July redux

Ok, putting all things in perspective, yes, it was a tough month with sicknesses, 3 straight weeks to be exact, but taking a look at this video Austin put together, where all the shots were from June or July, I have to say, it was still a pretty good month :) btw, Austin put this entire video with his iPhone. cool huh?

July

July was terrible. We have been sick non stop this month. First Naomi, then Mikaela, then Austin caught something, then me. I was hoping the cycle would end, but nope, Naomi decided to pick up the torch and keep the cycle alive. She woke up irritable and complaining about how her feet and hands were itchy. When we took her temperature, she had a fever of 102 and her hands and feet were getting swollen red and hot. She also started getting splotchy all over her face. We were worried it was hand foot and mouth disease, but a not so quick trip to the pediatrician confirmed she likely just had a bad virus that was causing her joints to swell. "Sometimes that just happens". Great. Our pediatrician recommended we use ibuprofen over tylenol since it would help with swelling. It actually seemed to work, after a nap, Naomi woke up completely sweaty, and it seemed like her fever was gone. She was lethargic but more like herself. But after awhile, I noticed her eyes were starting to swell up. I have issues with medicine. I can't take any derivative of aspirin, and actually try to steer clear of any pain releivers other than tylenol because my eyes swell. Naomi however, has never had this problem. Unfortunately it seems like today she might have grown into one of my allergies. And unfortunately, she decided she was going to go on a medicine strike, and refused to take any medicine (after the first two doses this morning). I was able to get her to get a little bit of children's claritin in her, which I think helped with the swelling. After that, we stuck to tylenol, which just didn't seem as effective at getting her fever down, but thankfully her eyes weren't puffing up anymore. It was such a struggle to get her to take her medicine today though, I'm really hoping she sleeps through the night and doesn't need any more medication. She pretty much lay on the couch for the entire day, had nothing to eat but toast in the morning, some french fries from our lunch, which in retrospect was a bad idea since she puked them all up, and 1.5 saltines for dinner.
I'm praying she gets better soon, and also hoping she is the last leg of this vicious sickness relay we've been racing in. With the help of my parents (thank god for them), we managed to keep Mikaela and Naomi separate for most of the day. So hopefully Mikaela wont' catch anything. Tomorrow is August 1st. Hopefully July will go and take our summer sicknesses along with it.

Tag team

Naomi and MIkaela are tag teaming us. Thankfully last weekend, Naomi was only sick for a day. She did end up staying home the following monday, she could have easily gone in, but since my parents are here and she still had a pretty bad cough, we figured we might as well let her spend as much time with my parents while they're here. This weekend, Mikaela had a fever all weekend. Our pediatrician has sunday hours, so we were able to get her checked out. Other than a fever and a runny nose, she's pretty good. But today would have been her first day at daycare. Although she technically doesn't start until August 15th, I had her booked to go in for one day since my parents needed to head into the city to renew their visas for their trip to China. It's like she knew that she was heading to school! Since she had a fever, she wouldn't be able to go to daycare. So I am taking a sick day with her. Of course as soon as Naomi found out I was staying home, she declared she was too. So I even though Mikaela is a little under the weather, it's nothing serious, and at least I get an extra day with my girls =)

Naomi-isms

last night when I wouldn't ley Naomi watch tv, she said, "I'm going to tell Ama, because you broke my heart."

Toddler's and TuTu's

There is really nothing cuter than a bunch of toddlers running around in tutus. Last month, we went to Naomi's first dance recital. Technically it was her second, but she didn't make it to her first since she was sent home from school with a rash (that turned out to be a patch of dry skin). In any case, it felt like forever before the next dance recital came around again. I have to admit, i was a bit nervous for Naomi and had prepared myself to see her clam up during show time given how shy she can often be. For weeks leading up to the dance recital, I would ask her to show me some of her moves and dances, and she'd give me little glimpses of what she had learn, but never really show much more than a few moves. Her teachers all raved about how good she was in class, and even told me that she was a bit upset to still have to be in toddlers, when the rest of her class had already graduated into the pre-school dance class, which was a bit longer. (Since she had transitioned to pre-school in the middle of a dance semester, she was still in toddlers dance.)
Anyway, the day of the show came along, Austin and i got out of work early to make sure we got to the daycare in time. My mom, dad, Mikaela, Chris, Qing and Priscilla all came out for the show as well. Naomi got into her sparkly tutu, reminiscent of Madonna's prime years in the 80s, threw on some ballet slippers, and she was ready to go. Of course, when we got back into daycare, Naomi wanted to be held, and I thought, "ok, here we go, she'll not want to get up there." Except she started to squirm and get a little upset. When I asked her what was wrong, she said, "mommy, put me down, I need to get up there to dance!!" As soon as I put her down, she ran up to the "stage" and sat down cross legged, waiting for the recital to begin. I was truly amazed. I knew she loved to dance, and she loved putting on shows at home, making everyone that she could, sit and watch her as her audience. I never believed it would translate into her wanting to actually perform. There were easily 50+ people in the audience, what with parents, siblings, teachers and friends. But yet when the music began, and the toddlers started dancing, she jumped right in! Perhaps I'm biased, but I do have to say that I think she was the best one in her class!! Ok, and so maybe there were only 3 other kids in the toddlers dance class, but STILL. It was impressive. They're routine lasted a good 15 mins or so, and she knew every move, and never got phased by the audience. She just did her thing! When the toddlers were done, it was time for the pre-schoolers to dance. This was where Naomi melted down. She didn't want to get off the stage, and wanted to join the pre-schoolers. She kept crying and saying how she wanted to dance and dance and dance. This is completely the opposite problem I thought we would be dealing with this night. Austin ended up bringing her into the bathrooms, and with the help of some toilet paper, they made their own makeshift ribbons for dancing with, and tears were diverted, and Naomi and Austin continued to dance in the back of the audience, while the pre-schoolers performed.
It was such a fun night. I can't wait for the next show. Since she loved dancing so much, we actually just signed Naomi up for ballet in our local dance school. It doesn't start until September, but it's for 50 mins every Saturday morning, from Sept. thru June, with a dance recital in December and June. Can't wait to watch my baby girl perform some more!!

A Princess Party for a 3rd old

On June 18th, we celebrated Naomi's 3rd birthday in our backyard Naomi's one wish was to have a Tiana birthday cake, so we ordered a surprisingly yummy cake from ShopRite, and planned the rest from there. Unlike her second yr birthday party, where she was sick, and spent a majority of the party napping, or in tears from a tummy ache, Naomi got to enjoy this party. She had fun with all the prep work, especially liked helping us with her balloon banner. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and we had a great time with a lot of family and friends. Thank you all for coming out to celebrate with us!

Sick day

It's a beautiful day in Nutley, NJ. We originally were going to try and take the girls mini-golfing this morning, and then head up to Westchester for a a bbq at Naomi's "best friend Alli's" house. But unfortunately she woke up with a fever, so we're homebound for the day.

Six Months

Mikaela turned six months yesterday. 6 months ago she was this dependent little blob. A cute squishy, wrinkly blob of course. How are my girls growing so fast. Ok well to say Mikaela is growing fast would be a little bit of an exaggeration. She's our petite baby. We took her to the doctor's today, and while she's definitely putting on weight, she's not going to be shopping at big and tall anytime soon.
She's getting better at sitting up, she'll still topple over after awhile, but she's getting stronger and stronger. She's interested in stretching out to reach things, and I'm sure she'll be crawling in no time. She's so strong, and with her body being so little, maybe she'll have an easier time pulling her body weight around.
She's totally interested in food, she'll eye all of our food and try to grab it as fast as she can when she sees us eating anything. One day I was eating a chicken drumstick and had my plate on her highchair tray so she could see me while I eat (she likes being able to see your face when she's in the chair). Anyway, as soon as I put my plate down, she grabbed a drumstick off of it. I didn't even have time to move the plate away. She's a quick one. Luckily I grabbed it back before she had a chance to stuff it in her mouth. We're actually going to start her on rice cereal today. Exciting exciting.
She's back to sleeping well through the night. I do hear her wake up around 5:30 every morning, but she usually puts herself back to sleep after playing, fussing or babbling for a little bit. Then she'll sleep in until almost 8. She likes her sleep.
She's starting to get stranger anxiety. Yesterday Austin's sister came to visit us, and Mikaela was definitely a little hesitant to have Stacey pick her up. And today at the doctor's office, she was upset when the doctor took her away from Austin. Uh oh...just perfect cause she's starting day care next month.
Here are her stats from the doctor's visit, and of course a new pic,. This was actually taken over 4th of July weekend.

Weight: 13lbs 8oz (7%)
HeightL 24 inches (2%)
Head Circumfrence: 42.4cm (57%)

And she sits...

She still topples over after a few seconds but it's a start! Just shy of 6 mths =)

Mother's Day video....better late than never

Here's the mother's day video Austin made for me this year. Watching this video makes me tear up everytime. It really shows how Naomi went from being a baby to a big girl practically overnight. I can't believe just a few months ago we were graced by Mikaela's birth. It's just unreal. ok here's the video cause I'm going to start crying before I actually paste the link in.

Naomi-isms

Uncle Chris: Naomi, did you know my birthday is in December, on Christmas?
Naomi: Christmas? Oh, my birthday must be Naomi-mas!!

Naomi to Austin: Daddy, I don't know if I like you, but i DO Love you!

Naomi to me: Mommy, when I grow up and my feet get big, I'm going to wear all of your shoes, and you can wear all of my shoes.

Naomi while swimming in the pool: If I pee in this water, that would be gross. (yes indeed it would be)