i prayed for you [update on big e]

It's been a while since I've written an update on Big E. The first half of kindergarten was a challenge adjusting to new schedules and tired kids, but the second half has been glorious.  He's just been the best kid, big brother and friend.  

One day after school he brought home a girl's phone number. Not in his handwriting.  He even knew that the first digit should be a 7, even though she wrote a 1.  So dad let him use his phone and the girl's unexpecting mother picked up on the other end.  The first words out of his mouth: "Nina said I'm supposed to come to your house".  I tried stifle my laughter and whispered "Introduce yourself first!".   He said "I'm in Nina's class" but it was too late.  The mom had hung up on him.  He wanted to call back, but we thought maybe that would be a little much, so he waited until the next day to talk to her at school.  Turns out she was at some sort of practice anyway.  I'll say I'm pretty proud of how brave my little man is!

Seeing my post about this on facebook, his long-time girlfriend's mom wrote me a message, worried that Maddie had been replaced.  I told E about this later and he said "No! Of course not! Why would she think that?!"  Two days later, he's still talking about it to dad "Why would Maddie think I would replace her?" Such a good and loyal friend. He made sure to send her a Valentine.

For a while he was obsessed with wanting a guitar.  I guess someone had come to school to show them how to play one. I just happened to mention this to a vendor I work with who has played music for years.  I didn't realize she taught guitar too. Guess who gets to strum on a borrowed guitar for a while? It's currently one of his favorite things to do.  He quickly got it out of tune, but I guess it doesn't really matter at this point.  I contacted a local college for music lessons, but they won't start until age 8.  Maybe we'll learn a few chords off of YouTube in the meantime.

A few times lately, he has gently laid his hand on his sis and said "I prayed for you."  See, when he was really wanting a little brother or sister, he asked how to get one. I told him that if you ask God in your night-night prayers, he might put one in mommy's belly. And that's what he did for about six months before I got pregnant.  So it just melts my heart now when I hear him tell his baby sis "I prayed for you." Of course, he recently decided he was going to pray for another baby.  I told him he better hold up on that for now. :)

I truly can't imagine a better kid.  I love my cuddle bug so much! He's going to be such a wonderful boyfriend/husband one day for some lucky girl.  For now though, he's all mine.

9 months

What a busy month it's been for our baby girl. She went from sitting to crawling to pulling up in the matter of a week (@ 8 1/2 months). We had to install the "baby trap" as big brother calls it.

Then out popped a tooth! She just had the one for a couple weeks before #2 started making its appearance. It was the cutest little thing. I made it my mission to get a picture of it.

She has also started clapping (with sound!), saying "dada"... as well as tipping over the trash can, dumping the dog bowl and tipping the side table over with a full glass of red wine on it.  Lesson learned on that one. 

One of her fave meals is red pepper and spinach egg scramble.  She cleans it up every time. Actually, she's never met a meal she didn't like, but least fave would have to be green beans.  She's filling out her size 18 month clothes quite well. :)

She continues to be a very happy baby. She enjoys all the interaction at day care, and loves her teachers Ms. Gail and Miss Ashley. Sutton, Elsa and Emily are her friends at school. For a while she would respond with a throaty "gcchh" sound every time you say "Sut-Sut".

Can't believe all the changes this month! It's bittersweet (though mostly sweet.)

january is the new spring

Hyacinth bulbs popping up, steaks on the grill, baseball out in the front yard.  I love spring.  Oh wait...

It's freaking January! 65 degrees in KC on January 31? This is crazy talk.

I've been taking advantage of this weird yet wonderful "winter" weather to go jogging with my big brown dog and trick-bike-riding boy. I made it back up to two miles pretty quickly.  I need to now push myself to go for three. I'm trying to decide on a 5k to run this spring.  Why is it neccessary to start these things at 6:30 am in May?  There's gotta be a 9 o'clock start time out there somewhere. Still searching. 

I did come across an obstacle race called Ruckus KC.  It's March 31 and looks like a muddy mess. But a muddy mess with afternoon start times!  I'm cool with everything except monkey bars.  I am not a monkey.  I cannot swing from my arms over a 10 foot drop into muddy water.  That kind of freaks me out.  But maybe I need to conquer my fears. And drag the hubs along for motivation.

Time for a weight check:
  current weight: 191
  starting weight (dec 15): 196
  goal weight: 160
  pounds lost: 5
  pounds to go: 31

I was stuck at 192 forever and then just had to kick it into high gear to finally get down to 191.  I've been taking Title Boxing classes about 3 times per week, running a couple times, walking over lunch and cutting way down on sugar.  It really is more about diet than anything though.  I've had some weak moments, but managed to stay pretty strong this week.

Looking forward to the 180s in the next week or two! I'm a little flabbergasted (or blubbergasted?) that I was 188 lbs at 30 weeks pregnant.  How was that possible?  I thought I was on such a great track to not have a lot of baby weight to worry about. Wrong-o. Those last 9-10 weeks are killer.

in one weekend

oh my how fast my baby girl is growing! in one weekend she began sitting up from a crawl position, took a few crawls forward, and started babbling.

sunday morning she was "talking" in her crib at 4:30 am. i go in to check on her and there she is, sitting up with her arms stretched up to me saying "bah bah bah bah". i guess if you have to wake up at 4:30 am on a sunday, this is a good way to do it.

update from the very next weekend...

first tooth (finally) popped through
crawling quickly went to pulling up
standing in her crib when you get her in the morning

monthly updates just aren't cutting it. i can't keep up with this girl!

allergic to goldfish?

thursday night baby girl broke out with a rash all over her.  we called the after hours nurse to confirm the benedryl dosage, and waited for morning.  friday the hives had moved around, and were even worse.  i called the nurse, and had to wait for the doc to arrive in the afternoon. 

so Dr. Mom on the case...

we tried to think of what she had eaten that day. the only thing new was a can of gerber peach puffs, even though she had eaten banana puffs before. there are only two ingredients (other than peach puree/juice) found in the peach puffs which are not in the banana puffs: sunflower lecithin (sunflower seed meat) and annatto extract color. 

i found where there are no known cases of allergies to sunflower seeds, but the annatto extract is a different story. this additive is mostly used in cheesy cracker-type foods (such as goldfish) and organic powder mac & cheese. i learned companies do not legally have to list the exact food additives, so glad Gerber does. i found an article online where a mom found out that her child was allergic to foods with annatto extract. the reaction described was exactly like baby girl's.

i was so proud of myself for diagnosing our little one... until the doctor finally came in and called back.  he was confident the reaction was because of the amoxicillan she started taking seven days ago.  it was her second 10-day dosing in as many months, so i didn't think that was possible that she would just now have a reaction. sure enough, the top google results say reactions to amoxicillan can start on the seventh day. however i don't understand why she didn't have a reaction the first time around.

the rash took several days to go away, but now baby girl is back to her creamy white complexion. my Dr. Mom bubble has burst, but glad to know for the future what to avoid.  i'm still a little hesitant on the puffs, but they may come back down from the top of the cabinet here in a couple weeks.

8 months

emma is 8 months old and (drumroll...) is rocking her first clippy hairbow!  she has now been crawling backwards for a month.  she just can't make her arms go foward. I think this girl is going to go straight to walking. she just started going from crawl position to sitting. still not a single tooth in sight, but she loves her finger foods... and it shows in her size 18-month clothes! cheerios are her fave.

right now she's getting over strep throat, but she recovers as quickly as she gets sick.  she's just now starting to sleep through the night again. (the couple weeks around six months were just a teaser.)

favorite toys are her activity table and anything she can bang on the hard floor (such as a wooden spoon and rubber spatula). favorite songs are "itsy bitsy spider" and "old mcdonald". but she really just loves anyone to sing or talk to her.  she lights up with the most beautiful gummy smile you've ever seen!

i had almost two weeks off of work in between Christmas and New Years and we did our best to make the most of it! in addition to all the holiday festivities, we also went to a rodeo and a mini water park this month!

update on this big kid coming soon!

hockey in focus

yesterday, as we were watching our son at hockey practice, gazing at the other players on the ice rink and not really paying attention to what he was doing, i told the hubs about how i was just like that. it was in jr. high volleyball where the coach pointed out that i would have a great serve and stand there admiring my serve, instead of getting in to the rest of the game. i have to constantly remind myself to focus on what i am doing, whether it be sports, working or driving (scary i know). 

today i look at my horoscope, and it tells me "Taurus: In life as in sports, you have to live in the moment and be paying attention."  ok, fine! i get it! kickboxing is my practice in focus. that is what i love most about it. the second you lose your focus, you have to restart and get right back in the zone. but it's such a great feeling when you are able to maintain your rhythm and get it right.

so big E (also a Taurus) got my lack of focus. awesome. his class just so happens to be called "hockey in focus".  maybe this class will help him learn to pay more attention to what he is doing. he is only 5, after all. just hope he figures it out before he's 35. i'm still a work in progress.