Baby Babble

Elise has a lot of words now. She's a great copycat, but she doesn't always remember those mimics long-term. When she does remember a word over and over again, I'm so proud of her.

Her sign language words are hi/bye, milk, more, food, bath, potty, and brush teeth. She made up her own little sign for "phone"-- everytime (and I do mean EVERY TIME) she hears a phone ring, she pretends she is putting a cell phone to her ear and she says, "Hi!" Also, she blows kisses. And if you say, "How old are you?" she'll hold up one finger.

Elise's spoken words are hi, milk ("mill"), mama, dada, up, no no, banana ("nana") and more. She's working on "baby," "kitty cat," and "gentle gentle" but I think only I would know what she's saying at this point.

If you ask Elise, "What does a ____ say?" she knows cat, cow, snake, monkey, and sometimes she gets dog.

Elise loves to talk. She has lots of cool baby babbles that aren't real words but they sound like they could be. I wonder if they mean anything to her, or if she's just experimenting with sound.

Babies are cool.

The Other Mommy

Husband and I met Henry and Georgia's mom the other day. We arranged it. We figured we should meet her.

She was nice. Pretty. Young.

It was awkward, but not in the way that I thought it would be. I mostly just felt really sorry for her. I expected to meet her and immediately see flaws and little things that I didn't approve of and didn't like. But mostly she just seems too trusting, too naive, too easily taken advantage of. She's not a capable mother right now because she can't protect her kids from bad people in her life. And she can't get those bad people out of her life because she's too nice to really see and understand their flaws.

So I feel sad for her. She's not a bad person. She's a too nice person.

Which in turn makes her an inadequate mother.

The stories that you hear as a foster parent are usually more complicated, more nuanced than you'd expect. I always end up feeling bad for everyone involved, in varying degrees, of course. Here, I feel mostly bad for Henry and then for Georgia, but I also feel bad for their mom. No matter what the outcome of this case is, there's going to be some loss, some people being hurt and feeling displaced.

Right now, I'm just trying to believe that no matter what happens, it will be for the best.

Heels Over Head Off the Bed

Henry sleeps in a toddler bed, which is like a shrunken little version of a regular bed and which is very low to the ground. Elise can climb onto Henry's bed by herself and often does. She stands up on the bed and wobbles around and Husband and I tell her repeatedly "Sit!"-- she now knows that command very well.

On weekday mornings I wake up and take Elise into Henry's room and get Henry dressed for school. Elise plays while I diaper and dress him.

Today, just as I finished velcroing Henry's shoes shut, I turned to see Elise falling over the footboard of Henry's toddler bed. Her head was pointed toward the ground and her feet were directly above her head. What a sight! Then her head hit the ground and her feet flipped along behind it.

Scream. Cry.

Kisses. Cuddles.

And one, "That's why Mommy tells you to sit down on the bed," just for good measure.

Somehow her nose got scraped and a tiny bit bruised in the flip fall. Elise wouldn't even LOOK at the bed all morning and most of the evening.

We're back to standing on the bed now, though.

Zoo

Took the kiddies to a zoo this weekend. In typical fashion, they weren't impressed or unimpressed. Just happy to be out doing something.

Elise was afraid of the birds, of course. She would sit in the stroller and look at them, but she whined most of the time and I had to hold her hand. I guess that when you live with four cats, birds are unexpected and strange.

The Traveling Baby Show

We traveled with the kids again this weekend. My observations:

1. The minivan was such, such, such a worthwhile investment.

2. While leaving late and driving at night might cut down on how much sleep the adults get, it also VASTLY reduces the amount of screaming you hear and the number of stops you have to make.

3. The minute the car begins to slow down, the kids will wake up. There is no such thing as, "Let's just stop real quick so I can pee/get some water/stretch my legs." Every single person in the car will need to be attended to and it will take FOREVER.

Fraidy Baby

Elise is now afraid of things. She makes this awful face and cries and snuggles into me or Husband when she sees:

1. Balloons
2. Birds

Life just got much more stressful for Baby Elise.

Long Day

Tired. Pregnant. Long day.

I'm just really glad that there are no more saber toothed tigers or alligators that drop on people from out of trees. The thought of those drop gators is horrifying. If I had to worry about getting eaten on top of all of this, life would be really miserable.

That Time Again

My boobs are getting big again. I didn't think they'd get bigger since I'm still breastfeeding-- I was wrong.

Teddy Love

Elise sleeps with a teddy bear now. She hugs it to her chest or throws her arm over it. It is so incredibly cute. Good lord.

Pink Eye; Puke Tummy

I woke up this morning with pink eye. It itches like craaaaaaazy. Went to my primary care doctor. All of the nurses remembered when I was first pregnant with Elise and they were excited to get to finally see her. That was nice. Then I saw the doctor and she gave me ointment to put in my eyes.

Why ointment? Why not drops? It's like I'm looking through a fogged window for about 15 minutes after I put the goop on my inner lower eyelids (as directed). And I have to do that 4 times each day!

Ringworm was my first trimester plague when I was pregnant with Elise. Considering that my children seem to go out of their way to cough and sneeze in my face, it looks like pink eye will be my plague with Dinky.

On top of red, watery, itchy, foggy eyes, I have had terrible morning sickness since last night. Awful. Terrible. No puking yet, but several dry heaving sessions.

I'm miserable right now. I'm sick. I messed up dinner last night and tonight and we had to eat other stuff than what I'd planned. Laundry is washed but not folded. My hair hasn't been brushed in days (weeks? I don't know...). My pants are starting not to fit.

I know things will get better. I know I'm just having an emotional pregnant moment. I know that there isn't enough gas in my car to make it to Canada, much less the next major city in my state.

Tomorrow will be better.

Name; Ear Infections

So, it turns out we've been mispronouncing Georgia's name. Her real name isn't Georgia, as you know. It's an uncommon name and we were pronouncing it based on the way it is spelled.

I remember being little and learning that you can pronounce a name however you want. You can spell your name S-M-I-T-H and pronounce it "Jones" if you feel so inclined. Well, this is sort of one of those instances.

The way the name is supposed to be pronounced and the way we've been saying it would be like the difference between saying Meegan and Megan. Close, but not the same name. So, oops. Our mistake. Sort of.

In other news, Elise has two ear infections AGAIN. She came down with a fever last night and I took her to the doctor this morning, thinking I was maybe over reacting. But no. It was a good thing I took her. She's back on antibiotics. Poor Baby Baby.

Preggo Yummies

The food I want ("crave" is too strong a word) this pregnancy is different than when I was pregnant with Elise. With Elise I wanted chocolate and Sour Patch Kids and Jolly Ranchers and oranges and yogurt. I can hardly look at yogurt now. I much prefer salty foods. Chips and pickles and olives. That kind of thing.

Except I do want sweet, sweet tapioca pudding... oh MAN tapioca pudding tastes delicious!!! I've always liked it, but it tastes like heaven now.

Family Ties

Today we met Henry and Georgia's older sister. She didn't seem very interested in us or the kids. Just doing her own thing. But the kids are all young, so it wasn't that out of the ordinary.

Their older sister has speech delays like Henry does. Henry needs tubes in his ears, as you know. Georgia is being referred to a specialist to see if she needs them (probably so). And their sister-- I'll call her Susannah-- apparently needs them as well. That's what Susannah's guardian said today. So I guess it runs in the family. I was also told that their mom has speech problems. I wonder if she has the same ear problem as her kids, but she never got help for it. How sad if that's the case. And how wonderful that the kids are all getting help now.

The Incredible Shrinky Dinky

According to the date of my last period, I should be about 12 weeks along in my pregnancy. At my OBGYN visit 4 weeks ago, I was told that the baby is probably a week younger than we had assumed. That would make me about 11 weeks along.

Then today, I was told that it looks like the baby is about 10 weeks old. 10 weeks, 3 days. What?!

We saw Dinky wiggle its little arms around (precious!) and we saw the heart beating, so I know the baby is alive. But somehow Dinky keeps getting younger.

How are you doing that, Dinky? Put it in a bottle and sell it, please, and make us all rich!

We're going to have to wait a couple of months to find out my real due date. That's when they send me to a specialist where they do the in depth ultrasound and measure everything exactly. We'll be able to tell how old the baby really is then.

Oh, and speaking of measurements, I weighed 115 at the OBGYN's office today. My prepregnancy weight. Still haven't gone over 115. I eat like crazy. Oh, I know I'll start gaining soon, but I am enjoying it while I can.

Family Birthday Party

We celebrated the kids' and Husband's birthdays this weekend with a party at Husband's dad's house. It was nice. Simple.

It was just family and future family. I say "future family" because Elise's baby boyfriend was there.

We blew up a kiddie swimming pool and filled it with ball pit balls. The kids loved that. Then we had strawberry short cake (well, the girls just had strawberries and whipped cream). And afterward we went outside and blew bubbles. So easy.

A word of caution. Don't buy Crayola colored bubbles. They suck.

Husband has read articles and talked for some time about how scientists have been working on making soap bubbles that come out just one color. So pink bubbles or blue bubbles or whatever. When I saw Crayola colored bubbles in the store before the party, I got all excited and bought a bunch of them, all different colors.
Well, the mixture is the consistency of paint and even though it is supposedly washable, it looks BONKERS when you get that mess all over your hands or clothes. Or baby's head. (Oops!) And since the mixture is so thick, it blows really crappy bubbles. Gigantic waste of money.

But the kids had fun. So, yay! First birthday party was a success. :)

11 Weeks?

I must be around 11 weeks along in my pregnancy. I'm still getting queezy, but it seems to be getting less intense. I'm SOOOOOO happy that my morning sickness now isn't like it was with Elise.

I remember with Elise having to eat a few saltine crackers every morning BEFORE I got out of bed, just to settle my tummy enough to sit up and walk to the bathroom. It would drive Husband batty to find cracker crumbs in the bed.

I remember immediately looking for the restroom any time I walked into a public place-- not because I had to go, but just in case I started to throw up.

I remember considering the taste and texture of food, not only for what it would be like going down but also what it would be like coming back up.

Man. This pregnancy has been exponentially easier so far.

Laterz!

My sister, brother-in-law, and baby James moved out of town recently. They moved closer to my parents and Brother-In-Law's parents. Good for them but sucks for us.

Husband and I still want to move, but we need to sell our house first and we have other considerations, too. I kind of want to have Dinky here-- I like my OBGYN practice and I liked the hospital where Elise was born. Plus, we've got the foster kids.

I know we'll move eventually. Before the kids get too old. Just not sure when it will happen.

Multiplying Baby Dream

I dreamt the other night that I had 6 babies to take care of, all so young that they had to be carried in car seats. I would go out with three infant car seats on each arm. And I distinctly remember thinking, "I should get a big stick and balance three car seats on each side, then I can just lift the stick and that will be easier."

Blood and Kisses

I got my first round of pregnancy bloodwork done on Friday. Being pregnant turns you into a human pin cushion, I swear.

I don't even know what they're testing for in this first bit of blood. Other than HIV/AIDS. I had to sign a special sheet consenting to allow the lab to test for HIV/AIDS. Why is that different than any other disease they test for? I don't have to sign a special sheet when they test for diabetes.

Friday and Saturday my arm was sore where the nurse/phlebotomist/whatever took my blood. Then tonight I noticed a gigantic yellow and green bruise up my arm. Ugh! Those people always bruise the crap out of my arms. What are they doing? Poking straight through my veins and out the other side?

Anyhow, let me talk about something nice now. Tonight I got to give Elise cuddles and kisses until she fell asleep. Kisses all over her pretty little face. It's been a while since I've kissed her to sleep and it was so wonderful.

I do love being a mommy.

Baby Belly

My belly is looking all roundish. Even though Dinky in fact lives somewhere deep in my nether regions, my uterus is growing and pushing everything up and out. This is the sucky part of pregnant body, where I just look chubby.

1 Year Old Check Up

Elise had her 1 year old well child visit today. Four shots! Poor baby!

She is 28 inches long (12th percentile) and weighs 18 lbs 5 oz (10th percentile). She's so liiiiiiiiiittle! Except for her noggin. That measures in the 60th percentile.

Elise's ear infections have finally cleared up. So she doesn't have to go see an ear/nose/throat doctor. That's good news.

I think I can still call Elise Baby Baby because she's still a tiny-sized baby. Today a stranger said to me, "How old is she? She looks too little to be walking!" My teensy weensy!

Nice To Be Average

Henry had a doctor's appointment today. The doctor looked at what percentile Henry's weight was at for his age when he came to live with us about three months ago and then looked at what percentile his weight is at now.

"Look at the difference! He was below 15% and now he's right at 50%! You guys are doing very well with him. It's amazing how quickly children can improve when they're in the right environment."

Yay!

Baby's First Birthday

This time last year, I was holding and cuddling my baby for the first time. Amazing.

I want to say something profound to you, Elise. I want to explain how much you've grown in the past year and tell you how much you've changed my life for the better. I just can't find the words that even begin to express how I feel about you.

I'm the luckiest mommy in the world. Thank you for being mine, Elise.

Not A Baby, Baby

This time last year I was in labor. I'd already gone to the hospital and they sent me home telling me it wasn't time yet. But then my water broke a few hours later.

This time last year, I was still waiting to meet the most amazing person ever.

Oh, Elise! I'm so glad you're here!

Baby Birthday Presents

All three of the kids have birthdays coming up soon. Husband and I went shopping for presents this weekend.

The kids have more toys and clothes than they could ever need. They're so young, they won't even really remember their birthdays this year, anyhow. So we decided to get them each something meaningful-- a keepsake that they can enjoy later.

It took us a long time to find the right presents. We looked at gold baby bracelets for the girls, little Precious Moments birthday figurines, piggy banks with engravable plaques. Nothing seemed right.

Finally we picked out a charm for each of the girls at Swarovski. They're sweet and babyish-- little duckies-- and they can be worn on a necklace or put on a charm bracelet. And for Henry we got an i.d. bracelet that won't fit him until he's a bit bigger, and this dogtag-style necklace that he could wear anytime. We need to get Henry's gift engraved but we want to think about what we'll put on it first.

I'm really happy with the gifts we got them. I hope they like them some day, too.

Baby Dreams

I had a dream the other night that I woke up in bed with the baby's head half out of my lady parts, but I couldn't push it out the rest of the way. I kept asking people to help me-- first I asked Husband, then I started calling my family-- and no one took me seriously. No one would bring me to the hospital.

Then I had a dream last night that I was in labor in the hospital and they told me that my son was going to be enormous and I wouldn't be able to push him out. I asked how big he was and they told me some number over 10 pounds and I couldn't believe it.

I don't think that these dreams are rooted in my own anxieties about my current pregnancy. I think that I'm having dreams based on my sister's recent experience with the labor and delivery of her son. James's baby noggin couldn't fit out of her pelvis and after over three hours of pushing, she had a c-section. So I guess my brain is processing that info through the filter of my own pregnancy.

And/or my body is planning on growing a mini sumo wrestler.

A Civil Day

Today we took the kids to a Civil War battle re-enactment. Husband and I had heard about the event on the radio and as neither one of us had ever been to one, we decided to go. It was pretty cool.

We only went for about an hour. We caught some of the last part of the re-enactment, but as the muskets and cannons were pretty loud, we didn't watch for too long. The kids seemed not to mind the noise, but we didn't want to subject them to too much of it.

Then we sat down for a snack and Georgia projectile vomited everywhere. All over herself, all over the stroller, all over my hand, and as Elise had turned in the double stroller to see what was going on, all over Elise's hand. Disgusting. But we came prepared and got everything cleaned up and went on with our day. We watched some medical re-enactment demonstrations before we left.

It was all actually more interesting than Husband or I expected. And the kids were really well behaved. I think that they were just happy to be out of the house and sitting somewhere with lots of unusual stuff to look at.

Going to the re-enactment was a nice part of our day. I don't personally understand the appeal in being a re-enactor, but I'm glad that there are people who are willing to do it.

Headache

My head has hurt for two days now. Sickness? Pregnancy pains? Ponytail too tight? Who knows. Yes. All of the above.

I'm not prone to headaches, but I did get them when I was pregnant with Elise. So maybe this is a Dinky headache.

You kids make my head hurt!

Evil Santa Says "Ear Tubes"

Henry's ear/nose/throat doctor looks like an evil Santa Claus. He's big and round and he has a scraggly white beard and long, scraggly fingernails. He'd be perfectly cast in a holiday-themed slasher film. In fact, if he'd walked into the room today with a bloody axe over his shoulder I'd have said, "Yes, of course," and be as unsurprised as someone can possibly be in a situation like that.

But there was no axe. And he didn't "examine" Henry's ears with ice picks. Instead he said that Henry needs tubes in his ears. It will improve Henry's hearing, his speech, and his balance because it will let the fluid drain from behind his ear drums.

You're probably right, Evil Santa.

So Henry will be having some out-patient ear chopping done soon, courtesy one of the creepiest doctors I've ever met. And Evil Santa will then give Henry the gift of hearing. Maybe you aren't all bad after all, scary man.

Climbing Mt. Everest

Please let me be peaking. Please let me be peaking.

I read that most women experience their worst morning sickness between weeks 8 and 9, then it starts to decline. I'm in the middle of week 8 right now. Please let me be peaking.

With Elise, my morning sickness lasted longer than it does for the typical person. It started around week 7 and lasted until about week 16 instead of week 12, like the books and websites suggest. But every pregnancy is different! I'm not throwing up as much this time! Maybe Dinky will be kinder to me.

Please let me be peaking.

Pregnancy Breaks My Pooper

I'm constipated. It started last night.

Oh man. It sucks.

I thought with Elise that I was constipated mostly because of the anti-nausea medicine that I was on. Nope. Apparently my babies like to grab a hold of my lower intestine and make one normal bowel movement take all day to come out.

Which also makes me feel very queezy.

I threw up tonight, too. On the up side, I'd had a strawberry milkshake a few hours earlier and my puke tasted like strawberries.

That's my silver lining for this evening. At least my vomit tasted like strawberries.