the packaging! After we left my aunt and uncles house we went to my brother and sisters house to have Christmas with my mom. We were supposed to do it Sunday at our house, but because of the storm we decided to move up the party. My mom got Alex a tool box that unfolds to a tool bench, the boys loved it. We did it early because my mom and her husband, John, left for New Zealand on Christmas Eve.

Our next party was Christmas Eve at Jason's aunt and uncles house in Raymond. They have a beautiful place in the woods with lots of antiques from around the world. I was afraid that Alex would break something, luckily he didn't. He had a great time playing with Jason's cousins little boy. Garek loves hockey and Alex loves any sport that involves balls and they invented a new game. They were both on the treadmill with ping pong paddles. I couldn't quite make out the rules, but it involved shoving the balls under the treadmill, asking someone to retrieve them and then pushing them back under all while laughing hysterically. I have no idea, but they were cute! I wish I'd had my camera.

Awesomeness

2008-12-09T21:56:00.005-05:00

"When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story"

-Barney Stinson

So the job is going awesome. I mean beyond awesome. At other jobs, I would try to be awesome, but I felt like I was fighting the tide. Here, well, it's just awesome.

Well, here's what I mean: They areally have me write sql stuff, my boss is making me feeling like an important member of the team, and everyone is generally happy to see me.

Awesome.

Hell, I even have a name plate:

And a Coffee mug.

Life is good.

Thanksgiving is tiring!

2008-11-29T17:47:00.005-05:00

To get ready for Thanksgiving we got Alex a real hair cut. The first cut was just a trim around the edges, all he would stand for. That was fine but his hair was getting really long. I took him to Super Cuts, put him in the chair and had it done. He hated it. He cried, yelled and tried with all his might to get that darn cape off. The stylist did a really good job for what she had to work with. As soon as the cape came off and he was out of the chair, he was fine. He grabbed his lollipop, waved and even said, "Bye!" He looks sooo much older!We started our Thanksgiving festivities with the Kennedy's last weekend. Barb, Dick, Jason, Alex, Gizmo, Zoe and I piled into the car and made our way down to Foxboro. We had to stop on the way for lunch at the famous Kelly's roast beef in Boston. It was excellent as always and Giz and Zoe were very happy that they got to share a hamburger.

Once we were settled in after the long ride, Alex and I went swimming in the hotel pool. He loved it! I think he thought he could swim by himself, he kept trying to jump out of my arms. But as soon as he got water up over his face he would semi panic and throw his arms around my neck. Then I made the mistake of laughing the first time he splashed water in my face, it became a game. I don't believe I have ever had so much pool water in my eyes!

We had been up in our room playing before dinner when I realized Alex needed to be changed. I don't know if his stomach was upset or the diaper completely failed (we had accidentally bought a different brand, and they didn't fit well) needless to say, I had to strip him down and wash out one shoe. After dinner, we set off for Wal-mart in search of a pair of shoes since I had only brought the one pair. We also got a cute outfit for the Thanksgiving dinner the next day. It was a little small so we borrowed a sweater from Evan. Alex looked pretty cute!The day before Thanksgiving I got a call from daycare to report an incident. Alex was ok, but he had been having an "emotional" morning. He had been very clingy, teary and whiny. To top it off he had run across the room and tripped, catapulting him face first into the table. He had hit just under his eye on the top of his cheekbone and now had a swollen, black eye. They iced it, but it was still pretty swollen when I picked him up. It looks much better now, no swelling and it starting to turn that wonderful shade of yellowy green.On the actual Thanksgiving day we started at Barb and Dick's house and had a lovely dinner with the crowd there. Then went on to my dad's house where we visited for a couple of hours and played with the kids there. Alex was chasing my cousins little boy around and he stopped to give me a quick hug. Devin, who is 3, looked at me and said, "Please put him down, we playing." How could I say no to that? From there we went to my grandmothers house for sandwiches. Alex was pooped by then and slept on my cousin Jen for almost an hour. I think this picture pretty much sums up how we all felt at the end of the day.

Recession be damned

2008-11-19T10:55:00.002-05:00

I'm not how many of you know, but the insurance thing has ben slow. We wanted to ease into it, but due to my ~~unfortinate~~ dissmissal from Scientific Games, I went right into it, hoping to pick up the skills I needed on the fly.

Aw screw it. I was gonna try and tell a tale of woe and redemption, of karmic intervention, ect....

I got a new job. The end.

So Casa Del la Theriault is in party mode.

At the Playground

2008-11-07T22:59:00.005-05:00

This week we made the most of the warm weather and took Alex to Pettingill Park, just a few streets over from our house. He loved it! He really liked climbing the stairs to the slide but when he got to the platform on the top, he didn't like his options for getting down. It took several attempts to get him to go down the slide, but once he got the hang of it, he couldn't get up there fast enough.While he looks happy in this picture, Alex was ready to get out of the swing just a few seconds later. He did think it was funny when Jason and I went on the "big kid" swings and wanted to get on with us.
He giggled the entire time he was on the see-saw, but he kept trying to get off when his side was up. Luckily there were no injuries!

What a difference a year makes

2008-11-02T20:37:00.006-05:00

Last year Alex was Tigger for Halloween, well for about 20 minutes. He was at the start of his first ear infection and wasn't in the mood for much fun. This year he was the BatBoy. We didn't do any real trick or treating just visiting with family but he still collected quite a few goodies. I think he liked it : )

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you....

2008-10-30T20:53:00.005-05:00

I'm throwing a rock through your window, happy birthday to you!

Ok, maybe not MY window

Yeah, kinda sucks. But C'est la vie. And hey, I think this is my first post since we moved back to blogger.

Happy Birthday!!!

2008-10-30T20:33:00.003-05:00

Today is Jason's birthday. He is a wonderful, loving, caring, awesome husband and father. I love you and am so lucky that I found you!!

My New Favorite Picture of Alex

2008-10-26T19:46:00.003-05:00

As Ming Ming would say, "This is Serwious!"

Update:Allergy

2008-10-23T19:43:00.005-05:00

Alex is back to his old self, no more hives! He hasn't broken out since last Friday and we stopped the Benadryl on Sunday morning. Then again he hasn't been around any farm animals and there have been at least 2 really good frosts since Columbus day to kill any molds, fungi or spores that may have caused the reaction. I guess we'll have to wait til next fall or a trip to the farm to find out.