And So It Begins!!!

I had the day off yesterday to take Zachary to his two month check up.
(I know, I can't even believe it's been that long! Crazy.)

Anyway...the little guy is doing great. He's up to 9 pounds 12 ounces and just about 22 1/4 inches, so he's right on track as far as height and weight are concerned - and everything else looks good. He was suposed to have a couple of shots and an oral vaccine, but when the doctor was checking him out, he found that the poor kid has a double ear infection!!!

Of course, I felt horribly, and was convinced that Jim and I are the worst dads ever, but the doctor assured me that since Zachary wasn't showing any symptoms, we couldn't be expected to know that anything was wrong.
So, Zachary is now on antibiotics (which he loves the taste of) and is still acting as happy as ever, so we're lucky.
He can still fly with us to Florida, and although getting ear infections this early is usually an indicator that he'll probably get them often, we can keep an eye out for the slightest changes in behavior, and bring him in to be checked. :-)

Other than that bit of excitement, nothing too exciting is going on.

One of my neghbors from my old neighborhood passed away the other night.
It makes me very, very sad to know that she's gone.

In my neighborhood, there were 4 families that were very close. All the parents were the best of friends, they all had kids the same ages, (many of whom babysat me) and we often took family vacations together. When my mom passed away, everyone was there for my family, and especially for me, since I was the youngest.
Eileen, Elaine, and Ida were the three moms who pretty much took over and made sure that my dad and I were OK. There were SEVERAL occasions when I was lucky enough to spend dinner time with the other families.

Eileen's son Scott and I were best friends, so I was there more often than not, Ida and her family owned a local restaurant which we frequented throughtout my entire childhood/teen years, and Elaine lived directly across the street from me, and kept a watchfull eye on things. :-)

Eileen and Ida passed away several years ago, as did both their husbands, and Elaine's husband passed away about a year or so ago. That left Elaine, as sole survivor of the group - and she lost her battle early Wednesday morning.
It's never easy to see your old neighborhood transformed into a completely foreign place, especially since I grew up in such a great neighborhood, where you knew everyone so well - but although they have all 'moved on' (with the exception of my dad) - I take comfort in the fact that I have such great memories of the old days and can look back fondly on the place where I grew up, surrounded by supportive and caring people.