My sister and her family (along with everyone else around here) got hit with the swine flu last week, and even though we were there most of the day Monday and Tuesday, which is when the first rounds of sickness started, I really thought we had dodged a bullet. People would ask how we were, how me and my back was doing and I could at least say, "at least we haven't come down with the flu." Ha ha.
Last night Jane had a temp of at least 102. She has suddenly developed an overt fear of the ear thermometer and so I tried to do her armpit which is also traumatizing for some reason. I pulled it out after it hit 102 because Jane was really starting to wail. She didn't do too bad last night, I only had to go help her get back to sleep twice, but she woke up a lot, which woke me up and had me all on alert. She did sleep in til almost 8:00, took a two hour nap, AND went to bed at 5:30. Poor thing. She's so sad. I don't mind too much, because she is super cuddly, she'll just lay her head down on whatever part of me is the closest to her.
Although, I am a bit worried, only ever so slightly, about her being sick and a worse-case scenario. If I watched less news (and goodness knows, I watch very little as it is), I'd probably be less worried. But I was thinking today about how little worrying we do over illness and our babies these days. Maybe it's because I recently watched Anne of Green Gables (six hours of pure enjoyment whilst on my back, thanks Bree!) when she saves her bosom friend's baby sister who has the croup, that I realized how blessed we are these days. We bring a child into the world and pretty much assume we will have them their whole lives. How many of us begin pregnancy, labor, and delivery with the bright-eyed expectation of healthy, beautiful child and an intact momma?
That's all, just thinking. And hoping that my new found gratitude will ward of any worst-case scenarios from encroaching on our home. (Eric wants to know if anyone knows where to get some lamb's blood for the door posts...)
Walking Videos
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Jane took her first steps a week ago, and Thursday Eric and I set out to capture it on film. We bribed her with popcorn. She would get a bit too excited when walking to me and the popcorn and just sort of fall into the couch, but she did better when walking back to daddy. In the first video she says "popcorn" while she's got popcorn in her mouth, but I think it's pretty discernible.
Deja Vue at 14 Months Old
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Jane is 14 months old today and is spending it with a friend from church Jane met this morning. Good thing she likes to go (because it means she gets to press the button on the elevator) so she didn't cry when she left. I'm spending the day in bed waiting for a slipped disk to heal. Seriously, what's the deal with my body? I'm not supposed to lift anything for a week, which means Jane has started that whole distancey thing with me, which I hate. It's amazing how quickly she picks up on these things. Her coping mechanism is to not to act like she needs me and none of our old jokes work, I'm no longer funny, and I don't get the big smiles. It's like a cuddly puppy turning into a cat.
On the positive side, Jane took her first steps on Sunday. Daddy was so pleased he didn't miss them. She's taken a handful of steps since then, but only when she doesn't realizing she's walking. In this case, positive reinforcement in the form of cheers and "yay-Jane!" doesn't work. She sits down immediately. Kind of like when she learned to crawl, her body started doing it before her mind thought she could and if her mind caught up with her, she'd revert.
She's still talking like crazy and has mastered "yes" (sounds like "syess") and I think it is by far her cutest word. She says "Zizzy" for her cousin Lizzy quite regularly and has some kind of sound for each of her cousins that live close. Although, she has said "nana" for Juliana before, she always greets Jules with a drawn out "Daahhhh!" Not sure what that one means yet as she uses it in other contexts. Other new-ish words are:
tickle tickle (because you can never have just one, and she never tickles others, just herself)
that (thdat)
this (zis)
water (dahter)
out (ouuuuuuuuu) which is just a word for "move me somewhere other than here"
Jane does a billion cute things a day and it's so much fun to watch her play, to see what she'll do next. I'm continually amazed by her fine motor skills, she can snap herself into her booster seat, she can put a bolt in a nut, she can unscrew a water bottle, etc, etc. And she really seems to enjoy imaginative play, which I'm guessing she learned from her cousins. The other day she took the shampoo bottle and had it talking to the conditioner bottle. She had separate voices for each one, it was hilarious.
Jane love's mommy's toy, too (the computer) and begs to get on it. I found a few baby games online that she gets a kick out of, and there's one very strange one (like teletubbies strange) that she likes to dance along with. I LOVE watching her dance.
This site has a list of links to more games that we've explored a bit, in case you're interested.
My friend just sent me a picture of Jane, letting me know they are doing very well.
I'm so lucky to have great friends.
On the positive side, Jane took her first steps on Sunday. Daddy was so pleased he didn't miss them. She's taken a handful of steps since then, but only when she doesn't realizing she's walking. In this case, positive reinforcement in the form of cheers and "yay-Jane!" doesn't work. She sits down immediately. Kind of like when she learned to crawl, her body started doing it before her mind thought she could and if her mind caught up with her, she'd revert.
She's still talking like crazy and has mastered "yes" (sounds like "syess") and I think it is by far her cutest word. She says "Zizzy" for her cousin Lizzy quite regularly and has some kind of sound for each of her cousins that live close. Although, she has said "nana" for Juliana before, she always greets Jules with a drawn out "Daahhhh!" Not sure what that one means yet as she uses it in other contexts. Other new-ish words are:
tickle tickle (because you can never have just one, and she never tickles others, just herself)
that (thdat)
this (zis)
water (dahter)
out (ouuuuuuuuu) which is just a word for "move me somewhere other than here"
Jane does a billion cute things a day and it's so much fun to watch her play, to see what she'll do next. I'm continually amazed by her fine motor skills, she can snap herself into her booster seat, she can put a bolt in a nut, she can unscrew a water bottle, etc, etc. And she really seems to enjoy imaginative play, which I'm guessing she learned from her cousins. The other day she took the shampoo bottle and had it talking to the conditioner bottle. She had separate voices for each one, it was hilarious.
Jane love's mommy's toy, too (the computer) and begs to get on it. I found a few baby games online that she gets a kick out of, and there's one very strange one (like teletubbies strange) that she likes to dance along with. I LOVE watching her dance.
This site has a list of links to more games that we've explored a bit, in case you're interested.
My friend just sent me a picture of Jane, letting me know they are doing very well.
I'm so lucky to have great friends.
Halloween
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So I've come up with the perfect trio of characters for our Halloween costumes! Now I just need to figure out how to execute said plan...but I think it will be brilliant, especially after Jane fell in love with the duck costume we saw at Target--she said "quack, quack" about a hundred times and even gave it a kiss on the bill.
Happy Birthday Holli!!
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So my amazing little sister is probably already sweating it out at physical training this morning as I write this post. She is an army 1st Lieutenant at a VERY remote location and she has to spend her birthday without family. I've been thinking about her a lot and how I would feel in her situation. I think I cried myself to sleep on my 23rd birthday I was so lonely, and I was briefly living at home at the time. I used to see my older sister with her kids and her husband and ache to be someone's whole world like she was. Now, with a husband and a kid, I have a different perspective. In order to be their whole world, there is less of me to go around. I kind of miss being that awesome aunt and that great best friend, sister, and daughter. My point is, do your best to make the most of your season in life. There is something to love about each phase. Although, this post wasn't meant to be a soap box, but a celebration of my kickin' sis.
at my sister's promotion ceremony almost a year ago, I got to pin her!!
There are SO many reasons I look up to my little sister. I think I'll save them for a private email, (that and Jane has had enough of mommy playing with "mommy's toy" i.e. the computer), but I want her to know how proud I am of her and how glad I am that she's the one I got to share so much of high school and college with. I also wanted to post a picture her birthday present. I was thinking of printing it up as a 12x12 and framing it for you (unless you want a different size...or a different quote if you don't like it). You can take it back with you after your visit (I haven't had good luck shipping frames). Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS!!
at my sister's promotion ceremony almost a year ago, I got to pin her!!There are SO many reasons I look up to my little sister. I think I'll save them for a private email, (that and Jane has had enough of mommy playing with "mommy's toy" i.e. the computer), but I want her to know how proud I am of her and how glad I am that she's the one I got to share so much of high school and college with. I also wanted to post a picture her birthday present. I was thinking of printing it up as a 12x12 and framing it for you (unless you want a different size...or a different quote if you don't like it). You can take it back with you after your visit (I haven't had good luck shipping frames). Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIS!!
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