Runny Noses and Grumpy Kids

My poor kids. Last Thursday they were fine, healthy, and happy. Friday was the preschool holiday party at which, I noticed Aidan had a runny nose. Well, it all went downhill from there. By the time Nana and Grandpa got here, both kids were congested and draining. By the time Saturday got here, poor Olivia couldn't sleep on her back so she slept in her car seat for a couple days. Saline nasal spray really seemed to help her as did the humidifier. Monday she seemed a lot better and I thought we'd dodged a trip to the doc. Aidan was much better on Sunday too. But like his little sister, his congestion has returned too. So, benadryl, a humidifier in his room, and that mentholated soap in his bath have been in order. They all seem to help but he hasn't kicked it yet. His poor face got chapped from all the wiping but even that seems improved since a little aquaphor and lip balm. The drainage is making him cough a little in the morning but that seems to be the only time. I think he only has a cold and there isn't much that can be done. Olivia, I'm not sure. She had a fever Saturday night but it broke with tylenol and didn't return. She isn't sleeping at night very well and has been a cranky pants today. She has fought sleep. Poor thing, on top of it all is still battling those teeth. Although I see white on her bottom gums, nothing has come through. And I see a lot of white. I think it's really bothering her which creates a problem for me. Which is it really? Is it a cold and possible ear infection or it is teething which won't improve until those puppies come through? Not to mention the fact that Christmas is days away and we are to be traveling eventually. Ugh. I really thought we had dodged the doctor but I made an appointment for Olivia tomorrow morning. I'll give her one more night but somehow, I don't think she'll sleep any better. It's going to be a long night. I just hope the doctor has some ideas about how to help the kids out.

Aidan's Preschool Party

Aidan's preschool class carolled in the halls, made ornaments, saw Santa again, and got presents from the teachers. They also gave us parents calendars they had made using hand prints. Really cute! Aidan did a good job but he was ready to go home. Olivia was very good and looked so cute. Enjoy the video and pics!

What a Weekend!

What a weekend! Friday night was my Moms' party for playgroup. What a fun night! We had drinks, played games, and talked until late. It was so needed for all moms who were able to attend. I love my fellow playgroup mommas. I'm so glad I found them after we moved here. Saturday morning I got my hair cut finally. Boy did I need that. Should probably do it more than once every 6-7 mos. I love the cut and it feels so much better! Saturday night was Julien's party for work. It was a lot of fun too. We played Scene It and I tried not to dominate too much. ;) I can't help it if I have a knack for useless trivia. But, we had a secret santa exchange and I now have salad serving spoons, and really nice ones too. And Julien got a 6 pack. Do they know him or what? Nana and Grandpa watched the kids for us. Poor babies have colds. Aidan seems to be doing better than Olivia. She had a rough night and ended up sleeping in her car seat so she could breathe. She's congested, has runny, goopy eyes, and had a fever last night. Luckily the fever is gone and saline drops have helped a lot. But I think we may have to go to the doctor just to check. This is the first time she's been sick and I don't want it to go to her ears. She's been sick since Friday so I feel like she's suffered long enough. I don't know yet if Aidan will be going to his last day of preschool before Christmas break. I may take him with to the doc. We'll see how he feels in the morning after some Claritin at bedtime. His poor face is chapped from having a runny nose and wiping it all the time. I have a feeling though, that it will be a long night for Olivia. She did sleep til 2am last night but had some problems after that. I was hoping for a relaxing week but I don't think that's going to happen. Oh well. Maybe next time. ;) Wish us luck!

Christmas Cookie Heaven!

We're been a flurry of baking activity lately. Since this weekend, I've made 9 dozen cookies (dried cherry and almond cookies, triple chocolate butterscotch pecan cookies, and candy cane blossoms), two batches of party mix and a pan of oatmeal cream cheese butterscotch bars. I have already gone through three pounds of butter. By Friday I will have made 4 dozen more cookies. And next week I plan on making cookies to take to my parents' house. I may even have the courage to try and make kringlas. For the non-Norwegian contingent who read this, they are a cross between a bread and a cookie that are baked in the shape of a pretzel. They are a family tradition and time intensive but so worth the effort. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully next week I will have the time to get all these things done. This week has been crazy busy. Aidan has his playgroup Christmas party, his preschool Christmas party, I have the Moms Playgroup Christmas party, and Julien's work Christmas party. Not to mention that I have a hair appointment (yea!) and I'm getting the house clean for Nana and Grandpa to come. Whew. Thank goodness Olivia has been sleeping well at night. She's been sleeping 7:00ish to 3:00ish. Which is awesome and totally doable. In fact, last night she almost made it to 4a. I really think she's made a breakthrough and will continue to sleep this way. Of course, she's teething right now and was miserable this afternoon so I've probably jinxed myself. Her poor little gums are so swollen. I really hope they poke through soon. I think it'd be cute if she got her two front teeth for Christmas.

I've been doing a lot of Christmas shopping this week too. I only have one person left, which is such a relief. In fact, I have everything for our stockings too. Now, I have to finish wrapping whenever two little people in my house let me. :) But I even have a lot of that done too. It feels nice to be ahead this year. Usually we cut it pretty close. I'm hoping I can relax a little next week and enjoy the holiday. Wouldn't that be nice?

Aidan's "Stupid" Phase and Other News

This week brought us some cold weather and horrible winds. One morning when I was up with Olivia, the wind blew so hard that it made me wonder what of ours was blowing down the street. It sounded like someone was banging on the windows as hard as they could. Everyone else slept through it though. Which is good cause it was another crazy week.

Aidan went for his H1N1 shot this week. The pediatrician's office got another shipment and he was lucky enough to get one. I had Julien meet me there as Aidan has developed a crippling fear of needles since the whole allergist trauma. (Which I got the bill for the blood work this week and I'm mad all over again.) Julien had to hold him and it still took two tries. Aidan cried so hard. On top of it, he refused to take the band aids off for days. The magical healing powers of band aids, I tell you. In fact, with his grumpiness and the weather, I decided to let him stay home from preschool on Wednesday. Even 3 year olds deserve mental health days. Or at least their mommies do. While we played hookey that day, we lost power at the house for two hours. So annoying! I had been talking to a friend about getting together for a play date and I had just said "today's not so great, how about tomorrow" when the lights went out. Definitely a sign that the play date should be another day. The next day, a couple playgroup friends came over with their kids and we all had lunch and hung out. Friday, Aidan went back to preschool and came home with some cute Christmas projects he had made.

Aidan has been saying a new phrase lately. And I know who he gets it from. And unfortunately, I can't be mad at Julien cause it didn't come from him. Recently, Aidan has started saying "I can't get this stupid thing to work." Now, when you hear it, it's cute. But, then he started saying a lot of things were "stupid." I told him that stupid isn't a nice word and even though Mommy says it, it isn't right and I shouldn't be saying it either. Then, in his infinite 3 year old wisdom, he justified it by saying, "but it's about things Mommy." That he had the complex thought process that calling a thing stupid was more acceptable than calling a person stupid is impressive to me. However, I told him it was still a no-go. Then tonight he told me to "come here stupid." Oh really? Where did you get the idea that was ok. We talked about how it wasn't ok to call people stupid ever and it was hurtful. One more and time out for him. So, without thinking it seemed, he did it again. So, time out has had. Crying ensued followed by another little talk and no more "stupids" this evening. I think he might be hearing some of the other kids using it at school and he was repeating it like a script and not even realizing what he was saying. Either that or calling the cats stupid has had more of an impact than we realized. But, it's almost like a phase he's entered. He likes to be the "bad guy" now and likes to play fight. I hope he's not loosing his sweetness. I'm not such a fan of gruff demeanor he's trying out.

Speaking of demeanors, Olivia's has changed since leaving newbornhood. She's mellowed a lot lately. No more difficult, fussy, refluxy baby. No more screaming in the car the entire ride either. (thank goodness!) Much more contented. And she has one of the biggest smiles I've seen on a baby ever. She loves kids and loves loves loves her brother. She is also a big fan of Daddy. She gets a huge smile everyday when he gets home. You can see she's excited to see him. I didn't know she could be a Daddy's girl so young but I think she is. She's really chunked up as we are apparently unable to do the teeny baby thing in this house. :) Her cheeks look like they may explode if they get any bigger and she has the biggest buddha belly. We started cereal over a week ago. She isn't sure about it but she's willing to try. Tried bananas too. She thought that was pretty interesting. She's really stepped up the eating lately to 6-7 ounces every 2-3 hours. In turn, this week she's slept so well at night. In fact, last night she slept from 7:30p-5:00a. It was fantastic! I really hoped she's turned a corner and will continue like this. I could really get used to 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Speaking of sleep, I think it's time for me to head to bed. Tonight's my night off and I want to enjoy it.

A Visit With Santa!

Today was our first field trip with preschool. We headed to the Oakland House for a puppet show, Santa, and a cookie from Mrs. Claus. Aidan was very excited to go see Santa and ask him, in person, for his crane. We got there early and had to wait outside. The place wasn't big enough to have a place to wait until our time. The place is an old mansion but every room on the first floor has an activity that the kids do then you exit the backdoor. (Which was kind of odd. Felt like you were either sneaking out or getting booted out.) So we wait outside and luckily Olivia and I kept snuggled and she stayed warm. Aidan ran around with the kids and got crazy. First you see a puppet show and hear a story. Aidan was very good about sitting and listening. I was impressed as some of the other 3 year olds were a little more hyper. Then they usher you into see Santa. Luckily I was standing next to the door since I had Olivia in the baby carrier and can't really sit with her, and we were 3rd in line. Aidan got up on Santa's lap and asked him for his crane. Which, I don't think "Santa" understood and thought Aidan said train. Oh well. Santa was trying. :) Then Aidan and Olivia got to sit with Santa and I took some pictures. Olivia almost got a handful of Santa's beard which could've been disastrous. Luckily, we were able to get away without de-bearding Santa and were ushered to the kitchen to see Mrs. Claus and get his cookie. Mrs. Claus had a neat dress on, like she was straight out of a book. And the smell of fresh baked cookies all through the house was awesome. So we found a spot to sit real quick and Aidan and I ate our cookies. The ladies there fawned over Olivia and took turns holding her for me. I quickly packed up my camera, the carrier, a blanket, and got Aidan's coat on. He turned to me and told me he didn't want to leave yet. Considering we were there a grand total of 30 minutes, I kind of agreed with him. I was hoping there would be more for him to do. I know it's only $3 to get in but I was hoping for more. But, we were ushered out the back door and out we went. On the way to the car, Aidan and I decided to head to the Bread Co. and get a bagel or something. Our friends Samantha, Gabi and Joey were able to join us too. So we had a little snack and the boys were crazy together. After that we were all beat and headed home for some lunch and a well earned nap after a successful field trip.

Ross-Boon Kid Update!

Thought it was time for a quick update on the Ross-Boon children. I also sent this out as an email so, if you have read this before, please humor me. Olivia just had her 4 month appointment this week. It blows my mind that she's 4 months already. Where did my newborn go? Although since she's not sleeping through the night yet, she's still a newborn in my mind in some ways. I am really looking forward to sleeping again someday. Anyway, Olivia and I went to the doctor while Aidan was at preschool. It was so nice just to have one with me for this. Especially since Olivia was asleep until I had to undress her. I hardly knew what to do with myself. Right now Olivia measures 15 lb 7 oz and 26 inches. She's gained over 3 pounds and 3 1/2" in two months. Wow! I knew she had grown a lot but that's impressive. The doctor said she thought the length measurement must have been off last time. I didn't have the heart to tell her that she was the one who measured Olivia last time. Overall, Olivia is doing great and the doctor was pleased with her. She rolled back to tummy the day before her appointment and hasn't stopped since. She's also working on her two bottom teeth. She started cereal after her doctor's appointment. She's still in the stage of playing with it and pushing it out of her mouth but she seems to like it. I'm sure she'll be enjoying her food before too long. Her hair is getting long now too. I have to brush it behind her ears or it sticks out. She has the biggest smile and loves to watch her brother. And brother loves to be involved in whatever she's doing too. She also has big smiles for Daddy. She loves her Daddy. He usually puts her to bed and I can tell she prefers him to. She's gotten into her toys too. She loves stuffed animals and she loves anything she can grab and stuff in her mouth. Our neighbors got her her own Tigger and Aidan was convinced she needed to be playing with it. So that's been a popular toy lately.

As for Aidan, it's been a busy month for him. It's been about a month since he started preschool. He seems to really like it and to be doing well. He's come home with a couple Good Listener awards and one Cooperation award. He tells me that he doesn't know the names of his teachers or classmates yet which is a little weird, but he can tell you what they did in school each day. He never cries when I leave him. In fact he'd prefer if I left quickly and without a fuss. He also tells me most mornings that he wants to go in their potty and not ours, which was one of my concerns so it seems that worked itself out. Next week the pool reopens and they will start going once a week. Aidan's a little nervous about it but we've talked it out. I had to explain what a lifeguard was which was funny. Hopefully that and the excitement of wearing new Spiderman swim trunks will put his mind at ease and he'll enjoy it. The pool only has a foot of water, maybe two. In the end, not so scary. We go on our first field trip tomorrow to see Santa at the Oakland House in Afton. It isn't stroller friendly and I have to take Olivia with so this should be fun. Lately, Aidan has been into dragons and caves. It was all he wanted to do last week and everyone took their turn helping him build a cave. He's also into using scissors and is doing pretty good with them too. He's looking forward to Christmas this year. It's amazing how much he understands. He knows about Santa and has asked for a crane from him. Which, was no easy feat to pull off. After about a week or so, I finally I found the one Aidan wanted back in stock online and for a good deal. It showed up yesterday and I rushed to hide it from him. That's new this year too. Having to hide presents. As my kids become smarter I'm forced to become more clever. Let's hope I can keep up. :) I think Aidan has gone through not just a mental growth spurt but a physical one again too. He's starting to fit size 4 shirts, not 4T. And 3T pants are getting small. We don't do small kids in this house I guess. Adrian and I kept talking about how big Aidan was now and how big he's going to be. He looks so much more grown up too. His face is changing and become more grown and it's only going to get worse. It makes me a little sad to think about the little guy he started out as. One night not that long ago, I told him something my mom told me right before I got married. I told him, "No matter how old you get, you will always be my baby." He promptly replied, "Mommy I'm not a baby!" Which is true, he's far from it now. But, he and Olivia will always be Mommy's babies, no matter how big they get or how fast the time flies by.

Thanksgiving 2009

Thanksgiving turned out to be a busy week for us. Everything started off with Adrian flying in on Saturday before Thanksgiving. He stayed with us for about 10 days. It was so great to see him again. Aidan was really looking forward to Uncle Adrian coming and asked for days when he'd get here. Needless to say, Uncle Adrian was a big hit and a great sport. While Adrian was here there was a lot of video game playing, eating, and drinking beer and even some bathroom painting. :) My half bath on the main floor is now painted. Yes there is a story behind why it got done this week but, don't ask. Let's just say it was some penitence. :) Tuesday night, Nana and Grandpa got in. Aidan was super excited about that too. Not only did he have Nana, which is a big deal, but he had Grandpa and Adrian to play with too. There were caves built all over, dragons flying around, lots of coloring, and a lot of giggling going on all week. And of course Olivia wasn't left out. It had been a while since Grandpa had seen her and she's gotten big! It was also the first time Adrian had met her and let's just say, it was love at first sight. And while the kids got to play and got tons of attention, Mommy got a little bit of a break. Adrian gave Aidan his baths and put him to bed every night until Nana got here and then she took over. Everyone wanted a turn with baby girl. I actually got some sleep here and there since Julien was off all week and was able to get up with her too. Let's just say that I got spoiled too. :)

Since everyone was in town for Thanksgiving, of course that means there was a lot of food going on at my house too. We did not one but two turkeys; one fried and one roasted. There were mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes wrapped in prosciutto, homemade stuffing, bread, brussel sprout casserole, gravy, pecan and pumpkin cream cheese pies. I know I'm forgetting something but the list is long enough. And we had some champaign to toast with. It was awesome! And if that wasn't enough food, we went out the next night for more food. Adrian is a Four Seasons employee and he gets free rooms and discounted meals at their restaurants. So, he stayed at a plush hotel Friday night and we all went to their fine dining restaurant. And we took the kids cause we are that brave. LOL! Actually, we knew if someone wasn't happy we could always take them up to the room. So we all got dressed up, even the kids who looked so cute, and went for a wonderful dinner. Aidan was so good that even I was impressed. He sat at the table the whole time (which was two hours!) and ate a ton and was very quiet. We took toys for him to play with but he was happy with the colored pencils they gave him and the cool kids cup. He had some crab, some calamari, not to mention his chicken fingers and fries. (Which were really good.) Olivia was really good too. She slept half of the time and then she was content to sit in every one's laps. All the staff went on about how cute the kids were. But the service was incredible all around. The food was incredible. The wine was excellent. All around a lot of fun and a great experience that we never could have afforded with out Adrian. :) When our desserts came out, Aidan had one of his own. They brought out a plate with warm cookies, a little bowl of m-n-ms, and a rice crispy treat in the shape of the Arch and it was glued to the plate with chocolate standing up. In chocolate they had written "Welcome Aidan". Very cool and he loved it! Gina got a little dessert in honor of her birthday that had been earlier in the week. In the end, we were all stuffed and went up to check out Adrian's awesome room and great view and then headed home. That's where we paid our karmic debt for such a great time. We were stuck in traffic on 55 about 5 minutes from home for about an hour. There had been an accident that shut down all four lanes and even though I read the signs that said it was closed and wanted to take an earlier exit, Julien said those signs are always wrong and stay on 55. I'm not listening to him ever again. It was so annoying. And let's just say I'm really glad I keep a travel potty in the car at all times as it came in handy.

The rest of the week was spent going out to eat, going to the City Museum, and playing a lot of Wii. Aidan was so sad when everyone started to leave. He kept telling everyone that they didn't have to go, that they could stay here. I had to physically pry him off Adrian last night and tell him to go to bed. Poor Uncle Adrian. I know that was hard on him. Even this morning, Aidan asked where he was. So this week will be hard as Aidan will be demanding a lot of attention and cave building. But at least he has preschool and playgroup to keep him busy. Olivia on the other hand, is almost recovering from all the festivities. She's been sleeping hard today. But she also accomplished another milestone by finally rolling back to tummy today after trying all week. Of course she does it after everyone leaves. It was a busy week but a lot of fun! I wish everyone lived a little closer so we could do it more often. I know Aidan would love that.