The Seminaras: October 2016

In the past month Brady has had at least two known viruses that have left him with a persistent cough and wheezing. Since he had RSV twice as an infant, and since he is prone to respiratory viruses, Mom took him to the doctor to have him checked for asthma. Both Mom and Uncle E (and possibly others) have asthmatic tendencies when the seasons change. Thankfully neither of us have full blown asthma or have to use an inhaler on any regular basis. The pediatrician measured Brady's oxygen (100%), blood pressure, and listened to his breathing and cough. Then he did an inhaler treatment with QVAR (beclomethasone diproprionate steriod) - 2 puffs with 5 deep breathes each. The pediatrician listened again and thought that helped with some of the junk in his chest. We will repeat this breathing treatment 2x/day for 3 weeks then go back for a follow up. If this seems to help it will be another tool to manage Brady's breathing. He will also take it in lieu of the nebulizer at the onset of a cold. If he gets in trouble and needs a rescue we would switch to an albuterol inhaler. Hopefully this isn't something we'll need to use often, but will provide Brady some relief when the seasons change and germs start making the rounds at school. It's also much quicker to administer and provide relief than those lengthy nebulizer treatments. Since we were at the pediatricians Brady also got his flu shot. He cried a little but was happy to get some free stickers for being a good patient.

Practicing at the Pediatricians

After a fairly dry summer we got some late season rain which greened up the grass and the trees and the temperatures stayed fairly warm. Mom and Dad took another trip north to get in some hiking while the boys got to spend the weekend with the grandparents. We're so fortunate to have some of the best hiking only a short 2hr drive away and the grandparents local and willing. For this trip we stayed north of Franconia and hiked Mt Willard which looks down over Crawford Notch. It was a warm and beautiful day for a view. The trail was short and steep, a good 3.2 mi round trip, that took us ~3hrs with time enjoying the view. The next day we hiked Kearsarge North which is a much more challenging hike. The upper 1/3 of the mountain is sheer granite so very unforgiving on the legs. At the top we were rewarded with 360 degree views of the white mountains and western Maine from atop the fire tower. It was another warm clear day. This hike is 5.8 mi roundtrip and took us ~6.5hrs. It was great to get in some late season hiking taking advantage of the Indian summer before the temperatures begin to drop. And a great excuse to take Mom's new convertible on some fun roads, including a drive up the Mt Washington auto road.

As summer draws to a close and the temperatures begin to drop the trees begin to change and we start adding layers. This week we took advantage of a nice day and drove up over the Kanc to see the foliage. Pictures just cannot do justice to nature's beauty. It was a surprisingly warm day and the views were gorgeous. After a front went through over the weekend, we took the boys on Columbus Day to pick out their pumpkins. We went to the same place as last year, Parlee Farms in Tyngsboro, and enjoyed a morning on the farm. The boys ate apple cider donuts, picked pumpkins, fed farm animals, and ran the hay maze.

The boys continue to grow up too fast. Parker has begun his transition to using the big potty. At first we got him a little potty to practice. He would stand over it and make pee sounds but only a handful of times did he actually pee in it. This past week he started using the little seat on the big potty and peed once. He will sit there before his bath, with his potty book, and make pee sounds. We have noticed that Parker has been hit or miss again with eating, preferring hot milk or cheese sticks to any real food. Turns out his bottom two back molars are coming in! Looked last night and they still have not broken the skin. Also couldn't see anything happening on the top. Poor Parker, glaciers move faster than his teeth coming in.

Brady has been making leaps and bounds growing up. If we haven't mentioned it before he has gone all summer without a diaper overnight. Most nights he doesn't wet the bed, only on great occasion. We are so proud of him. He has also started recently using the "pedal bike" in lieu of the balance bike and will bike around the circle in the front of the house. His pedal bike has training wheels. This weekend Daddy took them off so Brady could practice pedaling and balancing on the grass out back, then put the training wheels back on but at a higher setting. He's also taken Brady on the bike trail with his pedal bike, Brady's getting to be such a big kid! If that wasn't enough, he can now spell words and gets his letters 99% accurate. When we read books at night he will spell out the title on the cover. We've also begun sounding out words as he starts learning to read. Seriously, reading already, where has our baby Brady gone??? It is so fun to see his little mind growing and learning every day. Speaking of every day, when we drop him off at school he has a question in the classroom he has to answer and write out the word. An example - what is your favorite sport? He chose soccer then writes it and his name on the page. Most times he writes the word and not his name but we encourage the practice and try to help him overcome his frustration. It's all part of growing up. One thing we are working on is trying to get him to stop licking things. Yes, it's gross. He licks his brother's head, the lid of an applesauce, the table surface, etc. Can't seem to keep his tongue in his mouth, but we're working on it. Is this a normal boy thing?

Happy Fall everyone!!!