tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2733638013496113652024-03-13T13:45:29.321-05:00bottles & blundersour journey into first time parenthood & beyondBottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.comBlogger238125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-33951196755270128532017-11-10T07:30:00.010-06:002017-11-21T05:49:35.833-06:002 Years. <p>Look who is TWO!</p>
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I can't believe we have reached the two year mark. As always, it has come upon us so quickly! In the last six months, Ellie has grown in many ways. </div>
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Her language is developing every day as she adds more and more words to her vocabulary. She is naming most things these days, repeating what she hears us saying. For the first time, I can see her satisfaction of being able to verbally express what she is trying to tell us. Seeing that light bulb of recognition go off saying<i> "Yes! They understand me!"</i> is such a cool thing to witness. With the growth in vocabulary has also come the process of learning how to string together words. This is another neat progression to see as you can literally see the wheels spinning as she slowly puts the words together. So far she has a handful of two to three word phrases she can regularly throw out. These include goodies such as "sissy cying", "yuh you mama (or dada, or sissy)". I also love the moments when her mind is working overdrive and all of the words come tumbling out in a jumble of nonsense. My most recent favorite that I don’t want to forget is how she pronounces “snow”. Saying “s’s” are hard for her so she concentrates real hard and says “no-sss” when she is saying “snow”. </div><div><br></div>
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Ellie made leaps and bounds quite literally over the summer in regards to her legs and low muscle tone. In June we started her at a new physical therapy office. We were very happy with the direction and care at the new facility. Our new therapist recommended Ellie be fitted with SMO braces from the start. These are to help with supporting her ankles, creating an arch, and forcing underutilized muscles to work and gain strength. Soon after being fitted with the braces, she was released from physical therapy as she was hitting two year old milestones, 5 months ahead. It has been so awesome to see her confidence grow as she runs, jumps, and climbs <i>everything.</i> For the long haul, it looks as though she will be in these SMO braces until age 3 or 4. Her right ankle is still leaning in quite obviously, although it doesn't appear to bother her at all. Finding the correct shoe to fit the SMO brace with her feet being so little was a lot of trial and error. We have found the <a href="https://www.zappos.com/tsukihoshi-kids-girls-sneakers-athletic-shoes/CK_XARC81wFSAtoKegKOBYIBA7neA8ABA-ICBQECGAoP.zso" target="_blank">Tsukihoshi</a> brand has been our favorite so far because of the width they provide.</div><div><br></div>
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Ellie is consistently hesitant about anything that is new to her. In order to get her to try something it generally takes a few demonstrations and goading in order to get her to buy in. This can be anything from trying a new food to putting on mittens. Once she decides she is into something then she is all in and fully invested. Recently, she refused to wear mittens, screaming and crying over them despite her red, frozen hands. She eventually warmed up to them after realizing that everyone else wearing them, while they were also excitedly encouraging her to try them. Once she finally allowed them on, she refused to take off the "ittens", even inside. She then wore them all around the house calling out <i>"-ittens! -ittens!"</i>. These are the moments that Adam and I often find ourselves shaking our heads to each other and muttering under our breath...<i>"this girl....is gonna give us a run for our money...”</i></div>
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In the last six months, Ellie has been working her way out of her sweet, calm infant shell into a stubborn, outspoken, feisty little being. She is everything that two's are known for and then some. There are many times I feel like I'm dealing with a moody twelve year old instead of a teeny little two year old. She puts herself in time outs regularly when she is mad, crosses her arms, frowns, and pouts to express all those tough to handle two year old emotions. I think her ability to be so obvious with how she's feeling is exacerbated by the fact she has a big sister who she idolizes and copies incessantly. She has learned so many ways to show <i>"I'm mad right now!"</i> and loves to make sure we all know it. She is also insanely stubborn and insistent. The girl knows what she wants and refuses to accept much less. She typically spends her days finding anything she can to feel as though she is the one in control and making the decisions. These personality traits sure will come in handy when she is older and ready to rule the world.<br><br>
With these strong emotions has also come an increased aggression. Ellie has struggled with biting, hitting, and kicking, none of which her older sister ever did. In fact, Adly is usually the target for these forces of aggression. <i>(Don't worry, Adly is rarely innocent, she loves stealing her little sisters toys). </i>As Ellie heads into being two, these things appear to be going away ever so slowly. I've read all the parenting books trying to figure out how to best approach it. I honestly think it is something she will just have to grow out of as her vocabulary increases. She is also different from Adly when it comes to punishments for such acts. Adly was fiercely against time-outs and refused to sit in one spot for any given amount of time. Ellie, however, takes the sentence handed to her with dignity and sits and waits until she is released from her jail cell of a time-out chair. It is usually followed by a <i>"sa-yee mama, or sa-yee sissy..." </i>and a few bats of those beautiful blue eyes, which makes us all melt to the floor and forget.<br><br>
On the flip side of her little outbursts, Ellie continues to be our biggest snuggler. She still loves to cuddle up and watch a show or read a book. Her nighttime routine includes a song before bed where she snuggles right up into our neck and pops her thumb into her mouth while Adam or I sing to her. Every night that she does this, I feel like it could be the last, so I continue to soak each and every one up. She is also a huge hugger. She will always offer a hug when anyone is sad, coming home, or leaving.<p></p>
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Her sister is her absolute best friend and I hope they always stay this close. They love to play together <i>(and then fight, and then make up and play again before fighting again)</i>. She absolutely adores Adly and does anything and everything her big sissy does. In the last month or so, Ellie has also adapted her own version of a "nye nye" blankie and 2 stuffies (Hoo-Ha the monkey and Doggie the dog). This is stemming from Adly's obsession with her own night-night blankie and snuggling with it for our bedtime TV watching. Now they both run into their rooms grabbing their lovies the second they hear that it is time to "watch a show" at bedtime.<br><br>
She continues to go by mostly Ellie, with her full name, Eleanor coming out usually when she has been naughty. I so love the name Eleanor. I hope that as she continues to grow, it begins to stick more. For now though, she continues to be our little Ellie Bellie.<br><br>
As much as Ellie likes to keep us on our toes, we sure love her to bits. I cannot wait to continue to see her grow, change and thrive into her own little person as she ventures into the land of the twos. To my sweet Ellie girl, you are a constant ray of sunshine for our family. We love you so.<br><br>
Here's a little about Ellie at 2:<br><br>
-favorite toy(s): Doggie and Hoo-Ha the monkey<br><br>
-favorite food: pancakes and oatmeal w/raisins<br><br>
-favorite book: <i>Dance Me Daddy, You Are My I Love You, & Goodnight Moon</i><br><br>
<i>-</i>favorite animal: dog<br><br>
-favorite show: Wee Sing<br><br>
-favorite movie: Sing</p>
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-33822701504607166662017-06-03T14:26:00.002-05:002017-06-03T14:31:10.318-05:0018 Months & UnstoppableMiss Ellie Bellie is now 18 months old! Oh, how the time has flown. And speaking of flying, so is Ellie. She has almost mastered the skill of walking and is using that prowess to get into anything and everything imaginable.<br />
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She continues to be happy go lucky most of the time, exploring the world without much hesitation. her personality seems to be much different than her big sisters. Where Adly is shy and demure, Ellie busts into things without much thought. With her newfound ability to get anywhere she pleases has come her insatiable appetite for danger. Nothing seems to stop her when it comes to curiosity and well, being an outright stinker. She is famous for giving a little side eye, mixed with a grin as she reaches for anything and everything she is not supposed to have. Whereas Adly spent her time happily playing within the parameters we set around our house; Ellie looks for any place imaginable that hasn't been baby proofed (or has) and dives for it. <br />
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Ellie is talking more and more, but is definitely way less verbal than Adly was at this point. However it is so much more exciting having a big sister to cheer her on whenever she does come up with a new word to repeat. She acknowledged me as "mama" for the first time a few weeks ago which was amazing. She calls our nanny Colleen "Leeny". She will also make attempts at most words you ask her to say. One of her favorite things this past month has been saying "beeeyey!!" which is "belly" while invading your personal space and lifting up your shirt. She will do this to anyone and everyone, no matter your stomach situation.<br />
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Her slower language development is already starting to lead to glimpses of meltdowns. She has never done anything in public thus far, but her favorite reactions seem to be throwing herself on the floor, banging her head on the couch, or biting the crap out of any inanimate object she can find quickly. She is most frustrated by her sister stealing things from her or me not understanding what she is trying to say. It is so hard to try to communicate when they are so close...but just can't yet.<br />
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Speaking of her sister, Adly and Ellie continue to grow and find ways to play together which is awesome. They will often run off and play together, however the language barrier still plagues their ability to actually "play". Most of their time together consists of Adly creating games around Ellie that Ellie has no idea of whats going on so she just runs back and forth yelling and giggling. Ellie still adores Adly and completely looks up to her, calling ,<i>"Sissy! Siiiisssy!!"</i> all day, every day. Adly, ever the opportunist, has seen this as a way to at times torment this little being that cuts her attention in half. Last week, I was cleaning the kitchen as I heard Adly yelling about a gorilla that was after her. I came into the living room a few minutes later as Adly tells me, <i>"The gorilla is locked away. Don't worry, we're safe!"</i> Turns out the "gorilla" was her sister who she'd locked in her pitch black closet. I of course ran and opened the door, only to find little Ellie happily playing in the dark with a toy, completely content. <i>Someday, Adly...you'll get yours. </i><br />
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Ellie also seems to be super tough. She incurred her first elbow and knee scrapes during our random bouts of warm weather. Having her bare skin exposed while running around the treacherous driveway resulted in quite a few spills. Both times, she was cut and bleeding and I didn't know until much later. She never cried or made any indication she was hurt from a fall. I was sure cleaning the wounds would illicit wails, but no. She happily played with her toy while I cleaned and placed band-aids. I hope she's always this tough!<br />
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Speaking of tough, she is also pretty rough and tumble, compared to her big sister. She tends to be the one doing the damage when it comes to them fighting. She is also a hitter and a biter (only with our immediate family), which is new to us as well. So far, this seems to be her favorite way to "express" herself. Hopefully it is a quick phase that fades with more communication skills.<br />
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The engineer in her continues to blossom as she focuses in on something and repeatedly attempts to figure out what it is and how it works. She still picks up the smallest items and investigates them carefully. As she's grown, it has become more of an effort to see how things work together and fit into each other. I love this so much about her, and can't wait to be able to talk through her thinking when she is bigger.<br />
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Her progress with her legs has been up and down. We are switching therapists for her physical therapy in the coming weeks to get a new set of eyes on her. She'll also be seeing an orthopedic surgeon to be evaluated. While she's made great strides as a walker (and even runner), her ankles are still very loose and leaning in without the support of shoes. It has been a frustrating process to not have direct answers. We are hopeful that these next steps are just the beginning of a short road to finding the best solutions to help her as much as possible.<br />
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Ellie, you continue to brighten our days with your never ending smiles and happy outlook on life. We love you for always keeping us on our toes!!<br />
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<br />Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-20986334797270808242017-03-14T17:00:00.000-05:002017-03-15T06:07:30.226-05:0016 months!Our sweet Ellie is now a whopping 16 months old. She has spent the months since her first birthday growing rapidly, but her biggest burst has most definitely been in the last month.<br />
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She is now talking away. We went from babbles and sporadic dada's to saying all sorts of things and attempting to say almost anything we get her to repeat. Her word list includes goodies such as: Shay, (her cousins name), Gaga (grandma), Papa (grandpa), sissy, ba-ba, ball, mama, uh-oh, dada, hi, hot, belly, head, and bye. She says "dada!" when he walks in a room, but has yet to really say it for me. Her first two-word phrase was "ka-koo!" which is "thank you". She also says "buh-bye!" This burst of language really took place in the last week.<br />
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<i>Those crystal blue eyes are still holding on strong!</i></div>
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She's been all over the place with foods and her likes/dislikes change daily. I guess she's just another normal toddler in that department. Some of her favorite foods (depending on the day) are yogurt, applesauce, cottage cheese, fish sticks, spaghetti, chicken nuggets, pouches, milk, and pancakes. She loves using a spoon, and loves creating a food disaster zone every time she uses one. She despises anything new and will refuse to eat whatever is new to her. She has no qualms about twisting her face and looking beyond disgusted that you would even attempt to offer her something so terrible<i> (like pizza)</i>.<br />
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From a very young age, Ellie seemed to have really good fine motor skills, picking up the littlest objects off the ground to investigate. She is an expert at finding the tiniest crumb or piece of dirt on the floor. I try not to think about the amount of items she's actually consumed from our floors. As she grows, it has been interesting to watch her develop this skill. She will sit and place items around her and spend an extended amount of time working to put them inside each other or place them in specific orders. In the bathtub, for the longest time she would sit and try to figure out the toggle on the spout to turn on the shower. Every bath, she would look up the faucet, feeling around trying to figure out what that thing was and why it was there. After some time, she discovered if she pushed up, the knob at the top would stick out. And if she pushed that knob down the toggle would come back out for her to play with. She was so excited when she figured out how it worked. Watching her so carefully make these discoveries and figure out how things fit into the world is one of the coolest aspects of this age. I never want to forget that feeling of seeing your child discover something new.<br />
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<i>She spent an hour trying to figure out how to put the insert in the shoe like mama did. </i></div>
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Ellie LOVES having an older sister. She is most definitely the bruiser, who has no problem walloping her older sister, attempting to bite her, or poking at her while pretending like she's "playing". She also loves to instigate wrestling matches between the two. Adly, ever the complacent older sister is pretty gracious when dealing with this, although she definitely gets her jabs in at various times too. One of Ellie's earliest words was "sissy" and she can be found most often trailing behind her yelling <i>"Sissy! Sissy!" </i><br />
<i><br /></i>With Ellie, there are way more toys all over the house than we ever had when Adly was this age. Adly has an insatiable imagination that is active from sunup to sundown. Because of this, Ellie has developed the ability to pretend much earlier than Adly ever did. She will take the toy foods we have around the house and pretend to eat them. She feeds fake foods to the stuffed animals. In the bath the other night she was filling up a lego with water and having the toy pig drink the water. While Adly continues to impatiently wait for Ellie to really be able to talk, they have developed a level of play that is so fun to see happen. They giggle and laugh and chase each other around the house and Ellie copies <i>everything</i> her big sister does.<br />
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<i>Snacking with sissy. </i></div>
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<i>Car Carts. Every child's dream, every parents nightmare.</i></div>
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As a baby, we watched Adly grow into a very careful, thoughtful toddler. She rarely took dangerous chances and definitely wasn't a climber. Enter the younger sister and all that easy parenting gloriousness went out the window. Ellie definitely challenges our patience and our fears by having, quite frankly, no fear whatsoever. The kicker about Ellie being fearless is that she knows it. Most often, while she's climbing on top of something and then attempting to stand, or rocking the chair she's on to knock it over, she'll look over her shoulder with a sneaky grin almost as if to say, <i>"yep, I'm doing it again, try and stop me now....". </i><br />
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The biggest accomplishment for Ellie the last month has been her advancement to walking. She was diagnosed as "low tone" around six months. We didn't know much about it other than the fact that she was very bendy and didn't put any weight on her legs. She garnered nicknames like "froggy" and "flopsy mopsy" because she was just that: <i>floppy</i>. When she moved to sitting, she would lean back with her legs flying up in the air. It looked as though she had abs of steel, balancing herself on her tailbone. What we have learned now is that she actually had no core strength and that position was a way for her to overcompensate for that. We followed our pediatricians advice and waited out physical therapy until she recommended it at her one year checkup.<br />
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Hearing your child has a deficit and needs some sort of outside help is scary no matter the situation or the age. I kept telling myself she'd be fine. She had hit every milestone in a timely matter and she was so close to walking, <i>she could overcome it on her own</i>. Around 14 months, she did start to "walk". But her ankles were still so loose and I couldn't deny her stance was off. He legs bowed inward and her feet outward to support her weight. Something just wasn't right. It was then that I finally made the call for therapy. We looked into early intervention and a childhood therapy facility our pediatrician had recommended. I am so grateful Illinois offers programs such as early intervention, which provides free screenings and in-home visits for families with a child who is displaying some sort of developmental delay. However, our insurance policy also covered physical therapy, so we chose to go through that. This was mainly because she could start the same week I called, whereas early intervention was more of a wait.<br />
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Therapy helped almost immediately. Since Adam is off of work, he took on the duty of taking her every week. She definitely regressed over the first few weeks and quit walking all together. This was mostly due to the new inserts her therapist had her use and the constant therapy she was receiving from Adam at home. All of the changes forced her to re-learn how to walk correctly which took some time. Ellie, ever my stubborn offspring, hates therapy (or the therapist) with a passion. She would spend most visits according to Adam crying, clinging and whining. At week four of therapy, Adam excitedly texted me that the therapist had taken Ellie away to the therapy gym where he could watch her through a double-sided mirror. Once Adam was out of the picture, Ellie started walking everywhere with the therapist. She cruised for an entire session, not sitting down once. By the time she got home, she went immediately back to crawling only. It wasn't until after the next session that she began actually attempting to walk at home. Of course, being at work and not being able to witness any of this awesomeness was pure torture.<br />
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A few weeks later and at 16 months, she's now taking careful steps around the house. Her signal that she's going to walk is to say, <i>"go! go!"</i> If we tell her to <i>"go"</i>, she'll stop crawling and start walking. Seeing her walk now is completely different than when she started around 14 months. It is amazing to me what becomes "normal" to you when you're dealing with a child that doesn't fit the norm. As I see her now, taking her careful, yet precise, yet wobbly steps the memories of Adly learning to walk come flooding back. She is now learning to walk as any other child does, it just took a little extra help to get her there.<br />
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Another thing that has taken a while to get here have been her teeth. She had her two lower teeth pop through shortly after turning one. For a long time after that, there was nothing. Then one day, I was able to get my prodding fingers into her mouth, only to discover she had an entire mouthful of teeth coming through. Her upper right fang was the first to come through with that spurt. Months later, her two front teeth and a few back teeth are creeping their way out. Thankfully, and I mean this with the utmost sincerity, we have been blessed with an easier teether. (Terrible teething moms, I salute you). Besides a few fussy eating sessions and some whining at night, it has not even been noticeable.<br />
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Ellie continues to fill every last ounce of our beings with her snuggles and love. She is a total lovey and will happily crawl into our laps at any given moment for a snuggle and a hug. I find myself holding on to every last bit of her babyhood. Every night at bedtime Adam and I have both developed a routine of a little snuggle and song time with her. When we stand up from reading our night time book in the rocking chair, she throws her thumb in her mouth and snuggles her head right into the crook of my neck. With her little arms wrapped around my shoulder I quietly sing, <i>You Are My Sunshine, </i> and hold back tears, willing time to slow down.<br />
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<i>Happy 16 months my sweet Ellie girl. We love you to bits.</i></div>
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<br />Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-69393791791716741772016-12-15T07:09:00.004-06:002020-12-15T14:09:58.541-06:00Thankful. (Peanut Allergy Awareness)For 8 years I've been in classrooms and taught how to use EpiPens...if the day ever came.<i> I never believed I'd ever use one.</i> For 3 years, I've had a daughter who tested positive for a peanut allergy with a component for severe anaphylaxis to occur if ever ingested. <i>I still never thought I'd use one.</i><br />
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Finding out Adly had a peanut allergy via a scratch test at 11 months old was a bummer for sure. However, I don't think either of us fully understood the gravity of the diagnosis. Yes, she now had a peanut allergy and it was going to make our life a little more difficult. But I didn't want that to stop us from living as normal people. I didn't want to be that overbearing mom I've seen plenty of times who refused to let my child "live" at restaurants, parties, and play dates. Plus, beyond a few spots on her face, I had never seen any type of reaction regarding peanuts. It is such an abstract diagnosis that it can be hard to fully comprehend the severity of it. Your child gets pricked with a needle yearly, some blood is drawn, and weeks later your notified over the phone whether the allergy is still present and the severity of it. As of age two, with the blood test results, we were told the following: Adly tested positive on a level 2 out of 4 in severity. However, she has a component within the allergy that identifies to present itself through anaphylaxis if ingested, which therefore makes it that much more serious.<br />
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We have been diligent about any food products we buy at home and making sure she always has her EpiPen on hand wherever we go. We make sure everyone close to us knows about the allergy, we inform any caretakers and send her to a peanut-free school with EpiPens. <i>Because that is what you're told to do.</i> But truthfully, I never really thought she'd ever be in a situation where she might have any kind of severe reaction. <i>Because we're careful. </i><br />
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This weekend, we were invited to a neighbors first birthday party where we didn't know anyone. We were both excited at the prospect of meeting new people with kids in our neighborhood. It was a hustle and bustle kind of night, trying to talk to and meet everyone while chasing around our wild one year old and simultaneously keeping an eye on our 3 year old. It was at that party that my very smart and knowledgeable daughter ate two Reese's peanut butter bell candies, across the room from us, with another little girl. In the final seconds of the act, Adam happened to notice Adly chewing something.<br />
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Neither girl would admit to eating anything. Adam smelled peanut butter on her breath. It was only after some coaxing that I was able to get the wrapper from the other little girl. My heart sank to my feet when I carefully unballed the red foil to read <i>"Reese's"</i>. We looked at her, she was fine. No grabbing her neck because she couldn't breathe, no redness, no hives; all of which I had expected to happen were we ever in this situation. For the next 10 minutes we held our breath at the party, trying to remain calm. No symptoms.<i> Maybe she wasn't even really allergic</i>, I kept telling myself.<br />
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"Maybe she didn't even eat it," I hopefully said to a dad who was sitting near the girls.<i> </i>"No, she definitely did," he confirmed.<br />
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After some back and forth we decided to leave and go back home to observe her. There, we peppered her with questions. She was over it; tired and annoyed. She wouldn't answer us. "Do you feel itchy? Does your throat feel weird? Does your tummy hurt?" Lets be honest, does a toddler really know how to answer those questions? Probably not. But in that moment, it was all I could do to keep myself sane. 10 minutes later. <i>She's going to be fine. It was just a fluke, Maybe she really didn't even eat it. </i>She KNOWS she's allergic to peanuts. She KNOWS to ask before she eats.<br />
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10 more minutes. <i>Call the pediatrician, they can tell me its all just a fluke and it will go away. </i>There were still no visible symptoms, but she had started coughing.<i> </i>I made the call. Left a voicemail on the emergency line in which they respond within 20 minutes<i>.</i> Two minutes later, our pediatrician called back, asking for a rundown of what had happened.<br />
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The pediatrician stated with a firmness and urgency I'll never forget: "Get the EpiPen and administer immediately. Then get to the ER as fast as possible. I know you don't see much now, but when it happens, the reaction is going to come fast." <br />
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I hung up the phone. Walked to the bathroom like a robot and instructed Adam to pull her pants down. I pulled out the EpiPen that was in its trusty spot. I scanned the instructions, walking to the living room. I popped the cap. I held her thigh. I stabbed. She screamed. Adam and I counted out loud over her screams, <i>"one one thousand, two one thousand..."</i> I lost it, sobbing through the counting. Time slowed to a halt. 10 seconds in the thigh.<br />
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And then it was over. <i>Just like that.</i> I dried my own tears and went back into robot mode. <i>Move the cars, </i>I thought. I ran outside with no coat, moving Adams snow covered car blindly into the street. I ran in and got our other car keys, hearing Adly screaming at the top of her lungs. <i>Brush off the car, warm up the car. Go, go, go....</i><br />
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All this time I had been thinking Adam would take her to ER and I would stay behind with Ellie. He is the calm one who knows how to handle these situations far better than I. However, I've been the one to handle her allergies, take her to her yearly summer allergist appointment and receive the EpiPen education. After a quick back and forth it was decided I should go. <i>To the car. Go, go, go....</i><br />
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On the 13 minute drive to the hospital we hit every.single.light. Adly began declining rapidly in the car. She was talking nonsense and continuing to attempt to pass out. Like a robot, I'd shake her leg and make her tell me a story. Like a robot, I was complaining about the lights. <i>"We should've taken a f*!king ambulance",</i> I muttered at a light. I heard Adly quietly remind me from the backseat, <i>"it's going to be ok mama."</i> Of course. My beyond her years daughter could speak so wisely, yet she couldn't remember in that moment to NOT EAT THE CANDY. Why?? Because she's three. She's still a baby. <i>My baby</i>.<br />
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When we finally raced into the ER driveway and I got her out, I was shocked. She was mumbling, beet red red, and swollen. There was a line at the sign-in and all I remember is shouting about how she was in anaphylactic shock and needed to get in to get another shot. The receptionist grabbed us and led us back into the triage where they immediately got to work. Suddenly my baby was being stabbed in her other leg, IV going in her hand, mask on her face. She was screaming and crying inconsolably. The doctor came in and that is when I slipped from robot mom into <i>ohmygodwhatishappening</i> mom and lost it. I couldn't even compose myself to explain the details of what had happened.<br />
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<i>About an hour after being admitted to hospital. </i></div>
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It wasn't for another few hours that the symptoms began to subside. She had eaten a good amount and they needed to keep her overnight to continue observing. It is common for the reaction to take hold again even hours after exposure, because of the fat content in peanuts. Thankfully, by morning and after a lot of drugs, she was completely back to her old self.<br />
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<i>Showing her handy dandy IV holder pad. </i></div>
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<i>Checking out the snow the next morning from our room. </i></div>
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<i>Playing with her new Barbie our sweet nurse gave her in the morning. Fully recovered.</i></div>
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In the days since that awful night, we've done a lot of reflecting and talking between Adam and I and with Adly. A few days later, it came out in conversation with her that she actually<i> had</i> asked the little girl if it had nuts. She really did know what to say. But of course, what does an unknowing three year old answer to that? <i>"There's no nuts. You're fine. Here you go, eat it."</i> For all that little girl knew, she was being nice to Adly and sharing her candy. To any other child without allergies, they know nothing about nuts and the danger of them. The bottom line is, so much education is required when it comes to these allergies, and sometimes, it's just not enough.<br />
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I wanted to share our experience to provide a helpful reminder to those with allergies especially during the holiday season. These allergies are serious, and can be life threatening. If you know your child has an allergy, do your best to assess all types of food available when going to gatherings. This is one of the things I <i>always</i> do. But on this particular night, I didn't. I saw random candies laid out carefully in pretty bowls and never stopped to personally remind Adly she couldn't eat them.<br />
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Adly experienced what is called a latent reaction. This reaction works its way from the inside out and therefore takes time to show any visible symptoms. Meanwhile, its wreaking havoc internally on the body. I often get asked how we even discovered she was allergic to peanuts. Common signs of any allergic reactions (and what we first experienced at 11 months) are red splotchy spots around the mouth. Any noticeable irritation after eating a certain food. We treated immediately with a dose of Benedryl and she was fine. It is important to note that reactions get worse the more times a person is exposed. Therefore, at 11 months, Adly's first exposure, the reaction was minimal. Fast forward two more years and it was life threatening.<br />
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We've now purchased Adly <a href="http://www.theidbandco.com/Kids-Peanut-Allergy-Wristband-1250?CountryCode=US&gclid=Cj0KEQiA-MPCBRCZ0q23tPGm6_8BEiQAgw_bAlv_xWpqMMiWuX2lpz6PCNYWybmFV4Oxkh6ZfBzmWXIaAgJz8P8HAQ" target="_blank">this</a> bracelet she will wear day and night for as long as I can force her to. It was something I had considered buying but for whatever reason never did. No, this wouldn't have stopped that little girl from telling Adly the candy she wanted to give her didn't have nuts. But maybe it would've notified a parent who was standing closer than we were. <i>Just maybe.</i> Our child is very quickly leaving our very protective nest of safety, entering school, play dates, playgrounds, and gatherings where we can't keep our eye on her every little move. I can only hope she continues to be protected from any more incidents.<br />
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Ever since Thanksgiving, Adly has loved to randomly ask what I'm thankful for. Yes, we could have done a lot of things differently but I think if anything, I'm thankful we now know just how serious it is. I'm thankful we caught her eating it. I'm thankful we had the EpiPen. I'm thankful we have responsive pediatricians, no matter the day or hour. I'm thankful for the ER staff who knew what to do right away to make her better.<br />
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But above all else, I'm thankful my sweet girl is still here with us today.Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-29983723819867234192016-11-10T11:05:00.002-06:002016-11-10T11:24:13.475-06:00One Year. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our sweet Eleanor is one. <br />
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Where did the time go? <br />
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In one year, our lives have changed tremendously. We had a winter off together. We bought a house and moved to the suburbs. I left my job and many dear friends. Adly became potty trained and started pre-school. I began a new job and grade level. So many changes, and all for the better. <br />
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Here is Ellie, at one year old:<br />
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At one, Ellie is standing and letting go (and promptly dropping like a sack of potatoes). She is one determined little peanut and holds true to the statement <em>"try, try, try...and try again."</em> <br />
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She is slowly scaling around the couch. <br />
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She will "walk" with the help of mama or dada holding her hands. <br />
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She is like a little tree monkey and climbs up my legs to standing, wherever I stop. <br />
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Ellie has 2 bottom front teeth. <br />
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She eats, but is very picky. Her favorite foods include toast, any fruit, frozen peas, yogurt, and applesauce. She does not like meat or fish. <br />
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She can only drink milk from a cup. She has no time for the nonsense of Sippy's or straws. Sitting up to drink can be hard for her, so she does best in the highchair with an adult holding the cup for her. <br />
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She says "mama", "dada", "doggie", and "tee-tee" (pretty). I swear I heard an "Adeee!" when she was crawling after Adly one day. But that has only happened once. She is mostly known for her noises at this point. My absolute favorite is when she kisses someone and then goes "ohhhhhh!" She also falls and makes an "oooo!" sound. <br />
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Her favorite animals are cows, dogs, lions, bears, and elephants. She can make their sounds and goes crazy when she sees any of the above live and in person. Like when we went to the zoo and saw a lion close up, she went crazy roaring. And when we go for walks, she sees a dog and kicks and wiggles like crazy saying "woof, woof!!" <br />
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Ellie continues to even out our family with her calm, happy disposition. We are still all shocked when she cries, because it happens so rarely. She wakes up happy and goes to bed happy. We still have no idea where this bizarre personality came from, and hope it stays forever and ever <em>(even through the threenager years).</em> <br />
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While she's really the happiest baby ever, she is also quite the stinker! We are learning her sneaky little ways every day. She has no problem walloping her big sister in the face whenever she can get the chance. She gets into anything and everything she can get her hands on. When she is locked out of a room by baby gates she climbs up the gate, shakes it with all her might and screeches to be let in. Left laying in bed and want to get up or don't want to go to bed? Ellie's answer to that is to kick the walls with all her might (this can be heard throughout the entire house). More than once, Adam and I have caught eyes shaking our heads and realizing....<em>she might be the one that really gives us a run for our money.</em> <br />
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Ellie is still a total mama's girl, although she loves her dada and being with him too. She also adores her big sister. <br />
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She is a typical little sister and wants everything her big sissy has. Naturally, her big sissy does not enjoy "sharing". But honestly, more often than not, they love playing together. I think Adly is truly starting to enjoy this little being that can chase her, and play silly games with her. They laugh hysterically together over nothing and will play for extended amounts of time on their own. I absolutely adore these times together and only hope they continue. These are the moments I live for. <br />
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We are still taking things day by day as far as the low tone diagnosis goes. I've done a lot more reading on it over the last few months. It can come through in many forms as far as speech and fine motor skills are concerned, but for that only time will tell. She will be reevaluated at her one year appointment goes as far as her leg strength progress is concerned and we will discuss the necessity of therapy at that time. <br />
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I never could have guess one year ago how much I could love another little being. It's true that those feelings are present, and heavy before another little one comes. But the reality is, your heart really does have so much more room for other little loves.<em> (Although this heart is full enough with two).</em> <br />
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Thank you, my sweet Ellie-Bo-Belly for making our lives complete. We love you more than words could ever do justice. <br />
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<em>What is this awful sweet stuff you shoved in my mouth!?</em></div>
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-42221343744293029072016-09-02T19:42:00.004-05:002016-09-02T19:46:24.916-05:00Dating While Married.Last night, I had Adly's preschool orientation. <i>I know.</i> It's here. My oldest baby is officially off to school. And because I can't handle my emotions, I chose to attend the orientation instead of the first day. I was starting to regret that decision. I mean, I'm her mom. I should obviously be there for the first day, <i>right</i>?!! Only, as I sat in the classroom listening to her teacher tell us all the amazing things she's going to be doing and learning this year, I caught sight of something with her name on it. My mind quickly wandered off to the first time we met and when she seemed so small and life was so, so hard. And how we got through that together and how she grew into this amazing, caring little being who is now my ultimate sidekick. And as these thoughts came rushing in, so did the tears. I continued to turn around "looking", trying to dry my tears before any parents could notice the crazy mom who couldn't control her emotions.<br />
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Thankfully, in between my awkward stares at the floor and all around the room trying to choke back tears, I caught sight of this mom who gave me a knowing glace and a smile. Of course, I did the awkward smile back and then immediately had to check over my shoulder to make sure I wasn't mistaken and she was actually smiling at her BFF standing behind me. </div>
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Luckily for me, she <i>was</i> looking at me. As we all quietly shuffled to the next room I made some random comment toward her and her husband about being emotionally unstable about my 3 year old entering pre-k and how I, of all people as a teacher, should know she's going to be JUST fine. She replied that she too was a teacher and her first daughter was also starting in the three year old program. My heart began to flutter at the possibility. <i>A new mom friend?! </i>Could it be? No, no it's too good to be true. </div>
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I calmed myself down as we went room to room. As we toured the school, we kept bumping into each other at each stop and continued to find more things in common. She has a 9 month old girl too. She commutes for her job. She was exhausted last night after a long day with her students. And she was so nice! </div>
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After an hour and a half of draining emotional turmoil, I headed out into the cool night. My new "friend" and her husband stepped out the same time I did as we talked about the first day. I knew I had to go for it, but man it is so scary.<i> What if I was rejected? What if she really didn't like me? What if she already has enough friends? What if she doesn't like to pound wine after a long week?</i> (I quickly shooed that idea away though, I mean, come on...she's a teacher!)</div>
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As we were awkwardly saying our goodbye's I stammered out the official ask. "So, can I have your number?" </div>
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I mean, that's seriously what I said. Because I have issues. But can you blame me? I left the comfort of my city four months ago, and besides the one mom I stalked on the walk to the car repair shop, I haven't met any new moms! </div>
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Thankfully, she excitedly (I think...or maybe it was just my excitement that made me think she was excited) replied that she would love to exchange numbers and get together with our kids. We then had a great laugh about how awkward it was that her husband was there while I was trying to ask his wife out. Now that I think about it, I sure hope they understood my humor.....</div>
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Meeting new mom friends is absolutely like dating. Except you're sober. And there's usually crazy kids running around interrupting your conversations. It usually takes a few hang outs to decide whether your ideals, child raising tactics and drinking preferences mesh. And if all of the above match, then you've definitely found yourself a lifelong friend. You're almost guaranteed to be friends no matter what when your children's ages/sexes match up as well. </div>
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I'm not yet sure where this newfound friendship will go. But I'm excited for what it may become. We've exchanged our first obligatory texts. Since I made the first move, I'm going to wait until after the first day of school to text again. Hopefully she responds and we actually get to have our first official "date", kids and all. </div>
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-5134631281157438562016-08-10T15:34:00.004-05:002016-08-10T15:39:36.172-05:009 months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Somehow we've moved at lightning speed this summer to jump into the last increment of our first year with miss Eleanor.<br />
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The last month was a big one of growth for Ellie, so I felt I had to take some time to write about it. For starters, she's sitting like a champ these days. She is babbling like crazy and working really hard on her "da-da-da" and "na-na-na's". Some others we've heard have been "nye-nye-nye" (which she knows is night-night time) and "ba-ba-ba". She also communicates through squeals and screams. I think if you asked her, she'd say she has full on conversations with Adly, all through noises. While we can figure out a lot about what she's trying to say, I know Adly especially is ready for her to start talking for real. I regularly hear her saying things like<i> "why can't Ellie just talk??" </i>While she may not be saying words, she sure knows how to make her voice heard through yells, screams, and squeals.<br />
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This past month, we tossed Ellie into the abyss of the big bath tub with her sister. This dual bath time schedule has been amazing for all of us. Not only does it cut out a big chunk of time, it has given the two girls a whole new world of play. We've discovered Ellie is a total fish and will situate herself right under the water spout anytime it's on. Both girls LOVE splashing like crazy and squealing with delight as they scrub-a-dub. Adly has also been trying to argue her way into having a bath every single night, because she loves them so much now.<br />
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While Ellie still has no interest in standing in any way, she continues to find ways to wriggle, rock, and roll her way around places. She has also learned how to sit back up all on her own. Let me tell you, the first time I walked into the room after I had left her laying down and she was sitting, I definitely thought her big sister was playing a trick on me.<br />
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Speaking of her big sissy, Adly has definitely taken on a new view of herself in the last month. This is one of little mother hen. Suddenly, my 3 year old is overly interested in mothering Ellie just as I do. Or should I say, copying everything I say to Ellie in her own words while jumping in front of me. Another favorite of hers has become to let me know when I do something "wrong" (different than normal) or when something happens with Ellie.<br />
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This was helpful the other day when, just a few days shy of 9 months, Adly yelled out from the living room saying, <i>"Mama! Ellie's crawling over to her toy!! She's crawling!"</i>. Of course, I ran in the room just in time to see Ellie sitting in one place and rocking on all fours. Who knows if she was <i>really</i> crawling, but I do think it's a pretty great story that her big sister was actually the one who saw the first "crawl".<br />
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Ellie has also made big strides as an eater. The little miss who once refused to eat any foods has totally come into her own. She still loves pouches and will suck them down anytime they're offered. However, she's also moved on to completely random solids. I've said from early on that one area where she far surpassed Adly was in dexterity. I'm amazed at her pincer grasp she's had for quite some time and her ability to pick up the littlest thing. She is very much in a <i>"I can do it myself, mama"</i> mode (look at that, JUST like my toddler!) and likes to only feed herself. If I try to put food in her mouth with my hands, she will push my hand away and grab the food from my fingers to feed herself. Some foods she's tried and loved this month are: strawberries, raspberries, bread of any kind, mango, watermelon and fish. She also likes to be part of the crowd and seems to enjoy just about anything I'm eating and pass on to her. Watching her eat has been so much easier this time around, and the gagging doesn't scare me nearly as much as it did with Adly. She's becoming a better eater by the day.<br />
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Ellie continues to be a true delight to our family. It's incredible to me that at one time she wasn't here. I say it all the time, but she is seriously the happiest, most content baby. And I still contend, while I love it, I have no idea where her personality comes from! Her crystal blue eyes are still hanging on strong, with all of us hoping they're here to stay. She naps regularly, two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. In between she spends her time adoring her sister and doing everything she can to "play" alongside her.<br />
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In the next month there will be many more changes within our family. I go back to work at a new job on the 15th and a new nanny will be joining our family. We're very excited about her and I think the girls are going to adore her. I'm looking forward to a quiet 30 minute commute to and from school to wind down every day. A big difference this fall has been Adly's awareness of my "going back to work." I'm hoping she handles it fine, but lately she's been bringing up her hesitance about me "leaving her" more often.<br />
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Another big change for our family will be Adly heading to preschool for the first time. We've chosen a quaint little church preschool a short walk from our house. This will be the first time Adly will be spending extended time within a classroom setting and I can't seem to stop myself from crying every time we're there. I don't know why, but this has been by far the hardest transition for me. Following our pediatrician's advice, I will not be attending her first day. This is because I cannot,<i> for the life of me</i>, keep my emotions in check. Even typing this now I've got tears welling up. Something about my little girl who no longer looks like a baby walking into school for the first time all by herself just makes me want to cry like a baby. So, her dada will be taking her for her first day of school, the Tuesday after Labor Day. Deep down, I know that once we get through that, Adly will thrive in preschool and thoroughly enjoy herself. It's just the heaviness of it looming that is too much for me to handle for some reason.<br />
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Until next time...<br />
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<i>Love you so much, my sweet Ellie-belly. </i></div>
Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-23778623445563801832016-07-14T13:32:00.001-05:002016-07-14T14:22:44.613-05:003 Years.And just like that, we have a 3 year old.<br />
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A sweet, smiley, curious, smart, funny three year old who loves to pretend, sing, run, jump, and make her little sister laugh.</div>
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This past year was a huge one for Adly. Her biggest accomplishment was potty training. She rocked it. She also moved into a big girl bed. Lucky for us, she still has yet to climb out of it at night. </div>
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At 3, Adly can almost count to 15. She has an impeccable photographic memory. I'm still dumbfounded as to where that comes from. This has allowed her to "read" her favorite books by memory. She can spell Adly. She knows she is now three and that her birthday is in July.</div>
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Her days revolve around pretend play, and I'm always amazed at the things she comes up with. Almost daily she wakes up as a different animal. She may be a gazelle, a black cheetah, a dog, a kitty...basically anything that comes from a book or a TV show. She will read books and pretend to feed you from whatever is in the book. Or food can come from colors on a beach ball. It's all in the pretend for Adly.</div>
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Pretend play also carries over into dressing up. Adly still loves wearing her princess dresses, old Halloween costumes, etc. Basically anything she can get her hands on. She'll often ask to be announced as whomever she is in that moment when she enters a room.<br />
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Some weird things I have to note this year are the lining up of things. Anyone else's kid do that? We've literally started to know when she's been somewhere, merely by seeing things lined up. She lines up her animals, letter on the fridge, books....really anything that's moveable. Another oddity<br />
that's developed is her incessant need to carry 5 toys with her EVERYWHERE. These items follow her to the car, room to room, to the store....you name it, she's got a handful of random toys. Her go-to's are Bubble Kitty, Bubble Puppy, and a picture book. </div>
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Adly began to love movies this year, mostly by force when her sister came. Her favorites are Madagascar, Mr. Horton Hears a Who and Frozen. TV show favorites are still Bubble Guppies, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Lion Guard.<br />
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Adly's also stepping into 3 by testing the waters to see exactly what she can get away with. She is very smart, almost too smart and I often find myself saying you <i>know</i> what you're supposed to be doing....<i>so do it</i>. Time out has worked for us all through the the terrible two's which thankfully weren't too terrible for us. Almost the day after she turned 3, I noticed an immediate switch to saying things like "I want it RIGHT.Noooow!" and "Please, please pleeeeeease mama!". I don't know where these whiney habits came from. <br />
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This September, Adly will be starting preschool three days a week. My feelings about it ebb and flow. She's more than ready. But the thought of my baby going to school under someone else's charge just makes me so sad for some reason! I took her to tour it the other day. She woke up from nap that day and said, "mama you can just take me back to preschool and drop me off now."<i> (Cue the sobs.)</i><br />
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Adly also became a big sister this year. She truly handled it like a rockstar and, best of all, she really adores her title sister. I hope their love for each other always stays this way. Of course, "sharing" is VERY hard, but for now, Ellie couldn't care less. Adly is Ellie's number one fan. She makes Ellie giggle and helps me every day to entertain her. They're already developing their own language. I know Adly is counting the days and minutes until Ellie can finally "play" with her.<br />
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Over the last year, my shy, timid little girl has blossomed into an outgoing, observant big girl. She seems to have no fear at the park. She walks up to kids at the park and says, hi! She knows what she wants and she isn't afraid to say it. She falls and (most of the time) jumps up right away and says, "I'm alright!" However, if a boo-boo warrants a band-aid, <i>cue the dramatics!</i><br />
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Adly begins her third year in suburbia. She seems to love the transition so far and is loving her backyard. She misses our old park and talks about it a lot. But more than anything, I think she is loving the space she has.<br />
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Here are some things Adly loves going into 3:<br />
Favorite Food: <i>Waffles...umm wait no tacos!</i><br />
Favorite Color: <i>purple....uhh no! Its pink.</i><br />
Favorite TV show:<i> Bubble Guppies and Horton Hears a Who</i><br />
Favorite thing to do at the park:<i> Slide down somewhere</i><br />
Favorite Animal:<i> cow</i><br />
Favorite Toy:<i> Bubble Kitty</i><br />
Favorite Book:<i> Leo the Late Bloomer</i><br />
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With that, we enter into the world of three. To my fun-loving, strong-headed first born: mama loves you to pieces. I can't wait to see you continue to grow and blossom as a three-year-old!</div>
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-43790393631045773962016-05-23T21:07:00.003-05:002016-05-23T21:07:58.532-05:00The Life of an Almost 3 year old...I've been so terrible about updating this blog. Life has gotten so in the way, it is very rare I find time anymore to sit down and let my thoughts flow.<br />
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However, lately, I find myself watching Adly and wanting so desperately to hold on to so many moments in this stage. There is no doubt that there are days I want to pull my hair out from the incessant "why" questions and the <i>non-stop</i> talking. But there are also some really crazy moments that happen right now that have made me stop in my tracks and really try to soak them in.<br />
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The other day, Adam had taken the girls to the park when I got home from work. I went over to meet them and found Adam walking Ellie trying to get her to nap. Adly was off running around so I went over to meet her. I was immediately struck by how much she had grown over the winter. Here was this confident, outgoing girl who was running here and there, climbing with ease and giggling like crazy. When she noticed I was there, she happened to be sitting up on a ledge, about 3 feet off the ground. She motioned for me to come over to her.<br />
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When I got there, she explained she needed to get down but was scared. I told her she could jump, it wasn't that high. She immediately went into her shell, got all quiet and said she couldn't do it. So I told her I'd "help" her. My version of help was that I was going to fake hold her and let her do it on her own. <i>I'm that kind of mean mom</i>. Sure enough, when she jumped and I failed to hold her, she survived! And what's more, she realized she really <i>could</i> do it. What followed for the next 15 minutes was Adly excitedly climbing up, asking me to watch her, saying she wasn't sure she could do it, jumping, and then giggling and beaming with pride at her accomplishments.<br />
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I, of course, couldn't stop tearing up. It was such a small moment of confidence building that for whatever reason, has stuck with me since it happened. These moments are so fleeting, and it just so happened to capture innocence of my first born that is quickly slipping away with each day.<br />
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This past week, we closed on our new house and on the same day looked at preschools. I have literally been counting the days to preschool. Adly so desperately needs social interaction with other kids, and I know it will be a great experience for her. However, at the end of the first tour, I started tearing up and then could not stop the tears! I know. I was <i>that</i> mom! And to think, I work in schools! But I can't even begin to explain the rush of emotions that overcame me when I realized my baby girl really is growing up. Soon she will be one of many in a class, listening to a teacher, learning social norms, and having to problem-solve, all without her mama there to help. <i>(Cue the sobs!)</i><br />
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She has recently started telling me she loves me. Like, really telling me. For the longest time, you'd tell Adly you loved her and she'd reply with "thank you." Now there are days when I come home from work and she looks me in the eye and says, <i>"Mama, I was worried about you today. I want you to know I love you."</i> She'll watch me leave in the mornings and Adam will text me saying she said, <i>"Mama is so pretty. I'm really going to miss her today. I'm going to pray for her."</i> She doesn't only do this with me. She's also begun telling Adam she loves him, as well as other family members. And the best, my favorite, is when I say goodnight, she always says, <i>"goodnight mama. I love you!"</i><br />
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Her imagination is running insanely wild. These days, she wakes up as anything ranging from a gazelle to a pony to a doggie. She always announces in the morning what she is by saying things like, <i>"the gazelle is happy to see you today!" </i>And from there on out, for the rest of the day, you will be informed on what the gazelle is doing and what the gazelle would like.<br />
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While Adly's speech is quite amazing, there are a few things she says incorrectly that I don't want to forget because it is so gosh darn cute.<br />
-pur-rayers (prayers) <i>"Mama, can we say our pur-rayers tonight?"</i><br />
-spice (slice) <i>"One spice of pizza for you!"</i><br />
-seer-e-up (syrup) <i>"Can I have more seer-e-up please?"</i><br />
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Adly thrives on the moments when just her and I get to have alone time. Her favorite thing is when I can time Ellie's nap with Adly's and can usually get Adly first. This gives her and I some much needed one on one time. I'll climb into bed with her and we'll pretend (for as long as I can take it), to cook cupcakes, pancakes, bacon, and ice cream cones. We take orders like we're in a restaurant and then bake the foods and serve it to each other. She never wants these moments to end and oftentimes, it leaves me realizing how little she gets all of my attention any more.<br />
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Having two is hard. I don't know how moms have more and where they find the energy to cater to all the kids. I feel stretched thin on a regular basis and no doubt have major moments of stress, anxiety, and frustration. Sometimes, all of the above at once. But these memorable moments help make it all worth the hard times. I'm really trying hard to hold on to the meaningful moments and move on quickly from the tough ones. Sometimes thats easy, sometimes it takes a lot of complaining and wine.<br />
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Adly turns three in July and I just can't even wrap my head around how we got this far so fast. I feel like I'm going to blink and she'll be six. For now, I'm continuing to try to slow down and soak in all the greatness that this age brings.<i> (And take deeper breaths when all the craziness of this age wants to make me disappear to a foreign country). </i><br />
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<i>Love you, my sweet pea. </i></div>
Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-80624335445458378212016-05-12T21:31:00.000-05:002016-05-12T21:48:24.693-05:006 months!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Every month I shake my head in disbelief how fast time has flown...but here we are. Halfway to a year. I cannot believe my littlest is now 6 months. <br />
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The last two months have been big ones, for all of us. Mama and dada are now both back to work and we have a new nanny watching the girls. Everyone seems to be adjusting well to the changes for the most part. Figuring out how to balance a job that is draining and then putting on my mom-hat each night has proven to be a challenge for sure. I tip my hat to all moms...working or staying home. Both require so much energy!<br />
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<i>Mother's Day at the park with my girls. </i></div>
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Ellie has grown leaps and bounds in so many ways. Her favorite activities these days are flinging herself forward and then backwards as she tries to work on her core. She also loves diving forward for objects while being supported and sitting. Just before six months she started rolling this way and that, working her way towards an object. She is still not a fan of bearing any weight on her little legs, so we practice getting used to that as well. This is an area where she is so very different from Adly.<br />
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At her 6 month checkup, we did learn that Ellie falls into the
low-range of tone for her legs. From what I can gather, this means she
may need physical therapy in the coming months to help her along and
strengthen her legs. She still has no desire to bear any weight on them
and turns into a big flop when being prompted to do so. She will likely
hit all of her milestones regarding crawling and walking later (just as
she has rolled later). Hopefully my little peanut can keep up as she
grows.<br />
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<i>Happiest baby I know (with the coolest rooster tail). </i><br />
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Her favorite location to play is in front of our closet door mirrors. Here is where Ellie and I can sit and she can giggle in awe at the fact that she can see me in the mirror....and when she turns her head. She consistently does a double take, almost saying, "<i>wait...there's my mama...but then she's here too!?!" </i>Here she also practices making all kinds of noises, her most recent favorite being something like a growl.<br />
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Eating. <i>That's so 4 months! </i>The last two months, Ellie has spent her time in the high chair making the most horrendous faces, full of pure astonishment that I would even fathom the thought of feeding her things like applesauce and sweet potatoes and cauliflower. I know, I know. <i>I'm a horrible person.</i> But she loves to watch her sister and I eat. And then she tries to grab at the spoon. Then she shoves the spoon in her mouth and we all applaud and say, "Yaaaay! That's how you eat, Ellie!" And then come back the looks of pure horror of the god awful food she just tasted. <i>Some day, just not now.</i><br />
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We got her first giggles this month. I love baby giggles. Of course, the one person who can get the most giggles is her big sister Adly. <br />
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Adly is still Ellie's number one lady. As she's getting more mobile, Adly is loving being Ellie's punching bag. She will lay face to face with Ellie and laugh hysterically as Ellie smacks and pulls Adly's hair. Now that Ellie can sit up with assistance, she loves to face Adly and grab at her clothes and feet, then lean in for hugs. Let's hope Adly's patience for her little sister continues as the years go by. They are also starting to interact with smiles and their own little ways of communicating. It sure warms the soul. <br />
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<i>Walked in to find these two having their own moment. </i></div>
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Finally, naps. Regularly scheduled naps appear to also be <i>so four months</i> for Ellie. Gone are the days when she would consistently nap two hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. Every day seems to be a crapshoot for naps. My only saving grace is that she is seriously the happiest baby ever--unless she's tired. And when she is tired, she will nap. When she's not, she's just ready to party.<br />
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<i>A rare nap in mama's arms. </i><br />
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In other, much bigger news, our family as a whole has made some life changing decisions in the last two months.<br />
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For starters, we are moving to the suburbs! Honestly, suburbia has been calling since we had Adly. However it really took the last three years of stair climbing, parking spot finding, and baby carseat carrying to make us realize <i>its time</i>. I long for a driveway, a basement, and a backyard. This winter, having all four of us at home was the final straw. Adly is a toddler and has so much more energy that needs to be burned off and requires the space to do so. We both grew up with a backyard and a basement to play in, and began longing for our kids to have the same things. <br />
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And so, we finally pulled the trigger and will be heading out of the city at the end of this school year. <br />
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This decision also means I have to leave my job that I love. There are laws requiring teachers to live within city limits that I was not willing to mess with. I am so unbelievably sad to leave my work family and all the students and families I've come to know and love over the last 7 years. My school is such a special place and I am forever grateful I learned from the best during my time here. Starting the next school year, I'll be in a new school, new grade, and totally new environment.<br />
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We are honestly so excited and sad at the same time to leave the life and friends we've known for the better part of 11 years. But there will be so many more opportunities for our little family and the girls out that way, so we think it is the best decision we could have made. Wish us luck, in all the upcoming adventures for B-way, party of four!<br />
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Until next time...<br />
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<i>Checking out the big kids at the park. </i><br />
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<i>Those smiles!</i></div>
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<i>First time on the swings, compliments of her big sister. </i><br />
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<i>A moment with my oldest. </i></div>
Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-233517057700857332016-03-10T14:09:00.000-06:002016-03-10T14:09:46.764-06:004 Months<div>
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During the last month, Adam and I celebrated 6 glorious years together and then we headed off to Arizona for a two week long family vacation. It was a good, long vacation for all of us and we certainly enjoyed the weather. Our trip took up most of February, so the month went by fairly quickly. </div>
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This month was definitely Ellie's most difficult time so far. We spent a lot of it trying to figure out who this screaming child was, and what happened to our sweet, quiet, always sleeping baby!? After a lot of trial and error, it appears that poor Ellie was being underfed.<br />
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<i>I'm sorry to out you Ellie....but this was literally what most of our month looked like. </i></div>
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Ever since she arrived, my milk production has been much lower than it was with Adly. All I can gather is that Ellie slept so much in the beginning, that she didn't eat as much as Adly did, which lowered my production. And because I didn't pump to keep production high, it quickly tapered off. Therefore, especially in the last month, any time I've even tried pumping, I've only gotten 1-2 ounces. In the last week and a half, we've been using frozen milk and slowly switched over to formula. And since then, the difference in her demeanor has been night and day. It makes me feel terrible for letting it go for so long. And is just another reminder that even the second time around, these babies are a constant mystery!<br />
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I remember when I weaned with Adly I had a lot of sentimental moments and felt guilty and so on. However this time around I was more than happy to make the switch. There wasn't an ounce of sadness for some reason. I think it was because I saw how much more she needed and I just couldn't provide it. We are still nursing at random times, and I'll likely continue that as long as my body will allow. But for the most part she is on formula at this point. </div>
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Ellie has also completely scheduled herself as far as sleeping goes. I throw my hands up on this one. I worked so hard with Adly to make it happen...and I have no idea how, but Ellie just fell right into it. Maybe it was because Adly is already so routined it just naturally forced it. But whatever it was, I am so grateful for it. Throughout the last month, she seemed to be working out the kinks with sleeping through the night. There were some occasional wake ups and some occasional screaming fits at bedtime, both of which I now believe came from hunger. Either way, she's been sleeping 7am-6am for most of the month. And she is like clockwork. Being minutes off creates a screaming banshee. As soon as nighttime fell into place, naps followed right behind. She now naps two hours in the morning, one to two hours in the afternoon, and then a little hour long catnap in the early evening. I'm not kidding, and I don't know how it happened. It just <i>did</i>. Adly took months and months to nail down naps. I do think I probably naturally implemented a lot more routine than I did with Adly because this time around it is now second nature. So that likely helped.<br />
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We also officially dropped the pacifier this month. While it was so helpful to calm her in touchy situations (most of the time), she really prefers her thumbs way more. Somehow, both of my girls are full on thumbsuckers. I have mixed emotions about it. I know it by far has helped them become really good sleepers. But I also know, getting them to stop will be an uphill battle. I just hope that as they age, they don't hold onto it as I know some kids do.<br />
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She has found her voice in the last week or so and it is really the cutest thing I've seen. Before she came, I was already worrying that the poor girl would never be able to get a word in with her big sister running the show. Thankfully, so far, I appear to be wrong in my worries. She loves to "sing" at the top of her lungs and experiment with different sounds. She does this the most when she's laying on her play mat. She has also taken an interest in toys. She swats at them and tries to pull them into her mouth. Her big sister has had a REALLY hard time seeing all these new, tempting baby toys come out of storage. We've definitely had our share of "sharing with sister" talks...although Ellie could really care less that her sister constantly steals her toys from her.<br />
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<i>Big sissy helping little sissy with tummy time. </i></div>
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Ellie has little interest in rolling over so far, although she will sometimes attempt it when on her tummy (I think only because she wants off of her tummy). I am, self admittedly, terrible with implementing tummy time. However when we do it, I roll her over so she can get the sensation of it and man, does she HATE it. So I'm not going to be surprised if she's late to the party on that development.<br />
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Our winter wonderland of family time is all too quickly winding down, and I will soon be faced with the dreaded return to work. We were unbelievably lucky that our timing worked out just as we had hoped. I don't know how I would have survived had Adam not been home to tag team with me. I know, it sounds spoiled rotten. But I maintain that I was just not mentally equipped with the tools to handle newborns on my own. It is, to me, the hardest job on the face of the planet. Especially in the first three months.<br />
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While I'm having a hard time mentally preparing to leave little Ellie with someone else, Adly is desperately in need of a new person to come in to play with her. She is definitely bored with mom and dad and ready for some different interaction. There is another part of me that is also ready to get back to work and see my kiddos I left what now seems like light years ago. It will be interesting to come in at the end of the year and see how much they've grown as students and little people.<br />
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<i>My girls. </i></div>
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For our last month at home, I'm headed to Nashville for my future sister in law's bachelorette party and we are busy planning "lasts" to do as a family before Adam heads into his crazy busy season. This last month for Ellie was such a big one of growth, I can't wait to see what March brings for us.<br />
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<i>Six years...so many memories! </i></div>
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<i>Ready for my first flight!</i></div>
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<i>Family selfie in Sedona. </i></div>
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<i>Happy girl, poolside.</i></div>
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<i>Another happy girl in the sun. </i></div>
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<i>She was happy...some of the time! </i> </div>
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<i>Dada and his girls. </i></div>
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<i>Tucson to see uncle Chris and aunt Cole!</i></div>
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<i>Papa and Tata came too!</i></div>
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<i>Love you to pieces, Miss Eleanor. </i></div>
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-46328147354824810752016-02-11T07:33:00.001-06:002016-02-11T07:40:45.099-06:003 Months<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ellie's third month was a big one, for all of us a family. Lots of changes and big girl things happening around here.<br />
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For starters, Ellie gained a lot of neck control this month. I'm not sure how, as I just can't stand tummy time. Meaning, I can't stand when she screams her way through it. Therefore I'm just not that good at implementing it. Thankfully, she appears to have gained excellent neck strength by the power of her own will. She is now lifting that head up like a little superwoman, as she pretends to soar on the couch. I remember this change with Adly as well. There is something about seeing your little one pop their head up when laying down to get a new view of the world that is so exciting!<br />
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This month Ellie also gained her lungs. For the first two months, she slept a great deal and was always cool as a cucumber. For the life of us, we could not figure out where she got her personality from. <i>But man</i>, were we ever enjoying it. However, she recently appears to have found her inner voice and boy does she love sharing it. When she is mad...she is <i>MAD</i>. When she is tired....she is <i>TIRED</i>. Adly was always, and I mean always, calmed by the boob. The girl loved to eat. Not Ellie. Nothing works to calm her down when she gets herself into a rage. Oh...look what I did there without even thinking about it....a rage. Y<i>ep, she's my daughter. </i>This has been a teensy bit scary and frustrating for us as parents, mainly because there's nothing that can be done at that point besides to let her scream. This has largely come to light in the last week as she's been working on figuring out her sleep patterns, so I hope all of it is interrelated. </div>
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As far as sleep goes, this past week I reached my breaking point as a tired mama. I swear I just can't wrap my head around how mommies everywhere do nighttime feeds for months and months. I commend all of you! We had gotten Ellie down to one feeding a night for the most part at around 3:30am, which isn't terrible. The problem for me has been I've definitely suffered from some postpartum anxiety this go-round. So while Ellie would wake up and feed and so wonderfully fall right back asleep, I would stay up the rest of the night stressing myself into a panic over anything and everything and never falling back asleep. Weeks and weeks of not sleeping makes people crazy, and I was just about to that point. In the last week, her sleep patterns became worse, waking starting around 12am, multiple times throughout the night. This meant mama got no sleep whatsoever. And that meant mama was falling off the rails. </div>
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Out of desperation, I called my pediatrician for advice on Saturday. <i>New moms, if there's any one piece of advice you listen to from anyone, it's find a good pediatrician and follow only their advice!</i> I love ours and she has counseled me through many a crazy time over the last few years. Anyways, she suggested first of all getting Ellie out of our room. And also suggested that most likely, she wasn't getting enough rest during the day, so it was interrupting her night time sleep. Sorry, one more piece of advice (or a mantra really): <i>sleep begets sleep!</i> The more they sleep, the better they sleep. It's so simple, yet can seem so ass backwards when you're exhausted. </div>
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Anyways, the second I hung up with the doctor, I took apart Ellie's bed and kicked her out. Adly was kicked out of our room by 8 weeks because she was NOISY. She still is, she talks and sings in her sleep. But Ellie hardly ever made a peep. That and, the big reason was, her room is downstairs from us. Going back to the anxiety I've been dealing with, I was convinced that having her down there I'd still wake up and stress about something happening to her on another floor...so what was the point of moving her out?</div>
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Let me tell you, that at 11 weeks, 4 days, Eleanor Farrell slept through the night for the first time. Straight through. From 7pm until 6am. And when she awoke at 6am to eat, she promptly fell back asleep until 8:30am with her big sister chomping at the bit to get in and wake her up. This was also her first night in her own room. One can not explain the gloriousness that is a full night of sleep until you've been deprived of it for months on end. Of course, I didn't sleep the whole night. But I did sleep until almost 5am which was a hell of a lot better than what had been happening. And then the next night she slept even longer. <i>Please, please let this trend continue! </i>I honestly think<i> she</i> was actually having a hard time sleeping with us, as she appears to be a pretty light sleeper.<br />
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The pediatrician had also said to stop swaddling at this point. Her basic reason was in a month, Ellie will be starting to roll over and we'll have to unswaddle at that point, starting over this whole process of figuring out how to sleep. I had thought that swaddling was our savior with Ellie. But I think it was another thing that was hurting her sleep cycles. She's a wannabe thumbsucker at this point, and all the swaddling did was keep her from being able to suck her fist and self soothe at night. So it appears both things together were all she needed to finally get a full night of sleep.<br />
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<i>Passed out in her new room while mama impatiently waits for her to wake up. </i></div>
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<i>My thumbsucking girlies. </i></div>
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While Ellie has made some big leaps and bounds this past month, I cannot leave out the big accomplishments from her older sister. Adly has become a "big girl" this month by learning how to go potty on the big girl potty. This was a big accomplishment for not only herself but for me as well. I've thought for a while she might be "ready" but man is it a big undertaking to get your child to relieve themselves on a toilet. For many reasons, I was dreading it. But when other littles around us started jumping the diaper ship, I knew it was time to at least give it a grand ole try. Thanks to the constant on-demand advice of many other very wise mommies, we trudged through a few days at home buckled down asking the question that still comes out of my mouth consistently and probably will for the next few years <i>"do you have to go potty!?"</i> </div>
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Adly has done amazingly well with the training. I am so unbelievably proud of her. My good friend (and personal life coach) Laura had passed on the wisdom from her own daughter's big girl events: that she felt it clicked for her when she could actually be proud of herself. And I think that's so true. Adly is truly proud of <i>herself</i>. Not only that, she gets how proud all of us are for her. And that in itself has provided so much intrinsic motivation throughout this process.<br />
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<i>SO proud of herself at papa's house! </i><br />
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But lets be honest. Adly is one smart cookie. The girl cannot only be motivated by confidence boosting applause and praise. No. She wants the goods. So, I will admit, for almost a week she lived off nothing but suckers and skittles and she received some presents as well. Whatever works, I have no shame. And two weeks in, we are still getting the occasional "I'm going to go pee-pee so I can get a sucker." <i>(I mean, she had fully figured out she could pee a little, get a sucker and then when the sucker was gone, go back and pee some more to get another one.) </i>However, as time goes on, I can see she is starting to understand the process of how going potty works and that you don't get a sucker every time you go. And while we've had complete success with number 1 on the potty, number 2 is still a major work in progress. I honestly think that before 3 years old, it just takes a good amount of time for everything to fully click for them when it comes to potty time.<br />
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Another big girl moment for the month was me going away for a girls weekend, leaving dad in charge for two whole days! This is something that was long overdue for all of us. I hadn't actually gone away on my own once since Adly came into the picture. Meaning, it had been almost 3 years. <i>Far too long! </i>My job has allowed me to cultivate some of the best friendships a girl could ask for, and for that I am forever grateful. Together, we enjoyed a quiet weekend away in Lake Geneva with a whole lot of lounging around, wine, and good girl conversation. I can't begin to explain how awesome it was, and how amazing it was to have Adam take the reigns and really let me relax. I can assure you it will not be three more years before I do that again.<br />
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So there we have it. Month three as a family of four had one little girl figuring out the gloriousness that is sleep, another little girl taking her biggest leap into the world of "big girls" and a mommy getting to also be just Kelly for a few days. And with that, I'm going to go hide in the corner and shed a few more tears for my sweet baby girls who are growing up too fast.<br />
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Ok, one more bit of celebration for myself this month. My second kid somewhat looks like me! I found baby pictures while I was home and immediately saw Ellie. It's about time I got a little something back for all that hard work called pregnancy and labor. However, I am happy that Ellie still carried on her father's plentiful locks and eyes, as I was bald until almost two. <br />
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-35483150743220141832016-01-16T10:52:00.000-06:002016-01-16T10:52:16.535-06:002 months!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This past month flew by pretty quickly as the holidays came and went. Ellie had a great time getting to see all of her family in Michigan and Chicago over the various holidays. Turns out, as expected with her relaxed personality, she's a rockstar traveler so we are grateful for that! </div>
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The best part of the past month was the development of smiles, which came on the first day of her 6th week here. Those smiles came in with a gusto and haven't stopped since. She is 100% a mama's girl and tends to give her best smiles for me. It makes my heart burst with love every time she erupts into another smile. Lately, she's been smiling to much she appears she's going to burst from excitement. The best thing ever. </div>
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She's developing an interest in toys, slowly. She loves her playmat with dangly toys and usually spends her evenings there, with big sister Adly snuggling right next to her. Adly was very excited to see the infant toys come out and quickly commandeered them for herself. Sometimes she shares them with Ellie.<br />
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Ellie is still hard at work on her thumb. For now, the pacifier is still much needed. On occasion she'll figure out her thumb and suck away. I'll be interested to see how this continues as she gets older and more controlled with her hands.<br />
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Ellie continues to be a total blessing in our life. She is so easy going (I have no idea where this came from!) and pretty much goes with the flow every day. We are so grateful she completed our family!</div>
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-17552291960667239312015-12-11T13:19:00.002-06:002016-02-11T07:34:26.622-06:001 Month<div style="text-align: center;">
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In her first month here with us, Eleanor has done a LOT of sleeping, which has led to a lot of growth. She spent the majority of the month in only newborn sized clothes, which was new to us. Her older sister was so much bigger from the get-go (and she never looked back). However Ellie started out big, then lost quite a bit. Therefore, we spent a lot of time <i>oohing</i> and <i>ahhing</i> at how teeny tiny she was!<br />
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From the start, she's been pretty generous when it comes to nighttime sleep. I can't possibly be more thankful for that, since sleep definitely makes my world go around. For the most part, I can rely on her having a longer stretch to start (4-5 hours) and then we drop to 2-3 hour stretches. Once, I was lucky to have two five hour stretches in one night. It was glorious. Sometimes, she likes to mix it up randomly and have a feeding frenzy every hour on the hour. <i>She just likes to keep mama on her toes. </i><br />
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The connection between Adly and Ellie has been amazing to watch. Adly's voice was definitely the one Ellie recognized first, always responding by looking around for her when she'd hear her. Watching Adly adapt to her little sister, or "baby Ellie" has been tear-inducing for me. She loves her so much and has right from the start. It's an incredible thing. She is constantly concerned with where Ellie is, if she's awake or not, and is always making sure to include her in our life. She likes to have Ellie join her for meals and go with her whenever she leaves the house. Adly is also an expert at calming down Ellie when she's crying by singing to her or talking to her. Her best magical lullabies are Twinkle Twinkle and Tura-Lura-Lural. Whenever Adly sings to Ellie, she always stops crying. Its incredible. </div>
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I forgot how little newborns really do, so there's not much to report other than she loves sleeping, her sister, and eating. However there is one thing Eleanor is killer at already (besides rocking some awesome spiky hair)...it's facial expressions. They are hilarious and appear to be very on-point with how she is feeling at any given moment. My favorite is her wide-eyed <i>"you've got to be kidding me right now"</i> irritated stare.<br />
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In her first month, Eleanor has made her way into our family seamlessly and its now impossible to imagine how life was without her in it. Looking forward to the holidays with these two cuties, especially with her big sister Adly because her imagination is running wild these days. She CAN'T WAIT for Santa to shimmy down the chimney on Christmas Eve.<br />
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-46629889563151242192015-11-20T09:49:00.001-06:002015-11-20T10:00:57.627-06:00Eleanor FarrellBringing Eleanor into this world was vastly different from bringing Adly into the world. Enter lesson 1 for mama: <i>Eleanor is not Adly.</i><br />
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Beginning around the start 36 weeks, I went from having regular Braxton Hicks to having some big contractions. Just a few, and not regular. It is crazy how quickly you remember "that old feeling" of a good tight squeeze from back to front. At 36 weeks, 4 days, I spent the better part of the day dealing with contractions. Of course, I was teaching so I had no time to count them. All I knew was they were consistent. By the end of the day, I called my doctor who ordered me straight to hospital. Adam and I headed in around 4:30. When I got in, I was 2cm dilated and still contracting regularly. They had us walk the halls for 2 hours to check for any changes. After two hours of walking my behind off, there were none. So we were sent home. I was grateful. Having an early baby can bring a whole host of complications and if we were able to avoid it, I was ok with it. By then I had started my weekly checkups, and when I saw doc the following Monday, there were still no changes. Nor had I experienced anymore powerful contractions, just your usual Braxton Hicks.</div>
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<i>Counting contractions at home. </i></div>
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<i>Ready to head in. </i></div>
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During the next week, I experienced my bloody show, mucus plug loss and more sporadic contractions. I didn't experience any of this with Adly so it continued the rollercoaster of <i>"is this it?!"</i>. At my 38 week appointment I had progressed to 4cm dilated without much effort. My doctor was convinced I wouldn't make it to 39 weeks, but in the event I did, she allowed me to schedule a voluntary induction. I figured at that point, my body had been progressing through labor for a few weeks, it would be ready by 39. Contrary to everyones beliefs, little miss Ellie hung on for another week. She even gave mama one last scare of thinking my water broke. But that turned out to be just another form of liquid leaking from my body. (Pregnancy is the sexiest time in a woman's life EVER!) </div>
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So on Tuesday, November 10 at 6am, we packed our bags and headed to the hospital one last time, ready to have our sweet little girl. </div>
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I was happy to end up with an induction because I was induced with Adly. While it can take a while, I was so far along already, as soon as I was checked in I began hearing <i>"oh, this will go fast"</i> from all the nurses and doctors. I was also happy to be scheduled so I could ensure I didn't go too fast to get the necessary drugs to not feel the birth. </div>
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I know drugs aren't for everyone, but they're for me. I don't deal well with pain, and thanks to medicine, I was able to "enjoy" my delivery of Adly (despite the exhaustion for pushing for an hour and fifteen minutes). I wanted that same (hopefully shorter) experience with Ellie. Soon after starting pitocin I was also hooked up with anesthesia and then began the waiting game. </div>
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At noon, I was still only 4cm but my contractions were ramping up and becoming more regular. So doc broke my water. Soon after that, I began noticing I could "feel" my left side and move my left leg, while my right side was completely numb. I began asking the nurse what could be going on, she called in the anesthesiologist to check it out. She couldn't figure it out either, so she began moving the needle in my back to try to realign the insertion. They also had me turn on my left side to see if the drugs would naturally take to the left side. By now, my contractions were STRONG. So the left-sided-laying-experience involved me curled up in a ball, crying my way through each awful contraction. </div>
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The anesthesiologist came in once more and tried to readjust the insertion point. That still did no good. By this point I was full on sobbing yelling to the nurse to get the anesthesiologist in there again and do her f*%*ing job! (I mean come on, hell hath no fury like an in-pain-Kelly). </div>
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In that time, I suddenly felt that old feeling. "<i>Oh my god I'm going to poop. I have to push!" </i>I yelled. The nurse asked if I was sure and I yelled yes. She dashed to call the doctor in, and she came in no time. With Adly, we had 5-6 people delivering her. This time, it was so quick it was just Adam, the nurse and my doctor. The doctor immediately told me to get on my back because Ellie was crowning! I panicked and began crying and yelling, <i>"I can feel everything!! I don't want to do this without druuuugs!!!"</i> But it was too late. Doc yelled for me to push, I pushed my hardest and then she was yelling for help. I panicked and she said she couldn't get baby out. She told me to push harder than I've ever pushed before. I screamed screams I never thought possible, and pushed harder than I ever thought possible and then just like that, Eleanor Farrell was on my chest. She came so fast, the assistance the doc needed, which was because her shoulders were stuck, came in after she was already on my chest. Crazy, right? According to Adam, when the doctor came in, she had looked at him and said he was going to have a baby by 3:15. When he looked up at the clock, it was 3:10. She arrived at 3:14pm. </div>
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I spent the next 15 minutes with Eleanor on my chest sobbing my eyes out because I was still so upset over "feeling everything". It was not the way I had wanted it, and I was still reeling from it all. Not to mention she came SO FAST I was in complete and utter shock. </div>
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As soon as the shock wore off I realized no matter how painful it was, SHE WAS HERE! At last. I had waited 39 loooong weeks to get to meet her. And she was perfect. </div>
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They do things differently now from the 2.5 years it's been since Adly. They allowed Ellie on my belly for what seemed like an hour. It was a good chunk of skin to skin. I'm grateful for it, but it was a long hour of Adam waiting excitedly to get his own hands on his baby girl. When they took her to weigh her, she was a very healthy 8lbs, 9oz.<br />
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I have to note, I later found out the anesthesiologist <i>was</i> actually doing her job. The problem was, Ellie had dropped down so fast and far down the birth canal that she was blocking any of the drugs from reaching my left side. In hindsight, that would've been a big clue she was coming, but it's ok. It's all a guessing game for the most part. Also, in hindsight, the pain wasn't <i>that</i> bad, it just wasn't what I had in mind. So those of you drug-free mama's I applaud you. But I also applaud all mama's for going through the act of childbirth in general. What an incredible act of strength it is, no matter which way you go about it!<br />
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We are so very thrilled to have this beautiful addition to our family. She, like her sister, has already begun writing her own story, from the very start of her sweet little life.<br />
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Welcome to our family, Eleanor! We love you to pieces.</div>
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<i>Family photo. </i></div>
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<i>Dada getting some time with his girl. </i></div>
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-39737498112395851662015-08-22T13:59:00.003-05:002015-08-22T13:59:51.132-05:00So I Made A Quilt.I am not a quilter. Nor am I necessarily a sewer. I'm a<i> find-a-project-and-doer.</i> I just decide I'm going to do something and then spend some time convincing myself I totally know what I'm doing. Sometimes I may stop and take an extended break along the way due to fears of what's next, but I always find a way to finish. Call it whatever you like, it's probably mostly crazy.<br />
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Last winter, I saw an idea for a baby onesie quilt on a super beautiful blog. And I was all like, <i>"wow that is so cool. I think I could totally do that. I kind of know how to sew."</i> So the idea spun around in my head for the better part of six months. I just couldn't let the idea go no matter how much it intimidated me. I procrastinated when we found out we were pregnant again to wait until I found out the sex. That way I'd know what onesies to use and what to save.</div>
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In hindsight, it really didn't matter if baby #2 was a boy or a girl. This project was truly a walk through a boxed up time capsule. The bottom line is, there were a lot of outfits that Adly wore that would always remind me of, well, Adly. And I wouldn't necessarily ever put them on her future little sister. Some blatantly had her name on them, others were just special from an experience we had or pictures I took that I now treasure from various moments in time. </div>
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I wanted to share the tutorial I followed and my experience of making my first quilt. However, I also really wanted to encourage other moms to try it. While it was labor intensive and took a few months to complete (because my only work times are 2-3 hours during nap), I think it was so worth it. And totally doable for beginner sewers! You just need to know how to sew a straight line (or make it look straight). I can't begin to say what a special keepsake it turned out to be. The outfits included in the quilt likely would've always remained boxed up for I don't even know what. Now Adly will have them out in her room and anytime the moment strikes we can walk down memory lane talking about each square. </div>
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The first step for me was picking out the clothes I wanted to use. Like I said, it's a literal walk through a time capsule. I loved looking through and reminiscing about the days when Adly was itty bitty and the cutest clothes she had. The blogger from the tutorial had suggested I'd need a lot of onesies, and she was so right. First I pulled out all the ones with Adly's name on it, obviously those wouldn't be reworn. Then I pulled my personal favorites. Next I pulled some I thought were just cute or reminded me of a certain memory. Lastly, I went for soft fabrics that would be comfy to snuggle with. I used outfits ranging from 0-3 months, up to 18 months. Some weren't onesies but super cute outfits I just couldn't see on our next daughter because they reminded me too much of Adly. And, I'll admit, the frugal side of me pulled a few specifically because I knew the seasons would be off and little Ellie would never be able wear it. </div>
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I was honestly most surprised by how easily a color scheme came together. The author of the tutorial had found this in her case too, but I seriously thought that was just a coincidence for her. In order to keep with my theme, I did have to put back a few I really wanted, like her first Thanksgiving and first Christmas outfits. The orange and red just didn't fit with the other colors I had going.<br />
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Here is the list of materials you will need, once you have your pile of 50-60 onesises <i>(See! You need a LOT). </i>I ended up making a quilt that was 7 squares by 7 squares, so I used 49 in the end. <br />
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Onesie Quilt Materials List:<br />
<b>-Pile of 50-70 outifits </b>(the size of quilt you decide to make will determine this). <br />
<b><i>-</i>cutting mat</b><br />
<b>-5.5"x 5.5"</b> square guide for cutting squares (I used cardboard measured from a box I had)<br />
<b>-rotary cutter</b><br />
<b>-Pellon 911FF </b>(backing for onesies to make them stiff. I tried both kinds she suggests, and this was my favorite to work with as a beginner).<br />
<b>-Batting.</b> I used Pellon Natural batting. Make sure it is thin enough to be used in a home sewing machine. Also, I would honestly buy this by the yard. I bought the bag and it was WAY too much.<i> </i><br />
<i><b>-</b></i><b>Post-Its </b>(for labeling your piles and rows)<br />
<i>-</i><b>Spray Baster</b><br />
<b>-Painters tape</b><br />
<b>-Bias tape or Binding fabric. </b>(I googled how to do this and used binding fabric. There are excellent YouTube videos out there showing how to do both.)<br />
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Let me warn you, the first cut is seriously the deepest. I may or may not have shed a tear when I cut into the first little teeny onesie. Just remember you would've just left them in a box otherwise. Although, cutting into the onesies <i>does</i> mean you have to follow through and finish the project. <i>Motivation at it's finest! </i>Another tip I have is that if it is big enough, and it's an outfit or pattern you really love, cut a few squares from the piece. Adly had a sleep sack that was so soft, and had her name embroidered on it. She wore it for months on end, but it was still in great condition. I was able to cut three squares from the sleep sack and they are all in the quilt.<br />
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Finally, the last part, the binding of the quilt was definitely the worst because I had to do it by hand. I looked for ways to do it by machine, but by hand seems to be the way of the road. So be prepared to spend some nights on the couch sewing like you're Betty Ross, only by the dim light of the TV and a lamp. This is actually the perfect project for a boring pregnant lady. Besides all that intensive labor, that's true love, right?!<br />
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I'll leave you there. The tutorial comes from the blog, <a href="http://coconutrobot.com/2014/06/how-to-make-a-baby-onesie-quilt/" target="_blank">Coconut Robot</a> and she honestly does an excellent job explaining how to put the quilt together, especially for beginners. Click on the link to go to her tutorial. <br />
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Again, I seriously recommend trying this if you have a sewing machine, a little guts, and sentimentality. Even if it's not the most amazing, perfect quilt, it will have all the meaning in the world to your little dear one day. Maybe even more so to you. </div>
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<i>Lay out your squares and play around with different placements. I left this, walked away and came back a few times to ensure I liked it. </i></div>
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<i>First three rows sewn together. </i></div>
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<i>All rows sewn, with batting and backing cut larger. </i></div>
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<i>Using painters tape to sew the lines to sandwich the quilt was a genius tip!</i></div>
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<i>Back of the quilt with lines sewn in.</i></div>
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<i>Finished quilt waiting for hand sewn binding. It waited a few weeks. </i></div>
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<i>Close up of binding. I chose to use the same fabric from the back because I really liked it. Many people use a different style of fabric. </i></div>
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<i>Finished quilt! </i></div>
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-85167540396401325382015-07-31T17:08:00.000-05:002015-07-31T17:23:24.945-05:0024 Weeks!This week we slid into the 24 week mark, or what is known to most as 6 months along. <i>6 months! </i>Only a few more left to go.<br />
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This pregnancy is, for the most part, continuing to zoom by. While I'm definitely bigger than I was last time, my belly isn't in the way too much yet (although this week I definitely started noticing the annoyance of bending over with a bowling ball in front of you). I am having a beyond amazing summer with my only daughter that is here. So far I've been trying to savor every minute with her being the one and only for the last time, and do as much as we can together without passing out from exhaustion. Our days have been filled with visits to the park, zoo, farm, play dates, and walks to just about anywhere. She is so fun right now and such an unbelievable trooper no matter what we do. I don't know what I'd do if she were giving me a dose of that business called<i> </i>the<i> terrible two's</i>. <br />
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While Adly has been amazing, the last month of pregnancy has been filled with annoying aches and pains unfortunately. While I really can't complain much about this pregnancy overall, these new pains suck. Additionally, raising a toddler while pregnant is just not that fun. When you don't have a toddler, you focus all your energy and time on this little beautiful being inside you. This time around, I'm spending most of the day entertaining and running around with my kid that is already here. She's got a lot of energy these days and really needs to be out of the house for at least a few hours daily. This does not coincide with her mom who would much prefer to lay on the couch, relaxing with headphones on her belly talking to her princess all day. Let's just say, every day I am counting the minutes to nap time AND bedtime so I can get a break and/or go to sleep myself. </div>
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As far as the aches and pains go, they are all in my hips. I swear to the heavens above, <i>WHERE ELSE CAN MY HIPS GO?!?</i></div>
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These girls will destroy whatever pre-baby skinny-hipped images you had of yourself. My hips hurt constantly when getting up from sitting, laying down or bending down. It sucks. I went and complained to my doctor hoping she'd subscribe me some awesome drugs. <i>Ha. Ha. Juuust kidding.</i> No, but really, let's be honest, preggos get no kind of fun like that. Instead, she informed me that the second time around, you're more likely to feel the aches and pains of pregnancy, and they usually begin earlier on. Oh, and I can expect them to continue for the remainder of the pregnancy. </div>
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<i>Greeeeaaaat. </i><br />
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She was kind enough, however, to suggest I take a warm bath and relax, or even a hot shower to help them ease the pain. To which I laughed out loud. Because honestly, baths?!? Who has time for such luxuries? The only way I'd get to experience that gloriousness would be <i>with</i> my toddler who, bless her heart, loves talking non-stop and hasn't yet discovered the bliss of a few minutes of peace and quiet. Thankfully, the other day she was snooping through my things as usual and somehow she dug up a heating pad I forgot I had. <i>See? Those nosey toddlers are good for a lot of things. </i>Although she thought it was something she could use to "shock mama at the doctor" (I don't even want to begin to think about what she was referring to), it has helped quite a bit to ease some of the pains at nighttime and in the morning. </div>
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Let me tell you something else that's not awesome about the second time around, especially at this point. I'm entering the final hump. The third trimester. And now <i>I know</i>. I know what's coming. I know how big I'm going to get. I know how hard it is going to be to walk. I know how tired I'm going to be. Let me say it again: <i>I know how big I'm going to get</i>. And this time, I won't be able to be sprawled out on my couch in the heat of the summer like a beached whale awaiting the impending birth. No. This time, I'll be working all day, then coming home to work job number two with my 2 year old and then trying to spend time with my husband without<i> too</i> much complaining until I pass out on the couch like an exhausted beached whale. <br />
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I can't even wrap my head around how I will survive? </div>
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Ok, I know I'll survive. I'll be fine, because millions of hard working women do this all the time. But seriously, <i>how am I going to do this?! </i><br />
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These are the thoughts that are swirling through my head at this point and time. 24 weeks. Only 16ish more to go. <br />
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-51967201358774033672015-07-09T13:51:00.000-05:002015-07-10T06:32:43.025-05:00Two!I don't have words to say how I can even fathom that my child is now <i>two</i>. It has flown by so fast. I am regularly reminded each year of this as a first grade teacher, by misty-eyed moms, just how fast they grow. I just thought it would never apply to my own life.<br>
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At two years old, Adly is a beautiful, awe-inspiring, loving, and spirited child. Here is Adly in a nutshell of the last year. </div>
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-She learned to sing this year. It is the most precious thing, and literally music to my ears. Her favorites are <i>You Are My Sunshine, ABC's, Rain, Rain Go Away,</i> <i>Taxi, Taxi </i>and a song her grandma Shalagh taught her I'll call, <i>Beautiful Adly</i>.<br>
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-She loves to dance! And I will admit, it is terrible. Just like me. But I couldn't be more proud. She may not look a whole lot like me, but she sure does have my dance moves. </div>
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-She is funny- and knows it! Seeing her develop a sense of humor and comedic timing this year has been fun to watch. She laughs a lot at jokes- and herself when she thinks she's funny too. </div>
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-She is so kind. She adores taking care of her "babies" and making friends at the park. Twice this year, she became a victim of mean kids at the park. Thankfully I wasn't present either time. But the after effect was her saying things like "that boy not nice" (after being slapped in the face by some random). It broke my heart, but I was most happy to see it not become a learned behavior, rather something she knew was wrong and not the way to treat others. She prides herself on sharing with others and making new friends, whether it's a newborn or a "baby" (any child up to 7 years old).</div>
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-She is also very sensitive. While she is very comfortable with those she knows well, I'm noticing she's definitely more shy and apprehensive when around groups of kids she doesn't know well. She still kind of likes to play on her own more than anything, unless she knows the person/people well. She is learning to navigate social relationships and definitely leans on me a lot to guide her. She's unsure of other kids a lot and definitely struggles with how to voice her feelings. As Adam and I say, she's a totally girlie girl, very sensitive and definitely not rough and tumble or leader of the pack. </div>
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-Adly loves to bake and cook with mama. While she enjoys taking what she learns and cooking with her imagination in her kitchen, Adly most loves to cook for real. Her favorite thing to bake is banana muffins (mostly because she can eat the sugar topping as we work). But any chance she gets, she's dragging the big chair into the kitchen for her to stand on and help mama. I have to admit, it's one of my favorite things too.</div>
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-She is going to be the best big sister. In February, our friend Eileen had a beautiful baby girl named Stella. Stella has become Adly's pride and joy. She looooves "playing" with Stella, touching her hair gently and holding her hand. Stella has introduced Adly to the world of newborns and Adly is obsessed. She seeks them out at parks and loves pointing them out anywhere we go. She talks about "baby Stella" regularly and always wants to visit. This has also led her to taking care of her own babies doing things like changing their diapers, putting them down for naps and feeding them. It melts my heart. </div>
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-She LOVES her little red car and walking to the park in it. She calls it "Adly's Red Car" and jumps at any time she can ride in it. It was given to us by a friend of mine and I am so grateful for it! Speaking of the park, there is no where Adly would rather be these days than at the park, in a swing. She loves to swing and also enjoys trying out every swing available.<br>
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-In her last week as a one year old, she began stringing together actual sentences, in conversation style. Typically, until this point, she has responded in more stilted, or short sentences as her little brain worked hard to string the words together. This week, as I was putting clothes away with my back turned to her, I could hear her grunting trying to get something. More or less talking to myself, I asked her what the struggle was all about. She responded, "Mama I'm trying to reach these books!" I can't tell you how weird it is when your child starts talking to you like an adult. I had to do a double take on that one. In the days following, she's begun doing this more and more.<br>
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-For the better part of the last few months, Adly has only spoken in 3rd person. Meaning, everything she says about herself includes "Adly". "Adly going to the park", "Adly likes books", Adly wants to get down" etc. It has also been in the last week that she has begun to use pronouns like "I" and "her". Now I'm starting to hear "I want to get down", "I'm hungry", etc. When talking about other kids, she calls them all her and says things like "her want a snack", "her running". While it is a small shift, it has been a big milestone to watch. I just love hearing her talk about anything and everything.<br>
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-She loves to narrate while driving in the car. We recently turned her forward-facing and this has made a big change for Adly as she rides. She loves to talk about what we are doing, where we are going, and what she sees out the windows. There is no longer such thing as a quiet car ride in our house. The most common question of the day is "What we doing today, mama?" and "Where we going mama?." <i>Even when it's been answered 100 different times and ways. </i><br>
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-One more note on the talking, she has learned to memorize books. Some of her most favorite books at the moment are, <u><i>Corduroy</i></u>, <u><i>Pocket for Corduroy</i></u> and <i><u>One Fish, Two Fish</u>...</i>. She has memorized the better part of the entire book for each of these and can "read" them on her own. I tell you what, spoken from a true teacher nerd, nothing can warm your heart more than the sound of a child quietly reading. I am so happy she appears to have a total love of books instilled in her. </div>
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-Her favorite TV show remains Peppa Pig. She still has no interest in movies, becoming bored after 5 minutes and asking for Peppa. However, recently she has started to enjoy watching Bubble Guppies too. It has been nice to switch it up every so often! Peppa is a British show, and Adly has learned some pretty funny phrases from the show such as "off we go!" and replying with "certainly!".<br>
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-She loves, loves, loves electronics. <i>What child doesn't these days?</i> If she gets her hand on any phone or iPad, she knows how to work it and get into everything on it immediately. I have been able to find some great apps that are actually great with helping her to count and read books on the iPad, which she enjoys, so that has been a good addition. For now, iPad use is limited to long car rides. Phone is limited to whenever mama needs a 5 minute break.<br>
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-Heading into two, Adly knows how to count to thirteen and say the alphabet. </div>
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-She still loves cows, but has definitely taken an interest in many other animals too, especially doggies. Unfortunately, we've recently discovered she is allergic to pretty much every dog, so her affections have had to turn into waves from afar. </div>
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-My little diva hates having her picture taken these days. Most often, the camera is met with a scowl and a "noooo picture!". In order to get the very few smiling pics of her that I have it has to be hidden, or some serious monkeying around and laughing at myself has to take place. <i>Someday, child. I will get you back for this. Someday. </i></div>
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Here are some answers Adly had about what she loves at the age of two:</div>
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Favorite Food: <i>pasta....pancakes </i>(she also loves cooking these in her kitchen).</div>
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Favorite Color: <i>purple and red</i></div>
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Favorite TV show: <i>Cubs? Ok. </i>(Cubs were on when I asked her this. I would say Peppa Pig). </div>
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Favorite Thing to Do at the Park: <i>swings</i></div>
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Favorite Animal: <i>cow</i></div>
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Favorite Toy: <i>umm my refrigerator </i></div>
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Favorite Book: <i>umm</i>...<u><i>The Big Animal Book</i></u>.</div>
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Weight: 29 lbs</div>
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Height: 35.5"</div>
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One was a very big year for Adly. She learned to walk, talk, and run. She had a first trip to the ER. We moved to (another) new home. We learned she was going to be a big sister- and have a little sister! Her hair grew long enough to put pretty ponies in. She turned forward facing in her car seat. </div>
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Looking ahead, two is also going to be a big year for Adly. We have potty training and moving to a big girl bed as the biggest hurdles for the next year. Adly will also have to learn how to share mom and dad with a new sibling. However she handles these transitions, I have no doubt that two will be a GREAT year. </div>
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Mama and Dada love you so much my sweet little girl. You light up every moment with your smiles and silly laughter. Thank you for making every day of our lives together truly amazing. </div>
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HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY!!!!</div>
Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-64346181146967739612015-07-03T08:07:00.002-05:002015-07-03T08:21:44.889-05:00We're having a.....GIRL!!!<br />
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Despite almost everyone's boy predictions, despite the different pregnancy and totally opposite cravings, Baby Bway 2.0 is a girl!<br />
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To say I was shocked is an understatement. I don't know why. From the start I really wanted another girl. But then I spent so much time being told it was a boy and telling myself it was a boy, I think I honestly believed it was a boy. And then I started to really want to experience having a little boy. So when the card read <i>GIRL</i>, it took me a full few minutes to soak it in.<br />
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We found out the sex at our 20 week ultrasound so they also examined every inch of her teeny little body, and everything appears to be very healthy. She was very tired and all balled up for most of the examination, but would move throughout the poking and prodding so they were able to get a good peek at her. <i>This is different than her older sister, who was very stubborn and took two doctors pushing, poking, and prodding to be able to get a look at her.</i> However, just like her big sister, she appears to already be self soothing through thumb sucking. How did I end up with two thumb suckers?!! Orthodontists everywhere will love us in 15 years. <br />
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Our plan had been to keep the sex a secret until Adly's family birthday party next weekend, when most of our family would be present. I laugh out loud at this decision now. I don't know who we were kidding. We are the WORST secret keepers that ever lived! Literally as soon as we found out, I dried my tears, Adam slammed some wine<i> (TWO girls!?!)</i> and the appetizers arrived, we were ready to head home and call our families.<br />
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Adam always knew he wanted to carry on his middle name, Farrell, to one of his future children. Once we found out Adly was a girl, we decided to pull her middle name from my side of the family. For the second baby we decided we would use Farrell for the middle name, whether it was a boy or a girl. Soon after Adly was born, we began talking about another girl name, and how it could it ever be just as special as Adly's name. That was when Adam brought up the idea of carrying down his grandma Eleanor's name. I loved the name from the start, and although I was never able to meet her, I had heard many amazing things about her. From that moment on, we planned on using Eleanor, were we ever to have another girl. <br />
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I'm so glad we ended up doing it the way we did, and not waiting another week. We
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So, meet little miss Eleanor (Ellie) Farrell. Sucking her little thumb from the start, just like her big sister!<br />
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-22683773522811860582015-07-01T06:34:00.001-05:002015-07-01T07:04:14.499-05:0020 Weeks.Bad parent alert! Or rather, <i>"sorry baby number 2, you're already getting the shaft"</i> alert! <br />
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Either way, here we are at the halfway point and I'm finally getting around to documenting this child's introduction to the world.<br />
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I say introduction because it was at some point during this week that my belly started protruding after hiding quite well the last 4 months. Actually, it wasn't at some point. I know exactly when it was. It was Sunday evening around 8pm when the all too familiar growing pains in the groin and stomach region happened. The kind that make first time mommies everywhere panic that something is wrong. <i>But no</i>. It's just your body spreading out in all different ways to make room for the cantaloupe that is growing inside you. This time, it has been quite weird to feel the familiar aches in my joints as my hips realign themselves again to carry a heavy load up front. </div>
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Up until this point, I have to say this has been such an easy pregnancy. Sure, I've definitely had my evenings of being really exhausted, had the bouts of sickness, and <i>ohmygod</i> don't even mention sausage or quinoa to me--they still make me want to hurl. But beyond the weird aversions and normal nausea that ended around 9 weeks, I can't complain. </div>
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I am especially grateful for this, as I chase Adly around all day. I cannot imagine doing this while feeling absolutely horrible. In some ways it has been so easy, I've forgotten all about being pregnant. This comes in handy when it comes to the passage of time. It is <i>flying</i> by! Seriously, I blinked and realized I was 20 weeks- half way there!!! </div>
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<div>
At 20 weeks, the speculations over the sex of baby #2 continue. I honestly have no idea what we are having. Some days I think strongly boy and other days I strongly think girl. With Adly, I consistently felt "girl" from the start. There have been two major differences in this pregnancy: cravings and sleep. With Adly, I consistently craved sweets. Anything sweet, which was so out of character for me. I ate Sour Patch Kids by the bag. This time, I cannot get enough of everything salty. Chips, pickles, banana peppers (by the jar), spicy sauces, popcorn...anything with salt, I'm down for it. </div>
<div>
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<div>
I think because of this, I've been slightly saved when it comes to weight gain...so far. By now with Adly, I had already put on about 15 pounds. Mind you, prior to pregnancy with Adly, I was at my best fighting weight having just gotten married. But either way, I was packing on the pounds--and fast. This time, I have been slow to put on weight which is good. That means no scolding by the doctor so far. At 20 weeks, I am around 7 pounds over pre-pregnancy weight.</div>
<div>
<br />
As far as sleep goes, with Adly, I was exhausted. Maybe it's just a difference of having nothing to focus on but the pregnancy that made me so tired. But I fell asleep constantly around 8:30/9. This time, I'm finding myself having much more trouble sleeping. I'm not nearly as tired at night and now that school is out I've been staying up until 11ish every night. I then wake up between 5:30/6am most days. <i>Ugh.</i> Then there's the insomnia. I've had some terrible bouts of it this pregnancy, sometimes staying up from 3am on, but regularly being awake from 2-4am area. This is exhausting, so I've been regularly napping when Adly does, purely to catch up on sleep. <br />
<br /></div>
<div>
This week, we finally find out the sex of Baby #2. However we aren't sharing the sex until after Adly's birthday on the 10th. We are having most of our immediate family over to celebrate her 2nd birthday in two weeks and we've chosen to also then share the sex of baby with them then. You know, just to draw out the waiting game a little longer. <i>Because we can. </i><br />
<br />
Of course, <i>we</i> won't be waiting to find out! <i>God no</i>. I'm about to burst inside with the need to know exactly who has been occupying my stomach the last 20 weeks! With Adly, Adam and I went downtown for a little babymoon to find out the sex. We shopped, went out for a really nice dinner, and I was asleep by 9pm. It was a really nice night. This time, however, we have a delightful toddler at home. After going back and forth for a bit, we decided not to do downtown overnight. Adam has to work the whole day still, so our timing would be pretty tight. Instead, after visiting the doctor and getting the best information ever tucked into a card I'm going to stare at all day, I'm taking a mama day.<br />
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This calls for a massage with one of my best girlfriends and some shopping. <i>ALONE.</i> This never happens anymore! <i>Maybe I'll go crazy and go to Costco by myself too!?! </i>When Adam gets home, he and I are going to a movie together. To some, this may sound boring. Until I reveal we have not seen a movie together since before Adly was born. Two years it's been! Before you have your baby- GO TO THE MOVIES. You never will again. After that, we're going to dinner at a place we've been wanting to try and then getting a little crazy and doing Tango lessons. Because, why not? We've got a night off from being parents! <i>(All thanks to our dearest and most amazing soon to be officially, sister-in-law Jess).</i><br />
<i> </i> </div>
<div>
Just to note, with this pregnancy, the overwhelming guesses, intuitions, and feelings from others
have gone to boy. As we head into the day of the ultrasound, Adam is
still feeling boy and I have switched to girl. My guess has switched
only due to the fact that now that it's officially popped, my belly
seems high again, a lot like it was with Adly. However, I will note the
baby tends to hang out down low. That is where it has been for the ultrasounds and heartbeat listens. I also don't remember feeling her kicks so
low last time. I know that boys tend to hang lower. See what I mean!? This baby is already keeping me
guessing.<br />
</div>
<div>
So, here is belly at 20 weeks. It is far bigger at this point than with Adly. She did a great job of stretching out those muscles a few years ago, so baby #2 is having no problem making themselves at home in there. </div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HL8Y4-Wif2M/VZNHPFVMsNI/AAAAAAAABWo/iCLX095Cxho/s640/blogger-image-1901542936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HL8Y4-Wif2M/VZNHPFVMsNI/AAAAAAAABWo/iCLX095Cxho/s640/blogger-image-1901542936.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WG_4YwQUwF8/VZNHQVPb_II/AAAAAAAABWw/z1d_y9KKJtI/s640/blogger-image--1250850014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WG_4YwQUwF8/VZNHQVPb_II/AAAAAAAABWw/z1d_y9KKJtI/s640/blogger-image--1250850014.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Bottom is Adly at 20 weeks. Yipes! Such a difference this time. </i></div>
</div>
Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-31611292027246583702015-06-13T12:51:00.000-05:002015-06-16T17:36:27.408-05:00Cooking With Your Toddler: Banana MuffinsI am not a baker. I don't claim to be one, I don't really even strive to be one. However, cooking isn't always the easiest to do with your child, as it usually involves a stovetop and raw meat of some kind. And my child happens to love being right next to mommy, cooking away.<br>
<br>
So in order to solve that problem, I began baking with her. It's easier to keep her entertained, she can stir things that aren't hot, and none of its going to kill her if she eats it as we go (since that's what she does. Every. single. time.)<br>
<br>
I've tried out a lot of recipes and one that has become our favorite are these <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/banana-crumb-muffins/" target="_blank">banana crumble muffins</a>. We have made these so many times and every time they come out tasting delicious. They are also great to take to friends houses or any brunch events.<br>
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They mostly are an awesome recipe to cook with your toddler mostly because of the crumb topping. Who doesn't love a bowl of brown sugar/butter yumminess? When applying the topping, Adly likes to follow the golden rule of "some for you muffin, some for me". <i>Sorry, people who have had them. You've definitely had a little bit of Adly love, mixed in. </i><br>
<br>
When I first began cooking with Adly, I'm not going to lie, it was really hard to keep my patience intact. I would get very frustrated when flour spilled or when things dropped on the floor. Over time, I've tried to keep reminding myself that a mess is a mess. And it can always be cleaned up. What can't be replaced is the fun your toddler will have, being a part of what mommy does and acting as a helper. She seriously gets so much joy out of pouring the ingredients in, stirring them with a whisk, and then tasting everything as she goes.<br>
<br>
She even has her own apron, thanks to her godmother who sewed her one. This apron is <i>essential</i> to Adly's cooking process and must always be worn.<br>
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Another benefit to these baking sessions with Adly has been the growth in her imagination skills. She loves her play kitchen and now really loves pretending to cook. I hear her using the same terms we use as we bake as she makes her own creations, playing on her own in her kitchen. <i>Although she gets a little crazy with chicken and ketchup and french fries in her one-pot-wonders. </i><br>
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I honestly follow the recipe to a tee, except that after reading comments from others, I add cinnamon and nutmeg to the flour mixture.<br>
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I encourage you to give this recipe a try, with your toddler. It has made so many rainy Saturdays much more bearable in our household!<br>
<br>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px;"></span><br>
<div style="border-bottom-color: rgb(236, 233, 216); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(236, 233, 216); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(236, 233, 216); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(236, 233, 216); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 8px;">
<span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #fb6400; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.05em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">INGREDIENTS:</span></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 100%px;"><tbody style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top" width="50%"><div data-grams="187.5" data-ingredientid="1684" data-role="recipe-ingredient" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour</div>
<div data-grams="4.6" data-ingredientid="2359" data-role="recipe-ingredient" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1 teaspoon baking soda</div>
<div data-grams="4.6" data-ingredientid="2356" data-role="recipe-ingredient" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1 teaspoon baking powder</div>
<div data-grams="3" data-ingredientid="16421" data-role="recipe-ingredient" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1/2 teaspoon salt</div>
<div data-grams="354" data-ingredientid="5015" data-role="recipe-ingredient" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
3 bananas, mashed</div>
<div data-grams="150" data-ingredientid="1526" data-role="recipe-ingredient" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
3/4 cup white sugar</div>
</td><td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top" width="50%"><div data-grams="50" data-ingredientid="16317" data-role="recipe-ingredient" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1 egg, lightly beaten</div>
<div data-grams="75.66666" data-ingredientid="16157" data-role="recipe-ingredient" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1/3 cup butter, melted</div>
<div data-grams="73.33333" data-ingredientid="1525" data-role="recipe-ingredient" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1/3 cup packed brown sugar</div>
<div data-grams="15.625" data-ingredientid="1684" data-role="recipe-ingredient" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour</div>
<div data-grams="0.2875" data-ingredientid="16386" data-role="recipe-ingredient" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon</div>
<div data-grams="14.2" data-ingredientid="16157" data-role="recipe-ingredient" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 8px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
1 tablespoon butter</div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="border-bottom-color: rgb(236, 233, 216); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(236, 233, 216); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(236, 233, 216); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(236, 233, 216); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 8px;">
<span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #fb6400; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 0.05em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">DIRECTIONS:</span></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><tbody style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<tr style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #fb6400; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top">1.</td><td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top">Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.</td></tr>
<tr style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #fb6400; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top">2.</td><td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top">In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.</td></tr>
<tr style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #fb6400; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top">3.</td><td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top">In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.</td></tr>
<tr style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #fb6400; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top">4.</td><td style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" valign="top">Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.</td></tr>
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-68914813152426795252015-06-13T07:57:00.000-05:002015-06-23T05:56:32.157-05:00DIY: Boo-Boo KitAs warm weather approaches, we have entered a new world when it comes to getting out of the house with Adly. She no longer needs to be carried everywhere in our arms or a stroller, and holding her hand is always a fight. Because, you know, <i>"Moooooom! I'm like, a big girl now!" </i><br>
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This newfound freedom has created a whole new realm of possibilities when it comes to injuries. Sure, she's pretty steady on her feet these days. But now comes the ability to run and jump and climb. And with that, inevitably comes plentiful opportunities for scratches, owies, and boo-boo's. We've been lucky so far, with Adly's greatest injury being a splinter in her hand that I forgot about for 4 days. Oh and then there was the falling down the stairs incident....but she handled that like a champ with no scrapes whatsoever!</div>
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However you never know when that injury with blood and major tears is going to come. A few months back, my friend Laura had informed us moms that she invested in a travel first-aid kit to throw in the diaper bag. This was after witnessing a kid getting scraped up pretty badly at the park. The idea of injury had never even popped into my mind, so I was grateful for her advice.</div>
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However, while shopping for mini-first aid kits, I was appalled at the prices compared to normal sized kits. I didn't need fancy-pants anything Disney character anything, I just needed a case with some patch up gear. </div>
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So instead, my mind began racing with other options. I wandered through the holy grail of Target looking for mini-case options. Sure enough, within their $1 spot section, I found some sort of I think what is supposed to be a recipe organizer, that was divided into sections and could collapse into a small pouch. Perfect for diaper bags! I grabbed two since we have two diaper bags. </div>
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These handy dandy cases also included labels for organizing. An organizers dream! I then headed back to the first aid area to price things out. I found that purchasing a full first aid kit was much more cost effective than buying everything separately. I think I bought our version for $12.99. There were so many first aid items included that we have the remainder of the big First Aid kit in the bathroom for scrapes and boo-boo's at home too. </div>
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When I got home, I separated all of the medical necessities into the divided sections within the organizer. The kit I bought even included stickers because for whatever reason- kids LOVE stickers. And a sticker makes every sad child feel thousands of times better. </div>
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Now we always have on-hand any supplies that could be needed for any random act of toddlerhood that my child has at the park. Hopefully this inspires you to try your own version of a Boo-Boo Kit! </div>
Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-51924010757639813892015-06-13T07:43:00.000-05:002015-06-13T12:34:00.614-05:00Picky Eaters: How We Dealt with Ours<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Picky eating phases <i>suck</i>. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">There is no other way to put it. They are unbelievably frustrating for parents and make mealtimes become dreaded for everyone involved. This is a terrible feeling for someone who enjoys cooking and sharing food with others. Imagine making an entire, healthy, delicious meal for your loved one only to have them turn their nose up at it, refuse to try a bite of any of it, ignore it, or just throw it all on the floor. Now imagine when all of the above happens during <i>one</i> meal time. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It will bring any sane person to tears. And that was what our mealtimes started coming to. Around 18-20 months, Adly began deciding what she did and didn't like. Most things, she didn't like. So many things she had once loved became yucky or things she would eat one bite of and say "Adly no like it". Then would come the whines to get down or for other foods she had decided that day she wanted instead. It is the most frustrating feeling to make an entire meal and then have this little person try to dictate five <i>other</i> things they'd rather have instead. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Out of frustration, I did what I always do in this journey of parenthood I know nothing about, I started to read. I wanted to know about others' experiences, I wanted to hear ideas that worked, and I wanted it to fit our family. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">One day I came upon <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-mid/6-words-that-will-end-picky-eating_b_7139710.html" target="_blank">this</a> article. It had me from the start, mentioning having a picky 6 year old and 5 years from now, still fighting the food battle. <i>Oh hell no! </i>Was my first thought. She goes on to have some amazing ideas that, as with everything, made perfect sense and made me be all like "now why didn't I think of that?!?" </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I loved it so much I bookmarked it and sent it to Adam. Adam admittedly doesn't always <i>love</i> reading about raising children as much as I do, so he usually just trusts what I say and runs with it. (See?! He's amazing like that. I love when people listen to me!) But the picky mealtimes had definitely been a source of tension between the two of us, and I wanted it to be a plan we'd both be on board with. Back to the frustrations picky eating brings out, at least in our household, mealtime fights put everyone on edge. I think it's important to have a solid frontline when dealing with a picky toddler to ensure you are doing the same things to create consistency across the board. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">He read the article and agreed with it too. So we jumped in full force the next day. And lo and behold, it worked!! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We tweaked her ideas slightly in order to fit our family. This has created a ton less tension between all of us during mealtimes. I've let go of the guilt I used to feel when Adly refused to eat one bite. I've stopped getting mad at her whenever it happens. Essentially I've just let it all <i>go</i>. Because I know in the end she'll be ok.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are the eating rules we live and breathe these days. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Every meal offered contains a protein, dairy, fruit and a veggie (most days. I am admittedly <i>terrible</i> with vegetables). Sometimes a grain.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Every meal contains at least one thing I know she loves. This allows Adly to feel like she has choices in what she eats on the plate. This also gives her the independence she was seeking during meal times. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-In our house, she can have more of something (usually fruit) once she eats a few bites of the protien (usually what she <i>doesn't</i> eat).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-She doesn't have to eat it all, and when she is done, she's done. For Adly, she gives us her plate and says "all done" when she's done eating. There is no snacking after dinner. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Afternoon snacks have become lighter to help with dinner eating. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-Dessert is unknown. We don't use it as leverage or even talk about it. Any time we have mentioned "dessert" she says yes to it and she is presented with applesauce or yogurt. They're sweet, right? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-My biggest takeaway from this article? Six words. <i>You don't have to eat it. </i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">I swear to you, since we instilled this plan into our mealtimes, not once has Adly refused her entire meal. Not once have I cried. Not even <i>once</i> have I gotten frustrated. (And this is coming from the most easily frustrated adult-toddler there is!) It was as though we saw the light. Seriously, <i>that</i> cheesy. I also believe that once my attitude got an adjustment, Adly picked up on it as well, and the battles ended. Toddlers are so much more intuitive than we give them credit for. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">That article saved our mealtimes. And as soon as it did, mealtimes became <i>fun</i>. A time to relax and talk and sit back and laugh. Or just relax. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">There are days where Adly doesn't eat hardly anything. And I'm ok with that. She lives with it and then eats like a monster at breakfast the next day. She is always fine. There are also times where Adly's sensitive stomach gets a bug and she has days of diarrhea. This is when we go back to the age-old BRAT (banana, rice, apples, toast) diet and our normal diet is completely out the window. So of course, this, like everything else when it comes to babies and toddlers and kids, takes flexibility. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">If you're stuck at home, crying in the corner of your kitchen because your kid threw yet another delicious meal on the floor, I suggest you read this article and/or try some of the ideas out! It saved our family, hopefully it will help yours too. </span></div>
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"Adly silly. Take a picture mama!"</span></i></div>
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-70511325134205679742015-05-26T07:12:00.000-05:002015-05-26T07:13:34.402-05:00The Costco Files: My Best Finds for Moms<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">You know you're a mom when....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Costco happens.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Let's face it. Before you have offspring there really is no reason to have a membership to the worlds greatest mom-hive. I swear this place is constantly swarming with moms of all types, racing through the store to fill their carts with plentiful amounts of everything from fruits to wine to sleepers to diapers. Even when you show up right before the store opens. There are <i>lines</i> to get in! I have been to this store at every imaginable hour and never once have I seen it close to "empty". You know how you can find those sweet spot hours at your favorite shopping stores where no one else seems to be there? Never. Never, ever, ever, does this happen at Costco.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But why would it? This place is a magnet for people with kids. Their prices are unbeatable and oh my God have you tried their pizza?!? Let's be honest, you know most people (including myself) plan their eating schedule that day around getting to mow down on a heavenly piece of Costco pizza. Bonus points for when you don't have to have a child<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;"> in tow. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A mom friend of mine once said something along the lines of: <i>you know you're a mom when your favorite outing of the week without your kid is a peaceful trip to Costco. Where you can wander the aisles in peace, not having to worry about entertaining your child. </i>And she was so right. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've seen a lot of "What to Buy at Costco lists" out there, and I love reading them because I'm always looking for new buys there. However, I'm kind of a creature of habit. So I definitely find myself sticking with some of these trusty standbys. I thought I'd share my favorites to help any newbie Costco-goers (aka; new mommies) navigate the great aisles of this amazing store.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<b>Kirkland formula </b>(for before one year). This had a major impact on helping our budget. So much cheaper than the name brand. <i>Same ingredients too! </i>So don't you worry all you over-protective-first-time-mommies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<b>Kerrygold Irish Butter.</b> Organic, grass-fed cows. Pure butter at a great price. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<b>Organic strawberries</b>. <i>OMG their strawberries.</i> Adly and I go through these in a matter of days. They are in season right now and beyond amazing. But I've personally enjoyed them all year. Never had a moldy batch, which is not something I can say for the smaller batches I buy at local grocers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<b>Belvita Breakfast Bars.</b> I was introduced to these by another mommy. They are a great, nut free on-the-go snack for both of us. Love these. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<b>Bananas</b>. Organic again, and at an incredible price and taste.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<b>Kirkland Applesauce Squeeze Pouches</b>. At about 18 months, I gave in to the ease of buying pouches. They still weird me out, so I check every one by giving it a little squeeze before giving it to Adly. I still argue that making them is better, but for now I just don't have the drive to make them. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<b>Wholly Guacomole! </b>These are sold in little individual serve packets and great for snacks. I haven't bought these yet only because I wasn't sure if we'd go through them all in a timely manner. However, I think my guac-loving child is definitely ready for them, so we will be picking them up next time we go. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<b>Annie's Organic Macaroni and Cheese.</b> Costco is making a big push to provide more organic products at a great price. Annie's recently switched their Mac and cheese boxes to all organic at Costco. I've since started buying these there. I actually prefer making my own Mac and cheese, but these are great for the times in between. </span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">-<b>Condiments. </b>We buy all of our staple condiments here like ketchup, mustard, Franks red hot, etc. All three of us are dip lovers so we tend to make use of these things pretty quick. </span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">-<b>Huggies diapers.</b> There are no doubts about it. Diapers here are so much cheaper! I prefer the Huggies because we are used to them. I hear Kirkland are just as good.</span></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: inherit;">-<b>Huggies Natural Care Wipes.</b> I haven't been able to switch to Kirkland wipes simply because Adly has such sensitive skin, and Huggies wipes have always been good to her. However, I hear they're just as good and are sold at a better price. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<b>Toilet Paper & Paper Towel. </b>The Kirkland brand of both are staples in our house. To me, there is no argument that it is a great deal. I buy these items at most, 4 times a year now. That to me is so worth it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<b>Laundry Detergent. </b>Our last big jug of detergent lasted us almost a year. And most of their brands are the "free and clear" types which are great for my sensitive skinned child and newborn. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">-<b>Carter Jammies</b>. You cannot beat the price of sleeper fleece footie jammies for $7.99. I stock up on these for the winter time. They also have the great 4-piece cotton jammie sets for around $9.99. Another great deal. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is our usual list. Sometimes I get a little crazy and stray out from the norm to try something new beyond our regular items. But that depends on how wild I'm feeling that day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">What other items do you love from Costco?</span></div>
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273363801349611365.post-35737435014350798742015-05-17T07:52:00.000-05:002015-05-17T07:57:43.925-05:00Big News....<div>
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Yep. It is official. I spent enough time in a few bottles of wine in Napa to decide that why yes, being pregnant and having a newborn was so fun I'm up for it all over again!! Let's do this thing!<br />
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As it so happens, Adam and I are apparently extremely fertile. He so much as looks at me and BAM! There's a baby in there. We decided to start "trying" in February because it would mean the birth of our second child would happen at the end of Adam's golf season. </div>
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While it lands in the middle of my school year, we decided Adam being home was more important. Well, I had the main influence over that. Baby number one was extremely hard on me mentally and physically. <i>Hard to imagine now that she's almost two and so good. SEE??!! This is why people do it again. They forget. They forget everything. </i>Anyways, on top of that, Adam was gone 90% of every day. Throw in the fact most of our family lives far away and a dose of PPD that caused me to want no help whatsoever created a big storm of a hell I hope never happens again. I wrote about all of it when I was coming out of it and I hope one day I can find the strength to share about it all. </div>
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But that's besides the point. Let's get to the fact that we started trying in February and by the end of February some funky spotting was going on so on a whim I took a pregnancy test. I mean, there was no way I was pregnant....right?</div>
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Sure enough, that little test showed up a nice faint positive. <i>This was quite different from Adly's three tests in a row that turned a bright blue positive immediately.</i> I called the doctors office to find out the chances of a false positive test. The regular nurse wasn't in, so I spent an hour on the phone with the hospital, trying to convince them I didn't need to come in and that I wasn't having a miscarriage. I mean, I spent two weeks heavily bleeding with Adly, hence why we didn't know until around 8 weeks. Plus, I was so early this time I didn't think there was major cause for concern. I went in the next week for blood tests and sure enough, I was pregnant at about 4 weeks along. </div>
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Knowing you're pregnant so early suuuuuucks. I felt like crap for most of it and had nothing fun like a hangover to blame for it. Then there's the constant, incessant worry. I would much rather live blissfully unaware until the end of the rocky first trimester and then be all like <i>"Oh! I'm pregnant! And I only have 28 more weeks to go! Lovely!" </i>I started to feel amazing again around 9 weeks after feeling pretty crappy, which of course in the twisted world of pregnancy is never a good sign. At 11 weeks I was a nervous wreck as we went in for our next ultrasound. As soon as we saw inside, that little baby was a kicking and a punching, which put my mind at ease....for a week.</div>
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Then we went to Mexico and I felt soooo good, I just couldn't believe I was still pregnant. So by the time I made it to my 13 week checkup, I was convinced something had happened. I mean I didn't <i>feel</i> pregnant in any way. I could've easily been drinking my way though Mexico, dancing the night away <i>(until 10pm because oh my God I cannot stay awake!!)</i> Sure enough, she found that little heartbeat be-bopping away immediately. It's just another reminder that this time is no different. We pregnant ladies are all CRAZY, no matter how many times you've stepped into the ring. </div>
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Now comes the waiting game of finding out the sex. This is our last and final child and I want to know more than ever. With Adly, I had a feeling of her being a girl from the moment we found out. It was just this weird feeling. This time, I'm not having a strong feeling either way. Some days I feel it's a boy, some days I feel it's a girl. However the other day, I came home from work and Adly was feeling quite snuggly. She leaned up against my stomach, rubbing it saying "Mama got a baby in her belly. Adly be gentle." These sayings are all normal. Then she whips out "mama got a brudder in her belly."</div>
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<i>I'm sorry, WHAT!?!?</i></div>
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Never before have any of us mentioned her possibly having a brother. If anything, I'd expect her to say sister since we always call her a big sister. So either my child is a creepy psychic or its just by chance. But I swear if it turns out to be a boy, I'll be watching her from now on out of one eye. <i>Always</i>.<br />
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Being a second time preggo mom with a toddler is very different. I can tell poor baby number two is definitely going to get the shaft in pregnancy. <i>I'm sorry in advance child. </i>I'm exhausted most of the time and I have a toddler who likes to "work" on my keyboard as I do, so blogging about it seems to be extra difficult. And the nursery. Or as we call it, the guest bedroom, will remain that. Baby number 2 will be getting the crib from Adly. The one with beaver chew marks all over the railing (apparently we don't feed her enough). And the same changing table and rocking chair. As far as decorating, I'm not nearly as concerned as I was with baby #1 now that I know they'll spend most of their time pooping, peeing, and spitting up all over any decorating I do get done. And the belly pictures...I keep thinking about starting them but that takes work. And I'm kind of burnt out from working my day job and then my mommy job by 7pm. <i>Heaven forbid Adly actually help me take pictures. I mean, what gives?! </i>Hopefully I can get on board with those sooner than later. </div>
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After getting through 3-4 weeks of feeling terrible, eating only cereal and toast, and all kinds of nighttime yucky nausea, I've been feeling amazing since 9 weeks. And THAT I can't complain about. But of course, I'm me, so I will find <i>something</i>. You want to know what is the most not awesome thing so far this pregnancy? My OBGYN went over my charts from Adly at my appointment on Thursday (she wasn't the one who delivered me) and as she did, she balked at the size of Adly at 8lb, 13oz, who was born one week early. Adly had been hiding in there. She hadn't measured big, so we weren't prepared for a giant baby to exit me. I specifically remember the doctor going <i>"woah that's a big baby!" </i>as soon as she came out. Therefore, my doctor is now concerned I may have developed late onset gestational diabetes. I don't know, it <i>may</i> have had something to do with the bags and bags of Sour Patch Kids and cookies and ice cream Adly made me eat, but I'm trying not to point fingers here. Anyways, this time I get to take that God awful diabetes test twice! Let the fun begin. <i>It's ok, I'll just keep stockpiling these moments of amazing things I did for them to bring back up when my children are in high school and want to hate me. </i></div>
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So there you have it. We have officially entered the rollercoaster of pregnancy and new parenthood one more time. We will be becoming a family of four sometime November 2016! </div>
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Bottles and Blundershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04341932581819715044noreply@blogger.com0