Cuteness

Laney learned to squint recently and does it throughout the day. Her glare is actually her squinting, not giving you the stink eye! We have construction workers and gardeners outside this week fixing up the back yard, so the kids have been at the backdoor checking out their progress.

Mischevious

The kids like to follow me around the house. If I am in the kitchen, they are in the kitchen, etc. They have learned how to open cupboards and drawers. I have locked all cupboards with the exception of the Tupperware and the pantry (since I am in it a million times a day). There is nothing the kids can't get into on the bottom shelf of the pantry, but the middle shelf has all the soup cans, pastas, etc. Apparently Dellan is getting taller (and smarter) and when I turned around from cooking at the stove this is what I got. Bread crumbs anyone? As I was cleaning it up he was frantically eating what he could of them!

poop, vomit, poop, poop, vomit, and more poop

Our poor Deemie Guy got hit hard with what we thought was the flu this week. He was just not himself last Sunday, and shocked us when he threw up 3 times during his bottle right before bed. Neither of them has ever thrown up before so I was a little panicked. We cleaned him up, made sure he was okay, and put him to bed. I fully planned on being up with a sick kid all night, but he slept right through. He continued to have horrible diarrhea for several more days, several times a day. Tuesday morning he got a horrible full body rash, so we rushed to the doctor where he was diagnosed with roseola (baby measles) that would be gone by Thursday. Roseola starts with a fever for 3-4 days, ends suddenly, and is followed in a day by a rash. This added up, but didn't explain vomiting or diarrhea, so we assumed that was a flu. The doctor said to go back to normal food since he seemed better that day. This was a big mistake! By Wednesday night the poor little guy's bottom was raw. He was having diarrhea every 15 minutes or so and threw up again that night. Thursday morning was the worst... he couldn't even drink 2 ounces of pedialyte without going potty. So we headed back to the doctor Thursday morning. He was diagnosed with rotavirus. Although he was fully vaccinated against this by 6 months, it is only 75% effective the first year after given. It is a horrible intestinal virus that causes initial vomiting followed by 10 days of diarrhea. It actually causes their body to act lactose intolerant while they have the virus. There is no way to stop the diarrhea, but you can limit the times per day by sticking to the BRAT diet and bland foods. So Dellan has been eating Puffs and crackers for days. The poor guy's high chair tray is every color of yellow/white you can imagine... plain pasta, crackers, bananas, puffs, applesauce. He is eating ok, but doesn't like Pedialyte. Most kids with this virus end up in the hospital due to dehydration, so I have been forcing it down him. Other than his diaper rash, which is now gone, he really has been in good spirits through all of this and although he is eating what I am giving him, he is wasting away! He has lost at least 2 pounds in the last 6 days. He can't have any bottles until he is back to normal, so we have a skinny little man. You can't really tell from the pictures, but his legs are so thin. It feels weird to pick up such a skinny baby. I am used to chubbos! We're hoping the end of this is in sight. We got the clear from the doctor Friday morning to take the kids in public since it is no longer contagious, which the kids appreciated. They were getting cabin fever I think!Laney seems good so far, let's hope her vaccination is holding strong!

Crawling = Way More Fun!!!

Laney's is quickly discovering this crawling thing can be way more fun than sitting in one spot. She cralwed over to, pulled up on, and pulled out everything in our bookshelf after bathtime this afternoon. You can see my two munchkins in everything but the toy basket, but hey, it let me get the laundry put away! After bathtime I took the duvet and pillows off our bed and rolled and wrestled in the "fluff" with the kids. They LOVE anything cushiony and had a blast. I am LOVING this age and just cherish every moment of the fun we have together everyday!

Crawling!!!!

3 days shy of 11 months Laney finally decided to crawl! I could not be happy and feel such relief. So many people told me, "she may just skip crawling," and although I know she probably would have been fine, I did not want her to skip this important milestone. My friend's son crawled at 7 months and her daughter at 11, so I kept holding out hope it would happen before her birthday. If I were to place her in crawling position she would throw a fit instantly. This has been the case since 7 months. But this didn't stop us from trying and I did crawling excersizes with her daily. She showed no interest. Monday Tony took Laney outside in the morning and told her she was going to crawl with Mom today. At 10am at Kindermusik Ms. Rachel asked if she was crawling yet and I said no. Dellan just then crawled out the door into the flowers so Tony chased him while I stayed in on the mat with Laney and Ms. Rachel. Laney got on all 4s and just took a crawl.... just 1 crawl, but her arm and her leg moved which had never happened before! She did not want to participate or be carried in Kindermusik like she usually does, she just wanted down on the mat. She took one crawl several times. She was interested, but only in doing it herself. If I tried to help she would cry. So when we got home I put the remote a few feet away from her over and over and sure enough she would take about 3 cralws to go get it. Yesterday, Tuesday, she did not do much more. And today she is doing great! She has crawled from one side of my bedroom to the other, and across thunderdome! She has crawled to the esxersaucer, the table, and the play gym and climbed up on all of them! I am so happy for my little buggy... but will this take away those thighs and cheeks!?!?!

Playtime