I didn't expect to have this conversation...

After preschool, McKenzie and I were playing on the floor together. Out of the blue, she started asking me questions about her body. Apparently, my three year old is anxious to get boobs, wear a bra, and feed a baby! Heaven help me!

Since she's still so young, we kept the conversation pretty basic. I told her that it's important for her to eat right, exercise and get lots of sleep so that one day she can become a woman too. She was intrigued by the thought that she could become a grown up woman, and wanted to know if boys could do the same thing. I explained that boys become men like daddy, and girls become women like mommy, which made her giggle with joy. Not wanting her to focus too much on it, I told her that she didn't need to worry too much about it because she still had lots of fun things left to do while she's still a child. Horrified, she stopped and yelled, "I'm not a child! I have hair! I am a mammal!"

Smell my miracles!

We've been enjoying a lot of outdoor time this week while the weather has been so nice.

On Tuesday we went to a farm to pick fresh asparagus and to a nursery to pick up some tomato and pepper plants. And yesterday we mucked out the flower beds, mowed the lawn, fixed a broken vent on the camp trailer, and (as much as I hate to admit it) finally took down the Christmas lights from our roof. The girls have absolutely enjoyed the fresh air and are loving the freedom spring has provided them.

Yesterday, McKenzie also helped me plant some dahlias and cana lillies for my mom. We had one of my all time favorite conversations:

McKenzie: I like to plant flowers!
Me: Me too. It's nice to get outside, isn't it?
McKenzie: Yeah. I like the sun. (pause) We're planting miracles, huh mom?
Me: (laughing) MIRACLES?
McKenzie: Yeah, I like to plant miracles. Then we can watch them grow! Just like Ruby!
Me: Ruby? From your tv show?
McKenzie: Yeah!
Me: Oh, sweetheart, Ruby planted marigolds! That's a type of flower.
McKenzie: Yeah, we're planting miracles, too.

I don't normally care for marigolds (too smelly!) but, needless to say, I don't think I can resist planting some this year!

First Word!

I'm sure you are not going to believe me, but Allison has started talking!

On Friday, I was eating a banana, and she was trying to get to it. I'd give her a little taste and say "banana" and after a few bites, she started repeating. Of course it was "anana", but I was shocked. I thought it was cute, but didn't quite think it counted as a first word.

But that night we put her in her high chair while we ate dinner. She kept eyeballing the food and crying out "ANANA! ANANA!" I hadn't yet told Cris about what I heard her say earlier in the day, so I was surprised when he told me that it sounded like she was asking for a banana! Then I started to wonder if she really was talking. We decided to see what happened the next day.

Sure enough, she kept it up! After work, I got out a banana, and she piped up right away. "Anana!" So, I decided to call it official! First word: April 17! She was 6 1/2 months old.

Now the word has changed to "nana" and it pretty much means "feed me"! So cute!

..........

Oh, and if you are wondering if I am feeling bad that her first word wasn't the traditional mama or dada, I'm not. I think it's incredibly fitting. First of all, food is her first love. She makes no attempts to hide it. I'm sure she'd dart into any strangers arms should he be holding a baby spoon.

Secondly, McKenzie didn't quite get it right either. Her first word was "mama", but thats what she called her daddy!

Feeling Thankful!

Yesterday was Allisons cardiology appointment at Primary Childrens. I had been dreading going since they had warned me that she'd need to be sedated for an echocardiogram. But, when we got there, they hooked her up to the EKG and the results were good enough they didn't need to go through with the echo! The doctor listened to her heart and said that there is still narrowing of the pulmonary valve, but its very mild. And the big surprise.... they don't need to see her until she's two years old! After that, they'll do an echo at 3 years old, and follow ups every three years from then on! Last visit they had told me that we'd need to be seen every 4 months for the rest of her life, so was I shocked! I had planned on being at the hospital for four hours, but it was only 20 minutes! I'm feeling very relieved... and very thankful!

The Soundtrack Of A Clean Bathroom

Today Allison went down for a real nap. Not one of her usual 15 minute cat naps, but a good, out for the count nap. AND McKenzie finished her lunch and ASKED if she could take a nap! At the same time! What the?! That left me with... what do you call it? FREE TIME! To like, actually get stuff done!

I had been lamenting over the sad state of my house, so I decided to dig it and get it cleaned up. I don't mind cleaning, but have to encorporate it with some good tunes. My zune mp3 player was dead, so I went to the bookshelf in our bedroom where we keep a lot of our CD's. I'm looking through it: Kansas, America, Skid Row, Bob Dylan, Guns and Roses, White Snake.... all Cris' music. I finally found Andrew Lloyd Webber. Perfect! But, when I opened the case up, it was empty. Ugh!

I can't say for certain, but I am pretty darn sure my husband hid it from me. A few weeks ago, I popped it into the CD player during a family house cleaning spree. McKenzie and I had a good time singing and play-dancing along to the Phantom of the Opera while we cleaned, but a very large vein was starting to pop out of Cris' forehead. As soon as I stepped out of the house to empty the garbage, my cd had been replaced with Bob Dylan. And I immediately turned off the music and ended the cleaning session. No matter how clean my house could have been, it was not worth the torture of Bo Jangles.

Somehow, all of my cd's end up getting packed up and sent down to the basement. Now, I'm not accusing anyone, but I know that I'm not doing it. And since there's a locked gate at top of the stairs, I'm pretty sure it wasn't the kids.

So, as I'm thumbing through the the stack of cd's, I come across the 1996 Grammy Nominee CD. We're talking: Seal, Hootie and the Blowfish, TLC, Alanis Morisette (angry Alanis, not the poetic one as of late) Brandy and Boyz II Men. Oh the memories!

I remember being in 8th grade, listening to this cd in my room while playing with my hair and make up. It was one of the first cd's I ever owned, and I totally thought I was cool. I'd sit and daydream about high school and boys and all sorts of foolish teenage girl stuff. Oh my.

So, here I sit, scrubbing the toilet and rocking out to Gangsta's Paradise. Honey, if the girls start quoting Coolio, it's not my fault. Blame the casper who keeps hiding my music! :)

Alli Poodle Monkey Bum

My dear, sweet little girl. Has it really been half a year already? Time seems to have flown by, but at the same time, I can't begin to imagine our lives without you. I have loved getting to know you and watching your personality develop.

Generally, you are a happy, easy going girl with lots of patience... until you see food. You love to experience new tastes and textures, and tend to protest loudly if the food isn't being offered to you fast enough. As soon as you smell dinner cooking, you make sure that the whole house doesn't forget about you.

One day, we decided to let you have a taste of a pickle, just to watch your expression and were surprised to see that you absolutely loved it! However, every time you taste mashed potatoes, you scrunch up your face like I'm feeding you something terribly sour. You are always surprising me like that.

You are getting very good with your hands, learning to pick things up, twist them and play with them. You always find a way to grab hold of my earrings, or yank on your sisters hair. But, the two of you have learned to play together, too. I started to cry the other day as I was driving while I listened to the two of you laughing together. You'd coo and babble, McKenzie would talk back to you and the two of you would break out into the biggest fit of laughter, over and over again. I hope the two of you continue to build a relationship of love and support for the rest of your lives.

You still aren't sleeping through the night yet. I know you could do it (because, you've proved it a few times) but I think that you love to cuddle so much, an entire night is too long to go without being squoze tight. I love the quiet time we get to spend together in the middle of the night. You are always so happy to see me; when I pick you up, you bounce in my arms in a little celebration! You have the sweetest coos when you talk to me at night - so soft and tender. Then, you doze off to sleep so softly and peacefully.

You have some of the most gorgeous eyes, just like your daddy. Everywhere we go, people stop to admire how big and beautiful they are. I ask that you keep them big and open - be aware of different experiences, new people, and change. Try new things, expand your horizons and explore. Remember that we love you and we will always be there for you, our beautiful, happy, sweet little girl.

They're going to cut my baby!

The night before last, McKenzie was up all night screaming. Mom diagnosis: double ear infections. Why these things never show symptoms until after the doctors office is closed, I'll never know! I think the nasty little germs have a stopwatch. They all gather around and chant "Insta-care closes in: 3... 2... 1... and ATTACK!"

I felt so bad for my poor little girl. She wiggled and writhed in pain. We gave her pain reliever, decongestants, put cotton in her ears, got out the heating pad. I tried everything I could remember doing as a child, and couldn't give her any relief. She would climb up on my lap and beg me to make it better, but when the relief never came, she'd run to her dad and do the same thing. Such a frustrating feeling when you can't help your own child.

I thought I had heard something about putting warm oil in an ear, but wasn't quite sure, so I turned to the handy internet. (What would I do without it?) I found three home remedies. Number one: put urine in her ear. Call me crazy, but I wasn't about to try it. A) sounds messy B)GROSS! C) infection + urine does not sound like a good combination. And I think that something that comes out of a body, probably came out for a reason and shouldn't go back in. Scratched that off the list.

Number two was warm olive oil. Again, it sounded a little messy, but I would have tried it, had it not been for option number three: hydrogen peroxide. I dipped two q-tips in the peroxide and put them in her ears. She didn't like it much, but after 30 seconds, she pulled them out and told us it didn't hurt anymore. She climbed in bed and didn't make a peep the rest of the night. I am totally adding that to my mommy book of tricks!

In the morning I took her to the doctors office. Just as I suspected, two ear infections. Pretty bad ones, in fact. Somehow, him saying that made me feel guilty, but I keep reminding myself that there were absolutely NO symptoms before she went to bed. Whatever I need to do to cope, right?

The doctor also checked out her throat. She normally has HUGE tonsils, but I had been noticing them getting bigger lately. I kept checking her for fever, sore throat, anything that might raise a flag, but nothing did. The doctor told me that they were getting too big, and he wanted them out. I asked if there was any infection or problem with them, but there's not. Just big ole tonsils - tonsillar hypertrophy. Something my mother in law tells me is a Dew Family trait. (THANKS, DEW FAMILY!)

The doctor worried that should she get an infection, the tonsils will swell to the point of completely blocking her airway. EEK! So, we've scheduled appointments with our first ENT. Tonsils should be yanked the first part of May. I still have mine, so I'm a little unsure what to expect. So, tell me, how bad will it be?

Vacation: The last few days

We spent the last few days on the boat enjoying some relaxation, taking in some shows, playing some games, and playing with the kids. McKenzie loved playing with the kids program the last few days, even if she refused to go the first few days. They played games, did crafts, had parades and parties, watched a circus and even played on a jungle gym. She was in heaven!

On Saturday, we got off of the boat in Los Angeles by 8:30am and rented a car (our flight home wasn't until 7pm) We had been looking for a place to waste a few hours that would entertain the kids. My brother suggested Knotts Berry Farm, and since I could get discounted tickets through my work, we decided to give it a try.

It took us a while to figure out there was an entire kids section (we wandered around all of the other rides first, telling a very sad and emotional McKenzie she was too small for each of them first. So sad) but once we got there, McKenzie loved it. She didn't have much sleep the night before and had a very busy week, so she was a little (okay, a lot) cranky. But we did manage to have a good time.

Her favorite was a big maze that had a bubble room in the middle of it. She came out drenched in bubbles and had to deal with wet shoes the rest of the day!

She also loved the bus ride. I took her once, but daddy had to ride at least 6 times!
And of course, a scrambler type ride.

After having such excitement and emotions, our ride home was not nearly as peaceful as the way there. Allison was exhausted and slept from takeoff to landing. McKenzie whined, argued and cried the ENTIRE flight home. Both mine and Cris' nerves were frazzled, and I'm sure a few other passengers as well. You could probably have heard us coming! To all of my fellow passengers, I am sorry. We tried our best! And considering the length and type of the trip, one meltdown day wasn't too bad, I suppose.

Anyway, it was a wonderful vacation. I loved being able to spend so much time with my family, my parents and my brother. Thank you mom and dad for the wonderful gift, we'll remember it forever!

Puerto Vallarta, part two

After we got back from the excursion (which I am told, made us rather smelly. Sea Lion poop?) the girls and Cris and my dad had just finished with their naps. We cleaned up and wandered off of the boat to see the city. Most of the attractions were a decent cab ride away, and after our Mazatlan experience we decided to just hoof it near the port. This city was much cleaner, modern and very nice. Heck, there was even a Wal-mart and Sams club next to our ship!

A view of our ship, the Norwegian Star

After all of McKenzies pirate talk all week, when I saw a guy dressed like one, I begged him to take a photo with us. You can't really see it, but he had the creepiest contacts in!

All tuckered out after a long day

Vacation Day Five: Puerto Vallarta, Part One

In Puerto Vallarta, my mom, brother, and I wanted to book an excursion to Las Caletas. It's a private cove that you can only get to by boat - no roads. This is a picture of the small boat we road on, with our cruise ship in the background.




There were trained parrots flying everywhere (one nearly scalping me!) and I even got to hold a squirrell monkey! The beaches were beautiful. There were paved pathways, canopys, hammocks, bridges all over the mountainside. I can't begin to describe how beautiful and peaceful it was! I have a million pictures I'd love to post, but am losing patience uploading so many.

We tried snorkeling. I am very cluastrophobic, so breathing through a tube made me panic a bit, but after a few minutes, I got the hang of it. The water was very merky that day, so it was hard to see too much. But, we did get to see a few fish, like a puffer fish. I tried to dive down to get a closer look at a fish, and in the exitement, forgot to hold my breath. Big mistake. I think I filled my lungs with a few gallons of sea water! I coughed and sputtered and gagged for 20 minutes!

Then, we had the chance to kyack, explore, or hang out on the beach before the main event:
We got to swim with sea lions!!!! For some reason I thought they'd be smooth like a dolphin, but they were furry! And friendly! We got to pet them, watch them jump and play, and even got to ride them!!

I got a few kisses, too!

I wish I could have taken the girls with me to enjoy the beach there. We were under a huge rainforest canopy, so sun wouldn't be a big problem. There were crabs to chase, iguanas sunning on the rocks, tons of birds and fish. I absolutely loved it! My new wish: spend at least a week at Las Calentas. This was by far my favorite stop of the trip!

Vacation Day Four: Mazatlan

The parts of Mazatlan we saw were not so nice. It was a really run down, dingy place. Maybe we didn't see the nice areas though, I'm not sure.

We booked a van to take us to the "golden zone" which was supposed to be the main beach and shopping area. I think it was the scariest ride of my life! Our van sped through narrow, congested roads, squoze between the smallest of spaces, and drove as though he expected everyone else to get out of his way. Luckily they did and we survived. Although, one golf cart full of people was almost not so lucky!



We walked down to the beach, which was quite nice. The girls loved it! McKenzies first reaction was anger at the sand in her shoes, but once we got them off, she was in heaven. She dug, and rolled and played in the sand (her dream was to build a sandcastle, ever since we started planning this vacation) And we had lots of fun in the water, too. Allison did her best to squirm off of the beach towel we had her on, and somehome managed to ingest large quantities of sand, no matter what we did to stop it.



There were jet ski rentals, banana boats, all sorts of peddlers, and people offering to take tourists parasailing. My grandma and sister went parasailing when they visited Matt and Sara in Florida, and it's been something I had wanted to try ever since. Cris had no interest in going, but my mom was game! We saddled up and went flying over the ocean - SO COOL! I was surprised it was such a smooth easy ride. I was a little afraid they'd drag me along the beach before take off, but I only had to take two steps before I started flying. And the landing was smooth and easy.

That's me sailing over the sail boats!

At the end of the day, we had sand everywhere. I washed our swimsuits in the sink at least 20 times, and still dont think I got all of the sand out! LOL! And washing a baby in the shower was an experience - very slippery! One thing I'm glad to have now that we're back is a bath tub for the kids. But, look at this picture, so worht it!

Vacation Day Three: Cabo San Lucas

Day three was our first port day. My parents and Cris wanted to try deep sea fishing. We tried to see if they'd let the girls go with us, but Allison wasn't allowed and they charged a huge fee for McKenzie. Not wanting to brave another country alone with two small children, I stayed on the boat. However, the view was still spectacular! I took a hundred photos of the famous rocks surrounding Cabo. The beaches were beautiful and the water was a bright blue. The girls and I spent the day in the pool. Oh so nice!

Meanwhile, the deep sea fishing boat caught a marlin that weighed 150lbs! And Cris reeled in a nice mahi mahi. My mom has the pictures, so I'll post those later.


Bob booked surfing lessons and had a ball giving that a try. He came back with a few nice scrapes he earned in a tangle with some rocks, but I don't think that dampened his spirits! See, he's even smiling in a picture! Will wonders never cease!

As the girls and I played in the sun, I was surprised how much McKenzie enjoyed the warmth. She climbed right up on a deck chair and layed out like a pro. I remember when she was done, she looked up me and told me "sometimes I like the sun. It makes my tummy warm." It think she may have been cooped up in the house too long this winter!

This is one of my favorite shots of Allison. I took it as we were getting ready to head to the pool. What a doll!

Vacation Day Two: At Sea

The second day on the boat, we continued to explore. It was a little difficult to figure out how to get from place to place because you couldn't walk from the front to the back of the boat on one floor. So, if you were at the front of deck 8 and wanted to get to the back, you had to go down to deck 7, walk to the back of the boat, and then go up to 8. It only took us a few days to figure that one out! LOL!

While we walked around the decks and played shuffleboard, we saw whales!!! There were several of them playing in the water - jumping, splashing and blowing water! It was SO cool! I tried to take some pictures, but you can't really make anything out in them. My dad also saw a sea turtle, something I was bummed to miss.

Cris and McKenzie had a ball playing in the kids pool. At first McKenzie only went down the little slide, but soon, she was a pro and could go down the big kids slides. It was wonderful because none of the water was over 2 feet deep! We had to keep an eye on her of course, but she had the freedom to pretty much do as she wanted!
Oh the food! There were barbeques by the pool, buffets, cafes, fancy restaurants and free 24 hour room service. That night we tried one of the nice restaurants and had the best lobster I've ever had. Yum!

Uncle Bob at one of the buffets

We made it!

Yes, we did end up going on vacation! The flight to LA was cancelled, so we ended up booking with another airline. The flights cost a few hundred extra dollars, and left earlier in the morning, but we made it there! Whew!


As I had mentioned before, it was the first flight for both girls. I was a little nervous about the logistics of it all, but it ended up going quite well. Allison didn't make a peep the entire flight, and McKenzie was well behaved as well. (Although, when we were getting ready to land, she did start yelling "We're going to crash! We're going to crash!" We explained that the airplane would land just like the ones we watched at the airport earlier, so she changed her tune to "We're going to crash softly! At the airport!") Luckily the flight wasn't full, and we were able to sit in the back and have several rows to ourselves!

Because of the earlier flight, we did have to wait quite a while at the port before we were able to get on the boat. Once we finally got on, we went to a buffet on one of the top floors. McKenzie wasn't too hungry, but loved to watch out the big window at the ocean and the small boats going by. It really surprised me how much it interested her. But, after a minute, she quietly reached up to the table and grabbed a butter knife. She worked it into the belt loop on her pants and when I asked her what she was doing, she told me she was getting ready for the pirates!!! Where was my video camera when I needed it!

McKenzie eating ice cream. She usually only nibbles at food, but on the trip, she ate SO much! If only I had a buffet line in my dining room!

Cris at the life boat drill

McKenzie checking out the kids play area

AHHHHHHH!!!!!

I just got a call from Jet Blue. Our flight has been cancelled.

We need to be on the boat in Los Angeles by 2:00 tomorrow.

Not good.

Blah, blah, blah. Something about bad weather in the Northeast. Planes can't get here. But what about the planes that can't get there. Send them to LA!

Looking at other flights.... they're all an extra $200. Oh happy day! I didn't want to use that money for anything fun on my vacation!

It only takes 11 hours to drive there. Who knows, maybe we'll hop in the car and start a road trip!

Assessment

McKenzie had her assessment today. The speech test was good for her. They asked her to talk about some pictures and asked her the perfect questions to get her to say the sounds she struggles with. Watching the therapist write down some of her words, it made me realize that there were more sounds than I had been aware of, sounds I had overlooked because I knew her intentions. I felt okay after the speech test.

But, after the behavior test, I was a little bothered. She tested with high levels of hyperactivity, aggression, a low attention span, and a low adjustment tolerance. I knew that these were problems, that's why I had scheduled the tests. But, it hurt to hear them said.

About my child.

I feel.... I don't know. I guess there is some guilt. Wondering what I could do/can do differently.

At the same time, I know she's just a kid. She's three. Kids are hyper, play rough, and don't always follow directions. I feel a little protective, not wanting to go to far in the program. I worry what to do. And the crazy things is, I don't even know what my options are. They'll call in a few weeks with more thorough results and let me know if she even qualifies for the program.

Why is wanting the best thing for your child such a complicated thing?!

We're still here!

My sister and I were talking the other day and she gave me a little grief for not updating my blog. Yes, the very same sister who updates her blogs quarterly. I explained that I had been reading through my past blog entries and realized that nearly all of my posts contain the description of some kind of bodily fluid, bodily function, or a big raving complaint. Not the best kind of reading material, eh? In an effort to expand my posting horizons, I have completely ran out of material! LOL!

There are a few things going on in our house, but none seem quite worthy of an entire post, so how bout a little update?

We are getting things ready to leave on our family cruise this weekend. I've been spending the last few days shopping for new summer clothes for the family, packing hordes of crap we'll probably not even touch, and getting primped. I got my hair cut, eyebrows waxed, and a pedicure (thanks for the gift certificate, Terri!). This will be our first real vacation as a family since... forever. We'll be dragging along 3 large suitcases, a carry on, a diaper bag, a great big stroller and two carseats. It should make for some great entertainment and some frazzled tempers by the time we actually reach check in. And since we have an early flight, we may be taking along a few cases of bed head and drowsy kids. (Hopefully not the tempers to match?) However, I can't describe how excited I am to see McKenzie experience her first plane ride, and all of the fun the boat has to offer.

Tomorrow I am taking McKenzie in for a speech test. And I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. She's made huge advancements lately, and has an amazing vocabulary. However, unless you are versed in the delicate language of Menzie, you can't understand what she is saying. If she needs help I will get it for her, but am I just being a worry wart with my first child? Or am I going to label her forever by enrolling her in a special needs program? I don't want to put her in a program that won't challenge her in other areas either. Right now she can recite her alphabet, her days of the week and can count to 20. I don't want her learning to stagnate. SO, I think we'll just have to have the assessment, see what they recommend, and make a decision from there. Anyone with experience with the Early Learning Center?

Cris and I have stayed good on our challenge to give up soda and sweets. I'm surprised it's gone on this far! Since I was already depriving myself, I decided to overhaul all of my eating habits and I'm finally starting to shed some baby weight! I can put on my pre-pregnancy pants - not that they are pretty yet. But a few more pounds will make me feel a whole lot better! And hopefully a few more after that!

My mom has had a problem with her upper eyelids covering most of her eye, to the point where it blocked a lot of her vision. She decided to have them fixed, and the doctors office suggested that she have them done before our trip because it was such a minor surgery. When she had it done on Tuesday, they couldn't get her numb. They used more numbing solution than usual, and had to continue with the surgery anyway. She said the cauterization was horrible - felt like a shock behind her eyeball. Because of the problems, her entire face is swollen, and can't open her eyes a lot of the time. She's a nice purple color too. Looks like she went a few rounds with Mike Tyson. I feel bad she's not going to be feeling the best on our trip.

In other news, Allison will be 6 months old tomorrow. I can't believe its been half a year! I'll dedicate an entire post to her half birthday... eventually. All I can say is, I can't imagine life without her.

I might update more tomorrow, but I make no promises! See you guys later!