Christmas 2013

Our Christmas festivities were intense and long, but I am happy to report that everyone in my little crew were happy and healthy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Lainey gave us a scare Sunday and Monday with a nasty cold, but she woke up virtually snot free Christmas Eve morning...a lovely Christmas miracle. Nick is back on the sick train with a horrible cold, but we just returned from the doctor and he is ear infection free...for now. Maybe New Year miracle for him tomorrow?

 

We celebrated in Moline this year and Lainey and Nick got lots of quality time with their cousins. Lainey still adores her cousin Amelia (I think she said her name about a million times over three days) and is now old enough that she and Oliver can pal around and play. Nick and Eleanor got along quite well, too!

 

We took the kids to get the obligatory Santa picture...I think this may be a Moline holiday tradition, because it's so fast and easy at the mall there. Who wants to wait in a long line for a picture that's probably not going to be that great? There were no tears this year, but Lainey was still leary of the big guy. Nick rolled with it for the most part, but getting them both to look at the camera and smile was impossible. You can check out the result below. Good enough, I say.

 

The kids enjoyed an overflow of presents Christmas Eve night from the family and Christmas Day from Santa (Lainey finally decided to be on the "nice" list - whew!). Mid-morning we bundled up and headed over to Uncle Tim and Aunt Rebecca's for some sledding fun. Lainey LOVED it! We couldn't get her inside. It was back to Grandma and Grandpa's for nap time and then back to Tim and Rebecca's for dinner and lots of play for the kids. Lainey enjoyed watching her big cousins Jacob and Ben play guitar hero and checking out Ben's new drum set. She also played her first games of hide-and-seek, sticking close to Amelia (and kinda' ruining Amelia's hiding as a result). It was awesome watching all of them hang out and interact. As we were leaving to head back to for bedtime,  Lainey said, "Daddy, I had so much FUN!" Aaawwww...

 

After a quick birthday celebration for Amelia and Oliver Thursday morning, it was time to head back to Chicago where Dad and Sharon were waiting for us. We rushed through another huge stack of gifts (my kids are nothing if not spoiled), while skyping with Uncle Chris. It was a whirlwind! But, Lainey got her most prized possession of Christmas, a pink acoustic guitar from Grandpa! Stay tuned for some video of her strumming and singing "Oh my darlin', Clementine." Spoiler alert...it's adorable!!!

 

Dad and Sharon stayed through the weekend and headed back yesterday. So, things have been all over the place for the past week or so, but it's all been worth it for the kids to have some great quality time with our loved ones. Now on to 2014...hoping for good health and cheer!!!

 

Eleanor and Nick Having Some Fun

Elaine is keeping her distance...

 

Enjoying her first candy cane with her idol, Amelia



Guitar from Grandpa...our little folk singer

Nick is 9 Months!

Another month has flown by in little Nick's life. This last one has been rough on him, so here's hoping for a brighter path to month 10.

We did his 9-month check-up on December 9, but I've been holding his stats for the official monthly update. He's 21 lbs. 6 oz. (75% - although I suspect this has gone done a bit over the last week, what with the whole eating strike and all). He's still topping the charts in length  (29.5" / 95%) and head circumference (18 3/8" / <95%).

Nick is crawling everywhere now and is starting to pull himself up, but hasn't gotten all the way to his feet yet. He's taking on finger foods like a champ and pretty much attacked Mark's pizza last night. So, we may get that weight back before we know it. The teeth that we've been swearing are coming in for the last two months are still nowhere to be seen, but he continues to gnaw on anything in arm's reach and to soak his shirt in drool.

In less fun news, I think his "dream baby" days are over. I don't know if it was the extra attention at Thanksgiving, all the illnesses, or just his age, but he has become pretty demanding. Where he once was happy to play alone where ever I decided to plop him, separation anxiety has reared its ugly head and he mostly wants to be right by my side. Nap time was always a breeze, but now takes some extra rocking, swaying, and back rubbing. He also has a new and inexplicable hatred for putting on his jammies at night. He wails and screams and fights during this once perfectly calm and lovely nighttime ritual. The worst of it all, however, is he's back to waking at 4:00 - 4:30 AM every day. Last Friday, not only did he rise at 4:30 AM, he screamed every time I sat down. If I was walking, he would collapse against my shoulder and sleep, but the minute I tried to take a load off, he would erupt. As soon as I took that first step to continue pacing, he was right back asleep. I finally got Mark up at 5:30 AM to switch.

But, in spite of his new found fussiness, he's still a joy and watching his new feats and daily discoveries is awesome. We love our little buddy!

School Photos

It's once again school picture time at CLP. Nick is looking pretty good in them, but the ones of Lainey make me cringe a bit. But, in spite of the heinous background and Lainey's odd expressions and "unique" hair style, we still shelled out the $100 to buy a DVD with the images (this was actually the most economic option).  Yes, we are suckers.

This one is pretty cute

Not Lainey's best angle

Little Buddy

Nick worked it!

Not so bad...

I don't know where to start with this one...

Magical World of Make Believe

Elaine had a special visit this past Friday from the Binky Fairy. We had been talking about her impending visit since October to build Lainey up for the big event. She had seemed on-board with the whole idea until last Wednesday, when I think it finally clicked that the Binky Fairy was going to take all of her pacifiers and leave a present--not bring her new ones along with a present. Her attitude changed abruptly once this was clear to her.

Friday night, we collected all of her binkies in a basket (I let her keep one in her mouth for the final farewell). But, when we got up to her room she snatched them all, ran to her bed and laid down on top of them. Knowing this would present a problem for the Binky Fairy later, I finally coaxed her into just keeping one in her hand, one in her mouth and returning the rest to the basket. The stealthy Binky Fairy collected all five binkies a few hours later and left a Princess Sofia doll in their place. The night didn't go very smoothly and Lainey ended up in our bed, but she hasn't so much as asked for a binky since. Guess the Binky Fairy could have come sooner.

Keeping with the theme of magical beings who come bearing gifts, I helped Lainey pen her very first letter to Santa on Saturday (see below). I think her list is a reasonable, although I question the integrity of her opening statement. Of course, the term "awhile" leaves wide room for interpretation. Using Santa as a disciplinary aid hasn't really worked on our girl. Last night when I asked if she was going to be on Santa's good list or bad list, she proudly told me she was on the "bad" list, said "guess no presents for me" and happily went on about her business. I probably shouldn't invoke the "lump of coal" threat anyway, since her behavior would have to get pretty extreme before I would follow through on it. I was just hoping to buy a few easy outs during the holiday season. Maybe the Easter Bunny will have more impact on her...

Crayon colors chosen by Lainey

Amoxicillin...Music to My Ears

Never in my wildest thoughts would I have imagined feeling relief at the diagnosis of a double ear infection. But after a stressful and worrisome 48 hours when Nick suddenly refused to eat and we thought his RSV had made a resurgence and escalated to pneumonia, I was almost happy to hear the news. Ear infections can be treated. Ear infections I know and understand. I expect to have another bumpy night tonight, but tomorrow the antibiotics should start bringing him (and me) some relief. He'll take his last dose Christmas morning. That's all the gift I need. 

Quick Hits

I would love nothing more than to spend some quiet time typing away a updates on our world, but I am incredibly tired from an incredibly long 2 1/2 weeks as our poor Nick has fought eye infections, an ear infection, impetigo, and RSV, which after slight improvement seems to be worsening. I think we'll be back to our favorite weekend destination, Town & Country Pediatrics, tomorrow--wouldn't be a weekend without it.

But, there have been some great happenings amidst the prescriptions, ointments, inhalers, and boogie wipes. There are two major milestones in particular that need to be documented in this chronicle of my children's lives...

1. Elaine is potty trained!!! I thought the progress we had made was going to completely fall apart over the trip to Ohio and the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving. But, our girl chose the time to ditch the pull-ups and embrace her big girl undies (Disney Princesses and Elmo). She's still wearing a diaper at night and has had a few accidents, but we're super proud of her! Go Lainey!
2. Nick is crawling!!! He finally progressed past his army crawl and got up on those hand and knees last Saturday. The wood floors slip him up a bit, so he still prefers to slither than crawl, but I'm officially marking this off his developmental check list. And we are officially overdue for baby proofing this place. Nick's been very helpful in showing us where we need improvement in that department. Like when Mark innocently left his steaming hot cup of coffee on the floor and turned his back for 5 seconds. Nick came very close to adding a scalded hand to his list of ailments. 

And that is where I leave you tonight dear friends. My bed is calling my name.

I've Still Got It

After a challenging few weeks with way too many work hours, much too little sleep, and a very sick baby boy (who finally seems to be on the mend), I had a much deserved girls night out on Saturday. The group was smaller than our usual holiday dinner, but, while I missed some faces, it was nice to have an intimate group where everyone could talk collectively. Our awesome planner for the evening, Kristen, picked a great spot, Bento Box,with a prix fixe, chef's choice menu. After a long hiatus from any grown-up evenings in the city, it was just what the doctor ordered.

But, as much as I enjoyed the food and the company, I'll admit my favorite part of the evening was at the bar across the street before anyone had even shown up. As I sat waiting for my lovely, female companions for the evening, an adorable, if somewhat (okay very) inebriated, guy sidled up to my table and tried hitting on me. Of course, I made it known that I was married with two beautiful children, but it still felt nice to get noticed (and by a guy, whom I suspect was quite a bit younger than me). Plus, he was a complete sweetheart and very appropriate, so no harm done. We ended up talking about whether or not he should try online dating or if that was creepy. Good luck to you bar guy, whose name I can't remember!

This Saturday is Mark's night out with the guys...let's see if some young thing tries to pick him up (or maybe not).