A Bad Week

I know it's only Tuesday, but this has not been a good week. So far:

• Sunday - Matt took Julia for her weekly bloodwork and it took six pokes to draw enough blood. They were late getting home and we missed church.
• Monday - Cooper nearly got run over by Julia's bus. Luckily the boys that ride the bus with Julia saw Cooper in the driveway and told the driver (not Anna) to stop.
• Tuesday - Cooper went to the vet and got sick (carsick?) on the way home. He threw up all over Erica, her carseat and the backseat of the Camry. He has also been crying all day - the injection sites must be very sore and he is a big baby.
• Tuesday - Luke almost got hit by a car as he was getting off the bus. Matt saw the whole thing happen, but only luck kept Luke from getting hit. Here's how it happened: Luke needed to go back on the bus because he had forgotten his coat and Matt crossed the street with him. Luke grabbed his coat, got off the bus and started running across the street. In the meantime, an old lady tried to go around the bus from behind - even though the lights were on and the stop sign was out. She will be getting a citation. She also heard harsh words from Matt.
• Tuesday - Grandma Ertl died. She has been having failing health for the last month (since GI surgery on Labor Day where they removed 6-8 inches of small intestines), and she has been in hospice care for several days very near death. Her passing today was a blessing because she is now at peace. But, this comes so close on the heels of losing Grandma Maddie, and it seems like deja vu all over again. What a double whammie.

I would like to say things can only get better from here, but I'm a bit afraid to see what the rest of the week might bring.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Sometimes we see ourselves in our kids in the most unexpected ways. For the last few weeks, Erica has been carting around many, many babies. There are at least seven of them in bed with her every night. There's a regular rotation of dollies in the stroller. Today, all of the babies were missing from her bed. Why, you ask? Because she took them all out into the living room for a party. When she talks about what she wishes for, it's always 'babies' - real babies or dollies, I'm not sure. Bottom line, this girlie of mine loves her babies. Just like her mama.

A Member of the Family

One might expect this post to be about our newest member of the family, little Cooper. He arrived just a couple of days ago, and he is cute, and we are completely in love already. But, this post is about a furry guy that has been a part of this family for much longer - Beebe.



Alex recieved this little guy for a baby present from my Colorado friend, Lynn Cranston. He arrived packaged with other goodies in a little red Radio Flyer wagon. By the time Alex was five or six months old, Beebe was already a favorite friend. Since Alex was too young to name him, I came up with the name Beebe (B.B. for blue bear - Matt says that the little rattles inside Beebe sound like little beebees, so the name fits that way, too.)

Alex became more and more attached to Beebe. Of course, he slept with the furry blue guy every night. But, that wasn't enough. By the time Alex was two, Beebe seemed to go everywhere with us, including: family vacation to Chicago, state fair, school, zoo, train festival at Lamm's, HarleyFest, parades and many more places.

Two outings deserve special attention. Those were the times that Beebe got lost. The first time was at the movie theater (Polar Express). Once we realized Beebe had stayed behind, we made franic phone calls to the theater. The first two times, the staff weren't able to find him. On the third call, we begged to come search the seats ourselves (since Matt had a pretty good idea where he was hiding). Finally, he was located, picked up and home before morning.

The second time Beebe was abandoned was at Quarry Quest. In fact, Beebe was left in the PortaPotty. Once again, as soon as we realized that Beebe didn't return home with the guys, frantic phone calls ensued. At nine o'clock at night, we were able to track down the woman who coordinated the event. She was already home, but she thought she remembered seeing Beebe at the lost and found. And, sure enough, we talked to her on Monday, and Beebe was sent home in a padded envelope. Luck was on our side once again.

Two notes about losing Beebe. First, both happened on outings with Matt. And, after the second time, Beebe was grounded to the car on all family trips. Second, it is amazing just how awful I felt when Beebe went missing. I know he is just a stuffed animal, but it gave me a pit in my stomach to think he might be gone for good. After all, Alex loved him like a living, breathing buddy (in fact, Alex once wished out loud for Beebe to come to life when he threw a coin into the wishing pool at the Domes). And, the little guy had somehow taken on a personality...he had nicknames (Beebs, Beebmeister), we made him costumes at Halloween (matching Alex, of course), he was included in the annual Christmas picture. He just seemed to be a part of the goings on around here.

Now that Alex is nine, Beebe does not join our family outings. And last year he was not in the Christmas picture. Alex still keeps him in his bed, but he does not clutch him tightly every night while he sleeps anymore. But, Beebe still holds an honorary spot in the family.

Julia Bedulia

Oh what a summer it has been for my little lady. After completely shutting down for the last several weeks of school, she has blossomed this summer. She has been more verbal, more active, more happy, and even a bit more sassy. It has been a joy to see her have one good day after another. Even though we've had some rough days, her really good days have far outnumbered the bad. Here's what she's been doing:

• Playing with beads almost constantly
• Opening and closing her left hand to grasp items
• Using her vision to turn towards sound and look at things on her lap
• Spending 30-45 minutes in her stander without complaining
• Swinging and swinging and swinging
• "Talking" to us - she responding to questions and comments with vocalizations, and her timing is too perfect to be a coincidence. She likes to be part of the conversation, and I don't think she always agrees with us.
• Staying awake nearly all day every day (just some short catnaps once in a while after a rough seizure

Joy, joy, joy - our little girl is showing us what a hard worker and contented kid she is!

Sweet Success

I'm not sure what to think about all of the bathroom talk around here lately...I guess it's just a reflection of my exciting life.

So, to round out the potty talk, here's one more story. Last night Mark and Audrey were here for a visit. We were all out on the patio finishing up dinner when Alex and Erica went inside. A few minutes later, they both came running back outside in a flurry of excitement. Erica came with her underwear around her ankles shouting, "I pooped, I pooped!" Alex followed closely behind carrying the potty chair and adding, "She pooped in the potty chair!" Oh lordy, sweet success (although it did not smell all that sweet). I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I got up off my chair and started jumping up and down, clapping and shouting, "You did it, you did it!" A true moment of parenting pride.

And, no accidents today either. So, I think it's safe to say we've made it over the potty training hump. I am nearly ready to declare this week's potty party a success. And, there are still a few M'n'Ms in the bag.

Erica Rocks

Before today, Erica had never peed or pooped in the potty chair or on the toilet. When asked if she would like to try, she has emphatically said, "No! I will use the potty chair when I am as tall as you, Mommy!"

Obviously, we needed a new approach. So, today we began a potty party. For the last couple of days, I have told Erica that starting today, she would wear underwear all day every day. And, there are treats - each time someone pees in the right place, they get one M'n'M - there's two for a number two. Erica tried to sneak in a new rule - 3 M'n'M's if you toot in the potty chair, but I vetoed that one. The boys also tried to work the rules, peeing only small amounts at a time so they could pee more often and qualify for more goodies. I was not fooled.

Overall, the day was a mixed success. Two pees in the potty chair with no pee accidents (except for a wet pull-up during naptime) and one poop in her underwear. Our little girl was VERY excited about her successes (we called daddy at work and grandpa to share the news). I told Erica she was the "top star" today and that she "rocks". So, she has happily been telling me over and over (and anyone else that will listen), "I rock. I am the top star." And, there were some tears over the poop accident. According to her, the accident was my fault because, as she explained, "I was in the garage and you weren't there and I didn't want to poop on the floor because you would be mad at me." Huh? My best translation is that she was in the garage and couldn't get the door to the house open by herself so she couldn't make it to the potty chair in time. But, that is just a guess.

All in all, I definitely think we're headed in the right direction. It's too early to predict total success, but it's a distinct possibility.

The bad news - I have not peed nearly enough to justify the number of M'n'M's that I have eaten. Even if the toot rule was in place, I've eaten way more than my share of treats. At this rate the very large bag of M'n'M's will be gone long before we can declare Erica potty-trained. I guess I have to start drinking more.

What Are You Eating, Mom?

Tonight, we went to Texas Roadhouse to celebrate my week of full-time work. I know it's only Thursday and I have another full day before it's officially a complete week, but Fridays are too busy for us to take the whole gang out for dinner, and besides that, Matt and I are going to the Brewer game tomorrow night.

About halfway through our meal, Luke reminded me of a very funny thing that happened the last time we ate at Texas Roadhouse. I like to have the sweet potato - loaded. That means it's covered in caramel sauce and then topped with marshmallows that are all toasty brown. Luke took a long look at it and said, "Mom, are you eating a pile of poop?" My response, "Yes, Luke. I pay a lot of money to have poop for dinner. Would you like to have a bite?" He just cracks me up. However, in all fairness, I do have to say that the loaded sweet potato in the dim light of the restaurant does taste much better than it looks.

Another fun part of this place - the dancing. Luke has decided that dancing is his calling, and he typically joins right in the line dancing with the waitstaff. In fact, the kid has some pretty good moves. He certainly did not get this from his mother or father; it's his very own gift. Now, he has been asking if he could please take dance lessons at Texas Roadhouse. Tonight, one of the hostesses (named Erica) taught him a couple of moves to practice before his next visit.

And, Erica's favorite part of the night - she was able to get her own booster seat, and "there were no guys or ladies there. I got it by myself." Whatever makes her happy, I guess.