Long Time, No Post

I finally found a way to use this sling that works for Eli and I both. He loved being carried around this way because he was touching me, which is his favorite place to be, and he could look around at the world. I loved it because he wasn't crying and I could still use both my hands! Woot!

Things have been crazy busy since just before our vacation. We've been home for nearly a week, but I think it is only this afternoon that I can honestly say things are getting back to normal. I still have a disturbing pile of dirty laundry in my bathroom, but at least my to-do list is no longer following me around and throwing tomatoes at my head.

The beach was lovely and we took a LOT of photos. The cousins had a fantastic time playing together and kept each other nicely entertained most of the time. They did start to wear on each other by the end of the week, however. At the airport on Saturday, I was beginning to think that Lila and Olivia were going to end up in a fist-fight.

Oh, and one other great outcome from the girls spending so much time together: After seeing Liv go pee-pee on the big potty, Lila finally found the motivation she needed to potty train! She has been wearing Big Girl Panties most of the time since we got home and is doing a fantastic job! Hooray!

I tried...

I keep trying to type a post to go along with this photo, but Eli keeps sabotaging my efforts. I think it's time to give up and just leave you with a picture. :oI~

Alternate Identities and String Cheese

Lila and I have somewhat-recently discovered a kids' TV show called "Signing Time". The show teaches sign language and has hideously catchy songs that will get stuck in your head for days. The two main kids on the show are named Alex and Leah. Today, Lila has decided that she is Leah and her stuffed pig, normally known as Piggie, is now Alex.

She has been referring to herself in the third person all day. For example, "Leah is going to put some shoes on so the litter doesn't get on her feet." and "Are Leah's fingernails long?" One time, I accidentally referred to her as Lila and she corrected me. "No, I'm Leah!" Yes, of course. Excuse me. :oI~

On a different topic, I've discovered something odd about Charlie. Yesterday, I was eating a piece of string cheese and he started shadowing me and meowing like he thought I had something for him. I told him it was just cheese and let him smell it. Our cats, with a couple of amusing exceptions, have no interest in human food. Charlie has a weakness for peanut butter cookies and Cordelia can't resist barbecue potato chips.

Anyway, he sniffed the cheese and then kept hounding me, so I finally pulled of a small piece and gave it to him. He ate it and then started begging for more! I gave him one more piece, told him he was done, and thought no more of it. Today, Lila ate most of a piece of string cheese and then left a hunk on a plate on the coffee table when she went down for her nap. I looked up a bit later to see Charlie standing on his hind feet by the table and trying to rake the cheese off onto the floor! I guess he likes string cheese.

It's a bit eerie, really...

Fever

Poor Lila has one of her fevers today. My first clue this morning should have been when she wanted to sit in my lap and snuggle for more than 30 seconds. I didn't figure it out, however, until she started complaining of being cold. That's a sure sign that her temperature is on the rise. She didn't seem to feel bad this morning, but she's been much more puny this afternoon.

Earlier, I asked her if she wanted to call her Daddy at work - she has recently started to enjoy doing this and Doug gets a kick out of it - and she said yes. The following is an exact transcript of her side of the conversation (doug's side is pretty accurate - i had him on speaker phone - but i don't remember his exact words)...

[phone ringing]
Doug: Hello?
Lila: I have a fever.
Doug: ...what?
Lila: I have a fever.
Doug: You have a fever? How sad! I'm sorry you are feeling bad.
Lila: I just wanted to call you.
Doug: Well, I'm glad you called me. It's nice to talk to you.
Lila: Just be on your way home.
Doug: Oh, I'm not on my way home yet. I still have to work for a while.
Lila: Bye.
Doug: Bye-bye.
[lila closes phone]

What do I always talk about...?

Please behold the cuteness of my children's legs and feet. And take special note - Eli officially has chubbbbby thighs! WooHoo! [squeeze squeeze]

It was a degree or two below boiling yesterday, so we went out in the backyard. Lila and I both felt it was too hot (i could tell lila was hot by the way she started whining at me), but Eli had fun. He just lay there on the blanket with this little smile on his face. Maybe he was thinking, "Finally, I'm warm!" I'm pretty sure he thinks we're polar bears. And we don't even keep the house as cool as we'd like it! Anyway, I decided it was time to give up and come back in the house once I realized I was losing my battle against the random ants that kept finding our blanket and trying to attack us.

Lila has just spent the past half-hour putting "bandaids" all over my face, arms, legs, feet, neck, clothes, etc. These are actually stickers - most of them from Halloween. I look rather alarming, I fear. I took a picture, which I will post in due time.

Now I'm going to give Lila an early bath in hopes that Doug will agree to go to Chuy's for dinner... :)

Kids

This is a photo of my daughter, Fashion Statement Peeler. Rollers in her hair, a melon-pink outfit, navy blue pajama socks, and red shiny shoes that are two sized too big. All she needs to complete the outfit is a terrycloth robe. The rollers were our second failed attempt at curling her hair. The first attempt ended when she couldn't tolerate sleeping in them. This attempt ended when she insisted on removing them because they were "hurting." Oh well. We'll try again when she's older...

Eli had his two month check-up with the pediatrician yesterday. His latest stats are as follows:

Weight: 11 lbs (30th %ile)
Height: 21.5 in (5th %ile)
Head Circumference: 40 cm (50th %ile)

Translation: He's short and he's got a big head! :o)~

They checked him over and said he looks fine. He got his shots, which he hated, naturally. And everyone told me how much he looks like Lila (she's got a very large fan club at that doctor's office). Tomorrow, Lila goes for a follow-up visit with her Infectious Disease doctor.

stabbing, gagging, and hurting

Lila tried to put her eye out with a fork last night. For the past few months, she has become a fabulous puppeteer. Anything that crosses her path, or even parts of her body, can suddenly develop a personality and start speaking to you. We've been dining with Baby Fork at every meal for quite some time now. At dinner last night, Baby Fork got a little out of hand and stabbed Lila in the eye, drawing blood. Thankfully, he didn't get her eyeball, but it couldn't have gotten much closer. Baby Fork received a firm talking-to and a time out.

Oh, I tried another flavor of yogurt. I got strawberry with fruit on bottom (Brown Cow brand). I found it less repulsive than the vanilla flavor I tried a few days ago, but only slightly. I forced myself to eat half the cup, then had to stop because I was starting to feel like I might gag. I tried. Now I'm officially giving up. I just don't like yogurt.

Ugh, and while I'm complaining... I've been having some sharp lower back and pelvic pains. It started on Wednesday and has been getting slowly worse. (my back is hurting rather a lot as i type this.) I saw my OB/GYN this morning and she ruled out bladder, uterine, and kidney infections. Now I'm scheduled to have an ultrasound next week to see if I have an ovarian cyst. I'm not remotely worried, but please pray with me that the pain will go away because it's interfering with my already-interrupted sleep.

Yogurt? Ew!

I decided yesterday that I was going to try yogurt for the first time in... as far back as I can recall. I have always avoided it on principle - I don't like eating things that, as stated very clearly on the label, are alive. However, since I am currently trying to lose the rest of the weight I gained while pregnant, I've become more adventurous. I bought a box of Cream of Wheat last week and found it to be relatively edible. I also found that it makes my throat swell up. This week, I have been very intrigued by the yogurt commercials that claim to be a delicious way to cut fat out of your diet.

So, I pulled out a small container of vanilla yogurt (HEB brand). Doug is always saying how good it is and Lila just eats it right up. I took one bite and found it completely repulsive. It was tart and didn't taste remotely like vanilla, at least not to these taste buds. I sat there for a moment, recovering, and decided that I couldn't make a judgement based on the first bite.

I gathered my nerve for a few minutes and tried another small bite. I didn't find it any more appealing than the first. At that point, I felt no guilt in putting it back in the refrigerator and eating a pita with hummus instead. Oh well, I did try... And maybe - MAYBE - I'll try a different brand with a flavor that might mask the ickiness a little better. I make no promises, however.

Lila

This is a photo of Lila resolutely NOT looking at the camera.

I'm still not sure of the cause of Lila's discipline problems for the past several days - most likely a combination of factors - but she was much more her normal self today. Thank goodness! In fact, I don't think she got one time out today. It's so nice not to be whined at all day long!

Oh, there are a couple of funny things that she's been saying lately. The first one is something she started saying about a month ago. She uses it anytime we tell her something is about to happen and she doesn't want it to (e.g., a bath, doug leaving for work, etc.). She will say, in a fantastically drawn out whine, "Nooot a gooood ideeea!" The only reason it's not annoying is that it's so funny.

She's also started singing the song Pop Goes the Weasel, only her version is, "Plop goes the diesel..." I haven't corrected her because it cracks me up so much.

And one more thing about Lila: She floated on her back in swim class this morning - all by herself! That is major for her! She loves the water, but has always hated being on her back in it. She floated on her back and when the teacher told her to, she rolled over and put her face in the water. Amazing! The girl is just amazing!

Eli

Whew! The Boy has been a handful for the past several days. He just finished another one of those phases where he doesn't sleep much during the day and spends most of his awake time crying. He was spending a couple of hours in the evenings crying at full volume. After a day like that, you start to feel like the connections in your brain have snapped so that you can't think straight!

Now that he's back to normal, he's being very cute again. Doug and I are starting to get smiles out of him, but no one gets a bigger one than Lila. He gives her big grins and loves to stare at her. He already thinks his big sister is the best thing ever! Another small but cute thing he's started doing is grabbing a fistful of my shirt and holding on tight while he's eating. I've always loved the hijinks of a baby's free hand while they're nursing. It's like the hand has a mind of its own sometimes. The shirt-grabbing doesn't sound that exciting, but it looks very sweet!

His next appointment with the pediatrician is still a couple of weeks away. That's the visit where he'll get his first round of immunizations. I suspect that he's not going to like that very much. (ya think?!?) I always love finding out how much they've grown though. And having everyone in the office tell me how beautiful my children are! :o)~

Need to Vent

Oh my goodness, Lila has been difficult today! Fussing and whining. Disobeying. Throwing things. Arguing. Changing her mind seventeen times with every decision. Asking a thousand questions. Refusing to be in a different room than me for even five minutes! I haven't even been able to sit here and type these few sentences in peace.

She was talking and asking questions and whining non-stop so that I can't concentrate. I had to get up once to verify whether or not she'd eaten the snack she claimed to have eaten so that she could have a jelly bean (she had not). I had to ask her to please go play in another room for a few minutes because she was literally standing in my armpit. (she didn't go to another room, but she did at least go to the other SIDE of this room.)

Yesterday, she fell asleep in the car on the way home from swim class. She slept 15 minutes, which means she wouldn't go to sleep when naptime came. I tried two different times and indulged her way too much because I wanted to take a nap too, but had no success. So she went all day yesterday with a 15 minute nap. Because she was so tired, she woke up four or five times during the night.

When she was nuts this morning, I figured it was from the lack of sleep. She tried to get out of her nap again today, but since she had not slept even 5 minutes, I insisted. After a long battle, I got her to sleep and she took a normal nap. This afternoon, she is still nuts. So she's either still not caught up on sleep or she's just generally insane. Either way, I'm glad it's Friday!

Everyone is Fabulous!

It's fabulous how easily amused little kids are. Earlier this afternoon, Lila and I were playing a "game" called Row the Boat. This is just the two of us sitting facing each other, holding hands, and rocking back and forth while singing "Row, Row, Row your Boat". Lila thought it was hilarious. I played a round or two with this tiny stuffed kitten of hers and she was nearly shrieking, she thought it was so funny!

These kids are so awesome that I ALMOST want to have another one. I get over that pretty quickly though! I never again want to experience the solid year of depression struggles that pregnancy and childbirth bring with them for me. Some people enjoy being pregnant and to them I say, "Cheers! Go knock yourself out (or up, as it were)!" Hormones and I do not get along.

This is a total change of subject, but Doug was fantastic while we were up with my family in Seven Points! He was a constant support for all of us, but especially my step-father, Frank. I know it was completely exhausting for him - it was for all of us - but he was wise enough to take care of himself too. He asked his parents to come to town early to help us take care of the kids. That helped a lot!

[p.s. - this is a photo of my dad (a.k.a., grandaddy and rick) with the kiddos.]

[p.p.s. - eli, at six weeks old, rolled over from his belly to his back yesterday!]

Eli Update

I took Eli to the doctor this morning, to rule out constipation and/or an ear infection, and his weight is up to 9 lbs. 13 oz. He was small for his age at two weeks. I'll be interested to see where he stands at two months!

This is one of those sad, but cute things. Eli HATES the car seat, so if he is in it and not asleep, then he is screaming. Sometimes he reaches a level of crying where it really sounds like he's going to hurt himself. There have been many times when we were going somewhere and he started doing this and one of us would reach one arm back there to comfort him.

A few of those times, (here's the sad, but cute part) he would only calm down once he had grabbed onto one of our fingers. Then he'd just sit back there, doing that post-cry hiccuping thing, and hold tightly onto a finger.

"Oh good. You haven't left me. Just let me hold on to this so I don't forget..."

That is just one of the ways his personality is so different from Lila's at that age. He's also different in the way he "talks". The noises he makes are so Boy! He grunts and growls and shouts. It's very rare that he makes those cute little cooing noises. He's so funny!

Back Home

We're all back home now and Doug and I are exhausted. It was an intense week. The kids aren't all that exhausted (at least not physically) because they both slept all the way from Seven Points to Georgetown yesterday (that's three hours)! It was good to be around family - to mourn together and to know that they already knew what I was feeling, so I didn't have to talk about it if I didn't want to - but it is good to be home now too!

I'm still sad, naturally, but it's not all-consuming like it was for the first several days. Earlier, Lila and I were having "Bible Time" and she started talking about how we won't see Uncle Greg anymore (i don't know what prompted it). Then she said the Bible talks about Uncle Greg. I told her that, yes, the Bible talks about all people. It was sweet, but made me sad too.

Right now, Lila is playing on our bed. She is crawling under the covers and saying she's going to hide from Daddy. She's going to hide for a long time, if that's the case, because he won't be home for at least an hour!

Family Tragedy

For those who haven't already heard, my little brother, Greg Wagner, died on Monday. He drowned in the lake near my mom's house and was pulled from the water later that evening. We are all devastated and in shock. Please pray for God's comfort for all of us. The memorial service is today at 3 p.m. in Gun Barrel, TX.

Saturday

I'm feeling quite refreshed today after some very satisfying alone time this afternoon. I went out and had lunch by myself. Well, actually, I did take someone with me - a book! I was able to read and to eat without worrying about who was going to wake up or having to get up from the table half-a-dozen times to fetch something. After that, I went to Borders and enjoyed a brownie while I read my book some more!

I did get a Father's Day gift for Doug as well... which is good since I just remembered that I never got him a birthday present! (i know, i know - but i had a one-week-old infant and i wasn't allowed to drive yet!) I had decided on two gifts for Father's Day. Maybe I'll make one of them a birthday present...

Eli is four weeks old now and he seems so much bigger than when we brought him home. He's gained 1.5 lbs and 3 inches since he was born! (current stats: 8 lbs 8 oz and 21 inches) He is actually focusing on things now, including our faces, and will sometimes even track them with his eyes if they move. Lila has seen me pass a toy back and forth in front of him and tries to do it herself, but her technique is a little off. She holds it just a couple of inches in front of his face and moves it back and forth very quickly. Oh well. He thinks she's cool anyway! :)

Poop

I am pleased to report that the three of us had a fine day today and I even got a good bit of housework done! I have reclaimed our laundry room and the toilet bowls are no longer growing things. Equally exciting, but not nearly as enjoyable, was when my son pooped on the changing table. It shot out six inches! Ew!

That's still not as funny as what he did last week though. First, during a diaper change, he managed to pee onto his face. The next day, he peed into his open mouth! Gross! This boy is dangerous!

Our first normal-feeling Saturday

I'm trying to decide whether or not I should go to a movie this evening. I will definitely not be going to a super-late one, but I might go to a late evening show. It would be nice to watch a movie from beginning to end again. We've been watching them over two or three nights because if I'm at home and relaxed and the kids are asleep, then I want to go to bed too! We'll see what happens...

Right now, I'm waiting for Eli to wake up and eat so that Lila and I can go to the grocery store. Naturally, since I'm waiting for him, he has decided to sleep longer than he has all day! Oh well, it's not like the trip to the store is pressing. It's mostly just to get out of the house and to have a little alone time with my daughter. It will give Doug a break too because she wants him to play constantly.

I took a couple of Tylenol a little while ago and I hope they work soon. For some reason, I've had a sinus headache for two days. I say "for some reason" because the pollen count is not supposed to be that high right now. I guess even a little bit of grass pollen is enough to knock me out since I'm so allergic to it. When I have sinus pressure, it makes the spots where my wisdom teeth used to be ache. Strange!

Better

Wow, yesterday was rough. By the end of the day, I just wanted to walk out the front door. From 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., The Boy did not sleep for more than 5 or 10 minutes at a time. He took a one hour nap at 2 and then started up again. Even worse, he was fussing or full-on crying for most of the time that he was awake. Add to that the fussiness that Lila started because she wasn't getting enough attention and -- ACK!!!

The good news is that Eli seems to be in a much better mood today and there have actually been times when he was awake, but not crying. (yesterday, that only happened while he was eating.) I like it when he's quiet and alert. It's when he's cutest and he makes lots of funny faces. As long as he's awake like that, he keeps those eyeballs roaming all over the place. I guess he's still trying to figure us out too!

This morning was swim class and we all did a great job! Eli was content and cooperative. Lila was a fabulous swimmer and helper. And I managed to juggle both of them and our bags (in the rain) without hurting myself or losing my mind! And Doug is off playing golf with some suppliers, so I'm sure he's had a great morning too! In fact, he should be coming home and Lila should be waking from her nap any minute. I think I'll grab a few minutes of book reading before those things happen...