The Yeastie Beasties Attack!

Fans. The always dreaded has descended: Julie and Clara have thrush. For the uninitiated or otherwise not in the know, thrush is a fungus that babies get it in their mouths--and then pass on to their mothers' nipples. It goes back and forth and back and forth and back and forth unless both the baby and the mother are treated at the same time. In short, it's awesome. For the mother, it means nursing and pumping are painful. For the baby, it means that nursing might become painful, jar food won't be so appealing because it will kind of burn apparently, and a special kind of diaper rash might set in as the yeast moves through the digestive tract all out of control like. Clara is teething and so has been biting Julie now and again while nursing and so Julie didn't think anything of the pain she was feeling while nursing Clara, but it wasn't getting better, and Clara wasn't biting that often. Then, we noticed Clara had a red pinprick looking diaper rash that wasn't going away. In retrospect we would note that she no likey the peaches we tried out on her this weekend (and she is a great little eater), and that she was gassy and her naps were a mess, and she was waking up early. Julie also thought she'd maybe glimpsed some white residue in Clara's mouth which Julie chalked up to milk after nursing, only because thrush hadn't entered the transom of her mind. But Julie pieced this altogether this morning as she was debating whether to push Clara's scheduled flu shot booster and after a flurry of phone calls to the lactation consultant, Dr. Harrington, and Julie's midwife, we had consensus on thrush.

So, now, Clara's got an oral anti-fungal some such that we put in a Dixie cup, and apply all over her mouth paintbrush like, after every feeding, and an anti-fungul cream we put on her girl parts three times a day. Julie has to apply a solution of water and vinegar to her nipples (Readers, nothing will stop us from bringing you all the news--and now, you have proof) after each nurse or pump with a separate cotton ball for each side and let it air dry, then she applies the same cream that Clara has for her girl parts, and then she puts new breast pads in each time. We also have to steralize the bottles and pump parts in boiling water each night. Fans, we have to do this for TWO WEEKS. As we have noted, thrush. Is. Awesome.

Oh, and B. Bird got that flu shot booster and she made not a peep! She was all "Oh excuse me what? Oh a shot? Um, I have a FUNGUS in my mouth. I am a WARRIOR BABY! Shots do not bother me. What else have you got? And give me back my pants."

Trimming the Tree

The day after Thanksgiving everyone chipped in to trim the tree! Joe got the idea real quick and insisted on helping. He found the ideal spot apparently, because he hung about seven ornaments in the same spot, dangling from the tree lights wire (adjustments were made while Joe was napping). And later, Clara got into the mix. Grandpa let her touch the tree and let her crawl around while he unpacked ornaments. It didn't take her long to discover all the magical paper in the ornament boxes to play with, so we turned to the exersaucer to entertain her. The tree is now up and looking very festive!

The Thanksgiving Fun Continues

Not long after we got home, Grandma Connie and Grandpa Charles arrived. After lunch and the turkey was in the oven, everyone took a nap except Grandma Connie and Julie, who chatted for a bit. Everyone woke up just before the final dinner flurry, and Grandma Connie and Grandpa Charles kept the bambini corralled in living room while Ted and Julie got the spread on the table. Joe learned that Grandma Connie draws a mean lion. She draws a mean everything; she is an artiste! Grandpa Charles gave a very nice blessing before the meal. It was building to a lovely conclusion, but Joe wanted something and after being told one too many times to please wait until grace was over, he'd had enough! The classic Joe siren-esque wail ensued, so we said amen, and dug in, thankful for all our blessings, Waily McGee and his sidekick, Birdie McGoo topping the list.

Happy Thanksgiving

We began our day by making our way to the Mall of America to participate in the Walk Against Hunger. We met up with Marco, his (stuffed) dogs Woof Woof and Bark, his parents, and his grandmother. Joe and Marco ran against hunger. Clara rode in the Moby against hunger. The adults walked against hunger. We were home by 10am, and already felt like we'd done a lot!

I like it!

Tonight, in the golden moments before bath when Joe is romping around without a diaper, Ted had Joe help him make the cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. In went the cranberries and sugar. Then we smelled the cinnamon before dumping it in. Then we zested the orange, which was fascinating, and got the orange slices in too. Joe covered his ears while we processed, and when it was done we tasted it. Joe took one little taste and proclaimed, "I like it!" After I gave him a couple more tiny spoonfuls, he grabbed the spoon, reached up and dug into the food processor by himself - much more efficient. We had to pull the plug on him so there would be enough for Thanksgiving!

The Cowmooflague Is Back!

The cowmooflague car seat that was also once Joe's has also reappeared. Clara has been getting bigger (especially longer!), and takes up even more area in her puffy, so we decided it was time to retire the bucket. Its retirement has made drop offs and picks a bit trickier, especially when flying solo. This morning, Ted took the bus in to work so as to be able to come home midday, but not risk being out on the roads in the expected storm. So Julie took the bambini in to school for part of the day to run a few errands and tidy the house unfettered. She told Joe before getting out of the car that she would get him out, and then his job was to stand on the sidewalk and not move a muscle while she got Clara out. And he did! What a star! But then, he of course had to "do the buttons" (enter the security code) upon entry, which requires him to be lifted up. Luckily, Miss Cassie was in the outer office and could hold Clara so Julie could lift Our Hero up to do the buttons as per usual. The bucket had it's advantages, but all things considered, we're glad to see it go.

Puffer Nutter

Who can believe that just two weeks ago, we were enjoying seventy degree weather here in Minnesota? No longer! The colder weather has brought the reappearance of what was once Joe's puffy. It's navy blue, and Julie found a red hat and mittens for Clara Jane to wear with it (Julie loving a red hat, especially if it has ear flaps!), so we think the Bird looks most fetching for the season. Little Puffer Nutter!

Clara Sips (Sort Of)

Keen-eyed observers will have noticed a pink sippy cup in the foreground of the picture accompanying the last post. We tried giving one to Clara this past weekend, as well. She thought it was pretty great for chewing, but doesn't really yet get so much that it is really for drinking. The world is full of many marvels!

Baby Bird Loves The Mush!

Fans, over the weekend, Clara went from one jar a day to three just like that. Just like that, she is also so fabulous at getting all the food into her mouth. She is a very eager and tidy eater! The high chair now resides in a side spot, in the middle. Julie likes to turn it perpendicular to the table and sit across from Clara Jane, feet resting on the high chair's bottom. Feeding Clara Jane is super fun, and it's sort of relaxing to scoop up the little bites of mush and pop them in the Bird's mouth--which she opens all birdlike! Meanwhile, Clara will flap her right arm against her high chair as if to say "Keep. It. COMING!!!!!" So far, Clara has had carrots, sweet potatoes, sweet pea, squash, pears, apples, and bananas. Tonight, she had a broccoli, pea, and pear medley. That was a HIT! So much so that Julie tried a little and it was really flavorful! (Note to readers with baby's also at the eat-mush stage: it's this Ella's Organic brand; comes in clever pouches; available at Target). Clara's other favorite is for sure sweet potatoes. She's a sweet potato (as her Aunt Sara might say).

Oink!

Part of our playing around this weekend included the animal masks. Clara Jane donned the piggy for us with a great big smile!

A Play Room

We have made the bambini a play room! As some Fans know (and some have seen), we have a large-ish crawl space off of our bedroom upstairs, over the porch. When we moved in, it was a wasteland, but now it's a veritable Narnia (without the awful Snow Queen): periwinkle blue walls, wide pine plank floors, and with lights and outlets. It's only flaw, really, was that it gets chilly in there in the winter months (it's well insulated now, but the window is sort of a disaster). Most of Joe and Clara's toys live in the living room--right where we'll be putting the Christmas tree next weekend. So in wrestling with where to move things, Julie got a bee in her bonnet while cleaning yesterday and whipped this space up into a little play room (the upstairs was a disaster for a while!). We'll be moving the little two shelf bookcase from the bambini's room up there, so that the toy shelf in the living room can go to their room, and the two red buckets that flank it can go to the corner of the living room. There's a rug in there now, and a space heater, and it's really rather cozy. Certainly it's more than tolerable for playing, and we always thought it was the perfect little play spot for a little person.

Rubby Duck

Joe's latest fun in the bath is to play with his cups and splash for a while. Occasionally he will remember there are more toys available upon request and he will ask for "rubby duck." Gets me every time, so a thank you to rubby duck for making bath time lots of fun! After bath tonight, he spied some old stickers partially stuck to the inside of the bathroom mirror - so he desperately needed those. They were quickly applied to the spot where stickers live....his belly. Lots of real estate to work with for sticker collecting!

Chipotle For Four

Tonight we rolled the dice and tried dinner at Chipotle - breaking our sacred routine at home. Everyone did great! Joe was excited to go wash his hands, so he ran over towards the bathrooms, stopped at the two doors, looked at Ted and pointed at one of the doors (the wrong one). So he was shown the symbols for boy and girl and redirected to the boys' room - he seemed to process that at some level. Later, when presented with his kids meal of quesadilla, rice and beans, he immediately took his beans and dumped them on the table, not sure why, but he ate well. Meanwhile Clara gnawed on the table, her hand, her coat, Julie's sunglasses case, and her toy - not necessarily in that order. Pretty soon Clara will join us in eating - Joe was 9 months for his inaugural meal!

Fishy Kisses

In other Clara news, another of her new "things," is to reach out for your face as you come at her, open her mouth really wide, and pull you in for a big kiss. Fans, it is a pretty fantastic thing. Julie loves going into school--DAYCARE!--to pick Clara up. Julie always hunkers down on the floor near the Baby Bird, and Clara crawls over all excited and then reaches her hands out for a face-pull-kiss. Julie likes to give Clara kisses, too. But Julie's kisses are just super noisy, little kisses, in rapid succession, right next to Clara's ear. Julie calls them "fishy kisses." She doesn't know why she calls them fishy kisses; she just did, and now that's what they are. In the mornings, when we're loading up the car, Ted will often have Clara's bucket popped in by the time Julie makes it to the garage with Must-Step-On-Lots-Of-Snow-On-The-Way Joe, and then will take Snow Stomper around and get him in his seat*, and this is when Julie gives Clara an Eskimo kiss, and then fishy kisses both sides. Julie always gets a double smile: Clara's, and her own.

*Special to Ted: Julie loves this, because Joe is a pretty heavy sack of potatoes, and she gets a little pocket of time for fishy kisses.

Clara Roams

While Joe was busy cutting, Clara was busy roaming about. She is everywhere, Fans. Her teachers at school* tell us that she still loves to try and crawl under the little table in her room, or push toys under it and then fish them out. So it is also at home. She was zooming all about under the dining room table earlier in the day, and later, while Joe cut, cut, cut and Ted was bringing in the rest of the bags from Target, Clara was hauling herself all about the kitchen. Ted came back to one Bird, and one barbarian at the gate.

*Here, we pause to note, sidebar-like, that this morning, our--Julie's--habit of calling daycare school caused NO END of consternation on Joe's part. He said the whole way that he wanted to go to daycare. Great! That's where we're headed! Upon arrival, he burst into tears because we were at "school." Even though, school was daycare, and has always been daycare, and daycare was school, and has always been school. We talked about our new word friend, "synonymous," but as you all might imagine, he wasn't feelin' it. Somehow, we made it in the door, and into his room--and with not a single tear when we left--?!?!

Joseph Scissorhands

Let's get right to our biggest news: Scissors. Are. Off. The. Hook!!!!! Fans, Our Hero is crazy for the scissors. The craze all started with Marco. Oh that Marco! Marco's mom reported that Teacher Miss Amanda had reported to her that Marco was crazy for the scissors at school, and that after they got Marco a pair to cut with at home, he went around asking if he could cut this? This? This? This? Ha! Sunday, Marco braved having Joe (and Julie) over despite our recent spate of pneumonia (we had been fever-free for over a day at that point), and toward the end of the play date, Marco's scissors appeared. Joe must have been thinking, "Dude. Mom and Dad have so been holding out on me because look at THIS!" Scissors were promised after nap, when we went to Target, and Fans, no joke: Julie opens the door when she heard Joe wake up, and he's lying with the head at the foot of the bed, and he says "I want scissors." Ha! Scissors were procured (along with a pair for a friend), and now, Joe can be heard chirping, "I want to cut," morning, noon, and night. He wakes up talking about it, goes to school noting that he will cut upon arriving home, and walks in the door still talking about cutting. These pictures are from the inaugural cutting session. Julie impressed him by folding the paper in half and cutting out a heart and then peering through the cutout at Joe. Joe hearts scissors. We heart Joe.

We've gone viral!

This morning was another eventful day in the Ekkers household. Julie had to work at an event in the mid-morning so we had a plan worked out. Ms. Melissa was to come over to baby sit, Ted and Joe would get a ride to Little Gym with Darby's family, and we would all reconvene at the house for lunch. The hitch was the 8 inches of snow we were getting and Joe's fever of 101.

Ms. Melissa still showed up promptly, even in about 4 inches of snow and unplowed streets, (we paid her double this time) so we had a handler for Clara. Joe was secured a doctor appointment for the morning, so after Julie carefully drove off into the snow, Ted got Joe in his stroller for the 1-block walk to the doctor. Now at about 5 inches of snow, we were grateful for the BOB stroller's great big wheels! You might think the streets would be empty, but it being the Sabbath a lot of our neighbors were out walking to services - so we didn't feel too ridiculous walking around in a blizzard.

At the doctor's office Joe got an X-Ray and blood work. After getting clean readings on that front, but given his persistent high temps for 4 days, Joe was diagnosed with viral pneumonia - rather than the bacterial pneumonia he was being treated for. So now we just let it run its course and watch his temperature.

The bambinos are both sleeping soundly. When they wake up maybe we will all look out at the snow again like we did this morning. But now we don't need to worry about going out in it!

Can you bring Clara a toy?

While I was preparing lunch Clara was alone in the living room on her mat (checked on regularly). I asked Joe to go and bring Clara a toy to play with. This was his execution - all the toys he could find. From the kitchen I kept hearing jingle bells, crinkle paper, rattles and other baby toy noises. I walked in to Joe emptying his big red bucket of balls on top of the pile. Clara loved it though, lots of things for her to explore!

What the boy eats

This is Joe's breakfast every day except Sundays when we make pancakes. He has Honey nut Cheerios and Chocolate (aka "Brown") Cheerios in seperate bowls (the same bowls every day). He now often requests water, milk, and juice - in various types of cups. He needs at least a spoon and a fork, here he has an additional spoon. This then keeps him occupied for about 15 minutes while I shower. Upon my return from the shower he will often exclaim, "I eat it all up!"

Delivering a letter

I can report that the rest of the day with Joe at home also went very well. Amazing what antibiotics and Motrin coursing through a little one's body can do for his spirits. Joe helped Daddy make banana bread, this time stirring the batter all by himself. We washed dishes together, and then read some books. When the bread was done, in went the pizza! I turned the light on for him to gaze into the oven and watch his pizza cook. After lunch of pizza (barely a bite) and banana bread (polished off) Joe was off to nap. While he was alseep I got the mail and noticed we had a letter that belonged to a neighbor. So upon Joe's awakening, we had this exchange:

Ted: Joe, do you want to go for a wagon ride?

Joe: Yeah

Ted: Good, I have to bring a letter to a neighbor's house, so we can take the wagon.

Joe: We bring a A?

Ted: Sure Joe, we can bring an A.

Joe: Not a W.

Ted: OK, Joe. Not a W.

You can see him at the fridge getting his A. Fortunately he forgot about this when we actually got to the neighbor's house and I left the mail for them. After our wagon ride, we quickly raked most of the yard because we are due for a couple inches of snow tomorrow... sigh.

The Latest News From the Front

Pneumonia Siege, Raleigh House, Day 90: so Fans, here we are. Still. When we woke up, Birdie was still on the up and up. But Our Hero had a temperature of 103. Ted had a meeting this morning, so headed out with Bird, via KinderCare for drop off, and Julie and Joe have had all kinds of adventures. And it's only 8:12am! We have taken out half of the books from one shelf and read them all, transferring them from one pile to another. Then, we played a new game called "Sleep." In Sleep, Mommy flops down and makes like she's going to sleep and then pops up with a scream! AHHHHH!!!!! Today, Julie thinks Sleep would be the best game ever if it didn't include the pop up and scream part. We played Sleep on the couch, and then we played Sleep on the Big Boy Bed. Then, we headed upstairs where we read the books on the Big Bed leftover from when Julie read to Clara this morning. Joe then requested Jamberries (Jamberry) and we read that before Joe started eating all the berries in it (oddly, we did not play Sleep on the Big Bed). Julie told Joe that when he was older, and we had Sick Days, maybe we would both read our books to ourselves in the Big Bed. Not that this isn't the toppy top! She hastened to add. But won't that be sort of the best? Except for the being sick part? In any case Fans, one can tell that despite the high fever, Our Hero is on the mend as he has had not one tantrum this morning. The second picture you see here is what Julie allowed Joe to do so she could send this report in from the front--namely, take out the contents of her bag. Now THAT is the toppy top. (He just found all the pens.)

Bird on the Wing

Miss Melissa reported at pick up that Clara was back to her usual self today. By usual self, Miss Melissa meant Clara trying valiantly, constantly, to get herself under the table in her room. Here you can see that her ready ray-of-sunshine smile is back, just there, underneath the plastic keys. One Bird on the wing, one Hero to go.

Pneumonia Go Away!

Pneumonia Siege, Raleigh House, Day 89: so Fans, here we are. This morning, Julie and Joe played with the container of green Play Doh that Joe got in his goodie bag at Marco's Halloween party. Julie made a pancake and Joe quickly said, "We don't make Play Doh pancakes! We make buttermilk pancakes!" Too true. Smart boy. Things pretty much went downhill from there. Ted came back from taking Berenice to the vet for her rabies vaccination booster, and we went on a wagon ride to deliver Sara's birthday card. It went missing along the way. So Ted took Joe to find it and make a phone call for work, and Julie went home to pump. She'd no sooner arrived though, then she saw the boys hot on her heels, Joe wailing in the wagon. So Julie rushed to take Wails McGee so Ted could continue his phone call and ended up sitting on the floor just inside the door with Wails flopped on top of her crying "I want Daddy. I want to go with Daddy." Julie just held on to him. Poor thing.*

Eventually, he petered out, and then he wanted to watch for Daddy out the window and so we did. Ted came in after a time to change and head off for his afternoon of meetings. Joe didn't realize he'd left so we calmly rolled into lunch. Here was our lunchtime conversation:

Joe: "I miss Daddy. I love Daddy."

Julie: "I know, Palo. I know you do."

Joe: "When Daddy comes home, he give me hug. I hug Daddy."

Julie: "That's so nice of you Pal. I know Daddy would like a hug from you."

Repeat.

Our Hero now slumbers, no doubt dreaming of Daddy.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the card remains at large. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SARA!

*Ted is now reviewing the day's posts. He reports that Wails McGee was crying in the wagon because he wanted Mommy. Go figure. Is this kid playing us, or what?

Yesterday's Cold, Today's Pneumonia

Fans, Our Hero has pneumonia. It's a localized epidemic. But we should back up to Tuesday morning. Ted was still in Tampa. You may recall that things had gone swimmingly Monday morning. Not so Tuesday morning. Tuesday morning, Joe selected his "house" [the Halloween cup; house is haunted house presumably] cup for his apple juice, burst into tears the moment it was poured, carted his juice around (but without spilling it!) while wailing for about 10 minutes before announcing (in a clear, strong voice) that he would be throwing it in the garbage and made to pour the juice into the garbage. When Julie asked him to please pour the juice in the sink instead, wails broke out afresh. Clara still needed to be nursed at this point, but Julie was killing time by changing her diaper and getting her dressed first instead. (Otherwise, Joe would have stood next to Julie and wailed, level with Clara's ear, while she nursed.) Eventually, Joe appears with his empty house cup (the juice was presumably in fact dumped in the garbage) and asks for more juice. He quite specifically wants it in the house cup. Juice is poured, is calmly taken to table, Joe clambers up, and eats his cereal. Now it is true: he is two and change, but even so, this behavior had an intense edge. Something was up. But the doctor said no, and to be fair, perhaps things just exploded then in the night. It's how these things go.

Other signs that took on significance, particularly in retrospect: Tuesday night, he had asked for Mommy to be in his bed (as the night of the stomach flu); and when we arrived at daycare yesterday, he was quite adamant that he wanted to be picked up after taking off his coat, and did not want to be let go.

So when Miss Maneesha called to say Joe had a fever of 101, Julie just cut her off and said she was hanging up, calling the pediatrician, and would be right there. Dr. Harrington is out Monday afternoons and Tuesdays so we'd not yet seen her this week. She didn't have any more appointments, but was still there and she stayed for us. We love her even more. She gave both bambini the once over. Clara is improving slowly but surely, but Doc H heard fluid on Joe's left side: pneumonia.

Now we have two bottles of Augmenten in the refrigerator. We dined at Target while waiting for the pharmacy to get it ready. Joe had macaroni and cheese, and apples with carmel dipping sauce. He was a bit of a mess upon arrival at home. He had his pants and diaper off already because he'd been "using" the potty, so Julie asked for his shirt to throw in with the load of laundry headed for the washer. Thus, he spent the evening happily padding about in the buck, save his socks. He is still Our Hero after all, and since heros have to be ready for action at a moment's notice, best to have one's business socks on at all times.

The New Verdict

Pneumonia on her left side. Double ear infection. She was given a shot of antibiotics in the office. We go back tomorrow. Depending on how she is, they may do another one. She's sleeping as best she can. More tomorrow.

And then it wasn't!

So there we were, all sailing along, and then, Miss Melissa called to say that Clara had a fever, and would have to be picked up (and so she'll be at home tomorrow as well). What?! Baby Bird had no fever all day Friday, all weekend. . .She continued to cough, but coughs linger forever! No doubt about it though, when I arrived to collect her, she just looked awful. Lethargic, and warm, and wanting to eat, but just not up to finishing the job. She left an ounce in the bottle. Kept trying, but no heart. No heart. She's in her bucket in her crib now, coughing intermittently, while l'elephanto runs full blast (steam ahead?). Our beloved Dr. Harrington is out Monday afternoon's and Tuesdays, so we will see another doctor in her practice today at 4:45pm, and report.

I'd arranged for Kendra to come at the six o'clock hour to be with Joe while I nursed Clara, so she is arriving earlier now. Phew. We can use the reinforcements until our anchor returns tomorrow!

Stay tuned for the evening news. . .

It was all going so well. . .

Fans, Ted left for Tampa yesterday evening. It may be true that I captain the ship, but there is no doubt that Ted is its anchor so we were all so sad to see him go. But we made ready the ship and forged on. The end of daylight savings time meant that darkness fell as we were leaving the airport, derailing plans for a spin around the neighborhood in the wagon. So we called Elise and Charlotte on our way home to see if they would want to meet up at Chipotle, and their mom said they were having pizza and asked us over! That was fab as it meant after Joe and Clara were bathed, nursed (Clara, obviously), pj-ed, storied (Joe), and put down, I just had to mis-en-place things for the morning and I could go to bed, too.

The end of daylight savings time meant that everyone woke up at the wrong time, but I went in at the new 6am. Clara was asleep which gave me time to get Joe settled in with his two bowls of cereal (one Brown, one Honey Nut), and his apple juice. I had lined up every single cup possibility so he could select from the entire universe. Initially, he selected the Halloween-themed cup. He pointed out the pumpkins and sparkled floating around in it. Then he said "water." Ted had warned me that multiple liquids were requested sometimes, but then I thought maybe "water" just means the pumpkins and sparkles are floating in water--????? I went with this and was rewarded with the selection of a less fraught cup: the old school monkey sippy cup. He ate his breakfast while I nursed Clara and thus, we cleared our biggest hurdle--i.e. nursing Clara while occupying Joe.

From there, it was relatively smooth sailing to the car, and I am proud to report that we were pulling away from the curb at 7:23am, which is just 8 minutes shy of Goal Time (7:15am). GO TEAM!

Here is Joe set for the day's adventures. High of 60 today so he is in the puffy vest Grandpa Tom gave him a while ago, AND--he flipped it on over his head. Together, he and I figured out how to position the coat so he could do this--answer: upside down, facing him. And I'm not the engineer, Fans.

Clara Has Carrots

Today, after her morning siesta, Clara had some carrots. She liked them, but it was difficult, at first, to tell. She was crying, but Julie eventually figured out it was because she was hungry. She really tore after the spoon, and the carrots, as you can see.

Makin' Some Calls

Joe is all about the phone right now. It is worth mentioning that in addition to the real phone, the TV remote, the computer remote, and the flip video camera all serve double duty as phones. Less interesting, of course, are the toy phones. Um, hello? They are SO fake. The ultimate is Mommy's cell phone, which routinely has new entries added to its directory like "*1sd." Old *1sd. That guy's great. He's great about letting Mommy have a turn with her phone. Sharing is for suckers, but all the cool kids take turns. Joe likes to call his buddies, as well as his grandparents, his Aunt Kate and Uncle Scott, and his Aunt Sara. Most of the time he has to be prompted to say something after hello, but this morning, he informed Sara, all on his own, that he had made a mess ("I make a mess!"). Not really. He'd just taken all the pens out of the junk drawer. (A real mess would be the peach juice smeared all over the table last night with his napkin.)

I Can Sit. . .Just For A Sec

Sitting up. Clara has been all "Whatevs, Folks," on that front. She's all, "I gotta roam. I got no time for sitting." But we've been working on it and introducing her to the wonders of the toys best played with from the sitting up perspective, like the charmingly obnoxious farm Julie's friend at work, Sally, got for Joe. (Still fun for Joe! Now he can whap the big purple button to play the two farm-themed tracks back-to-back incessantly. Today he informed Julie it was broken. Julie informed him it was not, just meant to come up for air between whaps.) Bird can now sit up for a few second all on her own, but it's best to have something around her because she will tip, and all of a sudden.

I Love You Family

Fans, right before this picture was taken, Julie was sitting at the table eating her pancakes, and Ted was changing Joe's diaper. After he had a fresh, new diaper on, Joe poked his head around the door jamb, looked at Julie and said, for the first time ever, "I love you, Mommy." Then, Ted took this picture and when he was done, Joe said "I want to see my family [meaning on the instant replay]." Back-to-back Hallmark moments.

The Verdict: Possible Croup?

We are back from our visit to the doctor. Dr. Harrington thinks she may have croup. She has the bark-y cough, but at the same time, she doesn't seem to have "stridor," which is hoarse, noisy breathing heard while the child breathes in (of course, now having left the office, it seems like it's all she does; in other words, paranoia has set in). So we're to keep an eye on her. Apparently, the second night is the worst. So we'll see how tonight goes and call if we need, too. Apparently a steroid shot can be given if the stridor is bad, to alleviate worries about breathing. But Dr. Harrington said we could also sit in a steamy bathroom with her, or take her outside to breathe in the cold, nighttime air (or open up the freezer and stick her head in there--ha!).

In other news, Baby Bird rode to Dr. Harrington's in the Moby forward-facing! There was no one to capture her first ride out facing the world, but it happened. After the doctor's appointment, we tromped down the way to the Starbucks for a pumpkin spice latte which we enjoyed on the walk home. Baby Bird enjoyed rice cereal upon our arrival, and is now playing away on the floor.

Coughy Bird

Does this look like the face of a sick baby girl? Not really, no, right? But Baby Bird woke up in the two o'clock hour and didn't really get back to sleep. She's got an awful, awful cough. So she's home today with Julie, and has an appointment to see Dr. Harrington at 2pm. We will of course bring you the breaking news, almost as soon as it breaks.

But this morning, she was a happy camper. After the boys got off, the girls decamped to the bathroom so Julie could clean it. Like her brother before her, Clara was instantly entranced by the cover of the bolt connecting the toilet to the floor. Really, there is nothing like a toilet bowl bolt cover to set your heart to racing. After the bolt cover disappeared (object permanence having not yet set in has some benefits when it comes to toilet bolt covers), Clara Jane motored all the way from the bathroom to the far side of the bambini's room. Miss Melissa reports that at daycare, too, Baby Bird likes to be in tight little spaces, and tucked up against something.

Bird is napping now. We can report that efforts to push her daytime sleep to a 9am-1pm napping pattern appear to be paying off. Almost-live coverage of today's later events to follow.