Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Darn Bees

Well it was all fun and games at the playground today until some darn bee came and stung Evan right on the ear lobe. He was REALLY upset, and it seemed like it hurt really bad. So I did what any father would do, I panicked. Well, not entirely, I just get really upset when the kids get hurt. So I swooped Evan up and started to carry him out while ordering Eliana to follow us out of the playground, past all the bewildered parents as they looked on, probably wondering what happened. Evan was screaming at the top of his lungs. I mean, I doubt he's ever experienced this much pain in his life, so he was really screaming in pain, who can blame him? I had a feeling helplessness as I carried him all the way to the parking lot, with Eliana taking her sweet ole' time behind us. She seemed to be more bummed about having to leave the playground early more than anything.

Mind you, I knew it wasn't a good sign when we got to the park, and while getting out of the car I noticed there where bees everywhere. The playground has a picnic area nearby, and of course hornets love hanging around the garbage cans. I don't mean just a few bees here and there. The place was inundated, but there were a lot of parents and kids there so I figured it might not be too big of a problem. I had to swat a few away from Eliana in the first few minutes we were there, but I was thinking they were more of a nuisance than anything.

When I finally got to the parking lot with Evan, A Mom bringing her kids into the park could see that I was extremely stressed out, carrying my poor screaming child, asked if she could help. I asked if she had a first aid kit, which she did, so she promptly rushed back to her car and brought back one of those wipes that is supposed to ease bee stings. Evan was out of his mind. He didn't even want me to touch his ear. It was bright red, the area where the bee stung him was starting to swell. "Daddy, it hurts...(long pause)..Mommy!" It was upsetting to watch, not really being able to do anything about the pain. Then as I got Evan and Eliana fastened into their car seats and started driving away, Evan started freaking out because he thought there was a be in the car. "Daddy, roll up the windows!" He was really scared. I pulled over and got out of the car and opened all the doors. It was only a fly, but clearly, he was traumatized. I think I was too at this point.

Of course this whole time, with it being our kid's first bee sting, I'm thinking of all the horror stories of kids with bee sting allergies. What if he goes into anaphylactic shock? Complete overreaction I'm sure, but when your child gets hurt, you are hurdled into protective parent mode, and no reaction seems like an overreaction at the time. We were able to get a hold of his pediatrician's office, and get him over there right away. It wasn't quite an emergency room emergency, but I wanted him to be seen right away nonetheless. All the while, Eliana is sitting in her car seat, as cool as a cucumber. By the time we got to his doctor's office, Evan was starting to calm down.  Besides a tear and sniffle filled call to Mommy to tell her what happened, I was relieved to see that nothing really bad had happened to him besides the sting to the ear.

Happy to say Evan is home and doing well. He was a brave little boy today under the circumstances and I couldn't be more proud of him. Bees beware; I'm bringing a fly swatter to the playground next time, and I am taking no prisoners. (Mosquitos, this means you too.)

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Another Self Portrait From Evan

Evan's self portraits are definitely getting more sophisticated, and well, anatomically correct. 
Notice the appearance of 3 fingers on the right hand, and four on the left. A vast improvement over past undistinguishable appendages. The hair is a new addition, and if you've seen the length of his hair lately, it's rather accurate. The smile is excellent, and I'm going to have to tell him about adding pupils to the eyeballs so it doesn't look like 'Jack Skellington.' Besides that, the spelling of his name is top notch and the overall drawing gets big points for creativity and overall cuteness. Well done, Evan, well done. Can't wait to see what you and Eliana come up with in the future.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

1000th Daddy Diaries Entry!

Of course, I had hoped to do a grand blog post for the 1000th 'Daddy Diaries' entry, but alas, it never came to be. In all honesty, things have just been too crazy lately. But I wanted to recognize this milestone in a blog that I started over 4 years ago, one that I started to document the birth of our first child, Evan, so that my Mom in Florida, who hasn't been well enough to travel, would be able to see all of the latest pictures and stay up to date on even the most mundane developments. Since then, we've watched Evan grow into a handsome young man and witnessed the birth of his wonderful little sister, Eliana. Now we're witnessing her grow into a beautiful princess through the 'pages' of this diary. I don't know how long I'm going to keep this up, but I have no plans of stopping. Maybe when Evan gets to grade school and I post an embarrassing school photo in a blog entry and his friends see it, he'll sheepishly ask me stop doing the blog. "Please Dad! You're embarrassing me!" Until then. I'm going to keep going.


Monday, August 20, 2012

More Elmwood Park Zoo

We spend a good part of Sunday at the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown, PA. Mommy heard that the 'Philly Phanatic' was going to be making an appearance, but since she had to work, it was just me and the kids. It's a small zoo, but a really good one. When you walk in, there's an open section that's set up to resemble a canyon. Perched up on some dead looking trees were about 20-30 Black Vultures, a few Golden Eagles, and a pair of Bald Eagles. Very cool.

Black Vutlures

Bald Eagle

I've never been this close to a Bald Eagle, I hope the appreciate how cool this is!

Eliana was a bit unsure about feeding the goats.

And of course the Philly Phanatic. It was chaos. We were nearly run down by mothers trying to get their kids photo with the Phanatic. Luckily, the guy in charge saw Evan waiting patiently and heard me say, "It'll be your turn soon." He grabbed the Phanatic and got us this picture. I think there's something to be said for being polite while everyone else in the crowd is being rude and pushy. Eliana did not want her photo taken, so she was hiding behind me.


Evan took this photo of me and Eliana.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Elmwood Park Zoo

Took the kids to the Elmwood Park Zoo in Norristown, PA today. They had such a great time. Evan was trying his hand at wildlife photography.

 Evan got this great close up of a 1 year old goat. 

 Evan followed this Peacock. "I have to get a good shot." That's my boy...

I sat Evan up on the wall to get a shot of this Bald Eagle drying it's wings.

Hang in There Little Buddy.

Our poor boy Elvis is quite sick. We don't know what happened, but he's been really under the weather lately and has been showing some unusual, not so happy behavior. So Evan and Eliana came to the Vet with us today and waited patiently to see the doctor. Elvis had X-rays and blood work done, but we wont know the results until tomorrow, (Sunday.) We're hoping for the best, but Elvis still seemed rather sick when we got him home. We're hoping and praying for good news tomorrow. Keep our little Elvis in your thoughts and prayers.




Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Evan and Eliana Jumping Waves

Cape May Zoo



The regal Bald Eagles totally unimpressed by our presence.
Nana & Poppop!

I don't know what animal they saw here, but, maybe we don't want to know...

Rare Snow Leopard pup!

Evan tries his hand at iPhone photography.

Eliana greets the Tiger.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Brave Little Girl

Here she is! Our brave little girl going in the ocean on the last day of our vacation. She used to be afraid to even let her toes touch the incoming waves, now she LOVES going in the ocean. Who knew? She just decided by herself that she wanted to go further and further in. She was being so brave and had such a good time doing it!



Look how much fun she's having!


BFFs

Playin' in the Park

Evan and Eliana "getting some exercise" as Evan said, in the park yesterday. The park has a little hill that they like running down. They run all the way across the field and back. My hope is that they'll wear themselves out and not fight me at bedtime!

Monday, August 13, 2012

Just Peachy



Evan making his way up the peach tree.

Eliana tries one of the peaches right off the tree. They weren't crazy about the skin, but they sure were sweet inside!





Look at Eliana's face in this photo. I zoomed in on it below...

Now that's the face of sheer determination as she tries to climb up the tree.


Saturday, August 11, 2012

Highland Orchards

Getting back to the day we went to Highland Orchards. It really was a fun day, although extremely humid and buggy. Picking blueberries and blackberries right off of the bush was a first for all of us.
I think it was great for the kids to see where their fruits and veggies come from. After a little picnic, and some fun feeding the goats, we drove up to pick peaches off the tree. Evan loved climbing up the tree and plucking out peaches. It was easy for him since the branches were so low.


Only the dark ones are ripe for picking...





More photos from peach picking in the next post...