For my baby sister:

Feliz cumpleanos a mi amigita mono! Espero que tengas el mejor cumpleanos en todo el mundo. Te amo, mi hermanita!

Try saying that 10 times, as fast as you can!

Happy Birthday, Angie!!!

Today you turn 27 years young. I'll bet that you still get "carded" when ordering adult beverages, don't you? That's okay -- At your age, you should take it as a compliment; It just means that you don't look as old as you really are! The same thing happened to me just this past week when I ordered a beer at one of the local watering holes. All my buddies gave me a hard time about it, but I don't mind. The way I figure, we'll still look good well into old age, while those who gave us a hard time about our youthful appearance are looking like they've been sitting in old bath water too long. Serves 'em right! We'll get that last laugh, won't we, kiddo?!

Just be sure to take it easy today and enjoy yourself. Take the day off from work. Sleep late. Eat a big breakfast. Go for a leisurely bike ride down the beach. Swim in the ocean and make a sand castle. Take a long, hot shower. Lay down and enjoy a nap. Have a nice dinner. Devour a huge piece of birthday cake and ice cream. Drink a glass (or two!) of wine and relax with whatever tunes sooth your sole these days. Go to bed sober. And do it early -- You've got to work tomorrow!

I wish we could be together. It's been too long since we shared a birthday in each other's company. Just a little more than a month to go before we can be "monkey buddies" again!

As always, you're in my thoughts today. I love you, kiddo!

Happy St. Patty's Day! This has always been one of my favorite holidays. I even liked St. Patrick's Day before I turned 21 and could fully enjoy the pleasure of a green beer (or six)! I can remember being pinched for the first time by my dear Aunt Louella for not wearing green. She got me good on the back of my little arm -- left a welt! -- and then she sent me on a hunt to find something green to wear so it wouldn't happen again. And then there is always that goofy Derby Hat my Dad still insists upon wearing around for the entire day -- St. Patty's is still the only day I know my father to wear that hat. I've never seen it on his head any other time. Who amongst us doesn't like the fun and charm of a Leprechaun and his mythical pot of gold? Aye, 'tis a fine day, indeed! We're all a little Irish on St. Patty's Day!


So I could use this constructive time to inform the five or six people who actually read this blog, instead of skipping over it to go check out the Gallery for updated pictures, about the truly interesting history of St. Patrick's Day. But, alas, I have promised that I would not waste your precious internet surfing time with such silliness any longer. The last time I thought it might be fun to post something unrelated to the Kilian household, I nearly paid for it with my life (I know that letter I got in the mail was from you, Dawn!). So, I shall tell ye instead of the sad tale of my poor infant son, Aidan (Hey, that's a good Irish name!).

Poor little guy....It all started last week with a way fussy baby! I'll preface this story by letting all who read it know that Aidan is probably the happiest baby that our good Lord ever placed on the planet. Seriously. He has always been a happy little squirt. LOTS of smiles and laughs; very little crying, whining, fussing (for the most part -- he's still a baby, people!). But for some odd reason, he was just inconsolable last week starting around Tuesday night. By Thursday night, his fussiness had not improved and we were really starting to get worried about him. Mamma Bear fed him a bottle with some rice cereal at dinner and about 15 minutes later, he was projectile vomiting the entire content of his stomach all over the dining room floor. He continued to be way-beyond-fussy for the remainder of the night, but fortunately, it ended quickly, as he was asleep for the night by 7:30. He woke up Friday morning and appeared to be doing a lot better. He was able to take a bottle with no problems and he had for the most part, returned to his formerly happy self. So the decision was made to send him to day care with Sissy (that's Abby, she insists on being called Sissy now), as both Steph and I had to work. By noon, I had received a call from the day care stating that our little man was back to projectile vomiting and that one of us needed to come pick him up. So I took the rest of the day off and called the good doctor's office. I was able to get him in to see one of the physician's of the practice right away, but a lot of good it did him....He has a viral gastroenteritis (or so the doc thinks) and so there really isn't much we can do for the poor little booger. I was able to have the doc confirm that Aidan likely has GERD (see previous post: Failed Attempt -- Take 2), so he wrote him a prescription for pediatric Zantac. Unfortunately, the vomiting has persisted since then and we haven't been able to start giving him the new prescription yet. We have been feeding him Pedialyte a couple ounces at a time to keep him hydrated, but for the most part, he has just been miserable. He has not been sleeping very well and you know what that means -- either have we! The only good news here is that none of the rest of us have had any of his symptoms (quick, knock on wood for us!). Hopefully, we'll be turning the corner on this thing soon and he'll start feeling better. There is honestly nothing worse than sick kiddo's! And we had been doing so well....

Everything else is going well. The rest of us are healthy and happy, albeit a little tired! We're looking forward to this coming weekend when Dave, Jenny, and Sidney are coming into town to celebrate Easter. I wish that weather would cooperate so that Uncle Dave and I could get outside and shoot some nice shots of the kids together, but I don't think that it's going to happen. The local weather guru's are predicting a cold, and possibly snowy, Easter Sunday. Drats! So goes my luck....I suppose we'll be relegated to shooting indoors again. Not that there's anything wrong with the indoor photo shoot, but I am ultra ready for the warmer weather. That bike is screaming to get outside and I am all too ready to oblige! Speaking of the bike, I would encourage you to take a moment to check out this important Awareness Test. This is probably one of the best public service announcements I've ever seen.

Erin Go Bragh!

Okay, okay! I got the message! Judging by the comments left on my previous post, I'd say I dropped a major bomb! Back to the ol' drawing board....

Hmmmm....where to start?

Well to begin with, everyone is finally healthy -- Thank goodness! Aidan still has a little cough, but we're starting to think that it's likely caused by a case of infant acid reflux. I'm going to be calling the doctor's office tomorrow to schedule an appointment to have him checked out. Poor little guy. Sometimes he's fussy and restless while we're feeding him and he nearly always regurgitates after he's done eating. Acid reflux disease, or GERD, is a fairly common diagnosis in pediatrics. Some studies have estimated that as many as 40% of healthy, thriving children under the age of 6 months have abnormal amounts of acid reflux. With all the spitting up, drooling, and regurgitation that he experiences, I'm pretty sure that we're going to be told that he has GERD. Despite all of this, he is still just as sweet as can be. He is such a happy baby; always giving mommy and daddy lots and lots of smiles! Those are my favorite! He sure knows how to start and end a day the right way -- with lots of smiles! We could all probably learn a lesson about living from this little fella!

Abby is also doing well. Her HSP (see previous post: Science Experiment) has cleared up completely with no apparent signs that she ever had a problem to begin with. She's just as ornery as ever! She has really taken a liking to her baby brother. She often calls him "Buddy" or "Buddy Aidan". She likes to ham-it-up for him, singing and dancing in front of him while he sits in his bouncy seat staring at her like she's crazy. Someone (sorry, not sure who) gave Abby this little Elmo sing-a-long toy. It has all the traditional kid songs being sung by Elmo and there is a little microphone that she can sing into. She'll press one of the buttons and one of the songs starts to play ("There was a farmer who had a dog and Bingo was his name-o. B-I-N-G-O" -- you just sang it, didn't you?!). She'll then start hopping around and singing the words she knows, usually nearly falling into Aidan's seat. We have to holler at her a dozen times to "slow down" before she hurts herself or the baby, but that's about as useful as offering a nun a drink. She is such a goof ball!

Steph is finally feeling better as well. I spent a day cleaning up the basement a couple weeks ago (I should spend a few more down there!), making room for her treadmill and my bike. We're trying to eat better and work out more often. She's been very disciplined and she's been going down there as often as my schedule and the kids will let her. It's tough being a firefighter's wife! God bless her for putting up with me and my crazy work schedule....I love that woman!

I've been riding my bike again, although not outdoors as I would like. I am using an indoor cycling trainer that lifts the rear tire off the ground. The drive wheel (rear tire) gains resistance that mimics a road surface by contacting a 2 1/8" aluminum roller. It's not as much fun to ride the bike with the trainer in my basement as it is to hit the road and go, but it is nice to be back on the bike. I've got myself set up with my heart rate and cadence monitor and I'm getting my butt kicked by Coach Troy a few times a week. I'm attempting to train for some bigger rides for the upcoming season. Now I just need the weather to break so I can get the bike out doors. I'm going to start working on the cycling page soon, so look out for updates.

Everything else is humming right along. I'm as busy as ever at the Firehouse, with some pretty major changes for the agency forthcoming. Unfortunately, I'll have to wait a few weeks to provide that update.

We're looking forward to getting out of town at the end of April to head south to visit my mom, sister, and grandparents. We need a vacation so darned badly! I'm looking forward to showing my good looking wife and kids off to everyone in the Sunshine State....We're all going to show up looking like Casper the Friendly Ghost and his wife and kids. I can't wait to get out of town!!!

Thanks to everyone for their input on my last post. Now I know better than to post anything other than pictures and news of the family! The only person who showed me any love was Sarah, and she even took the time to give some more good Leap Day facts. Thank you, Sarah!

I guess from now on, I'll keep my updates limited to family-related topics only!