This One's For You, Pop

Ok, so this story is for my dad.

Dad and I are two peas in a pod sometimes.  We have the same interests, the same hobbies, the same illnesses and ailments.

So this evening, I'm suffering from a cold.  My nose is raw from all the dripping and draining and sneezing and I finally got to the point where I shoved tissue up my nose because I couldn't handle it dripping or blowing it anymore.  Of course, Billa saw me.

"Mommy, you have [mumble mumble something slightly unintelligible] boo-kers?"
"Yes, Mommy has lots of mocos {boogers, en espanol}."
"Mommy have big boo-kers?"
"Yeah.  So Mommy shoved tissue up her nose to keep them from coming out."
"Oh." [Pause] "Like Papa?"

Michael and I burst out laughing then.  Like I said, Dad and I are two peas in a pod.  When our allergies get really bad, the kleenex plugs come out.  (Hey, don't hate!  Appreciate!)  I hadn't realized she'd ever seen him do that, much less make that association.

Leave it to the kiddo to know how to make mommy laugh.

And there ya go, Pop.  Hope you enjoyed that little nugget!

Cheers,
Kelly

Plagued by Pestilence

The plague has hit our house!

Michael asleep on the couch.  Snack doesn't look too thrilled with me.

I think it might be the flu and if that's the case, I'm going to be mighty PO'd if I get it too!  I already missed three days of work a couple of weeks ago due to a sinus infection/cold thing and I really can't afford to miss anymore.   Whatever this is, Michael got it first and ended up missing up work yesterday as a result (well, that and minor car accident thanks to the icy and snowy roads--he's ok BTW, just a little sore) and he's missing out again today.

Poor kid! She passed almost before her head hit the pillow.

Now poor Billa's got it!  She had a little fever last night and her constant coughing kept me awake, but by mid-morning she was her usual spunky and energetic self, so we went for our usual Target run and foodstore trip, albeit a bit shorter than normal...I didn't want her to tax herself!  By the time we got home, Billa was cranky, shivering, and her temp was starting to spike up again.  Argh!

I really hope that this thing leaves our house soon and I hope all of you are taking precautions this winter season to stay warm and stay healthy!

Kelly

Weekend Recap: Fun with the Marinos!

It felt weird not to have a cake to make this weekend since my friend Beth picked up the cake she asked me to make her on Friday afternoon after work.  So Saturday I spent some time giving my baking blog a facelift and letting Billa get some additional rest, as you can see here.  She was watching UP for the fifteenth time this week (ok, really the fifth time, but it feels like we've seen it almost fifteen times!) and feel asleep while watching.  I love the little arms behind her head!

Typically Saturdays are spent running errands and doing shopping or delivering a cake, but since we'd  done most of that already during the week, the only trip we made was to Sprouts to pick up some specialized ingredients for a baking challenge I'm participating in this month.  I had planned on making cookies and it was good timing too, since we got an invite to hang out with the Marino family for hot wings Saturday evening.  Things got started with an impromptu dance party (I wish I had taken video, the kids were hilarious!  Billa especially was jumping around with her arms in the air, waving them back and forth) and we had a great time visiting, eating hot wings and trying my new cherry double chocolate chip cookie recipe that I had thrown together right before we left.

The Marinos invited us for more fun on Sunday for a dayhike to Pedernales Falls, just outside of Drpping Springs.  Michael and I have both camped and hiked there, but it had been YEARS since either one of us had gone so we were very excited to go.  Unfortunately, Billa was not as excited.  Our timing was all wrong and it was a little too much for a kid who had spent the majority of her week in bed, in her mama's arms, and sick.  She did enjoy herself, but we should have eaten lunch first.  She also didn't nap AT ALL, despite hanging out in the car with myself and Baby Hayden (who also didn't nap and probably should have).  She slept on the way home, but it was too little, too late at that point.

I'd post some pictures of our excursion, but both sets of camera batteries were dead.  Fortunately, Anthony had a spare point and shoot Canon with them that he let me borrow.  Unfortunately, our card reader is dead and our USB camera cable is incompatible, so I have to wait for him to get them to me!  But they probably deserve a post all of their own anyway :o)

Our weekend was capped off by a lovely visit from Michael's mom who dropped by for dinner.   She and I went to go get Chinese while Michael stayed home with a napping Billa.  We enjoyed dinner and I made the rest of my cookies.  She gave Billa a bath while Michael and I did some much belated house cleaning, which was a really nice break actually.  I don't mind doing housework, but if Billa isn't occupied, it can get really frustrating very fast!

All in all, despite our hiking setbacks and ridiculous amounts of TV viewing, I'd day it was a stellar weekend!  Hope you all had a great weekend too!

Adventurously yours,
Kelly et al

Worst Week Ever or Thank God it's Friday!

Poor Billa.  Someone needs to tell VH1 that we have a candidate for the Worst Week Ever!

Sybilla has been ill since Monday night and Thursday was the worst of it.  Yeah, three days later and it was worse.  She'd been feeling generally yucky on Monday night and most of Tuesday.  No big deal, I thought.  I'll just work from home on Tuesday, and she'll go back to school on Wednesday.  Wednesday morning dawned cloudy and overcast with a high of 101F.  Outside it was in the 50's and 60's.  Home again it was!  She had woken up almost every hour the night before, so Mama and Daddy were feeling a little rough around the edges themselves as well.  By the end of the day, Billa was still feeling pretty awful and that was when we hit the 101F.

Thursday was the worst by far.  Her fever spiked despite having multiple rounds of Motrin and I finally decided to give the doctor's office a call and see if I should even bother coming in or if this was something that could be treated at home.  When I told the nurse how long she'd been sick and what her temp was and that the fever had still not gone away even with the Motrin, the response was "come in, please!"  So I logged off from work for the day and headed in to the dr's office.  We were there for over an hour since Billa's fever spiked to 103.3 while at the office and they wanted to see if Tylenol would bring it down.  It did, thankfully, so no ER visit for us!

Here we are at the dr's office.  Sybilla fell asleep in my lap several times, this being one of them.  Makes my heart hurt!

Turns out Billa has RSV AND an ear infection.  She was tested for flu as well, but that came back negative thankfully.  She's been hurting so much, poor kid, that she's practically slept in my arms during the day and hasn't really slept anywhere else, except maybe the couch.  Disney should pay me as Billa has watched thirteen movies in the last three days.  I am NOT making up that number...you want me to list them to prove it?  Lion King 1 1/2, Up (twice), Curious George, Horton Hears a Who, Ratatouille, Emperor's New Groove, Happy Feet, Kung Fu Panda, Sleeping Beauty, Finding Nemo (twice), Elmo in Grouchland, and last but not least, Hercules.  OK, so technically 12 titles in all with 14 different viewings, so my average of 13 is not off.  This does not include the amount of time Nick Jr has been on either.  Ay, ay, ay.  I swear she doesn't watch nearly that much boob tube on a regular basis.  This was the only thing that kept her distracted from the pain and doggone it, I was going to do what I had to!

We now have an antibiotic for the ear infection and since daycare is closed on Monday due to MLK day, Billa won't see her friends until Tuesday which is a big bummer.  She always feels better around her friends!  I am really hoping she feels better soon, not because I have things I need to do (like work), but because it is killing us to see her hurt so much.  Now that she's talking, it literally breaks my heart to hear her cry and whimper, "Mama, hurt!  Eyes hurt!  Nose hurt!  Head hurt!"  I'm getting all teary eyed just writing that.  Excuse me a minute...ok, I'm good now.

So here's to hoping our munchkin feels better soon...and that WE don't get sick as a result.

Thank goodness it's Friday because I really need the weekend!

Cheers,
Kelly

All's well that ends well...

I am happy to report that my dad is now at home, resting comfortably and on some new BP meds. The doc decided at the last minute to go ahead and discharge him; he will continue the meds given to him until he has a follow up appointment next week, in which case they will evaluate what he's on and make any adjustments. My dad has been having issues with his blood pressure being a bit high lately and it was this that caused the mini-stroke. We are very thankful that this was not more serious and that it is easily treatable at this point. Once he's recovered a bit more, his doctor will also work with him on a new diet and exercise regimen as well that will help to keep his BP low in addition to the meds.

Thanks to everyone for all of their prayers, well-wishes, and support. It means the world to me to know how loved I am and my family. A huge weight has been lifted from my heart and now that everything is fine, I finally feel like I can cry. So with that said, I have some catharsis I need to do...

"Those who don't know how to weep with their whole heart, don't know how to laugh either." --Golda Meir

Love to you all,

Good news and Bad news...

HOO BOY! What a day and it's just barely lunchtime!

My phone is now kaput. It decided to go in Hot Sync mode and then froze up. I tried to do a soft reset and then a hard reset and it decided to not come back on again. So off to the Verizon store I went. The technician wasn't in yet but when I described the problem to the gal at the counter she shook her head sadly and told me she had the same thing happen and there was no hope. GREAT. As if it weren't bad enough that my father is in currently sitting in the hospital from a mini-stroke, now I have no way to contact my folks until Michael gets home! Kinda makes me want to go back to a landline...

Anyway, the gal was so super sweet and even though my warranty had expired on July 26 (how's that for lucky, eh?) she and her manager overrode it and were able to save me from having to pay full price for a new phone not to mention they gave me some discounts too. The bad news is that my new phone has to be overnighted because they don't make the version of Palm Centro I have and the substitute phone model for it isn't in stock ANYWHERE in town. And I have also officially lost all of my data too. Bummer.

Sooo...in the meantime I am watching my email like a hawk so that I don't miss out on any updates from my mom or my brothers on my dad. Who by the way, is still doing ok. His BP was 189 this morning and they gave him some meds to bring it down. They are running an MRI and a couple of other tests to see what else is going on and make sure there isn't any damage to heart or brain. Several people have asked me what they can do...the best thing right now is to keep offering up any prayers and well-wishes. They are greatly appreciated.

With all of that being said, please email me your phone numbers, your birthdays, and addresses so that I can update everything once I get my new phone tomorrow morning. I'll keep posting as I hear more about my dad. I don't know why this week has been so crazy and hectic, but what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. God has a reason for everything and while I have no fathomable idea as to why we're going through this, I have every bit of faith that the Old Pawdnuh is riding right alongside me.

Until later,

What a day...

I'll keep this brief as I am now emotionally and physically exhausted beyond belief. My dad is in the hospital at the moment having suffered an episode of TIA, or Transient Ischemic Attack, which is to say, a mini stroke. A cat scan and xrays so far have shown no damage caused by it, and they will run tests again in the morning to be doubly sure, but it's still worrisome. My initial Google search on TIA's reveal that while they may be harmless now, they can be a precursor to the mother of all strokes. So with that said, it's certainly been one hell of a day, week, month, year so far.

I will post later as to how my Pop progresses but for now, all prayers, well-wishes, and small miracles are gladly welcome.

Good night,

Working out, Cupcake Smackdown and Sick Billa

Howdy all!

Since my post, I have started working out with Kellie in the evenings. After two straight days of really busting our butts, we realized it might be wise to take one day off every now and then. Basically, our texting went like this:

Me: It hurts to sit. I think I broke my butt!
Kellie: Maybe we should take a break.
Me: Well if we do, we have to commit to Thursday and Friday. How r u doing?
Kellie: Can't walk.
Me: LOL. Then break it is!

Monday we walked around the neighborhood for a little over a mile and then did a whole bunch of random exercises in the front yard. When we did the stairjumps, I was silently cursing myself for not having been more rigorous with my Kegels. Wetting one pant's in the middle of a workout is not something you want to experience!

Tuesday we swam in the pool here at our complex. They actually have lap lanes and at 8 pm, there's no one out there to have to share it with. I swam five laps (that's end to end twice) and then we did a bunch of water aerobics.

We've now decided that we will work out Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday alternating between running/weights and swimming/water aerobics while the weather is warm. I'll keep you posted how that's going!

In other news, some of you may have heard me mention the Cupcake Smackdown I entered. It's a little food/baking extravaganza taking place next weekend and I decided to enter some of my recipes into two of the categories for the amateur baking contest. I will be entering my coconut lime cake as cupcakes for the "freestyle" contest and I am developing a new recipe for the chocolate category: cherry chili chocolate cupcakes. So far I got the chocolate and chili, I'm just waiting for the cherry to start coming out. I might have to rethink my recipe a bit. Basically, I'm going for a cake recreation of one of my favorite chocolate bars, the Lindt Chocolate Cherry Chili bar. Mm, mm, good! I'll keep you posted as to what happens that day...keep your fingers crossed on August 1!

Anyhoo, it's time I popped a couple of Advil and hied myself off to bed before tomorrow arrives. I didn't get too much sleep since Billa woke up at 4:30 not feeling well. By lunchtime she had a 102.3 fever and Michael picked her up. She'll be at home with Daddy to make sure she won't get anyone else sick but she seemed to be doing much better this evening.

Nighty night amigos!
Kelly

HAYDEN IS HOME!!!!

Good news, folks! Baby Hayden has come home! Thank you all in advance for all of your prayers and well-wishes. I know that our friends appreciate them and they are grateful to have their littlest one home with them safe and sound. Hayden's ANC has steadily gone up and when they released him on Tuesday, it was over 2500! Because of the cleft palate, he is still having to use a feeding tube, but his pediatrician and the doctors at Dell Children's gave his folks clearance to take him home so long as they learned how to insert the tube themselves, which they have mastered. It's a lot of work for him to try and suck on a bottle, so they have to supplement with the tube in order to make sure that he gets the right amount of food to increase his weight. Because he is so small, he isn't allowed to lose any weight and will continue to have many pedi visits over the next few weeks to monitor that closely. But at least he is home.

I would have reported this earlier except that I have been sick the last five days with some sort of cold/summer flu/respiratory infection and too exhausted to do anything besides sleep. I started feeling ill last Friday and by Saturday morning I was so ill I had to call in the reinforcements (read: the grandparents) to come play with Sybilla for a bit so I could rest. Billa had Playtime with Papa while Mommy and Daddy slept. Michael wasn't sick, but he and my brother David has been up all night fixing the heater core issue in my SUV so that I could have working AC and just in time too... yesterday the thermometer in my car read 110F!!! My poor SIL Michelle has broken AC now too so I totally sympathize with her situation. Many thanks to my brother for taking time out of his weekend off to help us out...YOU ROCK!

Father's Day I felt a little bit better and we went and made dinner for Michael's dad. I really shouldn't have though as that night I got worse. [sigh] Sometimes I have too much energy for my own good! Monday was Michael's 27th birthday and I spent most of it sleeping. I feel so bad about being sick this weekend because both of Michael's special days were ruined. He spent most of his time watching the baby and taking care of me. I tried to make it up to him by making him a strawberry cake on Tuesday evening when I felt a bit better. We'll definitely be making up for it when we have his birthday party this Sunday. The Marino's are going to come out and make homemade hot wings and we're going to swim and grill burgers and enjoy a pirate ship cake, pictures of which I will post later.

Seeing as how I have missed three days of being in the office, it's time for me to play catchup. I'll post later on some of the funny things that Billa has been doing, but just wanted to make sure everyone heard the good news about Hayden!

Thanks again!
Kelly & the Gang

All Clear (relatively speaking...)

Our follow up at Dr. Patil's office today went well. Billa's lungs sounded considerably better and she recommended that we keep up with the breathing treatments until Saturday. I dropped her off at daycare after the appointment and picked her up four hours later so we could administer another one. She did pretty good with that one; she actually stayed still for most of it. The treatment actually helped Mommy too since I've been experiencing some chest tightness thanks to difficulty in breathing. I love springtime in Texas, but I HATE HATE HATE the oak pollen! I know everyone else around here does too. Surprisingly enough, she doesn't hate the treatment so much as being held down to do it. The pictures show her playing with the mask after her treatment this afternoon. Silly girl!

Shaking the mask. You can see her awesome silver shoes too! These are the same shoes that we are constantly complimented on...they were in the bargain bin at Target for $5!

They put little eyes on them to make them more appealing to kids I guess. Too bad it doesn't make hogtying a toddler in one place and have them breath out of it appealing.

This picture is more like the experience we have when we administer her breathing treatments. Thankfully we only have to keep it up until Saturday!

Until later!
Kelly & the Gang

What a Weekend! And Week...

These last few days have been action packed and exciting to say the least. Here's a recap:

SATURDAY: My brother came into town to help Michael get our washer and dryer from the lakehouse. They made a day of it and went "frolfing" (frisbee golfing), kayaked across the lake, drove Papa Carl's cool truck, and stopped at a old car show on the way home. (On a sad side note: the washer and dryer they picked up turned out to be the wrong ones. [sigh] I am forced to do my laundry at a family/friend's house again! Argh!)

Mommy and Billa helped Aunt Kellie clean her "pit" and then went to lunch at Maudie's, where we received a phone call from my grandmother to invite us to her house to hang out with the family. Remember a few months back the Saga of Mia? Well, I am happy to report that Mia is officially part of the family as of last Wednesday! The adoption was finalized and Erin and her family can move on happily. My cousin's family, her parents (my dad's sister and her husband), my grandmother, my cousin Jeff and his wife Abby and their twins Garrett and Wyatt, and Jeff's parents were all there. Talk about a full house! Lots of babies and children everywhere. It was a lot of fun, but alas, I have to wait for pictures on this one since Michael and Philip had the camera.

The Marino and Guerra Families (With Philip)

Kellie & Kelly being silly!

SUNDAY: We had originally planned on going strawberry picking but because Michael's aunt and uncle and cousins from California were coming in that evening, we couldn't go too far out of town. Instead we went to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Preserve with the Marino family. Anthony doesn't normally have weekends off so it was a real treat to have him with us for once! The kids had a blast running all over the preserve, looking at the flowers, and hiking the trails. We got to take some beautiful bluebonnet pictures (thanks Anthony!) and then went home to make hot wings and milk shakes. Yum! After the Marino's left, Michael and I went to his dad's house and visited with his Aunt Kelly, Uncle David and all his cousins, who are here in town for the wedding next weekend. The only bummer was that we had to leave early due to Billa being overly fussy.

Kelly & Philip...hard to believe that he's my little brother!

MONDAY: Unfortunately, the fun ended Sunday evening. Billa was coughing so much through the night that none of us really got to sleep until about 1 am. When I went in to nurse her at 6:15, she was wheezing pretty fierce. Michael and I decided she needed to go to the doctor. I took her to the doctor around 10 am and by that point her wheezing was even worse. Being an asthmatic myself, I was very worried about her. The doctor administered a breathing treatment in the office with a nebulizer ad albuterol, which is the same drug in my inhaler. Her breathing improved considerably, and we were sent home with a nebulizer of our very own and prescription for some more albuterol.

The doctor didn't diagnose her issue as asthma, but said it was probably made worse by allergies. One of the pitfalls of spring in Central Texas! Of course all of this is compounded by the fact that Little Bit is teething again. We have two new teeth on the bottom for a total of eight - four on top and four on bottom. I'll try to get a picture if Billa will let me :o) Poor kid was so exhausted from the weekend, her poor sleeping, and the allergies that she slept in my arms in Target while we waited for her meds. She NEVER does that, so I knew she wasn't feeling well at all.

Today we are at home taking it easy and administering her breathing treatments every four to six hours as prescribed. Billa is getting lots of 'toon time and Mommy is getting some belated housecleaning and organizing done while also trying to accomplish some work! We'll keep you posted as to how her followup appointment goes and more pictures later!

Family photo: Philip, Kelly, Michael & Sybilla

Until next time!
Kelly & the Gang

Thank God for CSI and BSG!

I actually tried to go to work yesterday and it was a miserable fail... I ended up leaving at lunchtime yesterday and I didn't go in today because I was still so sick. I actually got sort of chewed out for even trying, which was nice for a change, but still odd. Kinda sad when you think about that for a bit... Anyhoo, I dropped the baby off at daycare this morning and came back to sleep the sleep of the dead. I had weird dreams too, which is also partly why I hate being sick. I have weird dreams to start with (just ask Michael) and sick dreams are the worst because they're always awful. The following is an example of a Kelly dream:

My friend Kellie Marino receives a gift which she must return to Walmart. We both hate Walmart and she tells me that I HAVE to go with her: "I can't this do this alone, Kelly!" Dramatics aside, I agree reluctantly. We travel to Walmart in darkness late at night and are forced to park in a parking lot on the side of the store. We are traveling in Kellie's white truck, which she no longer has in reality. We go inside to the chaos and discover that the store has a "flow." You must follow said flow through the store or you get arrested otherwise. Therefore you have to know where everything is, have a list, or go 'round the store twenty times to get all the things you forgot. And there is no lollygagging, which is somewhat fortunate, although in my dream, there are rulebreakers galore. We've taken the kids on this ridiculous journey which means three children under the age of four with us in a huge store, at night, that is crowded. At some point the kids wander off and then return, minus Sybilla. I am wigging out and drilling the kids as to her whereabouts and trying to calm myself. They run off again, but return with her, just dandy. THANK GOD. We continue on our journey and some guy tries to take my wallet from me. I catch him and because I am already in an anxious state of mind and on the verge of a panic attack in this crazy socialist Walmart, I start beating the snot out of this dude (remember that this is a dream people!). Kellie is trying to pull me off of him telling me "It's not worth it, Kelly! It's not worth it!" while I'm pummeling the dude with my bare fists. Security finally drags him away and Kellie distracts me by telling me to go get the truck and that she'll keep an eye out for the kids. I go out to the parking lot and THE TRUCK IS GONE, along with half the other cars in the parking lot. If I thought I had lost it before, I was bat shit crazy now! Eventually we get the truck back and we all make it home safe and sound if not a little worse for wear. (And that is why I never shop at Walmart among other reasons. You'll get arrested for going against the "flow"!! Walmart is the devil! Down with slavery and destruction of small town values!!!)

See what I mean? When I finally woke up after lunchtime today, I logged into work for a bit and then logged off, snoozed a bit and then turned on the telly for some good ol' CSI action. That was followed by dinner making (French toast--thank you to the hubby for helping me with that) and then more CSI, bath time for the baby, and then BATTLESTAR!! There must be some unspoken rule in Hollywood that any show that can be abbreviated by initials or one word must be awesome (at least for a season or two): OC, CSI, BSG, Firefly, etc.

Tonight the Cylons and the Colonial Fleet have returned for their final season. Thank God too, because any longer on the wait and I would have written off the show forever. (Producers worldwide take note: don't make your audience wait too long to see the show) This evening's episode was quite good, although I was a bit let down by who the final Cylon is. I will not reveal anything even though the episode has aired because I know some readers haven't seen it yet. Needless to say, next Friday won't come quick enough.

So there is my day in a nut shell. I'm up so late because I slept so much today but I will be heading to bed soon since I am now yawning.

Toodles,
K & Co.

Being thick suckth...

YES, the stress has finally caught up with me. I am home sick today with a massive head cold and it sucks. I hate being sick. The nice thing is that daycare is less than 5 minutes away and so we were able to drop her off this morning so I can sleep all day. I've been going going going for so long without really stopping to take care of myself and now I know this is God's way of syaing, "Slow down, girlfriend!" (Ok, maybe not the girlfriend part, but I like to think that maybe God is one of my closest buddies... so He can talk however He wants!)

I'm about to rummage for some food since I haven't since last night. I schlupped the kid off and then came straight home to crash and I just got up a bit ago. I have to do SOME work since I have a big deadline, but I am so thankful my job allows me to work from home remotely in order to do it. Monkey slippers and fuzzy robes for all!

I got up to check my friend Caroline's blog... she's due any day now and I keep hoping that she won't have posted anything because it means Baby George is here! But alas, so far, nothing as far as I know. She did post a memorial about her Daddy, which made me a little sad... he died a year ago yesterday and he was such a sweet man. I'm sad for Caroline that Train isn't here to meet Baby George, but if my beliefs about the Other Side are true, he's already met the lucky guy or gal and sending his blessings to Caroline and Matt.

Anyhoo, I'm gonna go rustle up some grub... more later cowpokes!
Kelly

Giant Gerbil Balls and Bookworm Billa

It's not everyday that one can claim to have had the worst day of their life, but seeing as how Billa is only 7 months old at this point, she could definitely say that yesterday was the worst of the 219 she's experienced so far. (And in case you're wondering, yes, I really did spend time calculating that out)

Our tale starts when I left Billa asleep on our bed, surrounded by pillows, while I went to the bathroom. I finished the first most important task, checked on her and she was still asleep. I had just finished my second most important task, washing my face, when I heard a thump followed by a scream and crying. Mommy's worst nightmare became reality.

I ran into the bedroom to discover that my child had woken up, crawled over the pillows to my bedside table to play with the alarm clock and had fallen off the table, presumably when it slid over from her scooting onto it. I couldn't see her at first which almost made me lose it altogether, but I managed to remain calm enough to see her little hand from behind the table. I yanked the table aside totally forgetting that the aforementioned alarm clock was still on it, and still plugged in, so it came hurtling down onto poor Billa's head. Granted, it doesn't even weigh close to a pound, but no one likes being kicked when they're down.

She finally calmed down after a few minutes and many tears on both sides and we started to go about our business. I've always said kids were resilient, and she was up and scooting about in no time, but I still felt leery (and very guilty) so I looked in the Baby 411 book and decided to call the doctor. They weren't open yet (this was 7 am) so I talked to a nurse on call who sounded confident that the baby would be ok, but that if we saw any signs of bleeding, vomiting, etc to call Dr. Patil immediately.

Of course, when it rains, it pours and Billa bonked her head again a couple of hours later while playing downstairs in front of the living room windows. She was crawling to the window and lost her footing and smack! hit the windowsill with her forehead which is at her waist level. More tears and now we had a total of 3 goose eggs, 4 small bruises, and 1 unhappy baby. I decided to take her to the doctor to make sure everything was ok, especially since it was Friday and I'd rather avoid the ER over the weekend if I could.

The doctor made me feel better by telling me that I wasn't the first, nor would I be the last, parent to have this happen to them, and that in fact, her son had done it several times. Still, no one likes to deal with it. She gave Billa a clean bill of health and also recommended that while we were there we get the first of our two flu shots since they actually had some in stock. (On a side note, I have to take her back in a month from now, but I can't make the appt until two days prior since they don't know when or how much flu shot they will be getting. Lovely.)

So all in all, Sybilla had a terrible day what with multiple head bonkings and shots. I swear, I really need a giant gerbil ball for her so she doesn't hurt herself. Someone could make a killing selling those to paranoid parents!

Developmentally, she's gotten really good at crawling fast and pulling herself up to standing. Now she is learning to balance and lets go to stand still for several seconds! I'm certainly convinced that she'll most likely be walking by Christmas. Ah, how quickly babies grow! [sniff] Our little chunky monkey is catching up to Gumerry; she's only 3 pounds shy of his weight now. They weighed her at the doctor's office and she is 19.8 pounds. I had to buy her new clothes the other day since it's still so hot and we don't really have any good 12 month clothes for her. Yeah, you read that right, 12 month clothes. We have tons of cute dresses, but it's hard to crawl in those without tripping. (For anyone who ever considers giving clothes to parents for a new baby girl, here are two suggestions: 1. don't buy anything smaller than 3-6 months; 2. buy for the appropriate season and age! and 3. skip the cute dresses and give 'em cute seperates instead...it will cut down on the accidents as they get older and move more!)

Well, it is definitely bed time, and I leave you with a short clip taken about a month ago. I've been slow at editing the videos... I am hoping to make a compilation DVD for all of the grandparents as part of their Christmas present this year, but other things have cropped up. This one is short and sweet and cute... enjoy, and as usual,

Until next time,
K & Co.

Attack of the Sybilla Monster

So Little S finally got her first cold. We took her to the doctor's on Thursday since she had had some congestion for a couple of days and it was driving Michael crazy. The doctor told us that she was congested and that she had a little bit of a viral cold and that there wasn't
really anything to be done except keep her propped up (which we have for the reflux), suction her nose every once in awhile (which I'd been doing since she had some crazy boogers) and maybe add a cool mist humidifier. She's gotten better, but she gave me whatever she had and of course it was way worse. And now her Papa has it too!

The doctor also informed us that my calculations were about right; Sybilla weighed in at an ounce shy of 11 pounds on Thursday. The baby book says she is supposed to gain anywhere from 5 to 7 ounces per week, and if that's true, then she's hit 11 pounds for sure by now and is getting bigger!

As a result of the congestion and her cold, she's been spitting up more frequently and it's been really cheesy and mucousy, which of course, has found it's way onto everything. [sigh] I can't wait until she's older so that I can finally dress her in something cute and she won't mess it up in less than five minutes. I realize that as she gets older she will get everything she owns dirty, but if my friend's kids are any indication, they can at least keep their clothes clean for a minimum of an hour or so by exercising minimal restraint.

There may be some developments on the job front for Kelly; I meet with our HR director this upcoming Friday to discuss my job and coming back. I told them in an email a week or so ago that I was planning on coming back. After having lunch with some of my old coworkers and hearing about some of the changes that have happened, I am NOT looking forward to returning. I worry about the stress levels (which is why I spent the last 4 months of my pregnancy as part time) and the ability to be able to keep pumping milk for Sybilla, not to mention the pay and that we'd have to find childcare. As much as I sometimes get irked by the fact that I can't do half of the things I wanted to during maternity leave and feeling like the worst mommy ever when I can't comfort my kid, I feel sad about leaving Sybilla during this time. I've really come to enjoy watching her eat and discover the world around her.

I have a lot of thinking to do in the next few days and I will let you know how things turn out!
Until then, enjoy this silly picture of the Sybilla Monster!