Milestones

I just want to do a quick post to recognize two milestones in Miss Lily's world that occurred this week:

(1) Big girl is sitting up all by herself!  We have been working on it for a few weeks, but she can now sit up and play for 30+ minutes without falling over, so I think it is official.  She LOVES sitting up, and I know this will help with her reflux, and hopefully all of her digestive issues.

(2) She has her first two teeth!  She got her first tooth on 12/10, and the second one was right behind it. Poor girl has been teething and battling a double ear infection--no wonder she has been sleeping poorly and keeping us all up at night!  Last night she threw up in her sleep and scared me half to death, but she seems much better today.  

Santa take #2

 

This weekend we went to Frank's company Christmas brunch at the Omni in Dallas.  It was really nice, and it was great that the whole family was invited.  They had a huge bouncehouse for the kids, cookie decorating, face painting, and an enormous spread of wonderful food.  Frankie had a blast running around and having his face painted like a "monster dinosaur."  He also really wanted to see Santa and to tell him (again) that he wants a scooter for himself and "a humidifier for babygirl."  He is so cute and getting so big!  Lily loved Santa, and she grabbed onto his beard and held on for dear life.   Everyone at the party loved her enormous bow and little boots. 

The rest of this weekend was very chaotic, as we have listed our house on the market and made an offer on another house.  It is not easy to get a house organized and cleaned with two little kiddos running around.  We are going to have to get very lucky for this whole deal to work out, but we'll see what happens!  We are already tired of having our house on the market and it has only been one day, so either way we hope something happens quickly.

Lily six month stats

Lily went to the doctor on Friday for her 6-month checkup.  She is still a pretty small baby, even though her chubby cheeks and thighs would have you believe otherwise!  She is 25.75 inches long (41%), and 14 pounds 7 ounces (17 percent).  She is perfectly healthy, and the doctor was very happy to hear that her mysterious eating issues seemed to be better.  Frankie insisted that he come to the doctor with us, and it was a pretty huge mistake for me to take him.  He was not listening at all, and it became completely embarrassing when I had to pick him up, kicking and screaming, in the waiting room and carry him, her and her baby bag all out to the car.  He also managed to disable my iphone in the waiting room, and he nearly electrocuted himself when he found my phone charger in my purse and plugged it in.  The doctor said, you still have your house toddler-proofed, right?  I was so furious at him when we got to the car that I threatened to leave him in the parking lot by himself.  He finally stopped screaming and let me strap him into the carseat, thank goodness.  I felt really bad that I got so mad at him, but sometimes he just refuses to listen to the point that it becomes dangerous.  He told his teachers at school that "Mommy was mean to him at the doctor," but when they asked why he also said "because I ran away from Mommy, I didn't listen, and I ruined her phone."

Winter 2013 family pictures

A couple of weeks ago, we had our family pictures (and Liliana's six-month pictures) taken by MSM portraits.  Despite two kids who did not want to cooperate, she did a great job!  Here are a few of my favorites:

Liliana - 6 months!

Sweet Miss Lily is six months old (yesterday).  At six months, Lily is:

--starting to finally enjoy eating solids.  Sweet potatoes is the first food she has liked.
--starting to get the hang of sitting independently, but she still falls over a lot.
--making a lot of sounds and laughing a lot and kicks her feet like crazy when she gets excited.
--super social.  She will let anyone hold her.  She will give smiles to everyone, and at least once a day someone calls her beautiful.
--wearing size 2 diapers during the day and size 3 diapers at night.  Wearing size 9 month clothes.
--still sleeping in the magic sleep suit, and sometimes sleeping in the swing because she is still nowhere near sleeping through the night.  She usually still wakes up once at night to eat, and sometimes she wakes up multiple times.
--loves being outside, watching the ipad with her brother, hearing her brother sing, splashing in the bathtub, listening to her crib mobile at night.
--hates:  her pink puffy jacket, wearing socks or shoes, having her snot sucked, waiting for her bottle when she is hungry.

She is such a joy, and I absolutely love the bond that is already developing between her and her brother.  She truly completes our family, and I cannot believe my little baby is already halfway to one year old!

Iced in!!

Wow, the last four days felt like four weeks!  Things are finally beginning to thaw in Dallas, and we all were back to work and school today (finally).  We have been iced in since Thursday, and it was tough.  Our hill was completely covered in ice, schools were closed, and yet work was as demanding as ever, so I got to manage juggling taking care of two kids with trying to get in a full day's work (even on the weekend days).  It was exhausting.  I did not shower much (which didn't matter since we could hardly leave the house), and there were a lot of late nights.  There was also one fall on the ice outside on our way home from our neighbor's house that resulted in major back pain for the rest of the weekend.  I want to give my AMAZING husband major props for helping me out. I had a bunch of work deadlines and commitments that I could not ignore, and he really stepped up and allowed me to work as much as I needed to and get everything done.

It was not ALL bad. In between conference calls I got to snuggle with my kiddos.  Frank took Frankie sledding in a cardboard box and he LOVED it.  The video we took is priceless.  We spent two nights with our neighbors drinking wine and letting the kids run wild.  We had a lot of time by the fire, watching movies, and playing games.  Lily got to be around her brother a lot, which she loves, and we all got to enjoy her many silly sounds and giggles.

One major bummer about the ice storm was that the Dallas marathon and half marathon were cancelled.  I was not excited about running in freezing cold weather, but I was really disappointed that the race was cancelled after putting so much time and effort into training. I am not sure if I will try to run another half soon or just call it a wash and maybe do it again some other time.  I had just run a fantastic 12-mile run the weekend after Thanksgiving and was really feeling ready and excited, but I have not been able to run since last Wednesday, and I have to admit, the break feels nice too.

Baby girl got to see her first snow, and I think she hated it because she HATES wearing her big puffy pink jacket.

First ER trip for Lily

Unfortunately, this weekend also marked Lily's first trip to the ER.  As I have previously written about, Lily has been throwing up and having trouble drinking her bottles for the last two weeks.  We took her to the doctor a couple of weeks ago, and the doctor suggested increasing her reflux medicine to see if that helped.  It seemed like it may be working, but early last week she began throwing up again.  Not every feeding, and not even every day, but she would throw up once every could of days.  She had no other symptoms except that she was mildly congested.  No fever, no ear infection, nothing else.  It all appeared to come to a head this weekend in Houston when she threw up several times for a couple of days in a row.  By Saturday she was pretty miserable.  That evening she threw up and we saw that there were a bunch of dark-colored specks in the vomit.  I decided to call the on-call doctor to see what she thought.  She was concerned about the dark-colored specks and told us to bring her in to the ER to have her checked out just in case.  We thought that the specks were probably the granules from her acid reflux medicine, but we had to make sure that it was not blood.  At the ER, they tested the vomit for blood (which was negative) and ran a chest and abdominal x-ray to check for any abnormalities there.  The doctor determined that she did not have anything abnormal in her abdominal xray and could not find any reasonable explanation for the vomiting.  She also determined that it was probably her reflux and recommended that we follow up with her pediatrician, which we did today.  The whole process has been so frustrating, because we have not been able to get any clear answers about what is causing her distress.  The doctors are not concerned because she is not losing weight or getting dehydrated.  But it is hard to watch your baby in pain and not be able to do anything to help her!  The doctor suggested that the mucus may be aggravating Lily and we are going to try giving her some allergy medicine to clear up the mucus.  If that does not significantly improve her throwing up and refusing to take bottles, then we are going to schedule a follow-up visit with the GI specialist.  Hopefully we can figure out a solution for this poor baby girl!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Houston with my parents, grandparents, Allison, Steve, and Frank's sister Stella.  It was a (mostly) wonderful weekend.  We headed out of town on Wednesday afternoon, and we had a wonderfully horrible drive to Houston as usual.  Every time we make that drive I tell my parents it is the last time we are coming down there because I really hate it that much.  The kids were not even bad--it is just a horrible drive no matter what, and by the time we get to my parents' house I am always super stressed out.  On Thursday we had a wonderful huge feast and lots of great quality family time.  Saturday my Dad and I ran 12 miles in preparation for our big half marathon next weekend.  I am proud to report that it was pretty easy for me, and I am looking forward to the big race!  My Dad took me to a nice lunch at Cafe Adobe afterwards, which was very nice.

We have so very much to be thankful for this year:  the birth of our beautiful, sweet, healthy baby girl Liliana; a wonderfully curious, healthy, and charming three-year-old Frankie; Frank's new job; Mommy's four months off work; wonderful family vacations; Monte's retirement from the army and release from Walter Reed; and a wonderful family with whom we get to share our many blessings.  I am so blessed to have the most wonderful man as my husband.  Frank is hard working, trustworthy, loyal, and thoughtful.  He is always up for adventure, and he loves his family with all of his heart.  I am so thankful that I get to experience life with him and our children.

The most wonderful time of the year!

I am in love with this picture of the kids with Santa.  I love spending the holidays with children, and I am so excited that Frankie is so excited for Christmas this year.  Let the holiday season begin!

We can't quite figure her out

I always thought that my second baby would be so much easier.  We have already been there, done that, so we should be armed with knowledge and experience to help us figure out what is making Miss Lily not feel good.  However, she continues to stump me.  I am having the hardest time figuring out what makes her fussy while eating.  There have been several times during the last few months when she would have a few days in a row of fussiness and eating issues, where she wouldn't really be interested in her bottle.  These little episodes always last a few days, and just when I am about to take her to the doctor to see if she has an ear infection or stomach bug, she snaps out of it and returns to "normal."  Last week, she started refusing the bottle, having trouble during feedings, and occasionally throwing up complete feedings.  She never had a fever, did not act fussy other than during feeding, and had no other symptoms of illness.  Over the weekend she continued to resist eating (she did eat, just not as much as her normal), and then on Monday she threw up two more times.  Apparently, she threw up at day care and it was PURPLE.  Of course, I was very concerned when they told me this, and I took her to the doctor on Tuesday.  The doctor is stumped--her ears and throat looked great, so no ear infection or sore throat.  It cannot be a stomach virus because it has already lasted more than 48 hours and it is not continuing.  The doctor said, "and it does not sound like this is related to her reflux," and I interjected and said, well, I think it may be, because when she is resisting bottles, she will often arch her neck and back like she used to when she was first diagnosed.  The doctor agreed and decided to try increasing Lily's dose of reflux medicine to see if that solves the problem.  So far so good--she has not thrown up again, and she is eating better.  But she is not 100 percent back to normal yet.  I hope this works and she is eating normally and acting like her usual sweet self soon!  

Big boy's three-year-old stats

Frank had his three-year-old doctor's appointment yesterday, and he is still a tall, skinny boy.  We already knew that because none of his pants fit.  He is 38.25" tall (71st percentile) and 32 pounds (54th percentile).  During the development part of the appointment, his doctor asked me if Frank knows his full name, and I said yes, and (trying to impress her with my super smart boy), I asked Frank, "what is your last name?"  He said "banana" and cracked up.  I asked him about five more times, and he kept repeating "banana."  This little boy knows how to say and spell his full name, but he was not going to do it for the doctor.  She told me she would take my word for it.  Ha!  What a little stinker. 

Frankie is 3!

My sweet BIG boy turned three years old today!!!! I can hardly believe it.  I can still vividly remember when he was a baby.  I can remember when he would toddle from my car through the lobby to his day care, insisting that he hold my keys and trying to run away and hide any chance he could.  I remember the first time he said I love you.  I remember his first birthday party, when he LOVED smashing his cake and having all eyes on him.  I cherish all of these memories.  These memories are the sole reason I write this blog--I don't want to forget a single moment of this wonderful boy's life.  I don't want to forget when we gave him his big birthday gift (an easel) and he clapped with excitement.  I don't want to forget the huge smile on his face when his friends arrived at his party.  I don't want to forget what it is like to look through the world through a three-year-old's eyes--with curiosity, innocence, determination, and pure joy.

At three, here are some of Frankie's favorite things:

Favorite friend:  Bennett
Best friend at school:  Mackenzie
Favorite foods:  apples, steak, guacamole, yogurt, macaroni and cheese
Favorite color:  orange
Favorite TV shows:  Mickey Mouse clubhouse and Little Einsteins
Favorite toy:  vacuum
Favorite movie:  Finding Nemo
Favorite books:  Good Night Washington DC, Peppa Pig, The Night Before Christmas, and his "bible book"
Favorite song:  "Crazy" Hunter Hayes
Favorite video:  Minnie's bow-tique
What he wants to be when he grows up:  "Eat grown-ups, drink coffee, and go to work."

Frankie constantly asks questions, and he always wants to know "why."  He is inquisitive, insightful, and he has a razor sharp memory.  He is funny, silly, and loves to be the center of attention.  He is sweet and protective of his little sister.   I think he has my smarts combined with Frank's determination, and I truly believe he is going to be unstoppable.  I have big dreams for this little boy, and I can't wait to see what he becomes when he grows up.

We celebrated Frankie's big birthday all weekend, starting when Mommy and Daddy surprised him with donuts at school on Friday.  He was super excited to see us, and everyone was very excited about the donuts, but we didn't think about the fact that it was picture day at school (why his teachers did not tell us, I have no idea), and some of those kids were covered in chocolate from head to toe.  Oops!

Saturday was Frankie's big birthday party at the Frontiers of Flight airplane museum.  We have been there a few times before, and Frankie always loved it, so I was excited to have his party there.  He had a blast.  His best friends were there, and Nana and Papa and Auntie Allison, Uncle Steve, and Kasey also came.  He ran around the play area, climbed, chased, and screamed with his friends, and just had a blast.  He loves to be the center of attention, and he really enjoyed everyone singing to him.  He requested an orange cake with "all the colors," so I got a cake with rainbow sprinkles covering the outside.  It was delicious.  While the kids were all eating cake, Frankie started singing, "Happy Birthday to cake!"  and cracking himself up.  He is so silly.  After the party, most of our family came back to our house to open presents, and Frankie got a bunch of cool new stuff.

Today, on his actual birthday, Nana and Papa came over and we went up to Klyde Warren Park to have lunch and enjoy the beautiful weather.  I think Frankie had a wonderful birthday weekend that was all about celebrating HIM.  He is my sweet, smart, independent, funny, silly little buddy.