On the Rise

Oh boy..... here's the view from the back deck.  We have flooding issues all over the county.  

Honestly... I would just prefer the snow to this stuff.  

Happy Monday.  I hope you're staying afloat. 

Under the Weather

So both kids are sick. They started with a bit of a cold and a cough.  John felt feverish yesterday.  Elinor woke at 2am crying and did not sleep well.  Her whole body was burning hot.  I took her to the doctor - yes, I missed one of the two days of work this week - and the doctor diagnosed RSV/bronchiolitis and a right ear infection.  He said that John most likely has RSV too.  There is no course of treatment for that. It just simply runs its course.  She is on an antibiotic for the ear infection.  She has not eaten much.  I am hoping that she does not get dehydrated.  Oh, I hope tonight is a better night.

-------
So I am about one week past due on getting my roots colored.  I had to cancel my appointment because we went to Wisconsin.  I cannot get in until March 4th.  It's quite frightening how bad my hair looks today... I can't even imagine what I will look like by March 4th.  Needless to say, I won't be going out much and if I do, a hat is in order.
Note to self: pick up cute hat.

I'm going to hit the hay too.  I'm not feeling so great... imagine that.

Wisconsin Smiths

Dog Lover

My Elinor with my Lloyd.  They are very good buddies.  She is just giving him some lovin' here.  I think Lloydie boy is enjoying it.

We are out of town this weekend for the holiday.  We are all looking forward to the change in scenery.

Bad Habits

We had one of the most awful nights last night.  Elinor would not go to sleep when I put her down.  She screamed.. not cried... screamed.  I rocked her, then put her down.  She screamed.  I kept laying her down. Finally she woke John but he is good about laying about down and going back to sleep. Finally I got her up and she was up until around 9:30.  I couldn't take anymore and put her back down. Great. Fine.  Then John had a night terror. Of course.  His sleep was interrupted.  We picked him up immediately and he would not come out of the terror.  He screamed, thrashed, pushed.  This lasted for almost an hour.  Andy tried to wake him up but that didn't seem to help. Even awake, he screamed and thrashed.  It was awful.
Elinor was back at it again tonight.  I would not give in.  She screamed and cried. I went in and put her back down and went away. This happened about 5 times. She finally calmed down after 45 minutes.  I hate letting her cry, but she really needs to learn how to sleep on her own.
All in all, we had a pretty good day.  John and I had a straight faced staring contest today.  He won... I couldn't help but smile and then he finally laughed after he saw me laugh.  So funny.  I really, truly thing Elinor said "hi Goldie" to our neighbor's dog who visits Lloyd frequently throughout the day.  It was plain as day.

I made a great pizza for dinner.  Red onion marmalade with ricotta cheese and prosciutto.  The crust was whole wheat.  I love love love making homemade pizza. It is the best. 

Small accomplishments

Elinor woke up screaming around 2 am.  I brought her into bed with us, but she wouldn't go back to sleep. So I finally put her back in her crib.  That worked for a bit until she started screaming again. Screaming!  That woke John around 4 am.  Great start to the day. Nobody ever went back to sleep.
So we are having joy in the small things today.  

I like that they can feed themselves now.  It's a bit messy.  But they love doing it.  

18 months old

The kids had their 18 month check up today.  Here are the stats:

(she looks very chubby in this picture) 

Elinor:

21 lbs 4 oz

31.75" long

(rough housing with the pillow pals) 

John: 

25 lbs 15 oz

33" long

The doctor commented on the size of John's head. It is 52 cm.  He is in the 95th percentile for his head diameter.  If it grows 2 more cm by age 2, we will be advised to take him to a neurosurgeon.  Good grief!  I feel like that is a bit drastic.  John comes from a family of Whites who also have large heads.  Just look at his daddy's.  I couldn't stop looking at his head today.  I mean I know it's a little big because we have trouble getting some shirts over his head. But geez.... a neurosurgeon?!  I just love that little guy!  He is such a smiley boy.  

They each had a shot and a good cry (sounds like I am talking about a couple of drunks or perhaps something I myself could use).... but seriously, they recovered well. They napped for ages and still went to bed at their regular time.  

At 18 months they are both able to feed themselves with a fork and/or spoon.  They often remove their own clothes.  They are very helpful with small household tasks.  When they are not pushing and shoving each other, they are very thoughtful -such as passing the other their sippy cup.  They walk and run very well.  They can go up and down stairs.  They can throw and roll a ball.  They both understand mostly everything we say to them.  They are both extremely verbal, however they do not say many words.  Elinor says:  hi, baby, choo choo, cold, coat, up, no, oh no, uh oh.  John says: no, wow.... another concern of the pediatrician.  

I love their laughs. I love to watch and see what interests them.  I love when they want to be held - but not when they want to be held at the same time.  I love the people that they have become so far. 

Best Friends

Where Daddy goes, so does John.  Andy was out shoveling the few inches of snow we got on Saturday.  So out John went.  He loved it.  However, I think it was more Daddy that he loved than being out in the now.  I'm just sayin'..... 

Oops.  We have a problem here. 

 Kings of the snow mountain. 

 Lloyd gets in on the action. 

Off they go.... 

Good Hygiene

We are starting a daily hygiene routine here,,,, with our teeth, that is.  The hair still needs maintenance.  The kids come running when I say, "Time to brush our teeth."  It's more of a chewing on the brush than an actual brushing.  But you gotta start somewhere.  They have had a bunch of teeth since about 7 months old.  I am just hoping that they have my teeth and not Andy's (sorry Andy).

We have plans to meet a bunch of people out this evening.  Then tomorrow is a nothing day.... no plans to go anywhere and no plans for people to come here.  Fine by me!