Saturday, October 11, 2014
Friday, October 3, 2014
Disney trip and Aila turns 6 months
So September was crazy. Aila was on a nursing strike every two days for about a month and a half. It started when she had a cold when Dan's family was here in August and we gave her the bottle because she couldn't breathe. Well, that morphed into a bottle every time she ate, on some days. That means I had to pump immediately afterwards. Talk about time consuming! I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off between doing that and then Ashlan's school and dance, and I didn't have much time for Ashlan at all. My supply tanked because Aila wasn't breastfeeding at all except at night if I was lucky, and maybe the morning. I got so freaked out, I went out and bought Fenugreek, Mothers Milk tea, and made and ate oatmeal and lactation cookies. Eventually they helped, but I finally called a lactation consultant because I was so desperate. We were going to Disney in a week or so (when I called) and I didn't want to have this schedule of bottle feeding and pumping when we were there, so I wanted to see if she could help me. I'm so glad I called! I'm happy to say we're back on track and have been for over two weeks now. In fact, she's had no bottles at all during that time. This just threw me for a loop because I breastfed Ashlan for a year and never had any issues. I honestly thought she was weaning early and I started looking into buying her formula! So when my parents came down to visit the last week of Sept, they were coming into a disaster but luckily, they saw it fixed too and subsequently, my stress level dropped tremendously.
We had a great visit with my parents. They hadn't seen Aila since the two weeks after she was born, so they had some good time bonding with her. And Ashlan loved having them here too. They took her to preschool and picked her up a few times and she was loving that. It went by fast as usual.
We went to Disney last weekend. We had a great time, despite it taking awhile to get there. Apparently Ashlan had a UTI beginning around Tuesday of that week that we were going down. We took her to the doctor on Wednesday. They asked us to get a urine sample but she couldn't go there. They said it was okay if we took a sample at home and then just refrigerated it. However, when I called on Thursday to drop it off, they then said that that would not be a good enough sample. (Ugh!!!) So by the time Aila was up from her first nap, the dr's office was closed for lunch and didn't open back up until 1:30 or so. I piled the girls in the SUV and we tried to get a sample there again but no luck. So I drove home and tried to get another sample for the next few hours but she wouldn't go. She finally went around 4, so I booked it back to the dr's and got there just before they closed, thankfully. I had called ahead of time though and they were still there when I got there. The tests came back the next day. She did end up having a UTI, so we had to put her on an antibiotic for that. We didn't get that call from the doctors office until we were about ready to leave for Orlando, so we just had them fill it on the way to Disney. About an hour and a half into the trip, she told us she had to use the bathroom. We stopped to eat lunch anyway, but then we could not get her out of the bathroom for the next half hour. It was at that time that we realized we had forgot our magic bands. (Luckily our cards still worked). We almost took it as a sign to turn around and go back, but Ashlan would have been so disappointed. If it was worse, we probably would have turned around, but it just started to get to the point the day prior. So we found a Publix about a mile off of the exit that we stopped at, and filled the prescription there. By the time we got back on the road we had been stopped for two hours. So that made a two and a half hour trip into five hours. Good times! Lol. Anyway, she took the antibiotic and is feeling much better, thankfully. It didn't stop her at all for the rest of the weekend, and I'm sure Disney distracted her too. We all had a great time at Disney. Went too fast as always.
We decided to start Ashlan three days a week at preschool instead of the two that she was going. She goes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and this way gets to take part in 'show and tell' that happens on Friday. I am really enjoying the detailed daily activity reports that we get from her teacher at the end of the day, and the random photos they take of her doing activities. She loves it there too and learning a lot so we're all benefitting.
So a few days ago we had a baby lizard that was stuck in between a screen and the window. We had been seeing it off and on for a few days, and then all of a sudden we went a few hours without seeing it at all and I was wondering if it was dead. It was the window by our kitchen nook table, so we all saw it, I couldn't have hid it from Ashlan. I wondered if he somehow got out, so I looked around the window to see if I could see him, and he was at the bottom. He flinched when I moved my hand in front but I could tell he was slowing down. I just wanted to see if I could pop the window/screen out to see if I could free him. I have tried to do that in the past and every time it ended with a lizard running loose in the house. And those things are fast, lol. Luckily, I was able to open the window slightly and pop the screen out and the lizard was able to jump down into the grass. He might have still died but at least I know what to do in the future. Ashlan was right next to me the whole time and gave me a high five after he was freed. A few hours later, she was sitting on the windowsill, looking out and randomly thanked me for "saving the lizard." I thought that was so cute that she was concerned about that lizard.
Aila turned 6 months yesterday. I can't believe how time is flying. She is mainly in 12 month clothes now and is approximately 17 lbs and 27.5 in but we'll find out for sure at her appt this week. We just started solids and she loves most everything. Apples and bananas are not her thing though, lol. Her favorites so far are pears and squash. She's also put herself on a sort of a schedule. She only takes about three 40 min naps or two naps, but it averages out to about a total of two hours. She sleeps pretty good at night though and I really like her not sleeping a lot during the day, because she's pretty flexible with leaving the house to drop Ashlan off, pick her up, or go to the gym. I hope this continues!
Anyway, lots of pics to get through. "They" always say the first child gets the most pictures. I'd have to say that's not true in our family! Lol. I take just as much of Aila, if not more, than I did of Ashlan as a baby.
We had a great visit with my parents. They hadn't seen Aila since the two weeks after she was born, so they had some good time bonding with her. And Ashlan loved having them here too. They took her to preschool and picked her up a few times and she was loving that. It went by fast as usual.
We went to Disney last weekend. We had a great time, despite it taking awhile to get there. Apparently Ashlan had a UTI beginning around Tuesday of that week that we were going down. We took her to the doctor on Wednesday. They asked us to get a urine sample but she couldn't go there. They said it was okay if we took a sample at home and then just refrigerated it. However, when I called on Thursday to drop it off, they then said that that would not be a good enough sample. (Ugh!!!) So by the time Aila was up from her first nap, the dr's office was closed for lunch and didn't open back up until 1:30 or so. I piled the girls in the SUV and we tried to get a sample there again but no luck. So I drove home and tried to get another sample for the next few hours but she wouldn't go. She finally went around 4, so I booked it back to the dr's and got there just before they closed, thankfully. I had called ahead of time though and they were still there when I got there. The tests came back the next day. She did end up having a UTI, so we had to put her on an antibiotic for that. We didn't get that call from the doctors office until we were about ready to leave for Orlando, so we just had them fill it on the way to Disney. About an hour and a half into the trip, she told us she had to use the bathroom. We stopped to eat lunch anyway, but then we could not get her out of the bathroom for the next half hour. It was at that time that we realized we had forgot our magic bands. (Luckily our cards still worked). We almost took it as a sign to turn around and go back, but Ashlan would have been so disappointed. If it was worse, we probably would have turned around, but it just started to get to the point the day prior. So we found a Publix about a mile off of the exit that we stopped at, and filled the prescription there. By the time we got back on the road we had been stopped for two hours. So that made a two and a half hour trip into five hours. Good times! Lol. Anyway, she took the antibiotic and is feeling much better, thankfully. It didn't stop her at all for the rest of the weekend, and I'm sure Disney distracted her too. We all had a great time at Disney. Went too fast as always.
We decided to start Ashlan three days a week at preschool instead of the two that she was going. She goes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and this way gets to take part in 'show and tell' that happens on Friday. I am really enjoying the detailed daily activity reports that we get from her teacher at the end of the day, and the random photos they take of her doing activities. She loves it there too and learning a lot so we're all benefitting.
So a few days ago we had a baby lizard that was stuck in between a screen and the window. We had been seeing it off and on for a few days, and then all of a sudden we went a few hours without seeing it at all and I was wondering if it was dead. It was the window by our kitchen nook table, so we all saw it, I couldn't have hid it from Ashlan. I wondered if he somehow got out, so I looked around the window to see if I could see him, and he was at the bottom. He flinched when I moved my hand in front but I could tell he was slowing down. I just wanted to see if I could pop the window/screen out to see if I could free him. I have tried to do that in the past and every time it ended with a lizard running loose in the house. And those things are fast, lol. Luckily, I was able to open the window slightly and pop the screen out and the lizard was able to jump down into the grass. He might have still died but at least I know what to do in the future. Ashlan was right next to me the whole time and gave me a high five after he was freed. A few hours later, she was sitting on the windowsill, looking out and randomly thanked me for "saving the lizard." I thought that was so cute that she was concerned about that lizard.
Aila turned 6 months yesterday. I can't believe how time is flying. She is mainly in 12 month clothes now and is approximately 17 lbs and 27.5 in but we'll find out for sure at her appt this week. We just started solids and she loves most everything. Apples and bananas are not her thing though, lol. Her favorites so far are pears and squash. She's also put herself on a sort of a schedule. She only takes about three 40 min naps or two naps, but it averages out to about a total of two hours. She sleeps pretty good at night though and I really like her not sleeping a lot during the day, because she's pretty flexible with leaving the house to drop Ashlan off, pick her up, or go to the gym. I hope this continues!
Anyway, lots of pics to get through. "They" always say the first child gets the most pictures. I'd have to say that's not true in our family! Lol. I take just as much of Aila, if not more, than I did of Ashlan as a baby.
Merida dress- a possible Halloween costume.
Practicing her bow and arrow.
Always entertaining each other. :) Another Halloween costume possibility- this is her Ana dress.
She loves her exersaucer now.
Taking a dip while my parents were here.
Our little family.
Time with Papa.
Mmmm...
She is so strong.
Haha!!!!
In St. Augustine with my parents.
With my girls.
Dancing with Papa.
Lol.
Playing together.
Yummy gelato.
On our way to Disney. She sleeps more than Aila in the car, lol.
But at least she's happy! She's a much better traveler now but she does have her limit in the car seat.
Dinner at Epcot.
Our last ride on the Maelstrom. :( It's closing and turning into an Ana and Elsa ride.
She was pooped, lol.
Aila and me playing around while Ashlan naps. She slept longer than Aila that day, lol.
She can't hang.
At Hollywood Studios, it was one of the last "Frozen Summer" weekends. This was in the ice skating arena. We got fast passes for the Frozen singalong for later that night and everyone had a great time, especially Aila. She was loudly screaming (happily) whenever singing would start. In fact, she'd cry when I sat her down. She stood on me the whole time.
Ashlan's first ride on Splash mountain. She loved it and wanted to go again, lol.
Ride home from Disney, lol. Luckily, Aila had a great nap in the car as well. Surprise! Lol.
Everything's always in Aila's mouth.
:)
She amuses herself, lol.
Playtime.
Aila is a sitting machine now. I still sit behind her just in case but she's pretty steady.
Foot in mouth, literally.
Sisterly love. These two make my heart melt.
A school pic for Ashlan.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Ashlan starts preschool, and Aila gets baptized and turns 5 months
Holy cow, a lot has happened in a month so this will be looooong.
Dan's birthday was Saturday, August 16th, and luckily he had off and his family was down here to visit. Aila was a little under the weather but they swam in the pool all day and relaxed...or should I say entertained Ashlan, and who am I kidding- that's anything but relaxing, lol!
Aila's baptism was on Sunday, August 17th. I think things went as well as they could have gone. Everyone behaved themselves, for the most part. Afterwards, we went to the Olive Garden, and both girls were on their best behavior there too. It was pretty relaxing for having two kids there, lol.
Aila had about a month of "rough" sleep, which I'm assuming was from the 4 month regression. Dan was out on the couch a lot and she was sleeping with me, because that's the only way we could get some sleep sometimes. She wasn't awful sleeping with me but when she'd sleep by herself, she'd wake for her binky a lot and it was just easier to have her next to me than keep walking to her room in the middle of the night. Thankfully, she got better for a few days and was back in her crib and waking minimally, if at all but lately she's been fighting us for going down to sleep, which makes me think she's overtired. However, she has learned to roll in her sleep, so that helps her stay asleep, I think. We were still swaddling her up until two to three weeks ago, when she rolled over in her swaddle during a nap! Good thing I saw her do it, because she didn't have her hands to help hold her up. We cut out the swaddle cold turkey right then and there. She actually didn't do so bad, but that's either because I was putting her down with only one arm in it for the week or so prior, or just because she learned to roll over. Either way, for a few nights she slept from 11-7 without needing to eat, so woohoo! Ashlan's alarm clock also broke...the time was gradually speeding up, so we stopped using it. She knew that she couldn't come out of her room earlier than 6, so we were a little nervous that she'd start to come out earlier again. Instead, it went the opposite! She hasn't gotten up before 7 since that happened, which is unheard of for her!
Aila turned 5 mos on Sept 4 (where the heck is time going?!). She's in some 12 month outfits already! She can still squeeze into some 9 mos but that's really squeezing, lol. She is definitely ahead of Ashlan. I have pictures of Ashlan wearing things at 7/8 months that Aila can't fit into now. Wow!
Ashlan started preschool last week. She is only three so she's going two days a week from 9-1pm but that's plenty of time for now. She started on the second of September and had a great first day! We took her out for ice cream afterwards and she was singing songs to us that she had just learned. :) I had forgotten to get her a backpack and lunchbox so we just used what we had the first day but we took her to Target and let her pick out her own ones. She picked a Minion book bag (it's super cute, but hilarious she picked it because we haven't even seen either movie yet!) and a Barbie lunchbox. She started dance too this week- half ballet/half tap and loved it.
Anyway, she's been asking to go to school for months- ever since we took a tour. Of course I will too, but Aila will miss her terribly. Those two are like the ying to the others yang. They both smile so big when they see each other. When Aila's upset, Ashlan can always get her to smile when all else fails. I love that the school is only a mile away and I've heard great things about their reputation. Next year she'll go to the Catholic school near us but we couldn't send her this year because you have to be four, but she was definitely ready for something now. She didn't even want to leave when we picked her up the first day. When we said we had to leave bc everyone else was taking naps, she looked at us incredulously and said, "Whaaaaaaaaaat?" Like "no way, who does that anymore? Lol. It was so funny. I really like that her school sends me pictures of her during her day there too and I get a report each day at day end that goes over what they learned that day. She is loving it though and I'm toying with her going MWF next month, but we'll see.
So my car (I had a 2008 Kia Sportage) had been giving me trouble recently and we knew it was time for a new car anyway since we wanted more room. We had been looking online for a slightly bigger SUV for months now but figured it was time to just do it. So we went to Carmax last Tuesday (with both kids- were we nuts?!) to look. We ended up getting a 2014 GMC Acadia that had low miles on it, and had leather, remote starter, heated seats (though we don't need them as bad in FL), a backup camera (which I needed, lol!), etc. It had more but that's most important to me, lol. We put half down (that's the biggest check I've ever written!) and the car payment was what it is now for the Kia and only a 1.95% interest rate for 5 years. We thought that was pretty good. The salesman actually said the particular company that loaned us the money only do it for about 5% of customers so we felt pretty good about that, lol. We wanted to pay cash for the whole thing but we decided to pay off the pool loan instead bc the interest rate is about 6% and that was a good rate back when we got it like 8 years ago! I have to say that both girls were absolute angels for the 4 hours that we were there! I was very surprised since número uno is super active. We did bring in her movie player but she only watched it for about 30 min, and so did Aila, lol. They entertained each other a lot and kept me smiling and laughing too.
So, Dan and I decided no birthday party for Ashlan this year. Making it up to PA is hard to do anyway AND we gave her a choice of party or Disney fun and she enthusiastically said Disney (duh, lol). We told her we'd take her to a character meal and to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique to get her hair and nails done, but we wouldn't give her gifts bc that would be her gift. She agreed so maybe she's like Dan and me...we'd much rather have experiences than gifts, but we'll see how she feels about that when her bday comes, lol. I was able to snag the last Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique appt for the weekend on that Friday so we'll have to give ourselves plenty of time to drive down there so we'll leave early in the morning. I also made reservations at Animal Kingdom for a breakfast with characters at the Tusker House on Sunday of that weekend. They're not princesses but they'll do. We'll have to make Cinderella's Royal Table another time. Apparently you need reservations six months in advance for that...which we think is nuts, and there are many other problems that us annual passholders are having, but I digress...that's another blog in itself. ;)
Ashlan started preschool last week. She is only three so she's going two days a week from 9-1pm but that's plenty of time for now. She started on the second of September and had a great first day! We took her out for ice cream afterwards and she was singing songs to us that she had just learned. :) I had forgotten to get her a backpack and lunchbox so we just used what we had the first day but we took her to Target and let her pick out her own ones. She picked a Minion book bag (it's super cute, but hilarious she picked it because we haven't even seen either movie yet!) and a Barbie lunchbox. She started dance too this week- half ballet/half tap and loved it.
Anyway, she's been asking to go to school for months- ever since we took a tour. Of course I will too, but Aila will miss her terribly. Those two are like the ying to the others yang. They both smile so big when they see each other. When Aila's upset, Ashlan can always get her to smile when all else fails. I love that the school is only a mile away and I've heard great things about their reputation. Next year she'll go to the Catholic school near us but we couldn't send her this year because you have to be four, but she was definitely ready for something now. She didn't even want to leave when we picked her up the first day. When we said we had to leave bc everyone else was taking naps, she looked at us incredulously and said, "Whaaaaaaaaaat?" Like "no way, who does that anymore? Lol. It was so funny. I really like that her school sends me pictures of her during her day there too and I get a report each day at day end that goes over what they learned that day. She is loving it though and I'm toying with her going MWF next month, but we'll see.
So my car (I had a 2008 Kia Sportage) had been giving me trouble recently and we knew it was time for a new car anyway since we wanted more room. We had been looking online for a slightly bigger SUV for months now but figured it was time to just do it. So we went to Carmax last Tuesday (with both kids- were we nuts?!) to look. We ended up getting a 2014 GMC Acadia that had low miles on it, and had leather, remote starter, heated seats (though we don't need them as bad in FL), a backup camera (which I needed, lol!), etc. It had more but that's most important to me, lol. We put half down (that's the biggest check I've ever written!) and the car payment was what it is now for the Kia and only a 1.95% interest rate for 5 years. We thought that was pretty good. The salesman actually said the particular company that loaned us the money only do it for about 5% of customers so we felt pretty good about that, lol. We wanted to pay cash for the whole thing but we decided to pay off the pool loan instead bc the interest rate is about 6% and that was a good rate back when we got it like 8 years ago! I have to say that both girls were absolute angels for the 4 hours that we were there! I was very surprised since número uno is super active. We did bring in her movie player but she only watched it for about 30 min, and so did Aila, lol. They entertained each other a lot and kept me smiling and laughing too.
So, Dan and I decided no birthday party for Ashlan this year. Making it up to PA is hard to do anyway AND we gave her a choice of party or Disney fun and she enthusiastically said Disney (duh, lol). We told her we'd take her to a character meal and to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique to get her hair and nails done, but we wouldn't give her gifts bc that would be her gift. She agreed so maybe she's like Dan and me...we'd much rather have experiences than gifts, but we'll see how she feels about that when her bday comes, lol. I was able to snag the last Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique appt for the weekend on that Friday so we'll have to give ourselves plenty of time to drive down there so we'll leave early in the morning. I also made reservations at Animal Kingdom for a breakfast with characters at the Tusker House on Sunday of that weekend. They're not princesses but they'll do. We'll have to make Cinderella's Royal Table another time. Apparently you need reservations six months in advance for that...which we think is nuts, and there are many other problems that us annual passholders are having, but I digress...that's another blog in itself. ;)
Lots of pics this time and in no particular order, sorry!
With Dan's family at Aila's baptism. She threw a little fit at the end of the Baptism and then promptly passed out for pics, lol.
I forgot Ashlan's dressy shoes, whoops, lol. They were in the car.
Grammy reading to Aila.
Me, Ashlan, and Dan's sister, Katie, at the Olive Garden after the Baptism.
Ashlan giving Aila kisses.
Love.
The girls doing their nails.
Ashlan trying out her bike.
Help from Daddy and Grandpa.
Grandpa, Grammy, and Aunt Katie took Ashlan to Fernandina Beach for some sun time. She fell asleep on the ride into the city after the beach, so Grandpa was carrying her. :)
Entertaining the baby, lol.
Almost bedtime!
More baptism pics.
Godmother Katie
Cannonball!!!
Spending time with Aunt Katie. :)
I think Ashlan's having a Popsicle because she never sits still like this when she's outside, lol.
Aunt Katie is so entertaining!
Practicing her tracing skills, and this was before she started preschool!
Not too shabby. :)
Grammy and Aila.
Silly girl. This was a before preschool pic and she wanted to pose like an Egyptian, she told me, lol.
First day of school!
Her classroom.
The backpack and lunchbox she picked out.
A pic from her teacher on her first day. :)
It was someone's birthday in her class so she got a cupcake on her first day there! She loves cupcakes, lol.
At the dealership. These two melt my heart. <3
Momma's new ride. I love it! (And I better since I'll probably drive it into the ground, lol.)
Snuggles. So sweet!
I love this pic!
First dance class.
Before school on second day- she asked for hair "like Anna's".
Second day of school pic.
Happy 5 months Aila!
Aila loves snuggles from Ashlan.
I didn't even tell Ashlan to kiss her. :)
Love this one too!
After school hair- it kept pretty good!
A pic from her teacher.
And after preschool, lol. She can't hang on those days. :)
First taste of oatmeal. She loves it!
Kept grabbing the spoon. :)
So, she started out with her head on this blanket in the bottom of the pic. She kept moving herself up with her legs until she got to the tile. That's one way of moving around the house, lol.
Pretty girl.
Ashlan sharing her toy. Aila just likes to press all the buttons, lol.
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