Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Since I’ve last updated our blog, we’ve celebrated Sage’s first Halloween, Cyrus’ third birthday, and Sage’s first birthday. All three events were great fun for the kids, and for us. Sage also began walking around 11 months and that has really expanded her horizons and ability to have fun. She and Cyrus now tackle, chase, and dance with each other on a regular basis and it’s a lot of fun to see them play. They adore one another and are becoming great buddies!

Despite the fun of seeing the two kids grow up, our world has been a little stressed lately. Cyrus has developed some gastrointestinal problems and we’ve spent quite a bit of time at Seattle Children’s Hospital over the last few months. He had a colonoscopy two days before Thanksgiving and they found some inflammation / irritation in various places. At this point, it’s unclear what that means and we’re waiting on some tests/biopsies to come back. The best case is that he has nothing at all, and the worst case is that this he has a chronic condition. I think there is a 50/50 chance of either at this point.

Sage is walking, talking, and getting into trouble. She is a trouble maker -- we never “baby-proofed” our house with Cyrus because he was never really interested in getting into things like cabinets, trash cans, or electrical outlets. Sage, on the other hand, will probably soon be trying to dismantle the safety devices and outlet covers in order to get into more trouble. She is as cute and as cuddly as could be right now and is one happy little girl.

Mandy seems to be holding up as a stay-at-home mom despite the fact that her job is 10 times harder than mine. Now that Sage is nearly weened, Mandy has been able to get out a little more often to help her feel normal again. She takes the kids to the YMCA at least once or twice a week to get a little extra personal time. Mommy also recently applied for a Tuesday night gymnastics coaching position at the YMCA to get her out of the house a little more. Cyrus has been going to preschool for 5 hours per week since September, and I know she looks forward to those days when he’s there!

I’m doing okay balancing family time with the demands of a job with increased responsibility. It’s nice coming home and having both kids run to me and want big, long hugs... though it’s not long before I’m telling one or both of them to knock something off! Kids have made it difficult to really get into anything but work or kid stuff, but I try. Going to the gym every Friday night after they go to bed is a favorite pastime of mine. I’ve taken the business with Cyrus pretty hard because I understand what it’s like to live with a chronic condition -- I’m hopeful that he doesn’t have to do the same at the age of 3.