Photo Blog: Fun on the Front Porch

The Sweet Smells of Summer

Welcome to the June Carnival of Natural Parenting: Outdoor fun

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama. This month our participants have shared their stories and tips for playing outside with kids. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

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I love summertime and since I've moved to a different neighborhood, one that's not on the industrial side of town, on a road that isn't the business highway of the town, I am really able to bask in the warm glow of summer and breathe in it's rich, sweet smells when I'm outside with the girls.

While the girls spend their time running and crawling and riding bikes and tricycles around the car in the driveway, I lay back and relax - as much as I can, being a watchful parent responsible for a 5 year old and a 14 month old. When I find a particular scent heavy in the air, I call Gracie over to me and we try to identify it. She's getting pretty good at it too.

We have some honeydew growing along the side of our house and that's usually the first thing we smell. It picks up in the middle of spring and lasts throughout the summer. That smell is usually my first wonderful reminder that summer is on its way.

My neighbor up the street has got the most beautiful roses and their scent is so strong that you can smell it from the sidewalk two houses down. It's a nice, calming addition to our early evening strolls.

My dad's yard plays host to a huge variety of new scents for Gracie and I to take in. He's got the biggest, prettiest flower garden ever and to top it off, he's got a couple lilac bushes. He always sends me home with a Solo cup full of its blooms that I keep in my car for a day or two.

When we're not absorbing the scents of summer, we play just like anyone else. Like I said before, the girls love to race around the car in the driveway. Whether it be running (or crawling/partially walking in Kairi's case) or biking and tricycling (although we have to push Kairi along) and sometimes even the scooter gets broken out, those girls LOVE running the circle around the driveway.

When they get tired they like to draw pictures on the pavement with sidewalk chalk. Gracie drew a beautiful flower on the porch a couple nights ago. I'm so proud of her artistic abilities.

The girls have gotten better at playing together too. Last week when we were outside, they were sitting together in the driveway. Gracie was scratching Kairi's back and Kairi was just squealing with delight. Then, Gracie decided to give Kairi a "foot massage."

We're big fans of bubbles and balls too....

Yes. Summer is my favorite time of year. I can't wait until it's warm enough to go swimming! I smell the chlorine just thinking about it!

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Visit Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

• Garden Treats — Asha at Mom Costume has once again been bitten by the gardening bug — and this time her baby's tagging along for some fresh air and dirt exploration. (@titbagsandsnoot)
• Outdoor Free Roam — Mamapoekie at Authentic Parenting follows her daughter's lead whenever they go outside. (@mamapoekie)
• Summer fun in Austin with a toddler — Jessica at This Is Worthwhile is brainstorming ways to beat the heat in Texas. (@tisworthwhile)
• summer fun… — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children is looking forward to spending the summer outside with her children the way she used to spend summers with her mother.
• Outdoor Fun for Pre-Walkers — Maman A Droit has figured out ways to let her pre-walker enjoy the outdoors. (@MamanADroit)
• Summer Homeschool Fun at Camp Review — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now discusses how Camp Review motivated and captivated her homeschooling family. (@DebChitwood)
• Digging, Tree Climbing and Puddle Jumping — Laura at Laura's Blog bemoans the loss of her girls' climbing tree but knows they'll find something else just as naturally tempting.
• The Sweet Smells of Summer — Erin at A Beatnik's Beat on Life is looking forward to the many smells of summer she and her daughters enjoy and identify. (@babybeatnik)
• June Carnival of Natural Parenting: Outdoor Fun — Sybil at Musings of a Milk Maker is a confirmed couch potato who can't help but be inspired by the outdoor opportunities Seattle offers her family. (@sybilryan)
• Take a Hike — Michelle at The Parent Vortex connects with her family and the Earth on frequent hikes in their Pacific wilderness. (@TheParentVortex)
• Following Paul — Julie at Simple Life gives her kids unstructured time to dig in the dirt and pick mulberries. (@homemakerjulie)
• Instilling a Love of the Outdoors in Your Baby/Toddler — Tessasdad at Stay At Home Dad in Lansing offers a photo book of tips for helping your little ones enjoy the outdoors. (@tessasdad)
• Camping, baby! — Jen at Grow With Graces has easy tips for tent camping with a little one. (@growwithgraces)
• Think Outside the Easel for Summertime Fun — Acacia at Be Present Mama finds several ways to bring art fun to the outdoors.
• Outdoor Learning in our Urban Environment — Andrea at Ella-Bean & Co. has found ways to get grass between her daughter's toes, even in the city.
• Outdoor Education — Alison at BluebirdMama offers parents tips and resources for making each outdoor excursion a learning experience. (@childbearing)
• Turning Inside Out — Christie of Childhood 101 finds kids get a kick out of taking indoor toys outside. (@Childhood101)
• Watching Peas Sprout — Deb at Science@home combines fun with purpose in this educational outdoor activity. (@ScienceMum)
• How To Create a Pirate Treasure Hunt & Other Easy Outdoor Pirate Activities (June Carnival of Natural Parenting) — Dionna at Code Name: Mama has pirate-themed play ideas for ye scurvy landlubbers. (@CodeNameMama)
• What We Do — Luschka at Diary of a First Child has managed to expose her 8-month-old to a wide variety of outdoor fun, even with the notoriously dreary UK weather. (@diaryfirstchild)
• Summer Fun — Darcel at The Mahogany Way finds her family's visits to the beach refreshing in so many ways. (@MahoganyWayMama)
• Playing outside without a backyard — Sheryl at Little Snowflakes doesn't let the lack of a backyard stop her family from enjoying the outdoors. There are plenty of things to do outside of your yard! (@sheryljesin)
• Having Fun Outdoors, Playset Free — Guavalicious at They Are So Cute When They Are Sleeping has resisted a backyard playset in favor of the regular backyard. (@guavalicious)
• Moon Gazing with your Toddler — Paige at Baby Dust Diaries is keeping her toddler up at night, but it's for a good reason: to share the wonders of the night sky! (@babydust)
• the great outdoors — The grumbles at grumbles and grunts wonders whether her urban child can experience the same free-range childhood she enjoyed. (@thegrumbles)
• Let's Take It Outside! — NavelgazingBajan at Navelgazing is looking for ideas: how can she spend time with her pre-walker outside this summer? (@BlkWmnDoBF)
• A home by the sea: June Carnival of Natural Parenting: Outdoor fun — Lauren at Hobo Mama is living her dream of a home near the beach, and taking full advantage of it. (@Hobo_Mama)
• An Outside Girl — Zoey at Good Goog moved her family to (almost) the middle of nowhere so that her outdoor-loving girl could have more grass and less concrete. (@zoeyspeak)
• Neighborhood Nature — Kelly at Kelly Naturally has learned to connect with the nature she has instead of mourning the nature she misses. (@kellynaturally)
• Building Lovely Memories of Swimming, Spiders and Gravestones — Joni Rae at Tales of a Kitchen Witch and her family are simply outdoorsy people. (@kitchenwitch)
• "Buh-Bye" Season — Danielle at born.in.japan must leave laundry behind and follow her son's call to the outdoors. (@borninjp)
• Backyard Camping — Becoming Mamas took her family camping very close to home! (@becomingmamas)
• The Color of Dreams — Seeking Mother at Woman Seeking Mother makes gardening magical by teaching her son that each flower is a faery. (@seekingmother)

Brenda and Jolene

I don't know if you remember, but a few months ago at Kairi's 6 month check-up, shortly after Kairi started eating solid foods, her pediatrician told me that I only needed to be breastfeeding her at a maximum of 4 times daily. Shocked and dismayed, I chose to switch from this doctor to the nurse practitioner in the same practice who has been seeing Gracie since she was 3 months old.

Our NP is named Brenda and she is amazing. I have always loved the way she and her staff have treated Gracie (she has different nurses than others in the practice) and I. They have always been very sweet, very knowledgeable and if I ever had a question that they couldn't answer, they would refer me to someone who could. Upon walking into our first appointment with her for Kairi in the beginning of January I already felt at ease with my decision to switch care providers. With Dr. A we would sit in the waiting room for what seemed like forever whereas with Brenda we were greeted within minutes. We've had to meet with her a few times for both Kairi and Gracie over the couple months, what with pneumonia, bronchialitis and ear infections running amok and each time has been, aside from the ailments causing the meetings, extremely pleasant.

Recently, I decided to buy some Vitamin B drops for myself. Some days I just feel like crap and my mom suggested them to me. I'd tried them before getting pregnant with Kairi and they worked great then, so I thought I'd give it another go. But before taking a drop I thought I had better call and make sure it was okay while breastfeeding. I realize it's vitamins, but it's a pretty hefty dose of vitamin and I just wasn't 100% certain. So I called and the receptionist sent a note back to Brenda. A while later I got a call back, but not from the nurse that I normally speak with.

"Hi, is this Erin?" the voice spoke over the phone.

"Yup, you've got me!" I replied. I recognized the number and wanted to be friendly.

"This is Jolene with Brenda's office. I'm calling about the Vitamin B supplement. Brenda said it is perfectly okay to take them. If you notice Kairi acting any differently be sure to stop, but it really shouldn't give you any problems."

I was relieved to hear this. I'd taken one dose without really thinking it through a few days ago. "Thanks so much," I said back to her.

"So, how are you doing?" Jolene asked me. The question sounded more social than concerned.

"I'm doing fine, thanks. How are you?"

"Great!" Jolene answered. Then she asked, "So, how is breastfeeding going for you?" It sounded like she might have been asking as if I was nursing a newborn and wanting to offer support.

"Oh, it's going GREAT! Thanks! We're at 10 months and going strong!"

"Okay - good! Well, if you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call us any time, okay? Thanks! Bye now!"

After we hung up the phone I thought to myself how different my experiences have been with Brenda as opposed to Dr. A. This last experience really did it for me and made me feel even more confident in my decision. I have run into Dr. A a few times while in the office and have felt a bit like I couldn't look him in the eye. But after today I know for certain that I made the absolute best choice for my family.

Kairi Noms Volume 1

Hi, Momma!

What'chu got there?

...Is noms?

...Noms is good.

The Mystery of the Blue Face

Two days ago, we had a vet come to our home to do a check up on our cats. That being said, it's pretty obvious that my house was clean. And not just good enough-for-close-friends-that-stop-by-at-random clean, but there's-a-stranger-coming-into-our-home-so-let's-break-out-the-white-glove clean.

So you can imagine my surprise when yesterday I found Kairi, who had not left the living room and had not been left unattended, crawled up to me looking like this:



I searched the area where she was playing and found nothing but a couple drops of what looked like blue ink. After snapping a few shots, I threw her in the tub where the ink rinsed right off with no problem.

Jason and I have concluded that whatever it was that she was playing with must have been ingested. I've been waiting patiently for bouts of blue poo but have yet to see any.

"You'll Be Mine - All the Time!"

I love my kids. They are freaking awesome.

Gracie is sitting on the floor and Kairi is sitting between her legs with her back to Gracie's stomach. Gracie is going from one side of her head to the other chanting in a sing-songy voice, "You'll be mine! All the time!!" and Kairi is giggling.

It's just so cute. I wanted to share this moment with you. But now, I'm gonna get back to it. Because I'm missing baby and big girl giggles.

Oh, and by the way - I'm taking a while off for the holidays. I'm visiting my mom and she does have the internet, but I doubt if I will be posting until after the New Year. So, happy and safe holidays, everyone!

XOXO

Tired.

Hey guys. I know I promised you first of all, a new post every day this month. I realize I also promised you the beginning of a series on adoption starting Monday. Neither of those are here, are they? I'm sorry. Truth be told, I am just tired. This time change is kicking my ass and handing it back to me in a nice little package labeled "Erin's broken ass." It may have bells and ribbons on it, but it ain't pretty, folks.

My series on adoption is on hold at the moment. Only one person who offered to send submissions for it has thus far and I still need to interview my mom for my part of the series. I suppose I jumped the gun on announcing it. Part of my problem is that once I throw a deadline out, you might as well call the project dead. I am HORRIBLE about working on a deadline. I am thinking of cutting it to a 2-3 post series, rather than a full week's worth of posts. I'm still trying to decide how I want to end it. Once I figure that out, I will post it. Hopefully sooner than later.

I had an interesting weekend - which is more than I can say for most weekends. On Friday my mother stopped through town and picked up Gracie. They went out of town to visit Mom's boyfriend, Terry. Gracie calls him Pops. It's cute. After Jason left work work I was left here with Kairi.... No car, no cable, no one over the age of 7 months to communicate with. It took about 2 hours for the mind-numbing boredom to kick in. I reached out on Twitter and Facebook, informing whoever would read my plea of my dire situation. I got a response from an old friend named Christine, someone I hadn't seen in almost 10 years. "Wanna come over?" she said. I jumped at the chance to get out of the house and loaded the baby up. She came and got us and we hung out at her house until about 1am. I really enjoyed catching up and reminiscing.

Saturday night, my friend Sandra was having her birthday party. Originally it was supposed to be at a bar that is a few blocks away from my house. I made arrangements to where I could go for about an hour or so, but I didn't want to stay long because Jason was off work, and is NEVER off work on a Saturday night and we don't have plans. I found out that she had switched locations though, and there wasn't any way I was going to be able to go. So I took her out to lunch instead. We went to this little Mexican restaurant that another friend recently had taken me to. It was delicious. Later that afternoon, Christine invited Jason and I over so that Jason could meet her boyfriend and maybe they could become buddies. Again, we stayed fairly late and we had a really good time.

On Sunday, Gracie came home. I was so excited to see her. I really missed her while she was gone. We spent the evening just lounging around the house.

Since the time change, Kairi has been getting up early. All weekend, we woke up at 8. On the weekdays, typically I will get up around 7 to get Gracie ready for school, and when I get back at around 8 I get back in bed and catch another couple hours of sleep. Kairi has not allowed that at all. Both yesterday and today she has woken up with the alarm. Fantastic. She won't let me nap either. I think she's going on a napping boycott. She's become the queen of the 10 minute nap - if she takes one at all. It's becoming depressing. So I've basically been running on 5 hours (if I'm lucky) of intermittent sleep with very little napping going on. It's not fun.

I am hoping that I can start going to bed earlier than usual and perhaps I can catch up on some of that sleep I've been missing that way. In the meantime, until I can write with a fully rested head, I will be working at whatever pace my grogginess will allow on my adoption posts. We'll see how that goes!

Halloweerd!

I don't know about you guys, but I had a fabulous Halloween weekend! It was so much fun! My best friend Natalie, whom I never get to see anymore because she lives out of town, threw a Halloween party on Friday. I didn't think I was going to be able to make it, but at the last minute a mutual friend told me she had room for me and the girls to ride with her. So we went. There were so many funny and neat costumes! And it was great seeing Natalie's friends that I hadn't met or gotten to know very well. She and her husband Micheal have a great group of friends.

Natalie and Micheal

As only can be expected when I'm paired with Natalie, weirdness ensued....

Me and Nat <3

I find it easiest to not ask...

Gracie dressed up as Snow White, as she has been a little obsessed since the DVD/Blu-Ray release of the movie earlier this month.

My little angel <3

Kairi wore a tutu, but that didn't last long. Tulle + my baby does not mix well.

Pretty baby!

Halloween night consisted of the usual: dinner at Gramma's and then trick-or-treating with my cousin Kindra and her kids. Unfortunately, I was hung over (from the 3 glasses of wine I drank the previous night - 3 GLASSES!!! WTF, right?!) and didn't have the presence of mind to take any pictures of Kindra's boys. I assure you though, as a miniature Darth Vader and Batman, they were adorable!

Last night we set the clocks back an hour, and although it didn't particularly change the amount of time we slept (yeah, that time pretty much flies out of the window once you have kids!) it was nice to get an extra hour with my husband. He's been working so hard lately that we rarely get to spend our waking hours together.

All in all, a great weekend. Tomorrow starts a whole new week, back to the daily grind. I'm just glad it will start on a good note!

What to Do?

Kairi had her 6 month check up and shots last week. We are about a month behind on her appointments due to some clerical errors, but I won't get into that. Her appointment went fairly well. She was weighed and measured. They checked her temperature and her ears. Everything that you would expect to be done at a typical pediatric doctor's appointment was taken care of. Then the doctor came in. He looked over her charts and immediately noticed how high her weight was on her growth chart.

"Hm," he began, feigning concern, "I see here that Kairi's weight is pretty high here. She's above the 95th percentile. We need to start restricting her diet."

"What do you mean, restrict her diet?" I asked him, caught off guard by his claim.

"Well, she needs to only be taking 24-26 oz of liquid each day. How much are you feeding her?"

I was confused. "I couldn't tell you. I breastfeed exclusively and have no way to measure how much I am feeding her."

Dr. A looked a little surprised. "Oh. Okay then, you need to only be feeding her 3-4 times daily."

Again, I was caught off guard. "Is that including nighttime feedings?" I didn't mention the fact that from the time we go to bed to the time we get up in the morning I feed her 3-4 times still.

"Yes," Dr. A said, his impatience becoming slightly apparent. "You should only be nursing 3-4 times in a 24 hour period of time. You can give her water and 2 servings of baby food or cereal per day as well, but I really want to stress how important it is that you reduce her nursing times to 3-4 times a day."

"Um, okay...." I was bewildered into agreement. Well, I wouldn't necessarily say agreement, but I couldn't begin to wrap my head around his request long enough to question it until I had left his office. The further away I got, the more angered I was by what he was telling me.

Now, I don't claim to be a doctor, but I am not some uneducated schmo from off the street who will take his word without a second guess if it doesn't feel right. I have done enough research into breastfeeding to know that until my daughter is a year old her primary source of nutrition should be breast milk and the rest of it, the baby food, the juice, etc, is all supplementary. Sure, she needs those things, because after 6 months of age she needs more iron than I can produce for her and she needs other vitamins that aren't found in adequate amounts in breast milk. But most of her basic needs are met in my milk and every single article I have ever read states that until she is a year old I should be nursing on demand.

That is not to say that I am a 100% by the book kind of girl. I know that nothing works exactly the way the books say it will and often times I have to find a compromise between what I've read and what I feel to make things work. More often than not I lean towards what I feel over what I've read. But in this instance, everything I have read is completely aligned with everything I feel. And down to my very core I feel that reducing my daughter's nursing times to 3-4 times daily - like I said before, that's just what she eats once we go to bed! - is absolutely not what she needs.

Today when I logged into Twitter I saw a link to the growth chart used for breastfed babies. I followed it and entered Kairi's information into it. According to the chart at her doctor's office, Kairi was above the 95th percentile in weight. That's supposed to be a cause for concern. According to the chart that is provided by the World Health Organization, my daughter is in the 75th percentile. Right on the line.

I realize that I have a chunky baby. In fact, I expected Kairi to be a chunky baby. I was a chunky baby. So was Jason. Gracie was ENORMOUS. By 3 months she was in the 95th percentile in weight on her chart and her doctor was cramming dietary information down my throat even then. But take a look at Gracie. Go on, I posted recent pictures of her in my previous post. Take a look at her, come back, and tell me that you are worried for her weight - that you fear she might just tip into the range of obesity should she eat one more Twinkie. Granted - Gracie's weight hindered her physical development to a degree that we had to have specialists come in and determine she would be able to catch up with the other kids. Gracie didn't roll over until she was 6 months. She didn't sit up until she was 8-9 months, didn't crawl until she was a year old and didn't walk until she was 18 months old. But once she started moving that weight fell right off.

I have no fear that my children will be obese. I realize that obesity is quickly becoming the number 1 preventable cause of death and that while children are less at risk of weight related health problems, being overweight as a child often leads to being overweight as a teenager and as an adult, which we all know can lead to all kinds of health problems. With that knowledge in mind I try to feed my children healthy food - at the very least home cooked food, which we all know is often times healthier than eating out - as well as I allow them to get plenty of age-appropriate physical exercise. Kairi may be at the top of the charts (the WRONG charts) at her doctor's office, but I know that like her father and I, as well like her sister, once she becomes more physically active she will thin out.

All weekend I have been fighting with myself over whether or not to switch doctors. Ultimately I have decided that I am going to try to find a more pro-breastfeeding pediatrician. Sure, Dr. A has spouted "breast is best" but beyond that I have seen no support from him. In fact, he suspended breastfeeding when Kairi had jaundice. After getting out of the hospital from that ordeal I found out from several sources that there was no need to suspend breastfeeding or to supplement formula as the doctor had ordered.

But I am concerned for the mothers who aren't as sure of their decisions as I am. Even with my level of certainty I faltered briefly when ordered to reduce what I know is working. If I was less certain of my choice to breastfeed, his order to reduce nursing would ultimately lead to a reduction in milk supply and eventually to having to supplement formula or even wean altogether before I am ready. I wonder how many mothers have gone through that with their children because of faulty claims that they are nursing too often. This also leads me to wonder what other misguided information Dr. A is giving.

I would like to do more than just switch doctors. I would like to raise awareness of what is going on, but beyond this I just don't know how. This man is a very popular and trusted doctor in my community. He's been around for a very long time - he was even my pediatrician when I was a child. This issue pulls at me, pulls at my morals and I don't feel that I can simply walk away and only do what is best for myself and my child. What would you do in this kind of dilemma?

Gratitude Adjustment

I am having a bummer morning. Nothing in particular is going wrong - I just feel kind of bummed out. It's not exactly the day that I want to spend my day, so I am going to take a cue from my friend Angela who does Gratitude Mondays and focus on what I am grateful for today instead.

Last night on Facebook a friend of mine posted a status that read, "My greatest accomplishments call me "Mommy." I almost cried when I read it. It's so true. My kids are BY FAR my greatest accomplishment. Above all else, they are my purpose for being here. I know I've said it before, but I feel like I was incomplete before becoming a mother. Yes, yes, I know, it's very Jerry Maguire, "You complete me,"-esque but it's true.

Gracie is growing like a freaking weed. I didn't really notice before I had Kairi how quickly Gracie is growing. The day Kairi was born I remember laying in bed with Gracie and looking at her hands and feet. They looked monstrously big - so much bigger than they had just the day before.

She's really coming into her own too since school has started. Every week she learns a new letter. Each letter has a character, a story/song, and a hand movement. The first week she learned the letter "P." P is for Polly Panda, and Polly Panda paints purple P's, pizza pans and porcupines. Her motion is moving your hand up and down like you are painting a fence. (Think Karate Kid, "Up and down.") During the hand motion, she says "Puh, puh, puh."

A few weeks ago at the end of the week Gracie came home with her folder full of the various projects she's worked on. The letter that week was "M." That night, she worked hard on tracing and practicing drawing her M's. One of the assignments sent home was a piece of paper with a bunch of letters scrambled all over the page, and she was to circle all the M's and draw X's through all the P's. She did that as well as recognized each letter that she had been learning between the two, and some that she hadn't learned in class. She's also begun using these letters throughout her days out of school. She is learning so much. She will ask what a certain word starts with, or if I say a word she will say "That starts with O!" It's so neat watching her grow.

Kairi is growing fast too. I can't believe it - it's been almost 7 months since she was born. Wow! A week ago Friday she started saying "Momma" (and my heart melted!) My mother was here to witness it. It was very cool. Last night the girls and I were in the kitchen while I was baking a cake and Gracie and I were talking about Jason. All of a sudden, Kairi looks up and starts saying "Dah-ee Dah-ee Dah-ee!" over and over. (Think "Daddy" minus the d's in the middle.) That was very cool too.

She is also doing a lot physically. She is really beginning to be able to support herself sitting up. She's been kind of sitting up for a little over a month, but it's more like she's kind of folded in on herself. And she's begun inchworm crawling. She will scoot forward with her legs (as if she is crawling regularly) then throw her body forward and land flat against the floor. She rights herself and starts again. It's very funny to see her doing this.

Anyway, I think that will conclude my "gratitude adjustment" for today. I am feeling much better now.

Crochet Madness!

I keep seeing these really cute baby beanies online. I see pictures of friends' babies wearing them too. They're the ones that have the big cute crochet flowers on them. So I went on a mission to find one for cheap. The cheapest I can find of the style that I want is $22. Rather than giving in and paying that kind of price for an item that Kairi will likely only be able to wear for one season (especially when I want more than one!) I decided to learn to crochet. I went to my local arts and crafts store and bought a beginners kit for crochet. It came with 4 hooks of varying size as well as an afghan hook, a book explaining a few different stitches and including a few patterns, and a bunch of other stuff that I'm not really sure of the use. I also bought a few different things of yarn. (There is a specific word for this but I forget what it is and it's late and I don't want to look it up. LOL.) Then I came home and watched 3 YouTube videos on how to crochet "granny squares." Once I had the technique down I quit for the night and went to bed.

Yesterday morning I began a blanket for Kairi. As it stands now it is about 1/4 done and on hold. A good friend of mine is pregnant. Her due date was yesterday and she is scheduled to induce on the 23rd. So I am making her daughter a baby blanket. It is purple and soft and cozy. I can't wait to finish it.

Another thing that I have worked on, the only thing I have finished thus far, is a hat. It's not the kind of hat I originally started this for, but it is darn cute and just that in and of itself is worth the money I spent on all of this stuff. And I must say that Kairi looks super cute in it.

I will post pictures of the blankets once they are finished. Until then, enjoy these pictures of Kairi in her new little beanie.

Bronchitis? RSV? Who knows!

Kairi is sick again. She caught Gracie's cold a couple days ago but this morning she woke me up with her raspy, wheezy breathing. It sounded like a dragon growling.

I called the doctor and got her an appointment at 11:10. We went in and the doctor had her checked for RSV, had her blood drawn, and did a chest X-Ray. He thought she had bronchitis, but her chest X-Ray was clear. She's negative for RSV, but her white blood count is really low and he said that's typically indicative of a viral infection like RSV. He's put her on Azithromycin, Veripred 20, and Xopenex breathing treatments. We have a follow up appointment in a week and if she hasn't shown decent enough improvement by then we will have to admit her to the hospital.

Already she hates the nebulizer. We haven't even made it through a complete breathing treatment without a full and complete breakdown. We're trying to get as much in her as we can before she has a meltdown and thus far we're making it about 3/4 through a treatment. Hopefully we will see some improvement there soon.

Anyway, please keep us in your thoughts. I doubt we will have to go to the hospital but even so it IS still a possibility that I don't want to happen. I will keep everyone updated as things progress.

This video is from this morning...

The Great Carrot Catastrophe

A few nights ago I was feeding Kairi a jar of carrot baby food. Typically I will follow the spoon with a wipey or a wet wash cloth and clean her up every couple of bites, but this really upsets her. This night I knew that I was going to give her a bath immediately after feeding her, so I just let her get as messy as she wanted. It was kind of fun, really.











Her bathwater turned bright orange and had to be drained and refilled before she came completely clean. And Gracie thought it was hysterical as well. I'm disappointed that I didn't get any pictures of her reaction.

My Little Sweetie

I had a cute little picture made of Kairi at http://www.sugarnsweets.com/ for her 5th month b-day. It's really cute. My only problem is that the girl who made it did some weird stuff to her eyes, and while the effect is really neat looking, I also happen to REALLY like my baby's eyes.

Anyway, it was free, so I can't complain. Here it is:

Kairi Jump-Up!

We bought Kairi a Jenny Jump-Up a couple months ago. She's only just now getting big enough to sit in it.







I think she prefers it as a chew toy than a bouncer. :)

Kairi's 3 month birthday. A photographic celebration (Part Three)

Things got easy once we got home from the hospital. Kairi started perking up.

We started seeing her first smiles...


....and some attitude. (I wonder where she gets that from?)

But all in all, things were great. Kairi is and always has been a happy baby.

Kairi's 3 month birthday. A photographic celebration (Part Two)

We spent 11 of the first 14 days of Kairi's life in the hospital. She had jaundice.

Poor girl had to stay in what they called the "Billi-bed" with a little mask over her eyes most of the time.

She was only supposed to come out to eat, but I snuck in some snuggles too.

The whole thing got us all a little cranky....

....and it was VERY tiring.

Kairi's 3 month birthday. A photographic celebration (Part One)

We celebrated Kairi's 3 month birthday last week. I would like to share with you my favorite shots taken throughout these past few months. I hope you enjoy them.