Nora and I have a routine that we do every night at bedtime. We say our prayers (that Grandma Gaul taught me!) that I have said to Nora every night since she was born, we give "eskimo kisses", "butterfly kisses" and then "bear hugs". I just heard the song "Butterfly Kisses" on the radio and now I'm a wishy-washy crying fool. I don't want my baby girl to grow up so fast anymore - it's too hard. Call me selfish, but I want her to stay little and forever be "my baby girl". Even at those times when she's being "sassy" and talking back, I can't help but to look into those big brown saucers-for-eyes and love her more than I already do. How is that possible?
John Lennon was right. "Life is what happens when you're making other plans".
I love you Nora and Archer!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
That's Just Sick!
The past week has been spent dosing and dispensing, propping and relieving. Last Thursday I took Archer to the doctor's office after a persistent fever, cough and wheezing took over his body. They tested him for RSV, which came back negative, but the accuracy rate of the test is only 90%. Archer's pediatrician suspected that he did in fact have RSV even though the test came back negative, so she started him on regimen of anitibiotics, steroids and nebulizer treatments. The steroids made him grouchy and I really miss my happy little boy! We ended the steroids on Tuesday of this week, so I'm hoping that he starts to come back around. Jed stayed home with the kids on Friday and I stayed home with Archer on Monday. It was a rough couple of days because Archer was so miserable and because of the steroids, his sleep was disrupted, so he was up in the middle of the night to eat (which has hasn't done since Thanksgiving). On Sunday I noticed that he went on hunger strike and by Monday he was still not eating and was really wheezy yet, so I called the doctor and she wanted to see him in her office again. When the nurse weighed him, he only weighed 14 lbs. 2 oz. - down from the 15 lbs. he was at just 4 short days earlier! Almost a whole pound! All that work I put into growing him when I was pregnant - GONE, just like that! That had them worried. She suspected that he wasn't eating because he had a belly full of phlegm and just wasn't hungry, so we were instructed to dilute his formula to thin his mucous membranes and to give him clear liquids as often as possible to keep him hydrated. He has slowly gotten his appetite back and by last night he was voraciously eating cereal along with his bottles. My boy is coming back! God is good!
On another happy note, I do believe that we can now officially say that Nora is potty trained! YAY FOR NORA! Besides nighttime yet when she still wears a pull up or diaper, she goes to the bathroom by herself now (even poop!). I am so thankful to have that hurdle out of the way. It really only took about 4-5 days for her to really catch on. She did have an accident last night, but it's because she couldn't get her pants down fast enough, so guess what I was cleaning out of her underwear last night? I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with "goop". But I can't be mad at her for that. It was somewhat my fault because I had too much faith in her independence. But I am so proud of her!!! Lately I have been looking at her and wondering where my baby went. I think back to the very first time I held her in my arms and heard her cry - what a lovely sound that was! (Now when I hear her cry I wonder where my earplugs are! Just kidding.) I just can't believe what a big girl she is already - she's supposed to stay little forever. But just last night she was already starting to boss daddy around (not the first time, however). She would shake her finger at him and tell him to "Watch your mouth daddy!". Hmm....think she hears that from mommy's mouth much?! (I will try to post the video of her doing it later). It got even better. After awhile she was shaking her finger and shouting, "Watch your fricking mouth daddy!". Hey, at least she didn't use the real "F" word! Jed and I just had to laugh because here is our 2 year old daughter telling us to "watch our fricking mouths".
A True Nora Story: The other morning while brushing Nora's hair, she said something to make me laugh and I told her she was silly. She replied, "No Mommy. I'm not silly. I'm a pain in the butt".
On another happy note, I do believe that we can now officially say that Nora is potty trained! YAY FOR NORA! Besides nighttime yet when she still wears a pull up or diaper, she goes to the bathroom by herself now (even poop!). I am so thankful to have that hurdle out of the way. It really only took about 4-5 days for her to really catch on. She did have an accident last night, but it's because she couldn't get her pants down fast enough, so guess what I was cleaning out of her underwear last night? I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with "goop". But I can't be mad at her for that. It was somewhat my fault because I had too much faith in her independence. But I am so proud of her!!! Lately I have been looking at her and wondering where my baby went. I think back to the very first time I held her in my arms and heard her cry - what a lovely sound that was! (Now when I hear her cry I wonder where my earplugs are! Just kidding.) I just can't believe what a big girl she is already - she's supposed to stay little forever. But just last night she was already starting to boss daddy around (not the first time, however). She would shake her finger at him and tell him to "Watch your mouth daddy!". Hmm....think she hears that from mommy's mouth much?! (I will try to post the video of her doing it later). It got even better. After awhile she was shaking her finger and shouting, "Watch your fricking mouth daddy!". Hey, at least she didn't use the real "F" word! Jed and I just had to laugh because here is our 2 year old daughter telling us to "watch our fricking mouths".
A True Nora Story: The other morning while brushing Nora's hair, she said something to make me laugh and I told her she was silly. She replied, "No Mommy. I'm not silly. I'm a pain in the butt".
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Wisconsin Dells (NOT Jingum Bells, as Nora first thought)....
As you can tell, it's been an eventful week or two since I've last posted, but alas, I have found a few minutes to finally post!
2 weeks ago, Jed, Nora and I ventured up to the Wisconsin Dells with my cousin Sarah, her husband TJ and their daughter, Kora, who is just 6 months older than Nora. We stayed in a deluxe suite at The Wilderness and had an absolutely incredible time! Our suite had two bedrooms, one and a half baths, a fireplace and a full kitchen (including dishes, dishwasher, oven, utensils, you name it - they had it!). We left on a Thursday afternoon to make the trek up there. When we got there we took the girls to the first of three waterparks. Surprisingly, the water was actually pretty warm. They were giddy with excitement that we were finally there! That night we went out to Pedro's Mexican restaurant for a few burritos and margaritas (the girls were asleep in no time after those!). Just kidding - they had daiquiris. ;o) (Again, just kidding!). When we got back from Pedro's we put the girls to bed as they were exhausted from an exhilarating day of water and playing. Then we adults decided to relax with a few drinks in front of the fire and pop in the movie "The Hangover" since Sarah and TJ had never seen it before. Never gets old.
Friday morning we got up and hit the wave pool right away after breakfast. That pool was really warm, yet Nora was still reluctant to go in. We coaxed her in, but after awhile she just wasn't having any of it. So Nora, Jed and I had a snack on the lounge chairs and watched the other kids playing and then I talked her back into going in for a bit. Pretty soon it was time to head back to the room for lunch and naps (for both the girls and moms!). Once the girls got up from their naps we all headed down to the game room. I lost my husband for a half-hour - it was like being married to a 12-year-old boy. He was so excited to be able to "legally" hurl and shoot balls at other kids in the ball pit and then when some random guy decided to clock me in the head with one of the balls "because he could", Jed was out for revenge. I felt like I was on the playground in 5th grade again with my boyfriend defending me from the school bully. (Secretly, I think he just wanted to shoot more balls and thought it was hilarious that I got hit in the face). The only wise thing I could do was to explain to Nora that her daddy was closer in age to her than to her mommy and that was why he was running around, chasing 9-year-old boys and throwing balls at them. Well, he wasn’t alone. He had an accomplice. TJ was his wing man.
But it’s a good thing because starting on February 2nd, we started really pushing the potty training. Nora has done an amazing job of letting us know when she has to go to the bathroom, except for the #2 part of it. I’ve cleaned a few of those up and let me tell you – there are very few things that make me gag, but that is unquestionably one of them! I think I can be fairly confident in saying that she is #1 potty trained, but not #2, which is odd, because it used to be reversed. All in good time I guess. She still wears pull-ups or diapers to bed at night too, but we will start weaning her off of them when she starts being drier in the mornings.
Archer is finally getting the hang of eating cereal, so in a couple of weeks we’re going to start him on food. He started getting a cold on Monday, so he’s been pretty miserable the last few days, but he’s still a happy baby, even if he doesn’t feel well. He’s “talking” a lot more and the drool practically comes out in buckets. I wish his teeth would just come through already! I noticed how much stronger his legs are than Nora’s ever were. When Nora was a baby, she would never put any weight on her legs, which is how I knew that something just wasn’t right and my instincts were proven correct. Her first doctor who said that her hips were healed ended up to be absolutely wrong. Archer has started to bounce and stand when we put him on his legs. He is a very strong baby. He will be 5 months old already next Friday….that is almost unimaginable. How did we get here already?
And with that I will leave you with a funny little anecdote from Nora’s repertoire. Last Friday Jed and I were talking about something completely off the wall and he said something to make me mad and out of jest I flipped him the bird, not thinking that Nora was watching. All of the sudden I heard her say, “One”. She thought I was counting with my fingers! That is a story I will never forget to tell her! We both started laughing and she just continued counting….never a dull moment….never a dull moment...
2 weeks ago, Jed, Nora and I ventured up to the Wisconsin Dells with my cousin Sarah, her husband TJ and their daughter, Kora, who is just 6 months older than Nora. We stayed in a deluxe suite at The Wilderness and had an absolutely incredible time! Our suite had two bedrooms, one and a half baths, a fireplace and a full kitchen (including dishes, dishwasher, oven, utensils, you name it - they had it!). We left on a Thursday afternoon to make the trek up there. When we got there we took the girls to the first of three waterparks. Surprisingly, the water was actually pretty warm. They were giddy with excitement that we were finally there! That night we went out to Pedro's Mexican restaurant for a few burritos and margaritas (the girls were asleep in no time after those!). Just kidding - they had daiquiris. ;o) (Again, just kidding!). When we got back from Pedro's we put the girls to bed as they were exhausted from an exhilarating day of water and playing. Then we adults decided to relax with a few drinks in front of the fire and pop in the movie "The Hangover" since Sarah and TJ had never seen it before. Never gets old.
Friday morning we got up and hit the wave pool right away after breakfast. That pool was really warm, yet Nora was still reluctant to go in. We coaxed her in, but after awhile she just wasn't having any of it. So Nora, Jed and I had a snack on the lounge chairs and watched the other kids playing and then I talked her back into going in for a bit. Pretty soon it was time to head back to the room for lunch and naps (for both the girls and moms!). Once the girls got up from their naps we all headed down to the game room. I lost my husband for a half-hour - it was like being married to a 12-year-old boy. He was so excited to be able to "legally" hurl and shoot balls at other kids in the ball pit and then when some random guy decided to clock me in the head with one of the balls "because he could", Jed was out for revenge. I felt like I was on the playground in 5th grade again with my boyfriend defending me from the school bully. (Secretly, I think he just wanted to shoot more balls and thought it was hilarious that I got hit in the face). The only wise thing I could do was to explain to Nora that her daddy was closer in age to her than to her mommy and that was why he was running around, chasing 9-year-old boys and throwing balls at them. Well, he wasn’t alone. He had an accomplice. TJ was his wing man.
After finishing up in the game room, we proceeded to the biggest waterpark yet. Jed and I have finally discovered our motivation to begin exercising and eating healthy again - we could barely make it up all of those steps for the rides without nearly passing out from exhaustion. However, this waterpark had the best rides yet. While walking up the steps on one ride, we saw a herd of deer out the big window and it was an absolutely stunning sight because it was at dusk and they were silhouetted against the setting sun. And then my favorite part of the whole trip - the indoor/outdoor hot tub. It was actually warmer to sit outside in the hot tub than it was to sit inside. What a thrill! And now my skin feels fantastic! :o)
That night we ordered in Italian and put the girls to bed early. That was the second time in Nora’s life that she got to sleep with us – thank goodness for king sized beds. I think I got feet to the face at least 6 times. But it was especially nice to cuddle with her. Saturday morning our trip was over :o( We did a little shopping before we came home and then the rest of the weekend was ours to relax.
That night we ordered in Italian and put the girls to bed early. That was the second time in Nora’s life that she got to sleep with us – thank goodness for king sized beds. I think I got feet to the face at least 6 times. But it was especially nice to cuddle with her. Saturday morning our trip was over :o( We did a little shopping before we came home and then the rest of the weekend was ours to relax.
And then back to reality….
But it’s a good thing because starting on February 2nd, we started really pushing the potty training. Nora has done an amazing job of letting us know when she has to go to the bathroom, except for the #2 part of it. I’ve cleaned a few of those up and let me tell you – there are very few things that make me gag, but that is unquestionably one of them! I think I can be fairly confident in saying that she is #1 potty trained, but not #2, which is odd, because it used to be reversed. All in good time I guess. She still wears pull-ups or diapers to bed at night too, but we will start weaning her off of them when she starts being drier in the mornings.
Archer is finally getting the hang of eating cereal, so in a couple of weeks we’re going to start him on food. He started getting a cold on Monday, so he’s been pretty miserable the last few days, but he’s still a happy baby, even if he doesn’t feel well. He’s “talking” a lot more and the drool practically comes out in buckets. I wish his teeth would just come through already! I noticed how much stronger his legs are than Nora’s ever were. When Nora was a baby, she would never put any weight on her legs, which is how I knew that something just wasn’t right and my instincts were proven correct. Her first doctor who said that her hips were healed ended up to be absolutely wrong. Archer has started to bounce and stand when we put him on his legs. He is a very strong baby. He will be 5 months old already next Friday….that is almost unimaginable. How did we get here already?
And with that I will leave you with a funny little anecdote from Nora’s repertoire. Last Friday Jed and I were talking about something completely off the wall and he said something to make me mad and out of jest I flipped him the bird, not thinking that Nora was watching. All of the sudden I heard her say, “One”. She thought I was counting with my fingers! That is a story I will never forget to tell her! We both started laughing and she just continued counting….never a dull moment….never a dull moment...
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