Editing on a rainy Sunday

Annie, Ian and I went down to Turtle Bread for breakfast. Silvi spent the night with my parents, one of her favorite things to do. Candy, ice cream and mac and cheese around the clock; no wonder she loves it.

Then we took a drive around the lakes in the area, looking at the houses decorated for Halloween and the gorgeous, colorful trees. The tops of the skyscrapers in downtown Minneapolis were hidden in low clouds, adding to the moodiness of the overcast, wet day.

I'm down at my office, a stone's throw from our apartment, editing a video for Dan Wilson. I'm also working on a few documentaries that have been sitting on my to-do list for way too long.

All in all, a nice and relaxing day...

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ian!!!

Thanks!

Thanks, everyone, for the kind comments and encouragement on the latest video clip. It helps keep me motivated and on track. The final documentary is going to be at least thirty minutes long and is part educational and part our son's story.

I'm making this video because I want to capture the nuances, the joy and pain, the fear and the happiness of raising a child with Down syndrome. I want to be able to share that with other parents in similar situations as well as with the rest of the world who may not fully understand this journey.

Whoa!

That line in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure says it all. Not sure where I went for the last few months... whoa! Now THAT was a strange trip...

Hoping that the phone booth lands close to home this time. More soon...

Following Ian

I've started working on a documentary about Ian.

I want Dad

This morning when I tried to hand Ian over to Annie, he pushed into my chest and clung to my arm, refusing to let go. I loved it.

Radio

The kids usually listen to a story on tape when they go to sleep, but lately Silvi has been crawling out of bed to switch over to the radio. I also found her watching a tutorial on YouTube yesterday, learning about how cookies work to track web pages.

I think I'll teach her how to balance our checkbook next. She couldn't do much worse than I do.

Mobile

I love watching Ian crawl around the house. He does it with such gusto, obviously pleased at himself. His favorite things to do:

• Unplug the lamp
• Unplug the DVD player
  
• Pull on the shower curtain
• Pull on the living room curtains
• Pull on George's - the cat's - tail, until he whacks Ian on the head
• Pour George's food and water out onto the kitchen floor
• Eat cheerios and leftovers off the dining room floor
• Find two objects and bang them together

Can't wait for the adventures to begin once he starts walking.

Separation anxiety

Ian is usually sucking on his bottle when I leave for work in the mornings, oblivious to anything that is going on more than a few inches from his mouth. But Silvi has been breaking down as I try to walk out the door.

We've "solved" this by letting her call me as I drive away and I tell her where I am. "I'm at the stop light, passing the hardware store, by the lake..." It's so utterly heartbreaking to see her tear-streaked face as I pull out of the driveway.

Sure hope this phase doesn't last as long as it takes Congress to agree on something.

Community

Annie works at an Episcopal church once a week as well as sings in the choir. She's developed quite a few good relationships through this and it's wonderful how Ian is so accepted in this small community.

The choir director especially gives him a lot of love and Ian is a favorite in Child Care. We are so incredibly fortunate to have this for both he and Silvi, and plan to hold onto it for as long as we can.

Sometimes, she wins. Sometimes.

Some nights, those nights when Silvi is more Wicked Witch of the West than Snow White, she wins. She gets to sleep with us. With me, that is. Annie sleeps on the futon because even though we have a king-size bed, Silvi is a snuggler.

Last night there was a wide open space where Annie usually sleeps and one contented little girl snuggled up to her restless daddy.

Wiped

Annie makes it look so easy. The taking care of two kids thing. She's at a meeting right now and I'm in charge of lunch and naps. And getting them out the door later.

I'm wiped. I could shoot for a 10-hour day and not be this tired.

Winter whiner

I don't care how long I live in Minnesota, I will always be a winter whiner.

A cup of cold water

About once a week, Silvi throws a colossal fit when she goes to bed. Christian Bale's little meltdown pales in comparison.

We let her scream it out for a good 10-15 minutes, then I go in and nonchalantly offer her a drink of cold water or milk, wipe the sweat from her forehead and quietly tell her that's enough.

Works wonders.

Guys home alone

Silvi spent the night with Grandpa and Grandma, Annie's out with a friend and it's just the two guys home.

What do you say we kick back and find a soccer game on the Spanish channel, eh Ian?

Slice o' life

Ian has learned how to feed himself. Well, sort of.

If you place food in front of him, whether it's cheerios or lasagna, he'll shovel it in until his high chair tray is empty. And his cheeks are squirrel-cheeked packed. Of course this causes him to choke half the food back up. But at least he hasn't swallowed his hearing aids yet.

And if he's motivated enough, say, to pull our cat's tail or reach for the DVD cables, he can pull himself into a standing position. But he mostly crawls. He has a funny little crawl; throws his hands down with force. Takes breaks often.

I should also mention that his vocal cords show no signs of underdevelopment. If his bottle isn't in his mouth fast enough, he lets us - and our neighbors - know. He's quite easy to find in the department store.

He smiles easily, except that he's got a molar coming in. He endures his sister's rough loves. She also gets him to laugh. And cry.

Slice of our life.

Phone calls

The favorite phone calls that I get - almost on a daily basis - are from Silvi. Her small voice. Her big, "Hi! Do you know who this is!?"

Apparently she was having a bad day today because I could barely understand her through all the sobs and tears.

Still the best call I got all day.

Sesame Street Live

We took the kids to see Sesame Street Live last week. They absolutely loved - the first ten minutes of it. We made it to the intermission then it was time for something new, like playing on the escalators. Next time I say we save the thirty bucks and head to the mall, where the escalators are free and a hot dog won't set me back a week's paycheck.

Do I sound like a grumpy dad or what?!

Mom's reading glasses

Getting ready to shoot

OK, no more rants today. Well, the day is still young.

I am super excited about my upcoming shoot tomorrow night for my new company. I'm shooting three different models from 3:30pm - 11pm in an old dance studio. I've also hired an art director who works as a fashion editor for a local fashion magazine. One shoot will be with a young model who works modeling clothing for the Home Shopping Network and is an aspiring actress. The second shoot will be with a musician/model and will be a dark and grainy, seductive-angry black and white scene. And the third shoot will be with a 6'1" international model doing a glamorous European-style shoot.

Be watching for the edited clips on my site in the days to come.

Seriously now

I am going to seriously lose it. I'm not joking. Someone has been sick in our house every day since at least Thanksgiving. Ian's finally home, but now Silvi has her fourth bout with a fever. And this morning I woke up with one.

What do we do?! Leave all the windows open and hope the Arctic air will kill whatever is living in our home?! Spray the place with ammonia!? Wear SARS protective gear all day?!

I'm about ready to check into a hotel for a the rest of this blasted winter.

Hospital - Day 6

Tick and a freaken' tock,
eyes upon the clock;
the tubes are out, and Ian's fine,
maybe home tomorrow if the doctor will sign;
no more oxygen, his stats are up,
milk for breakfast, sweet potatoes for sup;
he's bored to tears, his mom is too,
I need to clean the house, it looks like a zoo.

Hospital - Day 5

Ian has moved out of intensive care up to the sixth floor of Children's Hospital, which, I take it, is a good thing to have happen. He's still on fifty percent oxygen, but the doctor did say something to the effect of him coming home in the next few days.

Silvi is sleeping next to me as I type, lulled to sleep by her 538th viewing of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. Tim Burton, you are one twisted individual, but you make my daughter laugh. "I know you are, but what am I."

Hospital - Day 4

Thanks, everyone, for the words of encouragement. Ian is starting to get that spark back in his baby blues. He's getting bored of sitting around all day and keeps staring down the hallway like he wants to make a break for it.

He's still on oxygen but down to fifty percent. Still in intensive care but hopefully will move today. Still on the nebulizer but only every six hours. Still hates all the wires plugged into his body but has stopped trying to pull them out.

Still waiting to hear when he might get sprung but resigned to spending the weekend there.

Hospital - Day 3

Silvi and I rang in the new year by falling asleep in my bed around 9:30. Annie spent the night at the hospital again. Ian was doing much better yesterday and they were able to turn his oxygen dependency from one hundred percent down to fifty percent. But I guess they had to turn it back up to a hundred percent last night again. Sigh.

So we wait. Happy New Year? I'll let you know in a few days...