More from the Abby chronicles. After posting last night, I remembered a couple cute things that Abby is doing now. First, it is no secret around this house that Rachael does not like to go down for naps. She has fought naptime since she was put in her crib at 4 mos. Everyday we go through the same thing - "no naptime", then running away and trying to hide, then screaming after she is taken to her bedroom. I keep Rachael's door cracked because she makes enough of a scene already.
Well lately, Abby has taken to coming to her big sister's rescue. As soon as she hears Rachael crying, she scoots to Rachael's bedroom as fast as she can, shoves open the door, and keeps big sister company. They will play with the dollhouse, or unload all the contents of a drawer and drape the clothes over themselves. I always find them happy and giggling. When I put Rachael down for her nap yesterday afternoon, she started crying "Abby, come here!"
Besides rescuing big sister, another of Abby's pasttimes is emptying the laundry basket. She especially likes the clean socks. You will see Abby scooting across the house with socks in hand.
Today at lunch, Abby figured out that a sure way to get my attention was to stick her fingers down her throat. I would yell "no Abby!" and she cackled and did it again and again. What a character!
Friday, April 28, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
So our baby boy turned six this past Tuesday! It's hard to believe. I still call him "Baby Jacob" all the time. We baked him a GFCF chocolate cake over the weekend. He enjoyed it. Rachael liked it, also. Joshua enjoyed the icing once he was over the stomach bug (last week's illness-of-choice), and we didn't let Abby have any because she was was still in the throes of the bug. Rachael asked for a piece of "chocolate birthday cake."
Speaking of Rachael, she is really enjoying her PPCD class. I picked her up from school today, and she was really put out. She usually rides the bus to and from school, and loves it. Her teacher said her favorite activity is circle time, and she loves the days when she gets to be the 'special helper' during circle time, passing out and collecting materials from the other kiddos. They have different stations in the classroom w/different themes. Rachael enjoys the dress-up station, and likes to put on a pink dress w/fringe over her clothes. Rachael also enjoys the kitchen station, and likes to serve her classmates pretend meals. One thing Rachael does not enjoy too much (at school or at home) is potty training. The teacher advised waiting until August to really focus on it, since the school year is almost done. That is a little too close to October for me, so I'll see what I can do over the summer. We beg, we plead, we bribe, we scold.. nothing works with our stubborn little 3 yr old princess!
As for Abby, she is moving around more and more. She pulls herself up on a lot of different things now, but cries because she doesn't know how to get back down. Her hips are gaining strength from all the standing time she is doing. She is starting to taking steps while she is holding on to things. The OT from ECI was here today, and was very impressed with the progress Abby's made in the past week alone. Her weight isn't budging much, though. I think she gained about an ounce this past month. The pediatrician's office has been calling to ask when we want to re-do Abby's labs. I'm waiting to get our new insurance cards in the mail.
Deren is doing fine at his new job. He has to take a shuttle van to a remote parking lot, do to lack of parking, and that adds up to 1/2 hour to his commute.
Speaking of Rachael, she is really enjoying her PPCD class. I picked her up from school today, and she was really put out. She usually rides the bus to and from school, and loves it. Her teacher said her favorite activity is circle time, and she loves the days when she gets to be the 'special helper' during circle time, passing out and collecting materials from the other kiddos. They have different stations in the classroom w/different themes. Rachael enjoys the dress-up station, and likes to put on a pink dress w/fringe over her clothes. Rachael also enjoys the kitchen station, and likes to serve her classmates pretend meals. One thing Rachael does not enjoy too much (at school or at home) is potty training. The teacher advised waiting until August to really focus on it, since the school year is almost done. That is a little too close to October for me, so I'll see what I can do over the summer. We beg, we plead, we bribe, we scold.. nothing works with our stubborn little 3 yr old princess!
As for Abby, she is moving around more and more. She pulls herself up on a lot of different things now, but cries because she doesn't know how to get back down. Her hips are gaining strength from all the standing time she is doing. She is starting to taking steps while she is holding on to things. The OT from ECI was here today, and was very impressed with the progress Abby's made in the past week alone. Her weight isn't budging much, though. I think she gained about an ounce this past month. The pediatrician's office has been calling to ask when we want to re-do Abby's labs. I'm waiting to get our new insurance cards in the mail.
Deren is doing fine at his new job. He has to take a shuttle van to a remote parking lot, do to lack of parking, and that adds up to 1/2 hour to his commute.
I see I'm running a little bit behind on my postings. Finally got some late April pics posted, including a picture of pumpkin baby. As of today, I am officially in my 2nd trimester. Woohoo! I am allowed to start exercising again, taking it easy. We went for a 1/2 hr walk in the beautiful weather last night.
The sickness of the week is... wanna guess?.. the strep. Joshua was fussy at school on Monday, so I picked him up mid-morning. He wasn't running a fever, and once he got home he seemed fine. Fussed a bit at lunch and at his usual naptime (he sleeps on the bus ride home from school). So we sent him back on Tuesday - yes, Tuesday, April 25th, aka JACOB'S BIRTHDAY!! Got an email from Joshua's teacher in the a.m., saying he had a rash on his neck, back, and stomach that he was scratching, but he wasn't running a temp and they thought maybe contact dermatitis. By the time he got home the rash was all over his body. I took all the kids with me to the pediatrician. Joshua's temp was 97.1, but he had a bad strep infection - rash included. The other kids tested negative. Joshua got a shot at the office. Jacob got.. well, we'll see what he ends up with... Mr Jacob is a wild man at dr's offices. He particularly likes the wooden tongue depressors (am I getting the word right?). He dives into trash cans after them, got some other 'fresh' ones, but was dipping them into the water at the bottom of the sink in the exam room and licking them. Then he took a cup marked for the dirty caps on the ear gadget thingy, filled it with water, and took a swig.
..and here I was thinking we might make it through the week without at trip to the doctor, because Deren's health insurance doesn't start until May 1st.
We got home from the dr's office and had hamburgers that Deren picked up. Jacob was happy with his birthday meal.
..that's all for now. For some reason Joshua has become obessessed with waking up Abby every time she goes down for a nap. Seeing her door closed apparently offends his sensibilities. So I have a crying Abby to tend to for now.
The sickness of the week is... wanna guess?.. the strep. Joshua was fussy at school on Monday, so I picked him up mid-morning. He wasn't running a fever, and once he got home he seemed fine. Fussed a bit at lunch and at his usual naptime (he sleeps on the bus ride home from school). So we sent him back on Tuesday - yes, Tuesday, April 25th, aka JACOB'S BIRTHDAY!! Got an email from Joshua's teacher in the a.m., saying he had a rash on his neck, back, and stomach that he was scratching, but he wasn't running a temp and they thought maybe contact dermatitis. By the time he got home the rash was all over his body. I took all the kids with me to the pediatrician. Joshua's temp was 97.1, but he had a bad strep infection - rash included. The other kids tested negative. Joshua got a shot at the office. Jacob got.. well, we'll see what he ends up with... Mr Jacob is a wild man at dr's offices. He particularly likes the wooden tongue depressors (am I getting the word right?). He dives into trash cans after them, got some other 'fresh' ones, but was dipping them into the water at the bottom of the sink in the exam room and licking them. Then he took a cup marked for the dirty caps on the ear gadget thingy, filled it with water, and took a swig.
..and here I was thinking we might make it through the week without at trip to the doctor, because Deren's health insurance doesn't start until May 1st.
We got home from the dr's office and had hamburgers that Deren picked up. Jacob was happy with his birthday meal.
..that's all for now. For some reason Joshua has become obessessed with waking up Abby every time she goes down for a nap. Seeing her door closed apparently offends his sensibilities. So I have a crying Abby to tend to for now.
I see I'm running a little bit behind on my postings. Finally got some late April pics posted, including a picture of pumpkin baby. As of today, I am officially in my 2nd trimester. Woohoo! I am allowed to start exercising again, taking it easy. We went for a 1/2 hr walk in the beautiful weather last night.
The sickness of the week is... wanna guess?.. the strep. Joshua was fussy at school on Monday, so I picked him up mid-morning. He wasn't running a fever, and once he got home he seemed fine. Fussed a bit at lunch and at his usual naptime (he sleeps on the bus ride home from school). So we sent him back on Tuesday - yes, Tuesday, April 25th, aka JACOB'S BIRTHDAY!! Got an email from Joshua's teacher in the a.m., saying he had a rash on his neck, back, and stomach that he was scratching, but he wasn't running a temp and they thought maybe contact dermatitis. By the time he got home the rash was all over his body. I took all the kids with me to the pediatrician. Joshua's temp was 97.1, but he had a bad strep infection - rash included. The other kids tested negative. Joshua got a shot at the office. Jacob got.. well, we'll see what he ends up with... Mr Jacob is a wild man at dr's offices. He particularly likes the wooden tongue depressors (am I getting the word right?). He dives into trash cans after them, got some other 'fresh' ones, but was dipping them into the water at the bottom of the sink in the exam room and licking them. Then he took a cup marked for the dirty caps on the ear gadget thingy, filled it with water, and took a swig.
..and here I was thinking we might make it through the week without at trip to the doctor, because Deren's health insurance doesn't start until May 1st.
We got home from the dr's office and had hamburgers that Deren picked up. Jacob was happy with his birthday meal.
..that's all for now. For some reason Joshua has become obessessed with waking up Abby every time she goes down for a nap. Seeing her door closed apparently offends his sensibilities. So I have a crying Abby to tend to for now.
The sickness of the week is... wanna guess?.. the strep. Joshua was fussy at school on Monday, so I picked him up mid-morning. He wasn't running a fever, and once he got home he seemed fine. Fussed a bit at lunch and at his usual naptime (he sleeps on the bus ride home from school). So we sent him back on Tuesday - yes, Tuesday, April 25th, aka JACOB'S BIRTHDAY!! Got an email from Joshua's teacher in the a.m., saying he had a rash on his neck, back, and stomach that he was scratching, but he wasn't running a temp and they thought maybe contact dermatitis. By the time he got home the rash was all over his body. I took all the kids with me to the pediatrician. Joshua's temp was 97.1, but he had a bad strep infection - rash included. The other kids tested negative. Joshua got a shot at the office. Jacob got.. well, we'll see what he ends up with... Mr Jacob is a wild man at dr's offices. He particularly likes the wooden tongue depressors (am I getting the word right?). He dives into trash cans after them, got some other 'fresh' ones, but was dipping them into the water at the bottom of the sink in the exam room and licking them. Then he took a cup marked for the dirty caps on the ear gadget thingy, filled it with water, and took a swig.
..and here I was thinking we might make it through the week without at trip to the doctor, because Deren's health insurance doesn't start until May 1st.
We got home from the dr's office and had hamburgers that Deren picked up. Jacob was happy with his birthday meal.
..that's all for now. For some reason Joshua has become obessessed with waking up Abby every time she goes down for a nap. Seeing her door closed apparently offends his sensibilities. So I have a crying Abby to tend to for now.
Friday, April 14, 2006
The photo software isn't working, so I can't post the pics of the week yet. We have some good pictures, too. Abby's birthday was on Monday (April 10th). We made her a birthday cake. She didn't like it, though - she thought the frosting was pretty gross. I have a picture of her poking a finger at the cake, with a look of disgust on her face. Her big brother Joshua must be so proud. We've seen that very same look on his face so many times..
Last Thursday Abby pulled herself to standing for the first time! Since then, she's been pulling herself up on all kinds of things. Her favorite is the bath tub. She had a time playing with bubbles while Joshua took a bath the other night. Whenever Abby hears a door open or the bath water running she comes scooting just as fast as she can. Yes, she's still scooting. She can crawl, but she has very weak hips, so it's hard and slow-going. She will often start off crawling, then revert to scooting - it looks like a frog hopping, actually. Jacob and Rachael (especially Rachael) like to imitate her frog-hopping.
Abby was sick with a cold on her birthday. Rachael soon followed. She missed school Tues & Wed. Then Joshua and Jacob followed, missing Thurs - they would have missed today, also, but school was out.
I had another doctor's appt on Thursday. For those who have not heard, I'm pregnant! Baby #5 - aka baby pumpkin, is due Oct 26th. The baby looks good, and is measuring on target. I've spotted twice in the past couple weeks, and have had to cut down on my activity. So the house isn't looking to great, to say the least. I really miss taking walks, especially with the nice weather we've been having. But it's been worth it. From the exams I've had everything looks fine.
As for Easter, it looks like we will be celebrating in our tradition - aka at home with sick kids. Happy Easter, and I'll post the pics as soon as the software is working again :-)
Last Thursday Abby pulled herself to standing for the first time! Since then, she's been pulling herself up on all kinds of things. Her favorite is the bath tub. She had a time playing with bubbles while Joshua took a bath the other night. Whenever Abby hears a door open or the bath water running she comes scooting just as fast as she can. Yes, she's still scooting. She can crawl, but she has very weak hips, so it's hard and slow-going. She will often start off crawling, then revert to scooting - it looks like a frog hopping, actually. Jacob and Rachael (especially Rachael) like to imitate her frog-hopping.
Abby was sick with a cold on her birthday. Rachael soon followed. She missed school Tues & Wed. Then Joshua and Jacob followed, missing Thurs - they would have missed today, also, but school was out.
I had another doctor's appt on Thursday. For those who have not heard, I'm pregnant! Baby #5 - aka baby pumpkin, is due Oct 26th. The baby looks good, and is measuring on target. I've spotted twice in the past couple weeks, and have had to cut down on my activity. So the house isn't looking to great, to say the least. I really miss taking walks, especially with the nice weather we've been having. But it's been worth it. From the exams I've had everything looks fine.
As for Easter, it looks like we will be celebrating in our tradition - aka at home with sick kids. Happy Easter, and I'll post the pics as soon as the software is working again :-)
Thursday, April 06, 2006
To go back a couple of days, last Sunday Joshua was feeling better, so we took the kids to A Day Out with Thomas (the Train). It was in a neighboring city, Grapevine. There is usually a vintage train that travels from Grapevine to Fort Worth, but for the Thomas event they hooked a real Thomas up to the front of the train and gave 20-30 min train rides. There were several booths for different activities. Rachael and Jacob liked the small battery-powered Thomas the Train sets. Rachael also liked coloring at one booth. All of the train ride tickets were sold out by the time we got there. Jacob apparently remembered when he last rode the train in Oct 2003, because he started fussing when he couldn't get on the train.
Deren checked in with the ticket counter, and waited in line for stand-by tickets. I took Jacob and Rachael over by the train. They got Thomas tatoos while we waited. Deren got 3 tickets for the train! I took Jacob & Rachael. Jacob sat by the window and watched. Rachael sat between us, bopped around and sang to the Thomas music playing over the speakers.
Joshua and Abby stayed with Deren. Joshua had already climbed back in his stroller - he didn't really care for the whole thing. Abby had a great old time just being outdoors and munching on cereal. It was really neat to be able to take the two who most wanted to go on the train.
..Fast forward to the present.. The kids received Easter cards and books from Grandma and Grandpa. Rachael liked her card with stickers (below is a picture of her sticker collage on her shirt). Rachael is having an Easter egg hunt at school next Monday. Abby & I went out this morning and bought plastics eggs and candy to fill them. The girls have been having a great old time playing with the eggs - luckily I bought some spares that I've hid. Abby has already thrown a couple by the toilet and in the bathtub!
Abby had her weekly appointment with the OT from ECI this afternoon. She has been really persistent about refusing to crawl, but scoots on her bum instead. The OT saw a nylon tunnel in the corner of the living room and had me get it out. Abby proceeded to crawl back and forth across the tunnel. She crawled until her hips (which are weak) wouldn't carry her anymore! She was a real trooper. Abby's birthday is on Monday. I hadn't thought about presents yet. The OT strongly suggested a walker (the mobile kind - not the stationary). She said if we put it down on the lowest setting, Abby will bear weight on her feet more and strengthen her hips with all the upright time. So Abby's getting a walker! Hopefully we'll be healthier than we were at Miss Rachael's birthday, and we'll bake a cake and take some pictures. Matter of fact, I think we're going to tell Rachael it's her birthday, too, and celebrate them togeter - along with Grandpa, who is going to be in town with Grandma this weekend. Time to get baking, Deren! (I once again tried making GFCF pancakes this past Monday. Deren doesn't think I should try my hands at baking ever again. He was in the room with me the whole time - I still messed it up!).
Deren checked in with the ticket counter, and waited in line for stand-by tickets. I took Jacob and Rachael over by the train. They got Thomas tatoos while we waited. Deren got 3 tickets for the train! I took Jacob & Rachael. Jacob sat by the window and watched. Rachael sat between us, bopped around and sang to the Thomas music playing over the speakers.
Joshua and Abby stayed with Deren. Joshua had already climbed back in his stroller - he didn't really care for the whole thing. Abby had a great old time just being outdoors and munching on cereal. It was really neat to be able to take the two who most wanted to go on the train.
..Fast forward to the present.. The kids received Easter cards and books from Grandma and Grandpa. Rachael liked her card with stickers (below is a picture of her sticker collage on her shirt). Rachael is having an Easter egg hunt at school next Monday. Abby & I went out this morning and bought plastics eggs and candy to fill them. The girls have been having a great old time playing with the eggs - luckily I bought some spares that I've hid. Abby has already thrown a couple by the toilet and in the bathtub!
Abby had her weekly appointment with the OT from ECI this afternoon. She has been really persistent about refusing to crawl, but scoots on her bum instead. The OT saw a nylon tunnel in the corner of the living room and had me get it out. Abby proceeded to crawl back and forth across the tunnel. She crawled until her hips (which are weak) wouldn't carry her anymore! She was a real trooper. Abby's birthday is on Monday. I hadn't thought about presents yet. The OT strongly suggested a walker (the mobile kind - not the stationary). She said if we put it down on the lowest setting, Abby will bear weight on her feet more and strengthen her hips with all the upright time. So Abby's getting a walker! Hopefully we'll be healthier than we were at Miss Rachael's birthday, and we'll bake a cake and take some pictures. Matter of fact, I think we're going to tell Rachael it's her birthday, too, and celebrate them togeter - along with Grandpa, who is going to be in town with Grandma this weekend. Time to get baking, Deren! (I once again tried making GFCF pancakes this past Monday. Deren doesn't think I should try my hands at baking ever again. He was in the room with me the whole time - I still messed it up!).
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Deren took Jacob and Rachael to the movies today. We received an invitation in the mail from a movie theater/grill. In the next 2 mos they are hosting 4 movie days especially for families w/special needs kids. They saw Ice Age 2. The movie was over lunch time, so they all watched the movies and had burgers for lunch. I just talked to Deren on the phone. He said the movie was so-so, but the kids did great - well, until it was time to leave. Miss Rachael decided she was too big to hold hands in the parking lot, and the fight was on. When I talked to Deren, she was in the background screaming "mommy, mommy!" -- honey, be thankful mommy was at home, and not the one dealing with you.
Grapevine, a nearby city, is hosting "A Day Out with Thomas (the Train)" this weekend. We went in 2003, when it was last in town. It was really cute. I think the kids would enjoy it even more now, but the weather is iffy this weekend - raining off and on. And more importantly, Joshua woke up this morning, came to cuddle with me in bed, and I noticed he was damp all over - he had thrown up all over himself sometime last night. Didn't cry or get out of bed, but his appetite is still off. Sooooo not sure if we'll hit Thomas this weekend. Abby was not feeling well yesterday - stomache problems, too. When will this sick season ever end?!
Grapevine, a nearby city, is hosting "A Day Out with Thomas (the Train)" this weekend. We went in 2003, when it was last in town. It was really cute. I think the kids would enjoy it even more now, but the weather is iffy this weekend - raining off and on. And more importantly, Joshua woke up this morning, came to cuddle with me in bed, and I noticed he was damp all over - he had thrown up all over himself sometime last night. Didn't cry or get out of bed, but his appetite is still off. Sooooo not sure if we'll hit Thomas this weekend. Abby was not feeling well yesterday - stomache problems, too. When will this sick season ever end?!
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