A Party Fitting a Princess...

 

When I was born, my mom was quite ill. She endured an extra lengthy, high risk pregnancy to get me into this world. And when I finally arrived, I think I left her worn, ill, and tired. At the time, my sister was living at home and attending college. She stepped in and became like a second mother for me.

For my early years we were quite inseparable. She used to take me everywhere with her - even on a few dates with her now husband of thirty years. We are still close. Her own handsome son is almost a teenager. I know she always wanted a son, but I also know she always wanted a baby girl of her own, too - probably remembering our early days together.

When she said she wanted to throw Bebe Sister a birthday party, I thought, "Great. I don't have the bandwidth with everything going on so this will be wonderful." Of course, I seem to always forget that my sister could have made a career out of organizing parties. I know she might have gone a bit over-board but since I'm the one blessed with the baby girl, I am happy to share.

So here you have it, photos galore of our family party for our sweet little princess. Many of the photos lack faces. I apologize for that but many of the people attending the party prefer to not have facial photos online.

This is me just prior to the gathering - I was trying to be artsy be taking a self-portrait in the balloon's reflection. (By the way, take a good look at that sweater - it accidentally went through the wash so it will be up-cycled into some pants for Bebe Sister very soon.)

Bebe Sister and her Cousin Dede - he was entertaining her so the rest of us could enjoy some lunch. He is the best big cousin - really great with both the kids, actually.

Party games - once again, T Rex Dad won the chop stick game. He is undefeated three times and counting. He is challenging his sister and his sister-in-law here.

My mom and aunt working on another party game - word scramble. Gotta love Auntie in a crown!

Even T Rex insisted on wearing a crown.

 

Cake time - my sister made the entire cake from scratch - it was delicious. Apparently, it took three attempts to meet her satisfaction level.

Ready to have her cake and eat it too - pinata to the left - a long standing family tradition.

Clapping along to Cousin's singing.

Mmm - delicious cake made even better when eaten off a princess figurine.

More of that great cake because I was just having the best time with it!

A few posed shots...

With Auntie JAZ.

With her Mama.

With her Nana.

T Rex Dad took most of these photos, hence his absence in them. And he also took her official one year old photos this day, too. Those will be forthcoming and published on her blog soon.

Thank you to my sis for making this event amazingly special, memorable, non-stressful and the best one year old birthday party I've ever attended.

Walking Update...

I am declaring the official walking date for Bebe Sister to be Tuesday, January 19th, 2010. When I arrived home from a very long but still very interesting day at the woman's clinic (you can probably deduce what I did all day!), Bebe Sister saw me, crawled out of her Nana's arms, and holding onto one of her brothers Cars took seven steps to me. 

Since I stated the walking definition as more than 4 steps, I would say this qualifies. Since then, she is now standing up on her own from the floor and taking several steps. It's still quite different than when her brother started walking. He just stood up one day, started walking, and then never stopped.

However, she may not have walked really early but she's quite the chatter box. The other day I was on the phone and she kept insisting she wanted the phone - pointing and saying, "Dis...Dat" (this...that). When I finished my call I handed her the phone and asked, "Do you have Mommy's phone?" She replied, "Yessssss....Mama". I looked at her and exclaimed, "What did you say?" After which T Rex replied, "She said, 'Yes, Mama'". I could not stop laughing after that! If you'd like to read more about her speech and her one year check up, you can go here.

So, here's a recent walking video of Little Sister...

Our winner of the homemade item is Nina. She guessed the exact date for walking!

This is how...

So, ever wonder how I get my studying done these days?


Last year when Bebe Sister was just a tiny bug, this was how I studied. It was delightful. But now that she's walking (more on that as soon as I get a video uploaded) and for the most part no longer an infant but rather a toddler, I have to be a bit more creative.


I set up bins of toys in a line in the living room. Then I sit with my laptop on the couch so that I can look directly over my laptop and see what they are doing. Bebe Sister is at that stage where she kind of needs to be watched constantly because she can turn anything into a choking hazard. T Rex is actually getting much easier and he can go into the playroom for 15 minutes and I can be fairly certain he has not climbed out the window or built a bomb or set something on fire - I'm sure this is all forthcoming. 

 

However, as you can see, it leaves quite the wake of devastation. That's alright, when these photos were taken I was actually mid-lecture. And sometimes the kids take interest in my lectures and want to come listen or watch - that's actually pretty cute. 

  

The best piece of advice anyone every gave me as a new parent - be flexible. This is one example of me being flexible. 

What was the best piece of parenting advice any one ever gave you?

Life is Good...Wait and See

Both kids have their very first ear infections. 

We took the wait and see approach with T Rex meaning no antibiotics. This was appropriate because of his age and that he was asymptomatic. However, when he developed a fever and ear pain a week later this tells us the infection has not cleared on its own. 

Bebe Sister was also diagnosed with an ear infection earlier this week. Temperature of 103 with accompanying chills. All this at the tail end of the cold/virus. Clearly indicating bacteria took advantage of the situation. After 24 hours of antibiotics she was feeling 100% better. Hence, the bacteria must be sensitive to the amoxicillin she took. Therefore, when T Rex manifested symptoms this morning, we opted to start the same antibiotics obviously with different strengths.

I liked the "wait and see" approach with the ear infection. It keeps the use of antiobiotics down. Antibiotics account for more adverse drug reactions than any other drug - blood thinners and heart medications included. Additionally, one in six ER/urgent care visits are due to adverse reactions from antibiotics - usually allergy related. Plus, at least half of ear infections are viral and therefore antiobiotics will not be useful.

The "wait and see" approach is not appropriate for everyone - babies under 6 months should always be treated. If there is pain or the infection is severe - treatment should be initiated. Really, the wait and see approach is for otherwise healthy children with uncomplicated otitis media (middle ear infection).


Despite 8 straight weeks of illness and utilizing the health care system way too much lately, life is still good. Especially when I see how much love these kids have for each other.

Happy Birthday, To Our Little Lady...

Happy Birthday to our:

Bebe Sister

Little Lady

Lady Bug

Princess

Bean

Changa

Sera-Kat

 

It's not that you're the easiest baby EVER
Or that you rarely cry or freely give snuggles. 
It's not that you're the petite baby girl we always wanted
Or that you're cute in your home made clothes. 
It's not that your brother absolutely adores you
Or that you're a girlly girl who loves dolls and playing tea
But can still drive Cars with Big Brother like any little brother could or tough as nails.


It's not that your entrance into this world was perfectly timed.
Or that you're still very feminine even when wearing Brother's hand-me-downs.
It's not that you wave like a princess and have the cutest baby feet
Or that you eat anything and everything (especially Mom's home-cooked chili and spaghetti).
It's not that you look so cute in your cloth diapers when not sitting on the potty
Or that your smile can melt hearts and part seas.
It's not that you snuggle into the nook, suck your thumb, and wake up in our family bed...


But it's your sweet gentle spirit that has filled so many places in our hearts. Which explains the many names we've bestowed upon you. We did not know how much you would add to our lives. We love you so much. It's been an amazing and unforgettable first year of your life!

A Great Excuse...And Any Day Now...

When I was completing my undergraduate studies, I always had a professor or two that would specifically state in the syllabus that everyone had to show up for the final exam - no exceptions unless you were experiencing child birth at the exact time of the exam. I always thought how wonderful it would be to get to use that excuse.

Last year at this time, we had a sushi date followed by a dinner gathering planned at our home. It was all scheduled with the caveat that I could go into labor at any time and we might have to cancel. My due date was still almost a week off and since I went 2+ weeks over with T Rex, I felt fine planning such gatherings. Additionally, the school semester had already started so no matter what, the timing of the baby's birth would impact my school. At least I thought it would. (Seriously, what was I thinking? I was more worried about the impact on my school and not that I was about to experience child birth. Priorities...?)


Well...the night before our sushi lunch I emailed my friend and told her I was having some contractions and I thought I should cancel lunch. She was fine with that having only recently given birth herself. I think she was a bit nervous I'd have the baby during lunch! And since she's a nurse and her husband and surgeon, they'd be the likely health care providers assisting! We opted to cancel and reschedule. (We still have yet to have that lunch date! We're hopeful, though.)


Well, as you can read here our baby was indeed born that weekend. And having been so preoccupied with weirdly prioritised thoughts, I had completely forgotten it was also a three day weekend. In the end, I did not miss a single moment of school. However, I did get to use my really awesome excuse for canceling our gatherings - child birth! But alas, not for any school related activities - which I'm glad.


Reflecting on this makes me remember those feelings of anticipation. The feeling of "this could happen any time now - how exciting!" Lately we've been experiencing this with our little girl. She is on the verge of walking and every day we think "this could be the day" and then it's not. But I just know she's going to surprise us when the timing is exactly right. In the mean time, it's kind of cool to relive that "any day now" feeling. 

(Yes, I made her shirt/pants - another completed project.)

(Stay tuned  - we had her family gathering for her birthday today so lots of wonderful photos of the event coming.)


So, anyone care to place bets on when she'll start walking. Walking being defined as more than 4 unaided steps? (Homemade prize to first person who guesses the correct date.)

Bounce...

We went to a birthday party several weeks ago. I just found these photos from our fun time. Here are a few of my favorites...

The license plate on this cozy coupe says "Princess". Interesting that she gravitated to this exact one.

T Rex in the pirate ship bounce house with a long time friend.

T Rex exiting the pirate ship to be greeted by his Bebe Sister.

A the top of the slide - that's T Rex catching some serious air.

It was a fun time. I think we'll be visiting there again soon. Especially now that we're all on the mend.

Do you have a favorite place or activity when you need to burn some toddler or toddler-like energy off?