Welcome to my New Cousin!

Let me start with the good news from this week. We welcomed cousin Hannah (pictured left) to the family! On Saturday we hopped in the minivan and drove to Indianapolis to meet her. All was going well until we hit a slow down due to road construction, which had a negative impact on both Caroline and me. With all of the stop and go she woke up and got hungry at about the same time that I turned green. So Mom sat in the back of the minivan and used one arm to feed Caroline and the other to hold my barf bag. Good times . . .

When we arrived in Indy, I felt better for a while and amused everyone by dancing around with my underwear on my head, once again making Uncle Glenn proud.

I was excited to meet the baby and I have been saying "I have a baby and Aunt Jen has a baby." Hannah is beautiful with dark hair and a very loud cry. Her hair has these funny highlights, so we determined that she takes after Mom. Caroline was interested to see her, too (see photo below).

Later, I didn't feel so well again and threw up once more and then I had a nap on the floor. At one point one of us kids was napping in just about every room except the kitchen. Uncle Buddy also discovered that the basement had flooded and he and Poppy spent the afternoon replacing the sump pump and getting the water out of the basement.

We were just there for the afternoon and then headed back home. We hit the same construction problem again going back and had the same result-- crying from Caroline and puking from me. Which reminds me, Aunt Jen, do you want your tupperware container back?

As I mentioned earlier, Hannah was our good news this week. We also got some really bad news. Grampy Bear in Canada found out he has brain cancer. He is having surgery to remove a fist-sized tumor next week, so please send your love and prayers in that direction. We have both just recently gotten our computer web cams up and working again, so we have all been enjoying nightly chats with Grampy and Grammy Pammy on what I have come to call "Grampy TV" (well actually I call it "TB"). These chats pretty much consist of us waving, asking "Can you hear us?" and blowing kisses, but it is nice to see them when they are so far away. We're starting a blog for Grampy so that people can check on his progress and we will provide that information in a future post.

In other news, Mom went back to work last Wednesday and we are getting adjusted. Caroline is doing well at school (daycare), but is very tired in the evenings so we don't see much of her. Hopefully once she gets acclimated, she will have more awake time in the evening. Also the time change has had the negative effect of altering her night feed from 5:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. and we can't get it switched back!

The Princess and the Pea

Here we are all dressed up for Halloween. I was very excited to be a princess. Mom came and picked me up early from school and we had some girl time to curl my hair and put on a little princess make-up. Then we ate a special Halloween dinner called "bats and cobwebs" (bow tie noodles with gooey cheese) and finally I was able to put on my princess dress. Caroline was very tired after her first full day at school, but she woke up to put her costume on and "trick or treated" at three houses (from the comfort of her stroller).

From there Dad and Caroline went home to hand out candy and Mom and I went on trick or treating. There were lots of kids and it was fun, but I did not like a scary mask that I saw and kept asking where it was. I seemed tired and Mom kept asking if I wanted to go home, but I kept saying "No, more houses" so we would shuffle on. It was chilly and I wore my coat after the first few houses. By the end I couldn't even lift up my pumpkin bucket to get the candy and asked Mom to carry it.

We were done by 7 p.m. and went back home to see Dad. We all sat on the front porch. Mom helped Dad hand out the candy. I got all bundled up in my chair and ate some candy. And Caroline slept in her pea pod costume in her favorite room-- the downstairs bathroom. Lily hung out in the basement so that the kids and costumes wouldn't bother her.

I was exhausted went to bed quite easily and Mom and Dad could hardly wake Caroline up to eat. Neither one of us proved to be the picky sleeper from the Princess and the Pea story!
And in other exciting Halloween news, Aunt Jen and Uncle Buddy had their baby early on Halloween morning, so I have a new cousin! Hannah Abigail was born at 4:26 a.m. and we will go visit them soon.

School

Caroline made her first trip to my school last week. They invited her to picture day since she would be starting soon. Here I am all dressed up for my picture. I helped pick Caroline's outfit, too, so we both had pleated skirts on.

Mom and Jamma brought Caroline to school mid-morning and I was excited to see them and to show Jamma around. After the pictures, Caroline went to her room and visited her class for the first time.

On Friday, Mom left on an airplane to go to Omaha, Nebraska for a college friend's wedding. I told the neighbor she went to Oklahoma, Alaska. Since Daddy was still home and Jamma was with us I didn't really get upset that Mom was leaving. I was more like "oh, you're going on an airplane? And what's this about Jamma taking me swimming?!?!?" We actually went swimming on both Saturday and Sunday, so I was very happy about that. We had a great visit with Jamma and Mom and Dad had a nice break to get some things done (like clean the garage and sleep!) Mom had a great time at the wedding and enjoyed seeing her friends. And let me give those friends a shout out because many are regular blog readers!

A few other funny stories: last week as Mom was putting me to bed, I put a white pair of socks on my hands and said "these are my glubs (gloves)" and I proceeded to act like my daycare teachers walking around clapping and saying "Who's poopy? Let me check your diapers" Jamma witnessed this and she and Mom tried not to crack up. Dad overheard something funny on the way to school. I had two stuffed animals and apparently bunny hit bear and he received a time out. Dad heard me say, "We don't hit. You need to sit in the door and think about what you did. Okay, now kiss and make up!"

On Monday, Mom and Caroline took Jamma to the airport and went to the pediatrician. Caroline is now better with clear lungs and ears! Later that morning Caroline officially started school and spent a half day in the baby room. I was so excited that she was there! Here is a picture of her with her main caretaker, Miss Candy.

The Cold Part II

Well despite our best efforts, my cold spread to Caroline. Monday she woke up stuffy and had a little cough and it got worse throughout the week. On Thursday she had a low fever, so Mom called the doctor and the doctor said "no more monkeys jumping on the bed!" Okay, she didn't really say that, but I like to say that! Anyway, Caroline went in and they did some tests and her temperature rose a little more and in the end we found out she had an ear infection, which we think we caught early and she was positive for RSV, a respiratory virus. She still has a cough, but is doing much better now.

Thankfully Jamma arrived late Friday night so we've had lots of extra help, plus her medical expertise. It was almost midnight when she got here, so she had to wait to hold Caroline until 9 a.m. the next morning. We've included some photos of her meeting Caroline. You can see she's busy checking Jamma out! After that Mom, Jamma and I went to the Y and some of us played and some of us "eppercised."

We've taken Jamma to some of my favorite places: the library and the grocery store. And of course the park. I love it because Jamma is the only one who thinks it's warm enough to go to the park!
On Sunday we decorated our pumpkins. We carved the first one. I helped pull out the seeds, which are very cold and yucky. Mom and I drew the face together. The second pumpkin we painted, which I enjoyed a lot. Dad cooked the pumpkin seeds and I loved them and really wanted to eat them instead of the dinner.

Today Mom went to work for half a day and will work a few more half days this week, before retruning to work full-time on November 1. I will be at school as usual. Jamma has been very busy at home taking care of Caroline. She'd get on the blog and say hello, but Mommy is making her mop the floor and do laundry, so maybe another time!

We're anxiously awaiting the arrival of my cousin in Indiana. She's due to arrive October 27. I hope we're all better so we can meet her soon.

The Cold

The cold weather hit here this week and I got a cold. I think I got sick right after the flu shot. I haven't complained and I seem to feel fine, but I have a cough and a runny nose. Mom and Dad got me to slow down a little Friday night and we had a pajama party with hot cocoa, but other than that I have been going to school and keeping my usual pace. Mom is missing her favorite side effect of my illnesses: slowed-down Katie!

We had to break out the car seat cover for Caroline this week and we discovered why I was so portable-- it was because of this little gizmo. She went out to lunch with Mom and some friends and was terrific for over three hours, with two good snoozes in the "cocoon."
On Saturday afternoon Mom and I had another shopping trip-- this time I got my reward for earning a whole page of stickers for following my sleep rules (stay in bed, be quiet, etc.). I got flowers for my Crocs (pictured below). Aren't they cool?

Today we went to a little pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. We didn't stay very long. Caroline fell asleep about five minutes after we arrived-- and probably would have fallen asleep earlier if we hadn't made her endure a few photos first. Next week we will go to the big fall festival when Jamma is here for her visit and I might be big enough for a pony ride this year!

We have discovered that Halloween is very big in our neighborhood and have felt very unfestive since there is nary a mum or a pumpkin in sightat our house-- let alone an anamotronic grave yard with skeltons popping out and witches stirring cauldrons. Now we at least have some pumpkins on our doorstep.

As always, I continue to crack up Mom and Dad. Yesterday we were talking about how I will start learning Spanish when I transition to preschool in a few weeks and we had been reading Spanish numbers in a Dora book. Later Dad asked me to say one in Spanish and I replied "One in Spanish." After seeing that this was hilarious to Mom and Dad I continued speaking Spanish: "Brown in Spanish" "Two in Spanish" "Poppy in Spanish" (see I am already fluent!!!). One of my other favorite things to do is ask questions (or fwestions, as I pronounce it). Every night at bedtime: "Mom, I have a fwestion for you." Usually these questions are some sort of stall tactic (important queries like "where is the sun?" or "did I go to the park yesterday?").

Caroline is a very smiley baby and is doing well. She will start school on Oct. 30 for two shorter days and then Mom goes back to work full time on Nov. 1. I am excited to have Caroline join me at school!

We'll report in next week when Jamma is here to visit!

Medical Reports

We thought we would provide a mid-week update on our doctor/dentist visits. On Monday Caroline had her 2-month check-up. You won't believe it, but she gained a pound since last Monday-- she is an even 12 lbs! She is now 75th percentile in length and weight (and 55th in head circumference, unlike me!). Her belly button still has a lot of scar tissue--officially called an umbilical granuloma--so the pediatrician referred us to a plastic surgeon to take care of it. She is not sure what the procedure will entail but she said he might have more options with the silver nitrate cautherization. Her appointment is Nov. 6. Then after all this was taken care of, it was shot time. Mom & Dad told me that I would get one and Caroline would receive four and I said "No, I want four!" Obviously I did not remember what a shot entailed (and it was a shot, not mist). I cried and did not like it, but I did like my Bugs Bunny bandaid. This must be why we had Jamma take me for the shot when she was visiting last year! Caroline did okay during her shots too, but had that awful look on her face that babies get when they have been happily kicking away and then all of a sudden OUCH and her little face just crumbled and the pouty lip came out. She got two bandaids, but she didn't care about them too much. She was pretty fussy Monday night, but was fine by Tuesday morning.

Today was my first trip to the dentist. It was pretty fun. I rode in the chair and the hygenist showed me her tools. We played with the water squirter and the spit sucker. I got to pick a flavor of toothpaste, had my teeth counted and polished and then I got a new Dora toothbrush. I also got two toys from the toy wagon (bracelets and a jump rope were my selections). Then I also got a chapstick (which I will get back to in a minute). Overall it was pretty fun and the people were very nice, but I was a little scared of the dentist. I sat on Mom's lap for that part. He said all looked good, but the enamal on one of my molars wasn't fully formed. I don't know how they could tell because I only opened my mouth for a few seconds at a time.

On the way home I was very good and played with all of my goodies. Several times I said-- I'll put on more lipstick. . . and then a bit later when Mom looked in the rearview mirror she saw my glistening face. And when we got home she saw that I had glistening hands-- I used up the entire full-sized chapstick.

Important Milestone

In our family it's right up there with getting your first tooth, rolling over, or first steps. Caroline attended her first hockey game on Friday. Friends of Dad's invited us to their suite for the opening of Miami University's new hockey arena. We were both well behaved and Caroline was happy as could be, despite the LOUD music and the chilly air. She quite enjoyed the support beams on the ceiling.

Earlier in the week Dad asked me if I knew what sport was starting and I correctly guessed hockey and was quite excited to see hockey pictures in the paper each morning. Then when we received the invitation, I was very very excited to go see the "hockeys" and I heard Dad say it would be in a suite and they would have food and drinks there. I said "Dad will have a pop?" and Mom said yes. Then I said "I will have water?" And Mom said yes. "Caroline will have milk?" And Mom said yes. "And Mom will have . . . water?" She said yes (unfortunatley!)
On Saturday we paid the price for keeping me up until 11 on Friday. I was cranky from the moment I woke up and then my moods came and went throughout the day. In the morning we went to the Y. Mom and Dad exercised and Caroline and I went to the nursery where I was very good. Then Mom and Dad took me to the play room (pictured here).

Later I had an alleged nap, but emerged wearing an interesting outfit. While at first glance it looks like I am just wearing one pair of shorts over my leggings, you should know that I actually managed to put on four pairs, one on top of the other. And please note that I have on two different pink socks.

After I woke up and Mom helped me make some fashion adjustments to my ensemble, we went off for our planned shoe shopping trip (with hopes that Dad could catch a little nap). I grabbed my purse and packed up the essentials (pink marker, 50 hair rubberbands and a Hello Kitty eraser) and was ready to go. All was well for about 5 minutes at the store and then my evil twin arrived. Let's just say I was not well behaved. And since I am the author of this site I will leave it at that. Anyway, we bought a very cute pair of shoes and came home rather abruptly. I fell asleep two minutes before we pulled into the driveway and was pretty grumpy from then on.

Today was a much better day. I went to the grocery store with Dad and we all went for a walk this morning. This afternoon I goofed around during my nap again (emptied all the dresser drawers, took off my clothes, moved all of my stuffed animals to the closet, etc.). Finally I slept and then we went to a nearby park. The picture below shows me beating Daddy in a race. I won the coveted jelly bean prize.

Caroline will be two months old tomorrow! She has a check-up with the doctor and I am going too to get my flu "medicine." At least that's what Mommy and Daddy keep calling it because they think I am getting the nasal mist, but it might be a shot, so they are being very vague! We'll report in, as always.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

"I like onions . . ."

Well, we did not drive to South Bend this weekend, so that was nice, although I am always happy to see Grandma and Poppy!

Caroline is sleeping and napping a little more consistently, so Mom is able to get a little more sleep and accomplish more in her day. Caroline is lifting her head and smiling more and more, which we all love. She went with Dad to the Notre Dame lunch on Thursday (see her dressed in her pleated skirt and saddle shoes?) and got to wear a "Class of 2028" nametag. I get very excited when I come home from school and find her wearing cute new outfits and say "Mom, what sister wearing?!?!" I really loved this one! Caroline will go to the pediatrician tomorrow because she might have a hernia in her belly button. We'll report in . . .
On Friday we had a photographer come out to the house to take pictures of Caroline (and the rest of us too). She was here for two hours (one hour with all of us and then I went back to school and Dad went back to work and she stayed with Mom and Caroline). There should be lots of photos and we will share the proofs once they are online. I was cooperative for about 5 minutes and then I was all over the place, so there might be a white blur in some of the shots!

We joined the YMCA this week and Caroline and Mom had a few outings there. I went with them on Saturday morning while Daddy worked. They have an indoor playroom with tunnels and slides and I had a great time there. I think we will visit there a lot in the winter to play or swim. Yesteday afternoon we watched the ND game and had a visit from Mom's friend Arundi. She brought us some yummy food and Dad and I were eating the artichoke dip before she even left!
I also had a tea party on the patio. I carried out a lot of my toys, as I like to do and played happily by myself for a while. Mom thought it was funny though because I gave each of my dolls some sporting equipment to play with (see photos below).

Caroline had a great night's sleep last night, waking only once at 3:30 and then we both woke up at 7:15. After Mom fed Caroline we all went out to breakfast-- Caroline and I wore our new big sister/little sister tee shirts featured in the first photo. I ate everything on my plate- two sausages, scrambled eggs and most of a big pancake. (Mom and Dad ate everything on their plates, too). Caroline did a pretty good job there, but she is not quite as portable as I was at that age where I would fall sound asleep at any restaurant.

Our favorite laugh of the week came on Friday at dinner. There were some cut up onions on a plate on the table for hamburgers and I pointed at them and said "I want cucumbers." Mom told me they were onions. I said "I like onions." Mom and Dad looked at each other and shrugged and then I grabbed one, chewed it up very pleased with myself until I really tasted it. Then I got a bad look on my face and started scraping it off my tongue. "Too spicy!" I said. Mom and Dad almost died laughing (and they felt a little bit mean, but it was REALLY funny!)