T@rget trips

We spend way too much time at the one stop St@rbucks, lunch, grocery, clothes, toiletry mega-mart known as Tar-jay. Lils has a hard time containing her excitement and I'm ashamed to admit that I'm the mom screaming down the aisles as my kid runs out of control all over the place. This setting seems to invite energetic rebellion. It's the long aisles that just invite sprinting, the clothes racks that look like gymnastics equipment, and the mountains of toys and games which can be rolled, thrown, scooped, and kicked.

We're struggling for control and independence right now and, quite often I feel like the loser. I'm sure I'm not alone in this mommy struggle and I'm not the only one who feels like "4 years old" is a mental health diagnosis rather than a statement of age. How can this sweet, smiley face be so smart, loving, and witty one moment and such a challenge of wills the next?!?!  It's a good thing this love I have for her is completely unconditional.  Maybe it's not my child....maybe it's the red and white bullseye that makes us both crazy. ;)

Al Geez

My sweet girl is recovering from a weird case of strep and has had this strange hives breakout. This is not the first time she's had this type of skin breakout and the prospect of a serious allergic reaction kinda freaks this mama out a little bit. We made a mad dash for the pediatrician yesterday afternoon and have an official referral for allergy testing. I'm trying to stay off of google to keep myself safe from panic attacks. 

Fortunately for us, Lils loves her doctor and gives her a big cheese smile every time we have to see her. Hopefully we will have a verdict on what my baby calls her al-geez.

Long time no blog

I can't believe it has been SOO long since I have blogged.  I really remember the joy that blogging brought me and I miss it.  I hope to dive right back in but I'm not making any promises.  Lots of things have happened in our household over the past few years and I'm not even going to try to cover it all but some of the main things that are relevant to us now..

1. Munchkin is now 4 1/2 and in pre-school, dance and vivacious.  She's challenging, loving, sweet, beautiful and continues to be my dream come true.  Nothing makes me happier than her new habit of randomly telling me that she loves me. 
2. My weight struggle is in full blown failure mode right now.  I have gained a ton of my original weight back and feel horrible.  My running isn't possible until I lose some poundage and, unfortunately, this struggle impacts my life in a big way. 
3. I'm back in school.  Following a tough decision and many second guessing episodes since, I am now almost finished with my 3rd semester of graduate school.  I'm going to UAB and in the Family Nurse Practitioner program, scheduled to graduate in the summer of 2016.  I hope every day that this was the right decision for our family.  I am still working full time but will have to cut some hours in the Fall when I start clinical rotations.
4. We are still extremely fortunate to have the support and love of our family.  My parents are moving even closer to us....not even 10 minutes up the street.  Papa is still taking care of our girl during work days and they have an unbelievable bond. 

That's probably enough for now.  Hope to be back soon.

Yay for a Wedding!!

My brother married a fantastic woman a couple weeks ago and we were so happy to be able to share in the day.  I am so happy for both of them and, while Lily did not necessarily show her best behavior, she looked stunning as the flower girl.  Here are just a few pictures of the event...

 

 

Yay!!! Congratulatons Jason and Diana!!!

Cars

We spent the weekend last weekend looking at new cars and it took the WHOLE DAY on Saturday.  Lily was amazing and stayed entertained the entire time with almost no tantrums.  She loves cars.  And clothes. And shoes. And music. And her family.  But that day she loved cars.

Really? How does she know how to put the key in the ignition?!?! She's not even 2. 

 

And she can control the temperature and sound system on the steering wheel controls.

 

 

She loves to be buckled in and it's a good thing since she can open the door. Or in Lily words, "A-pen"

 

Finally we settled on a car for us.  And here she sits in the front seat.  We are now a green, granola and Birkie wearing family with our own hybrid.  

Wedding Rehearsal from a Flower Girl's Perspective

When Uncle Jason and Aunt Diana asked Lily to be a flower girl in their wedding, they had NO idea what they were in for.  This beautiful sweet looking little girl...

...who walked in so sweetly with her little tutu on and holding hands...

...who held her pretty flower wand and made faces at  her family...

....who stood where she was supposed to for all of 15 seconds looking all dainty and proper...

 

 ...would turn in to THIS....

...to only be calmed by hugs from mama.  And this was just the rehearsal. :)

How we entertain ourselves in a hotel

A couple of weeks ago, we travelled out of town for my brother's wedding and we were in a hotel for four days and nights.  Controlling an almost two year old in this environment is tough but our girl always manages to have a good time.  It takes simple things like a luggage cart, a cooler (Pop pop's idea) and an elevator to turn a frown upside down.  And once you see this smile, you can't help but break in to clownish grins yourself. 

 

Checking in! This was about 2 minutes before she fell off and bonked her precious head.

 

Time to leave...sharing the cart with all our stuff.

 

 Cooler games with Pop Pop.

 So comfy I could just fall asleep.

 

She knows exactly what buttons to push.

 



And after pushing the buttons, she has to stand against the wall of the elevator like everyone.  Kids are so funny!

M.I.A.

I haven't posted in a LONG TIME. Life has truly gotten in the way I'm afraid. We are having a great time with Lily and there are no words that could sum up our days. I do miss blogging, though, and hope to get back to it gradually. F@cebook has replaced blogging in a way, if that's possible. If you follow my blog, please friend me on FB if you want to see pics of Lily on a regular basis. She is growing so fast!

I can't believe this was my baby girl on May 15, 2011 (Gotcha Day)...

And here she is on September 15, 2012 (16 months after Gotcha)...

She is so amazing, beautiful, smart, resilient, happy and ours!  There are still some days I can't believe that she is real.  :)

One Year Later!

One year ago today we saw this beautiful face for the first time. After waiting FOREVER, Jeff and I lived a dream come true. Here we are, a year later, living that dream with our Lily. No words can describe how amazing every day is with her and how much joy and happiness she has brought to our lives. On that day, a year ago, I knew that this was the child that was created to be my daughter and I was born to be her mother. Every day when I snuggle her to sleep, listen to her sweet baby voice learn new words, watch the light in her eyes as she discovers her world, see her loving and funny personality emerge I just know that life can get no better than it is right now. She was worth every millisecond of the long wait and I remember that day, April 1st, 2011 as one of the best of my life. I never knew I could fall so deeply in love in an instant. It was the beginning of the most thrilling adventure I have ever known...being Lily's Mommy.

Happy Referral Day Anniversary to my little family!

First trip to the ER

My poor girl now has her first trip to the Emergency Room behind her. It was March 21st and I had worked a full 12-13 hour shift and had to be back the next morning for another. We were doing our normal "between shift" routine of quick bath/shower and night night when Lily decided she was going to start puking uncontrollably. She was throwing up and coughing and couldn't seem to catch her breath so we started to panic. Jeff said we needed to go NOW. So we jumped in the car and Jeff turned on the hazard lights and we went to the ER at record speed while Lily puked all over herself, her carseat and me. She has had problems with spit up before but I can honestly say she has never all out thrown up until this time. It was gross. Yes I'm a nurse and can handle just about any body goo but puke just sends me over the top every time...even with my own child.

We got to the ER and within a few minutes they were doing Lily's vital signs. They couldn't get a blood pressure and her sat probe said her heart rate was 198 while she was screaming her head off. After that she started to calm down and the puking just stopped. Of course we were already both covered so they gave us a mini hospital gown to put on her. The gown swallowed my little petite baby girl. She looked so pitiful. Just wimpering and wanting to snuggle with mommy and daddy.

We spent quite a while in the waiting room with the masses of kids screaming with their siblings running like mad. There were some being ridden around in a little wagon for entertainment while another little family ate McDonald's off the ER waiting area floor. Ewww. Mostly I could see that there are a ton of people who use the ER as their walk in clinic/doctor's office. It was not a pleasant experience.

When we finally got back to a room, the nurse came in and asked us to force feed Lily iced pedialyte. Well...this child doesn't drink cold anything. I was trying to squirt it in her mouth with a syringe and all that did was cause another screaming fit. No Pedialyte for Lily. The doctor came in, listened to her lungs, looked in her ears and said she had no idea what it could be but wanted to get a chest xray to rule out foreign body. So the second worst part of the night ensued. It took me and Jeff and about 4 10 lb sandbags to hold Lily still enough to get the xray. She screamed and made a horrified face like none I have seen on her before. It was AWFUL. I was bawling like a baby, she was crying out of control and we were all just exhausted beyond belief.


Finally, a little before 1am, they released us and just said we should watch her. Duh. She was a little puny the next day with Daddy who stayed home with her but she's been fine since. Lesson learned though...only go to the ER if there are blue lips or serious pain involved.

Welcome Spring!

The weather has been amazing these past couple of weeks (aside from the thick layer of yellow goo all over everything). Lily and I discovered a little park just outside of our neighborhood and they have an awesome tiny playground. One afternoon last week, we rustled up some spontaneity and went...

It was so fun!!

Picture outtakes

I don't know why these pictures made me giggle but they did. So much so that I thought I would share...

Because I'm so pretty....

I just HAVE to give myself a kiss. :)

She's signing!

Our little girl is going through a growth and development spurt over these past few weeks. She is starting to form some words, she's eating better and, with only a few demonstrations, she has learned to sign her first word. Mommy provoked her with some chocolate but she is signing "more."

Learning Tower

I have been pondering buying Lily this Learning Tower for a few months now. I have seen it on other blogs and thought it would be good for her since she is such a curious little girl. Lately she has been absolutely not letting me do anything in the kitchen. She will pull up on my legs and beg to be picked up. My assumption is that she just really wants to see what's going on on those elusive countertops. So...out of almost desperation, I ordered it hoping it would be our answer and would allow me to actually do some healthy cooking.

It arrived in a million pound box...
With a lot of fancy looking wooden pieces, some screws and an allen wrench. Oh how I love an allen wrench.

It only took me about 30 minutes to put it together and I think it looks pretty swifty in our kitchen.

But the true test remains in the next few days. Will Lily be entertained enough to let me cook?

I'll keep you posted.