My baby turned 2 last month! On her actual birthday we had a fun-filled day starting with church, then lunch at the mall, then off to her first movie theatre show "The Princess and the Frog", followed by cake and ice cream with friends that evening. Two weeks later, we celebrated her birthday back home in Indiana...at the circus! Both of our families were able to attend. We used my mom's company's suite....sweet! Let me tell ya, this is the way to take small children to the circus. I can't imagine keeping all of those kiddos in their seats for 2 hours! Emily had so much fun celebrating with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Here are the pictures:
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Christmas with the Sickies
We got something for Christmas that we did not bargain for...the flu. The weekend before Christmas we travelled to Mike's parent's to celebrate their 40th Wedding Anniversary and our first family Christmas of the season. Ava was not herself on the drive over. First clue: she turned down McDonald's when I pulled through the drive thru a couple of hours into our journey. As we turned into "Grandma Pammy" and "Papa Nick's" driveway she kept insisting that she just needed to go to bed so that she could rest up for the next morning. That is SO not her usual agenda when she arrives at grandma and grandpa's! I knew that something was up. Within an hour of our arrival, she was chilling, then burning up, and then finally confessed to a sore throat. Poor baby! She fought the flu all weekend while we carried on with the festivities. A Minute Clinic diagnosis on Sunday morning was that she had the flu and to keep her comfortable. You know the drill...plenty of rest and fluids. Is it bad when I wish for like, strep throat when we go to the doctor? Rest and fluids? Pshaw, what's that about? I want to leave with meds and feel like I'm actually doing something to help my kid get better. As we headed back to Ohio the next day, the flu manifested itself into an ear infection and Ava screamed in pain across Eastern Indiana. After a quick pit stop at a CVS outside of Ft. Wayne, we made it to her pediatrician's office before they closed for the night. Ava did her best to recover for the next few days on our couch. She didn't want to be sick "when Santa swooped down to eat her cookies."
Just as Ava was starting to perk up on the 23rd, the flu hit Miss Emily. By Christmas Eve it was full blown and we ended up putting aside our usual traditions of church and a nice dinner out in exchange for carry-in, lighting the advent candles around our fireplace, reading the Christmas story, and singing Silent Night before bed. Emily was certainly no better on Christmas morning. You can see how miserable she was in the video below. She wasn't even interested in opening her presents. She just kept falling asleep in our arms. It was SO sad. The day after Christmas, her fever was down and she seemed to have turned a corner, so we labored over the decision to journey back to Indiana for my side of the family's Christmas. We decided to go for it. Mike followed us, because I planned to stay a little longer. As I made my way across Ohio, it became apparent that Em had taken a turn for the worse. She was really sick. Her fever was up. She was really out of it, and her breathing was more like panting. We got into my parent's just in time for the family dinner. I didn't take a single picture of this side of the family Christmas. I was busy holding Emily and too worried about her. I was just going through the motions when it came time to open presents. Something was definitely wrong with this kid. Her skin looked a little on the gray side.
After checking on her through the night, Mike and I threw on some clothes early the next morning. Because it was Sunday and my parent's family doctor's office was closed we headed to MedStat. A chest x-ray confirmed that she had pneumonia in the lower 25% of her left lung. We were given an antibiotic and care instructions and told that if she got worse or wasn't better in 48 hours to come back. As we headed back to my parent's house, I knew that I was getting sick too. Great. With the doctor's assurance that Emily would be okay, Mike ended up heading back to Ohio for work. He got to fight the flu bug at home. My parents had flights to Florida so they needed to leave. Ava went to stay with my sister, and Emily and I were miserable together in my parent's house. She had some trouble kicking the pneumonia and ended up with a double ear infection too, so by Wednesday we were back at the doctor again. After a shot of strong antibiotics and a swab confirming we both had H1N1, Emily rapidly recovered. My flu dragged on through the New Year.
By the numbers: That's 6 trips to the doctor, 4 cases of the flu, 4 antibiotics (not for the flu but for infections resulting from the flu), 2 ear infections, and 1 case of pneumonia. I'm so thankful that we're all healthy now, but I'm not gonna lie, it sort of sucked. As you can see in the clips below, we did have some bright spots in our holiday. We love Christmas, so we trudged through, sick or not.
Here's the footage from Christmas week...
Just as Ava was starting to perk up on the 23rd, the flu hit Miss Emily. By Christmas Eve it was full blown and we ended up putting aside our usual traditions of church and a nice dinner out in exchange for carry-in, lighting the advent candles around our fireplace, reading the Christmas story, and singing Silent Night before bed. Emily was certainly no better on Christmas morning. You can see how miserable she was in the video below. She wasn't even interested in opening her presents. She just kept falling asleep in our arms. It was SO sad. The day after Christmas, her fever was down and she seemed to have turned a corner, so we labored over the decision to journey back to Indiana for my side of the family's Christmas. We decided to go for it. Mike followed us, because I planned to stay a little longer. As I made my way across Ohio, it became apparent that Em had taken a turn for the worse. She was really sick. Her fever was up. She was really out of it, and her breathing was more like panting. We got into my parent's just in time for the family dinner. I didn't take a single picture of this side of the family Christmas. I was busy holding Emily and too worried about her. I was just going through the motions when it came time to open presents. Something was definitely wrong with this kid. Her skin looked a little on the gray side.
After checking on her through the night, Mike and I threw on some clothes early the next morning. Because it was Sunday and my parent's family doctor's office was closed we headed to MedStat. A chest x-ray confirmed that she had pneumonia in the lower 25% of her left lung. We were given an antibiotic and care instructions and told that if she got worse or wasn't better in 48 hours to come back. As we headed back to my parent's house, I knew that I was getting sick too. Great. With the doctor's assurance that Emily would be okay, Mike ended up heading back to Ohio for work. He got to fight the flu bug at home. My parents had flights to Florida so they needed to leave. Ava went to stay with my sister, and Emily and I were miserable together in my parent's house. She had some trouble kicking the pneumonia and ended up with a double ear infection too, so by Wednesday we were back at the doctor again. After a shot of strong antibiotics and a swab confirming we both had H1N1, Emily rapidly recovered. My flu dragged on through the New Year.
By the numbers: That's 6 trips to the doctor, 4 cases of the flu, 4 antibiotics (not for the flu but for infections resulting from the flu), 2 ear infections, and 1 case of pneumonia. I'm so thankful that we're all healthy now, but I'm not gonna lie, it sort of sucked. As you can see in the clips below, we did have some bright spots in our holiday. We love Christmas, so we trudged through, sick or not.
Here's the footage from Christmas week...
Ava's December Dance Class Observation
Emily and I attended Ava's 2nd Dance Class Observation in December. I didn't get much footage. Emily wanted to join in the show and was difficult to restrain. We ended up having to leave our seats on the dance floor and go up to the viewing room just as the girls did their portion of "The Nutcracker", so I wasn't able to film any of the abbreviated performance. Emily was threatening to steal the show by running onto the floor and protested loudly when I tried to hold her back. I guess she felt that she'd earned her place out there by being Ava's practice partner at home. Oh well, here's what I got. Ava continues to enjoy her dance class. She's particularly fond of tap dancing.
Getting Ready for Christmas....and other December Happenings
Because I am so far behind on my blogging (it's February and I'm just getting around to December), I decided to combine the whole first half of December into one long slide show. There's a little bit of everything here; decorating the house, potty training Emily, Ava's Christmas program.
Note: Ava gets very excited when I turn on the camera. She thinks she's the star of her own webcast. She loves iCarly!
Note: Ava gets very excited when I turn on the camera. She thinks she's the star of her own webcast. She loves iCarly!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
November in a Nutshell...
November seems to have flown by! In addition to being away from home 3 out of the 4 weekends in November, we squeezed in Ava's 5 year check-up, dentist appointment, and parent-teacher conferences at school. The verdict: she's a healthy, bright (and slightly mischevous), cavity-free, "normal" 5 year old. Very good to know. Emily is growing up fast. I can't believe that she's almost 2! She adores her big sister and wants to imitate everything. You should see some of the stuff that Ava puts her up to! Actually, since Emily is talking more...you should hear some of the things that Ava has taught her to say! They are definitely keeping me on my toes now that they've figured out how to join forces and plot against me. : )
This month began with such beautiful, mild weather that we enjoyed playing outdoors in the final, lingering days of fall. We spent a day at the beach and the Great Lakes Science Center. I had hoped to take some pictures for our Christmas card, but my subjects were less than cooperative about posing, so I got some action shots instead. Huntington Beach always provides a gorgeous back drop for pictures, no matter the season.
In the second weekend in November, Ava and I took off with our friends Staycie and Anna (Ava's bff from school and dance class) to meet up with some other moms on our mommy board. Our first girl's weekend away! Woo hoo! Road trip! Mike stayed behind with Emily. Also a first...I knew that there was no way Miss Emily was getting any sleep with a 5 year old's slumber party happening in the hotel room. We had fun meeting the other moms, checking out the Erie Children's Museum, and swimming in the hotel pool. It was fun to see how excited the girls were about the whole experience and reminded me of those girl's weekends that I used to take with my mom and grandma and sisters. Definitely a tradition that I want to keep up!
Back home again, we began to gear up for the holidays with lots of talk about what we are thankful for. Emily and I attended Ava's Thanksgiving chapel at her school. The kids all make hats for the occasion. This year Ava's class were the turkeys. Last year they were Indians (well, warriors. It's not PC to call them Indians). There were also Pilgrims and Mayflowers. It was so cute to see all of the classes crowded into the chapel with their Thanksgiving headresses. We headed home to Indiana the weekend before Thanksgiving for an early celebration with my family, then down to Mike's parent's on Tuesday for a couple of days. We made it back to Ohio on Friday after Thanksgiving to find snow on the ground! The girls were psyched! We immediately had to put on our snow clothes and go "be" in the snow.(Ignoring our suitcases completely). And now it's December... half of the Christmas decorations are up (I'm sitting here blogging instead of finishing them right now), lists are made, Ava is vying for the position of Mary in the school nativity scene, and we're looking forward to a wonderful holiday season together. Hope all of you are enjoying your holidays too!
Here are the pics from November:
This month began with such beautiful, mild weather that we enjoyed playing outdoors in the final, lingering days of fall. We spent a day at the beach and the Great Lakes Science Center. I had hoped to take some pictures for our Christmas card, but my subjects were less than cooperative about posing, so I got some action shots instead. Huntington Beach always provides a gorgeous back drop for pictures, no matter the season.
In the second weekend in November, Ava and I took off with our friends Staycie and Anna (Ava's bff from school and dance class) to meet up with some other moms on our mommy board. Our first girl's weekend away! Woo hoo! Road trip! Mike stayed behind with Emily. Also a first...I knew that there was no way Miss Emily was getting any sleep with a 5 year old's slumber party happening in the hotel room. We had fun meeting the other moms, checking out the Erie Children's Museum, and swimming in the hotel pool. It was fun to see how excited the girls were about the whole experience and reminded me of those girl's weekends that I used to take with my mom and grandma and sisters. Definitely a tradition that I want to keep up!
Back home again, we began to gear up for the holidays with lots of talk about what we are thankful for. Emily and I attended Ava's Thanksgiving chapel at her school. The kids all make hats for the occasion. This year Ava's class were the turkeys. Last year they were Indians (well, warriors. It's not PC to call them Indians). There were also Pilgrims and Mayflowers. It was so cute to see all of the classes crowded into the chapel with their Thanksgiving headresses. We headed home to Indiana the weekend before Thanksgiving for an early celebration with my family, then down to Mike's parent's on Tuesday for a couple of days. We made it back to Ohio on Friday after Thanksgiving to find snow on the ground! The girls were psyched! We immediately had to put on our snow clothes and go "be" in the snow.(Ignoring our suitcases completely). And now it's December... half of the Christmas decorations are up (I'm sitting here blogging instead of finishing them right now), lists are made, Ava is vying for the position of Mary in the school nativity scene, and we're looking forward to a wonderful holiday season together. Hope all of you are enjoying your holidays too!
Here are the pics from November:
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Yard Work
I realize that it is now December, a mere 3 weeks and 2 days til Christmas, but I have gotten behind in my posting. So here are some clips of the girls helping with yard work this fall. Stay tuned for tree trimming pictures...I'll be working on those this weekend. Happy Holidays!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Halloween
Our neighborhood knows how to do Halloween right! Decorated lawns...tons of families out trick or treating...full size candy bars! Need I say more? Our family had a fun time on Saturday night. We had friends over for dinner and then everyone went out trick or treating while I stayed home and fried up donuts in the driveway then served em' with cider to the trick or treaters and hungry moms and dads. After a loop around the block, Emily didn't want to come home and Ava actually tried to head back out on her own to secure more candy. (She got into a little trouble over that one.) Here are the pics of the girls in their costumes (Ava as Mary Poppins, Emily as Dorothy Gale). The slideshow begins with our early trick or treat in Leesburg when we were there visiting a couple of weeks ago. The cowboys are my nephews, Riley and Hudson. And that adorable lil' piggy with the shiner is my one and only niece, Ella.
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