Puking and Woody and Pancakes..oh my

Prepare to be shocked and amazed....
I AM WRITING 2 TIMES IN ONE MONTH!

Trying to make a better effort and it helps that we have been doing some fun (and not fun) things worth writing about!

First things first - after the cold of the Superbowl weekend, she recovered and was back at daycare and Miss Sandy says a couple kids had a stomach virus. I of course start 'panicking' and wondering when it'll hit. All week I am suspicious but nothing seems to be happening.  A couple more kids get it and I actually asked Miss Sandy what to do if Anna were to get it - I had no idea how to deal with a puking baby!  She gave me a few pointers and we went on our way.  Thank God I had asked, because that night (Thursday) around 6pm we were playing in the living room and she made a weird cough noise (which she had been coughing all week due to her lingering cold) and then made a little gurgle noise. My mom-instincts kicked in and I lifted her up and held her parallel to the floor and out came 2 big pukes.  WHAT?!  Afterwards she was a little whiny and wanted to be held but seemed to bounce right back before Doug got home from work.  I thought maybe she just ate too much dinner or something.  I was trying to be positive.  We gave her a bath and I went to give her milk before bed, like we do every night, and she wanted nothing to do with it. Just snuggled into me, fell asleep and that was that.  I was on high alert and kept watching the monitor like a hawk for every single cough or moan.  Around 9:30 she does a cough and immediately I can tell it's more than just a cough.... and I RUN upstairs to get her as she is throwing up all over her bed, herself, etc.  It was a mess.  Doug had smartly gotten a garbage bag, paper towels and washcloth to help with cleanup while I held the baby.  She stunk, I stunk, she was sad and tired and just wanted to snuggle, be held, and whimper.  SO sad.  After we cleaned everything up, new sheets, new pajamas, face/hands/hair washed down, Doug said "just put her back in her bed... what are you going to do?".  For the record I was highly against this but most times I end up being "wrong" when it comes to giving in to Anna.  So we put her back in her crib and I tried to lay down.  About 10 minutes later, MORE puke.  Another crib change and I tell Doug she's sleeping in our bed - no questions asked.  He decides to move downstairs to "give us space".  She dry-heaves about 2 or 3 more times before passing out.  We had a fitful night sleep obviously but thankfully no more puke, but definitely a "sick" baby the next day. I stayed home from work (thankfully nothing was going on and we were due to have bad weather anyway) - Anna wanted to cuddle, sit nicely and watch her movies and nap all day.  She took a 2+ hour nap in the morning and 1 hour and 45mins in the afternoon - that's more nap time than she gets in days sometimes!  Saturday she was definitely better but still recovering, napped a long time, didn't seem to be her usual crazy self.  By Sunday she was coming around finally.

Sad baby in her jammies all day

waiting for WOODY!  (Toy Story 3)

(And thank GOD Doug and I never ended up getting it!  Miss Sandy got it, her husband got it, a bunch of other parents got it.... we somehow ended up unscathed!!)

All of this kind of kicked off a new phase for Anna, as she basically didn't want to eat anything for days.  No milk at bedtime, barely any food all day long.  She'd eat things here and there (like cookies!) but not like her old self.  Just days before this incident she was eating so much I was convinced she was going to wake up 3 inches taller.  So for quite a few days - maybe even a week - she basically did not eat.  A yogurt here or there, some banana, some O's... it was a long week of trying.  I'd put out her favorite stuff but didn't push it.  I really believe that when she's hungry, she'll eat and I am not going to waste time overthinking that. Slowly she's been coming around.  Drinking most of her milk at night, definitely eating more during the day.  I just take it a day at a time! (an hour at a time...a minute at a time..!)

So let's see what else has been happening...

We went to a fundraiser for Drew's restaurant and Anna had a great time dancing to the live music (wish I had gotten a picture of that!).  She looked sweet in her little dress and colorful tights!

Clearly the headband didn't make it very long

We went to visit Gram and her friends at work and Anna had a fabulous time running around, hugging a Valentine's bear, typing on the typewriter, making new friends, hiding from some people, but all around had a good time.

Look at that form!

This Valentine's Day was Anna's second and she got some sweet Valentine's presents - a little pink doggy, a frog with a heart, a few new books and a sweet outfit.  (Plus some chocolate from Pop but we'll have to give that out in little doses ;)   She was a happy camper that day and even got some sweet hugs and kisses from her boyfriend Brooks at daycare!

Hugging her new animal friends

Reading the book from Grandma and Grandpa

Last year and this year!

Brooks and Anna hugging and kissing

Doug and I went out Saturday night for our first non-family member babysitter date night!!  We had Miss Sandy's daughter Heather come and basically get paid to watch TV, as I put Anna down to bed and off we went.  She didn't even move apparently and most importantly I didn't even worry/think about it!  I knew they'd be fine.  Anna knows Heather from daycare and 9 times out of 10 (or 9.5 times) she never wakes up to even move positions until after we go up to bed so it wasn't a big deal.  We had a nice date in Red Bank, talked, had delicious food and came home early enough to still get a good night sleep (since someone can't seem to sleep past 6 lately... and has been doing a LOT of crying until someone comes and gets her.  It's always something!)

having a BLAST at the diner eating a huge pancake!

She ate a little bit more & called it a day.  Tons of food!

I think she is getting at least 3 teeth.  Her top 2 canines and at least 1 molar.  Of course... when it rains it pours. So we'll see.  Some days she has been just so whiny and unhappy, like nothing will make it better.  Yesterday we went to see Mike & Christin's new house and more importantly... their new BABY!  Christin had baby John on the 8th and he is so tiny and precious.  Anna had a blast running around with Sonja and their dog Shea.  They jumped on the bed and ran around laughing hysterically.  It will be so fun to watch them play as they get older and can actually talk to each other.  Now it's mostly a game of chase, laughter and tickling.  Very cute.

So it'll be a quiet week - Doug working late a few times and Friday we both took off.  We are FINALLY heading up to Boston for the weekend and unless there is another record breaking snow, we will get there no matter what!! (Hear that Mother Nature?!)  Just seems like we can't catch a break when it comes to seeing Tiff and Kara.  We also have plans for dinner with Doug's cousins and their husbands and we are so looking forward to everything.......  so, get with it weather!

I'm sure I'll have a lot to report after our weekend away (and Anna's big weekend with Grandpa and Grandpa!!  they are all very excited!)

My little boss is awake and banging on her crib after a too-short early nap. I hope this will guarantee an afternoon snooze.  Ah, a girl can dream........

Till next time :)

Um... oops

So here it is February and I said I wouldn't wait this long to write again, but I guess I have to be more realistic.  Sorry to everyone checking in on us for an update, I have been mentally writing posts for weeks but never have the time or desire at the end of a long day to actually get them out!

Let's see where we left off..  (sounds familiar..)

I finally got to go down to Virginia and see Lisa for our girls weekend and it was fabulous. I had a relaxing train ride down on Friday night, got picked up at Union Station in Washington DC and headed back to Lisa's for homemade chili, cupcakes, lots of wine and lots of talking. It was perfect.  We stayed up late without feeling "bad" (aka a baby would wake you up at 6am).  We relaxed, made breakfast, went to see a movie - Silver Linings Playbook (it was AMAZING), walked around her town doing a bit of shopping, went to dinner that night and met up with her friends and boyfriend after and had a great time "out on the town".  Overall it was a little bit of everything and LOTS of time together one on one, which is so rare anymore.  I had the best time.  Sunday morning we got up to head back to Union Station to get the train and unfortunately there was this little thing called inauguration the next day there in Washington. We sat and sat and sat in traffic and all the side streets were blocked. Needless to say, with 3 minutes to go, we were blocks away and I officially missed my train.  Wasn't a huge deal, there was another train 1 hour later and the 3 of us were able to grab breakfast together in the train station before I had to go.  All in all it was a perfect weekend.

Lisa and I out in VA

Little Miss had an accident and got sent home in super tight clothes.  It was hilarious

Look at her buddha belly!

Doug survived well with Anna. His parents came down Friday night and they all had a wonderful time together.  When I left Anna was fighting a little cold and so I of course had my reservations about her mood, but it seems I make Anna crazy - she was a perfect angel while I was gone, only starting her whining/crying/craziness when I got back on Sunday. It was a good dose of "don't you leave me again Mommy".  Message received ;)

MOUTH!

During this time, Anna was supposed to get her 1-year shots (back from December when I put them off before the holidays).  We had an appointment but she was coming down with this cold and I deferred... again.  Made the appointment for a week later and we were going to have to wait over an hour to be seen... at 5pm.  So I made the wise decision to make another appointment for later in the week.  Finally that Friday came, Doug was working from home and we made the appointment, got the 2 shots and everything was FINE.  FINALLY!  Now we don't have to go again until the beginning of March. Let's hope that appointment goes off without a hitch!

She is walking, running everywhere now. Very determined little thing. Loves to use the word NO and is gaining lots of other new words it seems like daily.  She's recently been saying: cheese, boots, duck,  'books' (for her boyfriend Brooks at daycare), O's, something that sounds like she's trying to say cookie.  She makes the moo sound and a funny throat noise trying to oink like a pig. She loves her "giggles" ("her" iphone) and loves playing with the ipad.  Has fallen in love with Toy Story 3 at daycare and apparently also loves "Happy Feet" and has a fun little dance she does because of it.  Before we made the connection we used to joke it was her Michael Jackson dance.  Hilarious.  I'll try to capture it on video sometime soon.  She loves music that one.

Modeling a winter hat.

trying to do some 'arts and crafts'
HA I think I'll just roll on the floor with the paper

This past weekend she got ANOTHER cold, this one bringing with it a very sad and pathetic cough and very stuffy and runny nose. It wasn't too bad Saturday, but Sunday very early she woke up coughing and miserable and we spent the rest of the day trying to cater to her.  She did NOT want to take a nap, she made that very clear.  She didn't really want to do much of anything except be held.  So we did a lot of holding.  Finally at 1pm I gave up and went for a "nap ride" to try and secure an actual nap.  It finally worked and she ended up sleeping over an hour, although woke up crying and crying again.  It was a long day. I had been up since 5am and had very little left to give by the end of the night.  We gave a bath, loaded her with some Motrin and hoped for the best.  Thankfully she was feeling gracious and slept till 7:20! Woke up in a better mood too, babbling and talking to herself rather than the early morning cry/whimper/whine fests we've been having.  I hate colds. I hate boogers. I hate boogie-sucking. My first mission once she starts understanding a bit more is NOSE BLOWING TRAINING.  Forget potty training.   Here's a tissue, have at it.

Sad baby needed lots of holding

Also, a funny side note.  The other day we had unseasonably warm temperatures and Miss Sandy decided to take them outside to play during the day. Anna apparently would NOT walk in the grass.  She stood where she was put down and wouldn't walk! Finally Miss Sandy took her into the gazebo and she played in there with Brooks but I found this hilarious. When I brought her home Doug and I tried again and the same exact thing happened.  She stood in one spot, arms up and cried!  The funniest/weirdest thing ever.  Only explanation I can think of is that the ground is hard, uneven and foreign to her.  She's used to walking on carpet or hardwood floors and has no clue what that is.  I am hoping as the weather gets nicer she'll be a little less resistant.  (She also hated the snow we got yesterday, but that's not news)

Cute picture.... just after a bath MELTDOWN

playing with Aunt Jeanie's brushes at the boatyard

So we're just trying to get through the winter here. Cold days, boring days and can't wait for better weather to get outside and do stuff again!  Looking forward to a trip up to Boston on the 22nd for the weekend; but other than that not too much going on.  How many days till spring? 44?

Hope to be back sooner rather than later, but don't hold me to it ;)