A comfortable place to sit

A few weeks ago I realized Allie has no place to sit other than the floor. We were watching Baby Einstein one morning and she was lounging on the floor next to the cabinet. We had a gift card from Christmas, so we decided to get Allie her own little arm chair.

 It took a few weeks until we found the time to get the chair. But we finally got it today!

Allie doesn't really know how to sit in the chair yet. She climbs onto it and then tries to turn around, which in turn tips the chair. Its fun to watch. She loves it.

We love the princess chair. And it matches her shirt! Can't see it in the picture though, but its Belle on her shirt. Unfortunately she's growing out of this shirt and a few others. This girl doesn't stop growing!

Speaking of growing, Allie is 15 months old today! In addition to getting her chair, we also went up a size in diapers! Allie, can you stop growing now please?

Our little reader

She looks so innocent here. Of course not long after I took this picture, she ripped the front cover off the book! I don't know where she found the strength. But upon further examination, the binding was already pretty weak from repeated abuse.

Allie loves when we read her stories. We read a story every night before bed and I think she looks forward to it and, even if shes still all wound up, it gets her in the bedtime mode. We also have some books that we keep downstairs that she brings us to read to her. Many times, she asks us to read them many times in one sitting. They say repetition is key at this age, and I am seeing that here!

Happy birthday Dada!

Happy birthday Dada!

Today is Doug's birthday! Since its a Monday we can't really do much, but we are celebrating! Tonight we are having pot roast for dinner. I didn't have time to make a cake though. We're going out on Friday so hopefully I'll get some time to make a cake for this weekend. Since we never have time to get all our celebrating in one day, we just celebrate all week. Its definitely more fun that way.

Go Pack go!

We are ecstatic that the Packers are going to the Super Bowl! Allie has been getting in on the fun too. When we do that chant she waves her arms around. She gave us 5 when the Packers made great plays and the touchdown signal when they scored! I'm hoping we can all get some NFC championship gear and then maybe then some Super Bowl championship gear?

Friday flashback: The day that started it all

I call a lot of days "the day that started it all," but Jan. 20, 2005 really is the day that started it all. That is the day Doug and I had our first date! And to think that date might not have happened at all if a couple of our friends hadn't noticed that we liked each other, but needed a little push to get together.

It was a Thursday night and we went out to Houlihan's in Carbondale, which was new at the time and probably the nicest restaurant available, at least in my opinion. Doug insists he wasn't nervous, but I remember the way he twirled his napkin around while looking at the table! He was definitely nervous. We went to a movie after dinner and in spite of some confusion about when it was OK to start hand holding and then an awkward kiss goodnight, it was a great time. I remember too that he asked me to go to Steak 'n' Shake after, but I had to babysit early the next morning. I think he went home thinking I didn't like him after all. But then to go against the norm, I called him first.

I always used to laugh at women who said they knew the moment they met their husbands, but it became true for me. I knew early that first summer in Carbondale that I'd met mine! It just took us a little while to get together. But we haven't left each other's side ever since. For all my saying I'd never gone into journalism, if I hadn't gone into journalism I may never have lived in Carbondale. And if I'd never lived in Carbondale, where would I be now?

Almost 5 years later, we took our first family picture on our way home from the hospital. And now 6 years later, we've got a good thing going and I can't imagine my life turning out any other way.

Fascination

Allie is fascinated with going where she's not supposed to go. So sometimes she gets stuck.

She's really been fascinated with the hall closet lately. We have to be careful when we're getting coats out or putting them in because Allie is usually there putting her fingers where they could be pinched. We don't want that to happen!

And even though she knows its cold outside, or at least I think she does, she loves to look out the front door and try to sneak out whenever Dada takes Monk out. So Dada has to maneuver through the door quickly, so as not to let Allie sneak out with him! I don't know what would happen if she accidentally did get out. It would probably only happen once.

 

At the big kids' table

This weekend we decided to take the tray off the high chair and let Allie sit at the big kids' table. She loves it. She's always so excited to get up to the table. I wish I could say it makes her eat more food than she throws on the floor, but maybe that will come?

Playtime

Allie got a musical mailbox for Christmas from Bridget, our daycare provider, and her family. She LOVES this mailbox. She plays with it a lot. And not just picking it up and dropping it. She makes it play the music and puts things in it. This weekend she got frustrated when she would try to put something in it that didn't fit.

She also got a "Say Please" tea set from Grandma and Grandpa Durso. Last weekend, or maybe the weekend before, Dada and Mama were playing tea with her, pouring tea into cups (when you "pour," it makes the sound and then when you stop it says "more please," "why thank you" and "you're very welcome;" its the cutest thing!) "drinking" the tea and "eating" the little cakes that came with it. A little later she picked up the cup and started "drinking."

Allie got a big teddy bear from Grandma and Grandpa Swanson. This bear is bigger than she is! It sat on the couch in Allie's room for a few days before we realized how much she loved it! Now the bear sits downstairs with us and Allie likes to hug the nameless bear.

 

This car has been sitting in the living room for awhile, just waiting for a rider. Well, last weekend Allie started riding.

The last week has been one where Dada and Mama realize that Allie is just growing by leaps and bounds. Sometimes there are times when it doesn't seem much is going on, and then we have a week like this and realize our baby is growing up! She's learning to really play but she's also learning how to push Mama and Dada's buttons.

Friday Flashback: Dead of winter

January 2009 didn't start out well. Frustrated with my lack of healing on my pelvic stress fracture, between Christmas and New Years I'd decided to get crutches to start keeping my weight off that side in hopes of getting some healing. On the 3rd there was a winter storm with ice accumulation while I was working. Stupid me slipped on the ice while trying to get to my car while still using the crutches. Ooops! I ended up with whiplash.

The the next week I sprained my elbow because of those darn crutches. I had them adjusted wrong. Within a few days I had crutches, whiplash and then a sling.

The worst part of the month came on the 19th when I was laid off from my job of three years as copy editor at the Wisconsin State Journal. Two years later I've obviously moved on, but I am still bothered by it. I would cut off my arm if it meant I could work in the newspaper business again. Its a career I truly loved.

One tough year later, its January 2010. I am still uemployed. I didn't expect to be unemployed that long. I had a few interviews but I didn't have any prospects. Life consisted of getting used to having Allie around and making plans for a date night on Jan. 19. There was no way I was going to spend that night at home.

But on Jan. 4, I was offered a job! Its ironic to the max. I interviewed on my birthday for the job in the unemployment office. And I started on Jan. 19, so we didn't have that anniversary night out after all.

On Wednesday, I'll have my one-year anniversary. Its not my dream job and its not what I want to do for the rest of my life. Its also not permanent. But it works for us right now.

The last few Januaries have been tumultuous. I wonder what next January will bring?

A family full of illness

January hasn't been kind to us so far. Allie has had her teething mess while Doug and I have had sinus issues. Last week I succombed to a cold heading into the weekend and was better by the time Monday came around. But it wasn't over.

Allie started crying when she was eating on Saturday afternoon. I blamed it on the teething, that somehow the food was bumping her gums and making her teeth hurt? By Monday afternoon though I finally decided that wasn't the case. Allie and I stayed home Tuesday because she was so miserable and a trip to the doctor was in order. The doctor confirmed the suspicion I'd had since the weekend, that Allie had a sore throat. Unfortunately that early they could only assume it was viral, so there were no meds. At least that meant there was no chance for strep! All we could do was give her tylenol a half hour or so before meals and give her cold and smooth foods. Allie's been eating thinned out otameal, yogurt and applesauce pretty exclusively all week.

The saga doesn't end there, however. Doug was saying all weekend he didn't feel good. He ended up staying home on Monday and I was actually a little irked because he seemed find. I thought he was faking. Well, by the time Allie and I got home Monday night, it was a different story! I'll spare the details, but there's a stomach bug going around and Doug caught it.

So it was the three of us home on Tuesday and then Doug went to work Wednesday. Allie and I stayed home again, though I could have taken her to daycare. But then it ended up that I needed to stay home too. I caught the bug Doug had. Yikes. It went through me a little quicker though and I was able to get back to work on Thursday.

The good news is all three of us are on the mend. Allie even seems to have recovered from her sore throat. I'm glad for that because seeing her cry because it hurt to swallow but she was hungry is the most heart-breaking thing I've had to deal with in her life!

Progress already

One of my goals for the new year is to get our lives organized so we're not just doing chores all night. I'm happy that I've already made progress on this goal!

I've always tried to plan our meals each week. It helps in grocery shopping. But even though I planned meals, we still had a hard time getting that dinner on the table every night. So often Doug and I would decide to just stop somewhere and bring food home. This is a temptation thats even bigger now that there's a Taco Bell next door!

Even if we didn't go out for dinner, we'd make lazy food. Or I would make the planned meal, but I wouldn't make it until after Allie went to bed, meaning we wouldn't eat until after 8. I like to try and go to bed at 9, so that limited the evening hours.

For awhile we fed Allie first thing when we got home because she went to bed almost right away sometimes. And even as she's started on solids and table foods we'd feed her separately, then let her play until it was time for bed.

But recently we've finally started having family meals! Allie has even eaten some of those family meals. We get home, Dada and Allie play while I prepare dinner, and then we all eat. Allie goes to bed around 7:30 and then magically I have an hour and a half before I go to bed!

It helps as I'm starting to go to the gym some nights. I like going to bodypump and Wednesday night works best for that. And we get to have some reading or TV time at night. Its great.

What's even better is that I clean up the kitchen as I cook and then we clean up after dinner and the kitchen is left clean! Thats been another of my complaints is that I feel like I'm doing chores all night.

Now if the laundry could just wash itself...

Noodle head

Tonight we had spaghetti for dinner. Allie loves spaghetti. But tonight instead of eating it, she discovered some apparent joy in putting the noodles on her head. I guess we need to teach her some manners.

Molars

I realized on Sunday why Allie was sick over the weekend: She's teething molars.

Teething isn't a picnic for babies, though Allie has had an easy time. These molars, however, are a different story.

Allie only threw up those couple times at dinner time on New Years Eve. But her fever continued all day on New Years Day and she barely left Mama's lap. I would have loved it, except for the circumstances. She had other unpleasantries as well. Apparently, however, these could have been signs of other illness. Who knows?

She perked up after dinner Sunday, though the fever remained. It was gone Sunday morning but came back Sunday afternoon. I thought to check her gums in the front but no new teeth. A bit later I checked further back and there they were! Pronounced bumps where four molars will be.

She's had the drooling, runny nose, etc. This weekend we added crankiness and lack of sleep. I wonder how long this will last?