[LisaCA]

talked to dd's bmom yesterday and found out she's been accepted at several very good colleges. she's anxiously awaiting notice from Spelman and another college before she makes her decision. Gotta say I'm so proud of her!

and I heard from my sis today that my nephew was initially selected in a bone marrow registry. I'm so proud of him for filling out the paperwork and being willing to do what it takes for someone else, someone he doesn't know. And he's only 20. Good kid .

and have to include dd. she's 20 months and knows her numbers up to five, and can recognize about 9 letters of the alphabet and their accompanying sounds (till working on colors, lol). Not to mention that we haven't had to have a time out in weeks, clearly the most important thing . guess the need to do bad things comes in waves, lol.

anyone else need to brag?

[ourdreamcametru]

Wow you do have plenty to brag about! This is all wonderful. I wish Castle's birthmother would put her brain to good use and go to college but I don't see that happening. She will be 20 in three weeks and is doing nothing with her life. Anyway, I don't want to rain on your parade! It looks like your daughter is on the track to being as smart as her birthmother and your nephew deserves a pat on the back!

[Hey Nonny]

That is very cool. Good for her.

My son is 18 months and he thinks his name is Diego (from the cartoon on tv). It is his only word. I am more then impressed that your daughter knows those things. If I hadn't had a girl before this boy, I would worry. Boys are just different (or so everyone keeps saying...they aren't alarmed when it is BOY that doesn't know anything).

[ajjhmf]

Originally Posted by FH-LisaCA

and I heard from my sis today that my nephew was initially selected in a bone marrow registry. I'm so proud of him for filling out the paperwork and being willing to do what it takes for someone else, someone he doesn't know. And he's only 20. Good kid .

Lisa,

You have every reason to brag! And this is just too cool. A good friend of ours was just recently matched with a donor off the registry. He, our friend, is a father of 4, and at Christmas it was touch and go whether or not he would make it to a transplant at all. He's doing great now (for someone with stage 4 luekemia), but a transplant is his only hope for long time surival and to see his kids growp up.

I was so amazed when I heard of the registry and I think it's just awesome that your newphew would choose to register at 20. Please tell him from me what an amazing thing it is that he's done and just how many lives he touched by doing this.

Blessings,
Jenny

[ourdreamcametru]

Hey Nonny,
I wouldn't worry too much about your "boy." Our first son who is almost 16 was a talker from the beginning. When we watch video of him at 10-12 months he is talking in full adult conversation and you can understand every word plain as day. Our second son, almost 12 had to go to speech from the time he was 2 until he was 8 because he didn't utter a sound until he was three years old, now he talks a mile a minute. Our daughter who will be 2 in May "talks" but only a few words and phrases we can understand. I think they are just all different, doesn't matter if they are girls or boys...

[AdrienneG]

My baby finally mastered the art of making a rasberry WITH sound and he gives strangers a mean look.

[echaos]

Liam woke up at 4:30 this morning to go pee!!!! Yeah!! Dry bed!!!!

[Guspiv]

Three cheers for everyone!

Our son's birthmother should be graduating from massage school any day. Last time we spoke she was doing really great, moved into her own place, was almost finsihed with school and working a job she seemed to like. I think we are going to give her a call this weekend and see if she finished.

Gavin is over his stomach virus Thank God! He is saying a few words here and there and yesterday we had him walking around in a t shirt and next thing we know he's pulled off his diaper which happend to have poop in it!! I'm thinking, mmmm maybe he's ready for potty training! Yeah I know that's not the case, mommy was just taking too long to notice he needed a change I guess.

[LisaCA]

yep, very proud. nephew has been tapped as a preliminary match and has to go to have 8 vials of blood drawn . He's pretty psyched about it too, which is amazing. Luckily he's healthy so if the bloodwork goes okay, he should be able to donate. He's a good kid, very thoughtful. we weren't sure just how things were going to turn out with him, lol, but we're thrilled where he's at. Now if he would just focus a tad on school... .

dd's bema is just an amazing woman. she managed to keep her grades up (As no less) while pregnant and trying to decide what to do . I had a hard time keeping my grades up over much, much less, lol. Some kids are just driven and focused, while others need time to find their focus (like my nephew). It's partly environment, but I think it's mostly the way each kid is wired.

hey nonny,i've noticed the gender differences between boys and girls and then with each individual kid. The following are massive generalizations based on one small class: the boys seem to really like the art stuff, truly enjoying the smearing of stuff around the paper. dd was much more reserved. she liked paint brushes, rather than touching the paint directly and that seemed to hold true for most of the girls in the class. But then again dd loves crashing trucks together, and none of the other girls in the small class like that-go figure. dd was rather slow to talk as well. she'd say a word once or twice, and then we'd not hear it again for a few months. She likes to surprise you with a word rather than repeated it after you say it. A few girls in her class know many colors, but dd just calls everything "black" or "blue", lol. Fascinating creatures these kids, very individual. it's like your own science experiment .

adrienneG, we all know how important it is to make raspberries and to give "the look." Good for him if he can curdle milk with one glance, lol. Very useful skill to have. a kid needs the ability to turn the cute off on a dime, to express with a glance their emotions. congrats!!!

and andy, i'm very impressed liam got up to pee, that is so cool! we're working on the casual potty training of dd (just the past month or so). we put her on the potty before bathtime (after meals) and she's peed once (probably accidentally). Dh says "great! Now we don't have to buy diapers!" duh. he's since figured out it doesn't work that way, lol. we dream of having her diaper free so I'm totally envious. Congrats to Liam!!!

guspiv, sounds like gavin's bmom is really doing well. massage school always seemed so cool to me. A natural way to help people feel better . Congrats!!! and so glad your son is over the stomach flu. dd's over hers as well, thank goodness. Now we're pumping her full of calories and fluids to regain the 2.5 lbs she lost. dd has not figured out how to take her diaper off and I'm just thrilled to death. I'm so scared of what she'll do when she can, lol. Time to bring out the rug cleaner...

[spaypets]

Originally Posted by echaos

Liam woke up at 4:30 this morning to go pee!!!! Yeah!! Dry bed!!!!

Awsome! My DD (age 4) got up night before last at 10:55 to go pee (before Papa went in to wake her). She's only wet the bed once in the past two weeks! New record!

She's also doing fanatastic, as always, in swimming. And in tennis. And she is doing great writing her letters (we don't have her in pre-school, this is stuff she's figuring out on her own with help from Sesame Street).

Lisa, congrats to DD's bmom! And congrats to your nephew for being in the bone marrow registry (they need more minorities in the database). I've been in the registry since 1986, I think. The foundation does a great job keeping track of people -- they've kept track of me for 20 years! I've never been called (guess my tissue type either doesn't get leukemia or is really common!).

[jandn]

I just have to brag a little that J is going to be the next American Idol! She knew how to carry a tune before she could talk and know she knows 7 different songs....not exactly in english but she knows every note. I just think my kids are brilliant! LOL

[LisaCA]

Originally Posted by spaypets

And congrats to your nephew for being in the bone marrow registry (they need more minorities in the database). I've been in the registry since 1986, I think. The foundation does a great job keeping track of people -- they've kept track of me for 20 years! I've never been called (guess my tissue type either doesn't get leukemia or is really common!).

my nephew's been in the registry less than a year. amazing how quickly he matched someone - go figure!
I encourage everyone to sign up. they can't take everyone (some folks with certain diseases or health issues aren't good candidates) but it's really important to try and register. The need people with ancestry across the globe and special mixes of ancestry are really needed. Clearly someone needed my nephew's special mix of black/New england native american/central european.

[AdrienneG]

Lisa, This baby's look could kill. I need to get him a tshirt that is a people-who-like-to-touch-strange people's-babies repellent. He bursts into tears if a stranger touches him and if they look at him they get the mean look. In his other life with us he's a smiling and laughing baby.

[mckenna]

just had to pop in and say that the need for all boe marrow donors, especially minority bone marrow donors is in great demand. often times minority children wait much longer than cc children to find a match as there is less of a pool to choose from. that is not to say that an aa child could not recieve marrow from a cc person but the chances of them matching are less likely.

i have worked with pediatric cancer patients in different capacities for the past 8 years. i often worry about my children needing a donor some time in there life and becasue they are bi-racial and dont' have any full sibs, it would be hard to find a match.

you should be very proud of your nephew!!

[echaos]

Lisa, Thanks for the reminder! I just updated my address with the Canadian registry!