A tooth!

I noticed yesterday that Audrey finally has a tooth that broke through. The funny thing is, it's not the one on bottom that has been threatening since her birthday - it's one of the ones on top! Well, at least she's no longer my toothless wonder.

This is the post that I wrote when Conner got his first:

Monday, September 13, 2004
Conner has a tooth! It popped through Friday (at least, that's when I noticed it!) and the one next to it is just below the surface. They're his bottom two. He hasn't been too grumpy, so they're either not hurting too much or he's just a tough guy. We put away his baby toys this weekend - the swing (our savior!), his bouncy seat... so sad!

Notice the date? Conner would have been almost 7 months.... and Aud is 15 months. Crazy.

Questions

Some questions from Conner on the way to his school this morning:

"How does corn grow?" Um... like a tree does, with water and sun. Then he told me that trees grow from seeds.

"How do birds turn when they're flying?" I stuck my arms out as best as I could while driving and tried to show him.

"Why am I a little kid?" I told him that he was growing too quickly and needs to stay my little boy. He didn't like that answer.

Our Gatlinburg weekend

We got home tonight around 5:40 after a busy weekend in Gatlinburg. Here's a quick (?) summary:

Friday we arrived around noon after leaving the house at 7:20. Conner watched videos in the van the whole way; Audrey slept a bit and just sat contentedly the rest of the time. We walked around a little bit in town, then after checking in at our hotel, decided to go on a hike in the woods. Eric and I had seen a neat waterfall when we were there on our honeymoon and decided to go back there. Unfortunately we didn't pick the right path. We chose the path to Rainbow Falls, which was 2.7 miles (later we found the right path; it was only 1.2 miles). It's amazing how long 2.7 miles (one way!) is when you're going uphill with a 4-year old and a 15-month old. Conner did amazingly well; he rode for a while on the way up on my back, but otherwise he just kept climbing! He got a ride with Eric for most of the way down, but never complained! Audrey rode on Eric's back on the way up, and on mine for most of the walk down. It took about an hour and 45 minutes to get to the fall, and a little over an hour to come down (so we're talking 3 hours total!). It goes without saying that I'm still sore today. There was an indoor pool at the hotel, so after grabbing dinner, we all went swimming before bed.

Saturday, when we got up it was raining pretty hard, so we decided to drive up to Ober Gatlinburg. Found out it was closed after we'd gotten all the way up there. Then we decided we'd drive out to Cade's Cove. It took a while to get back there, but Aud had a nice nap on the way, so it was all worth it. Drove around and saw some nature, then we went to Pigeon Forge to one of the outlet malls. We had dinner plans at the Black Bear Jamboree at 4:30. It was a decent show, but unfortunately the kids were just a little too tuckered out and Conner had trouble sitting still (and quiet). We went back to the hotel and put the little ones in bed.

Today it wasn't raining when we got up, so after a quick trip to the main street in Gatlinburg, we headed out to Pigeon Forge to do some putt putting. I think we were on hole #2 when it started pouring! We tried to wait it out in a cave built into the course, but then Eric and Conner decided that they'd go ahead and play in the rain. I took Aud back into the main building (an arcade) to wait for them. It was probably half an hour or so later when I saw the two soaking wet guys finish up. Actually, Eric had stayed pretty dry with a jacket and umbrella, but Conner was dripping! We got him some dry clothes and decided to head out of town. Both kids slept most of the way home.

So now it's Sunday night, and I need a weekend to catch up on some sleep! I guess that's the downside of vacations.

Four teeth??

No, not yet... but they are definitely coming! Audrey's had the one lower right one teasing us for months (I can't believe it hasn't popped through yet!). But this weekend you could start seeing a little whitish lump next to it. Then last night we were on the couch and I could see two large lumps (one white, the other not yet) on the top! No wonder the poor little thing was totally miserable the last couple of days! Today she was much better - she even took two 2-hour naps at Shannan's.

This is Audrey yesterday at her grumpiest:

Totally unrelated, but a funny picture: Eric had gotten a WWF (World Wrestling Foundation) Championship belt as a joke from some guys at work and gave it to Conner, who was absolutely thrilled with it (luckily he hasn't realized it's gone - the dogs demolished it!). This is Conner's "look mean" picture:

Audrey takes a tumble

I was sitting in the dining room late yesterday afternoon, trying to arrange some flowers in the big bowl that I keep on the table (which ended up looking surprisingly ok!). I sat Aud in a booster seat that's in one of the chairs in there. I guess that I didn't attach the tray completely, because after a few minutes of sitting there, I heard a few bumps and looked over. Audrey was on the floor, not very happy. She cried for a few minutes, but then calmed down after we got her some milk (she's quite a drinker!). She ended up with a small cut on her chin and marks on her cheek and forehead. Oops. I don't know if it was from this big catastrophe or not, but she was not happy last night. Eric put her in bed around 7:00 (normal time) and she was fine for a while, but then got really (and I mean there were tears) upset. I brought her back down to the family room with me, and finally got her back in bed around 8:30.

Conner had a rough night, too. He told me he wasn't hungry and didn't want any dinner (even though I told him several times that he wouldn't be eating until breakfast this morning!). He was OK with that, but ended up eating some mashed potatoes left over from this past weekend. When it was bedtime, though, he was just starving! He wanted dinner, he wanted a snack... we kept saying no, and he finally went to sleep.

Audrey woke up coughing this morning - she kept coughing even through her oatmeal! Poor thing. I hope she's not getting sick again! But maybe it's teeth finally coming! There's still one right under the gum (I check every day thinking it will have poked through, but nope!) and you can see one right next to it, too. She's going to look so different when she finally has them!

Conner was excited to go to school and see his "buddy" (aka Nathan, the little boy we went to see the play with). He told me that he and Nathan told Makaila (a cute little girl at his school) "Nah nah nah boo boo, you can't catch us!" I guess I didn't realize this started so early! I told him not to tease Makaila (he told me a while ago that she was his favorite person in his class) and then he told me that Nathan said it.

We passed by a possum in the road on the way to school - Conner told me that after we got home, he wanted to call the police and tell them that there were two animals in the road. He said he'd seen a deer in the road by Weyla's (Marge?) and then this possum. He seemed surprised by the fact that it had gotten hit by a car. I guess it's good that there's still some innocence!

We ended up not doing the extra swimming lessons - he kept telling me he didn't want to! I'm thinking about maybe doing some this summer at Coney Island... we'll see.

Six more weeks of school!

Normalcy

Nothing eventful this week - Eric's been working late the last couple of days (he didn't get home until 9:45 last night and 7:30 tonight), so I've felt like a single parent. Boy, that is a job I'm glad I don't have! I love my kids to death, but it's so nice to have a break.

Yesterday was busy with Conner's last swimming lesson for the session. He did great again, and by the end of the time was jumping in (doing almost-belly flops) and then "swimming" to the teacher, who was several feet away. It was great! He definitely has no fear (which another mom commented on). I still haven't decided if we're going to do the blitz for the next couple of weeks (Mon - Weds, 45 minutes a day)... I guess we'll just wait until Monday and see how we feel about it! I asked Conner if he wanted to go, and at first he said yes, but then changed his answer to no. He said he doesn't like the water in his eyes (but may have changed his mind again after I told him that he doesn't have to keep his eyes open while he's underwater!).

After I pick up the kids from Shannan's, we typically come home and have a snack. Today, Conner had taken a baggie of Trix cereal with him and decided that he wanted some more... and it turns out that Audrey likes them too! They were eating some in the car (leftover from this morning) and once she finished one, she stuck out a hand towards him and started grunting! Quite ladylike. (But that's my girl!) So when we got home, they both sat on the couch for a while with the cereal and their cups... it was pretty cute.

This isn't the most exciting video, but I think it's cute to see how they interact!

Tonight was bath night - I like to take Audrey up by herself for a bit, then if Conner's good I let him get in, too. Tonight he came up and got in, and they had a ball! Conner got Audrey to start splashing, and they both just laughed and had a great time. I kept saying that I needed to get Aud out and get her to bed, and he didn't want her out! Eventually, she reached for me (which means she's done), and I got her dried off and in bed. Boy, was she pruny! Conner stayed in the bath for quite a while after that playing with all of the bath toys. I'm sure the water was getting chilly when he finally got out!

Medicine and TLC

We had a "first" this week: Audrey's first trip to the doctor because she was sick. I mentioned in the last post that she wasn't feeling good on the Friday that she spent at Papa and Weyla's house... she just seemed to get worse over the weekend. I actually stayed home from church with her on Sunday because we hadn't slept much the night before. Plus, I'm sure that the nursery workers wouldn't have appreciated the fever and cough and runny nose!

Sunday night was another rough one, and it cemented my decision to take her to the doctor on Monday. I basically couldn't stay home because it was our first day back at school from spring break, and there would've been nothing ready for a sub. I called the pediatrician on my way to school and got her an appointment at noon, so all I took off was a half day.

When I picked Audrey (and Conner) up from Shannan's to take her to the doctor, she really looked miserable. Her nose was runny, she was feverish and just kind of whiny, and she also had a bunch of eye gunk. The doctor was pretty immediate with a diagnosis: pink eye and an ear infection. What worried Dr. Richard was Aud's breathing - it was quick and somewhat rattly (if that's a word!). She timed it at 50 breaths per minute, and said that it would concern her if the rate got up around 80 (which it never did, thank goodness). She also said that she didn't think that Audrey's breathing was bad enough to go to the hospital (which had honestly never entered my mind!) but decided to give her a breathing treatment which is often used for asthmatics to help open their airways. If it helped, great, but it also could've meant that Audrey could have asthma. The treatment didn't have any effect, so we don't have to worry about that. Dr. Richard then said that she thinks Audrey has some sort of bronchial virus that's making her chest congested and her breathing quick.

So, to sum up, we left with three conclusions: pink eye, ear infection, and virus. Poor thing! We stopped to get two prescriptions on the way home for the ear and eye; unfortunately, there's nothing they can give her for the chest! I ended up taking her to Fouss' for the night, and she stayed with them during the day on Tuesday for some TLC (and spoiling, I'm sure!). They brought her back home Tuesday evening, and it's amazing how much of a difference 24 hours can make! Audrey was happy and playing with clear eyes and no fever! She's still coughing quite a bit, but has started eating again, which definitely tells me that she's feeling better.

Conner had his 4th swimming lesson of the season on Tuesday afternoon - Eric made it home in time to go with us, which was nice. Conner looooves the water, but is usually all about playing with the toys that they have - especially the water guns! (What a boy!) Yesterday, though, he found a pair of goggles in the toy bin and was pretty excited about wearing them. Conner actually started to do some swimming - it was great! He puts his head under water and flaps his arms and kicks his legs (though it's more like he's trying to run horizontally than kick like you're supposed to). It was really neat to see him go from hopping around the pool to trying to swim. Next week is the last lesson for the school year - after that they do a session that they call the Blitz. Instead of going once a week for 5 weeks, the schedule is Monday through Wednesday for 2 weeks in a row. I really don't want to do it (I'd rather not try and constantly chase Audrey around the pool for 45 minutes) but I also hate to not let him swim more since he's doing so well! I guess I'll make a decision after next week's lesson.