Question of the Week

Where do you accumulate junk piles?



Mike and I accumulate junk piles everywhere!!! I have been cleaning this morning and I just keep finding more piles of junk (expired coupons, chapsticks, screw drivers, shoe polish, nail clippers, change... If you can name it, it is in a pile somewhere. This seems pretty ridiculous since we live in a pretty large house. Most of this stuff really doesn't go anywhere, which is why it ends up everywhere. Here are the piles I noticed so far: in the red basket near the stairs, on the counter by the phone, on the counter near the light switch, in both corners of the mantle, on the side table near the couch, three places on the desk in the office, on the dryer. I think I am losing my mind. Mike also has his own junk piles on his work bench and in his trunk. WE ARE SO MESSY!



So, where do you accumulate junk piles?

So big!

Ainsley started cereal last Monday. She gobbled it up like it was nothing. She didn't even push it back out of her mouth, I guess she was hungry! She is now having cereal twice a day, at her lunch and dinner feeding. I let Aubrey sit on my lap during the feedings, this helps Ainsley keep her attention on me, and it keeps Aubrey involved too! I love my family and am so glad that I get to stay home with my children!!! Someday I'll learn to be a better housewife, but for now I am definitely more focused on the mom part. The floors can wait!

It hurts to blog

Last Wednesday I woke up with a stiff neck and have had very little mobility ever since. So it hurts to blog. When it hurts to type, it pretty much hurts to do anything. No fun! Well it was pretty much better by Sunday so I gave it a few more days and now I am trying to get back into my normal rhythm. We have had a lot of activity in the last week, but for now I am going to leave you with a couple of pictures of my big girl's new accomplishment!
Who knows? She may have been able to bite into an apple for months, maybe even a year, but I just gave her a whole one and she went to town! She also loves eating chicken off the bone. We'll try corn on the cob later this week!!!

Hmmm...

Ainsley has a new trick. When I put her down for her nap, she goes right to sleep. Or that is what she would like you to think. She is really trying to flip onto her tummy. Then, right when you think she's out cold, WHAM, screaming bloody murder. She is so worked up about being "stuck" on her tummy that the nap is ruined. Sheesh. This has happened three times in two days. Now I'm tired!!!

4 months young

Ainsley had her four month well check up today. She had 5 vaccinations, was weighed, measured, and assessed. Ainsley gets about 4 hours of daytime sleep and 10 hours of nighttime sleep right now. She can roll from her back to her stomach, but her arms usually get caught under her so she flips back over. She rolled from her stomach to back once this week, but Mike had just flipped her over so she may have had some leftover inertia from that :) She is starting to grasp toys and bring them to her mouth and likes to sit in our lap facing out. This is all happening a little to quickly for me this time around. I was also encouraged to start cereal since she continues to be on the petite side, so we will probably start that later this week too. Where did my baby go? So here are her stats in case you are charting her progress along with us!
Height: 23 and 5/8 inches, 25th percentile
Weight: 11 pounds 12 ounces, 15th percentile
Head: 15.5 inches, 10th percentile

follow up to the last post

So last night I am using the restroom while Aubrey is literally trying to pry my legs apart for a better look, she lost her footing (her kneeing actually) and smacked her mouth into the toilet. So within seconds, I have Mike in the bathroom too, cleaning up Aubrey's bloody lip (because I am still in the middle of what I was doing). What can I say, the bathroom is a very public place at our house! Want to come over?

Up close and personal

Aubrey has been invading my personal space this week. Here are some examples.

1. She took a shower with me on Wednesday. That's my time, get out of here. She was supposed to be taking a bath at the same time, but decided the shower would be more fun... for her.

2. She kneels in front of me while I am going to the bathroom and holds my legs apart so she can watch. Yeah, I know! She also gets me the toilet paper and flushes for me.

3. I was about to feed Ainsley the other day and Aubrey grabbed my breast and Ainsley's head and tried to bring them together like I do.

When do I get my privacy back?

Question of the week

What product immediately comes to mind when you see this picture? Scroll down for my answer.

Mike has this box in the center console of his car. Every time I get in his car, which is rarely, I think Why does Mike have a box of condoms in his car? Then I read the box and think Why does Mike have a box of guitar strings in his car? Ahhh, much better. I don't know why, maybe it's the swirly purple box or the word Elixir, but it makes me think of condoms. I know I am weird! What popped in your mind when you saw the picture?

Micro evolution at its best

Micro evolution is small changes in a species. The species doesn't change, it simply adapts to survive in the changing climate. Aubrey has this down. This medicine thing is not getting any easier, in fact, Aubrey keeps changing up her devices to keep from taking her medicine. Two days ago she hid from me. Last night she held her blanket over her mouth. She has also learned new ways to spit it out, and can now keep her teeth closed. That's actually the best, when she did this last night, Mike simply put the syringe in between her cheek and teeth and literally poured the medicine down her throat. I used the same technique today. In fact, I wasn't even sitting on her (first time) I was just holding her head still. So Aubrey was swallowing the medicine. There was nothing coming back up or anything. I was glowing with pride. As I took the syringe out of her cheek, she pushed all the medicine back out and it was running down both cheeks into her hair, down her chin and down her shirt, and all over my hands. The cheat fake swallowed!!! What will she come up with next. I am longing for Sunday night to be done with this nightmare... until next time that is.

really?

I just got back from running some kid-free errands! I was on my way out of the shopping center and a car had just pulled in and made a quick left in front of me while mouthing something and gesturing at me. Sure that I deserved such vicious behavior, I gave her an apologetic shoulder shrug and made sorry eyes. I then looked behind me, sure I ran a stop sign or did something highly unsafe. Nope, I was safely navigating the parking lot, unlike the woman I just encountered. So there you have it, Coloradans can be nasty too.

what a treat

I pulled out the exersaucers this morning and scrubbed the basement off of them and got them primed for use. Aubrey was loving the "new" toy and wasn't on board with the whole, you grew out of that thing a year ago routine. I decided it couldn't really harm anything, especially since Aubrey is so petite. So I put them each in one and let the good times roll. I had about forty-five minutes to myself because Aubrey was totally entertaining Ainsley. In the future, this would be a great opportunity to clean a bathroom or two, but today I was just trying to figure out where two more huge toys are going to go. This place totally looks like a daycare most days. So here are the pictures of Ainsley's big adventure and Aubrey remembering the good ol' days!

hopefully the last I have to say about this

First, this is a picture of Aubrey tending to an injury which occurred while barefoot in the grass. My guess, she got stung on the bottom of her foot. She would put the ice on her foot for a while and then suck on it. Yummy! I also need to kiss her foot every time she sees a bug, so I am guessing that is what happened. She is now terrified of toy bugs too. Her room is decorated with bugs, she has a music set that is all insects, and Ainsley has a pink bumble bee rattle that Aubrey points at and cries. Thankfully her room is mostly butterflies, the friendly bug, but I'm sure the day is coming when I have to take the other down for a while. Sheesh!

Last night I noticed a rash on Aubrey's upper cheek and wrapping around her eye. Her eyes are also very puffy and dark.I mentioned it to Mike, because Mike was allergic to Penicillin as a baby and this is the first time Aubrey has been on oral antibiotics so we don't have a history established yet. Well, sure enough her trunk was covered in the same rash this morning. I read my book, checked on line, and called the answering service. I talked to a pediatric nurse with the Children's Hospital and found out that Aubrey is most likely having a non allergic reaction to the Amoxicillin. It's just a nifty extra that 5 percent of kids get. And yes, that photo appointment I rescheduled a few weeks ago is for this Tuesday. I was advised to continue giving her the medication and monitor the rash. If she gets hives or a purple rash I need to call back. This is so much fun, I cannot believe I missed out on two years of ear infections! And i still had to pin her down to give her the medication, but she is fighting a lot less each time. She did how ever run to the medicine cabinet and request Motrin. How cute that she was trying to bargain with me. No mommy, I'll have this medicine instead please!
I moved Ainsley's swing to a more upright position last week. She pulls herself up anyway and wants to be more upright. Unfortunately if she falls asleep it isn't too cozy. I guess that's the price to be paid for being the second child. Mommy is outside blowing bubbles and comes in only to find her tiniest treasure slumped over and sleeping! Sorry sweetie!
She sure loves her dad. Mike is singing to her in this picture. She kept grabbing his face, smiling, and gurgling. She is so much fun and such a good sport!

some progress

After talking to a nurse last night, I gave it another try. I pinned her down, squeezed between her cheek and teeth, and held her chin up. She still managed to spit most of it out as well as attack another one of my shirts. Mike came home around 7:00 ready to do his part. He got her to sit in a chair and she was smiling and looked ready to go. She aborted the mission as it neared her face. So now Mike got to pin her down. He had her in a pretty good hold and managed to succeed. Aubrey may be slightly traumatized, but the medicine got down.

This morning it was my turn again. I tried the yogurt thing (thanks Erin), but it only worked for two bites. I may have had more success if I mixed it in without her knowing, but then I was afraid she wouldn't eat it. So after breakfast we had a good talk and she became very cuddly in an effort to convince me otherwise. I told her that I didn't want to hold her down, but I would have to if she didn't help me. I could tell she wanted to be good, but just couldn't bring herself to willingly take her medicine. So I pinned her down and puckered her cheeks so she couldn't spit it out and began the torture. She still cried, but she didn't fight it as much and actually swallowed. I followed it up with some milk and half an otter pop. Yes, she had a Popsicle at 8am. We're doing better, only 17 more doses to go. This is weird because she does love medicine and actually gets upset when Ainsley gets to have medicine and she doesn't. But from the second she saw that bottle she has been very stubborn. I'm just glad she submitted a little bit this morning.

But sadly, no fair for me today. I guess I'll get a funnel cake next year...

the verdict is in

After battling another 104 temperature last night, we headed out to the doctor this morning. It's an ear infection. I'll take it as good news since it pretty much assures the rest of our household will remain healthy. It may have been started by a cold, but if she had one, I never noticed. She should be fever free within 48 hours. When we got home, I gave her some Tylenol and Amoxicilin. By gave it to her, I simply mean put it in her mouth. She spit both of them out and now I am wearing quite a bit of orange bubble gum antibiotic. So now she gets to tough out the fever for a few hours since she swallowed half the Tylenol. I had hoped to go to the Douglas County Fair tomorrow, but it may be another home bound day. I'm getting pretty sick of this place, especially because it is a mess!

After a short intermission I am back with an update. Aubrey got up from her nap a while ago. I decided to go about this antibiotic thing a different way. I first explained that she needed to take the medicine to make her ear feel better. Aubrey threw herself on the couch and pulled a pillow over her face. I said please. She said no. I got an otter pop out of the freezer and said she could have it after she took her medicine. She wanted the otter pop, but not the medicine. I reasoned with her, she refused. I made the medicine into an airplane and tried to fly it into her mouth. Nope. I finally pinned her down and tried to force her to a drop at a time. She kept spitting it out. I tried everything, but no go. I wasted another .5 teaspoon trying to get her to take it. I now have a call into the doctor asking for some advice and told Aubrey that her dad will do it when he gets home. Oh, and I gave her a spanking for being disobedient. What a day! Ainsley is crying since a helicopter just flew over our house. Yikes. Advice anyone?

you give me fever

Well, I hope not. Aubrey has been battling a fever since yesterday morning. She was warm when she woke up yesterday and fingering her gums, so I assumed it was her two year molars. I gave her some medicine and a piece of ice which she rubbed on her cheek. I went about my day like usual, including a playgroup at the park. After her nap, she was on fire. Her temp came up at 102. Yikes, more medicine and we took it easy the rest of the day. She happily went to bed, completely ready and with not complaints. I had hoped that she would sleep through the night and be back to herself by this morning. Unfortunately she woke up a little before midnight sporting a temperature of 104! That's hot!

I went into parent panic mode and stripped her down, gave her more medicine, woke up Mike, stated cold compresses, and got a call in to our doctor. Meanwhile, Mike and I were reading the fever page in one of our books and making sure she could move her neck and was responsive. Mike doesn't snap awake the way I do, so he had a slow start, but was in action within ten minutes. Poor guy, he had to be out the door by 6am today, and this was the last thing he needed. But, I wasn't about to go it alone with such a high temperature. By the time the answering service called back, nearly forty-five minutes later, her temperature had slipped down to 101 and she was falling in and out of sleep in my arms. We had done everything by the book, so we were just given warning signs to look out for. If her temp climbs to 105 (104 under the arm) we are off to the ER, same if she gets a stiff neck, purple rash, or becomes non responsive. Same instructions for Ainsley, but to get her doctor in the loop immediately if she gets a fever.

She isn't showing any other symptoms so it is really weird. Apparently that isn't so good with such a high fever. The nurse said it usually ISN'T a virus. Then I'd like to know what I am dealing with here. Luckily her temperature was around 101 this morning, I can't believe I'm finding that lucky, so we are doing good so far. I've held off on giving her any more medicine because I don't want it to wear off while she is taking her nap. She is in great spirits this morning. She is just playing with all her toys and being really quiet. I just feel bad that I keep getting on her about staying away from Ainsley, who I seem to be holding more than usual. She keeps wanting to give her kisses and hug her. I tried to explain that if she does, Ainsley will get sick too. So the house work I had planned for today and the piles of laundry are on hold. I have to protect one kid and care for the other. Today is also worship practice, so unless Aubrey spikes a high fever again, I am on my own through the evening. Being a mom is hard work some days, but days like this really make me love my kids all the more. I'm not really one for compassion (I know it's terrible to admit) but my heart just can't take Aubrey being sick. I guess that is what I can be grateful for today, an opportunity to love on my kids and treasure them. Please pray for health for our family, and any one else we may have encountered in the last few days.

8 Things that make me laugh and sometimes frown

1. Aubrey spills a lot. The funny part is when she cleans up she will grab whatever is handy, sock, dish towel, breast pad,... and wipe it up.

2. Aubrey cannot stand to have ANYTHING on her hands or feet. If she gets as much as a blade of grass stuck to her you hear about it. This also keeps her away from many treats, they are to sticky to eat.

3. Aubrey is WAY to trusting. She will totally fall backwards and expect you to be there to catch her (you know like they do at church camp) the problem is, I'm usually not watching and she scares the crap out of me when I have to dive to catch her!

4. Aubrey spits when Ainsley spits up. This makes me frown. I laugh when she grabs my breast pad to wipe her mouth though.

5. Aubrey recently started saying cheese when she sees a camera and puts on a huge grin. I think her cousins taught her this one! So cute.

6. Ainsley smiles whenever she sees me, I love this.

7. Ainsley pulls away whenever she hears noise while she is eating. Grrr.

8. I always stink now that I have a baby again. If it is not vomit, it's stale sweat. This one definitely makes me frown.

Cousins

The California Heldts are in the middle of their first trip to Colorado. Kaitlyn and Ainsley are only a month and a half apart so it is neat to get them together for an introduction so soon after birth. Aubrey enjoys having double the baby fix around here too. We were all a little sad to miss out on the rest of the clan who are spending some quality time with their grandparents, but I am sure their will be opportunities for all the kids to get together in the future. Anna, Biniam, and Yosef, we love you and miss you lots!!!

Why we had to cancel our trip to JC Penny for pictures

Why do they make the ground out of concrete anyway? Can't they use a more face friendly alternative. Oh well, our pictures can wait a few more weeks!

What I do while Aubrey takes her nap

Do I have the life or what? Just don't ask what we had for dinner!!!