25 December 2019

Christmas 2019

Oh, boy, our first Christmas as a family of 4 is over. Things have been rough these last several days. Vana is sick now. Natalie hasn't gotten better but is up and down. I'm starting to feel crappy. I want my babies to feel better but I'm so glad Matt is here to help.

Apart from that it's been a good Christmas. We went to Matt's moms yesterday for lunch and to open gifts from aunts and uncles and then over to Matt's dad's house for dinner. I showed up late to dinner since Vanessa was finally napping come dinner time. After several presents Natalie was going downhill. Maybe an hour in and she was complaining of ear pain and asking to go home. Once we got in the car she began wailing and howling about the pain. Once home I convinced her to take meds and and put baby oil drops in her ear which she didn't like at first but it helped.

Today we went to my folks house and Vanessa just cried and fussed all day. She took a decent nap but was still cranky when she woke up. I think on top of not feeling well she was overwhelmed and afraid of all the unfamiliar faces and amount of people. We ate and opened presents and had a house full of kids. My twin nieces came, niece and nephew and my two nieces who live there were all present.  Natalie stayed while Matt and I took Vana home. We came back over for leftovers around 7 for dinner and by then Natalie was feeling pretty awful again. She had had medicine a couple hours before too. I'm feeling tired and my throat is sore. My chest feels kind of infected in a way. I'm going to call the doctor tomorrow and ask to bring both girls in. I'm so scared of it turning into something serious like pneumonia.  Merry Christmas.





23 December 2019

Half Birthday!

Today is Vana's half birthday! At 6 months old she is sitting independently (started weeks ago), got her first tooth (6 days ago), loves to flap her hands around and bam bam toys, and is super sweet. She isb17.8 lbs (76th percentile), 28.25 inches (>99th percentile) and head circumference is 43.8 cm (89th percentile). She is still waking roughly every 2 hours a night. It's not always to eat, she's sometimes just squirmy and restless and needs to be cuddled. She still wants to be held all day and won't entertain herself much. She isn't babbling at all and is pretty quiet on the cooing front. I brought it up with the doctor today and she gave me a print out of activities to do for her age. I assume this is to stimulate her vocalization. I would feel bad if the reason she weren't babbling is because of a lack of attention but that would be better than something like a developmental delay. Time will tell. Poor girl had to get 4 shots today. 3 vaccines and a flu shot. She took a 3 hour long nap today and come bedtime was fussy and warm. The doctor said a fever and lethargy were expected with the vaccines but Natalie has had a fever since Friday afternoon. I am 90% sure it's the flu based on her symptoms. She is running a high fever around 103, has a runny nose and coughing and is definitely tired and not feeling well. I HOPE so much Vana doesn't get it too. (Or me or Matt but most importantly her.) Tomorrow we plan to go to Matt's dad's house for dinner and presents with my in laws/nephews. Christmas day we plan to go to my parent's. I'm excited to celebrate Christmas as a family of 4 but so worried about how we'll all be doing.

Wishing you all the merriest Christmas and happiest new year!




04 December 2019

Not So Great 8

Today my first baby turned 8! I love this girl immensely but sometimes she makes me question how I'll be able to handle the teen years. My lord, the drama and attitude. I  can't help but blame myself and my parenting on it. She is spoiled and it shows with her ungrateful demeanor sometimes. She can be the sweetest thing and say the most heart melting words but when she is getting too much of her way and one thing isn't precisely how she wants it then she has an attitude of life is the worst. I try so hard to make her happy and I think she is way too coddled. I have to crack down on myself as well as her. I didn't want this to be a negative post but that's reality right now. We had a birthday party for her this Sunday with only Matt's family again. I decided I'm done planning family parties bc she started doing things with her friends once kindergarten started but then last year with friends was a shit show so I didn't plan a party with friends this year either. Last year my MIL wanted to make cupcakes and give Natalie presents so we invited Matt's dad and brothers family. This year Natalie asked for that small family party again and my mother in law agreed so I didn't do any work. Our plan in lieu of a party with friends which is expensive and stressful was to take her this coming weekend on a day trip for lunch, ice cream and shopping. Today I gave her an LOL doll in the morning with a pancake breakfast (candle lit and happy birthday sung) then brought her McDonald's for lunch at school. She had a super nonchalant attitude when I showed up for lunch and then acted as if my presence was annoying and embarrassing her. She was just dry and vague when talking to me and then middle schoolers showed up to sing for the kids and spread holiday cheer. I realize now how she wanted to fit in and be cool and having her mom sing and sway around was embarrassing, so I'll forgive her for brushing me aside and telling me to stop on that one,  but before I really didn't do anything but make innocent conversation. She never once said thank you to me and acted entitled. After school she had a long overdue playdate with her best friend. Everything was great and they even went to dinner at IHOP together. When she got home from dinner I asked her to take a picture with Vanessa on her first birthday as a big sister. She agreed but wouldn't look at the camera so I said fine, no picture. I told her to go get ready for bed and she begun arguing with me, saying she was in fact looking for the picture when she definitely wasn't. From there the night just went down hill over NOTHING. I was picking up her room and told her not to rip up tiny pieces of paper and leave them on the ground (she makes various "crafts" and such) and she sassed me  and told me today was the worst birthday. I said, "great" because I can't tell you the number of conversations I've had about gratitude and appreciating what you have with her. A lengthy battle to get her to bed ensued and the night ended on a sour note with Matt and I telling her our weekend birthday plans are off unless her behavior changes and is immaculate the rest of the week. It's such a bummer and so frustrating to have a day like this, especially one that is special. It was her choice to behave the way she did and I am holding her accountable.  I have such a fear of her turning into a spoiled, rotten, ungrateful, entitled, rude human being. I don't think 7.5 years of being an only child did me any favors with that. Overall of course she is a good kid and I'm proud. She is getting older though and it's time to really address any poor behavior. Parenting can be challenging and I don't even know the right way to go about addressing the issue.

02 December 2019

Thanksgiving 2019

One of the best Thanksgivings is in the books! We took our first family vacation as a family of 4.