Books of the week

So, although Atticus is not allowed any paper books right now, he still enjoys his bedtime board books. As of the last couple of weeks, he has really enjoyed those below. Curious George and the Bunny actually belongs to Grace. But, since Grace is too young to argue with him, Atticus tends to think all toys he wants in this house are his. He loves Sesame Street and these came from his first Easter basket. Jesus Is With Me is a new one. That's Not My Pony has a series of these with lots of animals and is published by Usborne Books. I have really enjoyed Usborne Books - make great gifts too! Where is Baby's Valentine was obviously from Valentines Day but he just now wants to read it all the time. It is actually a large flap book that didn't get put away the first time, but so far he is taking care of it. And, finally, the biggest favorite right now is Otis. Molly brought this book when she came a couple of weeks ago. It is so cute. It's all about a tractor and a calf who are friends. I love love love this one and there is nothing cuter than for Atticus to say "Mama Veed Otis". We read books twice a day, each time before we nap and go to bed and although he is a major staller and doesn't want to get into bed, he loves to be read to. And, then of course, he stalls some more because he doesn't want the reading to stop. What a funny boy he is!

Friday Favorites: Packing

So, today is a busy day. This is the day before our week long vacation to Port Aransas!!! We have taken trips to Port Aransas almost every year since 2005, when Vic and I started dating. We have gone with some of his childhood friends. Now, as the years have gone by, we have all gotten engaged, married, and had kids. I think we missed one year that everyone was too busy and pregnant. But, otherwise, it is something we always look forward to. Port Aransas is a neat little town and when you go when kids are back in school, it is even calmer and less crowded. Last year, we went in September. This year we are going this week! We are missing our friends, Todd & Emily, and their kiddos (now at 3!) because they are moving and settling into a new home. But, Joe, Cassie and Wesley and Mandee, Derek, Beck & Ben and our little family will all go for the week. We will probably get to have some additional visitors as well if they can get off work to come by.

So, today I pack. I enjoy packing and unpacking. I enjoy unpacking more, but as long as I have good lists and plenty of time, I like to pack. With kids, you need a lot of stuff and lot of backup stuff. I am better than I used to be and do not overpack quite as much, but we still need lots of stuff. Clothes, diapers, beds, toys depending on age (jumperoo for Grace; colors/toys/coloring books/trucks/dvd's for atticus;) swim gear (floaties, towels, suits, sunscreen, etc.) plus mine and Vic's clothes. Then, we bring lots of snacks and food to prepare while we are there because it is sometimes just as fun and way easier to just eat at the condo.

Anyways, we are excited. Vic is coming home early today; we have dinner with our neighbors tonight and then we are leaving at 9am tomorrow morning. In the meantime, I am packing us and being as organized as possible. We are making a pit stop in OG for Granny Irene's 90th Birthday Party on Saturday night, so I am trying to keep us from unpacking everything for one night and making separate bags. And so many to do lists. But, I love to do lists. They are so much fun to make and then to cross off!

I must also mention how much I love unpacking. Before we leave our destination to head home, I try to make it easy for myself. I separate all of the dirty clothes, organize all of our leftover belongings, throw out anything we have accumulated (fruit snack wrappers, etc.). Then, when we get home, I like to unload everything and put it away immediately. There is not a better feeling than immediately washing, drying, and putting away clothes and unloading every bag and every suitcase so that you can rest easy that night and wake up ready to go the next day. If I leave things unpacked, they are likely to sit there a week before I mess with them again.

And do you know what is EVEN BETTER than just being efficient with packing and unpacking? Doing it all with a clean house. Earlier this week, I cleaned every room - dust, vacuum, mop, sweep, move furniture, do laundry, clean bathrooms, etc. So, I do not have that looming when I get home either.

I do love some organizing...which reminds me that earlier this week I really wanted The Container Store in College Station to go shop. I am needing a trip this fall. I love that place. I could spend a fortune. I bet I could even find better ways to organize my packing for trips.

Have a good day everyone! Oh and here is a picture to show you how I started my packing. In this picture, I take everything on my list and dump it on the bed in the guest room. Then, I continue to organize and put into suitcases all at once. No running back and forth or forgetting something in the suitcase and having to carry extra bags just for those items. Efficiency. Organization. It's like I'm a mom or something.



Friday Favorites: Surgery

I would like to tell you about my favorite surgeries:

1. The C-Section: this is my favorite surgery mainly based on the outcome. I get a baby!!! Having had 2 C-sections already and knowing all future children will be delivered via C-section, I am a fan of this one.

2. Gallbladder Removal Surgery (aka Cholecystectomy): This is the actual reason for my Friday Favorites Post. For those that didn't know, I had my gallbladder removed on August 5th. Hallelujah. And, just so I remember it many years from now, I thought I'd post the details.

3 weeks after Grace was born, I sat down to dinner on the Friday night of Easter weekend with Vic, GG, Ana, and Charley and begin to feel what I thought must be heartburn. It was a terrible pain in my chest, but nothing that made me think "chest pains". I have never had heartburn, but assumed this was it. Over the next 4 hours, I went through bad pains, crouching over the toilet thinking I might have a stomach bug, walking around trying to ease the pain and taking every kind of heartburn medicine we could think of. It was terrible, but after about 4 hours, the pain subsided. It didn't help that I needed to nurse Grace every 2-3 hours and that I was exhausted anyways. It was terrible, but the next day I thought "whew, it's over!". That is-until it happened again. I believe it happened 3 times before I went to the doctor. He agreed it was probably severe heartburn and that I needed to just take Zantac, Naproxen and give my body time to rest, as it had just gone through a shock with pregnancy, delivering, C-section, etc.

Off I went glad to have a diagnosis and a pain relieving plan. However, over the next 2 months, I continued to have episodes of "heartburn". They ranged from 3-15 hours with pains moving from my chest to the top of my stomach. Pain would radiate terribly in my back. I couldn't pick up the kids and it was tough to nurse. I would walk; I would sit still; I could never lay down to sleep or get comfortable; I would take Pepcid AC, Tums, Alka-Seltzer, Zantac, drink milk (which I hate!), eat crackers, drink tons of water, eat nothing. After each episode, I would go over exactly what process I had completed between the time it began and ended and assume it was the new process to get through the pain. So, the next time I had an episode, I would do the same thing. However, it wouldn't work. I had in my head that my body just had to heal as the doctor said my stomach lining was inflamed and needed to heal. So, each and every time, I would hope that was the last time.

But, after those 2 months and a terrible episode the previous night, I went back to the doctor and asked him about a specialist who could scope me or do something more. But, first he wanted to move me to a stronger heartburn med (Protonix - generic brand). So, we did and for 3 weeks, I had nothing happen. Part of me was thrilled because it must working! The other part of me was not thrilled because I didn't want to be on medicine forever. Then, one night 3 weeks after I had a minor episode, I decided to go back to the doctor again and he finally ordered an ultrasound for me. At this point, my entire family and some friends had decided this could not be heartburn. I never got relief from heartburn meds. And, some thought it sounded like gallbladder. So, on appointment #3, I mentioned gallbladder and while I didn't have exact symptoms for it, he said we would know with the ultrasound.

Sure enough, a few days later they called with the results: gallstones. I was so glad! I was glad I wasn't crazy and a big wimp with heartburn and glad to have a final diagnosis with a probably solution: removal. I met with a surgeon, scheduled the surgery and finally had that thing removed.

The surgery took all of an hour and I was at the hospital for maybe 7 with pre-op, post-op and discharge. I had no problems with general anesthesia. The recovery was not bad. 4 small incisions meant that I was sore for about 10 days and fortunately, GG came to help take care of kids while I recovered. The worst area of soreness was my bellybutton; or when Grace would kick me while nursing. It turns out, after talking to the surgeon, and my extensive online reading, that women around 30 who have had a couple of kids fit the pattern for gallstones. And, actually I read that about 30% of women actually have gallstones form during pregnancy. Only about 5% actually have issues that cause pain and need it removed. I CAN. NOT. imagine having gallbladder stone attacks while pregnant. It was horrible.

So, while not a very exciting Friday Favorites post, I wanted to document this so I remember it one day. I hope these are the only two surgeries I ever have! Though I do not want to be done with C-sections anytime soon!

Atticus: Swim Lessons

This year, we enrolled Atticus in swim lessons for two weeks in the evenings. He is at an age where a parent has to be in the pool with him, so every evening we loaded up and headed to Thomas Pool in College Station. Grace and I watched from outside the pool while Vic and Atticus learned in the water. After the first night, Vic and I realized that "swim lessons" at this age really meant "get comfortable in the water lessons". By the end of the two week session, Atticus did not learn to swim. But, he learned some fun songs to play in the water to, put his head under water a few times, practiced jumping stepping into the water from the edge of the pool, learned to hold onto the edge by himself, went down the slide and got some free certificates to eat kids meals at Raising Cane's. All in all, it was well worth the $40 spent. Plus, we got some fun evening family time each night with both Friday's getting to go out to eat! (it was Rosa's and Fuzzy's, but a night out is a night out!). GG and Molly both got to see him swim while they were in town. And of course, each night on the way to swim, while he would say "no pool" for some reason, he didn't want to leave the water when his 30 minute session was up. Toddlers.

Grace: 5 months old

Grace is 5 months old today! Here are some stats:

• Weight is
• Length is
• In 3-6 month clothes and size 3 diapers
• Sits in her bumbo, plays with her feet, rolls around the room, and plays on her tummy a lot
• Just now starting to try to sit up by herself; mostly needs assistance but it won't be long
• Plays with toys constantly; if it's in sight, she is rolling towards them or reaching and grabbing for them.
• Playing a lot in her jumperoo; not doing a lot of jumping, but some bouncing and playing with the toys
• We moved her to her crib at 4 1/2 months. The first few nights she was up 2 times needing to nurse and be rocked back to sleep. Now, she is down to only waking up 1 time per night. But, within 30 minutes, she has eaten, and I've rocked her back to sleep.
• I am still swaddling her. I was hesitant to put her in her crib while still needing to be swaddled, which is partly why it took me so long to move her. (the other reason is because I LOVED having her in her bassinet right next to my bed all night long!). But, she kicks out of it if needed and rolls from tummy to back still swaddled. I keep an eye on her and am about to try to put her to bed without the swaddle at all. Baby steps.
• She is doing good with one 2-3 hour nap per day and a catnap or two. I need to work harder at her routine. She is in the habit of a 10pm bedtime that sometimes leads to 9:00 or 9:30 am wake up time this past week. I'd like to make that 8-8. But, honestly, with how busy our summer has been, that has just not been a priority.
• Still loves her paci.
• Still drooling. It won't be long before that drool will mean a tooth is coming!
• Currently making noises with her mouth. She blows air between her lips and spits out bubbles. Adorable.
• And the biggest news of the month: she has just started eating rice cereal! I started it once a night, but have backed to once every other night. Her digestive system was a little off for a few days and I wasn't sure if it might be the rice cereal. But, boy when it's time to eat it, you better be fast and not waste any time. She immediately gets upset if you are too slow getting that spoon to her mouth! Good grief!
• Still a sweet, happy baby who loves when her big brother plays with her and loves seeing her daddy when he gets home from work each day.
  
  
  
  
  
   
   
   
  
   

Little Moments: Evening Walk

So, tonight on our family evening walk, Atticus was too funny. First of all, he now prefers to actually walk instead of riding in the stroller for too long. This is ok if we are having a leisurely walk; but if the walk's purpose is to get us to the park at a normal time or for mama's exercise, he has to ride in the stroller. He just can't keep his focus.

Tonight, as we walked, we found each and every fire hydrant in the neighborhood. This has been part of our evening walk agenda lately. However, tonight, at each hydrant, Atticus would first check for bird poop on the hydrant and then before we continued on our way, he kissed and hugged the fire hydrant. I guess everything and everyone needs a little loving.

Yesterday, Vic took Atticus on the walk by himself and came back and mentioned, among other things, that he had shown him the sunset. Tonight, as we walked along, Atticus suddenly stopped, stood in front of the stroller and said "Dada, Mama, Dace, Attis, Stop. Vatch sunset." And so we did. We looked over at the beautiful sunset and then kept walking. Of course in those few moments, tears immediately came to my eyes; to most of us, it's just a sunset. I mean -- it happens every single day. But, to this little boy, this sunset was something new that his daddy had shown him and something that, even at 2 years old, he knew was special. How often do we stop and just take in the sunset? God is good. And His light shines not only in the setting sun, but also in our children.

Thank you, Lord, for making us his and Grace's mama and daddy.

Atticus: Feeding the Ducks

At Research Park in College Station, right around far west campus, there is a really nice park where people come to walk their dogs, jog, sit in hammocks, play Frisbee, etc. But, by far the most fun part of this park is that you can feed the ducks, fish, and turtles! We've only been a couple of times this summer but Atticus loves it. The ducks come right up to you and there are so many turtles and fish in the water to gobble up anything you throw to them. And, today, when we went, we were the only people I saw in the entire park.

So, about 9:00 am, all three of us loaded up with half a loaf of bread and a bag of cheerios and headed to the park so Atticus could feed the ducks. As usual with animals, he could not get enough. And he has no fear of letting the ducks walk up to him nor does he have a fear of getting too close to the water (but his mama does)! He especially wanted to track down the "white ducks" who were less than interested in us compared to all of the other ducks. But, there were plenty for him to play with. Note to self: bring more bread next time. By the end of our hour long stay, Atticus' cheeks were rosy red and his cheerio and bread bags were empty. To get him in the car, I had to promise him we were going to grocery store to buy more duck food for next time. Fortunately, HEB was the next stop on our trip!

A few of his phrases:

"Attis feed ducks, tuttles, fsssh".
"Attis yike white duck".
"Hi babies!" (to the ducks in a high pitched voice)
"Attis ne-ne mon bed". (Atticus needs more bread)
"Attis see big tuttle".
"Num num num num" imitating how the animals are eating the treats.

See some pics below: