Update Doing Better

Nicole is doing much better, almost back to 100%. She is a little slow starting solids again, and is wanting to nurse a lot more frequently. Otherwise, she is liking to play a lot and be held a lot. Thanks for the prayers!

And the World Stops

Please pray for Nicole. Last night, we were eating dinner when she suddenly started vomiting. She threw up a lot. We saw some answer to prayers as she made it through the night and took some Pedialyte. Now, she is nursing some and keeping it down. We don't know if it is a virus or food related. She seems a lot better this morning, and praise the Lord we didn't have to go to the hospital.

Wrong Choices

Maybe I should name this "Projectile 101."

I must put some other highlights of the week that aren't so much of a highlight on the mommy ability. One deals with knowing what to do with ailment complaints. Natalie has a lot of fun with showing boo-boo's and talking about different hurts. She also complains sometimes of stomachaches. I tasted the medicine I was giving her and it tasted like bubble gum. So, I naturally became a little more hestitant to give it to her, thinking she wanted the "candy." So, when Sunday morning came, she kept complaining about her stomach. Finally, she stood in front of her room and said, "My stomach hurts." I started explaining to her that I wasn't giving her medicine and we needed to hurry to get to church...then she threw up on the carpet. That changed everything and out of following the rules I stayed home with her and Nicole. However, she never seemed to be ill before or even after all that. Who knows what caused that & why. But, next time I guess I'll try the medicine!

The other involved these little melt away baby treats for Nicole. I remembered how much Natalie liked them, and couldn't quite remember when we started giving them to her. So, I take a little bag to lunch with my friend Betty and her niece, Hannah. Natalie and Nicole were with me. We were having a great time until I decided to pop open the bag and see if she would like one. She played with it on her lips for a while. Then, it gets stuck on the roof of her mouth. And, she has the regurgitation reflex...all over her outfit. Praise the Lord, no choking or any other issue. So, I throw those things away and we won't see them again for quite a while.

Edible Art

Today's craft was also today's baking time! We made the slice & bake sugar cookies for ease, then made some paintable frosting. I had been wanting to do this since our church had the decorating of cookies Christmas 2007. I finally found a recipe on allrecipes.com that was called sugar cookie glaze. It worked good for adding food coloring and taking a couple of paintbrushes. Natalie enjoyed it, and it was a pretty easy craft. The glaze was very easy to make, and was just essentially powdered sugar. And, Natalie definitely put some artistic ability into the cookies. But, they are also great to eat! I guess it would probably work too for other cookies to glaze as well (oatmeal, etc). It will definitely be done again here!

It was on the ground...

so, we played in it! The snow fell actually enough to cover the ground. Not enough for making Frosty, but we enjoyed having some fun this morning.

Which, finally, it has snowed enough to cover the ground. It has been bitterly cold sometimes, but no snow to make up for the cold! Mimi & Poppa stayed in the camper this weekend in teen coldness, while Grandma & Grandpa bravely drove up in the cold. Finally, something to show it is winter that is fun!

We found Woody working outside, and he joined us for a few times down the hill on the sled. Natalie went with Woody first, then me, then herself! It was more fun with us because we went further. After sledding, we tried again for a snowman without success. But, had some fun making snowballs and throwing them!

Nicole Doctor Visit Today

Today was the visit for 6 month checkup for Nicole. She was 16 lb 3 oz, and 27 inches long! She is very long, about 90th percentile, while only 50th percentile in weight. She is growing quite well! And, gained back over what she lost with the RSV illness, PTL!

So far, is doing well with the shots given. Praying that these will not have any negative effect. It is great to think she will not need shots for 6 more months.

Natalie Birthday 4!

We definitely happily celebrated Natalie's big turning 4! The night before, all the grandparents plus us went out to eat dinner at a Japanese steak house. It was fun, but Natalie was scared of the fire most of the time. She finally realized it was safe, and enjoyed it from then on. I thought I had probably picked the wrong thing! Then, celebrating with Dora cake and opening presents were great.

The next morning, she awoke and had Belgium waffles for breakfast. Then, it was time to open Mommy & Daddy's gifts! She ended up with 2 dogs as gifts...but one walks and swims and the other talks and grows. So, they weren't quite the same. She also had other very special gifts and is quite enjoying them right now. She's already asking about the next birthday!

I added pictures from her new camera to add to the blog. I'm sure they will get better & better as she practices and learns. She got better as she was trying the first time.



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Party Time!

We had a party at Natalie's school this year. Although it still took a lot of preparation, it is easier right now. We had pizza, juice boxes, and dirt cups (with little flowers). The kids either liked or didn't touch the dirt cups. It was my first time to make them, too! The table looked good and Natalie had a great time. Nicole was great through the event, too. Thanks, Woody for your help. And, thanks Mrs. Blackwood!


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Natalie Favorites Part 4

Natalie will help me write this one!

Favorite food: Still a heart sandwich, but now in multiple shapes. We've done a tree, a snowman, an umbrella, a smiley face...the limitations are only in the fact I have no art skills!

Favorite stories: All the books on Starfall.com. She loves them!

Favorite thing to do: Play hide & seek. She is doing this pretty well and always finds a time to do this.

Favorite outfit: A happy shirt (seen above). Or, anything with tights right now. She likes tights.

Favorite place: Home, but she loves school.

Favorite toy: Right now, it is a fake pink rose that she is carrying around. These are for the dirt cups tomorrow at her school party that we cut and cleaned.

Favorite snack: Regular saltine crackers (right now she wants one).

Favorite shape: circle

Favorite craft: painting and cutting are hitting tops right now.

Favorite thing right now...for mommy to stop typing and get her a snack. Instead of napping, we must have been getting hungry!

Mimi's Birthday and Nicole 6 month bday!

Today was a big day in that it was Mimi's birthday as well as Nicole's 6 month birthday. Although we didn't spend it with Mimi, we hope to delay celebrating later this week. The day started with Nicole waking up a little early (hungry!), and then eating breakfast together as a family before Woody went to work and we went to church.

I had a time of seeing my fear as little and God's protection as big. With going to the later services, there is not much parking. We are also in downtown. So, I parked in a side street parking area as close as I could get. (This is why I used to go to the early service especially when I was pregnant, so I could get the upper parking--extra incentive!). So, coming back out after service Natalie walked in front of me and I carried Nicole in her car carrier on top of the stroller. As we approached the car, I noticed a tall man coming towards us. He was some distance, but I could tell not going to church by his attire. My heart quickened, and I moved quickly to the car. I opened the door and Natalie jumped in quickly. I flung the car carrier in place, praying as I was going. I was about to decide to just leave the stroller and dive into the car when I noticed I had no time. The man was within 6 feet of me when I closed the door. Then, he went around the car beside us and went on. I quickly threw the stroller into the trunk and put my shaky hands on the wheel. I felt a lot like Don Knotts in the "Shakiest Gun in the West" at that point. I was thankful and shaky all the way home!

Nicole Favorites Part 3

Now that we are settling in from the hospital and illness scare, I now am a little too quick to notice sneezes and coughs. But, Nicole seems to be doing very well now, praise the Lord!

Here she is in one of her favorite things--the jumper. She loves this little toy, and will contently bounce and play usually through us eating dinner at least. I think I want one in an adult size!

Nicole is also turning stomach to back now (she has done this for a week now). So, she has decided that she will sleep on her stomach instead of back now that she can turn either way.

She is also pretty much sitting up on her own. I just keep a hand on her so she won't slide one way or another. Pretty soon, I won't have to do even that! She wants to crawl so badly, but so far can only scoot a little bit. But, quite good for a little girl who isn't even 6 months yet!

Nicole loves trying new foods. So far, rice cereal, squash, green beans, sweet potatoes, applesauce, peas, bananas have all been eaten quite happily. She does really well!

She loves all kinds of toys. She likes her play mats, but will play with a single toy and investigate it with her hands (and mouth) quite methodically. She does seem to have a certain kind of inner engineer in her, I think!

Her smiles always brighten a room. She looks for her sweet big sister, who she really loves to be near.