It's never too cold for the beach!

Thanks to Liz for getting us out of the house on this lovely day!

Just because...

What a difference a week makes!

Amelia had one final follow-up with her doctor today to check her burn. She said it was healing nicely, with no signs of infection. She, also, said it looked like a first degree burn now - she likened it to a severe sunburn. She advised us to continue to use the burn cream and keep it covered to speed healing. But, because it's no longer bleeding or open, Amelia is allowed back in the bathtub. Hooray! Hopefully, in a few weeks she'll be well enough to go swimming!

Marley has a lot to say

Play this video on repeat for ten hours straight and you'll have a rough idea of what it's like to hang out with Marley for the day.

Our little snowmen

Owie update: We're all doing much better today, me included. Thanks for all the good suggestions for Marley. He loved bandaging up his own baby. I found a jar of polished stones and marbles for him to play with only while we are cleaning Amelia's wound. He was super excited for that and did really great putting them away as soon as we were finished. Tonight he didn't even need our help finding something to do. He got out the dominoes totally on his own:) We've dropped Amelia's pain meds down to just twice a day (from 4 times), since she seems to be feeling so well. We all really miss bath time, though. It was such a big part of our nighttime routine, it's kind of thrown everything off. Hopefully, we'll get the all clear for that soon. Tomorrow we plan on relaxing at home, baking cookies, and watching Christmas movies. Bliss!!

Update

Amelia was in a great mood today, even back to harassing her brother.  While he was trying to watch a show, she jumped on him repeatedly and yelled, "Stop it, Marley!"  She barely even flinched when we changed her wound dressing. 

Jeff took the day off work to help with the doctor's appointment and all the extra care for Amelia.  It was nice to have him home today.  We went in for a follow-up this afternoon, and the doctor said that things looked as they should for day two.  We will take her back one more time next week, just to make sure it's still healing well.  The biggest concern at this point is preventing infection.

This whole thing has been really hard on Marley.  I'm sure last night was pretty traumatic for him, too, but Amelia's the one getting all the attention.  He was really acting out today in the doctor's office (in hindsight, one of us should have stayed home with him) and again when Jeff and I were dressing her wound.  I'll be more prepared for this tomorrow with something special he can do while we take care of her. 

Marley kept saying that he needed medicine, too.  I gave him some water out of a medicine dropper, but I don't really like the idea of pretending to take medicine.  I want him to understand that Amelia needs the medicine because she's really hurt, and he's not.  Ugh!  His behavior is irritating, but I also understand how he must be feeling.  Any creative ideas for him?

And me?  Well, I keep replaying the moment over and over and over again in my head.  I know I'm just torturing myself, but I can't help it.  Tanya reminded me to think of the hundreds of ways I'm preventing my children from being injured each day:)  I'll try. 

2nd Degree Burns

I know it was an accident, but it was an avoidable accident. Complacency and being in a hurry are what caused it.  I know it was an accident, but it was my fault, and I'm not sure when I'll be able to forgive myself.  (*Warning: There is a wound picture at the end of this post!)

The time right before dinner is crazy at our house.  Jeff usually gets home from work just in time to join us at the table. This means that I get to entertain two cranky-end-of-the-day kids while trying to make dinner.  I try to keep them involved, so if we have a pasta dish I always make them "noodle testers". Their job is to tell me if the noodles are done. I called for noodle testers right as I was draining the pasta over the kitchen sink. Even though I knew the pasta was ready, I thought the kids would want to feel like they were helping.  Plus, they were hungry and this would get them to quit asking for snacks.

Amelia ran into the kitchen right as I did it. Trying to be quick or save time or something, I don't really know what, I brought the strainer, filled with still-dripping noodles, from the sink to the casserole dish on the stove top. I could have let the noodles sit in the strainer longer to drain all the way. I could have moved the casserole dish over by the sink. I could have made the kids wait in the living room while I did the transfer. But, I didn't do any of those things and the effect was immediate.

She screamed out in pain, and I ripped off her shirt to check her body.  I grabbed her arm and held it under cool running water and tried to think what to do next.  My brain was not working properly.  Should I call someone?  Jeff?  9-1-1?  Maybe I should just take her somewhere.  The ER?  I felt sick as I watched the skin on her little arm bubble and peel off.

I remembered advertisements for a new urgent care facility near West Seattle.  There had been fliers and billboards, but I couldn't remember where it was or what it was called.  I grabbed my phone and tried to search.  At some point Amelia got away from me.  She was no longer crying, but pacing around the house from Marley's room, through the kitchen, into the living room, and back.  Between my shaking hands and the fact that my broken phone is almost unusable, I was having a really hard time finding anything.  It was like that nightmare where I'm trying to call 9-1-1, but keep misdialing.

Finally, I came to my senses, grabbed the computer, and unexpectedly found an open urgent care facility just 5 minutes away.  I don't know how we got out the door and over there, but the moment we walked in I lost it.  Luckily, the people at West Seattle Convenient Care were so kind and reassuring.  It was such a relief to let someone else take care of us.  Actually, I didn't realize until we were home how wonderful they were.  The doctor personally phoned in Amelia's prescriptions, and even though we had never been there before, they didn't ask us to fill anything out.  The receptionist handed us some paperwork on our way out to fill out and bring back later.  All they had were our names!  They will most definitely be getting Christmas treats along with our paperwork tomorrow.

I finally looked at my phone once we were settled in our room at the clinic and saw a text from Jeff that he had gotten a flat on his bike and was coming from downtown on the bus.  I called him and told him where we were.  His bus was close, so he got off and came over.  When the doctor came back in to treat Amelia's burn, Jeff decided to take Marley outside to try and get his bike in our car.  They were unsuccessful, but at least Marley got to be away from the craziness for a bit.

We left the clinic to go pick up prescriptions two blocks away at QFC.  Amelia fell asleep the second I got her strapped into her carseat.  We decided that rather than have Jeff walk his bike home, we would call on our super dependable friends, Liz and Chris, to meet us and drive his bike home.  It was also nice to get a few more hugs.  We, finally, made it home after collecting everything we needed from the pharmacy.  There was the evil casserole sitting there waiting for us.  I wasn't sure if I could bring myself to eat it.  Marley was starving, though, and asked for some right away.

I wasn't sure what Amelia would do when I got her out of the car.  I got her pain meds all ready in case she woke up, which she did as soon as we got inside.  Jeff asked her if she was hungry and she said she wanted to be a "noodle tester".  I think my heart actually split in half, and I told her she could have as many noodles as she wanted!  And if Amelia could eat the casserole, I guess we all could, right?

She was in a pretty good mood for the rest of the evening: eating well, smiling, and even laughing.  Though with the bandage on, she couldn't bend her right arm all the way to her mouth and kept dropping food on her lap.  She also kept trying to tell us about what happened.  She said repeatedly: "Next time...Mama...water...arm."  I interpreted this to mean: "Next time, Mama shouldn't pour boiling water on my arm."  You got it, baby.

Right now, Amelia's sleeping peacefully.  She gets meds every six hours, bandage change every twelve.  We go for a follow-up in the morning.  I just hope she can eventually forgive me.

Enjoying her noodles and wondering why Mama poured boiling water on her arm.

At the doctor's office about 20 minutes after the incident.

Four!

I sat on Marley's floor reading my book by flashlight the other night as he laid in bed. He was quiet and I looked up to see if he had fallen asleep. I saw him smiling up at the ceiling and kind of chewing on his fingernails. I asked him what he was thinking about and he said, "I'm just so excited about my birthday!"

So far, I have a love-hate relationship with age four. It's the age of genius and invention. Imagination and innovation. Recently he described to us something he wanted to build: A machine that grabs milk and gets it down for kids who can't reach. Today he told us that he'd like to ride in a basket being pulled by an airplane so he could see all around. Later, he said he wished that he was born before us so that he could see what it was like to be a grown up (we would be his kids).

But, four is also the age of exuberance and energy.  Boundary testing and being LOUD.  Sometimes by the end of the day, I'm literally covering my ears while he talks.  When Jeff gets home I beg him to do bath time because the echo in there is just too much for me to take!  He's also trying to figure out what we know and don't know.  The other morning he poured an entire box of cereal into and around Amelia's bowl when I left to use the bathroom.  He told me Amelia did it.  When I asked him how, he said she turned into a robot and used her long robot arm to grab the cereal box and pour it in.

Some other things about 4-year-old Marley:
*His favorite colors are green and blue (he still likes pink, "but only a little").
*Despite the fact that pink is no longer his favorite color, he still needs his pink dolphin, Shamir, and Shamir's best friend, Giraffe, to fall asleep at night.
*He loves climbing and is always the highest one in the tree after preschool each day.
*He wants to be able to go across the monkey bars really badly and practices every chance he gets.
*He pays attention to the words when I read to him and wants to know which word says what.  He loves pointing out words that he knows.
*He is making connections between words and sounds.  He wanted to know how the word "up" could start with a "u" instead of an "a" because it sounds just like the beginning of "Amelia", and that starts with an "a".
*He can fingerspell his name and a few other words.
*He's very interested in the natural world: Volcanoes, space, deep sea, dinosaurs (our new favorite show is PBS's Dinosaur Train).
*He loves looking at maps.  He always wants to know where we are on every map.
*He enjoys taking pictures.  He often asks for his camera (an old digital one of ours) when he sees something he wants to photograph.  I've been meaning to post some of his pictures.  Note to self: do that.
*He loves his little sister and shares everything with her.
*He likes to draw and wants things to turn out exactly as they appear in real life.
*He really got into planning his birthday this year, and for weeks before wanted to know how many more days until he was four.  One of his requests was a cake with "toys on top that you can wash off and play with afterward".
*He likes to play with his wooden train set, cash register, board/card games, dress up stuff, and puppets (among other things).
*He wears size 4T clothing and size 11 shoes.  He weighs 39 lbs (75th percentile) and is 41.5 inches tall (80th percentile).

Here is some of the action from Marley's birthday.  Enjoy!

Marley's lovely gift opening assistants, Jada and Cindy.

A crazy ice cream cake made even crazier with Dinosaur Train figures on top.

Testing out the stomp rocket in the back yard.

18 Months

Amelia's 18 month "birthday" was last week, so I thought it would be a good time for some updates.  At her check up she weighed 24lbs 6oz (50th percentile) and was 34" tall (95th percentile!). Doctor Rice says she's still "tall and skinny" - hee hee:)  She did great for her two shots and was glad to get a sticker afterwards (she picked Spiderman).

She's got all her teeth, except her two-year molars, which she's been working on like crazy.  I can't wait until those come in and we can be done with new teeth for a while!

Although Amelia has her own ideas about what she wants (have I mentioned that she's a bit stubborn?), she adores her big brother and repeats everything he says and mimics his every action.

She talks so much now that I can't keep up with how many words she is saying anymore (could it be thousands already?).  Here are a few things she said to me just this morning in the half hour after waking up:
"I'na go downstairs, see Marley." (First thing she says every morning.)
"Open eyes, mama!" (Repeatedly.  I wasn't ready to get up yet.)
"You going pee pee (on) big potty, Mama?" (I was indeed.)
"I'na do drawing (with) markers." (She's ready for the day's activities to begin!)
"No, mama, no!  I don't like it!  Let go, mama!" (She's not so excited about diaper changes these days.)

Things I love about her baby talk:
*She leaves off the 'p' in the middle of words/phrases.  Diaper = di-er.  Oopsie = oo-sie.  Happy = ha-ee.  Stop it! = Stah it!
*She uses an 's' sound when it should be an 'f'.  Elephant = elesant.  Off = oss.  Different = dissent.
*The way she says Marley's name (Mah-ee), which was one of her very first words, and her own name (Mih), which she didn't even attempt until about a month ago.
*She says 'has' when she means 'have'.  "Can I has that?"
*She doesn't use articles or prepositions, but she does use pronouns correctly.  "I has go poo poo potty!"

Some other things Amelia's into right now:
*Playing with baby dolls, dressing and undressing them, diapering and nursing them (though she usually brings them to me to nurse.)
*Playing dress up, especially trying on different shoes.  She's been obsessed with shoes for months, now.
*Wearing her brother's clothes, especially his underwear (can't wait to share that one at her wedding!)
*Reading.  There are several books that she knows most of the words to - Sandra Boynton's Opposites comes to mind.
*Sitting on the potty.  She's actually gone in the potty (both pee and poop!) several times, though I'm not ready to make the leap to full time underwear just yet.
*Picking Marley up from preschool, and getting to participate in the last few minutes of music time.

She does not like:
*Being left behind when anyone goes somewhere.  Usually she's grabbing her shoes in a panic and saying, "I need shoes on!  I need shoes on!"  It's so sad!
*Eating breakfast.  Perhaps because there's usually no meat.  She's such a meat eater!
*Having hair in her face.
*Getting a hair-do that takes longer than 3 seconds (see photos above for my 3 second hair-do).
*Being away from Marley.  She loves her brother so much!

One more language anecdote:
She always amazes us with her vocabulary.  Jeff and I are constantly looking at each other in wonder whenever she says something new.  For example, the other night when we put up our tree Amelia was already in bed.  Jeff brought her down the next morning to show her.  Before he said anything, she pointed at it and said, "Christmas Tree." 

I can't wait to see what she does next!

Thankful

This morning was one of those mornings. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to cry or scream as I was interrupted during every task, from fixing breakfast to taking a shower, by needy, exuberant, or 'helpful' children. All I wanted to do was get ready so we could join our friends for Thanksgiving! Luckily, Jeff, who was equally interrupted all morning, took a moment to see things from their perspective. And here's what they looked like:

They weren't busy planning, packing, cooking, cleaning, or getting ready.  They were busy being.  Simply being.  Yes, I realize that all those things are things that need to be done.  And, a lot of the time, I'm the one that has to do them.  But, while interruptions slow me down, and extra 'helpers' often make more work for me.  I never, EVER want my kids to feel bad for simply being there.  Because what is an annoying interruption to me is life to them.  And when I look at it that way, the annoyance melts away and leaves only thankfulness.

Marley is thankful for:
"Carden, Henry, Cindy, Jada, Amelia, group hugs, regular hugs, group kisses, regular kisses, our new door, my room, my special paint and paint brushes, baking cookies and eating them, my jack-o-lantern, and the bulbs we planted."

Amelia is thankful for:
"Pumpkin, cat, meow, kitty, (and) drawing (on) paper."
Marley adds that "she's also thankful for doggies because she points at every dog."

Big girl bed

The time comes in every little girl's life when she moves out of her parents' bed, and onto a mattress on the floor 20 feet away. Okay, maybe not every little girl.

And her crib is still available should she ever feel the need to join us for an early morning nap in an awkward position.

The Burke Museum

We've gone to the Burke Museum several times this summer and fall after visiting Daddy at work, and have really enjoyed ourselves. The kids always love looking at the dinosaur bones, but this trip was especially fun for my little dress-up kids. The Carnaval! exhibit had an entire section filled with carnival themed hats, masks and clothing. It was so much fun! These guys crack me up!

I wonder how Amelia got sick...

Timber!

This was a tree my brother, Patrick, planted in our backyard when he was about 4 years old. My mom says that it never did really well there, and finally died a while back. She decided it was time for it to go.  Sarah helped take it down.  Ever the creative one, my mom plans to convert the tree stump into a bird bath.  We'll be waiting for pictures of the finished product!

Halloween, The Conclusion

By the time Halloween arrived, Marley and Amelia were old pros at dressing up and trick-or-treating.  Our good friends, the Harrison's, came over and we all headed out to trick-or-treat at the Admiral Junction.  Then, it was back home for dinner, and out again to trick-or-treat around the neighborhood.  

Not a very good shot of it, but my mom crocheted my Angry Birds hat.  Jeff was wearing one, too, and we got lots of comments.  I'll have to get a better shot of them, because they're pretty cute!

Trick or Treat!

Miles, Amelia, Marley, and Jada show off their loot. 

Halloween, Part II

I forgot to bring the camera with me on Sunday, so we're just stuck with these crappy phone pictures. At our friend, Annie's, 3rd birthday party. The kids were excited to play in a big box that held some of Annie's presents. Second most fun thing: the bubble wrap:)

Marley and Amelia enjoyed the chocolate cake!

After Annie's party, we headed over to the Huson's Halloween party. The kids played pin the nose on the pumpkin, pumpkin ring toss and bobbed for apples, among other things.

By the time we got home at 8:30, both kids were sound asleep. Another fun day!

Halloween, Part I

This year, we kicked-off Hallo-weekend with a walk to the Alaska Junction to check out Tiny Tribe's new digs. We loved seeing some of our old friends and hearing how everyone was doing. The new space is really fun, and in a great location. We're looking forward to running into our friends more, now that they are so nearby!

After visiting Tiny Tribe, we headed out into the crowd to trick-or-treat at the junction. It really was SUPER crowded, but we had tons of fun and ran into lots of schoolmates and neighbors. Marley was totally into it, walking right up to the merchants with a big loud "Trick-or-treat!" followed by a "Thank you!" and "Happy Halloween!" Amelia was a little more hesitant. She walked up to the merchants with her hand outstretched, but never said anything. She really enjoyed taking the candy and carefully placing it into her "Happy Halloween Bag". We could not pry that bag out of her little hand, even after she fell asleep in the carrier on the walk home! (She finally did drop it after about a block, though.)

Tomorrow we have a birthday party, followed by a halloween party. Monday is trick-or-treating, followed by more trick-or-treating! Whee!

At the Playground

We spent lots of time visiting playgrounds while we were in Michigan. I think we went to at least four different parks, but Marley's favorite was the one closest to home.  He loved playing in the "submarine" there.

The Girls

Seeing Amelia and Lilyana together just about makes my heart explode. I love these girls!

Photo Shoot

October in Michigan makes for some great photos!

Lake Erie Metropark

Fun hats on Grandma's front porch.

I think we should wear these all the time!