Beware: Infected Household!

It was been an interesting few weeks and there have been a few ups and downs.  Amelia was so happy to get her cast off!  I think she thought that she was just going to have that thing stuck on her leg forever; however, as soon as they sawed it off, she wanted down to try and walk around.  She walks a bit like Frankenstein, but every day she’s improving.  

The rough part of the last two weeks is that Noah caught some nasty flu virus and passed it on to both Amelia and me.  This in and of itself wouldn’t have been so bad if Amelia hadn’t gotten her fifth ear infection in five months.  Yesterday morning she woke up with a really high fever and was pulling on her ear.  I took her to her pediatrician and, sure enough, it was another infection.  They said that it was time to go to an ENT specialist and discuss the possibility of putting tubes in her ears.  When I was leaving the doctor’s office, I got a phone call from Noah’s school nurse saying that he was in a lot of pain and that it looked like HE had an ear infection!  So, I left straight from the doctor’s office to get Noah and then right back to have his ears looked at; he, too, was diagnosed with an ear infection (his first ever).  I knew he was in a lot of pain, because he’s usually not one to complain . . . but he couldn’t stop crying since it hurt so badly.  They prescribed antibiotics, so I headed to our usual pharmacy to fill them.  Upon arriving, I discovered (after waiting in line for 20 minutes with two crying kids) that my prescription card had expired.  So I went home, found the new card, and headed back to an even LONGER line at the pharmacy to find out that they had no record of us under the new plan!  After about two hours of waiting and calling, we FINALLY got the medicine and, boy, did my two kids need it!

I have gotten a lot of feedback from friends and family about how great tubes worked for their kids, so I was okay with hearing the ENT specialist say that Amelia needed tubes.  I didn’t realize it was considered a surgical procedure and she would need to be put under general anesthesia.  Thankfully, the surgery is scheduled for a week from Friday, so Mike will be able to come with us.  They said that right now she has mild hearing loss but that it should improve once the fluid in her ears is cleared.  I was very pleasantly surprised to find out that the surgery, anesthesia and hospital stay are all 100% covered by the insurance we get through McKinsey & Co -- what a drastic change to the insurance we had while Mike was in graduate school!

I haven’t really been worried about her hearing, since every day she is saying more and more words.  One of my favorites scenes:  she has learned how to open the pantry door and will get one of her bowls, a box of cereal and then come up to me and say “Mommy, give more cereal, peezz!”  Another big step she made is that she has started feeding herself!  It really came out of the blue . . . one day she just grabbed the spoon and said “ME!”

On another note, my brother Jason, his wife Emilie and their adorable two little boys (Parker and Preston) stopped by our house for lunch on their way home from Houston.  It was great to see them, even if it was only for a little bit.   I think it is wonderful that all the cousins are so close in age!

A few other pictures from the last two weeks:

They love to play hide-and-seek!

Amelia crawled into the dryer while I facing the other way folding clothes...uh-oh!

We celebrated Mike's Birthday on January 17th.

One Day Left!

Amelia's last day with her leg cast and she walks like a pro! 

Tuckered Out!

Sorry for the long hiatus… December was a crazy month!   Our Christmas break got off to a rocky start – while leaving the gym, Amelia fell and got a “toddler fracture” on her lower left tibia.  Initially, I wasn’t sure what was wrong.  I saw her fall, and the fall itself didn’t look bad; there was no swelling or bruising, but she wouldn’t put any weight on her left leg.  I took her to the ER, and before getting an x-ray, the doctor said it might be a toddler fracture.  A toddler fracture is basically a hairline fracture that happened when the bone goes in a twisting motion.  It didn’t show up on the x-ray, so they sent us on our way, saying it was probably a sprain.  I was not convinced; so after doing more research and finding out that it’s very common for the fracture to not show up in x-rays, I took her back the next morning to her regular physician who agreed with my thoughts.  We were referred to an orthopedic specialist.  Luckily, Mike got home in time to go with us to this appointment.  They said that they needed to do a cast to immobilize Amelia’s leg and that the cast would have to cover her entire leg to ensure it wouldn’t come off.  So, we left their office with Amelia in a full pink leg cast with instructions to come back on January 11^th to have it removed.  It took her a while to try walking with it, but now she’s quite the pro.  I’m so happy we only have a week left until she gets it off!

Since this is the first time we’ve ever had our own home with a fireplace and a real Christmas tree, we decided to spend Christmas in our new house, just the four of us.  It has been an intense couple of months with moving to Texas and Mike starting his job, so it was really wonderful to have “down” time together.  We left for Orange County a couple of days after Christmas to spend the rest of Mike’s time off with his family.  We had such a wonderful time, not only did we get a lot of quality time with his parents and sister, Shelley, but also got to see a lot of friends!  I would say the highlight of the trip was having Mike’s dad, Ray, help with Noah’s Pinewood Derby car!  It looks awesome; I don’t know what we would have done without him!

Grandma Sandy knitted sweaters for Amelia and Noah; they both LOVED them!

The weather was PERFECT while we were there – close to 80 degrees and sunny every day!  We took Noah to Knott’s Berry Farm theme park and had a really fun time before it got really crowded.  Mike’s mom, Nancy, is an amazing cook, and we enjoyed so many goods meals.  Not only did our suitcases come back packed with presents, but I pretty sure we gained a few pounds … which were totally worth it!

We got an exciting gift from Mike's Grandma Sandy!  She makes beautiful quilts, but the one she gave us for Christmas was extra special . . . she used my Aunt Amy’s kit (see www.amybradleydesigns.com).

Of course, I had to include this year's Santa picture, especially since it took trying over four different weekends.  Mike and I were not planning to be in it but once we TRIED to sit Amelia on Santa's lap, it became very apparent that was not going to happen without her mommy or her puppy!

Most of you know Mike as a guitarist, but when he was in the band "Patton" with four of his best friends he played the drums.  On New Years Eve, we went to a "Patton" reunion party and Mike played drums on one of the songs.  It was so much fun to see him in element with his best friends!  It was an amazing way to ring in the New Year!

A Very Merry Week

We took the kids to North Park Mall in downtown Dallas to see Santa.  We arrived at 10am and were given a ticket and instructions to return at 3:30pm.  When we checked back, they weren’t even halfway to our number.  I asked what time the earliest person arrived to get a ticket and was told 7:30am!  We’re going to try again this weekend and make sure to get there earlier.  They did get to enjoy watching Santa read a story to the children, as well as seeing a puppet show, a children’s choir and a few dance teams perform.

Mike’s office had a Christmas party last Saturday night, and it was so great to be able to meet his coworkers.  We had a wonderful time, it especially nice for me to get to know some of the other wives!  Everyone was so friendly.  There was even some dancing, which I was thrilled about.

Noah’s Boy Scout pack had a float in the Christmas Parade; our den was responsible for making it, so we got to ride in it.  I had never been to A Christmas parade, let alone be a part of it, so it was a really neat experience.  Our theme was “Leave No Trace,” so our float was second to last, and some of the boys walked alongside the float and picked up trash in bags they were carrying.  

A Lot to be Thankful for...

We've had some fun in the last few weeks!  I wish I could do a better job blogging more regularly, but we made the mistake of setting up the computer outside Amelia's door; apparently, hearing keys tapping doesn't exactly lull her to sleep. 

We are fortunate to have wonderful neighbors, and the Nigro family invited us over for Thanksgiving dinner!  It was such an amazing meal, and they made us feel right at home.  Rayna is an awesome cook, and the food was seriously outstanding.  She's inspired me to try new recipes!

The Friday night after Thanksgiving, some other friends in our neighborhood invited us to a skate party at a local inline skating rink.  It was so much fun!  I hadn't been skating in probably at least 10 years, and it was a first for Noah.  He did such a great job!  He's a brave little guy... he kept falling and getting right back up, determined to get the hang of it.  By the end of the evening, he had it down.

Mike surprised me on Saturday with a "Day Date"!  Without me knowing a thing, he got a babysitter and set up the whole date.  I was shocked and very pleased!  We went Rahr & Sons Brewery in Ft. Worth.  They had live music, and with the price of admission, they give you a pint glass to keep and three tastings.  After the brewery, we went to Sundance Square in Ft. Worth and got a much-needed coffee (not accustomed to having three beers in the middle of the afternoon) and walked around the shops.  We ended the date with one of our favorite pastimes, which is to visit a unique grocery store.  It is a completely different experience to go to a grocery store without kids and makes for a cheap date.  When we got home and put the kids to bed, he made me a candlelight dinner that was delicious!  It was truly one of our best dates ever.

 

We have a children's consignment shop close to our house with which I'm obsessed!  I found this kitchen with the food and dishes included for only $20, and it is just like the kitchen I had when I was little!  I'm not sure who was more excited, Noah or Amelia.  They have played with that kitchen for HOURS . . . easily the best $20 I've ever spent!

My brother, Jason had given us two tickets to Medieval Times, so a few days before Thanksgiving we took Noah.  Neither Noah nor I had been before, and it was such a cool experience (perfect for little boys)!  They really put on a neat show that includes a dinner you eat with your hands.  Noah was especially excited because the kingdom we were crowned with won the overall tournament, which he thought was awesome!

  

Yee Haw

We were so happy to have our good friends, Mike and Amber Marion, come stay with us for a few days recently!  They have been driving around the country for the last two and a half months, which I think is so awesome.  They were so great with the kids; they will make amazing parents!  They spent a lot of time coloring, reading and playing with Noah, and Amelia was especially taken with Amber.  I’m so mad at myself for not a getting pictures of all the great interaction.  Luckily, we did get a photo of the four of us the night we went to Billy Bob’s, the “World’s Largest Honkey Tonk.”  That was such a fun night – it was great to walk around Ft. Worth and then see “live” bull riding; we even got to do a little line dancing, something I have wanted to do since moving here.

Poor Amelia has had a rough couple of weeks!  She had a bad ear infection in both ears, a yeast infection and was getting six teeth in at one time.  I’m happy to report that the ear infections and the yeast infection are all cleared up, and we’re just waiting for those last few teeth to break through.  In an attempt to distract her from all the pain, I took her to the aquarium.  She has a had a fascination with fish and fish tanks since she was probably six months old, so her face lit up when she saw the huge tanks!  Part of the aquarium has a tunnel that is all glass.  She has never walked on see-through glass, so when we got to that part, she laid down her tummy and tried to “swim” across.  We had so much fun that I decided it was definitely worth buying the membership!

She was trying as hard as she could to get into the water, if it were up to me, I would have let her!

The first graders at Noah’s school put on a Thanksgiving performance last night.  They have been practicing four songs for the last few weeks, so it was so fun to get to watch him sing while dressed up as a pilgrim! 

Noah and his two best friends.

 

Trick-or-Treat

I can’t believe this is the first time Mike and I have ever dressed up in couple-themed costumes!  It was a lot of fun brainstorming for ideas – not sure how we choose the “Grease” theme, but I think it worked out well.  I’m already thinking of ideas for our costumes next year!

Halloween with little kids is the best – both Noah and Amelia got really into it this year!  This is the first year we did a homemade costume for Noah; it took some convincing, but once it was all put together, he really got into being a zombie.

I wasn’t sure how Amelia would react to wearing a costume.  However, as soon as I showed her what she looked like when she was wearing her ladybug costume, she didn’t want it to come off!  Especially the red glitter shoes . . . those were her favorite part!

I got to award Noah with his first Scouting badge this past week; I think it was great for the boys to stand up in front of the older boys and be recognized!