For Maddie

This one goes out to Maddie, Peter's special birthday buddy. First of all, congratulations on losing a tooth! That's a really cool thing! Does the tooth fairy come to your house?

You were wondering how Peter got that owie on his foot. On Christmas night he was sliding on a wood floor in his socks. A big splinter from the floor got stuck in his foot! So John tried to get it all out with a needle, but as it turns out, he only got half of it. Then last Sunday John noticed that there was still an owie there, and found more of that splinter in Peter's foot! So they got it out with another needle. Ouch! The next day the place where the splinter used to be started to get really sore and swollen, and it continued to get bigger and bigger. He had to go to the doctor to take the old skin off--he used a scalpel and scissors to cut it very carefully. Peter said it didn't hurt at all when the doctor did the surgery. It just felt a little funny. Now he has to take some medicine for 10 days to fight all the germs. He also has to wash it with special soap twice each day, and keep it covered with special bandages. What a crazy thing to happen from a simple splinter! We're so glad for a good doctor and good medicine. He is healing very well now.

We hope you are having a great week in sunny California, and that you're enjoying your new baby brother, Hayden. I bet you are a really good helper!

Happenings

Okay, it's time to emerge from the dark and actually update our blog! I was holding out for John to write the next entry, but the silent stand-off has to come to an end at some point!

So here's the latest in the Caruso house:
Baby's doing great! At last check he weighed in at 4 pounds, and my health continues to be very good. Thank you, Lord!

Peter's been fighting a crazy infection that originated from a splinter. We lovingly call it his "puss pocket." He missed school for three days, and is now on medicine to fight the infection. On Wednesday he went to the doctor and had minor surgery to remove the dead skin and drain the puss. (Sorry about the graphic description!) He thought it was really cool that the doctor used a genuine scalpel for the procedure. What a boy! Today he returned to school, and the nurse wondered if he needed to use a wheelchair? "NO WAY!" He doesn't want any extra attention at all. He's so brave (and socially aware).

The infection was nearly the size of a dime!

Clara started a new stage: "I want my Mommy! My Mommy do it!" Even at bedtime she throws an absolute fuss if John helps to brush her teeth, etc. It seems crazy, but I think she realizes that something's going to change...a baby's coming...so suddenly she's very clingy and extra-protective of her mommy. We'll see how she transitions when the baby's actually born. I'll be sure to give her lots of extra TLC. It feels so good to be loved!

Clara, the cookie decorator. Yummy!

John and I enjoyed a nice dinner with my grandparents in Lincoln last night--just the four of us. It was so fun to spend time together in conversation with no distraction, no agenda. What a treasure family is!

Sleeping or Walking?

Peter has always been our heavy sleeper, which is one reason we plan to have the baby share a room with him. We know that middle-of-the-night crying won't phase him much. One time last year he slept right through a battery change in the smoke alarm in his bedroom. We had the light on, alarm beeping, furniture moving around... and he didn't move a muscle. Funny boy!

So imagine our surprise last night when we found his door open and bed vacant. Then we noticed Clara's door was wide open and her light was on. Okay, what's with the p.m. party? You guys know it's bedtime. We thought the kids must have been having a late night pow-wow without permission, and now Peter must be hiding somewhere.

Upon further investigation we found Clara half-way sleeping in her bed and Peter was nowhere in sight. We checked all the usual hiding places...still no Peter. We asked Clara, "Why is your light on? Where's Peter?" She told us that he came in her room to get a diaper and now he's gone. What in the world? He hasn't worn diapers for years! John immediately searched the entire house, including all doors and windows, and discovered Peter fast asleep in the basement. He was sitting straight up on the couch in his favorite spot. The remote was sitting right next to him on the cushion. If you didn't notice his closed eyes, you would have thought he was watching TV. Priceless!

The creepy thing to me is how elaborate his movements were. He left his room, went into Clara's in search of something, talked to her, walked through the main floor, down the stairs, and into his final position. All without any sense of awareness! This morning I asked him if he remembered anything and he had no clue! I realize that sleepwalking is a common occurrence among young children (especially heavy sleepers), and I'm thankful for his safety in this instance. But from now on I think we'll keep a closer eye out for midnight shenanigans!

Party Time!

Peter had a great birthday celebration this year! We started the party on Saturday with a gym & swim birthday at the Kids Body Shop. Peter and 11 of his buddies (boys only, even though he wanted to invite Alexa really bad) enjoyed pirate cake, presents, swimming, and free play in the gym. What a blast!

His pirate cake. Aaaarg!

The fantastic 12. What an operation!


At first everyone in the pool grabbed a bucket or container. It was the hugest water fight ever! They did start to slow down after a while, so the pirate jumped in and took a turn at the fun. It was hilarious to see all those boys trying to sink the pirate. They were certainly persistent!

After swimming we moved into the gym. They went wild playing on the rings, trampoline, foam pit, bars, beams, etc. What a great party with great friends!

Then on Monday night we had a family party at home. Peter planned the menu: Valentino's pizza, Pringles, pop, cupcakes, and Edy's Dibs. Yummy! (By the way, you should really try Dibs. They're a great treat!)

Grandma, Grandpa, Daniel, Molly, and Micah joined us for fun and presents. At the end of the day Peter said, "I like my birthday WAY better than Christmas because I get to have all the presents!" I love the honesty of a child! He is so uninhibited and expressive at this age. What a treasure!

We are so thankful for these memories made, and especially for our precious Peter boy--6 years old!

Bon-Voyage Friends...

What happens to your imaginary friends when you outgrow them? According to Peter, they go on a 1000-year vacation on the other side of the world!

Last week we asked Peter about his beloved friends, Jogger (the 100-year old man who likes to run a lot), Kanada (specifically a girl, spelled with a “K”), Diver, and Baseball. We hadn’t heard from them in quite some time. These friends have been through thick and thin with us over the years. They had birthdays on our family calendar--we even had a birthday party for Jogger a few years ago, complete with a personalized cake and family members in attendance! (Peter realized that no one in the family had a June birthday, so why not Jogger?) In a way I really miss them. But it’s also fun to move on to new adventures now. And who knows? Maybe Clara will have a new friend soon…time will tell.

In the meantime I hope Jogger, Kanada, Diver, and Baseball don't get captured on the high seas by Peter's latest birthday buddy:

Peter's birthday pirate...aarrrrg!

A Great Day!

I (Sarah) have recently been visiting the doctor every 2 weeks to check the progress of my pregnancy. Here's a brief overview of my visit today:

Blood pressure holding steady? Yes
Protein spilling/Kidneys failing? No
Any swelling/dizziness/blurred vision? No

By Ultrasound:
Is the baby growing? Yes
Is his heartbeat strong? Yes
Is the fluid level optimal? Yes
Is the placenta working? Yes

Is there anything at all wrong or worthy of concern? NO!!!! Every time I go to a check-up I can't stop praising God for health and wellness and vitality--and a precious new son (AKA "Baby Ratatouille" according to our kids). We are so blessed!

To add to the sweetness of the day, my sister surprised me with a great phone call--I love you Jessica! (Sorry, again, for thinking that you were the Romanians at first...Wrong Number)! And then when I came home there was a package on the porch. It's the new crib sheets for the baby's bed! What a perfect way to celebrate this great day!

Those Crazy Romanians

An odd thing happened at our house last Tuesday. It started for me around two in the afternoon. I was working (kind of) when I received a call from Sarah. She was kind of freaked out and was telling me about some calls that she was getting. She told me that twice already that day, starting around noon and again at two, she received about four or five back to back calls from some man on the phone. Each call would show up differently on our caller ID, but mostly as Unknown Name and Number. She couldn’t understand what this man was saying and she said she heard another woman’s voice in the background. It seemed to her like a telemarketing office, but she wasn’t sure. She asked me what she should do. Being the good husband I am I told her she was overreacting and that if she was worried she should call the telephone company. Being the good wife she listened to what I said and called the phone company. A little while later I received another call from Sarah, saying she received more calls. She also said she contacted the phone company. They were of course extremely helpful and told her to fill out the do not call registry again, and said for $4.50 a call they could trace the calls and build a file for prosecution. I sure am glad this company boasts about their excellent customer service (off topic). We decided to wait it out and see if it continued….it did. I got home around 6 that night and just before dinner we started to get the calls again. This time I answered the phone. “Hello….Hello” no answer “Who is this?” then a reply in terrible English “Hello”. This game was repeated for a little while, and then the caller hung up. This continued for the next two of the five total calls. On the fourth and fifth call I broke out my linguistic skill on the caller. “No solicito” “Wrongo Numero”. The calls then stopped for about an hour and started up again. After the first call, I went right to Bablefish and got a few translations to try out on them. I got “Wrong Number do not call” translated in Spanish, French, German and Italian. The next four calls I busted out the Babletalk on them, and hoped they would understand. This didn’t stop it, so I used Bablefish again to threaten the caller. Did you know that Police has the same base in about every language…..call police, policia, etc… At this point I was pretty annoyed and called the phone company myself. I actually did get someone who was helpful and he took a couple of numbers I did have on caller ID and traced to country code to....Romania. Unfortunately I didn’t get the Romanian translation on the web. Later that evening, the calls came again, but this time a woman responded. Had better English than the male, but not enough to have a conversation with. Through our “conversing” she asked for her brother, or called me her brother, I’m still unsure. I told her that I am not her brother, that I don’t have a brother (kind of a lie, sorry Wes, Josh, Dan, Micah and Nate), and to stop calling or I will call policia. This was around 9 that night. I am happy to report that the Romanians are leaving us alone for now and we haven’t had any other incidents. I didn’t realize I would be so offended, or that I could be so harassed by a stalker. Not that it was ever real high on my list, but I don’t ever want to visit Romania.