An Outing ... With 2

Brooke has been cramped up in the house since our little holiday hospital trip. She is better, but we are being cautious (and probably overly nervous). The doctors indicated that she likely reacts different to common viruses than other kids, and that future viruses can bring about similar outcomes. As she seems to pick up one virus after another, this is a very real situation to face.

This morning a couple of her friends were going to check out a new playplace only a few blocks from home. Despite the fact that a playplace with tons of kids is probably the most germy place I could take her, the poor kid had to get out ... and so did I. Both Ryan and Brooke slept in this morning, which was a great start to the day. I got both of them ready and we made it to meet our friends a bit before 10. I put Ryan in a carrier and Brooke and I head off to explore our new surroundings. She loved it. I'm not sure if the place was that great/special, but since she has been been pretty restricted lately it was a dream come true. She jumped in a bounce house, wrote with a glowpen in a glow in the dark room (which she referred to a a circus, for some reason), climbed into an activity center and dressed up as Cinderella. She was fine doing everything but jumping in the bounce house ... which caused her to cough. Of course, she jumped in there about 10 times. I think the parents around us were a bit concerned about the kid hacking in there, but I knew she was ok (and took a step back so nobody realized I was the parent who brought the sick kid out to play).

Ryan was pretty cooperative during the whole experience and that gave me the courage to extend our trip. We went out to lunch with one of Brookes friends (and her Mommy, of course). The girls were nutty at lunch, and Ryan slept through it. It turned out to be a pretty great morning, and to thank Brooke for being so good (and giving us both the opportunity to get out for a bit) we went next door to the bakery and got a "special cookie". Brooke had to choose between a penguin, snowman, and snowflake cookie. She picked the snowflake one right away.

Since it took her half-an-hour to eat the cookie, she ended up going down for nap really late. At (almost) 5:30 she is just waking up. Our morning pretty much screwed up our whole day, and will likely impact tomorrow as well ... but it was worth it!

Daddy Is Funny

Ryan has been smiling a bit here and there. He doesn't smile a whole lot, and I think its because he is a pretty serious guy ;) He is all business ... eat, sleep, poop, repeat.

But Daddy got quite a few smiles out of him today, enough that I got to snap a pic of one too!

He also made a really funny noise while smiling, which we interpreted as a possible laugh. Babies laugh at different ages and laughing at two months is not unheard of, but until we hear it again I'm not going to confirm the laugh. The smiling was legit though ;)

The Silver Lining

While spending time in the hospital was not exactly the ideal situation, there was a positive outcome from the whole ordeal. Brooke stayed in a regular bed (versus a crib) and thought it was pretty cool.

It just so happens we recently purchased a "big girl" bed for her but had yet to set it up. We weren't too sure what the right timing would be, or how to introduce a change like that into her world. While in the hospital we took advantage of the situation and talked to her about how cool it was to sleep in a big girl bed. We also told her that we could get her one for her room, and she seemed interested. So, we gave her a couple of days to recuperate and get settled back in ... and then we set up the bed. We put it in her room, but also left her crib in there too. At naptime we asked where she wanted to sleep, and she said she wanted to sleep in the bed. When she went to bed tonight she chose the bed too!

Our little girl is growing up so fast. Not only is she a big sister, but now she is sleeping in a big girl bed. In addition, her interest in the potty has ramped up recently. We dont want to push her because she has a lot going on in her life at this point. Lately she has been telling us when she goes (in her diaper) and then claps and congratulates herself ("Yay! Good job Brooke!"). Tonight I was putting her pj's on and she told me she had to go, so we grabbed a monkey (yes, we had to bring a furry friend with us) and ran into bathroom. She sat on her potty and insisted that monkey sit on the big potty. I sat down and held monkey on my lap. We sang a few songs and before you know it ... she went in the potty. I think she surprised herself, and ended up jumping up and dancing around to celebrate. We ran out of the bathroom to tell Daddy that she went "pee pee in the potty". She also informed Daddy that the monkey also went.

Its been a crazy couple of days, and even crazier couple of weeks. We never know what to expect with her and she never ceases to amaze.

Merry Christmas!

Due to some unforeseen events, Christmas plans changed a bit :) We didnt get home until about 5PM Christmas Eve. After getting Brooke settled in, we spent the rest of the evening wrapping and assembling presents. It was about 2 in the morning when we were finally ready, and we were exhausted.

In the morning we went to get Brooke and tell her Santa had come. She was really excited. But, as we walked down the stairs and she looked around the living room, her excitement seemed to wane. We asked her if Santa had come (indicating the presents) and she said no. She seemed confused as she looked around. We then realized that she fully expected to see Santa standing there. While she understood he was coming, and knew he was bringing presents, I guess we werent clear with his deliver-and-dash philosophy!

Brooke was very excited to be opening presents, and dressed for the occasion

Ryan was slightly less than thrilled

We decided we wouldnt heading out and about with two sick kids in tow (Ryan also has Brooke's most recent cold/virus) and were lucky enough that our families were understanding and came to see us. So we spent the day hanging out, opening presents, and playing with new toys. Though not the typical Christmas, I think we were all happy to be home and just enjoyed each others company. Everyone got to enjoy a special meal (or two) prepared by Brooke in her very own kitchen. While her meals seem to be pretty basic (think fake banana on a plate), she is at least a very clean cook. She spends a good five minutes "washing her hands" in the kitchen sink, and makes everyone else do the same.

A Christmas Patient

Jeff has a few days off work with the holiday and we decided to try and be proactive and get a few things done. One of them was to bring Brooke into the doctor to get a stubborn diaper rash checked out. We packed up the kids and head over to the doctor, who has walk-in hours every weekday morning. The doctor checked her rash and gave us some tips, and then stood and looked at her for a while.

"How long has she been breathing like this?"

blink. blink. blank stare.
Um, like what?

The doctor points out that Brooke's breathing is very labored. She is struggling with each breath. She has another cold that just started a few days prior and apparently this one is a bit different than the last one. The doctor checked some of Brookes stats and listened to her lungs and decided that we needed to to take her to the local children's hospital to get checked out.

So a diaper rash turned into a visit to the ER.

At the hospital they did the same checks, and werent too thrilled with what they were seeing. A couple of attempts were made to get her oxygen levels up and wheezing down, but the triage people didnt feel that enough of an impact was made.

So an ER visit turned into a hospital stay.

Luckily, our stay was only about 24 hours and we were released today, on Christmas Eve. Brooke wasnt a big fan of all of the poking, prodding, or treatments ... but seemed to accept it. I have a feeling that the fact that she was the center of attention of numerous people made up for some of the negatives. When we were getting admitted she was given a holiday teddy bear. After some chest x-rays the tech gave her another teddy bear. While we were there, some "elves" came and gave her some Christmas presents. She got to sit in bed and watch Shrek (THREE TIMES). Food was delivered to her as she commanded. Everyone jumped to her call. When it was time to leave, Brooke refused to put on her coat or shoes. She told me she wanted to stay.

I sincerely want to thank all of those wonderful people for giving her that kind of experience. Knowing that she actually was willing to stay in the hospital even after she was feeling better gives you a little glimpse of the level of service we received.

Here she is after we were discharged, while waiting for Daddy to come pick us up. She was a pretty sick kid, but you can tell from the smile on her face that life was still pretty good!

A Christmas Present For Mommy

I saw something that sparked my interest... and at the price I found it at, I just couldnt resist. I got myself a kemby Sidekick. Its a diaper bag / baby carrier combo!

I got it with Ryan in mind, thinking about how I'm going to have to be a bit more agile with a 2.5 year old and 6 month old in the spring. He wont even be crawling, but she will continue to advance in her keep-away-from-mommy skills. I dont always want to pull out a double stroller, and sometimes feel the need to be a little more on the go. It just seemed as though it would be pretty handy.

It came in the mail today and I couldnt resist testing out the 35 lb weight limit with my 34 lb 2 year old. I put her in it, really easily, and walked around the house. Sure, I didnt have her in it for a long time, but in those few moments it felt pretty great. Brooke really liked it and has continued to hound me to put it back on and carry her around. And I quote "Mommy pick you up. RIGHT NOW!". I've distracted her with food and hid the bag. Lets hope that works!

*We weighed Ryan just to see where he was at 6 weeks old ... he is now 13.4 lbs. That's about 1 lb gained over the past two weeks.

Santa Is Boring: Round 2

When we saw Santa a few weeks ago, Ryan was passed out. We knew there would be another opportunity so we let the little guy sleep.

Today was the big day!

Déjà vu

Ryan wasnt gonna wake up so we just handed him over to Santa for a few pics. He didn't move an inch! Not during the hand-off (either way), shopping around in the store, or being put back into his carseat.

What I want to understand is how he keeps me up all night and cant sleep longer than an hour or or at a stretch, but during the day he can sleep through something like that. Seems to me like he is playing some games with me ;)

Better To Give Than Receive?

Tell that to a two-year-old :)

Today was Brooke's last day of school before winter break. We brought a present for each of her teachers. I handed her each box and told her to bring it to the appropriate teacher. She did that part quite well. She easily took the gifts to the teacher and handed them over, but instead of saying "Merry Christmas" as instructed, she said "Frosty The Snowman!". (She is already a big fan of Frosty, but this particular wrapping paper had snowmen on it, so there was some logic to her statement)

The teachers then put the gifts over on a table that had a pile of other gifts. Brooke went over to the table and started sifting through it. She picked up one and tried to carry it away, but was told that it wasnt for her. She then went to the present we had just given the teacher and began to open it :)

She definitely understands the idea of "presents", but up until that point had no clue that you can actually GIVE a present, not just RECEIVE one. Guess we will have to work on that a bit over the next week! Luckily, I have a planned trip next week for her and I to go shopping to pick out a gift for baby Ryan. Perhaps that will help her understand giving, but I am not so sure. Daddy had her pick out a present for Ryan at the hospital, which she did a great job of doing. She also gave it to him at the hospital. But, when it was time for Daddy and Brooke to leave, she brought the present with her instead of leaving it for Ryan. And since we have been home she has claimed it as her own. She is 6 weeks older than she was back then, so maybe the spirit of giving will catch on a bit better this time around ;)

A Nice, Cozy Fire

Chillin at Starbucks until it's time to pick up big sister Brooke from school!

It's freezing out...

So we are camped out indoors. Luckily Brooke has her very own house, made from a large box. It has been keeping her entertained enough to minimize any 2-year-old-drama ;)

Her Moment Of Fame ... Must Wait A Bit

Looks like Brooke's (maybe) big television appearance got bumped last weekend for other stuff. How could they displace her over dumb news like tax cuts? I just dont know ...

Anyway, the Lil Kickers spot should air this weekend on CBS news, but they didnt say if its Sat or Sun. When (if?) it ever airs, if she is on it, I'll make sure to post a link!

A Month Old & Holiday Fun

Today Ryan is one month old. Time sure does fly! We attempted to do a height and weight check, but its awfully hard to measure a little one. Though we can assume the weight is accurate, the height is give or take about 1/2 an inch (we took our longest measure).

Height: 23 inches
Weight: 12 lbs 3 oz

To celebrate, Ryan took a nap all bundled up in the stroller while we took Brooke to our neighborhood "Winter Wonderfest".

First we bumped into Rudolph!

Then we saw Santa!

Brooke told Santa she wanted a "bear" for Christmas. We have been reading a lot of books about bears lately, so this is probably just the first thing she thought of. I also assume she meant a real bear and not a teddy bear ... so I hope he doesn't actually grant her request :) After seeing Santa, Ryan was still sleeping. We couldnt look a gift horse in the mouth, so we took advantage of his long nap and went out for a nice dinner :) Overall, it was a pretty festive day!

Snow Accumulation

If Brooke was excited at seeing a few flurries, imagine her excitement when she woke up this morning to see real snow on the ground! She was thrilled. She wanted to put boots on and get out there right away ;)

We got her dressed and out there as fast as we could. And as soon as she was out there the excitement seemed to disappear as she realized she was experiencing something a little bit unfamiliar. She clammed up. Daddy tried to hand her some snow and she wouldnt take it. She didnt want to touch it or walk in it. It took her a while to warm up, but after Daddy showed her the art of making snowballs and throwing them at the window she seemed to regain her interest.

4 Weeks Old

In just a few hours Ryan will officially be 4 weeks old. At that point, he will also officially had a cold for 1/2 his life. Yup, he is still sick :(

It's been quite an interesting couple if weeks. And though we are all tired and still living in a bit if a fog, we know it's all just going to keep getting better with each day.

Till then, all we can do is hope Ryan's cold finally runs it's course and gives the little guy a break!

15 Minutes of Fame?

An article was posted in the New York Times the other day, "Sports Training Has Begun for Babies and Toddlers". It is primarily a negative slant on enrolling toddlers into sports programs, and both My Gym and Little Kickers are mentioned. Brooke spent many months enrolled at My Gym, and took a class at Little Kickers over this summer. She also is starting the next session of Little Kickers tomorrow morning, and it turns out CBS news is going to be there filming a follow-up to the NY Times article!

It sounds like the segment will be aired this weekend ...

We know that Brooke is a bit of an actress, and I think the concept of her ending up in the public eye at some point seems to be a believable one. But Brooke might get her first television appearance way before expected! We will see if her mad soccer skills catch the eye of a camera man tomorrow morning ... if so, you might be able to see her on television in just a couple of days ;)

First Snow!

Brooke had school this AM, and she decided to try and sleep in. I went in to wake her up, and gave her a few moments to sort herself out. She must have thought it was a special occasion since I woke her (we usually let her do her own thing).

"turkey time?" she said to me.

I explained that turkey day had passed and that today was actually a school day.

"no school. Santa?".

We have been talking up the holidays by order - Halloween ended, we told her Turkey Day was next. Since Thanksgiving we have been talking about Christmas. I told her Santa would be coming pretty soon.

"presents. One Mommy. One Daddy. One Baby Ryan..."

You can tell she has been listening to us, and picking out the stuff that's most appealing ;)

We have breakfast and get ready for school. On our way out I open the door and ask her what she sees outside. She looks around. I ask what is falling from the sky.

"snow!"

We have also been gearing her up for the snow. She obviously doesn't personally remember it, but we show her a video of her in the snow from last year. She also points out the snow in commercials, books, pictures, etc.

She takes a step outside, blows a kiss into the air, and says

"I love you snow"

Needless to say, she is pretty excited about the snow. And from the rate it is falling right now, I better hurry up and get her some boots!

It's Ryan's first snow ever, but so far he is sleeping through the whole experience. He sleeps through a lot of stuff though ;)