White Christmas

We had a happy, successful trip to Ohio for Christmas! Lainey traveled well and was spoiled beyond belief! Even though I scolded their overindulgence, Uncle Chris and Uncle Sean get mega points for buying all soundless toys. (And it just so happens that the duplo Legos and animal pop-up are her favorites.) Grandpa didn't hold back either. He was shameless in showering his little granddaughter with gifts. Our apartment currently looks like a ravaged Toys R Us.

Elaine had a blast leading her Uncle Chris all around the house and having him do her bidding. "Sit down. Walk. Up." And I enjoyed sitting on my rear and letting him do the heavy lifting with her (thanks again, Chris!).

Of course Grandpa got his fair share of being bossed around with some cuddling in between. Although I don't think he ever managed to get that kiss. Elaine is a real Scrooge with her kisses lately.

A big snow storm hit Ohio on Wednesday and while it made our travel back to Chicago a little harrowing the first few hours, it also gave us a chance to get Lainey out into the white stuff for some play. I was very happy, because my gift to Mark was a sled for Lainey. It may seem strange to most to give him a gift for her, but he'd been talking non-stop about playing in the snow with her. He loved it! As suspected, we probably spent an equal amount of time dressing Lainey for the outdoors as we spent at play, but it was worth it. She was adorable in her little snow pants.

The real gift Mark and I gave each other was sending Lainey to daycare on Thursday even though we didn't go to work. We love our little peanut to pieces, but it was nice having time to ourselves. It was our first full day alone in exactly 18 months. We didn't have any great adventures--just went back to sleep after dropping Lainey off, had a nice lunch, and then watched a movie on the couch. It was awesome!

So onward and upward to 2013! I just know our luck is going to take a change for the better. Lainey will return to sleeping, we'll find the perfect house, and best of all, we'll welcome Baby Brandi #2!!!

Kisses from Uncle Chris

Lainey loved her rocking horse from Santa!

 

Sitting pretty

Checking out the tree with Grandpa

So much snow!

Yummy! (We're teaching her to avoid the yellow stuff!)

Happy family! Merry Christmas!

Lainey won...

At 5:40 a.m., I caved and brought Lainey into the guest bed with me. After two more battles at 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. (mercifully much shorter than the big round), I just didn't have it in me any more when she started screaming again. I got 30 minutes of restful sleep before we had to rise and shine. Maybe tonight will be better...

WARNING: Carbon Monoxide

I had planned to post a happy retelling of Christmas in Ohio tonight, but a run in with a gas issue with our stove and then a computer that didn't want to connect to the Internet derailed my plans.

Around 7:00 p.m.the carbon monoxide monitor went off in Lainey's room. There's no gas source in there, so we assumed it was just an issue with the detector. Mark took it down and stuck the one from the guest room in her room. About 10 minutes later, it went off. And kept going off. Long story short, after a visit from the fire department and gas company, it was determined there's a blockage on our broiler, which I'd used to make dinner. We were never in real danger. Per the fire department team the carbon monoxide levels weren't high enough to make us sick. Our landlord is supposedly getting it fixed tomorrow (we'll see about that). He was actually a pretty big jerk about it and got mad that we called 311 to talk to the fire department. He said we should have called him first to let him investigate. Ummm...no. I'm not messing around with something like this. And unless he has a CO reader and expertise, I'm not trusting his opinion.

At the moment, it's 2:07 a.m. and I'm about an hour and 55 minutes into trying the extinction method to get Lainey sleeping at night again. This is not fun, but we're out of options. It's been over 5 weeks since she slept through the night. She had a three week bought with various illnesses that just completely destroyed her sleep routine. After getting used to us cuddling and rocking to comfort her during all the sickies, she didn't want to go back to the old ways. We had her to the point where she would sleep in her crib (as opposed to our bed) as long as Mark or I slept on the floor next to her. Not really a sustainable situation. So, with music playing in my ears and blogging on my phone, I'm desperately trying to distract myself from the shrill screams of "Mommy" coming from my sweet girl. Sorry, honey, this is for your own good, too.

Anyway, I promise to get around to posting Christmas pictures and details from our Ohio trip (which, glory of glory, did not involve a trip to urgent care for a sick Lainey). But, maybe not tomorrow...I think I'll be kind of tired...

Merry Christmas!

"Don we now our gay apparel"...or not.

Merry Christmas from Mark, Kylie, and Lainey

Consider this your Christmas card from the Brandi household. I sat down to begin the design and ordering process of holiday cards about two weeks ago at 9:00 p.m. (because when else would I do it). As I started sifting through designs and photos, I got crankier and crankier and thought, "why am I forcing myself to do this?" The spirit just wasn't there. So, I flipped over to Toys for Tots and donated the money I would have spent on the cards. Then I got a bowl of ice cream and watched 30 Rock, before stumbling off to bed.

I feel a little bit like a loser for not sucking it up and getting the cards ordered and out (especially when we received a beautifully designed card from our friends, the Mackies, who have a brand spankin' new baby boy and a 2 1/2-year-old to chase after). But, I just decided to be selfish on this one. Merry Christmas to me--the gift of time to just veg out. Maybe I'll do Valentine's Day cards...but, don't hold your breath.

Happy Holidays to all our friends and family! You are much loved and thought of every day!

The Fun Doesn't Stop

Well, now I've had my experience at Northwestern Prentice's triage. Because I was induced with Lainey, we went straight to the birthing room (and after hearing all those women last night, I'm leaning towards another induction).

I was having a different kinda' party last night battling a nasty case of the flu. I honestly had no idea how dangerous the flu is for the pregnant set and almost didn't call the doctor. Luckily, as I started feeling increasingly worse yesterday, I finally checked my "when to call" list. Hmmm...all my symptoms were on the list. So, they sent me in and I hit the hospital around 7:30pm. I sent Mark home with Lainey, because "this could take at least an hour or two." Famous last words...11 hours later I called Mark to say I was in a cab coming home.

I started quickly spiraling down at the hospital with fever climbing up. Even though I was shaking with the chills, the nurse stripped me of my coat, blanket, and even my socks to get my temp down and get the baby's heart rate to slow (must not have been too comfy in my tummy for the little one). About an hour later, the doctor came in a gave me some heated blankets--I could have kissed her! Total heaven. But, heaven was brief, because I started having contractions. In went an IV. After a few more tests (EKG and chest x-ray) I was finally left to rest at about 3am and discharged at 6:45am. My nurse and the on-call doctor were awesome. And by 1am, I was the only patient, so I got extra attention.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, poor Mark was battling Elaine through another rocky night of sleep (no need for further explanation. If you read this blog, you already know--our kid doesn't sleep) and looking up flu and pneumonia in pregnancy and freaking himself out. I think he ended up with less sleep than me.

So, our weekend is effectively shot, while I try to get back on my feet. Errands postponed, plans canceled (sorry, O'Grady's), and our place looks like we've been robbed, because we're just letting Elaine run wild.

Just another day in the life. I do think at this point we're owed an illness-free Christmas. Santa, are you listening?

What a week...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Before I get into this past week's events, let me start by saying we had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was awesome. We drove to Moline Tuesday afternoon, Elaine sleeping peacefully for the entire three hour drive. Fully recovered from her ear infection, she slept soundly through two nights and napped long both Wednesday and Thursday (as did I). The picture above shows our happy, healthy, and rested little family right before we headed to Mark's sister's house to enjoy our delicious Thanksgiving dinner (that I didn't lift a finger to prepare). It was the most relaxed and rested I have been since before Elaine was born. It was bliss.

And as I'm thanking Lonnie and Rebecca for their hard work on the meal and reveling in my state of rest, Mark comes into the kitchen with Lainey and says, "I think she feels warm."  She did feel warm. But, she'd been running around with her cousins and was cutting a molar. Surely, if she did have a mild fever it was just the tooth. Right?

Fast forward to 1:00 AM and an unhappy little girl with a temperature of 101.5 degrees that would continue to climb over the course of the day. Once again, we made a holiday trip to the urgent care center to get her checked out and see if maybe another ear infection has cropped up. The doctor looked at her ears first and said they looked fine. They took strep and flu cultures--both came back negative. I'm thinking, okay, so she has a virus. But, the doctor second-guessed himself and decided to diagnose antibiotics just in case it was her ears. Against my mother's instinct, we went ahead and filled the prescription and started her on the meds. By Sunday morning, when she still had a fever over 102 degrees, we decided to take her to her regular pediatrician who confirmed her ears were fine and she just had a virus. She had us stopped the antibiotics and said these things usually clear in 72 hours (which the fever did almost to the hour).

But, we still had a problem. Lainey couldn't go to daycare until she was fever free for 24 hours. Neither Mark nor I could possibly miss work on Monday. Now on my third day averaging about 4 hours of sleep, I had spent much of the morning crying and stressing over how to get in touch with an emergency nanny, knowing the service provided through our daycare didn't take calls until 9am Monday morning (and also knowing the last time we used this service, we were very unhappy with the woman they sent). Finally, through my sniffles, I asked Mark, "do you think your mom could come for a few days or is that stupid?"  It was not stupid. And, Lonnie, my wonderful mother-in-law got in her car that Sunday afternoon and drove the three hours to Chicago to be our savior. And acted as if we were doing her a favor. Knowing we had Lonnie around to care for Lainey allowed me to unclench a bit and enjoy the four hours of sleep she let me get that night. Lainey had a fun Monday playing with Grandma, and Mark and I went to work without feeling guilty about leaving our sick daughter with a stranger. Thanks again, Lonnie! It really meant the world to us!

So, with our little peewee feeling all better, you'd think she'd hop back on that sleep wagon. Alas, not so much. It has been a very, very long week. Maybe she's just trying to keep me primed for when the new little one arrives. We were all geared up to do a little "crying it out" again tonight (we have to do this after most of her ear infections to get her back on track), until...

...Lainey and I got home and couldn't get into our apartment because the lock was broken. I'm not going to get into the whole background on this situation, but when our landlord still didn't have the door open for us at 6:30pm, I sent a text to Mark at work and told him to take a cab home, because we needed to get Lainey somewhere for dinner. Mark finally arrived at 7:00pm (no cabs to be found downtown) and we rushed off to a nearby restaurant. By the time we had our food it was 7:30pm--Lainey usually eats at 6:00pm and goes to bed by 7:30pm, so I'll let you imagine her temperament at this point. But, I have to hand it to her, she behaved pretty well considering. I don't think I've ever seen her eat so fast in my life though--and my girl knows how to put down her food. She's sleeping peacefully now, and I'm hoping it lasts through the night. But, if not? I'm not letting her "cry it out." She can come sleep in the bed with Mommy and Daddy again tonight. She deserves some extra cuddles.

I'm hoping the weekend looks up from here (even though both Mark and I brought home bags full of work for the weekend, and we have a very long personal "to do" list to accomplish). But, it IS the holiday season, so I'm going to try to keep the bah-humbugs away and put the "want to dos" ahead of my "have to dos." Looks like that laundry may not get folded again this week...

Dude Looks Like a Lady

For some unknown reason, Lainey has started calling Mark "mommy." I'm still "mommy," and if you ask her "where's daddy?," she looks for Mark. So, she knows the difference. But, no matter how many times we correct her, and much to Mark's chagrin, she continues to greet him with an enthusiastic "MOMMY!". We'll see how long this lasts...

Here's a picture of our girl and her mommy getting in some story time...

The Week in Review...

It's been a LOOOONG one...

SATURDAY/SUNDAY:  Our week of fun kicked off last Saturday night, when Mark got hit with the stomach flu around 9:30pm. After getting him settled in bed (and cleaning the bathroom), I headed off to the guest bedroom for the night. I was taking no chances on catching another round of that nastiness. (Mark did offer to sleep in the guest room, but I insisted. I knew from just going through this that he wasn't actually going to be doing much sleeping and deserved to have the t.v.)

I tried to keep Lainey out of the house much of Sunday morning, so he could get some rest. We had a pretty good time running some easy errands and playing in the park. Her cold seemed to be a little more pronounced than the day before, but she was in good spirits and active as usual. VERY active, so I was pretty wiped by the end of the day and looking forward to a nice, solid night of sleep...

MONDAY/TUESDAY:  Tired...so, so tired. Elaine woke for the first time at 9:30pm. Then a little after 10pm. By midnight I knew what I was trying to deny...Elaine was battling her umpteenth ear infection (damn cold). I managed to dose her ibuprofen in the near dark, while rocking her in one arm to keep her calm so she didn't wake her sick father. I got a good three hours of sleep out of her, before we were back up again at 3am...and that was the last I saw of my bed.

Mark stayed home Monday to finish his recovery. I started Elaine on her ear drops (we should buy stock in the pharm company that makes Ciprodex) and took her off to daycare. Although not 100% and short on sleep, she was happy and talkative and no worse for the wear  She almost made it through the day before spiking a fever at 4pm. Mark picked her up, and I managed to snag an 8pm appointment at the pediatrician. At this point, we actually don't have to take her in when she gets and infection, we just start the drops, but because of the fever, we were going to need a note for daycare.

Mark stayed home Tuesday morning with her and I took the afternoon shift, because neither one of use could afford to miss a full day. We probably could have gone ahead and sent her into daycare though. You would have no idea anything was wrong with her. She was very full of energy. So full of energy that evidently she didn't need much sleep, because...

WEDNESDAY: Lainey is up and ready to rock at 4am. After trying to calm her back to sleep with no success, Mark rose at around 4:45am and let me go back to bed, since I hadn't had a full night's sleep since Friday. Not that any additional sleeping was had, because Elaine is so talkative and has no volume control, but the gesture was appreciated.

So, you can imagine both of us we're ready for a good night's sleep Wednesday night. And we were getting it. Until we are roused at 2am by our landlord's shouts outside. Mark stumbles out of bed to go to the bathroom and I'm cursing our landlord in my head for being so inconsiderate, until Mark comes running back in and says "Kylie, get up. The garage is on fire." Turns out it was the garage across the alley from ours, but the flames were pretty massive...enough for three fire trucks. We were only up for about 20 minutes before it was clear that we were safe and there was no need to evacuate. But, we couldn't exactly just go back to sleep, because the firefighters were using our backyard to access the alley and fighting a fire isn't a quiet activity.

Elaine slept through it all. Of course she did. The first night she didn't wake at least once since the past Friday.

THURSDAY: But, she did wake promptly at 5am! What is going on?!!! Is she experiencing a daylight savings throwback this week? I let Mark stay in bed this time and attempted to keep Lainey quiet, so he might actually sleep. Now, we generally don't let her watch t.v., but I thought it might keep her peaceful. Wrong. She was giving commentary of everything on the screen..."BALL! BALL! BALL!...BEAR! Hi, bear! Hi, Bear! Bye-bye bear!...Lion! Rrrroar!" And so on and so forth. It was adorable, but could have been so much more so at 6:30am.

FRIDAY:  So, here we are...FRIDAY! Another early morning, another failed attempt at trying to get her back to sleep. But, we made it. Lainey's snug in bed, Mark and I are lounging on the couch, and relaxation is being had. We did have dinner reservations (cancelled because of Lainey's ear infection), but tonight I'm very happy with pizza and pajamas.

I am sooooo looking forward to next week...

Ten Fingers, Ten Toes

We got to take a peek at our little one today! Everything is absolutely perfect! And this tiny darling was much more cooperative than Lainey at his/her first major photo shoot. The technician practically had me doing handstands trying to get Elaine in the right position for all the vital shots, but this baby only required a few rolls from side to side to get everything we needed.

We stuck to our decision not to find out girl or boy and didn't see any give aways on the screen. Now only 19 weeks to go until due date time!!!

Sweet, little profile

Two, tiny feet

Happy Halloween!!!

Tinkerbell...complete with the attitude!

Our little Tinkerbell partied it up over the weekend! First at daycare on Friday and then at our friends', the Kabances, house on Saturday. While she looks oh-so-sweet here, I really think a WWF outfit would have been more fitting. In fact, her daycare sheet comment yesterday was "Lainey wanted to be a wrestler today. The other kids were not as excited." **Sigh.** Looks like she's keeping her rough and tumble ways for now (but, I have to admit, I kinda' dig that she's tough like that--as long as she doesn't become a bully).

We won't be Trick-or-Treating tonight. I have to work late and she's still too young anyway. We'd just end up with a lot of candy around the house for us to eat and that's the last thing a pregnant lady needs...easily accessible temptations!

Two weekends ago, we made some Jack o' Lanterns. We thought we'd take advantage of the warm weather surge and do it outside with Lainey. But, the distractions were too much for her and we had to move it back inside. Hard to make any carving progress when the wee one keeps darting for the street.

All-in-all a much brighter Halloween than last year! And I know that if Mom can see Lainey's antics, she's been tickled lately. I can hear her in my head all the time saying "She's too much, Kylie, she's just too much!"

Helping dig out the seeds!

The finished products!

Butterflies

I had to wait until almost 22 weeks to feel Elaine moving about in my belly, but those familiar flutters started last week and are building in frequency and strength. Looks like this little one is already working those legs muscles with a fervor. S/he must know Lainey will be a tough big sister to keep up with and is starting endurance training now.

And the mystery of "he" or "she" will remain just that until we all meet for the first time! Mark and I decided to keep the suspense going this time and to wait until the baby's birthday for the big reveal. My mom would gave been very happy with our choice. . .

Family Daze

The past month has kept us busy with lots of visits from our beloved family members! Uncle Chris came across the pond at the end of September; my Dad and his girlfriend Sharon took advantage of a free weekend (OSU was playing away) and drove up two weekends ago; and Aunt Rebecca, Uncle Tim, Jacob and Ben were super troopers and made a day trip over last Saturday. Elaine loved all her visitors and the extra attention.

Chris got the most mundane of activities, but he had friends to visit while he was here, so I didn't feel too bad about not planning anything (and I did treat him to a marathon of Honey Boo Boo).

We hit the Chicago Botanical Garden, Logan Square Farmer's Market and the Bucktown Apple Pie Contest with Dad and Sharon. Of course, it rained the whole weekend for the first time in probably two months. We managed to just avoid the rain at the garden, but got stuck under an awning for about 20 minutes at the farmer's market and had to do a mad rush into the pie contest, as a down pour broke loose just as we arrived. Fun was still had by all! Extra bonus for Mark and me:  we got out to see a movie at an actual movie theater Saturday nights, while Dad and Sharon babysat and watched the OSU game. We saw Looper, which I wasn't really excited about seeing, but turned out to be a pretty great flick.

And last, but certainly not least, the Kammler crew popped over on Saturday for a day in Chicago. We hit up Dunlay's on the Square for lunch and then I headed home with Lainey for her nap, while the rest went down to check out the Willis Tower (or Sears Tower, if you're still in protest of the name change) Skydeck. From how it was relayed, the lines were ridiculous, but the experience was awesome! I'm kinda' jealous I didn't go, but did enjoy a very long, very cuddly nap with my little girl. We topped off the day with a trip to Pequod's, our favorite pizza in the city. Lainey had so much fun laughing at her cousins silly faces and playing games (like handing a bowl back and forth with Jacob--over and over and over--thanks for being patient and humoring her, Jacob!).

I'm sad to say, I didn't get any pictures last weekend with Lainey and her aunt, uncle and cousins. But, I have a few from the other weekends. Enjoy!

Lainey and Uncle Chris at Palmer Square

Lainey and Grandpa at the Chicago Botanical Garden



Lainey was trying to lift the concrete spheres - she wasn't successful.
(But, she was adorable trying!)



7 Musings

I had meant to write and post this the night before Lainey’s first birthday, but it kinda’ got pushed down on the “to do” list.

Parenthood is hard (as everyone will tell you). It has its ups and downs. But, every morning when I see Lainey’s big grin and her sweet little arms reaching for me, I am thankful for the awesome blessing of being her mom. The bigger she gets, the harder it is for me to believe that I half-created this amazing person and grew her in my belly for over nine months!

Things I’ve learned since Elaine joined our world…

#1:  I love Elaine every second of every day, but I don’t always love being a mom…

There I said it. Gasp if you must. Don’t get me wrong, I never wish I didn’t choose to be a mother, but there are definitely times when I wish I could take a few days vacation from the job. And I call it a job, because it is work. Work with unbelievable rewards and benefits, but still very, very hard work. And I think it’s okay to acknowledge that aspect and not always be thrilled to be up at 5:30am on a Saturday morning listening to the activity table cheerfully sing, “Hellooooo, the phone is ringing, so I say helloooooo!”—over and over and over. (The play kitchen has some great ditties, too. )

#2:  I spent way too much time and energy stressing over breastfeeding…

I was more frustrated and cried harder over this struggle than anything else as a new mother. And now I see how silly I was being. Is breastmilk best? Yes. Is it more economical? Hell, yes. Would Elaine really have suffered if I’d put her on formula earlier or would we have had to declare bankruptcy? No. She would have been fine and we’d have still paid our mortgage. And I would have been a much happier and more relaxed mama. I honestly believe that the pressure I put on this single aspect of mothering Lainey ultimately hurt my relationship with her in those first months. In my effort to do what was “best” for her, I prevented myself from just enjoying being with her tiny little self.

So friends, remind me of this when #2 makes his/her appearance this spring.

#3:  I spent way too much time and energy stressing in general…

Is she eating enough? Is she eating too much? Is she too hot? Too cold? Why won’t she sleep? Why is she sleeping so much? Why hasn’t she rolled over? She rolls over and now she sleeps on her stomach! SHE’S TOO YOUNG TO SLEEP ON HER STOMACH!!!

You get the picture. I had promised myself before I had Lainey that I wouldn’t read all the parenting books. A promise I should have kept. Every time I picked up a book on sleeping or eating or whatever I was trying to figure out that week, I would go into a tailspin over everything I was doing “wrong” according to this doctor or that expert. In the end, good parenting isn’t rocket science. Kids are resilient. At the very basic level what they need is love, food, and clean diapers. The rest works itself out.

Again friends, I ask you to remind me of this around March 2

#4:  Being a working mom is tough…
I miss my girl. I miss important moments—she took her first steps at daycare. I have to cram all the errands and housework into nights and weekends. Sometimes, actually quite often, I get really frustrated that I can’t keep up. For the first few months back at work, I felt totally overwhelmed and like I was doing everything half-assed. Then I got really good advice from my friend, Maggie, who told me you have to lower your expectations. And she was right. Life has changed. I’m sure there are some people out there who can be the Super Mom (or Dad) and work all day, come home make a gourmet meal, and keep a spotless home all before making handmade holiday gifts for all the neighbors. But, I’m not that lady. Want to be. Wish I were. But, I’m not and trying to be just makes me feel like a failure.

So, while I’m not always good about it, I try to let the chores slide in favor of more face time with Elaine or fun family outings or even 30 minutes of mindless tv. Five years from now am I going to remember that I didn’t fold laundry for two weeks? No, but I will remember Lainey’s first trip to the pool and our evening playtime. And her kisses and hugs give me infinitely more satisfaction that a clean kitchen.  Not to mention watching a little reality tv or other parents during a trip to the zoo can really boost your self-esteem. You realize maybe you’re not doing so horribly after all. 

#5:  But, working has its rewards…

I get quiet time to myself during the commute to read, check email, or just stare into space.

I get adult interaction (although some adults behave no better than a screaming child).

I can run a few errands during the day or take care of online things without Lainey trying to steal the laptop.

I’m really good at my job and that feels really good and makes me more confident as a person, and therefore, as a mother.

I get MONEY!

#6:  Just because it seems like everyone else is doing it better, doesn’t mean they are...

And if they are, so what? I went through a lot days thinking I was the only hot mess of a new mama out there. I still do. There are nights (although much further apart these day) when I have a meltdown and pout about how I can’t do it and don’t understand how everyone else handles it all so well. And my blessed husband, will say “how do you know they're doing great? You’re doing an awesome job.” Which brings me to #7… 

#7:  I could never do this without a strong partner…

God bless Mark Brandi. I would have been checked into the loony bin long ago without him. His patience (at least with Lainey and me) is endless.  He can come home from the most stressful day,  drop it all at the door and go into full force daddy mode. He can stay out until 2am on a Friday night and still get up at 6:30 the next morning to eat breakfast with Lainey. He hugs me when I’m sad, calms me when I’m angry, and makes me stop and take "me time" when I need it. Simply put, he’s awesome. The best. My main man.

So, kudos to all the single parents out there! You’re amazing, amazing people. I am incredibly fortunate to have a superman on my side.

I think that's probably enough ramblings. Yes, life is very different from before we had Elaine. But, different is good. Different helps you grow. Different makes you appreciate the days that came before and excites you for what lays ahead.

CHOPPED!

I took an impromptu vacation day last Thursday and FINALLY got around to getting a haircut! Nine inches gone and off to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths to help make a wig for some brave woman fighting cancer.

I wish I could say that I endured months upon months of patience to grow my hair to the needed length, but really I just hadn't had time (or wanted to make the time) to fit in a haircut on the weekend. To be even more honest, I forgot about the idea of donating until the hairdresser suggested it.  But, a good deed done, none the less.

I also wish I had taken a "pre" picture with my hair down. Who knows if it will ever be that long again?!

Bye-bye pigtails!

Still long enough to pull up!

DCFS is coming for us...

Turns out we had to get a doctor's note for Elaine's daycare to allow them to serve her 2% milk instead of whole. I was SUPER annoyed and thought it was the daycare being ridiculous (they do have some rather silly policies), but turns out DCFS requires them to serve whole milk to all children under the age of 2. So, I guess if a DCFS agent came in and happend to test the fat content in Lainey's milk cup, the center needs medical back-up that it's okay.

Now, I consider myself to be pretty liberal; you're definitely not going to find any Romney/Ryan bumper stickers around our place (not that I'm thrilled with the other ticket, but that is for another discussion at another time). However, sometimes government regulations go a bit too far, and I have to say it seems a little intrusive to dictate what type of milk must be served to my child.

The doctor's office laughed about it and faxed a letter over. I guess I'll keep a copy on hand at home, just in case we get a surprise visit from DCFS ourselves (Lainey's a screamer...our street is very quiet...you can hear her a block away sometimes).

15 Months and Growing!

Elaine had her 15-month check-up last Wednesday and all is well. Her stats are staying on track...height 75th percentile (31.75"), weight 90th percentile (25.3 lbs.) and head still topping the charts in the 98th percentile (19 1/8"). We're backing her off the whole milk and going with 2%--guess we're trying to keep her from climbing too high on the charts.

Her development is also perfectly where it should be. In fact, and not to brag or anything, she already can do everything on the 16-month Ages & Stages Questionnaire. That's right folks...she's a whole three weeks ahead of the curve. That's why she has such a big head; it's housing a big, beautiful brain! I do have to say that Mark and I have been amazed over that past few weeks at how quickly she's picking up words and is able to understand questions we ask and to follow directions (well, when she wants to...ask her to come put her shoes on, no problem...tell her "no" or "stop" and she won't even glance at us). Last weekend I was sorting laundry and asked Lainey to bring me one of the laundry hampers from the other room. Now, I was just joking, but next thing I know I hear these little grunts of effort and turn to see Lainey pulling a half-full hamper across the room to me.

My favorite new development has to be the emergence of the word "mommy." After months of "dada" and "dadeeee", it's just awesome to hear mommy, mommy, mommy. I can't get enough of it! Although, it makes some things more difficult. It's one thing to ignore her cries when she's resisting bedtime, it's another to deafen my ears to the plaintive cries of "mommmmeeeeee"! Add that to two chubby little hands reaching up from her crib and I'm toast. Let's just say she got to fall asleep in bed with me last night, instead of her crib. Well played, little Lainey, well played.

So, that's a quick update on our girl. Now that I'm back on my feet post-stomach flu, I'll try to get a few more posts in this week. Like how the house hunt is going...oh wait--there is absolutley no news on that front other than we haven't found a house. But, I'm sure I can come up with something to babble on about. In the meantime, enjoy a video of Laineybug playing with daddy (I don't know how she kept her pacifier in her mouth the whole time)!

We are experiencing technical difficulties...

I had well intentioned plans to write a few posts this week about my brother's visit, Lainey's 15-month check-up, and just some random thoughts about my first year of motherhood (that post has been in the works since Lainey's birthday). But, I've been sidelined by a nasty stomach bug. Please stay tuned...

New Addition

The news is officially public wide and far; we're expecting an addition to the family on or around March 22, 2013! We're thrilled (and a little nervous)!

It's been kind of a whirlwind since July. We got the offer on the condo on July 8 and found out I'm pregnant on July 18. If we'd gotten that offer a few days earlier, we may have held off on expanding the family. But, at the end of June we had no expectation that we'd sell any time soon and our plan was always to start trying once Lainey turned one...just turned out we didn't have to try so long this time. : ) Great timing or ridiculous timing, I'm not sure, but I'm going to say great--this assumes we are able to find a house and get move before March.

The house hunting pressure is ON! And that pressure comes just as we move into fall and the market starts slowing. But, I have faith. That perfect gem is out there and we're gonna' find it! We rented a three bedroom apartment, just in case, but I really--I mean REALLY, REALLY, REALLY--do not want to bring my newborn bundle back to this place. Obviously, it's a more than acceptable environment or else we'd never have moved Lainey there, but it's not home and it's never going to be. And I want to bring my baby HOME after the hospital. 

In brighter news, it seems I've made it over the first trimester hurdles of nausea and excessive fatigue. Mark has been absolutely incredible and taking on way more than his share of the domestic duties these past months. I've felt kind of lazy and useless, but on the other hand, I am growing our child inside me, so....  During my sickest days, Lainey seemed to sense my need for quiet time and let me read books to her instead of chasing her wildly about the condo. I had to haul her into the bathroom a few times when I was getting sick, and she would stand next to me and rub my back and then hug me when it was over. Such a sweet girl, my little one.

It's going to be another wild ride, but we are ready for the rollercoaster!
Without further ado, here are the first images of our little butter bean...

Pool, Parks, and the Beach!

I'm finally getting around to recapping the fun adventures of last weekend (just in time to head into the chaos of this weekend).

I was able to slip out of work early last Friday and get home in time to hit the Holstein Pool for our second (and sadly last) dip of the season. When I first got home, I was so tired from the work week, I really was not into the idea of rushing back out. But, thankfully my awesome husband intervened and gave me a push to get going. So glad we went! Lainey loved it even more than last time. We also ran into our good friends Lezlie and Whistler, so that was a fun surprise!

Saturday we headed out to buy a new car seat for Lainey. Instead of going to the Babie R Us near us, we decided to venture a little further out hoping for a better selection. We arrived about 15 minutes before the store opened, but there is a huge park across the street. We headed over and let Lainey chase the squirrels--her new favorite past time. She is such an active little girl these days. She adores being outside (we had multiple tantrums over the weekend when we had to go inside) and loves to run, run, run. Her little legs can't always keep up with her momentum, however, so she had quite a few topples resulting in various scrapes and bruises. By Saturday night, she looked liked she'd been in a bar fight. But, she doesn't let a little bloody knee keep her down. She gets right back up and keeps going!

Sunday night we accepted a last-minute invite from our friends the O'Grady's and headed up to Evanston for a block party. Elaine was on FIRE! She did not sit still from the moment we arrived until the moment we strapped her in her car seat to head home. (It was quite the battle to get some sort of dinner into her belly.) The entire evening she ran up and down the street with a huge smile on her face, waving to everyone and talking non-stop. (It appears she's over her stranger danger). She had the time of her life!

The final adventure on Monday was to head to Montrose Beach--Lainey's first beach visit. We weren't sure how she'd take to the sand and assumed the water would be too cold for her, so we really thought we'd mostly end up in the grassy park area. We were wrong--and slightly underprepared (no swimsuits). Our little bug LOVED the sand and LOVED being in the water. She truly is a water baby. As with the pool, it's sad that we only just made it there on the last weekend of the season. We can still go back if the weather holds, you're just not supposed to swim, because there are no lifeguards.

In between all the big events, we took lots of walks, visited the farmer's market, and just enjoyed being together as a family. It was an awesome weekend and I don't regret for one second not doing any chores and skipping out on several errands (remind me of this Sunday night when I'm exhausted from fitting all those into THIS weekend)!

Below are some pictures from the park and here's a link to our pictures from the beach: Beach Time. They aren't that great. We couldn't get Lainey to look at the camera at all. She was too interested in what was going on around her!

She's got such a great smile!

Beach Baby

The New (Temporary) Place

The move went as well as moves go. Everything got from one place to the other and as far as we know nothing broke (although there is a substantial about of stuff still in boxes). The unpacking was a little more difficult with a busy bee buzzing about the apartment...we'll definitely do the next move on a weekday when Lainey can be safely away at daycare. Adding my mega work week on top of things, the unpacking and organization of the place is still behind where I'd like to be at this point. But, we're settled in enough and chose family fun this weekend over working on the final, lingering boxes. A very good choice indeed! (I'll do another post on some of our adventures once I get around to uploading the pictures...hopefully before the end of the week).

The apartment is fine. It has enough room, so we don't feel cramped. But, it's definitely not home and we're really missing some of the conveniences of our old place...ice maker/water dispenser in the fridge door, garbage disposal, A/C. I honestly think I miss the garbage disposal more than the A/C. Also, the microwave doesn't work, but our landlord was very responsive and brought us a small one to use while he orders a part for the other.

Of course having mild discomfort will just help us keep our eyes on the prize. And now that things should slow down just a bit, we can refocus on househunting and find that perfect place!

So long, 2023...

Our first home...

I'm getting surprisingly emotional about leaving the condo tomorrow. I really didn't think I would. I'm not that sentimental and the plan was always to stay here five years and move on, and anyone who knows me well, knows how I love sticking to a plan. But, as the boxes pile higher and the dust bunnies scurry from closets and under beds, I find myself tearing up.

Part of it is we aren't moving on to a new, better home. We're moving to an apartment, that while nice for what it is, isn't something to jump up and down over (um, we seemed to have missed the small detail that there are no bedroom closets). But the real reason for the tight throat and the quickened pulse is this is where Mark and I started our lives together. This is where we brought our daughter home and have raised her for the past 14 months. And, while I don't regret selling and I know we're doing the right thing, I also know the tears are gonna' flow tomorrow when the condo is empty and we drive that great distance of six blocks to enter our new (temporary, please let it be very temporary) place.

Maybe I'm a little sentimental after all... .

Time to move on...

...in more ways than one. The movers will be at our condo bright and early next Saturday to whisk us away to our temporary digs (hopefully very temporary). The following Monday, Miss Elaine will begin her transition from her beloved Koala room at daycare to the Chimp room down the hall. Time to leave the babies and start mingling with the toddlers!

We met with her new head teacher today and checked out the classroom. It's a bit on the snug side, but it does have windows that face the street. Lainey loves her people watching! Instead of a high chair, she'll sit on a tiny chair at a group table for meals; and instead of a crib, she'll sleep on a cot. I would love to be a fly on the wall to see this all transpire that first week (we'll be sticking to the high chair/crib situation at home). We're happy that one of Lainey's Koala teachers just switched to the Chimp room and  hoping this makes the move easier. Our girl has a bit of "stranger danger" these days. When the new teacher started in her classroom it took her four days to not scream and cry and cling to the other teachers when Ms. Tracy came in the room.

And I do hope the transition does go smoothly, because it's going to be a stressful week. On top of the move, I'll be working from 7:30am-8pm Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday (plus a commute to the 'burbs on two of those days.) So, Mark will basically be playing single parent for the week.

All-in-all we're happy she's making the move. She's bored with the babies and needs new stimulation. She's growing up and becoming her own little person, full of personality! But, the time is going too fast. It seems like just yesterday I was taking her little three-month-old self to CLP for the first time. Before I know it, she'll be getting on that school bus. Sniff, sniff!



Look out Chimps...there's a new boss in town!



The Family Dinner...Urban Myth?

Okay, help me out people. Give me some tips. How do I make a family dinner happen during the week? 'Cause it ain't happening around these parts.

At the very earliest, I get home with the Laineybug at 5:45pm, but usually closer to 6pm. If I really stretch her and she's in a particularly good mood, I can hold off feeding her until 6:30pm. Maybe, just maybe, that will be the one night of the week Mark makes it home before 7pm. So, you might be thinking, "hey, 30 minutes is enough to toss a quick meal together." And I agree. Except Lainey has mommy static cling in the evenings and that makes it hard to get much cooking accomplished. I know I could ignore her whines and tugs at my legs and force her to play on her own, but I don't want to. I'm gone from her all day, so if she wants to hang out and play or cuddle with her mom, then that's what we're gonna' do!

Of course play time means sacrifice at meal time. I'm thankful she gets a hot, balanced meal at daycare, because I'm usually throwing whatever I can make quickly with no real thought to a cohesive meal...some mixed veggies here, a slice of cheese there, a fruit cup to top things off. Still hungry? Uh, here have a peanut butter sandwich. She eats a lot of avocado and tofu, because they're easy to dice and toss on her tray before she has a total metldown. I'm feeding her nutritious stuff and try to hit multiple food groups--although I won't lie, there have been nights she's had just cheerios and milk for dinner--but I still feel bad that I haven't planned a "meal." (QUICK TIP: The Safeway brand of multi-grain Os actually have BETTER nutritionals than Cheerios--so go ahead, save a few bucks. But, I'll admit they don't taste as good.)

So, do I just have to make a choice? Either spend quality 1:1 time with Lainey after work or give up that time, so we can dine as a family? I know there's got to be a way to find a balance...I'm just struggling on how to get there.

Pool Time!

So, it only took us two months, but we FINALLY made it over to Holstein Pool on Sunday to give Elaine her first dip in a big pool. Looks like she's a water baby. She absolutely LOVED it! Not an ounce of trepidation or a single whine...except when it was time to leave. We tried taking her over to the baby wading pool for a bit, but she showed no interest and looked completely bored. So, back to the big pool we went. We pulled her around by her arms and let her kick her little legs. She looked ready to take off and do a few laps on her own!

The weather was perfect, the water was warm, and the pool was crowded. It was so nice to have a few hours of relaxing together as a family! Much needed fun for us all.

She doesn't have a silver spoon, but...

...she likes her purple plastic one just fine! We've been working on using a spoon for about a month, but Elaine's really starting to get the hang of it. She did great with her oatmeal and yogurt tonight--she ate almost the whole bowl on her own! Until about a week ago, we couldn't get her to take more than two bites before reaching into the bowl with her hand. (As you can imagine, oatmeal and yogurt don't make great finger foods, but I was always impressed by how much she managed to get in her mouth.) We still have a way to go before she meets Miss Manners' standards for table etiquette, but we're on the right track!

These are from a few weeks back. You can see the progression from spoon to hand...
and perhaps understand why I don't even bother with a bib.

Holding Pattern

I know people are dying for an update on the housing situation. Unfortunately, I don’t really have one. The good news:  looks like the sale will go through okay. We came to terms on the final contract and the buyer paid the rest of the earnest money yesterday, so that means our appraisal came back okay. Whew!  The bad news:  we’re not much closer on finding a place to live by the end of the month.

The house hunting on Sunday went okay. The last house we saw was in Edgebrook. It was soooooooo close to being perfect! But, not close enough to make an offer. There’s no master bath, which isn’t a deal breaker per se, but the shared bath is really tiny. The house does have the potential to add an addition to the second floor, but who knows how much that would cost…

We’re off to see an apartment tonight, and I’m crossing my fingers we like it, can get a lease signed, and be done. That would take A LOT of stress off the situation. We’ve decided to look at one-year leases that will allow us the option to sublet. Our realtor has advised that there won’t be a ton of inventory coming on the market between now and next year, so we don’t want to run the risk of a short-term sublet running out on us and then having to pick-up and move to a second rental. It’s a risk (what if we can’t find people to sublet when we need them), but I think it’s the most stable option. Plus, rent is MUCH cheaper for one-year leases.

On top our housing stresses, Lainey came down with a viral something or other this week. She was sent home from daycare on Monday morning with a fever.  We had to keep her home Tuesday and Wednesday and hire a temp nanny, because neither Mark nor I could miss any work this week.  So, by paying the nanny (and of course still paying the daycare tuition), I actually paid to work the last two days. Not to mention, I just feel crappy about leaving Lainey with a stranger when she’s sick and needs her mommy the most. Poor thing isn’t sleeping either…poor mom and dad have been averaging about four hours of sleep the last four nights. Crossing my fingers that she’ll be back on track tonight!

Pending and Perturbed

I know I have been absent for the blog for quite sometime, but we've had a busy few weeks.

• Visit from Dad to celebrate Lainey's birthday (and to finally get his Segway tour--I have to admit I had a lot of fun, even wearing the dorky day-glo vest)
• Travel to Moline to celebrate our nephew Ben's birthday (and Lainey's for the second time--but WITH cake!)
• Hectic work schedules and closed daycare on July 5 & 6
• Our annual Pitchfork Festival outing (big shout out to Frank and Lonnie for watching Lainey for two days!)
• Various other social engagments
• Oh yeah, and we accepted an offer on the condo...

Which we're happy about, but has sent us into a stressed-out tailspin. We're still under attorney review and are haggling over some requested buyer credits, so it's not a done deal, but we're hopeful it moves forward. We really, really want it to move forward.

One little problem...where the heck are we gonna' live? If we'd gotten this offer even three weeks earlier, there were several properties out there we were interested in seeing. Now, not so much. It seems everything has been snatched up. So, we've hit the ground looking for short-term rentals or sublets, which are WAY pricier than I had assumed they'd be. Poor research on our part, I guess. We viewed a few places last weekend and found one that would be doable short-term and not blow our budget. But, we can't sign a lease until we get out through the lawyer review and settle on all the terms. Right now, this guy could still walk.

We're hitting the real estate listings hard this weekend with scheduled stops in Andersonville, Evanston, and Edgebrook/Sauganash, which, hello!, I had NO idea about this area and am pretty pumped to check it out. It's still a Chicago zip code, the schools are great, and the houses look awesome and are very much in our price range. There would be some definite trade-offs, but good public schools and beautiful yards may be worth it.

Keep your fingers crossed for us! (And maybe your spare rooms open...we could be homeless on August 29!)

Let Her Eat Cake!!!

So, it had to wait a few days until her tummy recovered, but Elaine finally got her birthday cake this weekend! It was worth the wait...

Happy Birthday, Elaine Rae!

Miss Elaine turned one yesterday! Hurray! Mark and I took the day off and Grandpa Bob came to visit from Ohio. What a day we had...a trip to the park, balloons, and presents--we didn't make it to the cake. We don't know if it was too much excitement, reaction to her immunizations, a case of overeating or just a nasty stomach bug, but right after dinner Lainey lost most of her dinner and then about 30 minutes later lost the rest and her afternoon snack. She was a very sad little girl and I was a very sad mommy. After we got her cleaned up the second time, she drifted off to sleep and that was the end of her birthday celebration. I was really disappointed about the cake--still am. But, as Mark said "the good news is, she isn't disappointed." And it's true. Before she got sick, she had a blast of day (other than that pesky trip to the doctor for her check-up and immunizations). And, we'll get a second shot at the cake this weekend, when we visit Moline.

In other updates...

The newest news on Lainey is she is walking! This actually isn't new news...she's been walking for a few weeks, but we wanted to surprise her grandparents with Skype performances, so I couldn't post before now. I actually knew she had started walking a week before Mark, because she took her first steps at daycare on June 9 and I got video footage from them on June 11. I told the teachers not to tell Mark and kept it under wraps until he could see the action for himself. Aren't I a good wife? She's all over the place now...no stopping her!

In addition to her new moves, she is getting one of her top front teeth and her vocabulary continues to grow "up/down," "mom (not mama)/dada," "hi/bye," and "uh-oh." She also says "gentle" because the teachers at daycare are constantly having to show her how to touch gently instead of smacking other people. Every night I come down the hall to her room and hear "Gentle, Lainey, gentle." She can say the word, but she's still struggling with the concept.

Finally, an update on her stats...today, Elaine weighed in at 23 pounds (90%), 29 3/4 inches (75%), and her head is still sitting large at 18 7/8 inches (over 95%).

Below are some pictures from the birthday festivities (pre-puke...we didn't document that) and the link goes to her 12-month album...enjoy the cuteness! Lainey's 12th Month

She LOVED the balloons!

She also loved her activity table...but, we do not. I discovered today that the music is just too annoying.
We're taking it back and getting the Fisher-Price model. Sorry, Laineybug!

The cake that didn't get eaten. : (

Who Knew Tide is Good for the Hair?

Well, Elaine had a pretty good weekend. A few tantrums, but mostly smiles and giggles and kisses for mom. Which is a good thing, because I had a rough time. Saturday I just didn't feel that great. Nothing serious, but I was low on energy and kinda' achy. Little did I know when I went to bed that I was going to be a whole lotta' achy on Sunday.

Lainey went to bed like a dream Saturday night, so I did a few chores, threw a load of laundry in the dryer and went to bed early, hoping to wake up refreshed in the morning. Ah, the best laid plans...

At 3:15am, I woke to Lainey's cries down the hall. So, I popped up and hustled down the dark hallway to her room. Unbeknownst to me, the full bottle of laundry detergent had fallen from its perch atop our dryer and cracked open, allowing a gallon of thick, slick soap to spread its way across the wood floor of our hallway. I became very aware of the situation when I became airborn and landed--HARD--flat on my back in the puddle of goo.

I was covered in the stuff and in more than a little pain. But, Lainey's cries had turned to frantic screams, so there was no time to wallow in my soap. Luckily, my load of freshly laundered towels were in the dryer, so I slipped and slid to my feet, stripped down and wrapped one towel around my body, another turban-style around my head and then headed in to tend to Lainey.

Usually a quick hug, a slow rock or two, and back to dream land she goes. Not this time. After 15 minutes, I realized I was going to have to put her down and just let her scream, so I could get in the shower and properly rinse.

Back down the hall I went trying to avoid the mess, trying to block out Lainey's screams, and trying to assess the damage to my body. I showered as quickly as possible (and for those who don't know--there is nothing quick about getting a quart of laundry detergent out of your hair), hoping Lainey wasn't rousing our neighbors with her cries. Freshly showered and in dry clothes, I was able to go back to my darling girl and soothe her. It was a process, but I finally got her peacefully sleeping at 4:30am.

Which let me begin the cleaning process!!! As I was on my hands and knees, wiping at the floor and praying the throbbing in my head would stop, I thought of Mark and how he was probably just climbing into bed after enjoying a lovely California wedding reception. I won't lie...I hated him just a little bit at that moment.

It only took about 20 minutes to get the situation in decent enough shape to return to bed and get an awesome hour of sleep before Lainey woke back up at 5:45am. Luckily, she had mercy on me and fell back to sleep next to me on the bed and stayed in blissful slumber until 7:30am--I can't remember the last time she slept past 6:30am. Her mercy continued throughout the day, as she mostly cooperated and entertained herself. I took a lot of Advil, wrapped myself frequently in heating pads, and counted my blessings that I hadn't seriously injured myself.

I feel worse today than yesterday, but am sure the bruises and muscles pains will start to ease by tomorrow. And thank goodness I have Mark back to help with the heavy lifting until I'm tip-top again.

On the bright side...my hair is very soft and shiny.

Temper, Temper

Mark is on his way to California for a friend's wedding, so I'm solo with Laineybug this weekend. And I'm nervous. She has been a holy terror this week. She starts off her usual fun self in the morning--demanding but easily entertained and somewhat cooperative. But, every night she's started her time at home with a whine-fest that quickly breaks into pitiful sobs, which turn into angry, thrashing tantrums that even my most rousing rendition of "Wheels on the Bus" can't tame.

Last night while eating, I mistakenly tried to show her how to hold her spoon. WOW! Clearly the wrong move. This minor correction caused such a crushing blow to her ego that she began the silent, red-faced wail for a good 10 seconds followed by some audible screams just in case I didn't get the message. Meahwhile, she has a mouth full of rice and beans that I'm terrified she is going to suck down her throat. Me thinks we will dine sans utensils tonight.

While last night was no joy, Wednesday bathtime was probably the highlight of the week. Lainey loves her bath. Can't get enough of it. It's my go-to fix when I can't get her out of her funk. Guess she wasn't feeling it on Wednesday. She refused to sit down and spent the whole time sobbing on Mark's shoulder and pulling his hair while I tried to get her scrubbed down and rinsed off. She never stopped fighting us after that..."NO you will NOT put a diaper on me...NO you will NOT put my arms in these PJs...NO I will NOT drink my bottle--oh wait, yes, yes, I will drink that, but don't look at me while I do it" and then, mercifully, she fell into exhausted sleep. It was a lovely evening for all.

We are really hoping this is a short-lived phase. I think it's a combination of her not napping well at daycare and her frustration at knowing what she wants, but not being able to communicate it. Plus, her separation anxiety has become a little more pronounced. She really wants me in the room with her at all times, preferably right by her side, and on the days I drop her at daycare, they practically have to peel her off of me.

So, wish us luck! I know she'll survive...we'll see what kind of shape I'm in by Sunday night. Do wine shops deliver?

Hoping we're both still smiling by Sunday night!