I gave my 2.5yr old our Nikon CoolPix L18 for the weekend to see what would happen. In the end the camera is probably toast but the pics he took made it worth it.
Things I learned:
- The kid is a natural at taking a picture of himself
- He has a knack for this. He started setting up his own shots by placing toys in certain spots to get a picture
- Retractable lens is apparently crack. on-off-on-off-of-off
- He picks up on technology WAY faster than I expected
- I have no idea what some of these symbols are that now appear in the preview screen
- I think he knows french, or so the menu system now says.
Teaspoon’s little bro can brighten any day.
Thanks to all whom fight to give us the freedom to enjoy moments like this!
Yesterday I spent 4.5 hours doing yard work. I’m incredibly anal sometimes on how my yard looks and I can thank my father for that.
Wondering why it seemed like a sauna I came in to see it was in the 90′s. I chill in the AC (no pun intended) to cool off and get cleaned up before heading to the mall.
The kids were in the house all day and they, plus the wife, were going stir crazy. On our way to Robinson is when we saw triple digits… 102F. As luck would have it the mall parking lot had fresh blacktop also.
After an exhausting day the unthinkable happened. Everyone went to bed at 9pm on a Saturday and for the first time in 3 years I slept 8 hours.
As I sit here in bed typing this (wooooo buddy!) I realized something, even though my 25 yr old self would kick my ass for going to bed at 9p especially on saturday during a holiday weekend, my 35 yr old self is telling him to stfu 
These 2 crack my shit up on a regular basis.
Everyone who donated or walked with us on Sunday, I love you! We raised a team record $840 to help out March of Dimes! If you’re new to this, both of my sons were preemies (32 weeks and 35 weeks) and required care. My oldest was in the NICU for 28 of the longest days of our life as he went from 3.2 pounds to 5 within a month. My youngest was at 6lbs exact when he was born but my wife still had serious complications from the 26 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing. It was because of the March of Dimes and those kickass nurses at the Mercy NICU that we have 2 healthy boys.
Sunday was a bit emotional. Our oldest, who we brought to the first walk at 7 pounds, wasn’t just walking in less than 3 years, he was running. Our son who for the first few months of his life on a heart and lung monitor not even 3 years ago was as racing around with other boys his age and older. Seeing this development was breathtaking.
The weather was overcast for most of the day and a slight shower as we crossed the 16th St bridge made things a tad soggy but it cleared up fast and didn’t leave anyone dreary. I’m proud of my boys and what they’ve been able to accomplish so far. Owen is still too young to know whats going on but Teaspoon is startring to get an understanding of helping others and its walks like this that are not only a great way to get exercise and explore Pittsburgh but also teach kindness at a young age. Someday they’re realize we started walking for them and now we’re with them and to help other babies who need some additional care.
What amazed me too is that from the donations we received this year (thank you again everyone!), the majority were from people I have never met in person but chatted with online. The fact that those whom never met me and only know me from either Twitter or craftbeer/social media functions think that much of us to donate to our team. Blows my mind and we really are humbled
If you’d like to keep up to date on next year’s walk join the Facebook group Team Derda Bros!
I have about 5-6 posts going on in my head I’m going to try and pound out at lunch today or after homework tonight. Here’s something to hold you over because I haven’t already filled your feed with videos of my kids.
I’m finishing up a project for work that has kept me away for a bit. Here’s the new kid to get you through until I’m back to writing
Someday he’ll kick my ass for putting this online but since Lushie already Facebook’d it I figure it was free game.
Daddy doesn’t puke. Daddy hates to puke and will do everything in his power (like the night he had 12 Yuenglings and 2 shots of Jager at a concert in 2003) not to do it.
It’s mind powers and I hope he inherits them from me because mommy has the worst gag reflexes ever.
He’s potty training right now and amazingly has been since right before he turned 2. We didn’t push it on him; like most things he picked it up on his own and has already done some business on his own. Everyday this kid amazes me with his determination to do something new. You know what this means? We’ll never have a pet because I’ll come home to something shaved or attached to a rocket.
The kid is a freaking orchestra
Monday night around midnight I took the drive parents hate to make; taking your kid to the ER. We’ve been there a few times with Teaspoon already but they were for minor issues. This time though he was up at midnight with a 103.6 temp that was on the rise and shaking uncontrollably. The first thing we thought was “shit, we need to make sure he doesn’t have a febrile seizure!” and with the way he was shaking that was the only thing on my mind.
Since we moved I had yet to scope out the local hospital and just got use to going to Mercy for everything but I didn’t feel like dealing with Hill People and Children’s you’ll wait forever so we went to the closest one in the South Hills. Pulled in and within 10 minutes we were in a room and seeing a nurse. The nurse took his temp (which started to go down slightly) and ordered up some tests. His lungs sounded horrible so along with the flu test an x-ray was being ordered.
In the meantime Teaspoon and I hung out in the ER room assigned to us and tried to get some shut eye. Every once in awhile he’s hug me tight and say “da da” over and over. I felt bad for him and helpless as a parent because I couldn’t do anything. We take him down for x-rays and he thinks the machine is the coolest thing ever. He screamed at first but then loved the lights.
Back to the room and I swear every nurse on the floor came in to say hi and check on him. What did Teaspoon do? Flirt of course. He’d give a sheepish smile or giggle. Daddy was loving it.
Doctor came in and said he did in fact have the flu and that they had a lot of cases recently of it. It was good I brought him in because his temp was so high and they ended up controlling it with meds. No pneumonia, just congestion. We were in and out in under 3 hours which was unbelievable. The staff was absolutely incredible and I had complete confidence in the crew. Plus it didn’t help not having to worry about someone being shot outside.
Here we are 2 days later. Teaspoon’s fever may have finally broke this morning, Owen is now congested and Lushie is fighting the bug.
*sigh*
My oldest turns 2 years old & my youngest hits 2 months today.
With all of the hardship that happened on Teaspoon’s birth and his time in the NICU I’m blessed to have a healthy and happy son today.
Enjoy your pass to be a maniac, tomorrow I go back to laying down the law
Here are pics from his birthday party over the weekend at the Toy Lending Library
