Happy Holidays!

Hope everyone is having a great holiday season! Pumpkin Pie has had a great Christmas so far, and Princess is enjoying her first Christmas as well. Both are getting spoiled by grandparents as we are traveling to see family. Pumpkin Pie has enjoyed having cousins to play with and is sleeping well at night as a result. The potty learning isn't going as well just because she is spending more time in dipes and pull-ups. We'll get back in the swing of things when we go back home. Pumpkin Pie is sleeping so well in big beds that we may have to set up my old daybed (twin size) when we get home because she isn't needing to go to sleep in our bed before getting moved to her bed like at home. I'm not sure I'm ready for her to be in such a big bed, but sometimes it isn't up to me.

laughing and rolling over

Princess doesn't find life in our house as funny as Pumpkin Pie did, but every once in a while hubby can make her laugh by kissing her cheek and nibbling on her tummy. She is getting better at rolling from tummy to back and has rolled from back to tummy, but not when we have seen her. She had her first taste of oatmeal cereal today. We have rice in the pantry somewhere, but it is much more out-of-reach than the oatmeal was. The important thing is to start with a single-ingredient food - whether that be a grain, fruit, or vegetable.

doctor and dentist appointments

Princess and Pumpkin Pie both had doctor's appointments on Thursday. Princess had her 4-month checkup and Pumpkin Pie got her flu shot. Neither of them was impressed with the immunizations, but they survived. It was a crazy day.

It started as a normal enough day, but we sure were scrambling to get out of the house at a reasonable time. We had an appointment to buy a receiver and component turntable so that my hubby can convert some vinyl records to a digital format. We had to be at her house before 10 because she was going out of town. We got breakfast on the way and picked up the audio components. Then we went to the doctor's office. Upon getting Pumpkin Pie out of her car seat, we discovered that she had almost completely soaked her pants and shirt.

Once we got in the exam room, we took off her jeans, socks, and shoes and changed her diaper and let her run around in her shirt. If they didn't like it, too bad, because it was better than her being in soaked clothes. We also had to get a clean diaper for Princess so they we could change it when we weighed and measured her. She now weighs 13 pounds 8.6 ounces and is 24 1/2 inches long. Pumpkin Pie weighs 24 1/2 pounds, but she hasn't been eating as well because she is getting in two new molars. Princess checked out great and the doctor said we could start baby cereal if we wanted. He didn't even say anything about her cloth diapers or longish fingernails. I'd heard through the grapevine that he wasn't as supportive of cloth, and I knew he'd commented that we should trim Pumpkin Pie's fingernails one time so I was expecting something. We took off Pumpkin Pie's shirt for her flu shot and wrapped her in her coat to carry her out to the van.

After we were done at the pediatrician's, we went to Wal-Mart and I quickly bought two shirts, two pants, and two pairs of socks that all matched so we could change Pumpkin Pie at the dentist's office which we were practically late for already. I had my appointment in the morning - no cavities! - while hubby sat with the girls. Then we went and ate and ran a couple quick errands before going back for hubby and Pumpkin Pie's appointments. He checked out ok as well, and she opened her mouth enough for them to count how many teeth she has and for them to see her new teeth coming in the back. She showed them how she brushes her teeth, but wouldn't let them polish her teeth. They said for a first appointment at her age, she did well. We all go back in 6 months at which point they'll try a more thorough exam possibly including x-rays.

Then it was time to go get groceries and go home. By this time, we were all tired out, but we had to buy enough groceries to get to Christmas break so we did. We grabbed dinner on our way out of town and both girls fell asleep on the way home. Pumpkin Pie was so tired that when hubby carried her in and put her on our bed, she didn't wake up. I changed her diaper when I went to bed because cloth doesn't last all night, and she slept through that as well.

It was quite a day!

4 months old already!

As of yesterday, Princess is 4 months old. We spent the weekend in Lincoln celebrating. OK - not really. We just happened to be there because the annual music teacher's conference was this weekend. We all went and stayed in a wonderful hotel with big rooms so that Pumpkin Pie would have room to run and play. She did really well and had no potty accidents in the hotel that I know of. She enjoyed getting to fall asleep watching TV as that is a special treat.

Wednesday night, I made a sling so that I could take Princess with me to some of the sessions. I knew that Pumpkin Pie is at an age that she wouldn't be able to sit still for an hour, but that Princess would be able to hang out quietly and sleep in the mornings. It took me about an hour to make and cost me about $8 in materials. It was really easy, and I'd like to make many more in a variety of fabrics. I will make the next one a little bit longer just to accommodate Princess just a little bit better. I'd also like to make Pumpkin Pie one to carry her babies around in. She is turning into such a little mommy with a great imagination. Example: On Friday, we went to Perkins for lunch. She chose a pancakes with chocolate chips meal and my hubby and I chose buffalo chicken wraps which came with fries. As she was waiting for us to finish up, she took a small french fry that hubby had given her, laid it on an extra straw as a pillow, covered it with a napkin, and kissed it, saying "night-night, french fry."

All-in-all, it was a great weekend, and we got started on our Christmas shopping as well as finding a kennel in town that the furkid seems to like. It has more space than the place we were using before so she has more room to run and play. We do know that we'll send a bed and some toys for her for next time because there's a lot of cold concrete for her to sleep on. Now we know.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Christmas Pictures

Yesterday we went to town and got Christmas pictures taken of the girls together and separately as well as did our major grocery shopping for the next 2 1/2 weeks. It always makes for a long day, but when we get all of the groceries put away it is refreshing to have a good supply of food in the house again. This time I made a menu so I could plan meals and know that I had what I needed to make those meals. Of course, Princess got fussy while we were shopping and I had to skip a couple of things, but I'll get those at the local store. Pumpkin Pie stayed in the van with Daddy because he hates grocery shopping, and she wanted to watch her movie.

The place that we get the girls' pictures taken has switched to all digital since the last time we got pictures taken (the princess's newborn pictures), and prices have gone up. Also, because we wanted pictures of the girls separately and together all from the same photo session, it was a lot more expensive than if we could have gone in separately, but you are limited to one introductory package per month. We have never spent that much on pictures before! Our favorite person was working, but she wasn't taking pictures yesterday. She is the manager, and she seems to relate really well to the kids. She took Pumpkin Pie's 2 year pictures and they turned out wonderfully. The girl who took the pictures has different taste than me and kept enhancing the pictures (a $30 fee on top of the cost of the print itself if you order one with enhancements) even though I said I wouldn't get enhancements, especially after I found out how much more expensive they were. She paid no attention to my reactions when she was taking the pictures, and I feel she misrepresented what our total would be when we asked. On the plus side, we bought a club card so we get a free 8x10 each time we go in with no additional purchase required. We'll be getting free 8x10s each time we go to that store with one of the kids, just out of spite for how much they have raised rates.

Pumpkin Pie is doing really well with potty learning and will go by herself whenever she needs to at home. She still doesn't tell us while we are out if she needs to go so we did diapers all day yesterday. It doesn't seem to have caused any problems with her going today so that is encouraging.

Yikes!

Where have the last 3 months gone? My princess is 3 1/2 months old, I'm back to work (went back mid-August when school started), and Pumpkin Pie is potty training. We're on day 6 and she's doing all right considering we went from prefolds to panties. (The next few sentences might be TMI so if you don't want to read about Pumpkin Pie's potty details, skip to the next paragraph. :) )Tuesday was the first day, and she went all the way through her nap dry and went in the potty for the first time after her nap. Yesterday she went in the potty 6 times and only twice in her panties. Today she pooped in the potty for the first time. We still have to get in a routine, but she seems pretty proud when she goes. We'll be pretty home-bound for a while unless we put a diaper on her as both trips we've attempted (to Wal-Mart and church) have been failures potty wise.

Otherwise, the girls are doing well. Princess might wake up once in the night to eat, but otherwise sleeps very well. Pumpkin Pie is doing better after the adjustment of a new baby and being away from Mommy and Daddy for the first time ever overnight when I was in the hospital.

I recently got a new sewing machine as my old one was not very cooperative anymore. It was an antique and would probably continue to serve someone well if they had more patience than I do and the time and money to wait for it to be serviced like it probably needs. I currently don't have a lot of faith in the local sewing machine repair shop as they gave us the wrong power cord (wrong brand name and everything) when we had my mom's serger repaired there so I got a computerized sewing machine with 50 stitches built in. It works very smoothly and is light enough that I can move it from my sewing machine to the dining room table when I want to sew up there while the girls are playing. Now I am able to get back to sewing diapers for the Princess.

Pumpkin Pie has become a pretend play expert and will wrap just about anything up in a blanket or towel or washcloth - dependind on what is handy - to put it "night-night". I've caught her using wash clothes to put a rubber duck "night-night" in one of her shoes. The way she kisses it and says "night-night" is pretty cute I think. She can also count pretty reliably to 10 and identify her letters and some shapes and colors - when she wants to. Her favorite songs to sing are The Alphabet Song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, but we hear Old MacDonald, This Little Light of Mine, and the Itsy Bitsy Spider quite often, too. A couple weeks ago she even sang the doxology at church!

Well I suppose that is a good update for now. Hopefully it isn't another 3 months before I post again!

A Long Time Since I Posted

The last two months have been very busy trying to get things ready for our new arrival. Our second little princess arrived on July 23rd at 1:50 in the afternoon. Unfortunately, not everything we wanted to get done did thanks in part to a huge hailstorm that went through town causing us to get a new roof and new siding. The demand led to delays in getting the shingles that we had ordered which led to delays getting the roof done, but it finally got finished and the siding is nearly finished as well - nearly two months after the storm went through. Our vehicle was damaged as well, and that isn't fixed yet even though it spent two weeks in the body shop lot. Would you believe that there was another vehicle of the same make and model and the same color at the same body shop at the same time? Guess which one got worked on... We weren't very happy about that.

A Sick Little Girl

It's been a while since I posted because it's been a busy couple of weeks in our house. My parents have been visiting for the last two weeks, and Pumpkin Pie has barely napped in those two weeks as well. Pumpkin Pie hasn't napped much on my days off for a while, and now that school is out, Mommy is home every day.

Sunday after church and lunch, Pumpkin Pie was getting tired and did eventually fall asleep next to me on the couch. About an hour later she woke up with a fever. I gave her some medicine to help make her more comfortable. We alternated acetaminophen and ibuprofen about every 4 hours until Tuesday morning when I finally took her in to the doctor. She'd been feeling a little better Monday morning and by the time it had gotten bad enough again for me to consider calling, I knew that I could no longer get her in to see the doctor. I knew it wasn't bad enough to take her to the ER - she was just running a fever and hurting somehow. We suspected teething (no molars yet) but couldn't feel any teeth coming through, although it obviously hurt her to eat. She would chew things, but wouldn't swallow much more than applesauce and popsicles. When she saw the doctor on Tuesday, she was somewhat on the mend, but still not eating much. The doctor showed me how sore her throat obviously was, but it was just a virus that would run its course after another day or two. By now, she is back to her happy self and eating very well again. She's even napping right now! Those days of her crying "mommy, mommy, mommy" were very hard on me. She is getting very good at calling for Mommy when she wants me or wants me to do something.

She calls me "Mommy"...

I never thought that such a simple word would have such a profound effect on my emotions. Maybe it is because I'm expecting Baby #2 in just a few weeks, but when Pumpkin Pie called me "Mommy" instead of the usual "Mom-Mom", it brought a wistful smile to my face. My little girl is growing up.

Another Birthday Party

My parents arrived a few days ago to visit and help work on the basement renovation. My mom, Pumpkin Pie, and I went shopping on Saturday and then when we got home I made cupcakes for another birthday cake. My sister had sent a birthday present for Pumpkin Pie with my parents, and she had presents to open from my parents as well. After supper, we relaxed and socialized and then my mom went to get Pumpkin Pie's presents. She did so well unwrapping them. Each time a piece of paper would tear off, she would go put it in a certain place (she may turn out to be a neat-nick!) before she would go unwrap anymore. Pumpkin Pie got a new music box to add to her collection, a walking Cabbage Patch Baby, and a Little Mommy Toddler doll play area with a doll sized slide, high chair, pillow and blanket, etc. She loves her "babies" very much and enjoys cuddling with them. She doesn't have a Little Mommy doll, but we did find one of her babies that fits in the high chair rather well so she set out to feeding her baby with the spoon and sippy cup that came with the set.

Last week, she got a package containing some bib overalls with the mossy oak camoflage pattern and lace trim. Today is a cool enough day for her to wear them. They are a little big, but they should fit her for a while. She seems to have recently gone through a growth spurt as she went from having a chubby tummy to no tummy in about a week. We haven't measured her, but I'd be willing to bet that she's a lot taller.

Pumpkin Pie's Birth Story

Since we're going to have another one soon, I want to get these details written down before I forget them or get the two kids confused. I know that there are a few details I have forgotten, but I'll fill them in as I remember. Thank goodness for the edit feature!

Pumpkin Pie was due to be born on May 15, but being a first-time mom there were a few times before her due date that I had thought I was in labor for one reason or another. With what few complications I had (measuring small, not enough amniotic fluid, my inability to gain weight, etc.) I was certain that I would have her at least 2 weeks early. So when I'm still pregnant 3 days before my due date, I was shocked (and so were my parents)! On May 12, my hubby, my parents (who came to town early so that they would be there when the baby was born and could stay to help), and I went to town grocery shopping. We had a nice dinner ending around 6:30 or so. I wasn't especially hungry so it was a fairly light meal. We did some other shopping and then went to get groceries. I was having backaches throughout the grocery shopping, but nothing too bad. I didn't really notice that they were coming and going. We checked out around 8:45, and I went to the bathroom before we left. I had a little bit of bloody show. Coupled with the backaches which I was now realized were coming and going, maybe this was it. We got the groceries loaded in the car, and at some point, I realized I was having contractions. We timed them for about a half an hour and they were about 5 minutes apart! We'd been there done that with the regular contractions before, but we called the doctor anyway. Because we were in town, we were only 5 minutes from the hospital instead of over an hour. The doctor called back and said to go to L&D where they monitored me for awhile. Around midnight (I think), they decided to admit me and started an IV. I had a dose of Nubain before going to sleep. I woke up around 7AM when the doctor checked me, broke my water, and started pitocin. There was meconium in Pumpkin Pie's amniotic fluid. I labored with pitocin for 5 hours or so. There was another dose of Nubain in there somewhere, but it didn't help very much so I asked for an epidural. Finally, the anesthesiologist got there and prepped me for my epidural. The first time he inserted the catheter (I think that's what did it) I felt some strong pains in my right leg. After some adjustment, it was all in place and made the rest of the afternoon much easier. I dozed off and on for a few hours. About 4:45 my doctor came in to check me, but I hadn't progressed any since my epidural so he wanted us to think about a c-section. He gave hubby and I some time to discuss it. Hubby and I agreed that although it wasn't our ideal situation, we wanted a healthy baby girl by whatever means necessary. About 30 minutes later, my doctor came back and we said we would consent to the c-section, but he wanted to check me one more time. During that 30 minutes, I had started to labor and progress again. I was in transition! I spent the next hour and a half laboring until I got to 10 centimeters and started pushing around 7PM. I pushed for one hour and 19 minutes (throwing up every 15 minutes while in transition!) before my beautiful baby girl was born. She had aspirated some meconium so after a brief cuddle with me, they took her to the NICU for a long 4 hours for oxygen, an x-ray, and some observation. Shortly after midnight, they brought her back to me and she stayed in my room the rest of the time except for a follow-up x-ray on May 14 and a brief hearing test before she could be discharged. We struggled with nursing in the hospital (too much pressure, I think) but did well once we got home. Two years later, she's a beautiful, smart little girl. She may be petite, but she's about as healthy as can be!

Growing Up Too Fast

Today makes 9 weeks and counting until baby #2 is due. I know that Pumpkin Pie will be a great big sister, but it amazes me how quickly she is growing up. She received a giftcard in the mail earlier this week from her aunt, uncle, and cousins (Thanks!) and we spent it last night while we were in town to see my doctor. The baby is growing very well (HB=157), and I've actually gained 4 pounds in the last two weeks. That's the biggest jump I've had so far in either pregnancy. It still only has me at a net gain of 4 pounds, but maybe I'll actually gain a little more weight with this one. Pumpkin Pie got 3 new puzzles, a Mr. Potato Head, and the parts to make Mr. Potato Head into Mrs. Potato Head fairy princess style. Mr. Potato Head stays put away until school is out so that there are no little pieces left out for Daddy to step on, but we got out one of the puzzles this morning. It only took her a few minutes to figure out, and she played with it for quite awhile - dumping the pieces out and putting them back. Did I mention that the puzzles were marked for ages 3 and up? My Pumpkin Pie may be too smart for her own good. She figured out that all she had to do was match the picture on the puzzle piece with the picture in the empty space and POOF! - we have a match!

We also got a new DVD player last night. Our old one didn't want to open anymore so we couldn't play DVD's in it. We hadn't used it in awhile because Pumpkin Pie figured out last fall how to open and close it. When we had the cabinet pulled out for hubby to do some wiring, I moved the DVD player to the top where Pumpkin Pie can't reach it, but it didn't work anyway. The new one is a 5-disc changer and will upconvert to HD if we ever get an HDTV. It was on clearance, probably in anticipation of a new model or the new bluray technology. I also got an external hard drive last night so I can have a back-up of all of my pictures of Pumpkin Pie. I have them saved on DVD, but can't always get my computer to read them so now they are on the external hard drive. I may delete them from my computer and hope that the free space speeds up the computer and makes it last a little longer. I have a 60GB hard drive in my laptop and 320GB so lots of space to fill. :)

Potty Training?

Pumpkin Pie is just now willing to sit on the potty longer than the half second it takes to sit down and stand up. Having a book to read certainly makes it easier to sit there (her grandma would say she is just like her mommy that way). She has been taking off her diaper cover for awhile and will put her covers and diapers in the diaper pail. Tonight she told me she was "poo-stinky" which is what we say when she is poopy. She was walking and crouching a little funny so I took her to change her diaper right away and she was right! Of course, whatever progress we make after school is out and we really start training will be great, even if there is some regression when the baby is born - the background knowledge will be there.

Introduction and Pumpkin Pie's 2nd Birthday

I can't believe my baby is 2 years old today. It seems like just yesterday that she was born, and now she is a walking, talking, toddler tornado. She has grown into such an amazing little girl already. We always rock briefly before she goes and climbs into bed, but last night when she crawled into bed, I called her back so I could rock her a little more.

Last week, she was playing in the kitchen while I was fixing supper. Her basketball fell down the basement stairs, and of course she started crying. My hubby and I each said that we would go get it in a few minutes. After just a little fussing, she said, "I do. I get ball."



She is also learning the motions to "Pat-a-Cake" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider". However, in spite of all of her babbling and her large receptive vocabulary, the only part of "Pat-a-Cake" she'll say is "baby" ("put it in the oven for baby and me"), and she won't say any of "Itsy Bitsy Spider". She sure is cute doing the hand motions though.



I am a twenty-something mom to my pumpkin pie. I also teach music full-time in a school 30 minutes from my home. I have been married for almost 7 years to my wonderful husband who is a great stay-at-home dad to our little girl. We are expecting our second child in July. Add Pumpkin Pie's best friend - a female black lab and husky mix - and we are going to have a houseful and our hands full.