Sick Sick Sick!

I have really had enough of this HORRIBLE cold and flu season.  For some reason it has hit Utah really bad this year.  Everyone's kids have been catching one thing after another.  It's terrible but I'm glad to know that we aren't the only ones going through this.  This last weekend can you guess what happened????  Yep!  She got sick again.  This time was the worst though.  She was throwing up, grown up style, for 2 days with a fever.  I kept a close eye on her, kept her on fluids so she didn't dehydrate, and did more laundry than I care to think about.  I thought I would watch her for a day or two and if she didn't get any better than I would take her into the Dr.  Sunday she seemed to be doing a little better and by Monday she was doing a lot better.  She still has the cold part and is so congested.  In fact this morning I had to rush into her room because she was choking from all the mucus draining in her throat.  I have had to keep her nose plunged (which she obviously hates and fights me on) and I have been sneaking her a little decongestant.  I know most people will think I'm horrible for giving her that, but in small doses I really don't see the harm and it has made her life a lot easier.  Today has been a pretty good day and I don't think that I'm gonna take her in because she seems to be getting over things fairly quickly.  We still can't wait to get to Texas and leave all this sickness behind us!  In fact Gregory hasn't been feeling too well and neither has my little brother Matt.  The best part about being sick is the Homemade Chicken Noodle soup!  Boy oh boy does it smell really good right now simmering on the stove getting ready to be tonight meal.  Can't wait.

Tomorrow is a big day for me.  My parents are leaving for Hawaii for a week and in that week I get to leave Lydia with various relatives while I work Full Time.  I don't know how some parents do it and I'm sure I wouldn't have quite the same anxiety if she wasn't still a little sick and clingy.  My parents are thrilled to be going and they really do deserve a good break and vacation.  Things will be just fine I know but I have never been away from her for more than 5 hours at a time and most of those times are when she is sleeping anyway.  It will be a new experience for me.

Lydia, The Destroyer of Worlds

Last Thursday as we were playing with Lydia we pulled out some blocks for her to play with.  Well we decided to build a tower since her interest in them was dwindling.  Much to our surprise she would come running over every time and knock them over with a GRRRR!  It was so funny.  We got some great videos of our little Godzilla, or as her daddy affectionately named her; Lydia, The Destroyer of Worlds (do ya think he reads a little too much fantasy?)!

Valentine's Day Party

Last night we all got together as a family to make Valentines for Great Grandma and Grandpa Wager.  We ate homemade pizza, decorated cookies, and even got Rich and Summer on a short video chat so they could join in on the fun.  We had a great time and the kids all loved making their own cookies to eat.

I let the kids choose the colors they wanted for the frosting and after a few compromises we got blue, red and purple. 

For all those worried mom's out there, no the food colors that I use do not stain (clothing or skin).  They are the gel food colors that you get from JoAnn's or from Walmart in their cake decorating section.

My beautiful flowers that the sweetest man in the world gave to me!  I love my husband SO much!  Thank you baby.

It was a long day for me but I got A TON done in a short amount of time.  I was very pleased with myself at the end of the day and was even able to go to bed early.  So far today has been a great day too, besides not sleeping much last night because of a little squeaker who will remain unnamed!!!  I'm thinking we need to do something about her not sleeping through the night pretty soon.  I just haven't had the heart to let her cry herself back to sleep in the middle of the night (nor the ability since we have lived in places where other people would be affected by her crying than just us).  But I think it has come to that point.  She was sick for so long so I didn't mind getting up with her, but now it is time.  I told Kelvin that he will have to stay up with me so I don't break the deal and get her and also for a little moral support.  The Dr told us that she would be sleeping all night after only a couple nights of this.  Hopefully she will learn fast and it will only be one night, but I have a stubborn child and she might just push it as far as she can.  Frustrating!  If anyone else has a better suggestion I would be more than happy hearing about it.  Lydia will be 1 in a month and should be sleeping through the night by now.  We might try this weekend or wait until next week when my parents go to Hawaii so they won't have to be bothered by it.  Either way, I hope to be getting some more sleep soon so I can start getting up early and doing my workouts.

Happy Valentines Day!

Sending everyone a special "Love Bug"!  Have a very happy Valentines Day.

Peek-A-Boo

On Thursday Lydia was having so much fun when daddy came home that she started to play her new favorite game, Peek-A-Boo. 

It started with this....

Came to this.....

 Went to this.....

And ended with this.

She started playing this game earlier in the week but of course I didn't have my camera handy so my mom and I just laughed as we watched her play with a blanket.  Such a little personality!

The Last Upgrade...Hopefully

Lydia has finally out grown her old car seat and has now upgraded to a toddler car seat.  Well it's a car seat that can go forward or back.  She still needs to be rear facing which is what we have her in the car now, just in a new styling seat!  This new seat should last us the rest of her car seat/booster seat days as it goes up to 100 lbs.  Of course there were those few jokes that she will probably be 13 and still about 85 lbs because she is so skinny and tall, but we won't make her stay in it that long. ;)  When we checked out all the reviews everyone said that they LOVED it!  The only problems mentioned in the reviews were that it is difficult to tighten when rear facing (true) and that it is bulky and takes up a lot of room in a sedan (also true).  Since she will only be rear facing for a few more months we decided that we could deal with the tightening issue for that long and since we have a van, the bulkiness issue doesn't really apply.  So far we really like this seat and Lydia is so happy for more room and to be sitting up a little more.  She also can see more from the windows and likes that too.  I can't wait for her to be forward facing as she loves to watch what is coming and not so much what is going.  We have to sit her sideways in the carts at the grocery store because she want's to see what's out there.  That's my little explorer!

Notice the cup holder on the side.  The fabric is very soft and one lady who left a review said she was from Phoenix and the fabric and metal never got hot.  That was a big plus for me since Texas can get a little hot.

Thank You Nana

On Sunday while we were at Marta's she said that Krystal had brought back a suitcase from Texas and it had some stuff in it for Lydia.  When we figured out what it was we opened the baggy to find 2 aprons that Gregory's mom made.  They are so cute and we are excited to have them!  Thank you Nana!

A Sad Few Days

On Monday Lydia woke up and I could tell that she just wasn't feeling very well.  She had some very runny and messy diapers but I held her most of the day and she took decent if not long enough naps.  I didn't think much of it when we put her to bed, but when she woke up at 11pm I could tell by her cry that something was wrong.  I tried to comfort her the best I knew how and calmed her down after changing her diaper.  After being in bed for about 8 min she started to cry again.  We went on and off like this for 2 hours when I finally woke Gregory up and asked if he could calm her down because I was so tired and it wasn't working.  I had changed a few diapers during that 2 hour time frame.  After 10 min of her screaming bloody murder I got up and went to check on them.  He sat her up and she let out the loudest burp I had ever heard from a baby.  I thought at that point that that was what was probably wrong and she would go back to sleep but I was very wrong!  Her crying got worse and I tried to take her but all she wanted was her daddy.  When my parents came down a short while later they also knew something was wrong.  When I told them that she had been up since 11pm my dad told me he knew.  Oops!  Sorry!  He wasn't mad she had kept him up just worried because they could tell that something was wrong.  After a blessing Gregory got her a little more calmed down and they went into the downstairs family room to watch a movie.  She still only wanted him.  He sat her up because she screamed whenever we laid her down.  After getting them settled for a while, I went back to bed so I could take the early morning shift as we both knew that she wasn't going to sleep very long.  When she woke up at 5:30am I took her and changed her diaper again and gave her a bath when she wouldn't go back to sleep.  She cried and cried the entire time something that she NEVER does.  This scared me a little because she usually calms right down when I give her a bath.  We put her back to bed and she slept for a couple more hours and then had a very hard rest of the day not taking good naps and having really bad diapers.  Of course she got really bad diaper rash that quickly turned into bad sores.  We have been using lots of diaper rash cream and corn starch to soak up all the liquid (thanks for the tip mom) and in case you are wondering, the corn starch really works!  (You just have to use very liberally)  While her little booty is still very sore and even looks like it's going to bleed in some places, it is getting better and she is feeling better.  It is one of the hardest things to see your child in pain and not be able to do anything about it.  You feel so helpless and want to make it all better but you can't.  This was how the 4 grown ups in the house were feeling.  Matt slept through all her screaming from 11pm - 2:30 am (well, he is a teenager).  Total sleep time for Lydia was about 7 hours when she normally gets 11.  She was exhausted all day!!!!

Today has been a better day.  Although a few diapers have been bad, she is perking up and has a little more color to her.  She has also been eating more and been happier.  I am pretty sure that I know what happened.  I think it was something that she ate and gave her BAD stomach cramps and diarrhea.  This was why she wanted her dad because she was scared and really hurting and didn't understand what was happening.  Daddy's make kids feel safe.  Gregory was pretty thrilled that she wanted him to comfort her because he so rarely gets to.  It made his day and didn't bother me one bit that she didn't want me.  After the night of no sleep Gregory and I caught sleep whenever we could yesterday and I was scared for last night thinking that I would be up with her all night.  Gregory could get work off on Tuesday because he didn't have any classes but Wed he had to go to class so I was it for her last night.  My mom said that she would help and I gratefully accepted.  Turns out that the poor little thing was so exhausted that she woke up at 11:45pm that night only to be practically asleep when I laid her down again and gave her a bottle and didn't wake up until 8am this morning.  I felt good all day!  She took a 2 hour nap this morning which gave me time to do my workout and shower and get my scripture studying in.  I can only pray that tonight will be just as good.  We put her down an hour early last night because she was so tired and I did that again tonight so hopefully it won't backfire on me and she will wake up 1 hour early tomorrow. 

Lydia is doing much better today and hasn't had problems with her tummy.  I am confident that the issue is over and will not be feeding her certain foods for a long long time!!!

Feel's Like A Grown Up

Lately Lydia has discovered a couple little chairs that my parents have with a little table.  She will pull them and push them around and then figured out that she could sit in them.  She motioned to me that she wanted to sit in one and I put her in and she got the biggest smile on her little face.  I think it was because she felt like a big girl.  Now she loves to sit in them up against the table playing with her toys.  It's so funny because she won't sit in the blue one, only the red.  I tried putting her in the blue one and she immediately got out and walked to the red one.  Such a funny girl.  I think I know what we will be getting her for her first birthday.

On a different note, Marta and I went to a cousins baby shower on Sat and we took Lydia with us.  She was so excited when we walked in because there was a little boy there who was her size.  They looked like magnets when I put her down, immediately interlocked in what resembled a bear hug.  While giggling we finally pulled them apart although the little boy came to Lydia whenever he was released from his mothers arms and they laughed and shared things they "found" like plastic spoons and food.  While Sarah was opening her gifts I went to the restroom and when I came back I found Marta walking with Lydia who was crying.  I then saw the little boy come up to her and want to hug her but she promptly pushed him away (almost pushed him down).  When I asked Marta what had happened she told me that the boy had hugged her but knocked them both over and he fell on top of her.  I guess she wasn't too pleased with that because that was when she pushed him away and the love affair ended!  Ahhh kids! 

A little bit after the crush ending, I was walking with Lydia in the half of the Gym that wasn't being used in the church and she found the garbage can.  She started pushing it and pushed it all over the room.  At one point she stopped and knelt down to touch the wheels.  At first I picked her up and wouldn't let her because they were really dirty but then I realized that she was learning and figuring out that the wheels were making the garbage can move.  It was so fun to watch her figure out how they worked and then continue pushing the can as far as it would go and went in circles and everything.  A few of the women there noticed what she was doing and couldn't help but watch her.  They were impressed as was I and Marta.  She is bright child and I can't believe the things that she is doing already.  While she is not talking much yet, she is still way ahead of her age in learning and development and even her Dr has been impressed with her abilities.  She knows what the cow says and will repeat "moo" when we ask her.  Crazy little one!  We love her dearly and love playing with her.  She is at a fun stage, albeit clingy, but she is such a joy.  We are so blessed to have her in our lives. 

Quite the music lover

Yesterday my friend Heidi came over with her two kiddo's and spent some time at our house.  Her oldest daughter Ellie noticed that there was a guitar in the front room and asked if she could play it.  We told her she could if she was gentle and we all proceeded into that room to supervise.  Lydia went crazy!  She is such a funny little dancer and loves any kind of music even if it's just whistling or Matt's tapping on random objects and will start to dance.  She had some crazy moves yesterday and we all got a kick out of watching her and so today I had Matt play the guitar to see if we could capture some of it on video.  Luckily she did it again and I got some good footage.  Such a silly little girl.  I can't wait to see what her talents will be when she gets older.  Whenever someone is playing the piano, she will run into the room to play with them.  Everyday at least once she makes me take her to the piano and sit on my lap so she can play the piano.  And now that she has discovered the guitar, she is always in the room playing it.  I am surprised at how gentle she is with it too.  Whatever may come, she is very interested in music and everything that makes music (except she didn't like our electric guitar so much when Matt played it). 

Dancin' to Matt's music!

Rockin' out with Uncle Matt!  This is one of my favorite videos!

Trying to play the piano. 

She's already figured it out...

So today Lydia and I were playing upstairs in the family room when she started to open the cabinets that hold the DVD's.  I told her no and that she couldn't do that.  She knows she is not supposed to get into them so she shut the sliding drawer when I told her to but she caught her little pinky just slightly while shutting it.  I thought she would start crying but my little girl is tough and just shook her hand and then went for the drawer again.  This time I had my hand holding it closed so she couldn't pull it out.  Well she then promptly started to cry and I thought it was because of when she shut her little finger in the the drawer.  So I held my arms out to her but the little stinker bypassed me and headed toward the kitchen......where my mom was!  She went running to Grandma.  She was so mad at me because I wouldn't let her do what she wanted that she refused to look at me for a little bit and only would be comforted and go to Grandma.  While it did her heart some good to know that her Grand daughter loves her so much, I got a little worried about what lies ahead for her terrible two's!  I foresee A LOT of prayers in our midst.

I Got My New Shoes On and Everythings Gonna Be Alright!

My mom, Lydia and I were at the store the other day when I had to go to the bathroom so my mom took Lydia for a little stroll in the cart.  They ended up wandering in the kids shoe department and that is where I found them when I returned.  In Lydia's hands was a pair of sparkling red shoes that looked like Dorothy's from the Wizard of Oz.  I know you have all seen them around.  They were in Lydia's hands and my mom then told me that when she took them off the shelf to check them out, Lydia got a BIG smile on her face and grabbed them.  She refused to let them go the rest of the shopping trip.  My mom got such a kick out of it that she had to by them for her little grand daughter.  Every time I pulled the shoes out she gets really excited and wants to hold them.  The girl is in love with them.  Cracks me up.  So on Sunday we got her all dressed up and put her new shoes on!

She is so excited to be wearing her red shoes.

The bow didn't last very long.  It makes me sad that she won't wear any of the ones she has but there is not much that I can really do about it.

She and my little brother Matt sure do get along great.  She really loves this guy!

And a close up of her favorite shoes!  They are pretty darn cute and I think she makes them even cuter.  The Young Women all went nuts when they saw her with them on Sunday and Lydia didn't mind the attention one bit.