daddy haircare

meat hooks on princess

squirmy, slippery coiffure

enormous forehead

First Words

Lainey has a favorite phrase now.  She says it over and over with great gusto.  It is the only thing (besides momma, dada) that she knows how to say.

Any guesses???

" Erik, STOP!"  She even points her finger at him.

Erik thinks this is hilarious.  I think it is embarrassing!  I will have to keep track of how often that comes out of my mouth.  I do say that a lot -- as a substitute for NO.  I promise I don't shake my finger at him though!

Summer Book Club

Well it is almost August.  I would have to say that I am glad as the heat has been terrible here.  45 days in the days in the 90's so far.  Gross!  I am looking forward to fall!

Our final selection for the summer book club is a fiction novel written by my Dad's cousin.  I have never read any of the books she has written but my cousin Julie likes them so I am excited to start.  For more info go here.

Lymphadenitis - prayer request

FINAL UPDATE (7/29/10):
His lymph node is still swollen today but not very red or inflamed anymore.  His lyme titer was negative and CBC was fine (WBC's still show a mild shift -but nothing unusual).  He is tolerating the Augmentin.  No real explanation as to why it happened -- probably related to the bug bite but as long as it continues to get better no follow up is needed.  Thanks for praying.

UPDATE (7/28/10):
 Erik's ear looks better today.  It doesn't seem to bother him at all.  He has a follow up appointment tomorrow.  I anticipate it will be okay.  Still puzzled/concerned as to why he had it in the first place.

ORIGINAL (7/27/10):
When we were in WI in June Erik woke up one morning with a bite mark behind his ear and a really red swollen welt (size of a ping pong ball) behind his right ear.  Assuming it was from a horse fly or some other bug we treated it with benadryl and topical antihistamines/antibiotics.

About 24 hours after the welt appeared he developed a 103.5 degree fever.  No other symptoms.  On the 4th day of the fever I took him to a walk-in clinic (in the grocery store).  The NP was concerned because the fever had lasted so long.  She couldn't do much due to the setting she worked in so she sent us to the main clinic.

The doctor I saw there didn't seem worried about the fever or the welt but he did check a strep test (negative) and a CBC (showed mild shift in his WBC's consistent with a viral infection).  His ears were clear and we were sent home.

Erik's symptoms resolved and the welt seemed to go away.

This morning he woke up his a very large welt behind his right ear again.  It is red and swollen.  No fever or other symptoms but I took him back in again.

His pediatrician agreed that is was concerning.  She thinks it is likely a bacterial infection that developed secondary to the bite he got a month ago causing a lymphadenitis (inflammation of the lymph node behind his right ear).  The other thing she was concerned about was mastoiditis.  This is much more serious but treated initially with antibiotics as well.  There are other, worse things it could be, although this is very unlikely!

She checked a CBC again and at my request checked him for lyme's disease (I have been worried about this ever since we were in WI and he has the bite followed by red circle around it).  We don't have the results yet!

He was also started on a high dose of Augmentin.

I am taking him back for a follow up appointment on Thursday.

Please pray that this is a benign infection that will clear up quickly with the antibiotics.

I will keep you updated.

Thanks!

Cooperative Cousins

Mike, Sonja, and Jamison were in town this weekend.  We had fun.  I tried to get some photos of the cousins.  Very difficult but fun to try!

I gave up and later tried to just get the two babies looking at the camera.  That was not successful either.  Finally, in the bath they finally cooperated.  Of course they had to be naked.  Oh well.

Lainey

Lainey still doesn't talk much but she has figured out how to moo and woof.  I was able to catch her "woofing" on camera.  Enjoy!

Lainey the dog

The video is sideways -- not sure how to fix it since I took it on my phone.

More family fun!

Erik and his "friends"

Thanks for playing with Erik girls -- he loved it!

During the week they were here the spent lots of time jumping in the bounce house,

playing trains, playing Wii, and "spinning".

A tired baby riding on Barbara's back while she helped put dinner together after the beach 

and I went to the gym.  A nice treat for me.

Swans In Town

My aunt, uncle, and cousins are visiting us this week.  We have had a lot of fun so far.   Erik has been in heaven.  He loves the girls and they are kind enough to play with/entertain him.  Normally a bear when waking up in the morning/after naps he has been super cheerful.  Yay!  Maybe the girls could stay a while longer.  :)

The Swans are getting a LOT of sightseeing done while here too.  Monday we went to a small beach in Maryland -- saw a jellyfish which curtailed the swimming but still had fun.  Yesterday, we went downtown.  The kids and I were with them for 4-5 hours but the Swans were gone for 12.  They slept well last night!

Here are a few photos....

                     Cute girls!

Family pose in front of the white house.

Aliza believes she spotted the family dog being walked.

Sisters

Aliza, almost 11

Carley, 14

Erik loves both girls but has been especially affectionate with Aliza.  More than once he has randomly given her giant bear hugs and said things like, " I always like to be with you."  So cute!

13 Months

You are 13 months old sweet baby girl! 

You are a toddler now for sure -- walking, even running everywhere.  

You got 4 new teeth this month; now up to 6. 

All four teeth came in at once--not a fun week for you.

You are such a silly girl.

You are really playful and love to play chase, "peek-a-boo", catch, and dance.

You really love music and carry one of our refrigerator "ABC toys" everywhere and

push the button that plays the ABC song over and over all day long.  You of course bop and dance to the music.  So cute!

You have no fear of strangers really but hate being left alone.

I can not leave the room without you bursting into tears and chasing after me.

You really like to be held and insist on this a lot of the day.

You do NOT like to be warn in the baby carrier though which makes this challenging.

You are a BIG mommas girl.

If Victor tries to take you from me most of the time you cry big tears.

You generally seem to prefer women over men.

I am sure at some point you will switch over to being a daddy's girl but it hasn't happened yet.

Eating is better but still not great.

You still love fruit and will eat carrots, broccoli, beans, and corn.

Meat is not your favorite thing although you will eat hot dogs.  Gross!

You don't really love bread either but will chow down on a cookie if I let you.

You are growing though so somehow you are getting enough calories through your fruit and veggie diet.

Nursing.

You are still nursing 2-3 times a day.

I thought you would have quit by now but you really like it.

We introduced milk to you for a week and it did NOT go well.

You had horrible diarrhea and diaper rash that cleared up immediately after stopping the dairy.

For now I am giving you 8-10 ounces of frozen breast milk in addition to the sessions of nursing.

I will probably wean you in the next 2-3 weeks but I am not sure what milk we are going to start you on. I don't want to put you on soy milk because of the estrogen-like substances in it.

Almond milk is an option but we are avoiding tree-nuts due to Erik's allergies.

Coconut milk is something I would consider but I am nervous about the 5g of saturated fat in it.

Rice milk is probably what we will go with but I feel like it is really unnatural/synthetic and lacks a lot of nutrition.  I have considered just continuing with the nursing but my extra frozen supply will run out soon so I would have to supplement you with something else soon anyway.

Any other ideas are welcome!

Sleep

You have slept through the night for the past month.

(only getting up about once a week or so)

Yeah!!

You usually sleep from 7:45-6:00 or so.

You take 2 naps a day- the morning nap is usually only 30-40 minutes and on the go.

The afternoon nap is usually between 1-2 hours.

I really have felt much more energetic the past month.

Talking

You "talk" and jabber at lot but only have a few words.

Momma, Dada, and Erik are the most consistent ones.

You are able to follow simple commands and have NO trouble getting your point across.

You are a cherished little girl.

We love you so much!

12 month photos

Lainey was less than cooperative when I took her for her one-year photos this morning.   Oh well.  No smiles but I think they managed to capture the "twinkle" in her eye.

I was having issues with the scanner so Victor may have to upload the photos again later. 

For comparison: Erik's one year photos....

I love my sweet babies!

OUCH!

I broke my toe this morning -- stubbed it on Lainey's high chair.  It is now twice its normal size and purple.  I am hoping I will still be able to get my tennis shoes on so I don't have to miss out on two weeks at the gym.  Errr!

Adventures in Couponing

I just recently started to embrace the idea of "couponing".  I am not sure why it took me so long to get interested but now that I have started the process I am hooked.  It is hard not to be hooked after you realize how much money you waste when you buys things without coupons or when they are not on sale. 

It does take time, require you to subscribe to the Sunday paper, and willingness to slow down the check out line but the amount of money you can save it really quite amazing. 

Here are some photos of what I bought/saved this weekend...

CVS

Total spent: $34

Total Retail Value: $75

What I bought...

6 large boxes of name brand cereal:

-the normal price for these were between 4.50 - 4.75 a piece

-they were on sale for bogo plus I had $3 in coupons

Instead of 25-26 dollars I spent around $14

3 12 packs of soda:

-without a sale these cost almost $6 a piece

-they were marked down to $3 a piece plus they gave me a free bag of Doritos (usually 3.99)

Instead of $21 I spent $10

Toothpaste:

-was on sale plus I had a coupon

4 suave deodorants plus 3 large bottles of body wash:

I got all of this for $6 with a combination of coupons and a good CVS sale

Shampoo:

On sale plus I earned an ECB (extra care buck) I think

Very exciting stuff!!

Plus, aside from the Doritos this is all stuff we use on a regular basis.

I needed to bring something to our small group meeting so I took my free bag of Doritos.

 I also got a new $5 coupon on my CVS receipt that can be put towards a future purchase; I am watching for wipes to go on sale for I can buy a stash using coupons plus the sale plus my $5 off.

 SHOPPERS

(Groceries)

Spent: $90

Retail Value: $140

I won't bore you with all the details but I saved $50 by bringing 14 coupons with me that I applied to a lot of things that were already on sale.

Biggest deals: 

$23 dollars worth of pork for free

Diet pepsi for $1.50 a 12 pack

(we go through about a 12 pack a week)

I still bought healthy food too -- broccoli, carrots, onions, potatoes, blackberries, peaches, pineapple, bananas, and blueberries all made their way into my cart.  I had coupons for most of the fruit too.

Giant

 Spent $4.50

Retail Value: $16

I was hoping that Giant would owe me money but they didn't.

75% off of retail price is still pretty good though!

I did this by using 5  seventy-five cent coupons plus 5 triple-coupons.

I also managed to get out of the store without buying anything else!

I have big stashes of cereal, meat, soda, and crackers/chips.

It will be fun when I am able to cut my grocery bill down to $50 a week or so since all I will need to buy is fresh fruit/veggies and dairy. 

Anyone else have fun couponing?

GG's Birthday Artwork

The kids made paintings for GG's birthday last week.  They are still sitting on the counter because I am not sure how to fit them in an envelope.  Sorry GG.  Here are some photos of the fun they had making them!  Enjoy!  I will try to get the pictures in the mail soon.

Castaway Kid by r.b. Mitchell

This is the book we are reading in July -- it is a quick read but very thought provoking.  It is amazing to me how much some people accomplish even with very little resources available to them.  Join us for a discussion!

Notable Quotes -- Sweet Erik

Erik is a really kind, gentle boy.  Here are a few things he has said the past couple of days...

1-- While I was getting the kids dressed in the morning.  Lainey was wearing a dress for the day... "Mommy, Lainey is my favorite princess.  I love her."

2--  I was joking around with Erik this afternoon about his name...  Fred, Frank, Charles, Ralph, Victor? All were met with lots of giggling until I mentioned Victor.  He stopped and very seriously said.  "I like Victor mommy.  I really love it when he gives me hugs."

3-- I had just gotten back from the gym.   When Erik noticed I was home he looked up and said, "Mommy, I'll always love you."


We love you too sweet boy!  I hope you never lose the tender side of you.

Daddy's Girl

Lainey is spirited and passionate about quite a few things.  She has developed a strong opinion regarding her favorite parent -- at least for the moment.

Here is a video of her making her opinion clear....

 

Daddy's Girl?

Notable Quotes

Erik is so fun right now.  He makes up crazy stories all day long.  He also loves to sing.  His songs are about random things -- typically he sings about whatever is in the room at the moment.

Here are a couple of cute things he said today...

1--  "Mommy, did you know that jesus made you?"

We started putting the kids in Sunday school (instead of bringing them into church with us).  Erik loves it!  He remembers things from week to week and reminds of what the teacher taught him.

2-- "Sean, you are scaring my sister."

Sweet Erik trying to make sure Lainey wasn't scared by Sean who was kind of shrieking loudly in the car on the way to the fireworks.  Lainey was not at all scared but I love that Erik wants to protect her.  Lainey you are a lucky girl!

3-- "Mommy, I really love Allison."

Allison is our awesome babysitter.  She just graduated from grad school and will be less available to babysit soon but we will use her as long as we can.  Erik has always been a little anxious when I leave him but he loves Allison so much that he asks about her all week; asking when she is coming next.  So cute!

Happy 4th of July!

We have had a lot of fun this weekend and still have one more day with Victor home!  Yay!

We kicked off the weekend with a trip to the pool.  Erik is brave enough to swim by himself (with a life jacket) this summer.  This makes trips to the pool more fun.  Lainey loves the water too.  She wants to swim by herself too --- maybe next summer baby!

Saturday I had an appointment to get my haircut in downtown DC.  We didn't have any other plans for the day so the we all went downtown for the day.   Erik loves riding the metro so we always take the train to get downtown when he is with us.

The national mall is a great place to go with kids.  Lots of open space to run and play.   Neat museums that are all free so it doesn't matter if you spend 10 minutes or 2 hours in them.

"Riding" in the passenger car 

American History Museum

        3D I-Max Movie - Dinosaurs 

Natural History Museum

Erik loved the movie.  He was so funny to watch.  He kept ducking out of the way of dinosaurs and sitting at the edge of his seat.  He wasn't really scared (didn't want to sit on my lap or leave the theater) but he kept trying to get out of the way.

If you asked him what the movie is about he will tell you, "The dinosaur with feathers got pushed down the hill by the other dinosaur but he got back up again."  

This was a scene of dinosaurs fighting over food -- the dinosaur with feathers did NOT get back up again.  I am glad Erik's glass is still half full! :) 

Erik rode the carousal on the mall for the first time.

It spins really fast and is loooong ride.

You won't catch me on it -- good thing Victor likes spinning rides.

Can you find Erik below?

Sunday, the 4th we had James and Sean over for PJ, popcorn, and movie night.  Toy Story 2 was watched.  Erik didn't move off of the couch.  James and Sean watched most of it but played with toys part of the time too.  

After the movie was over we, along with Karen and Sean, headed to the Pentagon to watch the fireworks.   We were able to watch the DC fireworks from the "roof" of the Pentagon.  It wasn't the top of the actual Pentagon but the courtyard area on the 2nd floor.  I am not exactly sure how to describe it.

It was perfect!  We had a great view of the fireworks but the noise level wasn't overwhelming.  Plus the crowds were much better than downtown.  I was afraid traffic would be horrible on the way home but we were able to get in the HOV lanes and made it home in less than 10 minutes.  I think that is the fastest I have ever made it home from the Pentagon.  

Thanks for joining us Karen and Sean!  We had a blast!

Yep -- you blinked Karen!  Still cute though!

I hope you all had a fun fourth of July too!!