Photos, Info on Lyme Disease, and More

This is a photo of my dachshund Blackjack which many of you have seen before but I wanted to post it again (I think it's on Alaina's website) because it's just too funny. I was looking for a recent photo of him and I just can't seem to find any ones I saved on my computer. So, here's this one.
LYME DISEASE
I also wanted to use this photo to set up for my soapbox: I wanted to tell everyone to make sure they get their dog checked and vaccinated for lyme disease. It's become increasingly bad in our area over the past 2-3 years, moving up from more southern areas. Just in our small town there have been 60+ cases this year. I didn't think anything of this because I have never found a tick on Blackjack, even though we live in the woods. I had found many on my other dog, but they don't seem to like the taste of Blackjack. Well, he went for a check-up at the vet and they asked if I wanted the lyme disease test done while they were doing the heartworm. I told them no, I didn't think it was necessary. They told me it was no extra cost, so I figured I might as well. Then I almost fell over a few minutes later when they told me it was positive!!!!! I didn't know what that meant, since I didn't know much about lyme diease in humans or in animals. I didn't know if it would kill him, or if he could spread it to us, or what. The vet told me that about 80% of animals never show any symptoms, but some show arthritic symptoms. A small percent can have serious problems like with their kidneys. Pets can also be infected with the disease for a long time before showing symptoms, or their owners finding out they are positive. The vet also told me that the deer ticks that spread it are so tiny we probably wouldn't have seen it. I rountinely do tick checks on him, but the vet said these ticks would be about the size of a pin head so they are very easy to miss. Since he tested positive, he had to take antibiotics for a month, get a shot plus a booster shot a few weeks later. He will continue to test positive for several months, but hopefully some point in the future he will test negative and be fine. So... after this experience I wanted to tell everyone to make sure they get their pets checked out, even if you think your pet didn't have any ticks on him/her.

These two photos were taken in June at the Lehigh Valley Zoo, formerly Trexler Game Preserve. We went into the lorikeet pen and I had such a blast. I got a small cup of nectar (for an outrageous extra fee) to feed them. It was so neat being covered in the birds, and being groomed by them. Once they came, they didn't want to get off me. Amazingly, I didn't get a drop of poop on me despite the number of birds and how often they were pooping (they have this crazy projectile poop).
Here's a cute family photo of us at a picnic in July.
Oops, for some reason a duplicate picture got on here...
Another silly picture of the dog by our pond in the backyard. The stupid dog thinks he can catch these fish and frogs, but he hates water so he gets as close as he can without touching it or falling in. He seems to think that he is a mountain goat, climbing and perching on these rocks.
This is the incriminating family photo I spoke of earlier! This is Dave's 16 year old brother Andy. Wait until all his friends find out this picture is posted on the internet....! He was being goofy on the 4th of July and decided to climb into Alaina's giraffe boat after she got out. He thought the water was too cold so he was trying to keep warmer by staying in the boat.

Photos of Family and More

Here are a few photos from our trip to Pocono Cesar's in July. Here I am doing something I thought I would never do--or be any good at. I was so surprised to learn that I'm actually quite good at it!
Dave and I at Cesars by Lake Wallanpaupack. We took this photo of ourselves.
Out on the paddleboat at their Brookdale location.
We finally got the Champage Towers room and it was wonderful!!! I absolutely loved the champage glass whirpool. In fact, I was going to sleep in it the one night because it was so warm and comfortable. By the way, since everyone always wants to know--you get in the tub through the bathroom. There's a room you go into from the bathroom, then there is just a step down into the tub. It's aligned with the wall, which is where it gets its support.
The room also has a private heated heart-shaped pool. That's a great feature!
Here's a shot of some of my family at my grandmother's surprise 70th birthday party.
Here is the cake that my great aunt, my grandmother's sister, made for her party. The flowers were so detailed it was amazing! The small squares were made to look like quilt blocks because my grandmother loved to quilt.

I do have some more pictures to put up here--some rather incriminating photos of other family members!--that I will post at another date when I can find the CD with them on. I will also try to be more regular with putting postings up here. But then I don't really get any feedback or ideas from anybody, so please send some emails or post some comments!

Top Toddler Toys

Here are some great toys for kids ages 16 months and up. Alaina my 19 month old is currently really into these things. She really doesn't play with toys all that much; she's always preferred little stolen objects from around the house. So the fact that she's really into these things (and her interest has lasted for more than a fleeting moment) signifies to me that they must be pretty good toys. Note: she has an Elmo obsession so many of these toys are Elmo-related.

1. Aquadoodle
This is just a great product! You can feel free to let your toddler doodle with no worries
about whether the fish tank will end up crayoned. And it's really neat technology, too. For
those of you who aren't familiar: it's a mat that comes with a marker, which you fill (and
can refill, and refill) with water. The drawings fade after a few minutes, making room for
more drawings. Comes in various colors and versions: the Disney Princess version is
a pink mat and the pen writes in pink. Regular version writes blue. There are also
accessories such as shapes, plus mini character pages (we have an Elmo set).
2. a fish tank
I know this isn't a toy, but I highly recommend a fish tank for curious toddlers. I noticed
that my daughter was really into fish whenever we saw them outside the home. So I
got her a simple 10 gallon tank with 4 fish. It's a little bit of work but it's really one of the
best "toys" we have because she still loves it. She talks to the fish, says "night night" to
them every night, bye when we leave the house, etc. Plus sometimes she will just sit still
and watch the fish swim.
3. Avon body paints
Avon sells little bottles like roll-on deoderants that come in various colors and scents.
Your toddler can roll them over her body, leaving colorful trails. My daugher also really
enjoys coloring me when the opportunity arises.
4. cardboard construction blocks
Every toddler needs a set of these cheap but sturdy cardboard construction blocks (the
kind that look like bricks). If you get at least 2 sets, you can make cool forts which your
toddler will love destroying.
5. chicken dance Elmo/ Hokey Pokey Elmo
Alaina used to be afriad of her Hokey Pokey Elmo because of the grinding gear sounds.
But since she's been about a year old, it's been a favorite. I think she love Chicken Dance
Elmo even more, though. It gets her up and dancing every time, and it's hilarious when
she tries to make the chicken wings.
6. Fisher Price classical stacker
I don't remember the exact name of this toy because we've had it since before she was
even born. It's a plastic stacking tower with a star on top which plays music when pressed
down. She just really started getting into this toy a month or so ago, despite how long it's
been around. Now she's loves it.
7. jack in the box
No matter what character pops out, toddlers LOVE these things. Alaina was frustrated
at first because she found it hard to crank at first. But she practiced and now can do it
well herself. But she never ceases to be esctatic when the bunny pops out, like it's a new
surprise each and every time.
8. crayons, coloring books (and optional mini desk and chair set)
Although it can be a pain for us parents who have to scrub the crayon off the walls, they
seem to love nothing more than coloring. Alaina's grandmother has a small desk for her
to sit at for coloring and she is thrilled by that, and actually behaves much better at their
house--meaning she sits at her desk to color and doesn't draw on the walls. I also
recommend carrying a mini coloring book and crayons in the diaper bag for while you're
waiting for your meal at a restaurant. It's a great way to entertain them while waiting.
I also highly recommend washable crayons and Mr. Clean magic erasers.
9. bath tub Dora
This was Alaina's first favorite toy, which she took everywhere. It's a set of a plastic Dora
and small Boots squirt toy. Dora comes with a vest and flippers--the vest changes color
when wet. We took it on vacation, in the pool, in the lake, etc.
10. Bee Bop Band set
This is a drum which comes with several other instruments inside, as well as drums sticks.
Alaina loves to drum all over (she doesn't use the drum yet) but I'm pretty tolerant of
letting her make music wherever as long as she isn't hitting people or animals.
11. Mini Photo Album
Get a mini photo album and inside put photos of your child's family members, pets,
friends, favorite characters. You can even clip photos of other babies from magazines
because they love to look at other babies. I started out with a plain album but then found
a soft, fuzzy Elmo face album which is a huge hit. I keep it in the diaper bag and use it all
the time while waiting in line, waiting at a restaurant, etc.
12. Mini plastic animals
I started a small zoo of plastic animals for my daughter. We started with farm animals,
then got some more exotic ones. At 17 months old she could already pick out a tapir and
an okapi. If you're local, a great place to get accurate looking plastic animals is at the
Lehigh Valley Zoo (or probably other zoos).
13. Fisher Price A to Z Zoo
This is an interactive mat that comes with an animal for every letter of the alphabet. The
child can hear the animal's noise, name, and associated letter. It's also another good way
for your child to learn how to identify animals and learn their noises.
14. realistic mini piano
We have an antique mini spinet piano that was Alaina's grandmothers originally. It looks
like the real thing but is toddler size with 10-15 keys. She loves to jam on it (and its
usually the first thing her little friends play with when they come over).
15. Silly Parts Elmo
Like a Mr. Potato Head but with an Elmo, with costumes he wears in his shows, and it makes sounds.
16. stupid little things that make great toys:
--ice cubes: put a few on top of their high chair or freeze a chunk for the tub. They love
to watch them melt and disappear.
--empty spices bottles--I guess some would say this is not a safe toy, but if your
child can't open the top... But I put safe things inside anyway, such as rice
grains or other food objects that are safe--in the event she would get it open
open. They make great shakers.
--add water, food coloring, sparkles, beads or other objects to a small empty soda bottle
(a clear plastic bottle) and glue the cap on. Child can shake and watch the water move,
sparkles swirl around, hear beads shake, etc.
--old cell phones, old portable phones (they seem to like these real things better than any
kid phones you can buy)
--plastic easter eggs (they're still around, all over, months after Easter because Alaina
loves them nad has them all over the house, even in the bathrub where we fill them
with water)

Things that also make great toys for toddlers at this developmental level:
1) chunky simple puzzles, especially if shapes have textures (e.g. a sheep with wooly fur)
2) shape sorters--although I've found that the more basic it is, the less interesting it seems
3) things to make music and sounds (if all else fails while you're trying to make dinner, give um
a pot lid, wooden or plastic spoon, pan, etc.)
4) various size cups, colanders, empty water bottle, etc. for the tub



***I will add more as I think of them (I'm sure I forgot something!)
***sorry for the formatting, I don't know why this is so messed up!