I've been a SAHM (stay at home mom) for 3 weeks now and have some random thoughts about the transition. Overall, it's gone really well. It's amazing how four weeks ago, I didn't have the confidence to 'deal' with my children 24/7. Working a job and coming home to my family was so stressfull, that I never was emotionally capable of handling my kids for long stretches of time. So I was really nervous about this new chapter of my life. I now can say that it's been successful so far.
The first week was kind of rough. Kendall was a walking disaster - falling, hitting her head like 5 times. Taylor refused her naps... EVERY day. But by day three she was cooperating with 'quiet time' and by day eight actually fell asleep after 1 hour 15 minutes of 'quiet time.' Now she does sleep most days after she reads her books for 30 minutes.
So here is my break down on the pros, cons and things to work on of being a elementary stay at home mom.
PROS:
- Taylor - to see her play by herself is awesome. She loves to color and play with playdoh. Nothing else holds her attention long. She enjoys staying home with me and therefore we have less battles. Her behavior seems to be more consistent.
- Kendall - in the three weeks I've been home she's learned several new words and I've started to pick up on what she is saying more (just by being around her. She has become extremly independent. This week after 20 minutes of "I can do it" (slurred into 3 syllables) she can put on her pants all by herself. It's hilarious to watch her and if you attempt to help, she'll pick up and run to a corner to continue doing it herself. She's also peed in the potty twice (in one day). She's asked to sit on the potty many more times but doesn't actually go. Last week, I saw her saw her feed herself an entire meal with a fork - no help from me. It's the little things but I figure before hand we were so rushed for everything, we would never take the time to let her do things herself. It's awesome to see her grow up.
- I feel less stressed (most of the time). I've gotten half the house cleaned up and maintained. I am able to balance my life better. I'm still working 17 hours a week but that gives me time to get a way.
CONS-
- Socially- I do worry about my kids and their need to socialize. They go to Bunnie's 1 1/2 days a week but I don't know if it's enough. Taylor has had trouble sharing and listening there. We've never had trouble with her at any daycare facility/home. Kendall use to love to socialize but recently I noticed she whines at children she doesn't know. I'm not sure if she's 'scared' or 'telling' on them but it's different.
- Weekends are still an issue. When working, I always fell apart on weekends... grumpy, irritable, etc. I was hoping it would be better but not sure. During the week, we have a 'schedule' (not really) and things are semi controlled. However during the weekend, it seems nothing gets done, the house becomes a mess, we all stay in our jammi's on Saturday unless we have plans and by that evening, I'm going stir crazy with all the noise.
- My socialization. I've found myself needing to talk to someone... but no one to talk to. I told Adam one evening when I was wanting to talk and he was wanting to watch TV that he's the only adult I see all week and hope for any conversation.
- Cabin Fever... I think eventually if we don't get out regularly, I'll end up with cabin fever. We haven't done a whole lot these past three weeks so we have lots of options but the fever is still there.
- Weekends - I find myself alittle crazy... needing to get away from the noise and chaos and mess. But at the same time weekends are time that we usually spend doing.. nothing as a family. heh heh.
Things to work on...
- Our schedule. Some days I find it hard to get dressed. My kids are dressed but I'll stay bummed out until late in the afternoon. I know I need to get dressed along with them but just don't find jeans ,etc all that comfy.
- I'd like to do some structured stuff with them - crafts, baking, etc. But haven't gotten there yet. I am not all that crafty and wouldn't know where to begin. If anyone has any ideas for any fun activities, please share them.
- I have to implement some away time for me. During the week isn't bad as I take time off during quiet time and can re-generate. But don't always have that time on the weekends.
Over-all I'm pleased with how things have gone. This was something I knew was coming eventually and have been nervous about it for months. The transition has gone well and I think both me and the kids have adapted well.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Kendall - 18 months
It's occurred to me recently that I haven't posted on Kendall specifically since she was a baby. For Taylor, I tried to post blogs after her well visits to document her vitals and milestones. Since we've had Kendall there have been numerous occasions that I have looked back at Taylor's post to compare. So I'm going to attempt to make this post all about Kendall.
Kendall is such a sweet child. I knew as soon as she was born that she was going to be my cuddly child and she is. She is contempt sitting in your lap or you holding her. Don't get me wrong, she likes to play and can hold her on. But she likes to cuddle just as much. Kendall is an awesome sleeper. She get's that from me. She usually asks us to go to bed for both naps and night time. She'll gather all her night night items, say 'night night' and head to her room. She usually goes straight in her crib, alittle humming at the least.
She loves her big sister. She looks up to her and recently copies/mocks everything she does - actions, words, songs. This can be good and bad. She's hurt herself a few times copying Taylor and they've gotten into screaming matches to see who can outdo each other.
She loves music and is a dancer. Since she was a baby, she knew how to do the chicken dance. Now she dances to all music and will attempt to sing along.
She's my social bug. Everywhere we go she makes friends. If she see's another baby, she'll try to talk to them "baby." We went to the library this week and before we left she had had conversations with two other children their. She has a real concern for other people's feelings and wants to know what's wrong.
She is part monkey. She loves to climb. She started walking at 10 months old. Not long after that, she was climbing on the furniture. We have found her on table tops at times. I keep waiting for her to learn to climb out of crib. She's tried before by hiking her leg up.
She seems to like animals. However everything is a dog to her.
She is so independent. I'm sure this is typical of most second children and beyond. But it still amazes me. At 18 months, she went trick or treating by herself, sits at the doctor by herself (ENT doctor in the chair all by herself for the exam), puts her self to sleep, gets in her carseat, brushes her teeth, attempts to put on her shoes. She loves to read books but must read them herself (babble). She does not like to be read to.
She's my texture baby. She had trouble starting solids, starting a sippy cup, etc. Even today some days she doesn't like certain foods/textures. We haven't had a problem with her putting non edible items in her mouth. And she also has to adapt to textures with her hands. She does pretty well with it but has to get use to the texture first on her own time. With eating, she'll usually play with it or touch it a few times before putting it in her mouth.
She's a biter and a hair puller. Kendall has been pulling hair since she was 6 months old. She still has that habit and even occasionally bites. Luckily, she's never bitten anyone outside of the four of us. Hopefully we can keep it that way. She responds well to time outs and reprimand. She listens most days better than Taylor, though I'm sure that will change with age as well.
At 18 months, Kendall weighs 23.8 lbs (42%) and is 33 inches (85%).
Her speech had a slow start due to ear problems but in the last few weeks had blossomed. Her vocab includes: mine, "side" (outside), doggie, woof, shoe, more, milk (maa), cheese, sit, Taylor, (Ta-da), dada, momma, uh-huh (yes), uh-uh (no), CiCi, glasses, night night,
She knows many body features: eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, hair, head, fingers, feet.
She has seen almost every doctor specialty since she was born: Gastro (stomach), ENT, allergist, Opthalmo (eye),speech (texture aversion- feeding therapy). Luckily we have spared the most serious referrals and all she has is treatable at this point. She does have esotropia (cross eyes) and probably will wear glasses her entire life. At this point, doctors don't think she will be a surgery candidate (good thing). We hope that the glasses continue to work. As for gastro, there are still some minor questions of her possible intolerances. We won't know anything for sure until she gets older. Around two, our pediatrician may order some lab tests but even that might not tell us what we know. Right now, our only suspicion continues ot be oats. We have no reason to think anything else causes her probles, (wheat, etc).
So that's my Kendall in a nutshell. She is a pleasure to be around and I love her so much.
Halloween 2010
We had another good Halloween this year. For us it was a week long event, though definitely not planned.
The weekend before, we attended Faith's carnival with Caedyn and Eli. We always have so much fun at their church. The kids were a lady bug and ballerina. They loved trick or treating and got some great pictures.
Saturday night we went shopping. When we arrived home at around 6:00 our neighborhood already had trick or treaters. We weren't planning on having Halloween that night but turned out good. Our neighbors were having a small party and had music blaring on their porch. My kids had a blast handing out candy and dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller. I have to say my Kendall bug has quite some moves on her.
Sunday night we went to Melissa's house. We had good food and good fellowship. We took the kids trick or treating and I was surprised at how well my kids did. Kendall was the cutest thing. After the first two houses or so, she would walk up to the houses by herself. If it wasn't for steps, she could have done the whole deal solo. It was such a bittersweet evening. She's my baby but it was so sweet seeing her do it for herself.
The weekend before, we attended Faith's carnival with Caedyn and Eli. We always have so much fun at their church. The kids were a lady bug and ballerina. They loved trick or treating and got some great pictures.
Saturday night we went shopping. When we arrived home at around 6:00 our neighborhood already had trick or treaters. We weren't planning on having Halloween that night but turned out good. Our neighbors were having a small party and had music blaring on their porch. My kids had a blast handing out candy and dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller. I have to say my Kendall bug has quite some moves on her.
Sunday night we went to Melissa's house. We had good food and good fellowship. We took the kids trick or treating and I was surprised at how well my kids did. Kendall was the cutest thing. After the first two houses or so, she would walk up to the houses by herself. If it wasn't for steps, she could have done the whole deal solo. It was such a bittersweet evening. She's my baby but it was so sweet seeing her do it for herself.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Small Blessings... in disguise
Taylor is a nail biter. She's been a nail biter since she's had a mouth full of teeth. Therefore she has no nails on her fingers or toes. She also bites her nails until she bleeds. She'll grap her cuticle and yank. We use to go through a box of bandaids for her fingers. We had to stop giving out bandaids to boo boos caused by her biting her nails.
Well one night this week, she woke up at 3 am to climb into our bed (not unusual for her). While she's gathering all her animals, she starts screaming 'ow ow ow ow.' It was so real, I had to ask what hurt and she said her finger. I turned on the light and the poor childs fingers looked like they were about to fall off. Two of her fingers were extremely infected with puss, redness, and swelling. She could barely move them and they hurt her so bad that she wouldn't let us put bandaids on them.
By seven the next morning, they were twice as bad. Adam and I took it upon ourselves to 'drain the wound'. We were safe and careful. We were able to get rid of the puss, put neosporin on it and bandage her up. She went to school. That afternoon when we got home, they were still obviously infected but much less puss. It didn't look any worse... maybe even a tad better. However, when she started running a 102 fever, I threw her in the car and took her to Doctors Care. I was so concerned about her fingers and her having some kind of major infection from them. Long story short, they took blood work at Doctor's Care. Her wbc was 22, which is twice as high as it should be. This signaled that she has some kind of infection. (Well, duh, her finger) but the doctor was adament that her finger infection wasn't 'large' enough to cause her white blood count and fever to be that high. Something else was brewing. She had a chest xray to rule out pneumonia, which was clear. She's had a cough for two weeks. She ended up getting a mega dose of Rocephin and we were to follow up the next day with her pediatrician.
Our follow up turned out better than expected. Dr. C wasn't happy about her fingers (and agreed that wasn't the cause of her fever and abnormal blood work)He seemed worried about her blood work. However when her repeat cbc came back at 11 (normal is 3-10), he felt much better. It was decreasing and her fever was gone. We went home with oral antibiotics to treat skin and respiratory infections. His theory is that she had bronchitis/early pneumonia. It was too early for it to show up on the chest xray. The Rocephin shot we received the night before (and the fact that she had fever for less than 24 hours) kicked it before it really started brewing.
Small blessings. I raced to the doctor because of a fever due to her fingers. If it hadn't been for her fingers, I would have waited, thought she had a virus (it's ALWAYS been a virus) and she might have ended up with pneumonia. I can't imagine what her wbc would have been if we waited. Scary! Especially since it was 22 after being sick for such a short amount of time. We might have ended up in the hospital.
Thank goodness for sick fingers. However, we are trying to kick that habit in the butt. The next day was hard for her but we refused to allow it and reminded all she had been through. I honestly haven't seen her bite her nails since then... though not to say she hasn't.
Well one night this week, she woke up at 3 am to climb into our bed (not unusual for her). While she's gathering all her animals, she starts screaming 'ow ow ow ow.' It was so real, I had to ask what hurt and she said her finger. I turned on the light and the poor childs fingers looked like they were about to fall off. Two of her fingers were extremely infected with puss, redness, and swelling. She could barely move them and they hurt her so bad that she wouldn't let us put bandaids on them.
By seven the next morning, they were twice as bad. Adam and I took it upon ourselves to 'drain the wound'. We were safe and careful. We were able to get rid of the puss, put neosporin on it and bandage her up. She went to school. That afternoon when we got home, they were still obviously infected but much less puss. It didn't look any worse... maybe even a tad better. However, when she started running a 102 fever, I threw her in the car and took her to Doctors Care. I was so concerned about her fingers and her having some kind of major infection from them. Long story short, they took blood work at Doctor's Care. Her wbc was 22, which is twice as high as it should be. This signaled that she has some kind of infection. (Well, duh, her finger) but the doctor was adament that her finger infection wasn't 'large' enough to cause her white blood count and fever to be that high. Something else was brewing. She had a chest xray to rule out pneumonia, which was clear. She's had a cough for two weeks. She ended up getting a mega dose of Rocephin and we were to follow up the next day with her pediatrician.
Our follow up turned out better than expected. Dr. C wasn't happy about her fingers (and agreed that wasn't the cause of her fever and abnormal blood work)He seemed worried about her blood work. However when her repeat cbc came back at 11 (normal is 3-10), he felt much better. It was decreasing and her fever was gone. We went home with oral antibiotics to treat skin and respiratory infections. His theory is that she had bronchitis/early pneumonia. It was too early for it to show up on the chest xray. The Rocephin shot we received the night before (and the fact that she had fever for less than 24 hours) kicked it before it really started brewing.
Small blessings. I raced to the doctor because of a fever due to her fingers. If it hadn't been for her fingers, I would have waited, thought she had a virus (it's ALWAYS been a virus) and she might have ended up with pneumonia. I can't imagine what her wbc would have been if we waited. Scary! Especially since it was 22 after being sick for such a short amount of time. We might have ended up in the hospital.
Thank goodness for sick fingers. However, we are trying to kick that habit in the butt. The next day was hard for her but we refused to allow it and reminded all she had been through. I honestly haven't seen her bite her nails since then... though not to say she hasn't.
New Ears and Eyes
We are proud to announce the new arrival of Kendall's new ears and eyes.
Kendalls glasses have arrived. Though she cried at the sight of them when we picked them up, I think she likes them. She wears them at school better than she does at home. It will still take some time but she is so adorable with them. I think she looks like a totally different kid... like Little Einsteness.
She also got ear tubes this month. After battling bad ear infection for six months, this last one was it. She's had six rocephin shots in a matter of two months. We saw the ENT doctor on September 15 and he put her tubes in the next day. She went in with infected ears ("loaded" was the physicians word) and nasty snottly green nose. She literally came out of the procedure running all clear. It was amazing. I"m not sure if they just sucked it all out or what but it was her cure. She has been great since then.
She is talking so much more though we don't know what she is saying. At 15 months, she's suppose to have a small vocab but she only has like three words. We hope because of her ear problems. The very next day her babble just took off. She talks to us with so much conviction. I hope soon she'll pick up some real words so we can understand her. I'm including pictures from her procedure. Most are from the playroom. They took us to a playroom while we waited for her turn to go back.
Kendalls glasses have arrived. Though she cried at the sight of them when we picked them up, I think she likes them. She wears them at school better than she does at home. It will still take some time but she is so adorable with them. I think she looks like a totally different kid... like Little Einsteness.
She also got ear tubes this month. After battling bad ear infection for six months, this last one was it. She's had six rocephin shots in a matter of two months. We saw the ENT doctor on September 15 and he put her tubes in the next day. She went in with infected ears ("loaded" was the physicians word) and nasty snottly green nose. She literally came out of the procedure running all clear. It was amazing. I"m not sure if they just sucked it all out or what but it was her cure. She has been great since then.
She is talking so much more though we don't know what she is saying. At 15 months, she's suppose to have a small vocab but she only has like three words. We hope because of her ear problems. The very next day her babble just took off. She talks to us with so much conviction. I hope soon she'll pick up some real words so we can understand her. I'm including pictures from her procedure. Most are from the playroom. They took us to a playroom while we waited for her turn to go back.
Crash, Bang - Bang
As most have heard, Monday August 30, Kendall and I were in a 'little' bump in on Insterstate 20. Well maybe alittle more than .. little... but it could have been so much worse.
We were on our way home from a doctor's appointment. We were near between mile marker 58 and 57. There was a vehicle pulled off the road to the left. He decided to pull back on the the highway. At the same time he did this, tire tread goes flying across both lanes. There were two cars in front of me that basically had to come to a crawl to allow the pulled off vehicle back onto the highway. I was concentrating so hard not to hit the tread and slow down. I was breathing a sigh of relief (thought I was in the clear) when CRASH, the girl behind me slammed into the back of me.
We were okay. Kendall acted like she wasn't sure what hit her, never cried or whimpered. I immediataly had pain in my upper back and neck. I am not sure how fast she was going but could guess atleast 50mph or so. The girl that hit me had had cuts and bruises. Her car was absolutely totalled. We learned later that her car went completely under mine. Since where the accident happened was unsafe, I moved my car away from the scene at the officers request. My mom showed up on the scene. The three of us are sitting in the car (me, Kendall, mom) when I started losing gas and then the car cuts off and won't re-crank. It looked like I had run out of gas but I knew I had plent of gas prior to the accident. It turned pretty chaotic. Mom ended up taking Kendall to the house when my dad showed up. We were visitied by fire, ambulance, police, and DOT. We ended up leaving the car to be towed and headed home.
When Adam arrived back at the house, he turned around to go meet the tow truck at the car. He calls and says the car is missing. At this point, we were laughing to keep from crying. Literally, he says ' the car is gone'. I'm screaming, who would take a wrecked car... it won't even crank!!!" Turns out the tow truck beat him there and took it... however they took it to the wrong destination. It was all insane. It got taken care of eventually but was just chaotic.
My car has been fixed. The damage was basically invisible but still present. The bumper was curled underneath. Most of the damage was to the exhaust system/muffler since she went under me (hence why my car wouldn't start). They had to replace the entire system.
We've been working through Travelers and they have been very good to us. I'm having to see a chiropractor and am really hoping that he can cure my ailments sooner than later. We were very lucky that day. The accident could have been worse for all of us. God was steering those vehicles.
We were on our way home from a doctor's appointment. We were near between mile marker 58 and 57. There was a vehicle pulled off the road to the left. He decided to pull back on the the highway. At the same time he did this, tire tread goes flying across both lanes. There were two cars in front of me that basically had to come to a crawl to allow the pulled off vehicle back onto the highway. I was concentrating so hard not to hit the tread and slow down. I was breathing a sigh of relief (thought I was in the clear) when CRASH, the girl behind me slammed into the back of me.
We were okay. Kendall acted like she wasn't sure what hit her, never cried or whimpered. I immediataly had pain in my upper back and neck. I am not sure how fast she was going but could guess atleast 50mph or so. The girl that hit me had had cuts and bruises. Her car was absolutely totalled. We learned later that her car went completely under mine. Since where the accident happened was unsafe, I moved my car away from the scene at the officers request. My mom showed up on the scene. The three of us are sitting in the car (me, Kendall, mom) when I started losing gas and then the car cuts off and won't re-crank. It looked like I had run out of gas but I knew I had plent of gas prior to the accident. It turned pretty chaotic. Mom ended up taking Kendall to the house when my dad showed up. We were visitied by fire, ambulance, police, and DOT. We ended up leaving the car to be towed and headed home.
When Adam arrived back at the house, he turned around to go meet the tow truck at the car. He calls and says the car is missing. At this point, we were laughing to keep from crying. Literally, he says ' the car is gone'. I'm screaming, who would take a wrecked car... it won't even crank!!!" Turns out the tow truck beat him there and took it... however they took it to the wrong destination. It was all insane. It got taken care of eventually but was just chaotic.
My car has been fixed. The damage was basically invisible but still present. The bumper was curled underneath. Most of the damage was to the exhaust system/muffler since she went under me (hence why my car wouldn't start). They had to replace the entire system.
We've been working through Travelers and they have been very good to us. I'm having to see a chiropractor and am really hoping that he can cure my ailments sooner than later. We were very lucky that day. The accident could have been worse for all of us. God was steering those vehicles.
Goodbye September, Hello October
September started out a dousy. Unfortunately, it has continued the entire month. Our family has never been so eager to see a month go by and start a new month. Let me recap.
Sunday, August 29 (not even September yet)- I started feeling sick. I was up all night, nauseaus and just couldn't sleep.
Monday, August 30 - woke up sick with major stomach bug. Kendall was due for a rocephin shot to cure yet another ear infection. Mom met me at doctors office since I was so sick. On way home from doctors office, I was rear ended on Interstate 20. We were okay. I'll probably post a seperate blog on this later.
I stayed out of work most of the week due to car accident. Stomach bug continued for eight FULL days. It turned out to be food poisioning. By day seven, I was so dehydrated, I could barely get out of bed. I felt so bad. Luckily, by day eight the antibiotic had kicked in and I started seeing improvement.
This SAME week (dousy beginning, remember), Adam came down with bronchitis. He has suffered for four weeks with this bug. He's gone through numerous cough medicines, two antibiotics, and finally a round of steriods seems to be his best treatment. He's still got a cough but feeling probably 85% better.
Kendall ended up having a HORRIBLE ear infection. We finally got our ENT referral. We saw him on 9/15. He was excellent. We ended up doing tubes the very next day. Again, I'll post more about that later with pictures.
Kendall also got her glasses this month and has been adjusting to those pretty well. She seems to like them but goes through times when she refuses to wear them.
Taylor has had some major adjustments this month as well. The beginning week of September, we were all so sick that she ended up sleeping with me every night. We didn't have the energy to put her to bed. Her bedtime routine takes like 45 minutes. So after we were all 'well' we had to transition her back to her room. This past week we had quite a scare with Taylor (again I'll post a seperate blog). Small blessings, paranoid parents and a Doctor Care visit ended up saving her from having pneumonia. It was a close call.
All this has been in a four week period. Can you see why we are ready for a new month. I am still dealing with the car accident injuries and treatment.
Sunday, August 29 (not even September yet)- I started feeling sick. I was up all night, nauseaus and just couldn't sleep.
Monday, August 30 - woke up sick with major stomach bug. Kendall was due for a rocephin shot to cure yet another ear infection. Mom met me at doctors office since I was so sick. On way home from doctors office, I was rear ended on Interstate 20. We were okay. I'll probably post a seperate blog on this later.
I stayed out of work most of the week due to car accident. Stomach bug continued for eight FULL days. It turned out to be food poisioning. By day seven, I was so dehydrated, I could barely get out of bed. I felt so bad. Luckily, by day eight the antibiotic had kicked in and I started seeing improvement.
This SAME week (dousy beginning, remember), Adam came down with bronchitis. He has suffered for four weeks with this bug. He's gone through numerous cough medicines, two antibiotics, and finally a round of steriods seems to be his best treatment. He's still got a cough but feeling probably 85% better.
Kendall ended up having a HORRIBLE ear infection. We finally got our ENT referral. We saw him on 9/15. He was excellent. We ended up doing tubes the very next day. Again, I'll post more about that later with pictures.
Kendall also got her glasses this month and has been adjusting to those pretty well. She seems to like them but goes through times when she refuses to wear them.
Taylor has had some major adjustments this month as well. The beginning week of September, we were all so sick that she ended up sleeping with me every night. We didn't have the energy to put her to bed. Her bedtime routine takes like 45 minutes. So after we were all 'well' we had to transition her back to her room. This past week we had quite a scare with Taylor (again I'll post a seperate blog). Small blessings, paranoid parents and a Doctor Care visit ended up saving her from having pneumonia. It was a close call.
All this has been in a four week period. Can you see why we are ready for a new month. I am still dealing with the car accident injuries and treatment.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Kendall's news
It's been an exciting time for Kendall. Last week she switched into the toddler class. I was worried for her b/c they moved her without any warning and she had been sick over the weekend. She did FABULOUS. She walked in and never look back. She loves her teachers and the room. I have been so pleased. She sleeps on a nap mat like an angel.
If you are around Kendall, you've probably seen her eyes do funky things. We saw an opthalmolgist in January, who said all was well. Her eyes were crossed due to a 'wide nose bridge' and that she would grow out of it. Well they seemed to get worse and we could tell her eyes weren't focusing on things. So today we met with a different opthalmologist, who was absolutely fabulous. He immediately said her eyes were crossing. She also has some vertical misalignment when looking to the left. And if you've ever seen her do that cute head tilt to the left to look at you or something... it wasn't just an expression (so we thought), it was due to her vision. So the doctor has prescribed glasses. We are going to try those for a month or two. He thinks/hopes that this will correct it. But their is a chance that she may need eye surgery. He did say that her vision isn't too bad, but she has a 'muscle imbalance'. We should know by 1-2 months of her wearing glasses whether or not she'll need to have surgery. So please keep us in your prayers during this new adventure. I'm not sure how you keep glasses on a 15 month old. I was able to spend time with a mother while at the doctor and she made me feel better about the entire situation. Apparently, once they realize the difference, they will want to wear the glasses. They will see the world in a completely different way. I'm actually excited about it. We have joked about Kendall being fearless. She's a HUGE climber and will completely walk off of tables, chairs, couch, etc. But this condition causes the child to have little or no depth perception. So she just doesn't know better. It'll be interesting to see how she reacts to her new world. Again, God is Good! We all suspected there was something going on. It feels good to have answers and a plan.
If you are around Kendall, you've probably seen her eyes do funky things. We saw an opthalmolgist in January, who said all was well. Her eyes were crossed due to a 'wide nose bridge' and that she would grow out of it. Well they seemed to get worse and we could tell her eyes weren't focusing on things. So today we met with a different opthalmologist, who was absolutely fabulous. He immediately said her eyes were crossing. She also has some vertical misalignment when looking to the left. And if you've ever seen her do that cute head tilt to the left to look at you or something... it wasn't just an expression (so we thought), it was due to her vision. So the doctor has prescribed glasses. We are going to try those for a month or two. He thinks/hopes that this will correct it. But their is a chance that she may need eye surgery. He did say that her vision isn't too bad, but she has a 'muscle imbalance'. We should know by 1-2 months of her wearing glasses whether or not she'll need to have surgery. So please keep us in your prayers during this new adventure. I'm not sure how you keep glasses on a 15 month old. I was able to spend time with a mother while at the doctor and she made me feel better about the entire situation. Apparently, once they realize the difference, they will want to wear the glasses. They will see the world in a completely different way. I'm actually excited about it. We have joked about Kendall being fearless. She's a HUGE climber and will completely walk off of tables, chairs, couch, etc. But this condition causes the child to have little or no depth perception. So she just doesn't know better. It'll be interesting to see how she reacts to her new world. Again, God is Good! We all suspected there was something going on. It feels good to have answers and a plan.
God is Good
The past eight days have been some of the hardest of my parenting life. It's really a long story and so I will try to concise the situation.
Last Wednesday, Taylor (and some fellow students) were moved up into an older class. Due to her being so well behaved and potty trained she went straight to the 'older three's'. Starting Thursday, afternoon, in the hallway of daycare, my sweet, Taylor disappeared and an ugly, defiant, out of control toddler appeared. This being stayed until Tuesday afternoon. To summarize Taylor's behavior: she kicked, she screamed, she talked back (tone I've never heard come from her), she threw items at the wall, at us. She refused to sleep in her bed or room (she slept in the hallway). We tried time outs, spanking, reasoning only to make the temper worse. I heard from her "don't talk to me that way, don't you hit me, hush, you are not my best friend, get out," At night she would scream for me but when I appeared she would yell, "get out." Every morning, as soon as her eyes opened, she would scream about going to school. She didn't to go to school. Attitude you don't expect to come from a three year old. Tantrums that could be heard down the street and that lasted for hours. I didn't know what had happened. I honestly thought she had turned herself into a brat. She doesn't handle change well and I blamed it on the classroom switch. She just wasn't taking it well.
This went on all weekend, and most of the day... not just spurts. By Tuesday, I basically remained in tears all day. I felt hopeless as a parent. My child was out of control. I didn't know what to do or how to make her stop. Nothing was working. It wasn't until I got to school at 3:30 pm to see Taylor sitting in her teachers lap crying that I knew something was wrong. It was a turning point. T had basically cried off and on all day. I started telling the teacher what was going on at home. She then informed me that there was a child in the class with that same behavior during school hours. Again, long story short. There was alittle girl in Taylor's glass, that no one could control. She bit (kids, teachers even directors), kicked, threw chairs, talked back, screamed, cried... constantly during school hours. She had never done anything directly to Taylor. But she was picking up on this hostility plus the classroom environment wasn't stable. They spent all day arguing with this one child. The behavior and phrases Taylor was using at home was identical to this child's behavior. I left Tuesday with a much better understanding. My baby girl wasn't a brat! She was confused, upset of her environment and testing her limits. I immediatly started talking with her about this girl and the behavior. I went to the director and told her my concerns and the impact is was having on Taylor. That night I was much more patient, as I laid down beside Taylor on her floor to put her to sleep. My daughter was scared of her world. It wasn't just a fit. The next day (wed), Taylor had a great day! Thursday, she again had a great day! She's now sleeping in her bed again without mommy or daddy's help, talking more politely than she was before and having her normal fits. The director stopped me yesterday to inform me that the child had been dismissed on Thursday. Apparently, the child was supsended on Wednesday, which hence the reason Taylor had a good day.. The director said the atmosphere in the classroom was completely different. She gave the girl one last chance on Thursday but the girl acted out and they called her parents for good. She won't be coming back. As sad as it is for that little girl and her family, I have never been so relieved.
I struggled this week. I struggled with the fact that you can't shelter your children from all the bad in the world. When she gets to public school, there will be bad behavior, bullies, etc. But what I kept reminding myself is that there would still be some order of control. THe behavior this child exhibited would not be tolerated in a public classroom. It was an unsafe enviroment physically and emotionally. I prayed on my knees this week that God would take care of this situation or tell me what I needed to do. I had found an alternative daycare down the street that had openings, Adam mentioned just me staying home. None were ideal but we knew our child could not stay in that environment. We were giving it to Friday and our prayers were answered yesterday! God is GOOD! I pray that as Taylor gets older, she won't be as impressionable. That other behaviors around her don't influence her the way they do now. But this week was a learning experience for all of us.
On a MUCH lighter note. Some children have immaginary friends. I had several growing up. Well Taylor has an immaginary GRANDMA! Yup. It's quite funny. The past months,she talks all about grandma, and things she did at grandmas, and ate, etc. I think it stemmed from playing at school with someone who must have a grandma. At first we thought she was referring to one of her real grandma's (cici, Grammy). But finally one day, I asked her a question with a concrete answer, "Taylor, what color hair does grandma have?" Without missing a beat, she leaned her head and said, "Grandma doesn't have hair." There you go, a bald grandma! To add to the story, we were at McDonalds (I think) in Lexington meeting Cici this week. We were parked out towards the back. Taylor says, "Momma, grandma lives there" and points out to the left. I look out my window to where she is pointing .... the Wingate Inn. Hilarious! She was serious too. Bald Grandma living at the Wingate Inn! Who would have thought?!
Last Wednesday, Taylor (and some fellow students) were moved up into an older class. Due to her being so well behaved and potty trained she went straight to the 'older three's'. Starting Thursday, afternoon, in the hallway of daycare, my sweet, Taylor disappeared and an ugly, defiant, out of control toddler appeared. This being stayed until Tuesday afternoon. To summarize Taylor's behavior: she kicked, she screamed, she talked back (tone I've never heard come from her), she threw items at the wall, at us. She refused to sleep in her bed or room (she slept in the hallway). We tried time outs, spanking, reasoning only to make the temper worse. I heard from her "don't talk to me that way, don't you hit me, hush, you are not my best friend, get out," At night she would scream for me but when I appeared she would yell, "get out." Every morning, as soon as her eyes opened, she would scream about going to school. She didn't to go to school. Attitude you don't expect to come from a three year old. Tantrums that could be heard down the street and that lasted for hours. I didn't know what had happened. I honestly thought she had turned herself into a brat. She doesn't handle change well and I blamed it on the classroom switch. She just wasn't taking it well.
This went on all weekend, and most of the day... not just spurts. By Tuesday, I basically remained in tears all day. I felt hopeless as a parent. My child was out of control. I didn't know what to do or how to make her stop. Nothing was working. It wasn't until I got to school at 3:30 pm to see Taylor sitting in her teachers lap crying that I knew something was wrong. It was a turning point. T had basically cried off and on all day. I started telling the teacher what was going on at home. She then informed me that there was a child in the class with that same behavior during school hours. Again, long story short. There was alittle girl in Taylor's glass, that no one could control. She bit (kids, teachers even directors), kicked, threw chairs, talked back, screamed, cried... constantly during school hours. She had never done anything directly to Taylor. But she was picking up on this hostility plus the classroom environment wasn't stable. They spent all day arguing with this one child. The behavior and phrases Taylor was using at home was identical to this child's behavior. I left Tuesday with a much better understanding. My baby girl wasn't a brat! She was confused, upset of her environment and testing her limits. I immediatly started talking with her about this girl and the behavior. I went to the director and told her my concerns and the impact is was having on Taylor. That night I was much more patient, as I laid down beside Taylor on her floor to put her to sleep. My daughter was scared of her world. It wasn't just a fit. The next day (wed), Taylor had a great day! Thursday, she again had a great day! She's now sleeping in her bed again without mommy or daddy's help, talking more politely than she was before and having her normal fits. The director stopped me yesterday to inform me that the child had been dismissed on Thursday. Apparently, the child was supsended on Wednesday, which hence the reason Taylor had a good day.. The director said the atmosphere in the classroom was completely different. She gave the girl one last chance on Thursday but the girl acted out and they called her parents for good. She won't be coming back. As sad as it is for that little girl and her family, I have never been so relieved.
I struggled this week. I struggled with the fact that you can't shelter your children from all the bad in the world. When she gets to public school, there will be bad behavior, bullies, etc. But what I kept reminding myself is that there would still be some order of control. THe behavior this child exhibited would not be tolerated in a public classroom. It was an unsafe enviroment physically and emotionally. I prayed on my knees this week that God would take care of this situation or tell me what I needed to do. I had found an alternative daycare down the street that had openings, Adam mentioned just me staying home. None were ideal but we knew our child could not stay in that environment. We were giving it to Friday and our prayers were answered yesterday! God is GOOD! I pray that as Taylor gets older, she won't be as impressionable. That other behaviors around her don't influence her the way they do now. But this week was a learning experience for all of us.
On a MUCH lighter note. Some children have immaginary friends. I had several growing up. Well Taylor has an immaginary GRANDMA! Yup. It's quite funny. The past months,she talks all about grandma, and things she did at grandmas, and ate, etc. I think it stemmed from playing at school with someone who must have a grandma. At first we thought she was referring to one of her real grandma's (cici, Grammy). But finally one day, I asked her a question with a concrete answer, "Taylor, what color hair does grandma have?" Without missing a beat, she leaned her head and said, "Grandma doesn't have hair." There you go, a bald grandma! To add to the story, we were at McDonalds (I think) in Lexington meeting Cici this week. We were parked out towards the back. Taylor says, "Momma, grandma lives there" and points out to the left. I look out my window to where she is pointing .... the Wingate Inn. Hilarious! She was serious too. Bald Grandma living at the Wingate Inn! Who would have thought?!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Old Lady in the House
I've started calling Taylor a 'young lady' usually not in a positive way. Example, you need to watch how you talk, young lady.' She usually replies back, "I'm not a lady, I'm Taylor" as if I"m insulting her.
Well today on the way home from lunch, she was trying to get my attention with no luck. So she says, "Momma, look at me, Old Lady." It was hilarious. Who knew she was smart enough to pair old with young. I was actually pretty impressed.
Well today on the way home from lunch, she was trying to get my attention with no luck. So she says, "Momma, look at me, Old Lady." It was hilarious. Who knew she was smart enough to pair old with young. I was actually pretty impressed.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
What's new with us?
I'm having a hard time keeping up with the blogging world. I want to blog, have things to blog, but just can't seem to make myself do it. So what have we been up to this summer?
Adam is working away at BCBS. He's joined a softball team with our church and so has practice on Sunday nights and games on Tuesday nights. This is his second week but so far has enjoyed it.
I recently joined the couponing world. It's alot of fun but I find myself getting in over my head. If I'm out searching for a 'good deal' that I have on my list... I almost make myself sick until I get it. I went to three Walgreens this week in search of 19 cent high-lighters and finally had to throw in the towel. I don't even need highlighters. My house is more stocked in food than it has ever been. If you visit my bathroom, you'll find applejuices (2), sodas (3), V8 splash all in the tub (that we don't use). In our cabinets, I have toothpaste and deoderant to last the rest of the year. Seems almost silly. But for a control freak, it's addicting.
Adam and I just recently finished a small group at church called Love and Respect. It was AWESOME! Maybe one day, I'll do a blog just on it and cover the highlights. But I highly recommend this six week class at Mt. Horeb to all married couples.
I have had the best time taking Taylor and Kendall to Music and Movement at the library every Tuesday. We join Melissa, Caedyn and Eli there as well. The kids really love it and it's been fun checking out books. Taylor has really grown to love to read. I have had so much fun with Melissa during the summer (couponing and library). I'm sad to see her return back to school this week.
Taylor has blossomed into a child over night it seems. She has amazed me at the conversations she can hold. She's also become a chatterbox. She'll perch on the couch and just talk and talk about nothing and everything. If you try to interrupt her, she'll say she's not done talking or it's her turn to talk. We recently had some issues with Taylor regarding meltdowns, monsters stories, etc. We ended up meeting with her pediactrician about it all and he helped us realize that she is just a strong-willed, type A personality child that will grow up to be goal oriented, want to be in control. This can be good and bad. But I'm not reading up on strong-willed children and how to parent them. Adam and I have let her have too much control over our family for too long because we didn't want to wake the 'beast'. Which in fact, that just creates a bigger beast. I can already tell a difference but we still have a long way to go.
Kendall has also grown leaps and bounds this summer. She's trying so hard to talk but can understand most of what we say and follow commands. She is in total love with stuffed animals, babydolls and blankets. It's so precious and makes my heart smile. (she must be my child). I can see her in a few years sleeping with dozens of her animals. She rocks them, reads to them, puts them to sleep, pats their back. She also loves spending time in her car that CiCi and Popsey got her. She can't go anywhere but she'll just sit in it. She's such a good girl. We've battled ear infections with her. The entire month of May she had one ear infectiion - treated three times. Finall three Rocephin shots fixed it in early June. She'd done well since then until this week when she got sick with a fever/rash and ear infection. I'm sure we'll be doing tubes in our future. More big news with Kendall is she will be moving up to the toddler class this month. Taylor is moving to the three year old class as well. But this is a bigger move for Kendall as she will go from sleeping in a crib to sleeping on a napmat along to one nap a day (which I think she is ready for). I'm nervous and excited all at the same time.
That sums us up for now. I'm going to attach some random pictures from the summer. Enjoy!
Fourth of July
Cow Appreciation Day at Chickfila
Dress-up fun
Adam is working away at BCBS. He's joined a softball team with our church and so has practice on Sunday nights and games on Tuesday nights. This is his second week but so far has enjoyed it.
I recently joined the couponing world. It's alot of fun but I find myself getting in over my head. If I'm out searching for a 'good deal' that I have on my list... I almost make myself sick until I get it. I went to three Walgreens this week in search of 19 cent high-lighters and finally had to throw in the towel. I don't even need highlighters. My house is more stocked in food than it has ever been. If you visit my bathroom, you'll find applejuices (2), sodas (3), V8 splash all in the tub (that we don't use). In our cabinets, I have toothpaste and deoderant to last the rest of the year. Seems almost silly. But for a control freak, it's addicting.
Adam and I just recently finished a small group at church called Love and Respect. It was AWESOME! Maybe one day, I'll do a blog just on it and cover the highlights. But I highly recommend this six week class at Mt. Horeb to all married couples.
I have had the best time taking Taylor and Kendall to Music and Movement at the library every Tuesday. We join Melissa, Caedyn and Eli there as well. The kids really love it and it's been fun checking out books. Taylor has really grown to love to read. I have had so much fun with Melissa during the summer (couponing and library). I'm sad to see her return back to school this week.
Taylor has blossomed into a child over night it seems. She has amazed me at the conversations she can hold. She's also become a chatterbox. She'll perch on the couch and just talk and talk about nothing and everything. If you try to interrupt her, she'll say she's not done talking or it's her turn to talk. We recently had some issues with Taylor regarding meltdowns, monsters stories, etc. We ended up meeting with her pediactrician about it all and he helped us realize that she is just a strong-willed, type A personality child that will grow up to be goal oriented, want to be in control. This can be good and bad. But I'm not reading up on strong-willed children and how to parent them. Adam and I have let her have too much control over our family for too long because we didn't want to wake the 'beast'. Which in fact, that just creates a bigger beast. I can already tell a difference but we still have a long way to go.
Kendall has also grown leaps and bounds this summer. She's trying so hard to talk but can understand most of what we say and follow commands. She is in total love with stuffed animals, babydolls and blankets. It's so precious and makes my heart smile. (she must be my child). I can see her in a few years sleeping with dozens of her animals. She rocks them, reads to them, puts them to sleep, pats their back. She also loves spending time in her car that CiCi and Popsey got her. She can't go anywhere but she'll just sit in it. She's such a good girl. We've battled ear infections with her. The entire month of May she had one ear infectiion - treated three times. Finall three Rocephin shots fixed it in early June. She'd done well since then until this week when she got sick with a fever/rash and ear infection. I'm sure we'll be doing tubes in our future. More big news with Kendall is she will be moving up to the toddler class this month. Taylor is moving to the three year old class as well. But this is a bigger move for Kendall as she will go from sleeping in a crib to sleeping on a napmat along to one nap a day (which I think she is ready for). I'm nervous and excited all at the same time.
That sums us up for now. I'm going to attach some random pictures from the summer. Enjoy!
Fourth of July
Cow Appreciation Day at Chickfila
Dress-up fun
Monday, June 28, 2010
Let's go to the Movies
Lately, Taylor has been begging for some undivided attention. So Adam and I thought we would take her to see Toy Story since it's in the theatres. I was alittle nervous about it and actually gave Adam a pep talk. I didn't want either of us going with high expectations. If we had to leave 45 minutes into the movie, then we would.
So Saturday morning, Nana watched Kendall and the three of us headed to the movies. Taylor caught a catnap in the car. We had lunch at Wich Which where Adam let Taylor concoct her own sandwhich. I opened it and thought "oh my what have you done." Surprisingly, she ate it. It was a BLT on wheat with mushrooms, olives, pickles, mayo, ketchup, mozarella,salt, pepper, oregano and I"m sure I'm leaving something out. Again, she picked everything on it and she ate it.
After lunch, we headed to the movies. She played outside by the "mountain" (fountain) and we let her "play" some video games out front.
We tried to take her in at the last minute possible. We took several potty trips and after findind seats, I took her out in the hall to get her 'runs out'. Running that is. (there weren't any people around and it was half the hallway).
I'm not sure who was more excited me or Taylor. Surprisingly, she sat through the entire movie. She did GREAT! We talked about how she would have to sit real still and talk softly. She was so proud of herself afterwards saying that she sat still. She only left the theatre twice... once to get popcorn and a second to go potty. Another real trick (for us) was that we didn't get popcorn at the beginning. She asked for it probably 45 minutes into the movie and it offered a distraction per se for the second half of the movie.
She only had one meltdown and that was before the movie even began... because I carried her down the steps for a potty break. She wanted to do it herself. It was a great outing and I was SUPER proud of her.
So Saturday morning, Nana watched Kendall and the three of us headed to the movies. Taylor caught a catnap in the car. We had lunch at Wich Which where Adam let Taylor concoct her own sandwhich. I opened it and thought "oh my what have you done." Surprisingly, she ate it. It was a BLT on wheat with mushrooms, olives, pickles, mayo, ketchup, mozarella,salt, pepper, oregano and I"m sure I'm leaving something out. Again, she picked everything on it and she ate it.
After lunch, we headed to the movies. She played outside by the "mountain" (fountain) and we let her "play" some video games out front.
We tried to take her in at the last minute possible. We took several potty trips and after findind seats, I took her out in the hall to get her 'runs out'. Running that is. (there weren't any people around and it was half the hallway).
I'm not sure who was more excited me or Taylor. Surprisingly, she sat through the entire movie. She did GREAT! We talked about how she would have to sit real still and talk softly. She was so proud of herself afterwards saying that she sat still. She only left the theatre twice... once to get popcorn and a second to go potty. Another real trick (for us) was that we didn't get popcorn at the beginning. She asked for it probably 45 minutes into the movie and it offered a distraction per se for the second half of the movie.
She only had one meltdown and that was before the movie even began... because I carried her down the steps for a potty break. She wanted to do it herself. It was a great outing and I was SUPER proud of her.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Beach 2010
We took our first family vacation in two years this May. We rented a condo in Garden City. We normally go to Cherry Grove, but waited too long to get a condo at our regular spot and we needed a two bedroom condo, which were way expensive and not ocean front. This condo wasn't exactly ocean front but the price was too good to beat. (Thanks Kristin) It was our first time at Garden City and there's really not much to say about it. We usually took the 30 minute trip to Myrtle to visit Boardwalk and Barefoot Landing.
The night before we left, I told Taylor we were going to the beach. She replied, "yea animals," confusing it with the zoo, I assumed. I told her "no, zoo has animals. Beach has sand and water." Her response, "sand and water, not cool." She thought otherwise when we got there.
We had a rough start to our vacation but it ended well. We left Saturday and got a late start. Kendall woke up with a nasty cough and nasty runny nose. I decided to take her to the doctor instead of waiting and having to take her at the beach. It was a good call b/c she ended up with an ear infection. By tthe time I got back from the doctor, her rx filled and the car packed, it was 1:30. About 40 minutes down the road, the sky dropped. It poured the entire way to the beach (except for last 40 minutes). It was a nasty storm and I was tense the entire way. Luckily the kids slept for some of it. Taylor woke during the rain and screamed for her umbrella. I don't blame her, the rain was that hard. So depsite my better judgement, I let her have her umbrella in the car.
We arrived at the condo at about 5:30. After we unpacked, Adam left to get dinner. Taylor was eating on round cheese balls, that she's enjoyed a hundred times. I'm not sure what happened after that (something I played over a hundred times) but Taylor ended up choking. I mean REAL choking. She ended up where she couldn' tcough, she was trying to 'hack' it out and I wasn't sure whether or not to do the heimelech. (They say if they can cough leave them alone). She started turning colors. I had her in the position and looking for a phone at the same time. After about 60-90 seconds, she spit it up, covered in blood. It was so scary and I've thrown out all the cheese balls since then. I was in tears by the time Adam came home. To add to the night, there was a water main break and we didn't have water that first night. Welcome to Garden City.
Luckily the week wasn't as eventful as our first night. The kids seemed to have a blast. Taylor more than Kendall. Taylor loved playing on the beach. She didn't like the water but spent her time digging. Here's her first reaction to the beach water.
Kendall didn't like the water either. She wouldn't let us put her feet in with out cries. She did seem to like the sand on her toes and spent her time just pacing the beach. She did spend one afternoon seashell hunting. Literally, she walked the beach with a bucket and put broken shells inside. It was too cute. She would get pretty fussy outside. But as long as she had a food in her hand, she was content.
<
One evening at dusk, we walked to the pier. Again, we really enjoyed doing this and it was such a nice night.
We enjoyed going to Barefoot Landing and Boardwalk on the Beach. We visited the Aquarium which was cool but extremely over-priced. Not sure we'll do that again.
Taylor rode dinosaurs at boardwalk at the beach, while Kendall slept. Taylor also enjoyed (but didn't finish) her first lollipop).
We spent time at the pool and lounging at the condo.
Some cool sights of the beach were a lady walking her bird... literally. It hung upside down or sat on her shoulder while she walked the beach. The picture is of our 'beach neighbors' from Pennsylvania. The girl, Jourdan, and Taylor played together on the beach.
It rained everyday we were there except for Thursday and then we were chased off the beach by high tide. When tide was high, there was no beach. The storms were vicious and had heavy down pours. They gave us time to nap and take a break. The beach and condo area was not crowded at all. Not sure it was the time of year or the location, but we enjoyed the lack of business. All in all it was a good trip. I think all of us were glad to be home except Taylor. She was upset when we arrived home and realized we weren't going to the beach. The first couple days of school, after picking her up, she would say "I ready to go to back to beach." Poor girl, we'll have to take another trip sooner than later.
The night before we left, I told Taylor we were going to the beach. She replied, "yea animals," confusing it with the zoo, I assumed. I told her "no, zoo has animals. Beach has sand and water." Her response, "sand and water, not cool." She thought otherwise when we got there.
We had a rough start to our vacation but it ended well. We left Saturday and got a late start. Kendall woke up with a nasty cough and nasty runny nose. I decided to take her to the doctor instead of waiting and having to take her at the beach. It was a good call b/c she ended up with an ear infection. By tthe time I got back from the doctor, her rx filled and the car packed, it was 1:30. About 40 minutes down the road, the sky dropped. It poured the entire way to the beach (except for last 40 minutes). It was a nasty storm and I was tense the entire way. Luckily the kids slept for some of it. Taylor woke during the rain and screamed for her umbrella. I don't blame her, the rain was that hard. So depsite my better judgement, I let her have her umbrella in the car.
We arrived at the condo at about 5:30. After we unpacked, Adam left to get dinner. Taylor was eating on round cheese balls, that she's enjoyed a hundred times. I'm not sure what happened after that (something I played over a hundred times) but Taylor ended up choking. I mean REAL choking. She ended up where she couldn' tcough, she was trying to 'hack' it out and I wasn't sure whether or not to do the heimelech. (They say if they can cough leave them alone). She started turning colors. I had her in the position and looking for a phone at the same time. After about 60-90 seconds, she spit it up, covered in blood. It was so scary and I've thrown out all the cheese balls since then. I was in tears by the time Adam came home. To add to the night, there was a water main break and we didn't have water that first night. Welcome to Garden City.
Luckily the week wasn't as eventful as our first night. The kids seemed to have a blast. Taylor more than Kendall. Taylor loved playing on the beach. She didn't like the water but spent her time digging. Here's her first reaction to the beach water.
Kendall didn't like the water either. She wouldn't let us put her feet in with out cries. She did seem to like the sand on her toes and spent her time just pacing the beach. She did spend one afternoon seashell hunting. Literally, she walked the beach with a bucket and put broken shells inside. It was too cute. She would get pretty fussy outside. But as long as she had a food in her hand, she was content.
<
One evening at dusk, we walked to the pier. Again, we really enjoyed doing this and it was such a nice night.
We enjoyed going to Barefoot Landing and Boardwalk on the Beach. We visited the Aquarium which was cool but extremely over-priced. Not sure we'll do that again.
Taylor rode dinosaurs at boardwalk at the beach, while Kendall slept. Taylor also enjoyed (but didn't finish) her first lollipop).
We spent time at the pool and lounging at the condo.
Some cool sights of the beach were a lady walking her bird... literally. It hung upside down or sat on her shoulder while she walked the beach. The picture is of our 'beach neighbors' from Pennsylvania. The girl, Jourdan, and Taylor played together on the beach.
It rained everyday we were there except for Thursday and then we were chased off the beach by high tide. When tide was high, there was no beach. The storms were vicious and had heavy down pours. They gave us time to nap and take a break. The beach and condo area was not crowded at all. Not sure it was the time of year or the location, but we enjoyed the lack of business. All in all it was a good trip. I think all of us were glad to be home except Taylor. She was upset when we arrived home and realized we weren't going to the beach. The first couple days of school, after picking her up, she would say "I ready to go to back to beach." Poor girl, we'll have to take another trip sooner than later.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Kendall's First Birthday
May 13, Kendall turned one year old. We celebrated that night by eating strawberry cupcakes, which is a big deal for her considering her wheat free diet. She loved the cupcake and had no problem getting messy.
On Saturday we celebrated her birthday at Mt Horeb on their playground. It was a nice sunny day, though alittle on the warm side. The kids enjoyed making sun-visors. Kendall especially enjoyed wearing hers.
The playground had a lot of area to play, slide, and swing. We even set up tents to help with shade control.
Cici made the cake. It was too cute. It was her first experiment with foundant icing. Though it looked good, the icing wasn't as good as 'traditional' icing.
Kendall had a ball opening her presents. Surprisingly, she seemed to know exactly what to do with them. She even opened a few herself. She received alot of fun presents.
Thank you to all who came out and made Kendall's birthday special.
The following day, we enjoyed having pictures taken with Katie Pollard and the family. The girls were so good and smiled for the camera. We took one year old pictures for Kendall, which was only the second time since she's been born. I hope to have pictures to put on the blog soon but those will come later.
Kendall wrapped up her birthday celebration by going to the doctor for her one year old well visit. Doctor says she is doing great. She weighed 20.5lbs and was 30 1/4 inches tall. This is very similar to what Taylor was at this age. She has been walking since about 10 1/2 months and is all over the place. She's our dare devil, crawling and jumping off of things face first. She shows no fear. Her favorite word is mama. She's learned to shake her head (no) and knows what it means.... and means it. She's doing the baby sign language for 'more.' She is a big eater, most of the time, though isn't a big veggie eater (different from Taylor at this age). Her favorite toy is probably a babydoll that her and Taylor share. It's actually one of mine from when I was a child. The doll is as big as Kendall is but she manages to drag it around, hold it on her shoulder and even pat it's back. It's hard to believe she's one. I look back and don't understand where the year went. I assume the next 20 years will be the same. It's hard to enjoy life in slow motion with young children going 100 miles a minute.
On Saturday we celebrated her birthday at Mt Horeb on their playground. It was a nice sunny day, though alittle on the warm side. The kids enjoyed making sun-visors. Kendall especially enjoyed wearing hers.
The playground had a lot of area to play, slide, and swing. We even set up tents to help with shade control.
Cici made the cake. It was too cute. It was her first experiment with foundant icing. Though it looked good, the icing wasn't as good as 'traditional' icing.
Kendall had a ball opening her presents. Surprisingly, she seemed to know exactly what to do with them. She even opened a few herself. She received alot of fun presents.
Thank you to all who came out and made Kendall's birthday special.
The following day, we enjoyed having pictures taken with Katie Pollard and the family. The girls were so good and smiled for the camera. We took one year old pictures for Kendall, which was only the second time since she's been born. I hope to have pictures to put on the blog soon but those will come later.
Kendall wrapped up her birthday celebration by going to the doctor for her one year old well visit. Doctor says she is doing great. She weighed 20.5lbs and was 30 1/4 inches tall. This is very similar to what Taylor was at this age. She has been walking since about 10 1/2 months and is all over the place. She's our dare devil, crawling and jumping off of things face first. She shows no fear. Her favorite word is mama. She's learned to shake her head (no) and knows what it means.... and means it. She's doing the baby sign language for 'more.' She is a big eater, most of the time, though isn't a big veggie eater (different from Taylor at this age). Her favorite toy is probably a babydoll that her and Taylor share. It's actually one of mine from when I was a child. The doll is as big as Kendall is but she manages to drag it around, hold it on her shoulder and even pat it's back. It's hard to believe she's one. I look back and don't understand where the year went. I assume the next 20 years will be the same. It's hard to enjoy life in slow motion with young children going 100 miles a minute.
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