Hey, Professor!

Sooooo, Lincoln's wearing glasses these days.

We've had them almost two months now and he's doing great with them!  Bailey and Gerry never had vision problems, and our doctor never mentioned anything about Linc's eyes at any of his check-ups, so when we started noticing his left eye going wonky I just thought he was being silly.  

Bailey was actually the first one to notice it.  Can you see in the picture above how his left eye is kind of drifting inward towards his nose?  At first, he was only doing it once in awhile and I thought he was being his usual goofy self.  But then I started seeing it happen more frequently.  And other people noticed it, too.  So I made him an appointment with an opthalmologist that a friend recommended and off we went.

The appointment was something of a disaster.  I went in with pictures to show the doctor, a family history of vision problems, and some questions.  The doctor wouldn't even do a pupil dilation because he "didn't want to make a baby angry".  He looked at Lincoln for a few minutes and told me that what we were seeing was "nothing more than an optical illusion", that Lincoln just hadn't grown into the bridge of his nose yet, and that it only looked like his eye was crossing.  

I left that appointment with more questions than answers.  

So I called Wills Eye and got him an appointment with one of their eye doctors.  Interestingly enough, it's the same doctor that both my sister and I saw when we had vision problems, about 30 years ago (small world, huh?).  Dr. Nelson was great.  He performed a quick and painless eye exam, complete with pupil dilation, and he was quick and efficient about it.  He took his time, listened to my questions, and confirmed that I wasn't going crazy and that the other doctor was basically a quack.  Turns out Lincoln is very farsighted in both eyes and basically hasn't been able to see a damn thing for most of his little life.  So, for the forseeable future, my baby is in glasses.  And he's one damn adorable bespectacled boy.  

Day one in glasses was a little bit rough.  When we put them on him in the store, he just looked around in wonder and didn't touch them.  Once we were home, it was a different story.  He kept yanking them off and throwing them around.  Trying to keep the patch on was a complete joke.  

But by the second day, I think he realized that he could actually see when he was wearing them, and he's been great about it ever since.  He does take them off when he's angry or having a tantrum, but for the most part he keeps them on all day.  The tough part is finding a pair that he can't or won't destroy.  He prefers round frames (I think because those lenses cover more of his eye so he doesn't have to work as hard to look out of them), but the optical stores in our area aren't very "baby-friendly" so our frames options are limited.  We only get one pair a year with our insurance (technically, 2 pair because I went to America's Best and they have the "2 pair for $69" deal going, but I know we're going to need extra.  We're already down to just one pair right now because the lens keeps popping out of the other pair.

It's going really well.  And I think he's adorable in his glasses.  

I'm Back!

You guys...it's been FOREVER since I've gotten a minute to myself to update this blog. But now the kids are back in school and my daycare load is a bit lighter and I can actually think. So much has happened since I last posted that I'm not even going to try and remember everything, so here's a quick recap. 



Bailey turned 7 this past summer. She started 2nd grade last week, and is becoming her own person. She knows what she likes and what she doesn't like, has her own sense of style, and keeps me on my toes daily.

She started cheerleading this year and she loves it!  She says she wants to do it all through high school, and I'm all for it if she enjoys it.

 

 
Gerry is 4 now, and is my little hellion these days. He just started Pre-K last week and is doing well so far. {fingers crossed!}. He's got a crush on his teacher and a girlfriend in his class and I honestly don't know how I'm gonna deal as he grows up.

Right now, we're stuck in the "penis talk and fart jokes" stage and, I've got to admit, I'm not loving it. I live in a constant state of fear about what may come out of his mouth and I'm praying that this won't last much longer.

Rambunctious hell-raising aside, he's still a total sweetheart at times. He's really learned the art of giving a compliment and I often hear him telling Bailey that she's beautiful and sweet. He finished up his first season of t-ball and says he wants to play soccer next.

 Lincoln...oh, my Lincoln. He's 17 months old now and is by far the most difficult of my three kids. He's a little giant (seriously...the size of a 3 year old) and he's crazy strong and stubborn as hell. He's a little bad ass. He also wears glasses.

He's silly and funny and, oh my goodness, does he make me smile. He's definitely a handful but I wouldn't have it any other way.

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Bailey's 7th birthday party

Uncle TJ and Aunt Molly got married!

'Til next time!

Happy 4th Birthday, Gerry!

I can't believe my boy is 4 years old!  It went so fast, and I'm constantly amazed at Gerry's sense of humor and how he makes his presence known.

He's in a  phase now where "potty talk" is just hilarious.  He constantly blurts out words like "Fart!", "Toot!", "Poop!" and then cracks up afterward.  It's decidedly not my favorite time, and I'm hoping it passes quickly.

He's still all about making people smile and laugh.  Gerry's got the sweetest, goofiest personality, and he loves it when something that he does causes other people to laugh.

He's becoming more self-aware these days, and expressing himself more.  Lately, he's been wanting to "gel his hair like a rock star" (which is crazy difficult because his hair is so damn thick and I have yet to find a gel that will actually hold for more than a few minutes), and he prefers to walk around with no shirt on.  He's huge into Superheroes and Spider-Man is his favorite these days.  We had family over for cake and coffee tonight, and he asked if I could make him a Spider-Man cake.  It wasn't perfect, but I tried and he loved it.

He woke up this morning to a room full of balloons and a small present from us...superhero play-doh!  Then he got to spend the day with his daycare friends, who sang happy birthday and ate cupcakes with him.  I pretty much let him do whatever he wanted for the day (it was his birthday, after all!), and then all the grandparents and cousins came over that night to celebrate again.  He had a great day, and he was SO EXCITED to see everybody tonight!

The balloons might have been for Gerry's birthday, but they sure kept Lincoln entertained for awhile!

Gerry asked for a bowling party this year, and we've got that scheduled for Saturday.  He's crazy excited because he gets to celebrate again with all of his non-daycare friends and he gets to go bowling, which he loves.  I love, love, love that he doesn't hold back his happiness or excitement, and I can't wait to see his reaction at the party on Saturday.

I still can't believe that this boy is 4 years old already.  It's going too fast for my liking...the video below is one I made from some of my favorite pictures over the years.  :-)