Hot!

Update: Julianna is getting better. She had several days of high fever and wanted to do nothing but sleep. The fever finally broke after a few days of antibiotics. Yesterday she was more active and even smiled a little. We were able to take her to church this morning and she did fine other than being a little cranky from missing her morning nap. Now if she'd just start eating again she'll be on her way to her silly little self. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

Julianna woke up with a slight fever yesterday morning. After the new tooth, I thought maybe she was getting another. She was warm, kind of sleepy, and didn't eat much all day. Since it was family dinner night at my mom's house and I didn't want to take her in case it was something contagious, Arrty volunteered to stay home with her so that I could take the boys for dinner. When I got home and picked her up, she was burning up. I knew that she was at least 102 degrees. Mom's know these things. When I took her temperature, it was 102.5 under her arm which means you have to add a degree making it 103.5. Yikes! She also had red spots all over her body which I attributed to the fever. I gave her some Tylenol and after a while her fever went down (but not away) and she even got down off my lap to play a little. But all through the night, she was feverish and miserable and didn't sleep much. So this morning when her fever was still between 102 and 103 I decided to take her in to the doctor. He said that the fever, rash, and redness in her eyes made him think it was either a viral infection or a strep infection. (She also has an ear infection in one ear.) So he put her on antibiotics which will hopefully help her get better quickly. He then did something that I wish doctors wouldn't do. He said, "I don't want to worry you but her symptoms are also associated with a rare disease called..." (I don't remember what he said. I was too busy praying.) Why do they do that?!?! If I come back in a few days and she's not better or getting worse, then tell me about the rare disease!

As of now, she has had her first dose of antibiotic and a dose of Tylenol and is finally sleeping peacefully with only a slight fever. And can I just say that there is nothing more worrisome and sad than a sick baby.

Please pray for Julianna over the next few days that the antibiotics work and that she's back to her silly, sweet self soon. Thanks.

Let Her Eat Steak!

Julianna has a tooth!

Finally. I have been looking for it for months because her brothers both had teeth before they were 6 months old. She's 8 1/2 months old. Thursday night she was fussy and crying which isn't like her at all. She is normally really happy and content. She also had a slight fever this week and didn't seem to have as much of an appetite as usual. I've been feeling around on her bottom gums for teeth for awhile and I think she was getting sick of it because most of the time she'd stick her tongue out to push my finger away. But yesterday when she was in the bathtub distracted by the splashing and the floating frog toys, I reached into her cute little mouth and there it was. The tiniest little hint of a toothy ridge. I was so excited and called the rest of the family in to tell them the news. Everyone cheered and smiled.

And once again, Jules was probably wondering what all the fuss was about.

Babyness

I didn't think it would happen so fast. I remembered that it would happen, just not yet. This time of following a baby around the house making sure she doesn't put anything in her mouth that shouldn't be there. Making sure she doesn't pull herself up on something that will tip over with her. Making sure that she is safe in all of her new adventures and wanderings. Julianna started crawling only a few weeks ago and now she is going everywhere. We close all the doors to rooms we don't want her in, but even still she finds plenty to keep the rest of the family hopping to make sure she, and her surroundings, stay safe. At the moment she has pulled herself to standing and is busy pulling dvds off the movie shelf. They were in alphabetical order. Now she's laughing as she drops another. Now she's sitting and shaking a rattle as hard as she can. Now she's crawling toward me...pulling up on the chair...and now I'm back after some snuggling and giggling. So, yes, I know all about the following the baby thing. It just seems that since it was so long ago that my boys were babies, I'm a little surprised when baby things happen. And that they happen so quickly.

Here are some other baby things I've been reminded of lately.

*Cheerios that have been sucked on then dropped in the seat of the high chair stick like they've been super glued.
*Things like magazines or grocery lists will become a mid-morning snack if left in reach of a 8 1/2 month old.
*There's this game called "how many times will mommy pick up the toy I just dropped before she realizes that we're playing this game."
*Babies learn things on their own. For example, Julianna knows not only what dancing is, but how to do it when she hears the word.
*No matter what you put in front of things you don't want a baby to get to, they figure out a way to get there.
*Even if you have a basket full of really fun toys in the living room, baby's favorite toy is the remote control.

And some things I've learned about Julianna in particular.

*She loves music. (It must have been that Def Leppard concert she went to six weeks before she was born.)
*She especially loves the birthday song.
*She loves it when other people clap but she will only clap if no one else is clapping.
*She is ticklish under her arms.
*She loves yogurt but not chicken noodle dinner baby food.
*She enjoys chocolate. (I gave her the tiniest taste of my valentine Hershey bar and she tried to dive out of my arms to get to the rest of it on the table.)
*And just when I thought it wasn't possible, she gets cuter every day.

Heart Day

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. But this year, I haven't had to spend time this week helping the boys fill out little cards for classmates. I haven't had to fill treat bags with tiny chocolate bars and lollipops. I haven't had to put the names of kindergartners on Care Bear valentines. I haven't had to plan a party that, regardless of the plan, would include 3 1/2 minutes of frantic 5 year olds putting cards in each others decorated kleenex boxes, 6 minutes of oohing and ahhing over said cards, and then 10 minutes of a game I like to call "how much sugar can a kindergartner ingest in one sitting." And I've missed it. I miss days like this when I know that you can feel the excitement. Days that go beyond reading and counting. Days when the bond between teacher and student grows deeper simply because of the valentine that is lovingly chosen by each student especially for me. I even miss that feeling at the end of a party day consisting of one part excitement, one part sugar rush, and 98 parts exhaustion. It's days like today when I miss being a teacher.

Okay, so I'm still a teacher. I'm always a teacher. But this year our valentine's party will consist of picking valentines for each other off the rack at Target, showing them to each other, then putting them back. This is a tradition Arrty and I started many years ago and this year will be expanded to include the kids. We will also go to the valentine aisle and each pick out a treat. Then we'll go to lunch and a movie. Then stop on the way home to pick up the heart shaped pizza that I bought in the school fundraiser and head home for games and family time. This year I have four valentines. The one I'm married to and the three we've created.

So, yes, I miss party days. Crazy as that sounds to the other teachers reading this. It even sounds a little crazy to me. And just in case you read this before your valentine's party, Kathy, Katrina, and Marci, eat a heart shaped sugar cookie covered with pink frosting for me.

Reason #27...

...why not to leave a laundry basket of clean towels in the living room.



Your child will spill a bowl of chicken noodle soup into them while he's eating lunch.

Exactly

Me: Adam, go take a shower.

Adam: I don't want to take a shower.

Me: Adam, go take a shower.

Adam: Why? Showers don't even do anything.

Me: giving him the look

Adam: Well, except get you a little bit clean.

Me: Exactly.

Smurfy

Yesterday we were walking through the toy aisles at Target when all of a sudden I exclaimed, "Smurfs!" The boys thought I was crazy, which is nothing new, until I pointed out the little blue plush Smurfs on the shelf. I then explained to them what Smurfs were and told them to pick one out. I couldn't resist. They each chose a Smurf and I grabbed a Smurfette for Jules.* Then this morning I googled Smurf and guess what? There is a new Smurf movie in the works. The release date is December 2010. Apparently it takes a while to come up with all that smurfy dialogue.

Then this morning I was flipping channels on tv and saw Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, and two versions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was right. I guess the 80's really did have the best cartoons.

*Julianna was more interested in the tag on the Smurfette than the Smurfette itself. She was chewing on the tag while she rode in the cart so I took it from her so that there was at least a partial upc code to scan when we got to the register. Well, she did not like that one bit. She screamed and threw herself around in the cart seat like I've never seen before. I tried to give her the toy we had brought for her to play with, but she wouldn't have anything to do with it. She was only happy when she was once again chewing on the Smurfette tag. (Note to self: Take the tags off toys before giving them to Julianna.)

Tagged

Alyson tagged me with this. I was supposed to bold the ones I have done and I took it a step further and asterisked (*) the ones I would like to do. Anyone who stops by and wants to do it yourself, feel free. (Kathy and Marci, you can post it in my comments if you want.)


1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii*

5. Watched a meteor

6. Given to charity

7. Been to Disneyland (actually is was Disneyworld)

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris*

13. Watched a lightning storm

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty*

18. Grown your own vegetables (I can't even keep a cactus alive.)

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France*

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Drank an entire Sonic Route 66 by yourself

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice*

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise (Does a lake cruise count?)

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person*

34. Traced your family tree at least 4 generations*

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Learned a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied*

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person*

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David*

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt* (We were there but didn't wait to see it erupt.)

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant*

44. Swam with a dolphin

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance (unfortunately)

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person*

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris*

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been IN a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Cut your own hair

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (I've bought a lot, though.)

62. Gone whale watching*

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial*

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square*

74. Driven a stick shift

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London*

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person*

80. Published a book*

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem*

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House*

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous (Patty Duke went through my line at Kmart once.)

92. Read an entire series of books by one author

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby (3)

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Seen the Pacific Ocean

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person (twice)

101. Learned to play an instrument (the recorder)

On The Move

Julianna has been trying really hard to crawl the last couple of weeks. She would get on her hands and knees and rock back and forth. She would even move her hands ahead a little and then dive to get a toy that was just out of reach. But Tuesday it happened. Hand, knee, hand, knee, forward movement. She crawled! And since then she has been practicing and can go quite a distance. I'm not sure that she really understands why the rest of the family claps and says, "Yeah, Julianna," or "You're crawling!" She's just happy that she can get to all those places she could only see before. So here's what that means. She can more easily and quickly move around the living room. I need to double check baby proofing. She can get into the kitchen now. I have to sweep every day. She can get to her brother's toys. I need to explain again why legos must be put away. She is growing. I have to treasure every second.

And apparently, enough of this...

...and this...
...leads to this.
The hole was tiny in the morning when she got up, but after just a little while of baby acrobatics, it grew to this. Oh, yeah. She's also ready for the next size of jammies.