Poor Molly...and Will...or Maybe it's Poor Mommy!

Monday morning I decided to call and get Will ANOTHER appt with his Dr. I've been noticing over the last week that he is still rubbing his ears, so I was thinking the infections were still around even after a dose of antibiotics. We got an appt at 6:10pm that night. We decided Jeremy would take Will so I could stay home with Molly and feed her and put her to bed. We figured she'd probably need to go down early because....well, where do I start? How about 3:30am that morning when she woke up to eat and did not go back to sleep until 5am. Usually I feed her and put her down and she falls right back to sleep. She seemed "off" for some reason so I wondered how long it would take her...a half hour later I heard her "talking." An hour and a half later, Jeremy was finally able to put her down. This is not a normal thing for her....however, she's been very very congested, probably the worst she's ever been (although it seems like she's been congested since the day she was born). So we figured that was probably making it hard for her to sleep. She was very fussy that day and would not sleep. She was basically awake all day with a few half hour naps here and there....so the chaos of Molly crying, trying to get Will's dinner going early so he could go to the appt., Will breaking down and throwing tantrums b/c HE didn't nap either and was very tired and getting Will and Jeremy out the door all started about 5:15pm...they are on their way, I spend another half hour trying to calm Molly down so she could go to sleep b/c she's exhausted and her eyes are rimmed with red circles...just about to lay her down, she's out...Lady starts barking...and will not stop. Must be the UPS guy that was supposed to be here earlier but is running late. Molly wakes up, crying, won't settle down...finally I say, I'm sorry Molly but I have to get something done...I put her in the crib so I can do some laundry...she cries and cries and cries...so I pick her up...I'm holding her in the laundry room...she settles down and is watching me...there's a huge pile of whites right at my feet...and that's when it happens...Molly throws up EVERYWHERE!!! (Oh I forgot to mention that she ate an ENTIRE jar of sweet potatoes today) She is orange, I am orange, all down the front of me, shirt, pants, everything...oh and that pile of whites? Not white anymore...all ORANGE....I stand in shock for a moment...then strip all my clothes off, strip Molly, throw her in a blanket, pull my bathrobe on and call Jeremy. Tell him to call the dr. and ask if we can bring Molly in for her to check her out at the same time she looks over Will...thankfully they say it's fine. I knew she needed to be seen, with the lack of sleep, all the crying and the throwing up (all behavior that is not her style). So I now have 20 minutes to get dressed, get Molly dressed, figure out a way to get rid of the puke smell all over my arm (and my hair!), get us both in the car and get to the appt by 6:10pm...Not sure what clothes I put on b/c I didn't pay any attention and I threw Molly in to a pair of footed pj's. (Why isn't it acceptable to society that an adult wear footed pj's out in public at times like this? It'd be so easy!) We make it....meet Jeremy in the lobby and within 30 seconds they call Will and Molly (why is it when you're not rushed and early to an appt., they make you wait 45 minutes! but times like this, they can't get you in the room fast enough). So guess what...Will still has an infection in both ears, although it's better, but still there, second round of antibiotics for Will, a different one, and Molly...what's going on with her? Right ear infection!!
I'm not sure how I feel about this...it's good b/c there's an explanation for the crazy behavior and it can be cured with medicine...but soooo bad at the same time. My poor baby girl has basically been sick since she was born and now at 6 months she has her first ear infection...at the same time Will has his first ear infection...except he's almost 3!!!
Poor Molly, poor 2nd child...
Oh and because I know you're curious...whatever happened to all the orange clothes Molly and I were wearing a long with the orange pile of whites on the laundry room floor? That night I spent way too much time moving it all to the bathtub full of cold cold water, letting it soak overnight and then spent way too much time Tuesday morning ringing it all out, spray n' washing it, scrubbing it and then washing all of it...
Yes, it all came out...no more sweet potatoes on all my whites...
So there was a happy ending to this story after all.... :-)

If These Walls Could Talk...

They would tell you that I recently went to a baby shower (see pic above) for my good friend and sorority sister, Karen. I wanted to put this picture at the top of our blog b/c it really shows just how wonderful it is to have such a great group of girlfriends...these are all my AOII girls and an honorary member or future legacy, Molly. Now if you could see everyone up close, you would realize that starting from the left, Kate has a newborn, I have a newborn and 3 year old, AnnMarie in the back is pregnant, Tricia is pregnant, Karen is pregnant, Andra is pregnant, and Anna has a one year old. We're multiplying like crazy! :-) These have been my sisters for nearly 10 years and I want each and every one of you to know you mean the world to me! Alpha Love.
They would tell you that Will spent the night at Grandma's house for the first time this past Friday night. He had such a wonderful time and I think he really understood how special it was for him to do that. He seemed to act like he felt very special and grown up. My mom picked him up early and took him shopping for his "special" blanket and pillow case that is just for him when he spends the night. He picked out Lightening McQueen and even practiced laying his head down on the pillow case, his head had to be right on Lightening McQueen...He had Ken's special spaghetti, which was picked out by Will and then he got to watch Movies like you wouldn't believe. He watched Junglebook, Cars and Toy Story...he got to stay up till 9pm! He doesn't really get the concept of time but I think he undestood that he was up late b/c of how tired he felt and, at home, he NEVER gets to stay up late..I mean NEVER. :-) So this was a real treat for him. The next morning, Grandma and Ken made him Mickey Mouse pancakes, he helped Grandma put out her Easter decorations and she treated him to McDonald's before bringing him home. It was quite a success and we thank you, Mom for spending this time with Will, he truly loves every minute of it and...we hope to plan another little slumber party again soon! :-)

These walls would also say that Molly is beginning to figure out what it means to be "up on all fours." She is really trying to hard to figure out how to become mobile via the knees. From a sitting position she leans way forward, sticks one leg out behind her and then gets stuck with the other leg still crossed in front of her...she starts-a-rocking...but it doesn't go much further than that, she'll stay that way rocking back and forth, but can't quite get up on the second knee...if we help her, she falls down on to her tummy...she just needs a few more muscles...Here's some pics of her trying: Other Molly news is that she had her first stomach bug...at least that's what we think it was. She woke up at 4am and I went in to feed her thinking all was normal and the poor baby girl had gotten sick all over her crib...b/c it was four in the morning, I didn't want to turn all the lights on and clean it up...Molly would never go back to sleep, so I fed her, moved her down to the bottom of the crib and she slept till 9:30am...she was totally normal from the time she woke up...so I think it was a one time thing...Funny thing, I can remember, like it happened yesterday, Will doing this exact same thing..and only one time too. Woke up in the middle of the night, he had gotten sick all over the crib, we moved him to the bottom and he slept till the morning and never acted sick after that...hmmm...maybe it runs in the family....oh, this all happened the night of Jeremy and my 7th anniversary...we've been married for 7 years, but together for 10!! I don't feel old enough to say I've been together with someone for 10 years! :-)
These Henley walls would also tell you that we have hit birthday season...we've been to one or two birthday parties each weekend since the beginning of the year and we even had to miss some! Will must be a much loved boy, cause he has a lot of friends. :-) However, as we've attended these parties, I realized these are our friends too, we are not there just for the 3 year old (or 1 year old-Audrey) but we enjoy meeting new people, seeing other little kids and catching up with all the 'rents...I had to include the following two pictures of our precious little girl and boy...this is on our way to a birthday party...don't get too excited, kiddo's! And lastly...this little tidbit of information would only be out there....If These Walls Could Talk...I've officially lost all of my pregnancy weight! I am very happy to say it's "GONE" after only 6 months...this is a very big deal for me b/c I didn't lose all my Will pregnancy weight until close to a year...I have to admit, I was very very surprised, I thought it would take just as long, if not longer b/c I don't have the time to exercise (gym membership is a complete waste of money) however, I have to give all the credit to the following DVD's (okay and a little bit to myself b/c I actually put the dvd in the player, hit play and did what they told me to do :-) ):

Molly turns 6 Months!!!

Our little Molly Sofia turned 6 months old yesterday...I'm so very proud of our little girl, she is so so sweet and just beautiful. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful little person in my family. She has discovered her voice and is squeeking and ooohhhing and aaahhhing away...she's sitting up great and rolling around like mad...she's down to nursing once at night and is still doing great with solids...so far she's in to rice cereal, oatmeal and squash and carrots. In a few days, we're gonna try green beans...that should be fun. :-) I'm excited for the day when she gets to try something that is actually good...like bananas or applesauce. :-) Molly weighs 16lbs 9oz and is 27 1/8" long. She's still in the 90-95th percentile...long and lean. Her brother weighed a full 3 pounds more than she does! I bought her a few spring time outfits to celebrate her 6 month birthday...I needed something "spring" around here, outside sure isn't showing any signs of it! So I did my own little photo shoot yesterday, usually our camera doesn't do well with close-ups, but yesterday I hit jackpot with Molly! Enjoy our precious baby girl...

So Much is Happening!

I can't believe in just a few short days so much has happened...to start...okay, this snow. Rediculous! Are you kidding me? It's the middle of March...4 inches! Unbelievable...complete blizzard as we were driving home from playgroup on Monday, huge flakes. These are pictures of our backyard, literally days before it was sunny and warm enough that we were in the backyard playing with friends...which is why the trike, lawn mower and baseball tee are on the patio. After it snowed...it's been FREEZING. Freezing for me anyway, mid-20's to 30's...

Moving on, Molly has decided to start exploring the house...by rolling. It's helarious...she can get to anywhere she wants to be, by rolling tummy to back, back to tummy. She enjoys it so much that she gets mad at us if we put her in something constricting, like the exercauser or jumper. So we just take her out and she rolls all over the place. Here, she found my friends new magazine (Here's some free advertising for you Syd.) Sydney and her husband started publishing their own magazine...Golf Today Northwest Addition...this is a magazine that is in other places of the country, but there was no Northwest Addition...if you're interested, let me know and we'll get you started with a subscription...obviously Molly thinks it's a good one! :-)

One more big accomplishment for Molly...she's a solid eating pro!! Well, so far. She eats up the rice cereal and carrots like she hasn't eaten for days. She's so open to the idea that I'm not sure when to stop feeding her! I give her everything I've made and then wonder if I should give her more...usually I don't though. I know that nursing her is still the number one priority. She's eaten through half a box of cereal and 3 jars of carrots. Tomorrow, we'll try squash...if only we all ate as well as our kids! (Will regularly eats red and green peppers for lunch.) Here's Molly happy as can be, after a yummy lunch.

And lastly...our final development. As many of you know, we have been struggling BIG time with Will and napping...he hasn't napped regularly for 2 months...he's probably slept 5 times total. Night time, THANK GOODNESS, is perfectly fine. Well, yesterday afternoon, after one of the most horrible nap times we've had (behaviorally), we noticed Will's eye was all goopy and icky. We immidiately thought pink eye. Which of course, freaked me out b/c it's so contagious. We cleaned it up and thought, we'll see how it is in the morning and keep Will home from preschool and take him to see his doctor. It was better this morning but was a little swollen but the whites weren't very red...I wasn't sure what was happening, so I took him to see Dr. Wu (best pediatrician ever!) She didn't really jump at the idea of pink eye when she saw him. Well, here's what's going on: Will has a double ear infection. A double SEVERE ear infection. She said his left ear was so infected that it started to affect his eye! She said it's hard to know how long the infections have been there, they can get this severe over many many weeks or only a few days. Okay, worst mom award! :-) I had NO IDEA there was anything wrong with his ears, he never tugged at them and never said they hurt. Even right there in the dr's office when I asked him, he said they didn't hurt. Dr. Wu said it is very very likely that Will has not wanted to lay down at naps b/c of his ears...could the solution really be that easy? Please hope and pray for us that it is....Here Will is having a special drink b/c I felt so horrible...(okay, it just has water in it, but he was sooo proud to have a "water coffee cup.")

More Weekend Adventures

Does Will have an older sister?

My friend Katy and her two girls came to visit us on Friday. Katy and I have been friends for a very long time...since highschool. We lost touch for a bit and then Katy came to WSU and joined AOII...we instantly became close friends again. I remember laying on our beds on the porch in the middle of the afternoon talking about anything and everything. After we graduated we lost touch a bit again and then at our 10 year highschool reunion we exchanged emails and we've been emailing and talking ever since. She and Ryan live in Tacoma (Yes! she drove all the way up to see us!) with Ava who is 3 and Ila, 16 months. Will and Ava look so much a like, they could definitely be siblings!! Gorgeous red hair and beautiful blue eyes. Although both Katy and I are browned eye brunettes! We had an absolute wonderful time, the older kids shared and traded toys very well and the little ones just kind of hung around for the ride. We played, ate lunch, walked to the park, played in the backyard and played in the house some more. Will took a marvelous nap afterwards...Mommy was in heaven!

Ila checking out Will's truck.

Molly happy as can be watching her friends.

"The Siblings, Will and Ava"

Using teamwork to pop up the jack in the box.

Will and Ava singing Twinkle, Twinkle.

Will "Home Depot" Henley

Home Depot has Kids Workshop the first Saturday of every month. Will LOVES his tools and building. So Daddy took him to the workshop this morning...they built an HD Speedway...couldn't have been a more perfect project for Will. For each project you complete, they give you a Job Well Done Pin to put on your apron. Below are the adorable pictures from the morning.

Molly's First Experience with Spoons and Food
We've begun the wonderful experiment of solids with Molly, she seems rather receptive to it...she doesn't cry or turn away...but she doesn't necessarily open right up either. We did a few days of rice cereal and have now started rice cereal mixed with carrots. I guess you could say she's rather happy about it but she definitely let's us know when she's done. She turns her head away and starts whimpering...pretty clear communication for a 6 month old.
Before we begin.
What the heck is THAT?
hmm...not so bad...
okay, I can do this....thanks for the help, Elmo!
And for the record, it is March 7th and we just got 3 inches of snow in 30 minutes. Grrr...

Here's Some Sunshine for your Day

I had another post that I've been working on that's not quite finished...but this couldn't wait. I know it will bring about a smile and turn your Tuesday into a Sunshine Day!

Weekend Adventures

Willis Tucker Park

Last weekend I was determined to get my boy, Will to the park. It actually turned out to be a pretty morning with the sun shining, but was very cold. Didn't matter to me. We bundled up the kiddo's and headed out. (Will insisted on wearing gloves, although I think he would have been fine without them.) Now this park, it is just outside our neighborhood within easy walking distance. And this park...it's an emotional thing for me...b/c I think of it as a "big kid" park. It has no slides, no climbing structures, think of your "typical" neighborhood park with a playground structure on it and this is not that park. It has a merry go round, a huge climbing rope structure (think Spiderman all the way), a water park (soooooo fun in the summer), swings, sand box and teeter-totters...why is it an emotional thing for me? Because until this very day, last weekend, Will was too small for this park! He was too young. He was my baby. On this day, he giggled ferociously on the merry go round, saying "again Daddy, again" over and over. (Last time we were at the park, he was scared of it.) On this day, he sat on the big swing, not the baby bucket one, and giggled and giggled as Mommy pushed him higher and faster (Last time we were at the park, he was scared of it.) On this day, he climbed the Spiderman ropes, and swung like a monkey. (Last time we were at the park, he was scared of it.) On this day, he sat on the teeter-totter forever, going up and down, up and down, saying "again Daddy, again!" (Last time we were at the park, he was scared of it.) Below are pictures of my BIG boy, playing at the park.

Will on the big boy swing, post giggle.

Will holding on tight on the teeter-totter.

Will's flirting with this girl as she makes the "wheel teeter-totter" (as we call it) go bouncy bounce.
Monkey Will.


Listen to the sounds of those giggles!
Molly isn't too impressed with the park.

Oh, there she is, smiling in the sunshine.

Seattle Children's Museum
The next weekend, Jeremy and I took the kiddo's to the Seattle Children's Museum b/c they had a special exhibit...all about Curious George! Will's favorite little monkey. Usually we go to the Everett Children's Museum, which is fabulous and as it turns out, we decided we like it better...but...they didn't have Curious George. :-) Here's some pics from the eventful day: