Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Now-isms

It struck me that I need to write a few notes about what silly things the girls are saying and doing now. I haven't documented as many stories the past year because time is scarce. But to remember them at 3,2, and 10 months is worth a little bit of effort. I have tons of videos of them and at some point want to create dvds with it all. I get choked up watching their sweetness NOW...what will I be like 30 years from now??? Anyway, memories are worth the extra effort. At least that's my take today:)

Caroline-
She is SO dramatic! She loves to exclaim "Oh my!!" about things.
She uses her feeling words very well- "I'm so disappointed! I'm feeling so frustrated! I am so excited!"
She and Emily have entered into a true love-pester relationship. One minute they are cuddling and kissing, the next they are shouting and pushing. Fights are not fun and usually end with both in tears. We are working on using our words to solve problems instead of tears and whining.
Caroline can say her address, phone number, and "sing" the spelling of her name. She is working on writing the letters, but writing doesn't come super easy for my little lefty.
She gets SO excited when she sees Hannah standing, crawling, eating, etc. All new milestones that she realizes her sister is meeting.
She loves watching crafting youtube videos...yep. Some kind of weird gummy bear/candy ones really strike her fancy. She loves watching the process of mixing, molds, extraction, etc. She shows some sure fire signs of being interested in science...can't think of anymore examples at the moment- but she is such a smarty.
She will talk all day long. With no pauses. Just recently I asked her if she could please try to sit silent for a few moments. Since then, there have been a few rare moments where she will say,
"Mom! Do you hear me being silent??" hmmm. Ironic, but I get her point. She is trying.
She asked me about the wife/husband relationship and we had a very in depth convo about it. I explained how she would one day find the love of her life, they would be best friends, and she would fall in love. I told her how we were already praying for her perfect partner. She thought long and hard and said, "I know! Daddy can be my husband!" I smiled and told her he was mine and we couldn't share husbands. We then decided that HER husband was probably about 3 or 4 years old and she wouldn't meet him for a long time. The next day she used a few "terms" from our conversation...and I loved hearing her tell me this...
"Mom, I'm falling in love with you." OH. I music to my ears. I do pray for her future husband- but I will be her true love until then, no problem!

Emily is talking SO much!! She has a hard time competing with big sister, but she is mastering the art of communication very well.
She loves to sing! Her favorites- Twinkle Twinkle, Had a little monkey, Hush little baby, Goodnight Sweetheart.
She has adopted Baby Mouse as her favorite object right now. She sleeps with the mouse and a glowworm right now..
She has me kiss her feet each night before I leave her.
She wants a story about a cat (you may NOT name the cat) each night at bedtime.
She will sit and read books by herself. The words may or may not correlate to the pictures, but she is telling some kind of story.
She is sensing some frustration with Hannah now that little sis is crawling and all up in her business...and sweet Em doesn't really know how to handle it! She gently moves, but then finds Hannah right there next to her.
Her catch phrase this week- "I'll be RIGHT back!" and she goes in and out our front door (that she MUST open and close herself) a million times in a row. She will run and tell me, "I'm going to the store" or "I'm going to the bank. I'll be RIGHT back." Good thing it isn't 110 degrees outside anymore or we would be worried about all the air conditioning she was letting out. She usually runs to her jeep, sits for 2 seconds, then runs right back inside. Harmless fun:)
She has NO desire to learn how to buckle and unbuckle her car seat- something I am dying for her to learn!
She does want to dress herself now- she will attempt and usually has me giggling every time. Shorts before panties, legs in the same pant leg, the list goes on. I love it.
She makes her "silly eyes" and knows it makes me laugh.
She giggles and cackles loud as can be when she and Caroline are playing.
She took the plunge off the diving board this summer...and somehow that correlates to her being ok with taking a SHOWER. She was terrified of them, but now she corrects me every time I say "bath time" and says "No! Shower mommy."
Emily would be happy eating hot dogs and pizza every meal of the day. Don't worry. I don't let her eat it EVERY day.;)
She likes to pour her own drinks. This CAN get dangerous, but usually just means she takes her empty cups to the sink and fills her cup up with water on her own. It is really a help:)
She loves my old, red Nokia cell phone.
Emily has another phrase that usually causes some drama and it is used a million times a day about every thing that is happening..."I (don't) like this one" She usually omits the "don't" but I have learned that is what she is saying. From the dvd playing, to the book being read...she has learned that by "disliking" something she can change things. A little annoying on my end.

Sweet baby Hannah- growing and changing so much every single day!
She is attempting to mimic waving, nodding yes or no.
She loves to clap.
She dances to any and every beat she hears.
She "talks" a lot. Babble babble babble. (Yes, that is all 3 girls all talking a lot. Don't come here looking for silence)
She LOVES bath and cries when we take her out. She also trips out belly laughing at herself when she splashes.
She is grinding her front teeth....AGH!! Gives me chills. I think I remember the other girls trying that for awhile...won't last long.
She isn't as adventurous with trying solids and new foods as I wish she was. She also just prefers the bottle...solids are just icing on the cake.
Goldfish, animal crackers and other snacks have become a favorite tool for mommy.
She will repeat "Papa" but only accidentally says mama or dada.
She crawls with expertise now but still really wants to walk! She moves so well when you hold her hands...her little feet know what to do with a little help. But when she is standing on her own- she will get her arms and head moving so fast, flapping like a little bird, hoping to take off walking. It hasn't worked yet for her, but she still tries. Her excitement is comparable to her oldest sisters.
She still opens her mouth in a wide "Oh!!" when she is excited or really concentrating on something.
Hannah may get the award for the hardest one to diaper at this age. She puts up a serious fight and will "stiff leg" it like the best.
Her JOY is felt by everyone who gets her out of her crib after nap or sleep. It is also felt when she DIVES for her bed at bedtime because she just wants to lay down and crash. She loves her little Bunny lovey and also plays with a tiger and bunny in her crib.
Van rides are not her most favorite thing right now. She feels cramped with her legs cooped up against the seat, and she wants desperately to turn around and face the dvd player. My guess is that she will miss seeing Caroline's face when she does in fact turn around because the two of them keep each other entertained.

And here are my lovely crazy cats...

The stone and a yard sale

This past weekend was not uneventful. I experienced kidney stones. I really don't even like recalling the events of the weekend...but for documentation and memories sake...I will:)

Thursday night around 6pm as I was bathing the girls I realized that something didn't feel quite right and I thought I might possibly have a UTI. Hmmm. After the fact, I kinda wished that was what it had been. I texted Brad and asked him to bring home some antibiotics- he was at journal club meeting and would be home around 9:30pm.

9:30PM- Brad gets home, with the antibiotics, and asks me a few questions to confirm my suspicions. He taps my back (kidneys) in a typical physician way and asks if it hurt. Well, it did. Really bad. And he didn't really believe me. Until I continued to complain that the pain was getting worse and worse. I took some advil and went to bed immediately...only to discover that I couldn't even lift my legs to undress or get into bed. Tears came. It was starting to really hurt. My only description at that moment:
"It feels like contractions, but in my kidney"
Hmmm.
A few minutes of googling all of this and putting the pieces together lead hubby to think kidney stones.
He calls the ER, speaks with our friend, and decided I need to drive myself to ER.
My thoughts- NOT going to happen. Really?? I can't move or open my eyes but I'm going to safely arrive at the hospital? Probably not.
I call my sweet friend Jill. We had helped them with an ER visit on their part a few months ago, it only seemed right for them to return the favor. JK. I knew she would help in any way she could. She arrived 10 minutes later. I stand, get dressed and immediately puke. Somehow I get to the car and we are hospital bound, my husband driving like a madman...I think he almost wanted to get pulled over and play the emergency card...hahaha...no, not really...he was worried about me.

Fast forward past the puking in the waiting room, puking in my wheel chair, seamlessly painless IV stuck in my arm, morphine, morphine, and more morphine, zofran, zofran, zofran, and then phenergan, a CT scan, a huge inflamed kidney, a 4.5mm stone almost done making trouble, a few stones left in both kidneys, a little bit of relief, me falling asleep 5x during a conversation with the doctor, crazy crazy comments from me to my sitting sleeping tired husband, and then being admitted. I tried to get up and figure out if I could manage to go home but I was still too dehydrated, nauseous, and in pain at about 4:30 a.m. So around 6:30 they got me up to my hospital room. Fast forward until about 5:00 pm- finally feeling better, still haven't passed the trouble stone, but feeling much better. We get home around 6 and the world continues to spin as it always does. Even to the point of having a yard sale the next morning.

Yep. Got up at 5:00 a.m. and somehow threw all of our collected junk into the yard and had a collaborative family yard sale all day. I did however pass that 4.5 stone that morning. Crazy little tiny stone that caused all that pain. I managed to rest and take every minute possible the rest of the weekend to recoup and build my strength back up.

Major thanks go to:
Jill- being there and staying with the girls while we were at the ER.
Amber- coming over in the morning and keeping the girls until Brad rolled around again.
Chelsea- filling the hour(s) with the girls while Brad came back and got me discharged.
And everyone else that was praying for us! I'm thankful we made it through this crazy time without too much trouble...we are so thankful for our friends here in LR. It is a terrible feeling to have to call on people in a moment in need (especially at midnight) but everyone was so willing and able to help. Meals have been delivered, and help offered. Thank you a million times!

AND the moral of this story is....wait for it...

No more Dr. Pepper for me. Yep. Haven't tasted the stuff since that dreadful Thursday. And have no desire to. The caffeine may possibly be what was causing my stones...and if so- Adios! My love affair with Dr. P isn't strong enough to warrant another event like this. Ever. Water. Water. and more Water...at least that is my plan right now:)

I wasn't really sure how to photograph a kidney stone. So this was my best attempt. I get to take it with me to a follow up visit in a few weeks and they will figure out what it is made of, etc.

The End.

31

Yes, I had a birthday. I can't neglect to share:) I turned 31 on the 3rd and had a special birthday weekend with my sweet family. Brad let me spend an entire day shopping (that was my birthday request) for some new clothes. I had forgotten how hard shopping was!! I spent 5 hours...yes, 5 hours looking for new items for my wardrobe. It was exhausting...but also vital that I got it all done that day because I knew the opportunity to do this again would not be around the corner.

On Monday, my actual birthday, Brad surprised me with my other request...a picture of all 3 of the girls. I thought it would be great if we could start an annual gift of having them photographed with out ME having to go through the stress, hassle, and circus of getting it done. He took them on his own, without me knowing, and managed to end up with a precious picture of all three girls smiling and looking at the camera. He did this during my shopping spree:) Such a sweet gesture from my hubby because I KNOW it is not easy to do this task with our girls. We also celebrated with a big yummy cookie cake. Caroline was the biggest fan of that I think. She reminded me all week that we "needed to finish off that cake".

My sweet friend Jill had asked me to help her judge a beauty pageant that day- it was Labor Day, and a county fair was being held in a little town called Marvell, Arkansas. We had originally thought we were just driving 45 minutes to do this, but ended up driving 2 hours to this dot on the map. But the memories and laughs that I stored up that afternoon/evening were worth it. We did in fact judge a teen beauty pageant- something I had absolutely no idea how to do or experience with. Jill, her husband Warren and I were the VIP's at this little county fair and stuck out like tourists. We went through interviews, swimsuits, sport attire, and evening gowns with these girls. And then we crowned Miss Tri-county. It was really nerve wracking judging these girls...but fun:) It was a bit hot- I think the heat index was 115. I didn't feel so beautiful after the beauty pageant. However, when the pageant was over our night in the country wouldn't have been complete without a viewing of what the locals simply referred to as "the derby". We watched as grown men drove their souped-up cars into one another until they either caught on fire, totalled, or surrendered. Words really don't do this justice so I will leave it at that. We took a lot of pics and video to show Brad so he would believe all of our tales:) A night I will probably never forget:)

A great birthday. And not a picture taken. I'm totally ok with that:)

Emily's Curls

We took Emily to get her first hair cut yesterday. Her hair is one of my most favorite things in the world- her curly-q's make me smile ear to ear. Her mane had gotten a little bit out of control and needed some "shaping". So I decided it was time...and hoped and prayed that cutting it would not be the end to her beautiful ringlets. It wasn't:) She did an amazing job of sitting still and really didn't act that excited about it. Just another day, another errand, another check on her list. I saved some of her sweet little red hair and took too many pictures and videos. Caroline was the sweetest sister ever. She sat right next to her and cheered her on:
"Emily, you are doing PERFECT!"
"EM, good job!!"
"Em, you look great!"
All while Emily devoured her animal crackers and eyed the dum dum lollipops. The hair dresser and other customers got tickled at Caroline's 100% support of her sister...and it made my heart happy. They love each other. And it shows:) Hannah watched and also enjoyed some animal crackers. Her hair is longer than either of her big sisters ever was at this age so she will be sitting in that spot sooner than Emily at age 2 1/2.






After the haircut we did what girls are supposed to do- we shopped and little. We visited a few stores, picked out some hairbows and had a great morning. One of the first of many days like this I'm sure. I love my girls.

August Fun

I am so far behind in blogging. And I'm also pretty sure I begin each blog with that statement.
 
Mid- August Nana and Niki came to LR for a quick weekend visit. While they were here they played hard and got to see the girls swim their little hearts out. Emily finally fell in love with the big pool and she, daddy, and Caroline had a BIG time learning to jump off the side, go down the slide, and on this particular day Emily felt brave enough to jump off of the diving bored for the first time. She was wild and free...not a care in the world! And she loved it. Caroline on the other hand was a bit more reserved and watched Emily do it first- then decided she HAD to follow suite. She IS the big sister after all:) Brad was proud as can be. I was a nervous wreck. BUT they loved it and sent the swimming season out in style!







One huge surprise that weekend was that Brad had arranged to sweep me away for a MUCH needed night away. We were able to spend an evening and night out alone without the crew. We had dinner, went to The Crown Plaza, slept in (until 9:00...that's late!!), had a leisurely breakfast at Dunkin Donuts, ran a few errands and returned home. It was nice to get some 1 on 1 time with the hubs. Thanks Nana and Niki for keeping the girls for us...I'm pretty sure they didn't even know we had left.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Veggie Tales

IBrad took the girls to meet Bob and Larry from the Veggie Tales movies. They loved it!






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