Growing Up

AJU6 turned 11 months old yesterday. That is right - in 30 days he will be one year old. In 29 days, he will get his first taste of cake (on Thanksgiving when family is already gathered together). And today, he got to go to the dentist for the first time - even before his big sister ever saw one!

Behind his two front teeth, it was black. Since his teeth are fairly thin, you could see the black through the teeth some times. A few weeks ago, I took him to his doctor because we were a little worried. Those same two teeth are shorter than the others, so we thought there might be a real problem. The pediatrician had no idea what it was. So, she recommended we take him to a pediatric dentist. And today was the day of the appointment.

And guess what - the blackness was almost 100% gone this morning. Maybe it was the waffles he has been engulfing the past week (he can eat a whole flax waffle plus some fruit at breakfast each day). Maybe it was the brushing I did (fairly vigorously) before we left. But it was gone. Luckily, the dentist had seen it before. It is some sort of staining, and probably caused by a bacteria. There is no known cause, although environment and genetics may play a part since siblings tend to have it. It can be scraped off, but it isn't dangerous at all. And his front two baby teeth are just short - nothing to worry about there.

The dentist office is pretty fun. They have a play area that AJU5 loves. They have a dog (the older partner's) that just roams the office freely. The cleaning stations are open, and the procedure areas are in glassed rooms so they don't look like closets or jails. So, I scheduled AJU5 for her first appointment. Hopefully seeing AJU6 "go through the motions" today will help. She wasn't too sure about having to stop playing so the dentist could see us. But, I did let her play after, so I think that helped. And she saw the dog (which really does just roam free) and got a toy, so she was content when we left.

How old were your kids when they first went to the dentist? Do you use a pediatric dentist or just a family practice?

We were going to just do the family practice, but 11 months old I think is too young to go to one of those. So, we are now on the pediatric route...

Is It Nap Time Yet?

This week is killing me! VBS is a lot of work. We are averaging 34 kids with under 10 adult helpers and under 10 teen helpers. Oh, and I am not counting AJU6 in those 34 kids...

Add to that a teething infant who is waking every few hours at night, and you have one tired mommy. (The boy has cute 3 teeth in less than a month, and a fourth one is coming soon)

Luckily VBS is going well. We had a great family night yesterday at church, and the kids are enjoying the whole experience. Games have been hit or miss, but that is mainly due to heat (middle group - too hot and tired to play much by their turn) and age (youngest group). Lunch has been a huge hit, and the crafts have gone well. I haven't seen much of the lesson (since there are secluded for maximum attention), but supposedly that has been going well too.

One more day... I can make it...

July Trip 2010 - Part 3

The third part of the adventure was a VBS for a Native American chapter that our church has run the past 7 or 8 years. This was my third time going, and I have enjoyed it each year. I love seeing the kids learn about God and enjoy the activities we have for them. I would show more pictures, but I decided not to post ones with other kids in them.

This leg was just the kids an I - AJU1 had to return to work. Luckily I did have help from the rest of our "mission" team with the kids when I needed it. AJU6 was passed around a lot at dinners. It was really cute seeing the male teens wanting to hold him! They were great wtih him too. As long as he didn't see me, he was happy with whoever was willing to hold him.

Each day we would get up fairly early and have breakfast at the hotel. Then, sometime between 8;30 and 9:00 we would leave for VBS (the teens and most adults left around 8). VBS ran from 10-12 (ish) each day. This year we were outside teh whole time as they were remodeling the chapter house. This meant AJU6 was stuck attached to some adult/teen ALL the time. I tried to put him down a few times,a nd he crawled right off the blanket to the dirt. And then he picked up rocks and tried to eat them. After a few attempts to get him to stop, I gave up. Luckily I had a carrier for him with me...

AJU5 did okay with her class. Some times she behaved, and other times she wanted me. But, that was to be expected. She loved the craft time the most, and finally on the last day participated in the music. I hope she does even better at our church VBS in a few weeks!

In the afternoons we went swimming at the hotel pool. AJU5 did not like her swimsuit/flotation device combo that much, but I was very thankful for it. It meant I didn't have to watch her like a hawk. If she stepped off the steps, she wouldn't go under compeltely - if she relaxed she had no issues whatsoever. Some days she was adventurous - jumping off the side of the pool without hands, floating near the steps on her own, etc. Other days she wouldn't leave the top step without me. AJU6 liked the water too - he even fell asleep in the pool one day!

The hardest part was sleeping. AJU6 cut his upper two teeth while we were there, so he wasn't a happy camper. Since I couldn't "lock" AJU5 in a room by herself, it was hard to get her to fall asleep too. Some nights she was up until 10:30. The latest we slept in was 7am. Each day both kids would fall asleep on the way back to the hotel, but they would wake up once I got them out of the van. I tried to get them to sleep/nap before swimming, but it never worked. Luckily, the both took naps from 3ish until I woke them for dinner.

I wan't wait until next year - I already miss the kids out there!

The kids and i at Wednesday evening service.

AJU5 and I at the missionaries' house at sunset (ignore the wrinkled skort - I was too lazy to iron it)

I will let you interpret this one yourself...

AJU5 with bubbles at VBS.

Ramblings

First, thanks for the prayers for Jersey #2. She made it through surgery just fine, and just a little while ago she had her breathing tube removed. She is showing her strength and joy with lots of smiles and requests for food and drink (no drinks for a few hours and no food until tomorrow).

Second, AJU6's second tooth popped through yesterday. Hopefully we will have a little break before the top teeth come in. He handled the teething fairly well, but a non-teething AJU6 is less work for sure!

Third, my brother-in-law is giving me a little bit of a math work-out. He is taking college Calculus I, and I am tutoring him. We spent 3 hours last night on Skype working problems together. Unfortunately I didn't know how to do one problem (well, one part of one problem) and it wasn't in AJU1's or my calc books. Oh well.

AJU5 wants a bath - so I am bring pulled away. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Prayer Request (and Milestone)

If you ever read the comments on my blog, you might recognize the name Coach Mom. She is an IRL friend. Tomorrow, her daughter (Jersey #2) will undergo a five hour open heart surgery to replace a heart valve. Jersey #2 was born with Tetraology of Fallot, and underwent an even longer and more difficult surgery at almost 3 months old. Now she is 6.5 years old and in need of another surgery so she can be active again. Please pray for this family. Tomorrow many of us are wearing either crazy socks or rainbow colored clothes in honor of Jersey #2, as this is the type of clothing she loves to wear. If you join us, send me a picture so I can pass it on to her mom. They are going to show Jersey #2 all of the pictures to pass the time when she is stuck in bed.



In other news, AJU6 has a tooth now. You can't see it really yet, but I can feel it. I knew it was coming, but I was still surprised to feel it this morning. Hopefully he will sleep well tonight...

Home Again

So, I was out of town for a little over a week. That is why I didn't blog, comment, etc. We went to the in-laws where there is "high-speed" internet, but it was very slow! Also, for safety issues, I didn't want the world to know we were gone (and end up with our house broken into or something).

The trip went fine. We drove this time, and it took two days each way. On the way there, we met friends that live two miles away from us for dinner (and stayed at the same hotel). We can't seem to get together in town, so we had to arrange to meet over 600 miles away. But, it did add some fun to that leg of the journey with the periodic checks to see where each other was.

AJU5 did fairly well. There were crying fits, but normally they coincided with a need for a nap. So, we just let her cry it out until she crashed most of the time. If I didn't think she was sleepy and I had tried all of the snacks and toys we had, I sang to her. Luckily, there were few of these.

The in-laws was okay. They live in the middle of no where, so it was kind of boring. It takes about 30 minutes to get to a grocery store or any real store, so we spent most of our time just hanging out at the house. AJU5 had fun with their cat - she even would go and touch her by the end. She also loved to go out and see the dogs. She actually like their huge dog (st. bernard size, but I am not sure of the breed) better than their beagle. She did pet the big dog a few times, but she normally just liked to be close to him with us there. There was also daily walks around the yard.

The best part of the trip was the four nights we didn't have anything to do with AJU5 from when we put her to bed until we got up. All but one of those nights she didn't need tending too, and the other time she went back to sleep quickly with a little rocking. I loved being able to sleep in though! The last three nights weren't as great though. The first one she refused to go back down so we were summoned to deal with her (she ended up in bed with us). The next night we just had her in the morning because she had moved rooms and was closer to us. The final night she woke up once and required snuggling. And again I had morning detail (AJU1 slept in because we were leaving and he needed rest since he does all the driving).

Pictures will come once they are off the camera. We haven't even been home 24 hours, and it has been busy around here! First was lunch. Next there was catching up on my work (Mondays are grading days). Then there was a trip to Costco for groceries. While AJU5 and I were at the store, AJU1 started the yard work. Not too long after that was AJU5's bed time and a movie for us (now that we have a TV downstairs). I ended up sleeping with AJU5 from 11pm on, and have been trying to do work and take care of her needs all morning. Hopefully by tomorrow life will be "normal" again!

Oh, and I forgot to mention that while we were at the in-laws, AJU5 had a runny nose and was very cranky. I think it was just allergies and teeth (she is filling in between her front teeth and molars), but AJU1 also got sick. So, there was also a lot of Gilligan's Island watching during the day!

And It Continues

AJU5 is still struggling with the teeth. She doesn't go to sleep until 9pm or later each night (even though we try to get her down earlier). We have resorted to allowing her to have her pacifiers at any hour to stop the crying when not held (while one of us is standing). But, there has been humor in all of this!

Last night, we put her down at 9 (since that is when we go to bed). Around 9:45, she was whining too much for me to sleep. So, I went to see if I could get her to sleep with me. Well, after a little bit, she started to play. She walked over to her night-light and stared at it. She touched it, and then came back to me. After about ten rounds of this, she started to add a little walking in circles to this. Of course, she ended up falling down some - which led to laughing. It was fun to watch! Eventually she came back over and snuggled. (So she went to bed and slept until 2:30ish - and then back to bed by 3 - and slept until 7.

Today she has been attached to me. It is making it hard to work, etc. But, I love the snuggle time! I just wish we had a tv so we could sit in front of it and snuggle!

Using Force

AJU5 knows how to get what she wants - cry or use force! If she wants me to do something, she just makes my body do what she wants. She pulls our fingers until we follow her. she manipulates our hands to do what she wants. She even rolled me over last night so she could snuggle in another position. She is quite strong for a toddler I think.

... okay.... where was I... AJU5 came up and bothered me... then we played... then we went to the library... then we came home and had lunch... then I caught up on some blog reading and put her down for a nap... now back to this post... yeah...

Oh, yeah...

Last night she woke around 1am. Her molars are starting to pop through, and it is making her miserable. It was too early for more motrin, so I laid on the floor with her and tried to sleep. She was all over the place forcing her little head into different spots on my body - between my chin and head, on my shoulder, on my chest - anywhere she thought might be comfortable. Around 2:30 I gave up and took her downstairs for some Motrin. She had started to play a little instead of laying down, and I was EXHAUSTED. The Motrin worked luckily and I was able to return to bed around 3.

Hopefully, the teeth will come all the way through ASAP so we can get some sleep around here!

Rambling Again

I am pretty sure AJU5's molars are about to pop through. I can definitely feel the bottom ones through the gums. We think this is the cause of the slight sleeping issues. She woke up at 5 am on Saturday and Sunday. She laid in bed with us for about 20 minutes each time, then got some milk and went back to be until close to 7. Last night (Sunday) she woke up around 9:30. Milk wasn't enough, so I also gave her a dose of Motrin and she slept until 5:45ish. Then she got her snuggle time and milk before going back to bed until 7 again. Luckily this isn't too hard on us! Five isn't that early.

She is also a huge lover of the park these days. She didn't get to go yesterday (Sundays are weird with church, etc), but we went the four previous days. Saturday she got cold, so we didn't get to play as long as normal (bad mommy for not bringing her coat). She hates leaving the park though - there is a lot of screaming as we walk home.

I can't believe how much AJU5 eats for breakfast! She eats a whole package of apple cinnamon oatmeal (Quaker Oats) and about four or five frosted mini wheats (from my breakfast). She doesn't always eat as much at other meals though. But, breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

I think that is it for now.

Oh - the next few weeks of Home Improvement Saturday will also be on tiling (walls and grouting). THen I dodn't know where I will go!

Bad Day?

1. AJU5 woke up every 1.5 to 2 hours last night. We hope it is either because she napped horribly yesterday (and today) or teething (maybe tooth 9 is on the way???). She had been doing fairly well before this!
2. She found the power button on my computer. She turned in on and off repeatedly. Hitting her hand and telling her no did nothing to stop her. Now there is tape over the buttons.
3. While I dried my hair and AJU1 took a shower, AJU5 was in our bath tub. She found the faucet and got herself soaking wet! Luckily there was enough time to dry the clothes int he dryer before church.
4. AJU5 choked on pizza crust. She forgot to finish eating.swallowing it before drinking. So, she coughed up a nice milking bread mixture.
5. AJU5 has also gotten in trouble for trying to empty the trash can, pinching, biting and scratching.
   

It has been a long 24 hours... Luckily I got a little nap while she napped after church.

O is for...

Old-fashioned.

So much of what I like is outdated or old-fashioned. I don't spend time getting the latest wardrobe. I prefer to wear jeans and solid tops most of the time. It doesn't matter what is in style - I will wear what is comfortable for me.

I also get called old-fashioned because I am a traditionalist. I think the parents are the best ones to teach and raise their kids. I am willing to give up my career to raise and teach my kids. We don't need to have all of the new toys either. We do have computers and an XBox 360, but that is because my husband loves technology. But, we currently don't have a TV. Our cars are 6 and 11 years old. We want to buy our next car for cash. We want to have our house paid off in 7-10 years from when we bought it. We don't have any debt other than the house.

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I almost had a heart attack this morning. I was eating my cereal and reading blogs when I glanced to see if AJU5 needed more food. She was OUT of her high chair! Her hands were on the countertop and only one food was perched on the tray to her high chair. It definitely scared me. I am now watching her a lot closer. Also, I am going to move her booster chair back downstairs and use that in the future. She is just too good and squirming out of the high chair. It doesn't have the shoulder straps, and she is skinny enough to wiggle out of the lap belt (which is tight when I put her in). Then she can fit between the tray and the back even though the tray is pushed all the way in...

I also didn't post about the fact she is 11 months old! Can you believe that? In a month she will have a birthday! We are planning on doing somethings mall at church that night - duck theme. Then my mom will do something for her when we are there for Christmas (the family doesn't live within 8 hours of here, so they won't be able to attend her party on her birthday).

Finally, I gave her cheese with lunch today. She seems to like it. I want to get her onto milk at a year. I want to have her weaned by anout 18 months (2 years at the latest). Her teeth are making it uncomfortable to breastfeed a lot of the time. She had rubbed one spot raw that is finally healing by changing positions...

Tooth #3!

Tooth #3 has finally poked through! It is the top left one. Now, we are just waiting on the top right one. Then I might have a happy baby again!

Food 0 Lots of New Adventures!

So, AJU5 is allowed to eat most things these days. The doctor even told us to feed her table food as long as it wasn't one of the allergy risks. So, yesterday she had chicken for the first time. She seems to at least not mind it. It is sometimes hard for her to swallow because I have to leave the pieces bg enough so she can pick them up. This results in pieces of sucked-on chicken popping out of her mouth occasionally. She has also become a big fan of Cheerios. She will eat them anytime, anywhere. I think they are her favorite these days. My mom bought a container of them from Target that is about the size of a water bottle and is easy to refill. I have refilled it twice now in two weeks!

Another thing I have learned is she likes to have what she (thinks) we are having. If I eat it, she will at least try it. So, giving her what we are having is really helping her eat more. We also think her top teeth might be popping through (she won't let me check) - so this might be helping the appetite as well. Tonight she had a chuck of chicken (about 1/2 in by 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch), two slices of avocado, some pizza crust, and about 20 Cheerios. Maybe she will start sleeping better!

Tomorrow - Steak (if we go out to lunch...)

Grapes and Park!

Sorry I have been deliquent in posting. AJU5 is about to cut her two top teeth, so my alone computer time is very limited. Also, AJU1 left this morning for a work trip, so I have been spending a lot of time with him as well.

We tried grapes this week - and she loves them! She now is starting to refuse to be fed with a spoon. So, I am having to give her lots of grapes and avocado. The second picture is what she did with the avocado one day...

Here are a few pictures from our trip to the park yesterday. We only spent 15 minutes there, but she had fun on the steps. It was too hot for the slides, so we will have to go back earlier in the day for that. It was our first time to play on the playground. No one else was there (school is back in session here already), so it was nice.

Today we have a birthday party to go to. Hopefully, I will get a good picture of AJU5 with Snow White!

Will it ever end?

We are on night three of sleeping issues. First it was the fireworks, then it was God's fireworks (thunder and lightning). Last night it was teeth followed by a dog this morning (see end for dog story). AJU5's top teeth are almost through. You can see the white lines just under the gums. So, she was very cranky last night. She went down early (7:45), but woke up around 8:45. I fed her and tried to put her back to sleep. I let her cry, I tried to feed her, and neither worked. I didn't want to hold her because I knew she would fall asleep in my arms but then have issues laying her own bed. Finally my husband held her. Then he mentioned her teeth (we had looked at them before church, but I had completely forgotten about them! BAD MOMMY). So, I went and got her teething tablets. When she cried again, I gave them to her. After a little bit (it was about 9:45 at this point), I realized she might want a topping off before falling asleep. So I took her, let her eat and she crashed. I was able to get her back in her bed without waking up. But, she did wake up more than normal during the night. So she spent a lot of the night in my arms in bed.

Now for the dog - at 5:30 this morning AJU5 and I both woke up to a dog barking. AJU1 was just finishing getting ready for work, so when he came into the room I mentioned that I wanted to kill the dog. He looked at the window and realized the dog was in our yard and it was having a turf war with the big orange cat. Now, neither of these two are ours. So, they were fighting over property that neither of them is technically owners of. Eventually the dog quieted down (I don't know who won), but we were both too awake at that point... So it was cranky AJU5 this morning... lack of sleep plus teeth will do that to a baby!

Keyboards, Bathtubs, and Screams - Oh My!

Keyboard: aka AJU5's favorite toy these days. She enjoys hitting the buttons and "typing" while I am trying to work. Yesterday, I took one of our extra keyboards and put it on the floor for her to "use." She was entertained for a while - so we might have to let her have that one.

Writing to some of Mommy's students for her while we were at work.

Bathtubs: I decided to let her try a second baby bath tub yesterday. We had been using one that is meant for only laying in and for 0-6 months. But, the other one we have she can sit in. Well, since she likes to move around, the bigger one is more of a strain on me. I have to keep an eye on her so she doesn't fall forward, etc. But, she really likes the toy that is attached to the new one! She was chewing on it and didn't want to let go of it when the bath time was over! So, other than more stress on me and having to learn how much water to put in it (I had too much to begin with), it is working great!

Screams: Last night she was not a happy camper. I think the top teeth are coming in (bottom teeth arrived one week ago!). She would scream at the top of her lungs, we would go talk to her and she would smile, then when she got bored, she would scream again. Eventually, I got her teething tablets, read to her, let her nurse, and got her to bed. It was a little earlier than normal, but she went down without a fuss or anything. Hopefully if there are more teeth coming in, they show up fast so she can get back to being happy.

A Blessing I Guess

The past two days AJU5 has only had her pacifier when she is going down for a nap/bed time. I guess this is a blessing because we have friends that had to battle their kids to give it up when they were almost 3 years old. Now, she does want it for naps and bed time unless she falls asleep in the car or while eating. So, we aren't over the pacifier yet by any means. But, I don't think it is useful in the teething situation we are in (two teeth protruding on the bottom). So, she would rather gnaw on flesh or clothe (paper if we let her - but we don't because she eats it).

First Posting

Well, I have gone to the darkside and started a blog. I already keep a webpage wtih AJU5's pictures on it, send out monthly (if not more often) emails on her behalf, and have a facebook page. but he, I have been enjoying reading blogs for a while so I thought I would start one.

AJU5 is almost 6 months old, and one tooth is already poking through her gums (on the bottom). So, she has not been a happy camper to say the least. Teething Tablets are helping though - she slept better last night and has been happier this morning.

Now to try and get her to be happier playing by herself so I can get work done around the house!