My sick girl

Lexi is sick.  :(
She had some yucky green snot a couple mornings early this week.  No big deal, I've been suffering from allergies so I thought it was probably the same thing for her.  So Monday night I gave her some benadryl at bed time.  Jacob said she was pretty whiney Tuesday morning, but we all have our days right?!  So he took her to school like normal.  He got a text that morning (before lunch) that she was really not feeling well and running a 102 fever.  So he went and got her.  He came home and gave her some Advil.  She layed down on my pillow in front of the fan and fell asleep.  The fever came down some.  I ended up coming home early because I couldn't even function at work.  I was a nervous wreck.  I just didn't like the fact that I wasn't there with her.  I mean, I know Jacob is fully capable of taking care of her...but everyone needs their mama when they are sick right?!  She generally doesn't run a high fever...it might get to 99 or 100 but that's it.  So it had me worried.  She was fairly lethargic last night but we alternated Advil and Tylenol every 4 hours and it kept the fever around 100.  You could tell she just wasn't feeling good though.  Granny came over to see her and she wouldn't do anything except for lay in bed, and that's so not like her at all.  She ended up sleeping with me because I figured we would both sleep better if she was with me.  She slept pretty good, but I was still checking her temp and feeling her forehead all night.  Her fever came down overnight.  But she woke up this morning running a 101 temp again.  Jacob had his mom come over to watch her and call the dr.  They said to bring her in immediately.  She got there and wasn't running a fever, as I had given her Advil before I went to work.  They checked her for mono and strep and they both came back negative (thank goodness!)  They said one of her tonsils was a little swollen, but nothing major.  They checked her ears and amazingly enough she doesn't have an ear infection.  That's usually the culprit when she gets sick.  So they said it just was something viral and would have to run it's course.  It's good to know that there's nothing wrong with her, but that also means that there's no medicine to give her to make her better....just medicine to control the fever.  I ended up coming home at noon with a really bad migraine.  When I got here Jacob was taking her to McDonald's for lunch.  She was feeling much better and had no fever!  She acted pretty normal this afternoon, but then around 4 got really whiney so I took her temp and it was back up almost to 101 again.  So more advil for her.  Gave her some more medicine at bed time and put her in our bed.  It literally took her 2 minutes to fall asleep.  That's a sure sign that she's not feeling good...as she usually has to read and talk for at least 20 minutes before falling asleep.  Aunt Lisa is coming down tomorrow to watch her.  Hopefully her fever breaks overnight and stays down!  Her birthday party is this weekend, so we really don't want to have to cancel that.  She's been talking about it all week.
I know that was a really long post about just 2 days time, but I feel better just talking about her!  Say a prayer for my girl if you would!

                               My sick girl last night.  She looks much the same right now.

Letter to Lexi

3 years old!  Where has the time gone?  It seems like just yesterday you were a tiny baby, in a little isolette because you found it too cumbersome to retain your body heat.  And now…now you barely need me.

You have a big girl bed that you can get in and out of.  But mom or dad still has to tuck you in and turn on your music, and help you pick out which books you are taking to bed.

You use the big girl potty.  You don’t even need the tiny little girl potty anymore.  You use it as a step stool to get to the big potty.  And we rarely even know you need to go until you tell us that you’re finished and you need someone to turn the water on so you can wash your hands.

You can open the fridge to get your own string cheese.  But you still need one of us to open the package for you.

You passed your 2 year and 3 year “tests” at school with flying colors!  You are one smart princess!

You love to blow bubbles and play outside.

You love to wear your cowboy boots and cowboy hat all the time.

You push your step stool all around the kitchen so you can be involved in whatever is going on in there. 

You still don’t eat very much, and very rarely will try a new food.  But that’s ok.  You’re still healthy.

I love you!  And I hope I’m everything you need me to be as your mom!

shot in the face....and other ramblings

I woke up at 4:30 this morning with a pounding head. So bad that I couldn't get back to sleep until almost 6 and then had to get up at 7 for my appt. The one where they were going to shoot me in the face. Ok, not with a gun or anything....JUST a needle full of lidocaine. For those who aren't familiar with lidocaine, it is generally a dental anesthetic. But it wasn't to go in my mouth today, oh no. It would be going into my forehead. This nerve block procedure was intended to block the nerve above my left eye and hopefully yivw mw some relief. Well, the injection hurt. It was like the hardest little pinch you could imagine. It brought tears to my eyes. It took less than 45 seconds probably. My forehead I.mediately started feeling numb, but I could still feel a slight headache. By the time I got to the elevator I was in a full sweat and needing to sit down asap. I can o ly attribute that to the epinephrine in the lidocaine hitting me all at once. That feeling wore off pretty fast, but the headache didn't go away. I came home and took a pain pill. It started to go away, but then came back with a vengeance. And it's hung around all day. So basically, at this point I'm not a bwliever of the nerve block. I spent the day in bed, not being able to sleep because my head hurt that bad.
Potty training news for the day: she did good this morning, but she was wearing a pull up and she tends to treat those like a diaper. Tomorrow she will be walking into school with panties already on. Hopefully she does better. She had one accident tonight, and I'm not even really sure how it happened.
Lastly is the pity party: I feel like I'm letting everyone down when I'm sick in bed, especially since it has been a lot lately. But I can't control when and if my head is going to hurt. So idk what I'm supposed to do about it.
Baby B update: 16 weeks today. Baby is the size of a pear. Can't wait to feel more movements, and find out the gender!

Journal Entries

One thing I did when I was pregnant with Lexi was I started a journal. It started out as my journal of trying to get pregnant, but it flowed into my journal to Lexi. It has the sticky note from my first bloodwork I had with her stuck in it. And just all the little notes I wrote to her.
So of course one of the first things I wanted to do when I found out I was pregnant again, was get another journal to start. Seriously, when you think about it, pregnancy goes by so fast, and I will not be able to remember a specific day what happened. But if I write it down, I can always go back to that. I have already referred to Lexi journal this time around to see if I'm feeling the same things I was feeling last time. And I plan on when they turn 16 or 18 to give them these journals. I plan to keep them up until then. Because no matter what happens and what fights we are bound to have...they will always know how much I loved them, and how much I wanted them. So for this entry I wanted to put my latest notes to Lexi and what I'm calling Baby B.

3/26/12

Baby B,

I'm going to call you that until I know if you're a boy or a girl--8 more weeks!!

We are 13 weeks today. You are the size of a peach--growing big!

Our first picture of you is so cute! You were waving at us!

Sometimes I think I can feel you moving, but I'm not sure. They say you can feel it better with your second pregnancy.

Lexi is so excited about you! She loves her big sister shirt. She already thinks you are a boy.

Mommy has been really sick. I hope all the stress and medicines aren't hurting you. The dr. says they are safe. Because I was in so much pain I got to go in and listen to you. Your heartbeat was in the 150s. Dr. Lakin (you will love her) says everythingn is good. She said I should start feeling better in a couple weeks. I sure hope so. But everything is so worth it for you.

I talk to you and sing to you in the car. I hope you recognize my voice.

Sorry about the bumps the other night. Sometimes your sister accidentally kicks me while she's asleep.

Keep growing and getting stronger!

I love you--Mommy

March 26, 2012

Lexi--

You grow so much every day. You are almost 3 and I can't believe it. I don't know if we will do Minnie Mouse or Tangled for your birthday party. It is starting to get warm now, but you always have to wear pants and socks! Silly girl! Mommy, Lexi, Nanny, and Poppy rode together to Grandma Judd's 88th birthday party. 4 hours in the car each way and you never whined. Everyone talked about how big and smart you are. Mommy and you shared a bed. It was fun! We watched Disney or Nick Jr. until we fell asleep. Then I smooched your face all night while you slept. Mommy has been really sick because of being pregnant. You love to take care of me. Telling me to go lay down and coming to check on me occassionally.

I love you so much big girl!

Love Mommy

Now some pictures of my lovebugs:

The little things she says and does

Lexi's speech has just been growing out of control lately. It seems like she says something new every single day. Here are some gems from this week:

I noticed her daycare paper said she didn't eat any lunch so I asked her why. She responded with "I don't like stroganoff and I don't like carrots." A good mother probably would have responded in some way urging her child to try new foods at school. Not this mama. She answered my question way better than I thought she would so I just said OK and turned away."

This same day we ask Lexi if we could name the new baby Rex. Now we don't know if it's a boy or a girl. But if it's a boy I would like him to be named Rex. She says, "No that's Poppy." Once again, this mama is speechless. I have never heard her call Poppy by his name. I didn't know she knew that's what his name was. The boys and Zoe call him Poppy Rex, but Lexi never has. I guess she just grasped that fact at some point that his name was Rex. So, at this point it looks like it will take some convincing to get her to agree to name the baby Rex.

The next day her paper says she didn't eat breakfast. Ok, I know my child is very picky. But usually there is something that she will eat from each meal. So I asked Jacob was the breakfast was. His actual words were, "it was pretty gross Danielle. It was some kind of broccoli, cheese, omelette." Well apparently they put the plate down in front of Lexi and she matter of factly stated that she couldn't eat that because it makes her sick. Now if I would have been present I probably would have fainted out of sheer embarassment. So we need to have a lesson on what words are rude and what words you can't say to people because you could hurt their feelings.

In all honestly she is a very picky little girl. I don't know where it came from, besides the fact that her father is a picky eater also. I made all her babyfood for her when she was a baby. She loved it. She loved it so much that once she got a taste of homemade, she wouldn't eat anything out of a jar. I gave away so much WIC babyfood because Lexi wouldn't touch it. And that was good for us. Because I loved making her food for her. I knew exactly what was in it and it was made with love. Once she started eating finger foods she would still eat almost anything. I would cube up sweet potatoes and she would eat them. She would eat peas and green beans, peaches, pears, apples, bananas. It was after her 1st birthday that her eating really slowed down. I was worried about it at first, but it seemed to stress her out more to try to make her eat something, and then she would end up not eating at all. So I have given in. Maybe after she turns 3 I will push her a little harder on some foods. Because I don't want her eating junk food all the time.

Current foods Lexi will eat:
pizza, bread sticks, pizza pockets, ramen noodles (she will eat a whole package), apples, oranges, chips, fries, occassionally chicken nuggets, toast or plain bread, plain flour tortilla or sometimes with cheese wrapped inside, yogurt, jello, applesauce, string cheese, waffles, poptarts, pancakes, and of course candy. She is healthy. She hasn't gained weight in a year, but she hasn't lost weight either. She is still growing taller. Her pediatrician isn't worried about her at all.

She truly is the sweetest girl and I ask myself everyday how I got so lucky to have her! She is my first true miracle!

Once again, it's been forever since I've updated.
On February 14 we got the best valentine's day gift ever. We found out we are pregnant! I won't go into great details but this is just a miracle baby. We were not trying to get pregnant and generally I have to see lots of drs and take lots of meds to get pregnant. So for it to happen the natural way is nothing short of miraculous.
With this pregnancy I have been pretty sick. The "morning sickness" didn't surprise me, as I was very sick with Lexi. I just hit 12 weeks and my appetite has started to come back. I'm scared of weight gain because I'm so much bigger this time. I am already pretty much as big as I was when Lexi was born.
We are trying to stabilize my meds. My bp med is proven to cause low birth weight, so we had to change that. With Lexi only being 5lbs 5oz at birth, I don't want this one to be smaller than that.
I also had to go off my migraine medicine. This has proved to not be good. Jacob had to take me to urgent care last weekend because I was in so much pain. They gave me a shot and a few minor pain pills. The shot didn't seem like it did anything. They pills kinda took the edge off. Then I kinda got the runaround when figuring out who is going to manage these headaches, my pcp or my ob. For now, it looks like ob.
Let me just say that I love my ob. She helped me get Lexi and I never want another ob for the rest of my life. She thinks my body is just not handling pregnancy well....hence the insane bp last time. She gave me a somewhat stronger pain med and told me it should get better soon. I got to listen to baby though and everything sounds good.
We travelled four hours from home yesterday for my grandma's 88th birthday party. Lexi and I rode with mom and dad as Jacob stayed home this trip. Yesterday I was pretty sick. But thankfully my wonderful aunt and uncle have a guest bedroom with toys and cable tv. So when I had to take a pain pill and lay down Lexi could still be in the room with me. There are plenty of people here that could watch her, but I hate to not be able to take care of her myself.
The party was today and it was great. Can't wait to see all the pictures. I also get to sleep in a queen bed with Lexi. I lo e being close to this girl. I snapped pictures of her while she slept last night because she's too darn cute.
Well, my eyes are dropping closed as I type this and my sweet girl is snoring next to me.
Much love! And I'll try to keep up more!

25 Questions: Christmas Style

I am stealing this from Lisa. Considering the fact we are sisters, some of the answers are the same.

25 Questions: Holiday Style

Eggnog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate. I’ve never had egg nog, but it just does not sound appealing to me at all. I prefer Swiss Miss hot chocolate with 2 French Vanilla creamers in a cup of coffee.

Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?
It depends on if it's big or small. Big things I will probably leave unwrapped under the tree.

Colored lights on tree/house or white?
I have done both. I always think I want to do all white, but I just like the randomness of the colors.

Do you hang mistletoe?
I don’t. And I actually don’t know anyone who does.

When do you hang your decorations up?
It's been so long since I have had my own house that I don't even remember. It's definitely after Thanksgiving though.

What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)?
That’s an easy one. My Grandma’s homemade noodles. She rolls them out herself and makes them every year before Thanksgiving. If we’re lucky, we get some on Christmas too. When I was pregnant with Lexi she taught us how to make them, but I've never attempted it on my own.

Favorite holiday memory as a child?
I have so many. My sisters and I used to try to stay up all night playing games on Christmas Eve. And take turns creeping down the stairs to see if Santa had come yet.
We and our cousins used to sing songs and make up little plays to perform for our parents.
My uncle Steve used to dress up like Santa and come visit us.
Going to Grandma Eva's every year on Christmas Day after getting up early and opening gifts.
Really, I could go on and on.
So many memories.
What is on your Christmas wish list?

Things that no one can buy me. Like to have the closing on the house over with.
I would love to have a keurig, but it isn't really practical right now.

Do you open a gifts on Christmas Eve?
No. I have been buying Lexi Christmas Eve pajamas, so maybe I will start wrapping those and let her open them on Christmas Eve? And maybe a new book?

How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Our Christmas ornaments started out Red and Blue and have gathered a few others over the years. At mom and dad's they are all ornaments gathered from 28 years of marriage.

Snow? Love it or dread it?
Love Love Love it! I love the way it looks. I love to walk around and play in it.

Real tree or fake tree?
Real. There’s just no comparison.

Do you remember your favorite gift?
No.
My mom always has made Christmas really special for us, so I'm sure there was something every year that could qualify as the best gift ever.

What’s the most important thing about Christmas for you?
Family.
I get all sappy and emotional this time of year just thinking about how lucky I am. It all stems back to the birth of Jesus, and how we wouldn't have the life we have without his birth and death. But I have the greatest family ever and I am such a lucky lucky person.

Favorite Dessert:
Um….any and all? Haha. I love desserts. Literally anything sweet.

What is your favorite tradition?
Christmas Eve Eve with my cousins. We pick one of our houses and all stay the night. We always find something fun to do together. Also, getting up early to open presents on Christmas morning.

What tops your tree?
This year it's a woven looking star. It's pretty cute!


Do you prefer giving or receiving?
Giving. That sounds cheesy, but I just love to buy things for people. I get so excited after I buy something that I know someone will like, that I have a really hard time not telling them what I bought them.

What is your favorite Christmas song?
Anything traditional and of the country variety.

Candy canes, yuck or yum?
Yum! I love them.

Favorite Christmas movie?
Home Alone 1 and 2. You can’t go wrong with the classic tale of a kid getting revenge on a couple of robbers. (We’re going to pretend like Home Alone 3 never happened).

What do you leave for Santa?
We used to leave him cookies and milk.

Do you have a Christmas morning tradition?
My dad has to be at work early on Christmas (he’s a rancher) so that he can be off by noon to go to my Grandma’s for lunch, so we get up super early and open presents. We all pick a spot on the dining room floor and pass out presents and then open them together. This will always and forever be Christmas to me.

Do you prefer to shop on-line or at the mall?
The older I get, the more I would LOVE to buy everything online. I just don't like the hustle and bustle and how crazy and rude people get.

Christmas letter or Christmas card?
Cards. Once Lexi gets a little older I will probably start doing a letter. Maybe next year since we will have a new house in January (hopefully) and that will be something to report on.