In recovery after my C-section.  MK was very mad that she was "pulled" from her baby apartment.

First time meeting Mary Katharine.  She was very excited and immediately took upon her role as Big Sissy.

Her photo shoot---it took about 30 minutes to get her to finally calm down and fall asleep.

Oh.  Hi.  Please note the AMAZING birdy spikes atop her little head.  These hairs help project the weather, nearby radio frequencies, and winning lottery tickets.

Laughing at Pepe.  She loves him.  (She also was enjoying the fan.  Fan watching is a great pastime for a 3 month old.)

 

Mary Katharine has definitely blossomed into a whippersnapper.  When she is awake, she is AWAKE.  Arms and legs moving at full speed, lots of talking, laughing, staring at the fan, and looking at whoever is talking.  She loves Greta, and Greta loves her.  She was extremely fussy for the first several weeks that she was home.  I contributed it to reflux, an immature digestive system, and an overall uneasiness.  I took matters into my own hands and decided to take her to the chiropractor.  I am all about "hula-boola" medicine, as it has predated traditional Western medicine.  The chiro was very certain she and I were out of sync and MK's neck was out of whack.  After some minor "adjustments" which included hanging her upside down, she literally relaxed right in front of me.  We followed our chiro appointment with an infant massage, which definitely helped.  MK seems to be a child that is extremely sensitive to her external environment---observant, bright eyed, strong, and stubborn.  She is clearly a different child than Greta---Greta was a great sleeper, eater, and content to be held.  MK is a woman with her own mind.  Thankfully, she is sleeping better, enjoys the swing and bouncy seat, and seems more comfortable in her own skin.  I will say I know she is my child because she loves being outside, as I seem to produce BIOPHILE children.  (Afterall, she was borged into the world in a birdy nest.)

 

 

And some more big milestones......

 

GRETA STARTED PRESCHOOL!!!!

 

I have been selfishly dreading this day since she was born.  It is a direct indication that she is growing up and there isn't a damn thing I can do to stop it.  I understand and accept that I can no longer stimulate her at home with activities and school is the best place for her. She had a great morning (she goes MWF, 9-1130) and was excited to return on Friday.  Her teachers are both vets in the preschool department--teaching for more than 30 years each.  I met a few moms at the open house last week, and I was super amped that one is from Ferndale!!!  (Detroit, what?)  My fears is that she will develop insecurities about her glasses, her speech, or any thing that may be "different."  Clearly, these are my OWN fears that affect MY EGO.  I am sure she will be just fine!  I want her school experience to be a positive one, as my schooling through high school sucked.  (I didn't find my strengths as a student until later in college.)  She attends speech class on Tuesday mornings, which seem to also be going well.  I know her experiences and time in a traditional classroom will greatly help her speech---another reason for her to attend preschool.  But most importantly, her preschool has a classroom rabbit--Truman.  The man of every hour. 

 



This is where I almost lost it.....She was giving me the stink eye....she wanted me to leave.
 

Welp, it has been long enough.  I am deciding to blog from MyMy and Poppy's house, which seems to be the only time I actually have two free hands (lots of people to hold Mary Katharine).  While I would LOVE to post a picture, I don't have any downloaded on the current lap top, so my next post will include ample pics of MK (aka Baby Underpants).

Some specs on Mary Katharine:
Borged into the universe on June 2nd.  8:30 am.  6 pounds 15 ounces.  20 inches long.  She was meticulously extracted from my lower abdomen by Dr. Davis, screaming her little head off.  She was clearly NOT happy.  The noise of her wailing was the most reassurance I could get (amid my sweating and dry heaving), considering the entrance Gertie made into the world.  Right off the bat, I knew she did not look like Greta.  However, I immediately was drawn to the amazing baby bird hairs that was formed into a glorious mullet like structure on the back of her baby head.  Considering how nauseous I was from the spinal, I was surprised I even remembered her birth.  The lovely anesthesiologist had been pumping Zofran into my IV, which made me groggy.  That mixed with morphine made for an interesting 1 hour recovery post op.  I was able to hold her immediatly.  She was alert and pissed.  My kind of lady.  I was so relieved to have her delivery over, which seem to create so much anxiety for me (during the entire pregnancy).  She didn't have a name for two days.  We still went back and forth after the birth certificate lady met with us.

In light of every single lady on facebook having babies in the last month and expecting in the next few weeks, here is a list of things that are most important for mommies today:

1.  Moms can do anything with one hand.  (The other hand is always busy feeding other siblings, cleaning dishes, picking up toys, folding laundry, picking up other siblings, preparing food, etc.)
2.  Brushing your teeth and showering are luxuries.  A mother is lucky, especially new moms, to have enough time to do both these activities during the day.
3.  Makeup/cute outfits/blow dried hair are distant memories until your baby is a old enough to nap for at least 2 hours.  Also, clean cute clothes for mommy are usuallly riddled with food/barf/poop/pee by 2 pm.
4.  Pregnancy continues after the baby is born.  While Victoria Beckham may be able to return to her pre-baby weight within 2 hours after delivery her kids, this may not be the case for you.  It took me one year to lose all of Greta's baby weight.  Awesome.  Also, the prego belly?  Yep, that flab sticks around for awhile.  HOT.
5.  Ringing doorbells and knocks on the door will send a mother into Defcon 7.  These noises wake sleeping children.  These noises are also brought on by uninvited visitors that are annoying and unneccessary.  They deserve to die.  Real friends/visitors know to use the back door or just walk in.  They also know they should bring dinner/coffee/McDonalds and be willing to fold a load of laundry/hold a baby/calm a crying toddler/clean a few dishes.
6.  Leaving the house is a luxury.  Fussy babies hate car rides and car seats.
7.  Sleep:  ooooh, a biggie.  Stretches of sleep are fond memories like those drinking binges in college.  Never going to happen......at least not anytime soon.
8.  It is a good day if everyone has eaten and are wearing clean clothes.
9.  Want to give a great baby gift?  Buy the new mommy a cleaning lady for a month.
10.  Real friends understand a major lapse of communication....like months will go by and said friend isn't mad at you because they totally understand.
11.  Psychiatrists were put on the planet to call the anxiety/psychosis of mothers.
12.  Caffeine is the best drug in the world.

I am sure there are several more.  My brain is fried.  I can't believe I am still up.

Greta had her 6 month follow up appointment with our neurologist in Fort Wayne.  This time, we saw the nurse practioner, Ms. Janet, who was so nice and wore fun glasses.  Double bonus.  I had some concerns recently because Greta's sleep has been a bit wonky lately, and she has also been rolling her eyes a bit.  While eye rolling is not that big of deal for 99% of kids, a person affected by a seizure disorder can sometimes exhibit this which indicates seizure activity.  Greta usually rolls her eyes to the right, and it is definitely NOT when she is trying to be cute, funny, silly, or sassy.  She's had some moments where she will space out.  Again, while most children do this to be silly, in Greta's case, it is a bit different.  With all these new observations, I was concerned she needed to be bumped up again on her Keppra.  Welp, she is now bumped up to the max dose, and with that, there is a strong chance they will start her on another medication.  She has only gained 1.5 pounds in the last six months, so she is metabolizing more medication without more body weight.  Again, time for possibly a new medication.  This is very normal with anti convulsants, so I am not freaked out or scared by this. 

I also mentioned to the nurse that I am concerned about her snoring, and episodes of "apneaic breathing," which are disrupted loud bouts of sleep where her snores collectively mount to a large disruption.  For kids with seizures, this is a bad news, because they are not getting enough oxygen during sleep.  Less oxygen means more seizures are likely to happen.  SO, she ordered a sleep study test.  She also recommended getting her tonsils out.  I guess they are scaled between a 1-4, and her tonsils measure large at a 3 without signs of illness or infection.  She thinks this is the reason she looks so tired.

We talked about her constipation issues and she thinks it is related to her poor muscle tone, which can manifest itself in poor digestion.  I guess your bowel muscles are different, but they too can be compromised with any sort of head injury/brain delay response.  It is common with kids who have cerebral palsy and Down's syndrome.  We never had her diagnosed with CP, because we didn't need to.  Now, the diagnosis of a mild form would be easier explaining all of mild symptoms to practitioners.  Again, she has MILD symptoms.  She has really come a long way with any motor delays, though some of these larger functions can still be complicated (sleep, digestion, speech).

Once we get her seizure stuff under control and her tonsils out, she should be golden for a while.  In the meantime, she is currently wearing big girl pants.  They are dry.  It  has been 20 minutes.  #winning

I signed Gertie up for preschool yesterday.  I wanted to cry.  She said she was happy because her classroom has a pet rabbit named Truman.  I guess things are looking up.  No, she is still not potty trained.  Bad parent over here.

"Happy now?":  Her question while participating in a fun activity where Mommy or Daddy are watching.

"Neat!":  An interjectory statement made when Greta is experiencing something new and fun.  I have no idea where she got this.  I don't usually use this word.

Greta and her neighbor accomplice, Lily, showcase their sweet fashion finds.






We were snowbound, once again, yesterday, after 10 new inches of snow fell.  The school district here is on their 9th, (NINTH) snow day.  Thankfully, Greta celebrates such holidays, knowing Lily can come over and play with her.  Usually, Lily goes to Big Girl School and leaves Gertie behind to play with Mommy.  On this particular day, we headed off to Target to find some baby wipes and sunglasses.  Miss Gertie is going to the ophthalmologist on Friday to have her eyes checked.  I am hoping this is a mere formality and that glasses won't be necessary.  This trip was under the direction of our neurologist, just making sure all of her systems are "a go."  I, on the other hand, will be heading to my own eye doctor appointment next week for some new fresh specs.  My Sarah Palin glasses are no longer cool and I am surely ready for something different.

Greta is now sleeping in her BIG GIRL BED.  This is a VERY big deal around here.  Big girl bed, big girl school, etc.  We get the point.   We are happy to report that she is sleeping very well in her big girl bed.  We do have to put a gate up at night so she doesn't get out.  It is very dark in the hallway, and the last thing we need is someone falling down the stairs.  I suppose our next course of action is getting rid of her Sucky (pacifier) and then onto the biggest challenge:  Potty Training.  For the record, she is totally NOT INTERESTED.  I am very serious in not rushing her.  The last thing we need is a controlling toddler who refuses to go treekle on the potty. 

Big.  Girl.  Bed.  (Please notice that Lamby, Sam the Monkey, and Puppy Baby are facilitating the change of bedding.)






 

We visited a potential preschool for fall this morning.  I almost cried on my way out the door, knowing Gertie will be at "school" next year.....back pack and all.....arts and crafts.....snack time.....NOT OKAY.

Greta decorating cupcakes during polar vortex round #2
 

Not only is she growing fiercely independent, everything is already 'BIG', 'MY OWN,' and 'I DO IT.'

Again, not okay.



Baby #2 is making quite a name for herself. 

                                                       Yep, we are having a GIRL!

I am receiving wonderful name suggestions, but I am seriously clueless.  She kicks a bit and gives me heartburn, much like Gertie.  I am hoping she is a spitting image of Greta, because any child that resembles me at birth will look like a monkey alien.  But no name seems to come to mind yet.  I am patient.  We have 18 weeks to go......PS, Dave is of no help in the name department.  All he says is "NO" if he hears something he doesn't like.  Thanks a ton. 

We had our anatomy scan this past week and she is looking healthy and measuring right where she should be.  There were moments when I thought I could make out her nose, and it looked like Greta's.  I am hopeful for that.  Greta's nose is a perfect button. 

And speaking of more children.....NO, the baby's room is NOT ready and I haven't even started to think about moving furniture yet.  We have our room above the garage that needs a major overall, and I hoping Uncle Chris will come to our rescue when the weather warms up.  In the meantime, I am doing a mental inventory of everyone I leant baby gear out to.  I am hoping it will return to me in a timely manner.  :)

PS, Greta received a custom tee shirt creation from our special friend, Kady, who makes amazing design shirts.  If you are interested, check her out! She is now a Michigander, so show her some GLOVE LOVE!

So here are a few things that are going on with Gertie:

1.  Everything has to be "BIG."  Big cup of water, BIG bath, BIG serving of crackers.  BIG.  Word of the month.

2.  She insists on doing things herself.  While I am mostly okay with this, it is unbelievable to me that she can pull up her stool, turn on the faucet, turn on her toothbrush, brush her teeth, turn off the water, step off the stool, then move the stool safely out of the path of the door.  She is practically a woman.  I'm NOT okay with that.

3.  She is well aware there is a baby in my belly.  I know she will be very helpful with baby #2 arrives, though I am a bit sad that I might miss my snuggle time with Gertie.

4.  She is a hot dancer.  Best dancer at St. Bernadette's. 

5.  She is definitely my child:  She LOVES the snow.  Sledding, shoveling, stomping. You name it, and she'll do it if is has to do with snow.

6.  She is NOT potty trained and I feel like she is never going to be interested.  However, she does fart a lot and if that is an indicator, we've got a soon to be potty trained lady on our hands.  In the mean time, I ask a few times a day, which is usually followed by a simple, "no."

7.  She is embracing her Dutch Boy haircut. Grammy Goble is her famed stylist and I don't trust anyone else.  I absolutely LOVE her little bob and we have received many compliments. 

 

 

 

Let's cut to the chase.  Gertie's going to have sibling, come late May.  I am feeling tired and lacking energy (in part from a lack of psychotropic support).  Everything looks good according to the OB.  I go back again in two weeks for my 15 week check up.  Offspring #2 arrives on June 8th (actual due date), but really will be here by late May.  I invite a csection after Greta's delivery.  No labor for me, thank you.  This pregnancy is definitely different.  My skin is a mess, I'm tired, pissed off most of the time, and definitely heavier in the butt/stomach department this time around.  My friend Mackinzie thinks I'm having a boy. "When you are prego with a boy, you want to kill people."  That about sums it up for me.  I have NO patience and I will cut someone if they piss me off.  Period.  I am very excited for this portion of the pregnancy to go away, though I feel like it might stick around for some time.

We are coming off a week of Beau/Greta action here in FW.  Beau stayed with us for a week while Jennie and Chris finally enjoyed a long overdue vacation in Mexico.  Beau was great!  Greta absolutely adores him and was very sad to see him go.  He accompanied Gertie to Kiki's twice, and seem to very much enjoy himself on someone else's turf.  I thought it was going to be harder, but it actually wasn't that bad.  I forgot that age--climbing on everything, wanting to get into everything.  I'm lucky Greta is responsive to my requests and rules, not that I have ever taken them for granted.

And a final note, while I love Greta more than life itself, I must say I am getting real annoyed with some people's FB posts that always seem to revolve around their children (and exclamation points).  While Greta is the light of my life and the butter to my bread, I try to best choose those moments that are deserving of a highlight reel on FB (face covered in chocolate, great dance sequence, etc.).  For some, it is constant.  So.  Annoying.  (I know your daughter loves princesses, I know your son loves the Colts. )  I guess that I forgot when others have kids, their personality/interests/hobbies/sense of humor go completely out the window (along with their fashion sense).  ----p.s., I am sitting here in my fleece sweatpants, stained with paint, and a striped maternity top that is way too big.  I am also wearing clogs, with no socks.  CLASSY. 

Every time I pick up Greta from Kiki's house (Kirsten, our babysitter), I am very quick to ask the following questions:

1.  Did she poop?
2.  How many timeouts today?
3.  Did she eat okay?
4.  How did she sleep?

Kiki knows the drill, only informing me of the most pertinent of information:  Pooping and Timeouts. 

Lately, Greta's timeouts are related to "duels" with her friend, Katie, often amounting to
a.) sitting on each other
b.) headbutting 
c.) trying to steal/swap/trade snacks and/or sippy cups.

The life of a 2 year old.

The word of the month: BACKPACK.

Prefontaine Greta.

Big week for Greta---her feet grew and she got taller.  She also got her toy room carpet cleaned.  Pretty exciting.  We had a follow up visit to a new neurologist in Fort Wayne, who turned out to be a wonderful lady.  Dr. Khan was very nice and extremely detailed.  We had to bump up Greta's medicine, as she has been experiencing some "break through" epileptic activity--normal after a growth spurt.  She ordered a basic blood test to make sure everything is okay, as well as another sleep deprived EEG, to establish her own baseline for Greta's brain activity.  She is optimistic that the increase of medicine with get Gertie back on track.  Nothing to really worry about.  I am still a sleep nazi---I also watch her like a hawk.  Her symptoms are extremely subtle.  Thankfully, we have the best babysitter in the world, Kirsten, who loves Greta as much as we do.  She is great about reporting any abnormal sleep behaviors that would give us reason to worry.

Greta is continuing her speech therapy and is doing great!  She is talking up a storm, much of the time in Ewok or Unicorn, but regardless, she is talking!  I do believe her time at Kirsten's has helped Greta to instigate more conversations (with herself) and others.

We are looking forward to this weekend.  Greta will be attending her first Princess birthday party.  I would like to dress her up as Wonder Woman, but there is a strict Princess dress code that is enforced.

She was very excited to have a visit from Pepe this week---very busy.  She helped him mow the lawn, move the picnic table, play dollies, and eat french fries.  She is excited to see both Mimi and Pepe at Beau's birthday party next week.  

We are looking forward to a trip back to BH to see Uncle Joey and Auntie Kelly in two weeks.  I've been itching to get Greta to the Detroit Zoo to see the elephants, polar bears, and reptile house.

I'd like to take this time to make a shout out/air high five to all of the lovely folks in our lives who continue to support Greta with prayers and good spirits.  She is doing great and she is clearly nothing short of a miracle----like I said once before, she is a unicorn.

Beau is visiting for the weekend.  Jennie and Chris are in Michigan at a friend's lake house.  Pray for us.  They are both sleeping but I am feeling crazy overwhelmed thinking about tomorrow morning.  I am a wuss.  How do mothers do this with five kids?  Seriously. 

Did I mention it is is HOT as hell outside?  Tres' horrible.

Neglecting the blogging portion of my week is causing some disturbances among the grandparents.  Here are some updates:

Greta is NOT ready to be potty trained.  However, she did wear a swimmy diaper today, for one hour, outside of her pajamas (and a wet diaper).

Greta is officially a 2 year old.  Lots of "no" and throwing things.  While I struggle to NOT laugh, I suppose I have to be the parent, because Biscuit and Beans don't want any part of that.

Greta has a new babysitter, Kirsten, and she loves her.  Kiki has 4 kids, and I'm sure Greta feels right at home at their house.  She shuts the door behind me immediately after she is in the door.

Greta is still obsessed with Bubble Guppies.

Greta still sleeps in her crib.  No big girl bed until she asks for one.

Greta wears size 4 underpants.  I refuse to buy her size 5.  She has a nice fanny.

Oh, I've also pulled the plug on visits to Dr. Jackman, her Riley neurologist.  There is a peds-neuro in town.  She is good and gets down to business.  No more of this "drive 2 hours and not be prepared" shananigans. 

Her speech is going well.  First Steps comes once a week, on Monday, and it usually involves bubbles, playing with her cash register, playing with some trains, and changing her babies' diapers.  Her newer words are "eat," "key," and "ow (outside)." 

She graduated out of her physical therapy this week.  We can go back in a few months to reassess.  She continues the occupational therapy for her fine motor skills once a month.  She has made GREAT strides improving in both these areas. 

Sorry it has taken so long to update G's blog.  Needless to say, slinging sandwiches and cleaning toilets has taken up a great deal of time.  While I am not complaining, blogging and keeping a clean house have fallen to the wayside.  The first pics are from Greta's 2nd Birthday---a truly magical day, celebrating her unicorn powers and the amazingness of our family.  The last two were from our most recent trip to the Fort Wayne Zoo---riding a pony and catching some drops of water from a rainforest waterfall were crossed off our list of things to do.  We recently had some special visitors this past weekend---the Schmidbauer's (Sam and Irene), bringing their newest member, Baby Eliza.  Always a treat, Sam was delightful as ever, talking up a storm and expressing his interest in watermelon and playing outside.  I learned a thing or two from Sam's dad, Eric, discussing Economics and how I am clearly not informed about this subject.  Eliza is a magical unicorn with a very small fanny, soft feet, and birdy hairs.  Irene is pretty much awesome. 

Greta started her First Steps speech therapy this week, hoping to bridge the gap with her speech delay with help of Ms. Jennifer, her speech therapist.  We are working on Greta independently asking for things with small words that she already knows, such as "please."  Putting two word phrases together is also a current job, specifically, "More____" or "Mommy, no."  This is pretty challenging for kids with speech delays, as their little toddler brains can't keep all the motor demands at the same speed.  Talking is the most difficult motor skill to refine----She is definitely improving, and we hope First Steps will help supplement the private services she is receiving at Parkview. 

At her 2 year check up, she measured in the 50% percentile for height and 75% percentile in weight---she is 29 pounds and 33 1/2 inches tall.  Quite the difference from 19" long and 7.3 lbs at birth.

Like most toddlers, she loves playing with water---her kiddy pool, water table, sprinkler, etc.  She also loves playing her babies, pushing her stroller, blowing bubbles, coloring, playing with stickers, and playing with her toy house and toy cash register.  She is very aware of her environment--paying close attention to the noises she hears outside, especially trains, birds, and airplanes.  She started enjoying Bubble Guppies in the morning, the one cartoon she is allowed to watch.  I actually think that has helped a bit with her speech---the dialogue is very easy to follow, and there are phrases that are heard in every episode.  She loves listening to music in the car and dancing (which usually involves stomping one foot and clapping out of rhythm. 

We aren't even close to potty training, though she is very familiar with poop, in all forms, specially, dog poop.  In the yard.  From Beans and Biscuit.

Because of my hectic work schedule, we have a new babysitter, Kiersten, who is fabulous.  She is a mother of four with a crazy house, loaded with toys, dogs, and activities.  She doesn't drink pop, her kids play sports, and she enjoys a glass of wine from time to time.  My kind of lady.

We are fortunate to have the support of Dave's parents, Jim and Joan, during the week.  They are able to pick Greta up from the sitter when I have a cleaning job that runs late, or a dinner shift at the restaurant.  I am thankful for them everyday.  I wish I could give them more, because of all the help and support they've given us since we've been in Fort Wayne.

The lawsuit is moving forward---the attorney filed last week.  We should hear some sort of response within six months.  Hopefully, by next year, we'll have made some progress on a settlement.

Here are some of G's favorites:
Good Night Moon (book)
watermelon
ribs
bubbles
mowing the lawn with her bubble mower
going on bike rides
playing cashier with her cash register/scanner
opening/shutting doors

Greta enjoying a Hawaiian roll.  We could probably finish an entire package in one sitting.  She is also rocking some penguin/unicorn pajamas.  She will be 2 in a week.  NOT. OKAY.

Gertie got a hair cut.  I miss her mullet.  Pictures to come. 

Greta wandered outside this morning (onto the deck, then to the yard), and returned with:
1. Her calculator
2. Her sucky (pacifier)
3. A Beans turd

Happy Tuesday

Gert had a magical visitor this week.  Beau, cousin to the stars. Lots of poopie diapers, lots of spinning on the turntables (playing in the exersaucer), and lots of sweatpants.

"Why yes, Beau, I will look in my magic bag for your missing unicorn."

The bottom line:  Beau is magical.  He is soft.  He smells good.  He smiles a lot. 

After a week and a half on the anti seizure medicine, Greta has MINOR mood changes.  And by minor, I mean she acts like Sybil at least once a day. 

Dave finally witnessed her "assiness" as I call it---and clearly, we aren't talking about a child who is almost 2.  This is clearly not a facet to her personality, but rather, a side effect from the medication.

Greta enjoyed all things Easter this weekend---lots of plastic eggs, Easter books, M&M's, and lots of discussion about rabbits and bunnies.  SO MUCH, that Biscuit killed one last night.  Thankfully, Greta did not see that.

Greta enjoyed some cousin time, with her cousin, Eleanor.  They are a few months apart and they both love dollies, teepees, and M&M's.  Ellie, however, is a much faster runner.  I blame her mother.

Here is a snapshot of Greta's fanny at the conservatory with Grammy.  I love her fanny and squeeze it everyday.  

It is spring break down here, and we are hoping for some special visitors.  We are hoping Jamie, Cole and Ms. Q can come up for some play time and a visit to Science Central.  I am very much excited about some other toddlers destroying Greta's toy room.