Getting Outside (March Week 2)

After getting over our March first week disaster, we were anxious to get outside and enjoy the sun. Olivia got up close and personal with the 'rain-a-deer' we see on our walk down to the golf course, and we had many fun family walks.

I was so excited to bring the kids over to Aunt Kathy's for a morning visit. She is SO generous with babysitting offers, and Olivia loves playing with her and visiting Toby. During this particular visit, O kept bringing Kathy one book after another to read, so we didn't get to chat much, but she doesn't have a lot of patience in the chatting department, so we kept it to a minimum :).

 

This is Olivia pretending to be a baby. She only gets her plus (pacifier) at naptime and bedtime, and she figured out that Carter usually had one attached to his carseat. For about a week I would randomly find her squished into his seat pretending to sleep with his plug. Cute enough that I laughed the first time, which only encouraged her.

 

Can you say copycat? She wants to be just like her Aunt Ashley when she gets big.

During the weekend I left the kids home with Alex and was able to go to Uncle Melvin's spring concert! It was a fifties theme, and an absolute blast. The costumes and singing were both amazing, and it was the first time I got to see Melvin sing...he was great!

 

Saturday was a gymnastics day, so I took Olivia for a day at Grandma Terece's. Unfortunately both Gma and Gpa were out of town, but we took Jenaye to the gymnastics meet, and had a great time!

On March 11th, Carter turned 7 months old! He celebrated his milestone with his first forward crawl! Who knew the carseat could be such incentive. He was so proud of himself the entire way, but it took him over a week to repeat that particular adventure. Our days of immobile baby were officially over.

 

Picnics in the car have become routine for us. It seems something always interrupts our well-laid plans. This time it was an accident (have we mentioned O is potty trained?) and mom forgetting to bring extra socks and shoes. No shoes (she wouldn't wear the wet ones) means no playing, so we ate in the car. It was fun, but a little cozy with two wiggly worms in there!

 

 Here's just a happy seven month old smile. C is turning into a total ham every time I pull out the camera.

And how most of the pictures turn out...needless to say I don't have the magic touch with cameras!

His or Hers

Lately we have been constantly amazed by all the things Olivia is saying and doing. This has led to some typical two-year-old power struggles and discipline, but also makes us laugh constantly. Two specific things come to mind when I think about these 'growing up' moments.

First, we have officially started our 'Not Nice Words' list. I'm sure every mom has this list in some form or another, but I thought the first word was noteworthy. I was a little surprised, because the word we have had to ban from our house first is never. Not any of the typical toddler insults, but certainly a poisonous word when screamed over and over in a hateful voice. This usually occurs when we say it's time to go to the bathroom during a fun activity, or when we stop her from pouring out her drink during a meal, or when we say she can't have a treat. It was a little embarrassing in the lobby of the Pediatrician on Thursday, but the first public tantrum is a milestone like any other, so I wasn't too rattled by it. I honestly can't figure out where she learned this as something to shout, as I haven't used never as a threat or anything, and neither has Alex. I'm guessing it was in a show or movie, but no one is claiming this one.

The second new development I'm definitely taking credit for. This last month I have noticed that O often knows where we're going before we get there. I've just assumed that she is paying attention when we talk about it beforehand, so I didn't really notice. However, two weeks ago she started asking for pizza every time we passed Little Caesars, and it hasn't stopped there. On Wednesday she started calling for the library when we were about 3 turns from getting there, even though it wasn't where we were going, and she asked to go to the pet store when we were on the other side of the complex. These last two incidences were before she could see the place she was asking for, so I know it was just her paying attention to our common stops and how we get there. This proves that she DOES NOT have her dad's HORRIBLE sense of direction, which I am very grateful for. At this rate she will be telling him how to get to her favorite places before she's 3 :).

March Illness

So yes I'm totally skipping. Ultimately this blog is for my memory and my kids memories, so I am skipping to March so I can tell an important story.

The first week in March is one I want to forget. Or want to never forget, depending on when you ask. On the first I was very busy getting everything organized for a baby shower that I was throwing on the third. I have never thrown a shower before, and wanted everything to be perfect and cute, not to mention I love the family I was throwing it for, and wanted their arrival of twins to be celebrated. I went to the grocery store for last minute food items and went home to work on labels for the food. Everything was Dr. Seuss themed, and I was having a blast with the rhymes and cute games that we were going to play. That afternoon, Olivia got sick. I'm talking can't keep food down, totally out of commission sick. It was a horrible flu-like bug, and we weren't ready for it. As with any illness, I started running the washer machine constantly, tried to keep my kids apart as much as possible, and just hoped that O would be feeling better soon.

Saturday (the 2nd) morning came around, and I though she was doing better, but she was still on a strict BRAT diet, and feeling puny. We hung out, watched movies, and snuggled on the couch. That evening as we were putting the kids to bed, she threw up again, about five minutes before Carter threw up while I was nursing him. I have never had a baby throw up that much, and it was very hard to see him sick. Right about that point I started feeling sick, but assumed it was in my head. We just started pushing pedialyte and trying to get the kids to rest. About an hour later my illness started. I can't really describe how hard it hit, but it was like a train, and I did feel run over. It was all I could do to get out of bed when absolutely necessary. At this point the rest of the members of our family knew it was a matter of time, so we started preparing.

C really liked the popcorn popper :)

Sunday morning, as Alex and Gary woke up sick, I knew I couldn't host this party at my house. I still felt good enough to make all the food and bring it somewhere else, so I started scrambling and calling around to get help. I was up early, making snacks and working out the last minute details. The mom-to-be found a new location for the shower, and I was feeling like it would all come together fine. Around 9:30 O woke up, and I could hear her struggling to come downstairs, but she wasn't crying, so I just figured she was still out of it from sleeping. She came down to the couch and started discussing breakfast plans with Mary and I, when suddenly she started convulsing. I practically threw Carter at Mary, got my phone, and dialed 911. She wasn't breathing, her whole body was convulsing, and my time basically stopped. I know now that I was partially in shock, but all I could do was talk to her, reassure her, and answer the dispatcher's questions. After about a minute she started breathing and the seizure seemed to be over. Her muscles were still contracting and relaxing strangely, and she wasn't responding to me, but she was breathing and at that point that was all I needed. When the EMTs got there they discovered that her blood sugar was very low, but her O2 sat seemed to be OK, and she responded to the toe prick, which was a good sign. O and I went to the ER in the ambulance, with Alex following in the car.

She continued to respond to being poked and prodded, and occasionally would cry and need reassuring, but she didn't talk or make eye contact until we had been in the ER for about an hour. The staff told me that this was normal for post-seizure toddlers, but it was very disconcerting to me, as I am used to her constant chatter and questions. I'm sure we made quite the sight coming into the ER. I was in pajamas, quite sick and totally worn out. Alex was running to the bathroom about every ten minutes, and laying on the ground the rest of the time. I tried to sit in a chair by the gurney, but didn't have the strength, and after passing out once, mostly rested my head on the bed. I had to be reassuring to Olivia, but only had exactly the strength I needed to help her endure her IV, many tests, and restrictions while she was there. I am very grateful to the ER staff, who were wonderful to us. They tried to help Alex and I be as comfortable as possible (Alex went home after about 3 hours and his mom came in his place), and were AMAZING with O. They brought her stuffed animals, took the time to explain everything, and were very professional. She did have another short seizure in the hospital, but never stopped breathing, and it was fairly short. Eventually they ruled out any bacterial issues or known viruses, and concluded that her seizure was caused by extremely low blood sugar, which was brought on by this virus. After eight hours we went home, and were instructed to keep an eye on Olivia, bring her to her primary care doctor the next day, and keep offering juice and pedialyte as drink choices.

Needless to say, I didn't attend or even help with the baby shower. My wonderful friends came to my house, got all the food and decorations, and threw the shower without me. This was a HUGE help, as I was really stressed out about it. I know that I was in the right place, doing the right thing, but it was very hard for me to drop such a huge commitment to someone that I care about. I heard from many that the shower was a huge success, and I know that was due to the wonderful girls who were able to guess at my ideas and throw a wonderful shower for MariAnne and her two baby boys.

The medical saga continues in a later post, but we did recover from that bout of illness after about 5 days. It ran its course through our household, and just about everyone I know. Here's a shot of our first outing post-illness. We had Jamba Juice (not a smart choice I know, but I needed it), and went to the pet store. The kids love the fish!

And we have reached October!

Yes I've taken a month off from updating the blog. Yes, I'm getting further and further behind. An up-to-date summary of our life is coming, just waiting for Carter's official 6 month measurements!

Anyway, here's October! It's interesting for me to jump back because four months ago we were really struggling to keep the smiles on every day. Alex and I were definitely leaning on all the help that we have around here, and were looking for a light at the end of the tunnel as far as Carter is concerned. Here are a few of my pictures from the first week.

I'm kind of a stickler about not buying kids toys unless they are needed. This being said, I was thrilled when we found a used bike at a kids sale, I just KNEW that Olivia would love it, and it had a handle that would allow me to push while carrying Carter in a pack. So I was a little anxious and premature in taking a walk with her. She wasn't interested at all in the bike, she just took off for her regular walk. 'It's so much faster to run Mommy!'

Luckily there is a cone on the path that always allows me to catch up to her. She loves to dance on this bird-poop-covered caution cone!

Some friends from Fresno came to visit their family in Oregon that week, so we got to have a play date with Elli! It was so fun to see the girls play together, and at such a more independent stage than they were 5 months ago :).

 My picture resizing isn't working, so all of these pictures are stuck small. Here is the start to my packing list for our first trip with 2 kids! It was SOOOO long! This is just the kids page. There were a lot of family events and other things that we needed specific clothes for, and we wanted to wear orange as much as possible, so this trip took major planning. I'm hoping that future trips with the kids will get easier :), and maybe my brain will be more used to packing for four!

And yes, this is 4 days before we left...I had to start early, and consulted my list often.

OOPS! A neighbor accidentally backed into the door of the Focus :). Honestly I wasn't very broken up about it. We rarely drive the car, and I never loved it to begin with, so it's wasn't a very big deal. Gary was great about taking care of all the repairs, and we got a new door panel out of it :). We were hoping the car would need a paint job (it has peeling paint all over the hood and roof), but no such luck. Anyway, we got it back before too long, and it was totally good.

These two pictures were taken about 1 minute apart. Can you guess the story? The first is showing Olivia with my pump, 'feeding baby'. I thought it was hilarious, so I ran to get the picture instead of taking the heavy hard thing away from the almost two-year-old. Needless to say, she got too excited and threw the pump, and I had my first experience with two screaming kids who needed to be consoled. Luckily I picked up Carter and he quieted right down, so I was able to help Olivia know that she wasn't in trouble.

 Maybe the silliest thing I have done since having Carter was to go to a tailgate in Corvallis the day before we left for our big Boise/Utah trip. I have a hard time declining an invitation to a party, so we dressed the kids in orange (yes that majorly messed up my packing) and headed down to the game. We just went to the tailgate, then came back home, but we did have fun. O had some new friends to play with, and she got right to showing them how to dance and cheer. Later I found her on the bridge throwing nuts into the creek below with Kathy :). She loves Aunt Kathy, and asks to go to her house almost daily. A few times, she has grabbed her purse and said bye; when I asked her where she was going she always says 'kathy house'. I'm not at all surprised, because Kathy has both Toby and the marbles at her house :). Who can beat that?

Another party weekend!

September 29th was Max's official graduation party! We were thrilled to celebrate his accomplishment, and always love getting together with the family. I'm just going to include this hodgepodge of pictures...they are pretty self explanatory :)

Danielle is trying to do everything that the babies do...this doesn't last for very long, but it's fun to watch!

This is O thinking that she's playing football with the boys. To her that means skipping around them messing up all the plays :). They were super sweet about letting her have the ball every once in a while, and never got mad at her antics. What great cousins!

This is what happens when I give up the camera for a few minutes :)

 On the 30th (yes we do busy weekends in this family...) we headed out to Silverton to celebrate Julie and Dale Bystrom's anniversary. It was really fun to chat and eat with the Wellman side of the family.

O got to hang out with Ruby, who is two years older. Ruby was adorable, bossing Olivia around the entire time, which is great for this girl who is always in charge.

Cousin Norah getting her first drink :) OK is was water, but I love that you can see the brewery label on the glass.

Great Grandpa getting her nose :)

Hallie bragging about her 'skills' at getting babies to sleep. I'll admit that she has two things I will never have to help with that :).