The Children's Museum

Weyla Kate came down last Monday to spend a couple of days with us. I'd planned on taking Wednesday off (because Conner was on spring break) and was hoping to be able to go to the zoo if the weather was nice, but it wasn't. It was chilly and rainy and ugly. So we headed downtown to go to the Children's Museum that's in the Cincinnati Museum Center. Eric and I had taken Conner there when he was almost 2 but we hadn't been there since then.

We had a great time - Conner especially. The kids played with the balls, in the water area, in the "forest", and with all of the other options they had. There was an area specifically for 3 and under that I took Audrey to - she really seemed to enjoy the smaller-sized playthings. We spent about two hours there, grabbed some lunch at the Pizza Hut that they have in the main entrance, and headed home.

Yesterday was the kids' first day of being back at Shannan's. I think the day went great. I talked to the New Richmond transportation guy before school and got Conner's bus figured out - thank goodness! It picked him up at the end of our road before school and dropped him off at the end of our road after school (around 4:00, which should give me enough time to pick up Audrey and still make it home to get him). I think this will work out fine! I told Conner that I was really proud of how well he did yesterday. A lot of kids would have trouble adjusting to a new (yet familiar) sitter and a new bus, but he did great. Phew.

A crazy week

It's been quite a week for us!

It started over the weekend - I mentioned in my last post that Audrey wasn't feeling good on Friday. Well, Friday evening we were lying on the couch together and she was burning up. She actually started shivering - it was kinda scary! I got her some tylenol and eventually she cooled off and started feeling better. Saturday she was a bit grumpy again but didn't have a fever during the day. We drove up to the Jeffersonville Outlets to meet Chris & Sarah Boston (to return Chris' sunglasses that he left at our house) and during dinner Aud started feeling warm again. She and Conner both slept the whole way home, then when I got home I looked up symptoms for urinary tract infections online - it seemed to me that Aud had quite a few on the list!

Sunday morning I got up and called the pediatrician (they actually have Sunday hours!); I took Audrey to the doctor where she was prescribed an antibiotic (and the took a sample of her pee to send off to the lab). She's been much better as the week's progressed. On Wednesday we got the results of her lab work - it tested positive for e-coli! Crazy, but the doctor said that she was on the right antibiotic and would be fine.

I had an interesting discussion on Monday afternoon with Angela, the kids' babysitter. She left a message on my cell phone during the day saying that she gets a week of paid vacation and was planning on taking it during my week of spring break. Starting out the year, we never talked about the weeks that I was going to keep the kids at home with me - I assumed that I wouldn't pay but I found out later that she assumed I would pay. I have trouble being expected to pay someone to watch my kids when they're not actually watching them! Angela suggested that I don't care about my kids because I didn't want to pay when they weren't there. We agreed that I would look for a new babysitter over the summer. After talking with Eric about it throughout the week (the kids didn't go on Tues. & Weds.) we decided that if she didn't want Conner & Audrey there thenwe didn't want them there either. I talked to Angela again yesterday and (after a discussion) told her that it was the kids' last day. Luckily, Shannan readily agreed to take them back starting on Monday - now we just need to figure out the bus situation!

I stayed home today - Eric ended up working (very rare for a Friday!) and Angela already had plans (her step mom had surgery this week and asked Angela to come over and help her out). It was a pretty easy decision - I really wasn't going to be doing anything at school today because of my student teacher so I didn't have to make any last minute plans.

We didn't do much... Audrey and I got up a little before 9 (after a rough night in which she ended up in bed with me and Eric), then the kids and I just hung out until after lunch when we had to get Conner on the bus. Aud came home and slept until it was time to go pick him up! Made for a nice quiet afternoon.

Eric made it home from work around 3:00, so I "let" him take Conner to his t-ball practice. Aud and I went on Wednesday afternoon, so it was definitely his turn! He did great - was definitely in the middle-of-the-pack skills wise. There were some boys who had played before and could really hit the ball hard, some boys who had either played before and not done well or hadn't played. Conner was able to hit the ball off of the coach's pitches about half of the time and did a great job throwing during warm-ups. The best thing was that it was a beautiful day (around 75 degrees) and they played outside, so Audrey just got to run around. Heaven.

I don't think Aud's feeling very good today - she actually fell asleep on my lap while I was eating my cereal this morning (very weird) and just now is crying and whining. I've asked her if something hurts, and each time she tells me a different body part ("back", "eye", "other eye", "butt"). Maybe she's getting a new tooth - she was acting this way a week or so ago when a new one broke through.

I do have to say that she is probably the most polite 2-year old around. Aside from her saying please, thank you, and bless you (constantly), today she told me "excuse me" when she wanted to get by and I was in the way. (Oh, and she said "Sponge Bob" when she saw one of Conner's shirts with a picture of Sponge Bob - there's another new one!)

pictures

I found a cool online application today in which you can make picture collages in different shapes. They offer hearts, circles, letters, and then even a box where you can draw your own shape. Fun! These are some of our March pictures.

Audrey finally learned how to (or admitted she knew how to!) say I love you. I got it on video last night. Can you figure out what she's doing afterwards?

She's doing great with her potty training. She was dry all day yesterday at Angela's, came home and went potty, then was dry the whole time we were at Conner's swimming class (well, her pull-up was dry - the rest of her clothes weren't!). Yay Audrey!

I'm not sure what to do at all with Conner. After last week's bad behavior, we've talked a lot about being good and being nice to people. He seemed to realize that he doesn't get to do his fun stuff (like swimming or playing with friends or t-ball) if he's bad. Then yesterday when I got to Angela's to pick him up, Angela told me that he bit Audrey's hand in the morning (and Aud cried and cried, although it didn't break the skin). He denied it - told me he didn't know who did it - until I asked if he was lying to me so he could still go to swimming. He said yes. Argh. I let him go to swimming, anyway, which maybe I shouldn't have, but I hate to have him miss 2 weeks in a row (and they're off next week for spring break) especially when it's something we paid for.

Doctor update

I just got home from taking the kids to their 2- and 5-year checkups.

Audrey: All is good. The doctor sad she's seemed to have lost her beginning walker's "unsteadiness" and was impressed that she could hop on two feet (she said it's a 4-year old skill). I asked about Aud's teeth (or lack thereof) - she said it's nothing predictable and nothing could be done about it at this point anyway. They drew some blood to check levels and told me that something (not sure what - maybe the iron level?) was 37%, which was "excellent". Audrey got one shot (Hepatitis A) - she watched as the nurse put it in her arm, didn't react at first, then said "that hurt" a couple of times. She's a funny (and tough!) kid. She was 34" and 29 lbs, 12 oz., head circumference 50 cm (height and weight 70 - 75th percentile... head was 95th!). She's now upstairs taking a (hopefully long!) nap.

Conner: Again, everything was good. He had his eyes (20/25) and ears (normal) checked. He had to get 4 shots, which he wasn't happy about at all, but now he's up to date for kindergarten in the fall. I asked if I should get his heart checked out again - we went to Children's Hospital over the summer of '07 when he was three, where we found out that his heart is formed abnormally. They said it was nothing to worry about and wouldn't affect his physical activity but to get it checked every couple of years. The doctor said she was going to refer us to Children's anyway because she'd heard a murmur, so I need to call on Monday and get an appointment set for that. I'm pretty sure they detected the murmur when we were at the hospital last time. Conner was 41 1/2" and 40 lbs - both around the 50th percentile. Now he just needs to grow another 1/2 inch before summer so he can ride some of the bigger rides at King's Island! Conner fell asleep in the car on the way home - I just left him out there. If I'd tried to get him out I know he would've woken up and he definitely needs some sleep!

We got a call from Conner's t-ball coach on Thursday evening. They're starting practices on Wednesdays and Fridays from 4:30 - 6:00. Because of the yucky weather, they'll be practicing in a gym for a little while. Conner chose to be #10 when given a choice of uniform number! His swimming is on Wednesday from 5:30 - 6:15, so I don't know if we'll switch to a later class (Weds 6:30 - 7:15) or to a Tuesday class. I'd hate to have that many evenings filled each week, but there are only 3 more weeks of swimming, anyway. I think we can handle it for that long.

You're mean, Mommy!

I've heard those words quite a bit from Conner lately - we've had a tough week. I don't know if it was the time change that occurred on Sunday (he's been really tired all week) or having a touch of nice weather for a couple of days with an immediate change to cold.... anyway, on Wednesday, I found out that he'd had a bad couple of days at Angela's. I normally let him take a toy or two with him to play with, but I guess as Georgia arrived each day he would tackle her just to keep her away from his stuff. Not very nice. I told him Wednesday afternoon that he wouldn't be going to swimming that evening because of his behavior. I admit to almost caving in but decided it wasn't worth him doubting my word. Once we got home, I told Conner to go upstairs and clean his room - he could come down as soon as it was better. That caused many a tear! (And the lack of swimming didn't, I was suprised.) He eventually got it done (with help from Audrey, he said - can you just imagine how much she "helped"?) and was able to come downstairs, where he was fairly pleasant. Until bedtime, anyway.

We went for a nice walk after school on Tuesday - it was almost 80 degrees and we needed to take advantage of the beautiful weather! We walked (well, Conner rode his bike) up to the Big Rock & the Little Rock, then turned right on Cherokee and stopped by Larry's house to say hi, then made our way home. Eric made it home pretty soon after that and wanted to work outside, so Conner stayed out with him to "help".

Dinner time!

Eric and Audrey have been eating a lot of dinners together lately. I like to try and get dinner on the table around 6:00 (doesn't that make me sound so domestic?!) so she has time to eat and play for a little bit before she goes to bed. Lately, though, she's been taking a while to get an acceptable amount down, and Eric's been running a little late (plus he likes to shower when he gets home) so the two of them end up at the table together eating their dinner. It's very cute.

What does a (insert animal here) say?

Sam's

We went for our (almost weekly) trip to Sam's Club after church today - it's a great time to wander around and get samples! Sometimes we don't even have to eat lunch afterwards. Unfortunately, today wasn't a great sample day.

As we were on our way out, Audrey kept pointing to the big trampoline they have hanging on the front wall. Finally, she said, "Daddy! I want one!" Clear as day.

On the way to church, she and Conner were looking out the sunroofs above their heads in the Flex. It's a beautiful (but cold!) day and they were checking out the pretty blue sky. Conner kept trying to get her to say "blue sky" and I think she said it a couple of times, but then he said, "Audrey, that's where God lives!" Very cute.