*I originally started this post days ago and am leaving the original post date. You're not crazy; I'm lazy.
'Heavy Lies the Crown' is one of the classic burdens of the firstborn child; a duty to set a good example, a feeling of responsibility for younger siblings, growing up a little faster than the others in order to do your part in the family. These things can be a little stressful...especially when you happen to be all of 20 months old. Let's just say that my oldest had a little meltdown today...and she strategically timed it while we were at the pediatrician's office.
Lately, we've all been feeling a little sick and when Audrey feels crummy, you can tell. It's in the puffiness around her glassy eyes and the never-ending stream of " uppy? uppy? uppy?? UPPY!! UPPY!!!! AAAAAGGGHHHH!" She's a real treat when she's down in the dumps. I was starting to fear that my sweet, crazy butter-haired dragon had been replaced permanently by this demanding, temperamental toddler.
Then magically, yesterday the monster was gone. I had a daughter who could actually smile and play independently. She laughed and wrestled with me on the floor after nap time. She ate her snacks and her dinner without going into hysterics. (She also peed in her high chair, but that's another story) It was amazing and I was starting to hope that this would become the new 'normal'
And then I ruined it all by taking her to satan's lair...did I say that? I meant to the pediatrician.
To be fair, she gave the place a chance. It took about two minutes before she realized where we were and what happened last time we were there. By the time we were shown back to the exam room, she was glued to my side, crying and had defaulted to 'just answer 'no' to any question Mom asks' mode. I brought with me an arsenal of distractions: pens, blankies, doodlewriters, crackers, cool water bottles...NOTHING would distract her from the thought that she might be about to die a horrible death. And she wasn't even the one we were there for.
It was Bailey's two month appointment. True to Gunniwolf form, she was happy as a clam the entire time we were there. She cooed and smiled when the doctor examined her--she even gurgled a semi-laugh when Dr. D touched her belly with the stethoscope. The little rump roast has porked up to a bit over 10 lbs and is now 23 inches long. That means she's still in the 50th percentile for weight and has jumped to the 75th percentile for height. I had an inkling she was going through a growth spurt as she seemed to develop triple chins in the span of four days since switching to bottles. It could have something to do with the fact that she's taking 6 oz. at every feeding now. I was getting worried (even though your kid getting too much to eat seems like a strange concern to me) but it turns out that some babies just have a larger stomach capacity and Bailey is one of them (sorry if your siblings take that one and run with it, Gunni.) Anyway, the fantastic news about this is that because she can eat so much, Bailey can go longer than the average infant between meals. This translates to 4-hour stretches of sleep at night. And I've lost track of how many times she's slept the entire night in the bassinet. Talk about polar opposite of her sister!
Speaking of which, remember where we were...back at the doctor's office? Audrey was resembling an ostrich with her head firmly burrowed in my neck, sure that at any moment she would be eaten alive. In her defense, she was there to get two vaccinations and I had to restrain her in a bear hug so the doctor could give them to her. After that whole ordeal, Dr. D asked if we had given Audrey candy yet. I declared it was definitely the time to start. She returned with a watermelon dum dum. Audrey held out her hand demandingly and later walked out of the office, tear and slobber stains soaking her shirt, with her sticky sugar-coated hand in mine. My sweet little dragon had come back! She sang me songs in the car on the way home.
Moral of this story? Life doesn't necessarily seem to be getting any easier, but it sure does feel blessed.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
...And Then There Were None
Wow, this past week has flown! Uncle Joe and Auntie Em both ventured to the Great Northwest this week to get in some quality time with the Gunniwolf and the Dragon. Most of our activities included cooking, eating what we just cooked, planning what to cook next and hanging out with the girls. Needless to say, it was a good week and we're all a little bummed that Joe and Em had to head back home. Emily was lucky enough to have a break from working on her thesis while she was here and subsequently got sick while she was on vacation. (Ain't life grand?) Lil A and I are both feeling a little yucky too and I'm thinking we all have some random passenger on a flight from the East Coast to thank for it. Yet another reason the West is best.
Uncle Joe had a pretty productive visit; John sent his resume to a few project managers at the Lab last month and one of them called Joe to come in for an interview while he was in town. It seems like it went pretty well and he's expecting a call for a second interview in the next few weeks. I'm trying not to get too excited at the prospect, but it would be so great to have Joe living in the Tri-Cities. We like him a lot. And Audrey loves shouting "Hey Joe!!" ... So, it would really work out well for all parties involved.
Next on the list for me to convert to the West Coast? Emily and Mike.
This is really just an elaborate scheme for me to have people to play Settlers of Catan with living near me.
In other news, we continue to potty train. Like everything else in my life right now, my efforts to get Audrey potty trained have been pretty half-donkeyed (that's a nice little taste of the creative profanity I've become accustomed to using) If we're home, I try to keep Audrey in undies, but change her into a diaper while she's sleeping or if we're going out. I just don't have the energy/hands to deal with pee-soaked bed sheets or car seats right now.
So Audrey is half potty trained and we're more or less at a standstill for the moment.
In Bailey news: Since I've been feeling under the weather for the past few days, it has really come to my attention how much she is attached to my person...sleep-nursing. And it's exhausting. Bailey is the epitome of a lazy nurser. It seems like she will nurse until she decides she's not starving anymore and then fall asleep for 2-15 minutes. Wake up. Nurse. Fall asleep. Repeat. I thrive when on a schedule, but not one that repeats itself randomly every 5 to 30 minutes. Needless to say, being drained from being sick all day yesterday, I finally got fed up and declared my intent to exclusively pump for Bailey.
This is a huge decision. It means I'm willingly committing to being home so I can pump every 2-3 hours. And thanks to my experience breastfeeding Audrey, I have a lot of contempt for that darn pump. Even so, I can't see myself ever getting Bailey on a real schedule unless she's eating regularly and, unfortunately, expressing milk for her is my only option if I want the best of both worlds. I would love to make it a whole year, but I think six months is optimistic as is. Here's hoping!
Other than eating delicious food, feeling sicky and lamenting my daughter's lazy attitude towards eating, we've just been taking things one day at a time. Things are really still touch and go, but we're working toward that feeling of 'normal'. If I've learned anything about parenting, it's once you think you've got something figured out, it all changes. I doubt at least that will change anytime soon.
Also, I should not have put a picture of a Swedish Fish on my blog. Every time I see it I start jonesing for one. Gah!
Uncle Joe had a pretty productive visit; John sent his resume to a few project managers at the Lab last month and one of them called Joe to come in for an interview while he was in town. It seems like it went pretty well and he's expecting a call for a second interview in the next few weeks. I'm trying not to get too excited at the prospect, but it would be so great to have Joe living in the Tri-Cities. We like him a lot. And Audrey loves shouting "Hey Joe!!" ... So, it would really work out well for all parties involved.
Next on the list for me to convert to the West Coast? Emily and Mike.
This is really just an elaborate scheme for me to have people to play Settlers of Catan with living near me.
In other news, we continue to potty train. Like everything else in my life right now, my efforts to get Audrey potty trained have been pretty half-donkeyed (that's a nice little taste of the creative profanity I've become accustomed to using) If we're home, I try to keep Audrey in undies, but change her into a diaper while she's sleeping or if we're going out. I just don't have the energy/hands to deal with pee-soaked bed sheets or car seats right now.
So Audrey is half potty trained and we're more or less at a standstill for the moment.
In Bailey news: Since I've been feeling under the weather for the past few days, it has really come to my attention how much she is attached to my person...sleep-nursing. And it's exhausting. Bailey is the epitome of a lazy nurser. It seems like she will nurse until she decides she's not starving anymore and then fall asleep for 2-15 minutes. Wake up. Nurse. Fall asleep. Repeat. I thrive when on a schedule, but not one that repeats itself randomly every 5 to 30 minutes. Needless to say, being drained from being sick all day yesterday, I finally got fed up and declared my intent to exclusively pump for Bailey.
This is a huge decision. It means I'm willingly committing to being home so I can pump every 2-3 hours. And thanks to my experience breastfeeding Audrey, I have a lot of contempt for that darn pump. Even so, I can't see myself ever getting Bailey on a real schedule unless she's eating regularly and, unfortunately, expressing milk for her is my only option if I want the best of both worlds. I would love to make it a whole year, but I think six months is optimistic as is. Here's hoping!
Other than eating delicious food, feeling sicky and lamenting my daughter's lazy attitude towards eating, we've just been taking things one day at a time. Things are really still touch and go, but we're working toward that feeling of 'normal'. If I've learned anything about parenting, it's once you think you've got something figured out, it all changes. I doubt at least that will change anytime soon.
Also, I should not have put a picture of a Swedish Fish on my blog. Every time I see it I start jonesing for one. Gah!
Friday, March 12, 2010
The Fishy Says: You Stink!
There are a select few people who will understand what that means and even fewer who were in on the original joke. For the rest of you, this means I may or may not have single-handedly polished off a half pound of Swedish Fish and I will never finish a blog post about our trip to the Oregon Coast. It was awesome. I'm going to bed with a clear conscience now.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
What You've All Been Waiting For
Here's my thousand words for this post.
...Ha Ha! You didn't think I'd let you off that easy, did you?
Strap in, ladies and gents! And make sure you take a quick potty break. Go ahead and grab a snack while you're up too; you'll be lucky if we make it to the end of this post in less than 1,000 words.
Obviously, a lot has been going on while I've been ignoring my blog. My parents came to town on Valentine's Day and spent a week with us. I knew I'd have extra hands around and planned the menu accordingly, by stuffing it chock-a-block full of Pioneer Woman recipes. Needless to say, this week we're all suffering from butter withdrawals...until Joe and Emily come to visit in a few weeks.
As usual, Mom and Dad's visit felt way too short. We mostly just hung out around the house and made delicious food with side trips to the grocery store for more beer and butter or out to eat for lunch. Let's not even mention the bakeries (yes, that's plural).
Oh yeah, Grandma and 'Appaw' got to spend a TON of time with the girls too. Audrey really bonded with both of them this time; she and Grandma G. were thick as thieves and spent morning, noon and night together. Audrey also discovered that she can get her Grandpa to do anything she wants. Apparently my Papa's a push-over when it comes to beautiful girls because I'm pretty sure Bailey's got him wrapped around her little finger too. I tell you, that kid can sense someone who has a healthy appreciation for naps!
Before my parents left, we did take a day trip to see some of the local scenery. Don't ask me where exactly we went because I wasn't driving the 15-passenger van. All I know is that I was in charge of making sure we didn't starve to death between meals and we somehow ended up in Walla Walla for lunch.
I was really sad to see my parents go; the older I get (and the more children I have) the more I appreciate them as parents and really wish we were closer to them. This is also the first time we've parted and don't know for sure how long it'll be before we see each other again. They're planning on being here for Audrey's birthday in July, but I really want to get out to Mtn. Home before then and it's seeming less and less likely since I'd have to travel alone with two kids. My stomach churns at the mere thought of it.
Speaking of stomachs, you may have noticed my unwarranted fear of starvation between meals appears to be spiraling out of control lately. And all I can say is: I. am. starving. I don't know if it's because my stomach is no longer displaced by my watermelon of a uterus or because I'm burning extra calories by breastfeeding, but I am always ravenously hungry. And if you've been witness to my eating habits lately, that's a pretty incredible feat. But seriously, this starvation thing...it scares me. Please send butter.
As long as we're talking about things that frighten me, the Gunniwolf is now a month old. How did that happen? She's starting to look more like a baby and less like a helpless newborn. She can hold her head up like nobody's business and during the three or four hours when she's not eating or sleeping, she's trying to move around as much as she can. I have a feeling she's going to be my little athlete.
Audrey, meanwhile, still retains all the natural grace she got from her mother. She seems to be taking more of a route towards being a scholar...a scholar who really likes to accessorize. The biggest news in the world of the Dragon right now is that we're starting to entertain the idea of potty training. To date (and I know you're just DYING for this information) Audrey has pooped twice and peed once in the potty. This is good news! I have a feeling, like every other milestone she's passed, she's just going to have to think about it for a really long time until she decides she's got it all figured out. Then it'll be go time! In other words: don't whip out the big girl undies just yet...Lil A's got some thinking to do.
In other potty-related news, Audrey has officially passed another milestone to be documented in the baby book. A few days ago, Audrey was running around in her diaper before getting changed into her pajamas. Mostly she was hamming it up in the living room, but would occasionally disappear for a few minutes at a time. (she's like a social boomerang--she might leave the party for a few minutes, but she always comes right back) On one of these return trips I noticed her tugging at her diaper and wasn't surprised when she decided to just 86 it right then and there. What I was surprised to see was the world's biggest turd laying on the floor. We're talking baseball-sized, here. I think my jaw hit the floor. Way to go, kid--you've taken entertainment to an entirely different and more disgusting level.
I guess that's as good a note as any to end on. I'd hate for you to starve to death while trying to finish this post.
Obviously, a lot has been going on while I've been ignoring my blog. My parents came to town on Valentine's Day and spent a week with us. I knew I'd have extra hands around and planned the menu accordingly, by stuffing it chock-a-block full of Pioneer Woman recipes. Needless to say, this week we're all suffering from butter withdrawals...until Joe and Emily come to visit in a few weeks.As usual, Mom and Dad's visit felt way too short. We mostly just hung out around the house and made delicious food with side trips to the grocery store for more beer and butter or out to eat for lunch. Let's not even mention the bakeries (yes, that's plural).
Oh yeah, Grandma and 'Appaw' got to spend a TON of time with the girls too. Audrey really bonded with both of them this time; she and Grandma G. were thick as thieves and spent morning, noon and night together. Audrey also discovered that she can get her Grandpa to do anything she wants. Apparently my Papa's a push-over when it comes to beautiful girls because I'm pretty sure Bailey's got him wrapped around her little finger too. I tell you, that kid can sense someone who has a healthy appreciation for naps!
Before my parents left, we did take a day trip to see some of the local scenery. Don't ask me where exactly we went because I wasn't driving the 15-passenger van. All I know is that I was in charge of making sure we didn't starve to death between meals and we somehow ended up in Walla Walla for lunch.I was really sad to see my parents go; the older I get (and the more children I have) the more I appreciate them as parents and really wish we were closer to them. This is also the first time we've parted and don't know for sure how long it'll be before we see each other again. They're planning on being here for Audrey's birthday in July, but I really want to get out to Mtn. Home before then and it's seeming less and less likely since I'd have to travel alone with two kids. My stomach churns at the mere thought of it.
Speaking of stomachs, you may have noticed my unwarranted fear of starvation between meals appears to be spiraling out of control lately. And all I can say is: I. am. starving. I don't know if it's because my stomach is no longer displaced by my watermelon of a uterus or because I'm burning extra calories by breastfeeding, but I am always ravenously hungry. And if you've been witness to my eating habits lately, that's a pretty incredible feat. But seriously, this starvation thing...it scares me. Please send butter.
As long as we're talking about things that frighten me, the Gunniwolf is now a month old. How did that happen? She's starting to look more like a baby and less like a helpless newborn. She can hold her head up like nobody's business and during the three or four hours when she's not eating or sleeping, she's trying to move around as much as she can. I have a feeling she's going to be my little athlete.Audrey, meanwhile, still retains all the natural grace she got from her mother. She seems to be taking more of a route towards being a scholar...a scholar who really likes to accessorize. The biggest news in the world of the Dragon right now is that we're starting to entertain the idea of potty training. To date (and I know you're just DYING for this information) Audrey has pooped twice and peed once in the potty. This is good news! I have a feeling, like every other milestone she's passed, she's just going to have to think about it for a really long time until she decides she's got it all figured out. Then it'll be go time! In other words: don't whip out the big girl undies just yet...Lil A's got some thinking to do.
In other potty-related news, Audrey has officially passed another milestone to be documented in the baby book. A few days ago, Audrey was running around in her diaper before getting changed into her pajamas. Mostly she was hamming it up in the living room, but would occasionally disappear for a few minutes at a time. (she's like a social boomerang--she might leave the party for a few minutes, but she always comes right back) On one of these return trips I noticed her tugging at her diaper and wasn't surprised when she decided to just 86 it right then and there. What I was surprised to see was the world's biggest turd laying on the floor. We're talking baseball-sized, here. I think my jaw hit the floor. Way to go, kid--you've taken entertainment to an entirely different and more disgusting level.I guess that's as good a note as any to end on. I'd hate for you to starve to death while trying to finish this post.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
My Rx for seasonal depression
There is a notorious sign (at least in my sphere of influence) at the Tri-cities airport which boasts that the Tri-Cities has something along the lines of 300 sunny days a year. None of them are in January or February. I'm sure in past years you've all been privy to my lamentations during these two gloomy months and I'm also sure my husband would have a different word to use in reference to my less-than-chipper mood. Needless to say, I was worried that the Baby Blues might hit me this time around since I was expecting a newborn during the most dismal time of year. (are you getting the impression that I despise Seattle-esqe weather yet?)
Weather-related hatred aside, I've found myself surprisingly happy for this time of year. Most days I don't have grand plans to escape the house anyway, and the overcast skies actually make me feel better about that fact. Seeing as how it's still February, today's forecast was no different than it has been for the past fifty-something days, except that it managed to steadily drizzle for the entire day instead of just sporadically raining for five minutes at a time. And to think I wouldn't have traded a ray of sunshine for the sight that met my eyes this afternoon: After a long week at work, Papa came home and took his Dragon, who was starting to show signs of cabin fever, ("Outside? Outside?! Jacket? Jacket?!") into the backyard to play in the rain. She splish-splashed in the puddles and chased the dog around the yard until her socks were soaked through. And All three of us loved every minute of it. Maybe I do love rainy days.
Weather-related hatred aside, I've found myself surprisingly happy for this time of year. Most days I don't have grand plans to escape the house anyway, and the overcast skies actually make me feel better about that fact. Seeing as how it's still February, today's forecast was no different than it has been for the past fifty-something days, except that it managed to steadily drizzle for the entire day instead of just sporadically raining for five minutes at a time. And to think I wouldn't have traded a ray of sunshine for the sight that met my eyes this afternoon: After a long week at work, Papa came home and took his Dragon, who was starting to show signs of cabin fever, ("Outside? Outside?! Jacket? Jacket?!") into the backyard to play in the rain. She splish-splashed in the puddles and chased the dog around the yard until her socks were soaked through. And All three of us loved every minute of it. Maybe I do love rainy days.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
It Takes a Lot of Work to Look This Good
If a picture is worth a thousand words, here are mine. It pretty much sums up how my week has felt. Add to that the fact that the Gunniwolf pretty much sticks to me like glue all day (and night) and the Dragon literally leaps at the opportunity to come "uppy" with me every time I put her kid sister down, well, that leaves me very few hands to type with. At least it means I'm loved. I'm assuming I'll pull out of the trenches long enough to do a legitimate post some time this weekend. Until then, remain on the edge of your seats...and check out these photos.
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