Spitupotumus!

I have a question for all the experienced moms out there.  My daughter spits up a lot.  I mean a LOT.  Like if you bounce her around (which she LOVES) there's about a 98% chance you'll be wearing her lunch.  If you don't bounce her there's still a 92% chance.  And if you feed her, well then there's a 100% chance.  I stopped packing a change of  clothes for her when we go out and started packing one for me instead!  So, here's my question,  how do you know when it's spit up vs. real sick baby vomit?  She doesn't eat solids with any consistency  yet so it all looks the same.  And she can project it on any given occasion, usually relative to where you've positioned the burp cloth.  We're soaking 3-4 burp cloths a day over here!

See, she can even blow bubbles!  This is an old picture but you get the idea.

 

Anyway, spit up I can handle and giving her some rice cereal does help when I've had enough and the laundry has piled up.  I'm just afraid I'm going to miss a sign that she's not feeling well and with all this yucky flu going around I don't want to accidentally let things go longer. Any tips Mom buddies?

The rest of the weekend...

We got to Kansas City Saturday afternoon and checked into the hotel.  Hubs and been holding on to some Hilton rewards points for a while so we booked a room at the Hilton down town for free! Oh yeah! We got all checked in and fed Evelynn and then it was time to go pick up dinner for ourselves.  We stopped off at Waldo Pizza where I may or may not have run into a friend from high school.  Across the bar there was a guy who looked familiar but I couldn't quite be sure. He said, "HI!" in a way that made me think that I must know him. I said "Hi" back and asked how he'd been. The generic conversation went on like that until my pizza arrived and I pretty well ran out of there before I had to acknowledge whether or not we actually knew each other. I know.  Cowardly. But to be fair, I actually was running late and had a fussy baby waiting in the car with her daddy.  But just in case, if anyone sees Mike McNary send my apologies for running out on him, if it was, in fact, him.

Moving on. I was running off to Krista's house because she and Sarah had so kindly volunteered to babysit for us while we went to the wedding (see below).  Had a great time at the wedding. On the way out Nikki called a KCMO police officer that was escorting us to our cars (bad neighborhood) a jerk. Yes she said it loudly. Yes he heard her. But she was joking and he was in on it and we all laughed.

Little Miss hadn't got to sleep when we arrived back at Krista's house to pick her up. Bad news. She passed out in the car but woke up when we got to the hotel. About the time we got to the room around 11:30 the fussing started and escalated.  She finally passed out from sheer exhaustion around 1AM only to wake up crying again at 2:00. I'm sure the people in the rooms next to ours loved us. We got her back to sleep by around 2:30-2:45 but she was awake again at 5AM. I'm tellin' ya. This kid does not like to have her schedule and routine messed with.

So, after a horrible night, the calm. She was a perfect angel all day long. She took her regular morning nap right on time and woke up just as we were sitting down for lunch.  Lunch was fantastic. Mostly because my dear dear friend Jade was in town and she met us. I hadn't seen her since before I got preggers so over a year!? Really?! That long? Wow. That's too long Jadely. It was the first time we got to introduce her to Evelynn and they got along great. Evelynn tried to eat Jade's hair and Jade didn't even seem to mind. What a girl :)

After lunch we went to visit my old next door neighbors. We stayed with them for an hour or so while Evelynn ate her lunch. Then it was back in the car. Right on schedule with afternoon nap time, Evelynn fell asleep and slept the whole way home despite the very loud pouring down rain all the way. It was so nice. She was good all evening and even went to sleep in time for me to catch the end of Dexter.  Ahh... We paid our dues last night but I must commend the little girl. Today was quiet pleasant. And now, off to bed for me!

Todd's Wedding

This weekend the family and I headed to Kansas City for a much anticipated event. My dear friend Todd got married! I'd been looking forward to this wedding for a long time and it didn't disappoint.

The wedding was in this great old building. The tables were decorated with framed pictures of the happy couple and the programs read like playbills. Todd and Phillip exchanged vows on stage (so fitting for these two). It was a beautiful, heartfelt ceremony. I just love weddings. Watching two love birds exchange vows always takes me back to my own wedding. I hold my husband's hand and think "I do" all over again. It's like renewing your vows right along with the new couple. There are few things more beautiful than watching a happy couple in love on their wedding day.

The Grooms perform "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart"

But this wedding had even more! Ms. Dee Dee Deville performed and hosted the cabaret portion of the evening. So many of Todd and Phillip's friends got up and performed! That's one talented bunch! There was even a performance by the cast of the musical "The Wedding Singer" complete with costumes and choreography.

Dee Dee Deville and my friend Nicole

So, I know some of you are saying, "But you live in Kansas. Is it legal?" Oh yes it is. Todd and Phillip drove to Iowa the night before with their minister.  Three Cheers for Iowa! (Never thought I'd say that...) But I hope one day soon trips like that won't be necessary. Marriage is for everybody.  

A toast to Todd and Phillip. May the love you share today grow throughout the years. May you remain best friends and each others biggest fans. Cherish the good times together. And through the rough patches remember that you are on the same team.  Thank you so much for allowing me to share your big day.

 

5 Months

Evelynn turned 5 months old yesterday.  I go through this every month when I realize how fast time is going by. She's growing so quickly! She now weighs 15lbs 12oz. That puts her in the 74th percentile on weight. And she's 26 inches long. That's the 90th percentile on height.

She seems to be learning so much every day and new skills happen at lightening speed. She can easily reach and grab her toes. Though, she does not bring them to her mouth yet. And she can reach across her body now- right hand to left foot. She can hold a toy and pass it to her other hand too. And she reaches for what she wants and is very curious about the world around her. She loves to grab faces. She also loves to feel different textures. She'll rub her hand across your arm to feel the difference between skin and fabric. She's really starting to like the kitties. As a result, I think they like her less. She's pretty good about petting until she gets excited and then she grabs a big fistful of hair and sometimes skin. Kitties don't care for that game very much. Lucky for them, she's not mobile yet!

She still hates her tummy time. But she loves to sit up and stand. When she's seated she often falls forward while reaching for an object. Then she ends up falling into tummy time and gets mad. Part of me hopes that will motivate her to learn how to coordinate that whole crawling thing. But the other part of me hopes she won't get it just yet, because it's so much easier when I can put her down and she stays in one place!

She can roll over from back to tummy. She just won't. She'll easily roll to her side to work her way around her toy gym but when she starts to fall towards her tummy she sticks her foot out to hold herself up. She does NOT want to be on her tummy!

We've tried solid foods again recently with slightly more success. I won't go so far as to say she likes it but she doesn't cry anymore. Getting her to open her mouth for the spoon isn't all that easy though. She really likes to sit her in high chair while we eat dinner. I think she likes being included at the table.

I think she's beginning to understand what we say a little more so it's time to start introducing a few sign language words. She started imitating me the other day when I stuck my tongue out at her. So cute! So I think she may be able to start imitating signs too. We want to teach her a few basic signs like "More", "Milk", "Eat", "Drink", "Hot", "Cold", and "Pain". I have a friend who has done this and it has really helped their communication before she can talk.

Oh yes, and I made her another little hat:

I think she liked it. What do you think?!

Fun Fall Festival

At 10:00 this morning my mom called and asked us to drive roughly 2 and half hours away to meet her and her former next door neighbors at a Fall Festival. And naturally we agreed. :)

It turned out to be a really pretty fall afternoon. We bundled Evelynn up nice and warm and strolled about different crafts booths. I got to have my first funnel cake in.... I can't remember how long but years. Totally worth the drive just for that. And we let Evelynn see a horse for the first time. That horse was happy to see us too. Let's just say that Me, Hubs and my Mom all noticed at the same time that it was a boy horse. Uncomfortable snickering followed.  We took Evelynn to visit the ponies instead.

The best part of the day was that we met up with Mom's former next door neighbors the Wilsons (yes, I grew up next to Mr. Wilson and if you only knew what a menace my brother was...but I digress). So yeah. We met up with the Wilson's and their daughters and their 18 month old grand-daughter Anya.  What a beautiful baby girl!  Anya and Evelynn became fast friends.

If you look closely you can see Anya holding Evelynn's hand. SO SWEET!

 

Later, Anya gave Evelynn a kiss on the cheek. BFFs! :)

 

All the girls: Emily, Mom, Me, Evelynn, Mary, Danielle and Anya

After we'd visited all the crafts booths and rides and enjoyed our funnel cakes we went in search of the quilt show. But we got lost. That was okay though. In the process we found this great little playground. Evelynn had never been to a playground before so we sent the boys back for the cars and we stayed to play.

 

Evelynn enjoyed her first trip down a slide more than she let on here.

 

Swinging was okay but she was getting hungry and sleepy.

 

So hungry, in fact, she could eat a horse- even a metal springy one. I had to hold her up just to keep her from gnawing on it.

 

Then Evelynn and Grammy practiced walking

 

Evelynn can't get her feet coordinated yet but it was fun trying.

All in all it was a fun filled fall day.  The ride home was another story.  Evelynn was ready to be home long before we were actually there. We had to stop twice on the way and I rode most of the way in the backseat with her trying to calm her down. Poor little girl just did not want to be in her car seat any longer. She finally fell asleep about 30 minutes from home.  At least she'll sleep well tonight.

Oh yeah! I nearly forgot. People at the craft fair kept coming up to me asking where I bought Evelynn's flower hat. Of course I made it myself, but so many people asked me, I think I may really start making more of them and selling them on etsy. I scouted out some new styles I want to try too, and checked out pricing, so I'll have a pretty good idea when I actually get around to making my store. In the meantime, if you'd like me to make a hat for your little one just let me know. I'd be happy to do it. Right now I'm working on a little striped knit hat that I think is going to turn out REALLY cute. I can't wait to show you when I get it done.

Hats

It's gotten cold here in Munchkin Land so it was time to break out the winter hats. Only problem was, we didn't have any for Evelynn. With Hubs being home I had a little extra time with two hands so I figured I'd just make her a few using yarn I already had around rather than spending money. I found a few patterns and made my own up too.

Cherry Hat 

 I used this pattern. But I used Bernat Softee Baby yarn in green and pink. It's what I had on hand. Here's the view from the front.

Jester Hat

I wanted to make a jester hat but I couldn't fine a pattern for a crochet one and I didn't want to go dig around to find my knitting needles. So I sort of improvised based on this pattern.  I used Bernat Softee Baby White and a size G crochet hook. It was really very simple.

Chain 60

Join chain with a slip stitch being careful not to twist it.

SC in each chain (60 stitches)

SC in each stitch until your piece is about 6.5 " tall

On the wrong side join with a SC 20 stitches

create the next point with another 20 stitches SC together

Slip Stitch back to the center and join the last 20 stitches.

Weave in ends.

Flower Hat

 

I really had to make this one up since, as I said, I didn't want to go find my knitting needles. It was loosely based on this pattern and the pattern for the Cherry Hat linked above. The top flower applique came from here  and the small flowers on the ear flaps came from here.

I used Bernat Softee Baby Green, Yellow and Pink with a size G crochet hook for the appliques.  And I used Patons Melody Quick & Cozy White and a size K hook for the hat.

Follow the Cherry Hat pattern until the hat is the right width around. Evelynn's 17" head it took 7 rounds to get the right width and then several more until it was the right size. After the last round create ear flaps:

SC 6

Turn SC 6 Repeat until you have 4 rows of 6 SC stitches

Decrease by SC 1, SC two together Repeat and Turn.

Work decreases until you have one stitch.

Slip stitch down the flap until you get back to the hat, SC around until you are on the other side of your flap making the hat symmetrical Repeat Ear Flap directions above. Slip stitch back to the hat but then weave in ends.

Attach appliques with a couple stitches.

To make the ties:

 SC in bottom ear flap SC.

Chain 15

Chain 3

In the 15th Chain SC 1, Chain 1, DC 1, Triple C 1, DC 1, SC 1

Slip Stitch in the 14th Chain

Chain 5

in the 4th Chain from the hook repeat leaf directions above.

Slip stitch up the chain to make a thicker cord.

Weave in ends.

Repeat on the other ear flap.

I have no idea if that's the correct or easiest way to make those, I just made it up and it worked for me.

Positive

In an effort to think positive, look on the bright side, find the silver lining and all that, a list of the top 10 positives about my hubs being laid off:

10. He's beginning to understand why I hate Kathie Lee Gifford so much. (For God's sake why doesn't Hoda just smack her?!)
9. More time for visiting friends and family.
8. No more explaining what goes on here during the day.
7.  He bakes homemade bread to relieve stress. Yum!
6. I haven't been to Walmart in 2 weeks.
5. Saves on gas.
4. House and yard work is getting done.
3. An extra set of hands means no more waiting for nap time to take a shower.
2. He gets to spend more time with Evelynn.
1. We get to spend more quality time together.

And now I have a scene from Life of Brian and the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" stuck in my head. :)

Things I Know For Sure

I've been pretty good about not wallowing in our recent string of bad luck. I haven't even had a good cry about it all.  But I feel like I'm on the verge of a Class A breakdown. It's not any one of the individual events really, just sort of the combination of one thing on top of another. But mostly it's the uncertainty of it all.  When and Where will Hubs find a new job?  How long can we afford health insurance and the mortgage in the meantime? Is it irresponsible to buy Evelynn a new winter had (especially when I want this one) when I could just knit or crochet her one myself and save the $15? Have we really come to the point where I'm VERY concerned with $15? Will we have to sell the house? Where will we live? Will we have to move somewhere where we don't know anyone at all? Will I have to go back to work? Will we have to move somewhere cold? I really don't want to live somewhere cold. It's enough to make anybody cry.

So, in order to help hold on to my last shred of sanity I've decided to make a list of the things that I do know for sure.

1. I love my husband and daughter.
2. They love me.
3.  No matter what else happens, we will always have each other.
4. We have amazing friends for support.
5.  We have a terrific family that won't let us starve or be homeless.
6.  This too shall pass.

That feels better. The other thing I know for sure:  There's a gift certificate for a massage from the wonderful Alicia Burk that I've been saving since Mother's Day sitting on my dresser . It may be time to cash that puppy in.

Go Hogs Go!

In honor of the Razorbacks beating Auburn today, Evelynn would like to teach you all how to call the Hogs.

Step 1: Hands to the Side.  "Woooooo..."

Step 2: Raise hands over your head and twinkle fingers. "...oooooooo"

Step 3:  Bend elbows. "PIG"

Step 4: Raise hands above head again. "Souieeeeee!"

Step 5: Pump right fist. "RAZORBACK!!"

Go Hogs Go! My little Razorback and I are cheering for ya! :)

Give Peace a Chance

 

(Pic)-President Barack Obama passes by a battered United Nations flag that flew over the bombed Canal Hotel in Iraq at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in this September 23, 2009 file photo. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/Files

 I'm a great big Obama Lovin' Liberal and I'm proud of it. So, maybe I'm a little biased. But when I heard that the sitting US President won the Nobel Peace Prize, I was pretty darn proud!  It's been a long, LONG time since the United States and Americans in general have been in good standing with most of the international community. So this was a huge honor and really says a lot about how far we've come. How far Obama has brought us.  I traveled to Europe 3 times during the Bush Administration and on each visit witnessed Anti-American protests. This is HUGE.

I have to admit, I was surprised to hear that the biggest "patriotic" "Pro-America" faction in this country was against this.  I know, I should learn to expect it. They're called the party of No for a reason. But still, I was surprised. I would expect that people who claim to be patriotic and love all things America, those who have been known to state that America is the BEST country in the world, that America has the BEST citizens, and that essentially no other country even comes close to our greatness would be PROUD to have and American honored in such a way. I would think that ALL Americans would be proud of this award coming to one of our own.

Does he deserve the award? The committee thinks so. And they're the ones who get to decide. Wingers need to stop trying to be Kanye (you know, 'cause it worked out so well for Kanye's image) and accept that our President (yes, he's their president too) was awarded a tremendous honor and earned the respect of the international community.

Of course, then I'm reminded that these are the same people who were happy that the US lost an Olympic bid and the economic boom that goes with it in the middle of an economic crises.  Obviously, all rational thought goes out the window when anything Obama related is concerned.

Rutabaga Bunny

At my Baby Shower Mark and Mary Wilson gave me this adorable little bunny named "Rutabaga".  It has quickly become Evie's FAVORITE.  Rutabaga Bunny lives on the changing table and when Evie gets her diaper changed or her outfit changed she usually gets "BUNNY KISSES!"

Bunny kisses are when little Rutabaga there sits on Evie's chest and then "kisses" her all over her face.  They are usually preceded by Mommy exclaiming "BUN-NY KISSES!" Evie has learned what's coming and just grins even before she gets kissed.

If you're looking for a good baby gift I highly recommend Bunnies By The Bay products.  They're super soft and just adorable.  Thanks Mark and Mary for Evie's favorite little Rutabaga.

No WONDER!

Well, it's no wonder I've been feeling so tired lately.

I was diagnosed with Polycystic ovarian syndrom when I was 17.  A couple years later came a diagnosis of Hypothyroidism. They seem to go hand in hand, along with insulin resistance which I also have.  Not enough thyroid hormone can make you feel fatigued, cold, and sluggish. It can also make your hair fall out and you gain weight.

During my pregnancy we kept a close eye on my thyroid levels because not enough thyroid hormone in pregnancy can cause birth defects. It was well controlled on my medication though so all was well.  But lately I've been showing symptoms. Of course, after having a baby it's normal to feel fatigued and for your hair to fall out. But I started getting concerned when I noticed that I was cold a lot more than I should have been considering it's been summer time.

So, I went to the doctor and guess what. My thyroid is all out of wack again. Time to up my dose...considerably.  The doctor also told me that this could be the reason for my massive breakouts lately and the fact that I'm not making enough milk! Thank goodness there's a simple fix.  Up the dose and I should start feeling better almost immediately. 

I've been out of town though, and haven't picked up my prescription yet. However, I'm at my Mom's and she's on a low dose so I took one of mine and one of her's and it's just about the right amount. And lemme tell ya. I feel so much better already. It won't fully take effect until I've been on it long enough to have it build up in my system but the immediate effect is noticeable. And yes, I have been producing more milk since I started taking more! Hallejula!

Now if only the weight would start coming off!