41 Hours in Vegas

Right after Christmas this past year, my old roommate Lindsay shared the news that she was getting married, and asked if Tyler could serve as her ringbearer. My first reaction was, "What? No way! Girls' trip to Vegas!" Then the mother side of me kicked in and I realized what an honor it would be to have Tyler be a part of her wedding. Good thing, because there's no sense having a girls' trip to Vegas while pregnant.

Many months have gone by. In May, we spoke to Tyler's dance teacher to see how she got him to behave so well during his dance recital, so we could use her techniques to prepare him for the wedding. Her answer was, "Just tell him that regardless of his emotions, he needs to focus on his body and what his body needs to do. If he wants to cry he can cry, but he needs to stand straight and look this direction, and move his right foot. Keep telling him what he needs to make his body do." That advice came in handy.

We ordered the official attire from Amazon, a grey suit, including vest, pants, jacket, tie, and a white dress shirt. When we had Tyler try it on, he was okay with it until we put the tie on, and then when I tried to take a picture to send to Lindz, he had a meltdown. Hmmm. Well, it was pretty hot in his bedroom. We chalked it up to heat.

We showed Tyler pictures of a few of the more economical hotels (casinos) in close proximity to the wedding venue. Lindz was staying at New York, New York, but given we would be flying directly to the real New York, New York from Vegas, and given that locale isn't particularly kid-friendly, we gave Tyler the option to stay elsewhere. He picked the castle. Excalibur. Awesome - I think it was the absolute cheapest casino in that location. Who wouldn't want to stay in a castle? Based on reviews, I upgraded to the remodeled - "contemporary tower rooms." I didn't request any particular view or floor, just made sure to get an updated room because they supposedly would not reek of tobacco. Well worth the upgrade, and even with the upgrade, was still one of the cheapest rooms on the strip!

So with me at 33 weeks and 6 days pregnant, we flew to Las Vegas. Quick, easy flight. 

We would be in Las Vegas for less than 48 hours. 41, to be exact. Just before take-off, I tried to play a last prank on the bride by sending this photo of Tyler from a face plant one week prior.

Your ring bearer, in all his beauty. You can fix this, right?

 — with Lindsay Peters and Tyson Keith.

She didn't fall for it. D'oh! 

It felt so strange to be flying to Vegas while still sober. Normally, a trip to Vegas warrants drinks even before the flight, or at least a Bloody Mary on the plane! Tyson didn't drink either. The realization that we wouldn't be gambling - Tyler wouldn't be allowed on the floor - set in. And how much fun could I possibly be should a bachelorette party be in the works?

We landed at 11:25am. Funny enough, on the plane, we ran into Rigel and Stephanie, also headed to the wedding. (Rigel is one of the people with whom I used to go paintballing, scuba diving, on trips to beach, etc.) As soon as we got into a cab, we checked in with Lindsay, who informed us we did not have a rehearsal to attend, and dinner was scheduled for 6pm. 5.5 hours of free time? SWEET!

(Google Images)

We booked it to the hotel, dropped our bags off in storage, ran interference against the timeshare vultures, bought tickets to Excalibur's "Tournament of the Kings" show, then headed to the Shark Reef Exhibit at Mandalay Bay. Tyler loved riding the tram, and was having so much fun at the exhibit that he decided to go through it twice. He touched a stingray, loved the jellyfish tank, and of course, was so excited to see the sharks. 

We returned to the hotel for Tyler to take a nap so he could make it politely through dinner and stay awake for the show. We woke him up at 5:30 and made it to dinner by 6:10pm - walking across the bridge to New York, New York, then crossing the bridge to MGM, and walking all the way through that casino to find the restaurant, Emeril's Seafood. I was excited for Tyson to get to eat good seafood, something we don't get in Tucson. 

(Photo by Lindz)

Lindsay introduced herself to Tyler and did a great job be-friending him. Sarah, the flower girl, daughter of Lisa (Lindsay's sister, and my former co-worker from my American Lung Association days) and Gene (my former running partner from my pre-Tyler days) was interested in playing video games with Tyler, so she sat with us for dinner, sitting between Rigel and Tyson, with Gene often dropping by. It also happened to be Gene's birthday. When the server brought Gene a dessert with a lit candle on top, Gene surprised everyone by wrapping his arms around the server's waist and giving him a hug. The next time the server dropped off a drink for Gene, he stayed more than arms length away and dashed off before he could get touched again. He was also picking food off of Rigel's plate when Rigel wasn't looking. Hilarious. It was great to see Lindsay's mom, stepdad, dad, and sister again, and to briefly meet Brett's friends. At 7:45 we dashed back to Excalibur for Tournament of the Kings - doors opened at 8pm and the show started at 8:30.

We were seated in the back row since we weren't partaking in the dinner. Good call - we saved $50 and the dinner looked unappetizing anyway. Tyler's seen a joust before, at the Renaissance Festival, but this show included audience participation and pyrotechnics. We sat in the Russia section, cheered for the Russian knight, who was a strong night, but not a very good sport, kicking his enemies when they were down and the like. But he did help save the day. So we kept cheering for him, but periodically would hear Tyler exclaim, "Ooh, that's not very nice!" I don't think I've ever seen Tyler so enthralled, so happy. 

We got back to our room a little after 10pm and got Tyler to fall asleep by 10:30. We woke up at 7am and made it to MGM for a breakfast buffet by 7:30. We got back to Excalibur by 8:15 and heard from Lindsay that we needed to be at the Aria Wedding Chapel by 1:30pm. Alright, 5 more hours of free time! We quickly dressed for the swimming pool. At one point, while Tyson and I were dressing/brushing teeth in the bathroom, I overheard Tyler talking. It sounded like an imaginary phone conversation, like he was playing with my phone. I heard him say, "Then we're going to the big pool, it has a water slide!" I came out of the bathroom and discovered him holding the hotel phone, and heard him say, "My mommy and my daddy? They're just getting dressed." I asked, "Tyler, are you talking to a real person, or are you pretending?" "I'm talking to a lady. Bye!" And he hung up the phone. I asked him not to make any more calls, and let Tyson know Tyler had just called someone. Two minutes later, we heard a loud knock on our door. I cautiously opened the door and the first thing I saw was a gold, star-shaped badge. Hotel security! Two officers! Turned out, he had called the dispatch number, and they didn't believe him when he told them we were there. They thought we'd left him all alone in the room! I texted this incident to the bride, she said it was the first thing to make her laugh all day. 

We got to the pool a little before 9am. The water slide pool didn't open until 10. We thought we'd just stay for an hour, but decided to stay longer in case Tyler would be allowed to go down the slide.  Sure enough, the wait was worth it, the lifeguard permitted one of us to be in the water at the bottom of the slide to help Tyler if he got too tired to swim to the side. Tyson quickly figured out that sending Tyler down the slide face first, instead of feet first, actually was better for him - this allowed him to enter the water in the correct position for swimming, instead of having to change direction in a current. Tyler must have gone down that slide 30 times. He was so happy! At 10:45, we told him he could go down it 5 more times. He then proved to us that he really does understand math, including subtraction - after each turn, he would tell me what number of turn he was about to take, and how many turns he had left. So cool! 

We went back to our room, greeting our favorite security guard along the way, and got Tyler down for a nap by 11:30. We got ready for the wedding, the woke Tyler up at 12:30 to get him ready. Even though the hotel room was cool, he flipped out about wearing the suit. We didn't even try to make him wear the tie, and hadn't put on the vest or jacket yet. He was just upset about the white dress shirt, pants, and shoes. Brutal. Although our intent was to leave the hotel by 12:45, we didn't get out until 1:15. The cab driver then said he didn't know where the Aria chapel was, and wanted to drop us off at the main entrance.  We'd been warned against this. I discovered I didn't have any phone numbers other than the bride's in my phone. Fortunately, when I called, her sister answered, and gave us directions to the chapel entrance.

Tyler still wasn't happy when we entered the bridal suite. I was able to coax him into his vest and jacket, Lindsay agreed with skipping the tie, but Tyler refused to take a picture with her. He likes pool, and I heard there was a pool table in the groom's suite, so I sent him there to be with Tyson. The groom tried to rope me into pinning on the boutenierres. I couldn't figure it out - with Tyler crying and clinging to me, and me being awkward anyway, but I did track down an employee who agreed to help.  I returned to the bridal suite, then after a few minutes, went to sit in the chapel.

Tyson soon joined me, and assured me Tyler was doing okay. A few minutes later, Tyler and Sarah walked down the aisle. When Tyler saw us, he tried to sit down with us, and Tyson had to coax him to continue towards the front. Sarah went and sat with her mom right away, so Tyler was left standing up there with the minister and the groom, with a look of sheer terror on his face. The expression soon changed to one of utter disgust. Akin to my nephew Cole's face when he realizes he is eating marmalade.  

(Photo by Lisa)

The beautiful bride soon walked down the aisle, and faced the groom. Tyler stood at a funny angle, continuing to make his discontent known via his facial expressions. Eventually, however, he relaxed enough to start playing with the rings, making them sparkle in the light. The ceremony was beautiful, full of emotion and nervousness, and was soon over, allowing Tyler to escape. Then he learned that he had to rejoin the party for photographs. Brutal. He started off crying, but made it through. 

After photos, we helped him change into black jeans and a black plaid shirt.  Instantly his mood improved. Following the directions of the casino staff, we made our way towards the reception via taxi,feeling a little concerned since neither the concierge nor the taxi driver was familiar with the restaurant.  At the mall, we found no listing on the kiosks for the restaurant. Eventually, we asked a security guard, who said he "thought" it was through the Neiman Marcus store. We made our way to and through that store, and found familiar faces - Brett's friends, standing in front of double doors. Success!!! Except, they informed us, the restaurant was closed. Just then, Lindsay called me, sounding exhausted. She let me know the wedding coordinator made a mistake, and that the reception was set up at the wrong venue. We needed to go to the same restaurant, but in Summerlin, just outside of Vegas. And could I try to help get the word out to other guests? 

Heartbroken for her, we waited a few minutes, trying to talk the people around us into splitting cabs to get there. The guys were going, no problem. The next cab driver was uncertain about where we were going, but eventually we found the venue. Hooray! And there were guests there! Hooray! and the bride and groom and her mom.  We met some great people and had a blast. Meanwhile, the wedding coordinator eventually came through on return transportation, arranging a party bus to take us all back to New York, New York. We are the best parents ever. To think, we took Tyler to his first beer festival at 5 months of age, and by 4 1/2, took him on his first party bus, complete with a dancing pole!

By the time we got back to New York, New York, we had less than 7 hours until we had to be at the aiport. We did the responsible thing and took Tyler back to our room, Tyson hunted down dinner for us while I got Tyler ready for bed. Tyler ate dinner in bed while we packed, and we slept from 11:30pm until 3:30am, waking Tyler up at 3:45, and leaving the hotel by 4am to catch a 6am flight to New York.

We had such an awesome time in Vegas! Who knew Vegas could be that much fun for a four year old child, an exhausted dad, and a pregnant mom!

From Goldfish To Jellyfish

I used to be a swim instructor, back in the day. I was trained by the Red Cross, and enjoyed how easy it was to teach a group of kids to swim in just 10 half-hour lessons. I remember the first group of swimmers,  aged 3-5, who I'd taught to kick, taught to stroke, then had them put it together, and holy crap! It worked! They made it across the pool! I continued teaching both group and private lessons, including working with an older girl (8, maybe 10?) who'd had a scary experience in the water. Her first lesson was just getting her toes wet and showing her that it didn't hurt. Her final lesson was learning to dive in 9 feet of water. Such an awesome experience.

I'd noticed with my nieces and nephews that I wasn't very effective at teaching them to swim. So it was no surprise to me that I wasn't effective with Tyler either. For a couple of summers, we put him in the lessons at the YMCA, and were frustrated at the lack of progress. Too many kids, too close to naptime, and pretty abysmal instructors for the most part. Tyler was able to get in and out of the water, and tolerated submerging so long as it was on his terms. That's it. That's all he learned after three seasons of lessons.

This spring, Tyson's co-worker told him that "DeMont's expensive, but they'll get the job done." So in April, Tyler started lessons there. This is a small, indoor pool. It's like a swim factory for kids. It's the most efficient thing I've seen! A long narrow hallway greets you, then you go through more double doors to access the front desk. The front desk staff give Tyler a color-coded bracelet, then we go sit in the observation area and read children's books about ocean creatures until it's time for his lesson. (Side note - I am so grateful to Tyson for helping me with time management skills! Getting to places with time to relax is fantastic.) About 2 minutes to the hour, the people in the front two rows jump out of their chairs and push past each other to get to the showers and dressing rooms. That's when we send Tyler to join the line by the entrance door. The kids in the water exit the pool through an exit door that leads to the showers and dressing room. The kids in line enter through the entry door, which is designed to prevent children from opening it, inside or out. Once they're in, they can't escape! The deck manager quickly sorts the kids according to their bracelet color, sending them to areas 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. There's also a small pool for the parent/infant classes, that's the only reason parents enter the pool area. Once, at Tyler's second lesson, he didn't want to enter the pool area, and was crying up a storm,  and the deck manager told me, "Don't worry, we do this all the time. I just need you to hand him to me, so I'm not pulling him off of you." "And then you want me to leave, right?" "Yeah, just go back out there and try to look happy." No problem. Sure enough, his instructor quickly got him to laugh by putting toys on her head, and he had a successful lesson. No tears since. The deck manager observes the different areas of the pool, checking off the skills as the kids complete them. He or she periodically comes out to the observation room to talk to parents about their kids' progress. Then, about 2 minutes before the lesson ends, the parents bolt from the chairs to line up in the shower/dressing room area. Which is silly, because the kids may or may not line up in an order that will facilitate the parents' goal of getting dressed quickly. Especially if they've just received a ribbon for completing a new skill or class. At any rate, the kids line up by the exit door, so they head straight to the showers and dressing rooms, keeping the rest of the facility pretty dry, while the new kids are lined up at the entrance door. No traffic jams, no kids wiping out on wet floors. Some parents ignore the plaques on the wall that say, "Please do not reserve dressing rooms." Scarcity of resources can bring out the worst in people. But lately, people have been pretty neighborly. Nobody uses shampoo or soap, kids just rinse off and get dressed. The culture of efficiency is prevalent in this place.

Tyler spent his first two lessons in Area 1 with Sarah, for the Tadpole class, with a red bracelet. Then he graduated to Goldfish. Area 2.  A grey bracelet. With Alec. And there he stayed, from April until August. I was bummed when he didn't pass the class at the end of May, because his goal was to use the water slide at the YMCA pool, and he hadn't yet learned the skills to swim out of the water slide landing area. At the end of June, I was slightly sadder. At the end of July, I was frustrated to the point of tears. How could it be that my child, MY child, was making such slow progress at swimming??? I tried to remind myself - "He's getting only 30 minutes a week. 4 times a month. I had those kids for 30 minutes a day, two weeks in a row." One day I said to Tyson, "You know, I swam my first race when I was four and a half. 25 yards. I finished last but I finished. Tyler's almost four and a half and he can't even swim three feet!"

I began to dread Saturday mornings. The difference between DeMont's strategy and the Red Cross strategy is that the Red Cross is more focused on teaching kids to swim, and if they don't get one skill, they can learn other skills. Can't float yet? Still teach the kid to kick and stroke. Whereas at DeMont, the levels are broken down in such a way that if the kid isn't drown-resistant yet, they don't learn to kick and stroke.

Tyler's specific challenge was diving (belly flopping) into the pool, perform a front float, then flip to his back and perform a back float without panicking. Excellent drown-proofing skill, clearly meant to simulate a kid falling in and knowing how to survive. But he would either jump in feet first, and then not be able to get himself into a horizontal position, or he would lift his head, causing his feet to sink, panic, and be unable to attain a back float position. He was goofing off quite a bit during the lessons, and we could see the teacher becoming frustrated, yet we couldn't intervene. So Tyson gave him a good pep talk one day, about listening to the instructor, working hard, doing the skill and earning a ribbon. Tyler worked hard that lesson, made a lot of progress, but exited the pool crying. We asked what was wrong. "I'm in trouble!" "Why are you in trouble?" "I didn't get a ribbon!" Oops. Clearly we needed to calibrate our pep talks - it was not our intention for him to be so hard on himself!

We continued with the pep talks each week just prior to the lesson. Finally one day, we saw the deck manager really watching him, and making the three sign with her fingers - she wanted Tyler to repeat the skill three more times. We held our breath, He'd done it perfectly the first time. He looked at us, and we gave him the thumbs up. He began splashing water. When his turn came up again, he lifted his head too soon again. They had him repeat the skill several times, and each time he lifted his head too soon and couldn't attain the floating position. The deck manager came out and spoke to us - "He's close. He's really close. He just needs to be consistent, and he doesn't trust it yet." I admitted to Tyson, "I had no idea I'd be such a soccer mom about this." But I have hope that it's just specific to swimming. Is it because I see it as an essential survival skill? Because I used to teach it? Because I want him to join me in scuba diving one day? Because I love the beach so much and want him to love it too? I think it's a combination of all of these, and I have hope that the survival skill factor is the main one. Our dream is to own a house with a backyard pool, so it seems more essential than ever.

At any rate, the following week, we again gave Tyler a pep talk. He focused. He demonstrated the skill flawlessly, three times in a row. They even made it a little harder for him, having him in a prone float, flip to his back, back to his stomach, and to his back yet again. He worked hard, did a great job, used his stomach and leg muscles, and proudly accepted his ribbon. Seeing the smile on his face was priceless.

Last Sunday he started his first lesson as a Jellyfish. Area 3. Orange bracelet. With Justin. He was  so proud of his orange bracelet. Last Sunday, at his very first Jellyfish lesson, we saw him learn the arm movements for the front crawl. Then the arm strokes for elementary back stroke. Then kicking with a kickboard, flutterkick on his front and then on his back. Finally, we saw him learn dolphin kick. Dolphin kick??? So soon??? How exciting! (And why not? Teach the kids before they lose their flexibility in their hips/become too modest to move their butts up and down.) They had the kids wear goggles. Knowing sharing goggles can lead to eye infections, I told Tyson, "We need to get him his own pair." The optician agreed. Tyler was so happy to learn he would get a pair of goggles of his own by the next lesson.

Today, we asked Tyler if he'd like to go to the big pool. He was excited to go. He was excited to wear his new goggles.We played with him, including having him dive for a dive ring, and tried to get him to practice the fall in/front float/back float skill. He refused. "I just want to play." Tyson turned his back to Tyler, facing me. And Tyler swam away. Front crawl. Seriously. Alternating arms, flutter kick, all combined. Tyson got to see it, too. Spontaneously, Tyler swam four or five feet, all by himself, with no prompting from us.

Tomorrow will be lesson number two in the Jellyfish class. Monday is Labor Day, the last day the water slide will be open. I don't know if he'll be a strong enough swimmer to go down the slide by then. But he sure is close. And happy. And proud. So am I.

Pre-K!

A picture of a picture...

We learned Tyler would be moving into Pre-Kindergarten a few weeks ago. When we talked to him about it, he initially expressed sadness, but eventually showed pride in moving forward. In the late afternoons, if his room was over capacity for the staff/student ratio, he would be sent to the Pre-K class, and when his original class size was small enough, he would be invited to return. He usually chose to stay with the bigger kids. Then last week, he and his classmates took turns spending the day with the Pre-K class. So by Monday, he was perfectly comfortable with moving on to his next adventure. This is Tyler we're talking about here. Tyler - Slow-to-Warm-Up- Keith. Perfectly comfortable moving up. Great job, CMDS staff!

We've been working on increasing Tyler's responsibility and independence at home. He prefers to have one of us dress him, feed him, get him milk or water, rather than doing these things himself. My mother tells me the apple doesn't fall far from the tree on that. Anticipating GodotDeuce's arrival in a few months, I wanted move Tyler along on self-reliance and indepence. He wasn't going for it. Fortunately, we discovered a great opportunity to turn things around.

The only TV Tyler watches is movies or shows on Netflixx, or DVDs, so he isn't exposed to advertising very often. As a result, he doesn't ask for much in terms of new toys or candy or breakfast cereals...so I was surprised the day he asked for a "Lightening McQueen Mac Truck." After extensive questioning in the car ride home from school, I discovered his favorite friend from school had brought one of these trucks in to Show and Tell, and that was how Tyler decided he wanted one. He never asks for anything. It occurred to me that we could set him up to "earn" it by doing chores. We often discuss that while he goes to school, Tyson and I go to work to earn money to pay for our house, car, food, etc. So I asked if  he would like to do chores to earn this toy, or if he would rather wait until Christmas to see if Santa would bring it. After discussing the concept of chores, he chose to earn it. Buy-in on chores - accomplished!

I asked Tyler to share this with Tyson when we got home. Tyson's thought was "That's a good idea!" Tyson immediately looked up Lightening McQueen Mac Trucks on the computer, showed some to Tyler, to get an idea of what kind of toy Tyler was looking for. It was expensive. We quickly figured he'd need to do chores for a fairly long period of time to earn it. This would NOT be a toy for a one-week experiment. One month would do. Next was picking the chores. To increase independence, we told him dressing himself by himself would be a chore, including putting his shoes on. He negotiated that he wouldn't have to tie them yet. We informed him brushing his teeth by himself would be a chore. He tried to negotiate on that too, but we held firm on that. Feeding Vader was another chore. No problem there. Cleaning up after himself - something I mindlessly do myself - became another - Tyson came up with that one. Picking up after Vader out in the yard was the biggest, newest chore of all. He liked that idea too. For that, we work on it together, and it includes wearing gloves, going on the hunt, placing the objects in a plastic bag that I carry for him, then removing gloves properly, following universal precautions, at which point I tie off the bag, then we go inside, and I show him how to navigate through the house without using his hands until we get to the sink to wash them. This kid can pass a "preventing blood-borne pathogen exposure" exam, no problem.

Tyler completed his chores for one month, talking often about his Lightening McQueen Mac Truck throughout. He sometimes tried to get out of putting on his own socks and shoes and about brushing his teeth, but would always comply when reminded of the goal. Eventually, feeding Vader became automatic instead of us having to tell him to do it. Once, without thinking, I fed Vader, and Tyler cried out, "That's MY chore!!!" As I'd go to turn out the light in his bedroom each night, he'd say, "Are you going to go do the dishes?" "Yes, Tyler." "Yeah, that's your chore. Good job." The final week of this venture, his packages from Amazon arrived each night, but he wasn't allowed to open them until that Friday night. I wish we'd taken a picture of his face when he opened them - so excited, so proud. A Lightening McQueen car fits inside the Mac Truck, and then he received an extra Mater truck too. Tyson asked him, "Which do you like better, working to earn a new toy or just getting one, like when Santa comes?" "Earning it!" Awesome.

So now the deal in Pre-K is, the kids aren't allowed to wear shoes with laces unless they are actively learning to tie their own shoes. Tyler has never wanted to wear any shoes other than Chucks, with laces. When we've tried putting him in other sneakers, he stomps. There currently is a shortage of low-tops, so he's wearing the high-tops now. We don't want to slow him down on tying shoes by putting him in velcro...So we informed him learning to tie his own shoes is one of his chores. He found a toy he wants next - a game they have at school. He also announced he wants a scooter. And so we have the incentive. I received a note from the new teacher that Tyler can't wear his Chucks to school anymore. I wrote a note back of the plan, including the motivational strategy. Sure enough, she relented. So far, he is able to make the first cross and she taught him to go "under the bridge." I can't wait to learn more tricks for how to help him learn how to tie his own shoes.

And I am so happy to have a child who takes pride in working to earn things, instead of just being given them!

As for GodotDeuce, things seem to be going well. Plenty of movement. Tyler has personnified GodotDeuce, informing me that GodotDeuce doesn't like broccoli, or telling me that GodotDeuce needs to take a nap right now. Tyler likes to tickle him or her and give hugs and kisses. (Doesn't feel good to me, but I encourage it. Figure the bonding's a good thing.) I keep catching colds and sore throats, so at a midwife's recommendation, I'm on a round of zinc and echinacea. The zinc makes me sick to my stomach, though. One week down, one to go, then I can stop taking it and hopefully will also stop catching so many colds.Otherwise, everything seems great. GodotDeuce flops around quite a bit at about 9pm, as though he or she is settling down for bedtime. There tends to be a bunch of movement again around 2 or 3am, then quiet again until I do an exercise video in the morning. He/she seems to sleep again until after lunch, then a flurry of activity again for a little while, then back to sleep until the evening routine again. I remember how I felt like I really knew Godot quite while, especially the fact that he hated it when I leaned over to use my bottom file cabinet drawer, but then when Tyler was actually born, he seemed like a little stranger I was meeting for the first time. I wonder if it will feel the same way with GodotDeuce.

Tyson started his new job at the county treasury, quickly learning lots of new things. At my job, our first overnight camp is starting tomorrow night, in which students (adults with serious mental illnesses who want to improve their health) will be bussed in from other parts of Arizona, stay in a hotel for a week, and attend our program from 8:30am til 7pm each day, returning home on Friday, and then returning to Tucson 5 weeks later for more overnight camp. Should be fun!

GodotDeuce

Tyler started asking for a sibling soon after our little friend Izzy was born. He didn't ask us, directly. But he told enough adults in his life, that it became clear it was on his mind in a variety of settings. I think our friend Brooke was the first one to tell us, that he was asking for a little sister. Izzy is her kid, so I could see how that conversation might happen. Then Ms. Teresa, Tyler's preschool teacher, the young, hip, artistic one informed me that he told HER he wanted a little sister. I can't recall who told us next, but we decided to ask Tyson periodically if he wanted a little brother or sister (as in, did he want a sibling). The answer was yes.  Sometimes he wanted a little brother, sometimes a little sister. But he never answered with a no, always yes.

So in May, we got Tyler a new book and read it together - "I'm a Big Brother Now." After we finished it, we told him he would be a big brother, after Halloween and before Thanksgiving. We went over the months of the year and the holidays before his younger brother or sister will arrive. Tyler became very quiet and very serious. He walked over to the entryway table and picked up the framed photo of him when he was five months old. He brought it back to the couch, laid down, staring at it, and wouldn't speak to us for a while.

I'd envisioned having him call the relatives to tell them the news. Instead of making it about having "a new baby", I wanted him to be excited about "becoming a big brother." But Tyler didn't go for that idea. For a couple of weeks, he didn't talk about it at all, though he did keep asking to read the Big Brother book. One night, after school, I sat on the wall while he played with a friend and the friend's baby brother. He made a game of blocking the little boy from walking more than a few steps, as he was very concerned for the little boy's safety. The three boys wandered out of site. The boys' dad went to check on them, and returned, tentatively asking, "So, Tyler said he's going to be a big brother?"

So far, this pregnancy has been much easier than the first. I was already taking Vitamin B6 before I got pregnant, so though I had plenty of nausea, I was able to keep everything down. Last time, I had to take B6  plus Unisom, this time I was able to get by with just the B6. I fell asleep too early too often, and couldn't stand to be touched other than on my extremities, so it's been hard on Tyler, but by 17 weeks I was feeling much better. Even though I weigh much less than I did when I got pregnant with Tyler, I switched to maternity pants at 17 weeks, much earlier than last time. But then, last time, I was mad at myself when I realized how much more comfortable I could have been, had I just switched earlier! I dug my maternity clothes out of the storage unit, proud of myself for saving them all these years, the money we'll save!, and put them all in the washer without even looking at them, they were so dusty. When I pulled them out of the washer and hung them to dry , I called Tyson - "Dude - was the year I was pregnant with Tyler the coldest year in the history of Tucson???" It's already triple digits here, so to realize that all of my work maternity clothes were sweaters. SWEATERS! Tyler was born at the end of March. How on earth was I wearing sweaters at the end of March? GodotDeuce is due around November 6th - not yet sweater season in Tucson!

If you're having a hard time deciding how to pronounce GodotDeuce, think Apple Juice. I was calling him or her Tippecanoe, but it seems Tyson felt that was setting the bar too low. GodotDeuce it is. We're not yet half-way through the pregnancy. And so we wait..

The Graduate!

After four long years, Tyson has earned his bachelor's degree! Not only did he complete his business degree in Management of Information Systems, while being a full time he graduated with honors, Magna Cum Laude. We are so proud!

The ceremony for the business college was held at the Tucson Convention Center. Tyson, Anne Marie, Tyler and I arrived together, and anxiously awaited the arrival of Gigima and Auntie Em. They arrived just in time, bearing balloons and gifts.

I failed to bring Tyler's LeapPad. Somehow, I thought it would be a relatively short ceremony, that he could live without it. I brought him coloring paper and crayons. He had no interest in those. I even thought he might sleep - his naptime at school is 12:30-2:30, and this ceremony started at 1pm. But no, there was no napping, at least not by Tyler. That was the longest ceremony of my life. Between playing with the balloons, climbing over people, multiple trips to the bathroom, eventual refusal to sit in the aisle, instead scooting up and down the steps, laying on the steps, then back to my lap and wacking the guy in front of us with a balloon, wow this ceremony was brutal. It reminded me of Lord of The Rings - except instead of lots of hiking through mountains, it was lots of 22 year olds giving speeches, followed by the obligatory four separate endings to ensure EVERY last thread was tied off. It was hard to relate to the speeches, and made me appreciate just how different Tyson really was from the vast majority of his classmates. There was no time for Tyson to participate in any clubs! His parents didn't pay his rent! Or do his laundry! One student walked across the stage with a toddler - I was sad we didn't know we could do that. Very different from a University of Phoenix graduation, in which students tend to be in their 30s, 40s and 50s, where the ceremony is tailored for graduates who juggled school with work and family obligations.

How was YOUR "Eller Experience"? I loved Tyson's "senior quote" - "Congratulations! The best part of your life is now over."


After the ceremony, we stopped for pictures in front of "A" Mountain. I realized Tyson took photos of me, just six years ago, with this same view. One advantage of hosting the ceremony at the TCC instead of the UofA...also, the traffic, though bad, was easier to navigate.

Somehow, those balloons survived the ceremony.So did the hat.

So proud!

We took a final family photo, then headed to Barrio for a celebratory meal.

Tyson's friend Jimmy and his sister came to Barrio as well, and joined us after their meal. We hung out for a couple of hours, then headed home for an uneventful evening.

Saturday we spent the day cleaning and preparing, and Saturday evening some friends came over - Dan, Sarah, and 4.5 of their kids, Emery and Chris and their two kids, and John and Brooke, with their two kids. When the party ended at 10, I was struck again by how different this graduation was from the typical graduation. A party ending at 10pm??? And we had beer left over??? WHAT???

And great news, Tyson got hired on at the place where he's been interning. University of Arizona Health Network - Health Plans. He is a Systems Analyst I.

Congratulations, Tyson!!! You did it! Done! We are so proud of you!

And now, onto the next chapter of our lives - Waiting for GodotDeuce.

Easter 2014

This Easter we were lucky to have both Grandma A and Grandpa spend time with us. In the morning, Grandma, Tyler, and I went to church while Tyson and Grandpa stayed at the house to keep an eye out for the Easter bunny. It was a warm day, but pleasant in the shade, and the beautiful ironwood trees in our neighbors' yards were in bloom.

Tyler had difficulty comprehending the rules of the egg hunt.

The trick is to beat Vader to the eggs.

Tyler searched valiantly for the final egg, but it was nowhere to be found. Funny, I think that happened last year too. I think Vader gets some extra protein every Easter...

Happy Easter!

Pirate Party!

Tyler had been asking for a dragon party for months, and I'd been researching dragon cakes, dragon decorations, dragon activities...Then suddenly he switched things up and started asking for a pirate party. Since I hadn't actually purchased anything, that worked out well. Long ago, I'd taken my god-daughter, Amber, to a pirate party at her classmate's house, and had enjoyed it so much, I'd always wanted to throw a pirate party myself some day. Here was my opportunity! Sweet! I was able to take an afternoon to scout out Reid Park and map out a scavenger hunt.

I attempted to make a pirate ship cake. Emery was in the midst of her comps (comprehensive exams) so wasn't able to assist. I was left to my own devices. Scary. For some reason, this year I actually had a hard time with cakes falling apart. I don't recall having this problem in the past. I stubbornly refused to give up and buy a cake from a store. Finally, Tyson reminded me that in previous years, I lined the cake pans with parchment paper. Oops. I had to rush the cake decorating as a result.

Tyler's party took place on his actual birthday this year. So his first gift of the day was something he'd need for his party.

Tyler had already outgrown his pirate costume from Halloween. He was so excited to get this one, with so many accessories!

We arrived early to the picnic site. I was relieved that Shawn came early, with his superawesome dog. I'd never met this dog before, but immediately fell in love with him. A Great Dane. Somehow, Shawn and his dog eluded the camera.

Shawn helped Tyson prep the food while I decorated. At Tyler's previous three parties, we've found that whatever time we scheduled the party, most guests arrive at least 30 minutes late, closer to an hour late. Not this year! The first guest (besides Shawn) arrived 10 minutes early! Meanwhile, Tyler had fallen asleep on the drive to Reid Park, and was still crashed out in the car, with Grandma patiently waiting for him to awaken. Fortunately the guest's dad was able to take her to the playground to play until more kids arrived.

Sure enough, most of the guests this year arrived closer to the official start time. By 11:20, we started the scavenger hunt. I used to be a pool party coordinator, and also used to run the activities for Paula's kids parties. But those were in contained environments. I found getting the kids coordinated at the park to be much more challenging. I'd go to the playground to round up kids, but newly arriving kids would follow me, and start playing on the playground, while I was leading the other kids back to the party! I resisted the temptation to ask Tyler's teacher for help - it didn't seem fair to ask her to work on her day off. I summoned my old lifeguarding voice and rallied up as many kids as I could.

The first stop on the scavenger hunt was a tree, with a box full of pirate gear. The kids got to choose from pirate bandanas, necklaces, eye patches, hats, clothes, maps, and even a couple of swords. Tyler stuck with his homemade sword from Halloween. Good call, bud.

The second clue led us to the duck pond. By this point, Emery had arrived - an ally! Between the two of us, we managed to keep the kids on task, and prevented any falls/pushes into the pond.

Deciphering the next clue took some time, and led us to a drinking fountain.

After the water fountain, the kids learned they had to walk the plank, and Noah and Ruby discovered the final clue hidden under the bridge.

You can't see it, but the kids are collecting treasure from the treasure chest - candy pearls,  candy gold doubloons, non-edible gold doubloons, and jewelry.

Meanwhile, Tyson was rocking the grill scene, with Kevin and Tiffany keeping him company.

Tyson has the public park grilling scene down. He wore disposable rubber gloves, and persuaded me to buy heavy duty cleanup wipes, just this once, for food safety purposes. Much more reliable than hoping for soap and running water, let alone warm water, in the public restrooms!

Kevin loves pirates, too. It was especially touching to see Gigima conversing with Kevin and Tiffany while voluntarily wearing a pirate bandana.

I need to remember to take a picture of the cake early, in case it gets hot out. In this case, it got hot, early, and the cake didn't hold up to the heat. But the kids still said it was cool.

With all the excitement, it was difficult to get Tyler to focus on eating food. Gigima and Auntie Paula helped out.

Tyson and I were suprised how much food we served. So many kids, so many families! It was awesome. Finally everyone had been served and Tyler had refueled, so we were able to serve the cake. By that time, it was so windy, we decided to skip the candles.

I made twice as much cake as last year, and yet it was barely enough! I think this is the difference between attending a preschool versus a daycare. With daycare, people are dropping off and picking up kids without interacting with each other. At preschool, there's more sense of community, stability. It was fun to see how well all the kids got along.

Tyler continued to have difficulty focusing on food. This time, Grandpa and cousin Christopher helped him out.

I eventually realized the parents were standing around, looking like they were ready to leave, but were expecting something else to happen. Emery explained it to me - they were waiting for Tyler to open presents. I love how kids always help the birthday boy open presents! Leo and Auggie were so proud of their gift - real tools!

Happy birthday, Tyler! We love you!!! Thank you to everyone who made this such a special day!