And yesterday, thus no posting…I am still trying to figure out how to post while I am at work (and even if I can), so we’ll see. I left yesterday morning at 0545 and returned this morning just before 7. It was actually a lot easier to get back into the swing of things at the station, but it certainly helped that we had a call 20 minutes into the shift – nothing like jumping back in with both feet. It was something of a busy day yesterday: cleaning, maintenance, and training mixed in with a few calls. Ahna and I spoke on the phone a few times throughout the day and then she and Ezra stopped by after dinner last night. At times it is difficult to have a job that takes me away for 24 hours at a shot, but it’s nice that I have a job (that is close to where we live) where Ahna and Ezra can come and stop by when we have some down time.

I found myself getting lost in the work yesterday, even at times ‘forgetting’ that there was this child now at home. However, it was really joyous when I would speak with Ahna on the phone and hear Ezra in the background…and a little difficult knowing that I would not be able to see him as much as I would like. I finally went to bed around midnight with the anticipation of a possible full-night’s rest…only to find myself waking up every hour or two wondering why I wasn’t hearing little grunting noises. We didn’t get any calls during the night, but I didn’t sleep soundly either; however, I definitely had more room in my bed. 🙂

Ahna and Ezra had a pretty good day as well. They made it on their own just fine, although she tells me that she missed having me around (between you and me, I’m sure that there were moments that she was happy to have me gone). They went to lunch with Jay, Karen, and David and headed around town for a few errands (including stopping by the firehouse). Many folks called and checked in to see if she needed anything – which is extremely appreciated. It seems as though her night went similarly to mine (as far as the consistency of the sleep) but of course included being up to nurse Ezra. If they didn’t get enough practice yesterday, there is always tomorrow. 

If you all remember the first time that Ezra came by the firehouse (when we visited with Gil), Ezra brought along some good luck in the form of a fire (it’s good for firefighters). Yesterday he brought us good luck in the form of a magnificent double rainbow just in front of the station. Since he is two-for-two with station visits, he will be welcome whenever he wants to come. (ed. note: one of the pictures is pieced together – not well – from two photos)

Ezra wanted to tell you to have a Scooby-licious birthday celebration today! It was great to talk with you on the iChat and to open your gift together (even though we are a thousand miles apart). 

Kind of. Sort of. For now. The afternoon marked the last scheduled trip to Dr. Cassell’s office, which oddly enough was a little sad. We have had a great experience with Dr. Cassell and in some ways it is a little strange to think of not having to go there anymore. We have estimated the number of visits to the office during the last 14 months to be in the neighborhood of 25; so I suppose that we will have to fill those vacancies with something else on the calendar. The visit went well, and Ahna was cleared to return to “all normal activities with no restrictions.” Even though she has been doing a lot of things for the last couple of weeks, I think that the official word from the doctor is satisfying news. 

In the evening we headed out for Ezra’s second baseball game – only this time with a few less people around. Tanner’s team was playing at a park here in town and we went down to cheer him on. They have started coach-pitch (still not keeping score) and he hit the ball both times he was up to bat. Jay, Karen, and David (who was sporting a new Notre Dame jersey) joined the cheering section as well. Afterwards, we decided on a impromptu trip to the ice cream parlor located next door to Station 1. We all met there, enjoyed sitting outside and talking about the “old days” when Jay, Matt, Geoff, Jeff, Todd, Patrick, and I were assigned to that firehouse. It was good to remember those times and to share some of those with Tanner.

The day yesterday seemed to be one of those that disappears before your eyes. We think that Ezra is having a little growth spurt: or at least that is how we are deciphering the increased frequency in feedings. Therefore, most of the day seemed to be catching up on things between feedings. It was also my parent’s 35th wedding anniversary, so they headed up to Boulder to spend a nice night out with each other. Their absence from home resulted in an empty space (that isn’t our house) with a great view and a nice TV set….so we headed down there and hijacked the house for the evening. We brought some soup and ice cream, a movie (see below) and our walking shoes. It was very pleasant and a nice treat to be able to break away – even if mostly symbolically – for a little while from the norm. 

The title of this post are the cliche directions that people sarcastically give when you need to go to Boulder, CO…funny thing is that you actually have to turn right to get into the downtown. More on Boulder in a little while. So there was no post done yesterday, are you doing okay? Any withdrawals? I suppose that we are allowed a day off of the blog every once in a while – it simply turned out to be a pretty busy day – but this longer post should make up for it.  

On Sunday morning we all awoke to find some yellow stuff in the corner of Ezra’s right eye. We spent most of the day bouncing back-and-forth between wiping it away, researching on the internet as to the problem, and worrying about how he was feeling. We came to the conclusion that it was probably a blocked tear duct and not a dire emergency; but decided to call the ‘after hours’ line at our pediatricians office anyway. The nurse consulted with us and told us basically the same thing that we were thinking, along with the strong recommendation that we head into the doctor’s office the next morning – just to be sure of the problem and due to his age. The puss and swelling gradually got worse throughout the day, then turned for the better over the night….however, every time that we let it go for more than a hour (mostly due to the fact that we were asleep), his eye glued itself together. Generally speaking, he did a great job with his first ‘illness’ and wasn’t too difficult to deal with. True enough, there were moments of near inconsolability, but that’s to be expected.

Yesterday morning we diligently headed to the doctor’s office at 0830 because that is the time that their phone answering machine said they opened…alas, the people that work there think it’s closer to 0900 – so they changed the signage on the door. After getting some coffee, we went back to the office only to discover that they don’t take walk-in’s. AARRGGHH. We never saw any mention of “appointments only” on anything: not on the phone message, not on their brochure, not on their web site. Oh yea, they don’t have a web site (!). For those of you who own businesses out there – and I don’t care how big or small – that don’t have a web site yet…please join the 21st century (e-mail me, and I will help you create one for a small fee). Anyway, when we were there, the receptionist told us that this was an extremely common problem and that we probably wouldn’t need to come back for an appointment and waste a co-pay; a nurse would call us. She did (about 30 minutes later, back to great service!) and gave us some more home remedy instructions…which to this point seem to have worked just fine. As the day progressed, his eye seems to have gotten better, and the progress continued this morning. Hopefully the tear duct will clear itself over the next day or four and we won’t have to resort to antibiotics. 

Back to Boulder. We needed out of the house and a destination to aim for. Originally, we intended on going up into the mountains, but those plans were changed with the eye situation. So after the phone call with the nurse, we drove up to Boulder and spent the afternoon there. We had lunch at a favorite spot – Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery – and wandered the Pearl Street shops for a couple of hours. The rain held off just long enough for us to enjoy the afternoon and we headed home before the Denver traffic heated up. It was good to get out and about and we are looking forward to doing more of that in the next couple of days. 

Speaking of the next couple of days: my cousin, Gil, arrives this afternoon from Israel! He is coming to the US for some military training in Pennsylvania, but decided to come out here and visit us for a couple of days before the training starts. More on his trip in the next couple of posts. 

One more thing, the countdown to my return to work has begun. I ended up taking an extra tour off of work on FMLA, so I will return a week from Friday. It is still 10 days away, but already difficult to imagine not being here for every great moment.