Just a few random Allie videos that you might find entertaining....
When I picked Allie up from school yesterday, she showed me a drawing of a stick man with two pieces of styrofoam popcorn glued on to this arms. The title of the picture was "My Strong Muscles". Apparently the kids learned about muscles in school yesterday, because Allie has been doing this (see video) for the last 2 days! So cute!!!!!
David was in charge of the video camera while we were at the pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago (see entry from a couple of days ago). Guess I should have posted this video with the pumpkin patch pictures....oh well, I'm still trying to get caught up from being gone for 6 days! Enjoy anyway!
One of Allie's current party tricks which I mentioned in a previous post is when you ask her "Who coaches Alabama?", she says "NICK!". You can catch that here....listen closely! You can also catch some of her dance moves....she's gonna be good!
And finally, Allie loves to play with my iPHONE. She got hold of it the other day and somehow managed to start playing music via the iPOD function. Not sure how she did it, but she did!
Nikki
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Hawaii.....and "Pumpin Cakes"
Hawaii....not too bad for a conference, huh? Each year, David and I attend the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) conference. Last year, it was in Philadelphia....eeehhh, not so great. But Honolulu...who could complain???? So, off we went...me, David, and Baby Will. We decided to leave Allie at home with her Granny. Yes, it was a very difficult decision, but when we thought about taking a 17 month old on a 9+ h0ur flight and crossing 6 time zones which would really screw up her sleeping, we decided it would be best for her to stay with Granny. And yes, 6 nights is the longest that I have ever been away from her....needless to say, it was incredibly difficult for both of us. Granny said that she kept calling for "Mommy" and I had to fight back tears as we were on our way to the airport.....but again, this was for the best, right?
So, we hauled all of our "stuff" (stroller, car seat, car seat base, diaper bag, breast pump, 3 suitcases, purse, briefcase, etc) through the airport (as David asked "How could we ever possibly travel with two of them?"). We made it on the plane with no disasters, and here is a photo of Will during his first flight. Not too shabby, huh? His first flight is to Hawaii! We should all be so lucky....
Will did great on the flight. He stayed awake more than I anticipated. I had to use the breast pump 3 times on the 9+ hour flight....I have pumped in some weird places, but never on an airplane. It was an adventure, but we all did just fine. We arrived in Honolulu mid-afternoon, jumped in the rental car and headed to the Hilton on Waikiki. We had a reception to attend that evening. Will took a brief nap in the hotel room, and then he managed to stay awake until 6:30pm (12:30AM Eastern time). He slept great that first night and adjusted to the time easily...much easier that David and I did! David woke up at ~3:30am the first morning that we were there...He was in the lobby working by 4-ish AM. Will and I slept until 6am, and then began our first day of the conference.
Here's Will with his official ASHG name badge...it's sort of a right of passage for us to get our kids a name badge at their first official genetics conference. Allie got her first badge at the SERGG (SouthEast Regional Genetics Group) meeting in Charleston in August, 2008.
Without a doubt, Will was the best dressed person at the conference.....Geneticists are not known for their love of fashion :-) How cute are these outfits???? Everybody LOVED his shoes!
Will napped great....obviously. Just open up the sliding glass door so that he could hear the breeze and the ocean and he was snoozing before we knew it.
We did manage to escape for a couple of hours one afternoon and take a walk down Waikiki beach. Per the request of Pops...here's a picture of Will on Waikiki with Diamond Head in the background.
We found a couple of free hours the day before we left to take a drive around the south side of Oahu. Here is Will and Daddy at Hanauma Bay.
Mommy and Will at the "Blow Hole"
Daddy and Will at Nu'uanu Pali Lookout
And finally, Will resting when we got back to the hotel....
And last, but definitely not least, a Kiwi Colada for Mommy :-) Ahhhhhhhhhhh............
Now, on to the "Pumpin Cakes".
While we were in Hawaii, Allie and Granny baked cupcakes. Allie helped Granny mix the batter, and then she helped put the pumpkins on top. Somewhere along the way, instead of calling them cupcakes, Allie started calling them "Pumpin" Cakes. She loves "pumpin" cakes....without a doubt. While at Granny's house, Granny would feed her bites of "pumpin" cakes; however, when we got home with the "pumpin" cakes, Allie insisted on feeding herself. The pictures tell the rest of the story....
The "pumpin" cake before Allie....
The "pumpin" cake after Allie....
We had chocolate cupcake EVERYWHERE! Thanks for the "pumpin" cakes, Granny, but next time, THEY STAY AT YOUR HOUSE!!!!
We had a great time in Hawaii, but boy, I sure did miss my big girl! I never would have imagined that I would be anxious to come home to Atlanta from paradise, but then again, I've never been a Mommy before....that makes all the difference in the world!!! I'm so happy to be back home with both of my babies!
Nikki
So, we hauled all of our "stuff" (stroller, car seat, car seat base, diaper bag, breast pump, 3 suitcases, purse, briefcase, etc) through the airport (as David asked "How could we ever possibly travel with two of them?"). We made it on the plane with no disasters, and here is a photo of Will during his first flight. Not too shabby, huh? His first flight is to Hawaii! We should all be so lucky....
Will did great on the flight. He stayed awake more than I anticipated. I had to use the breast pump 3 times on the 9+ hour flight....I have pumped in some weird places, but never on an airplane. It was an adventure, but we all did just fine. We arrived in Honolulu mid-afternoon, jumped in the rental car and headed to the Hilton on Waikiki. We had a reception to attend that evening. Will took a brief nap in the hotel room, and then he managed to stay awake until 6:30pm (12:30AM Eastern time). He slept great that first night and adjusted to the time easily...much easier that David and I did! David woke up at ~3:30am the first morning that we were there...He was in the lobby working by 4-ish AM. Will and I slept until 6am, and then began our first day of the conference.
Here's Will with his official ASHG name badge...it's sort of a right of passage for us to get our kids a name badge at their first official genetics conference. Allie got her first badge at the SERGG (SouthEast Regional Genetics Group) meeting in Charleston in August, 2008.
Without a doubt, Will was the best dressed person at the conference.....Geneticists are not known for their love of fashion :-) How cute are these outfits???? Everybody LOVED his shoes!
Will napped great....obviously. Just open up the sliding glass door so that he could hear the breeze and the ocean and he was snoozing before we knew it.
We did manage to escape for a couple of hours one afternoon and take a walk down Waikiki beach. Per the request of Pops...here's a picture of Will on Waikiki with Diamond Head in the background.
We found a couple of free hours the day before we left to take a drive around the south side of Oahu. Here is Will and Daddy at Hanauma Bay.
Mommy and Will at the "Blow Hole"
Daddy and Will at Nu'uanu Pali Lookout
And finally, Will resting when we got back to the hotel....
And last, but definitely not least, a Kiwi Colada for Mommy :-) Ahhhhhhhhhhh............
Now, on to the "Pumpin Cakes".
While we were in Hawaii, Allie and Granny baked cupcakes. Allie helped Granny mix the batter, and then she helped put the pumpkins on top. Somewhere along the way, instead of calling them cupcakes, Allie started calling them "Pumpin" Cakes. She loves "pumpin" cakes....without a doubt. While at Granny's house, Granny would feed her bites of "pumpin" cakes; however, when we got home with the "pumpin" cakes, Allie insisted on feeding herself. The pictures tell the rest of the story....
The "pumpin" cake before Allie....
The "pumpin" cake after Allie....
We had chocolate cupcake EVERYWHERE! Thanks for the "pumpin" cakes, Granny, but next time, THEY STAY AT YOUR HOUSE!!!!
We had a great time in Hawaii, but boy, I sure did miss my big girl! I never would have imagined that I would be anxious to come home to Atlanta from paradise, but then again, I've never been a Mommy before....that makes all the difference in the world!!! I'm so happy to be back home with both of my babies!
Nikki
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
"Pumpin" Patch
Allie has discovered something new this fall...."pumpins". She just loves pumpkins. A couple of weeks ago, we took the kids to Berrypatch Farms to visit the pumpkin patch, take a hay ride, and see the farm animals. Allie had a great time running around the field of pumpkins, and of course, she loved the hay ride. Will.....well, he just slept :-)
Allie chose a special pumpkin....
...but Daddy and I thought this one might be more appropriate for her.
Yes, that's Will bundled up in the carrier
Allie and the Great "Pumpin"
Nothing better than riding on Daddy's shoulders
Pig, pig, pig, pig (Allie tends to repeat words over and over and over....)
Lovin' the hay ride!
Angel face....I'm not sure if she could be any cuter.
"Pumpins", "pumpins", and more "pumpins...."
Will slept the entire time....even when we took him out of the carrier for his first picture with pumpkins.
We had a wonderful afternoon with the babies....
Allie chose a special pumpkin....
...but Daddy and I thought this one might be more appropriate for her.
Yes, that's Will bundled up in the carrier
Allie and the Great "Pumpin"
Nothing better than riding on Daddy's shoulders
Pig, pig, pig, pig (Allie tends to repeat words over and over and over....)
Lovin' the hay ride!
Angel face....I'm not sure if she could be any cuter.
"Pumpins", "pumpins", and more "pumpins...."
Will slept the entire time....even when we took him out of the carrier for his first picture with pumpkins.
We had a wonderful afternoon with the babies....
Saturday, October 17, 2009
A priceless moment
This past week Will got to meet his great grandmother, Ommie.
Ommie is one of the most special people in the world to me, and the strongest woman I know. This photo will always be priceless. I love you, Ommie!
Ommie is one of the most special people in the world to me, and the strongest woman I know. This photo will always be priceless. I love you, Ommie!
War Eagle!
It took a while, but I finally got my hands on some Auburn clothes for these babies!
War Eagle!
War Eagle!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Fun happenings at our house
In the midst of all the sickness around here (see previous post), the babies have still been growing and changing. You just can't stop them!
Will weighs about 11 1/2 pounds now. He goes to the doctor on Monday for his official 2 month visit and weigh in, and unfortunately, his first round of shots. I guess those shots will be a piece of cake for him compared to what he went through last week in the ER! Will is really beginning to develop a personality. He's started smiling at us frequently, and we've even heard him laugh out loud a few times. After much effort, I finally caught some photos of him smiling this past week!
In addition to his smiles, Will has finally learned to cry! This little guy went 7 weeks without really crying. He would just "yell" when he wanted something...a high pitch shrieking type yell. Over the last week, he's actually started really crying when he's not happy. Although we don't enjoy the crying, it's good to know that he can!
He's sleeping pretty well too. He goes to bed in his bassinet at 7:30-8pm. I feed him a bottle when we go to bed about 9:30pm. Just this week he starting stretching out his sleeping from waking for his bottle at 2-2:30am to now waiting for his bottle until ~5:30am! We are so excited that he is technically now sleeping through the night and is on his way to being as good of a sleeper as his big sister. Not too bad for an 8 week old!
Allie is an absolute joy right now. She can say ANYTHING. She's like a little parrot repeating everything that we say. One of the funniest "party tricks" that she has right now is when you ask her "Who coaches Alabama?". She says "Nick"! And then you can ask her, "Who's the worst coach in the SEC?", and she'll say "Chizi" (her version of Chizik, sounds like "Cheesy"). It's too cute!
She's still nuts about Elmo, and Barney too. We recently had DVD players installed in both of our cars because Allie is a horrible car rider, and we were hoping that if she could watch a DVD while riding, it might curtail some of her fussing and crying. It worked! The only problem is that now every time we talk about going bye bye, she starts yelling "Elmo! Elmo! Elmo!". She thinks that every car MUST have an Elmo DVD playing!
Allie is still going to school two days each week. Although she is occasionally a little teary when we drop her off, her teachers tell me that she does great while she is there, and she's always playing and happy when we go in to pick her up. I think she really loves her teachers and being with the other kids. Here's some pictures of Allie ready to go to school Monday morning. She looks like such a big girl in her blue jeans and tennis shoes!
Nikki
Will weighs about 11 1/2 pounds now. He goes to the doctor on Monday for his official 2 month visit and weigh in, and unfortunately, his first round of shots. I guess those shots will be a piece of cake for him compared to what he went through last week in the ER! Will is really beginning to develop a personality. He's started smiling at us frequently, and we've even heard him laugh out loud a few times. After much effort, I finally caught some photos of him smiling this past week!
In addition to his smiles, Will has finally learned to cry! This little guy went 7 weeks without really crying. He would just "yell" when he wanted something...a high pitch shrieking type yell. Over the last week, he's actually started really crying when he's not happy. Although we don't enjoy the crying, it's good to know that he can!
He's sleeping pretty well too. He goes to bed in his bassinet at 7:30-8pm. I feed him a bottle when we go to bed about 9:30pm. Just this week he starting stretching out his sleeping from waking for his bottle at 2-2:30am to now waiting for his bottle until ~5:30am! We are so excited that he is technically now sleeping through the night and is on his way to being as good of a sleeper as his big sister. Not too bad for an 8 week old!
Allie is an absolute joy right now. She can say ANYTHING. She's like a little parrot repeating everything that we say. One of the funniest "party tricks" that she has right now is when you ask her "Who coaches Alabama?". She says "Nick"! And then you can ask her, "Who's the worst coach in the SEC?", and she'll say "Chizi" (her version of Chizik, sounds like "Cheesy"). It's too cute!
She's still nuts about Elmo, and Barney too. We recently had DVD players installed in both of our cars because Allie is a horrible car rider, and we were hoping that if she could watch a DVD while riding, it might curtail some of her fussing and crying. It worked! The only problem is that now every time we talk about going bye bye, she starts yelling "Elmo! Elmo! Elmo!". She thinks that every car MUST have an Elmo DVD playing!
Allie is still going to school two days each week. Although she is occasionally a little teary when we drop her off, her teachers tell me that she does great while she is there, and she's always playing and happy when we go in to pick her up. I think she really loves her teachers and being with the other kids. Here's some pictures of Allie ready to go to school Monday morning. She looks like such a big girl in her blue jeans and tennis shoes!
Nikki
Monday, October 12, 2009
An eventful...and unpleasant....few weeks
Ok, let me see if I can recount all of the unpleasant events these two babies have experienced in the last couple of weeks.
It all began on Monday, September 21, when Allie awoke with a runny nose and fever. Well, actually, she had a fever on Saturday and Sunday prior to that, but it was a low grade fever and wasn't really interfering, so I thought she was likely just cutting some new teeth....I was wrong! Back to the story....So, we decided to keep her home from school on Monday, and about mid-morning she poked at her right ear and started saying "Ouch, ouch". Uh oh...we all know what that means. I called the pediatrician, got her an appointment for that day, and sure enough Allie is diagnosed with her first ear infection. We pick up our 10 day course of antibiotics (yes, the lovely pink bubble gum flavored amoxicillin that we all know and love), and we head home. Within a couple of days, Allie feeling better, but she still has a runny nose on Wednesday, so we keep her out of school again. No worries by the following week though. She's back to normal and back to school....and still on her 10 day course of antibiotics. On Thursday, October 1, Allie finishes her antibiotics and all is well.....but not for long! By Sunday afternoon, the 3rd, Allie is running a fever again and is fussy. Is the ear infection back? Were the antibiotics not strong enough to clear it up completely? Monday morning, Allie awakes with a fever of 102.7 and a stuffy/runny nose....YUCK! No school for her again :-(
So, back to the doctor we go. Normally I wouldn't take her to the doctor for a fever and runny nose, but given the previous ear infection and all the H1N1 flu going around, I thought we better head back to the doctor. This time, the ears are all clear and there is no sign of obvious infection. Diagnosis: probably a viral illness. Give Tylenol/Motrin and make sure she drinks plenty of fluids. Oh, and let's not forget, keep her away from Will as much as possible and wash, wash, wash our hands a lot. We certainly don't want Will to catch this viral infection "because any baby less than 8 weeks of age that gets a fever must go to the hospital!" Note: Will is only 6 weeks old at this point (did you catch the foreshadowing here?).
Tuesday and Wednesday are not so bad. Allie's fever and runny nose are pretty much gone, and she's acting pretty normal other than being a little bit clingy. On Wednesday afternoon, Allie goes to Granny's house to spend a few days/nights so that we can keep her away from Will in hopes that he has not contracted the viral illness and she'll have a chance to fully recover without passing it to him. On Thursday, the 8th, while out running errands, I notice that Will feels a little warm. I take his jacket off of him and feel him again after a few minutes....he's still warm. He's also been moaning while sleeping, sleeping a bit more than normal, and spitting up more than normal, but nothing so striking that I would have suspected anything was wrong. We drop the errands and head straight home to grab our handy thermometer. Wouldn't you know it....a temperature of 101. Lovely. Now what? Oh, and let's not forget Allie: she has a low grade fever again, a runny nose, and is whinny/clingy.
I call the doctor and they make an appointment for Will within the hour. I just happen to see the same doctor that I saw with Allie 4 days earlier. She reminds me, very politely, that he's so young that he will have to go to the hospital for evaluation. I know, I know. She does a quick check of his ears and chest and all is clear. She warns me that when we get to the emergency room, they will likely draw blood and collect urine for some initial tests. If those are completely normal, then they will likely send us home because he is so close to 8 weeks old (he's 7 weeks, 2 days at this point). If there is anything concerning in the bloodwork, like an elevated white blood cell count that could indicate an infection, then they will likely admit him for 48 hours and continue with testing....a lumbar puncture (also known as a spinal tap)! Ugh....I knew that was coming, but I didn't want to hear it. So, the doc calls the ER to let them know that we are on our way.
We arrive at the ER and David meets us there. His temp is still 101, so it was no fluke. A couple of hours later, the testing begins. The little guy went through so much (with his Daddy by his side while Mommy retreated to the waiting room to cry). He had his blood drawn, was catheterized for a urine sample, had a chest x-ray, AND had a lumbar puncture! He was a trooper, although those little eyes sure were red from lots of crying :-(
After 5 hours in the ER, we are told that all tests are normal and he likely has the same viral illness as Allie. We should take him home, make sure that he drinks lots of milk (ie...Mommy gets to wake him for frequent bottles in the middle of the night!), and take him back to his doctor tomorrow (Friday) for a check. Whew....we finally made it out of there!
Back to the doctor we go on Friday. He still has a 99.9 fever, but is acting pretty normal aside from a little fussiness. He's still drinking his milk, tinkling, pooping, etc. His exam is still normal. So, we're told to just do more of what we are doing. Tylenol as needed, drink plenty of milk, etc. A fever associated with viral illnesses is usually gone within 5 days. If he still has a fever of 100+ by Tuesday (tomorrow), he has to go back to the doctor.
I'm happy to report that Allie is all better! She even went to school today (finally!). Will is still running a low grade fever of 99+, but it hasn't reached 100 since last Thursday, and he seems to be acting his normal self. Hopefully we are all in the clear and on our way to happy, healthy babies again!
Nikki
It all began on Monday, September 21, when Allie awoke with a runny nose and fever. Well, actually, she had a fever on Saturday and Sunday prior to that, but it was a low grade fever and wasn't really interfering, so I thought she was likely just cutting some new teeth....I was wrong! Back to the story....So, we decided to keep her home from school on Monday, and about mid-morning she poked at her right ear and started saying "Ouch, ouch". Uh oh...we all know what that means. I called the pediatrician, got her an appointment for that day, and sure enough Allie is diagnosed with her first ear infection. We pick up our 10 day course of antibiotics (yes, the lovely pink bubble gum flavored amoxicillin that we all know and love), and we head home. Within a couple of days, Allie feeling better, but she still has a runny nose on Wednesday, so we keep her out of school again. No worries by the following week though. She's back to normal and back to school....and still on her 10 day course of antibiotics. On Thursday, October 1, Allie finishes her antibiotics and all is well.....but not for long! By Sunday afternoon, the 3rd, Allie is running a fever again and is fussy. Is the ear infection back? Were the antibiotics not strong enough to clear it up completely? Monday morning, Allie awakes with a fever of 102.7 and a stuffy/runny nose....YUCK! No school for her again :-(
So, back to the doctor we go. Normally I wouldn't take her to the doctor for a fever and runny nose, but given the previous ear infection and all the H1N1 flu going around, I thought we better head back to the doctor. This time, the ears are all clear and there is no sign of obvious infection. Diagnosis: probably a viral illness. Give Tylenol/Motrin and make sure she drinks plenty of fluids. Oh, and let's not forget, keep her away from Will as much as possible and wash, wash, wash our hands a lot. We certainly don't want Will to catch this viral infection "because any baby less than 8 weeks of age that gets a fever must go to the hospital!" Note: Will is only 6 weeks old at this point (did you catch the foreshadowing here?).
Tuesday and Wednesday are not so bad. Allie's fever and runny nose are pretty much gone, and she's acting pretty normal other than being a little bit clingy. On Wednesday afternoon, Allie goes to Granny's house to spend a few days/nights so that we can keep her away from Will in hopes that he has not contracted the viral illness and she'll have a chance to fully recover without passing it to him. On Thursday, the 8th, while out running errands, I notice that Will feels a little warm. I take his jacket off of him and feel him again after a few minutes....he's still warm. He's also been moaning while sleeping, sleeping a bit more than normal, and spitting up more than normal, but nothing so striking that I would have suspected anything was wrong. We drop the errands and head straight home to grab our handy thermometer. Wouldn't you know it....a temperature of 101. Lovely. Now what? Oh, and let's not forget Allie: she has a low grade fever again, a runny nose, and is whinny/clingy.
I call the doctor and they make an appointment for Will within the hour. I just happen to see the same doctor that I saw with Allie 4 days earlier. She reminds me, very politely, that he's so young that he will have to go to the hospital for evaluation. I know, I know. She does a quick check of his ears and chest and all is clear. She warns me that when we get to the emergency room, they will likely draw blood and collect urine for some initial tests. If those are completely normal, then they will likely send us home because he is so close to 8 weeks old (he's 7 weeks, 2 days at this point). If there is anything concerning in the bloodwork, like an elevated white blood cell count that could indicate an infection, then they will likely admit him for 48 hours and continue with testing....a lumbar puncture (also known as a spinal tap)! Ugh....I knew that was coming, but I didn't want to hear it. So, the doc calls the ER to let them know that we are on our way.
We arrive at the ER and David meets us there. His temp is still 101, so it was no fluke. A couple of hours later, the testing begins. The little guy went through so much (with his Daddy by his side while Mommy retreated to the waiting room to cry). He had his blood drawn, was catheterized for a urine sample, had a chest x-ray, AND had a lumbar puncture! He was a trooper, although those little eyes sure were red from lots of crying :-(
After 5 hours in the ER, we are told that all tests are normal and he likely has the same viral illness as Allie. We should take him home, make sure that he drinks lots of milk (ie...Mommy gets to wake him for frequent bottles in the middle of the night!), and take him back to his doctor tomorrow (Friday) for a check. Whew....we finally made it out of there!
Back to the doctor we go on Friday. He still has a 99.9 fever, but is acting pretty normal aside from a little fussiness. He's still drinking his milk, tinkling, pooping, etc. His exam is still normal. So, we're told to just do more of what we are doing. Tylenol as needed, drink plenty of milk, etc. A fever associated with viral illnesses is usually gone within 5 days. If he still has a fever of 100+ by Tuesday (tomorrow), he has to go back to the doctor.
I'm happy to report that Allie is all better! She even went to school today (finally!). Will is still running a low grade fever of 99+, but it hasn't reached 100 since last Thursday, and he seems to be acting his normal self. Hopefully we are all in the clear and on our way to happy, healthy babies again!
Nikki
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
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