Thursday

Eating Cottage Cheese from Deb on Vimeo.

Thursday morning I spoke to Gram and she asked if Autumn had hurt herself yet today. Well, I spoke too soon! That afternoon she took a couple falls on her knees, but the last one she actually skidded and this happened. She didn't cry one tear, which further enforces my belief that she has a high pain tolerance. I brought her inside, cleaned it up, put a bandage on it and she was fine! We've kept the bandage on during the day, especially at gym class on Friday to keep it protected, and she doesn't mess with it at all!



And then later on I caught this adorable picture!

Pain!

What a painful past 3 days we've had. On Friday she fell off a swing at gym class. We were swinging and swinging and she was having such a good time and then she FLEW off the swing. Right onto a wooden dowel climbing thing. In the midst of all her screaming I noticed a red mark on her neck but couldn't tell if that was the major impact point. The next day a small bruise showed up on her neck. Poor thing.

On Saturday after lunch (and after Autumn fell over and hit her back on the wire loop on the kitchen table) we took Autumn, Luke and Phoebe out in the backyard.


We had been meaning to get rid of the prickly pear cactus for awhile now. It doesn't have big spikes, but it is ugly and damaged from falling over a bunch of times. We put the cactus family with the huge spikes up on a shelf. At one point Autumn kept walking past the prickly pear and at one point she put her hand on it. It didn't seem like she was bothered by it.

After chasing all three around the yard I started noticing that Autumn kept grabbing her hand with her other hand and pinching up her face. She also kept waving her left hand around a lot. I called her over and noticed some red dots on her palm and wrist. Here she is pinching her face and grabbing her hand.

We gathered everyone up (no easy task) and started trying to get the spines out of a very upset, snotty, wriggly. Richard was trying to hold her down while I used tweezers to try to get the one spine I could see out. I think I might have gotten that one out, but there was no way I could get the rest at. We gave her some pain reliever and then she and I took a shower in the hopes of calming everyone down and cooling us off. It was her first shower since she was a bitty baby, so I wasn't sure how she was going to handle it. But after the initial getting used to the spray she really had a lot of fun. It really went a long way in calming her down and distracting her.

On Sunday we took Autumn to see the bluebonnets. After we left Autumn really started getting upset and grabbing at her feet. I took her shoes off, but then she started grasping at her ankles. That's when I noticed the scrapes and scratches on her ankles. The grass/hay/whatever that grows in between the bluebonnets had cut her up. Poor, poor little girl.

Sick Thursday

Sick Kid from Deb on Vimeo.

She was doing about the same yesterday. Snotty and congested in the morning, but better in the afternoon. And it was hot outside. Gross combination. But we went outside anyway. We started in the back and it was then I realized how long it had been since we had been in the backyard, either that or how fast dandelions grow...

She replanted the mushrooms, but it wasn't until I was moving them back that I realized the bazillion ants that were under the gray one... So we went to the front yard.

Then since it was so hot outside, I put my bathing suit on, filled up our big tub and we got in a played in the water. She was really tired after, so I expected a long nap, but sadly, no.

Sick Wednesday

She sounded horrible in the morning, but after her 2nd nap, she perked up.

She had really rosy, flushed cheeks all day that you can sort of see if you make this blurry picture bigger.

Kissing the newly planted Kalanchoe

This is What a Sick Kid Looks Like?

This is What a Sick Kid Looks Like from Deb on Vimeo.

Twelve Months

If you have 13 and a half minutes, please, watch the video! I realized that I should have done a 9 month compilation, because once I started choosing videos to include, I couldn't stop! I actually cut out about 8 more minutes, so 13:45 isn't so bad. Really!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Dear Autumn,

Twelve Months. You changed our lives the moment we found out we were pregnant, and then again when we finally got to meet you. Yesterday afternoon you were in my lap and I was giving you a bottle and I felt your heart beating on my hand. I got a little emotional thinking about how a year ago you were still a mystery to me and how I couldn't touch you and now it is my favorite thing to do.

My first memory of you is when they put you on my chest, you reached out a finger that was completely covered in gunk and touched my lip. I had just had a big swell of emotion just before that and then my next coherent thought was, "Ew, she touched my lip with that stuff!" And then it just didn't matter and all I wanted to do was touch you.

You got your 8th tooth in a few days ago, maybe on the 18th. It sort of just appeared and then it seemed like you felt the pain of it. But only a little bit. I am wondering if maybe you are getting the next in line on your top teeth, but it is getting harder to tell. And you sure don't want to show me! What I thought was the 8th tooth last month was really your first sickness. You made it 11 months without being sick, and for that I am grateful. Of course, you were sick over Christmas, which wasn't very fun. Christmas Eve night you had an awful time going to sleep. The days leading up to Christmas you were VERY snotty and congested. NO FUN! But you were very happy on Christmas Day, and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

Walking is your favorite thing. The fact that you can do it makes you very happy. Carrying you is not acceptable anymore, and frankly, that is a problem sometimes. Like in parking lots, busy grocery stores, etc. If it is an empty store I will let you down to walk around a bit, but I have to be careful because if I have to put you back in the cart, you are not happy!

Your food intake hasn't changed much, except that we get the "wave off" much less. But I also think that is because we are only spoon feeding you yogurt for the most part, and you like that. Still waiting for you to want to try more foods. We'll see what the pediatrician has to say on Friday!

We've been doing better lately with the brace. Daddy's the strong one and insists that we put it on you. While you were sick we didn't bother with it for 2 weeks, so it is good that Daddy is like that. Your next appointment is on February 11th. So hopefully, without getting our hopes up, you'll be done with it. I honestly don't know what else it could do for you. But we'll see what the doctor says when he sees the x-rays.

You understand so much of what is being said to you. If I ask you to go get a specific book from the shelf containing almost 30 books, you will bring back the correct one (by only looking at the spine). Your favorites right now are the Wombat books (you say "om baht baht"), I Love You Through and Through (when we say we love your topside, you put your hands on your head, and we can tell you to go get the "topside" book and you will), and Tails (you can make the tails wag, wag, wag). You've also started climbing into our laps when reading books, instead of us putting you there. You sort of say "cat", but it sounds more like "dat" sometimes. You say "pah pah" for panda, and sometimes it actually sounds like "panda". I think "ahm" means Autumn, but I'm not sure. For a few days around the 16th you started saying "MaMa MaMa", but you havn't really done that too much lately.

For Christmas we got you a Cabbage Patch Kid (Rosalyn Jerry) and about a week later you started hugging her. And by hugging her, I mean picking her up by her hair and pressing her to your cheek. It was ADORABLE! After that I started asking you for a hug and opening my arms up wide. You'd look at me, and then immediately look for Rosalyn. And when you'd find her, you'd go to her and pick her up and hug her. I don't remember hugging Rosalyn in front of you, maybe Gram did, but it seems like it was just instinctual. Then you started hugging everything you loved. Dolly, spatula, Farmer, lego, socks, blankets. A few days after that I was more successful with getting hugs when I request them. You will walk up to me and lean against my shoulder while I wrap my arms around you.

Your naps seem to be decreasing in length lately. I am happy with an hour and 15 min. Well, not happy happy, but I am getting to where I can accept them with little grumbling on my part. You, however, are the happiest baby and are just ready to get out of the crib and go. We don't even walk out of the room while I am holding you. I must set you down so that you can touch Sully on your way out and then go after whatever tickles your fancy. We usually spend some time with you walking around wherever you want. Usually in the front room, kitchen and hallway (anything that is not the living room behind the gate). You are usually pretty good about leaving the cat food alone, but yesterday you walked past it a few times, eying it, before you made a quick grab for it. You got a handful but then promptly dropped it when I said, "Autumn!" Glad I can muster that tone when needed! You still take two naps, but they are at varying times, rather then the old precise "Autumn needs a nap at exactly this time". It's not that I chose the old times, but rather you were that predictable for awhile. Now I just watch for signs and down you go.

Car rides will change tomorrow! Since putting you in the new car seat you have actually been semi happy to be in the car. At least a lot quieter. I think even though you have been facing backwards you have a higher viewpoint, which means you can see more out the window. Daddy and I struggled to get the car seat into the Tahoe tonight so that you are front facing. We finally did it!

Your favorite activity is to point to your family and have us tell you the names. "Momma", "Daddy", "Autumn", "Lucas", "Phoebe". Over and over. It just goes around and around.

December 27, 2008

December 28, 2008

January 15, 2009 - Topside!

January 15, 2009

January 19, 2009

January 20, 2009

Retrospective perspective:

January 22, 2008 at 9:53 am

January 22, 2008 at 10:17 am

January 22, 2008 at 1:19 pm

January 22, 2007

January 22, 2006

Happy Birthday, Autumn!

Love,

Momma and Daddy

Fat Lip and After

Here is her After picture...



She fell on the driveway and now has a fat lip where her bottom teeth bit into her upper lip. Oh, the blood. She took a nap and is now her happy self again. She keeps feeling it with her tongue and fingers.

Oh, and she is crying in this picture because she saw that I had a pacifier in my hand and I wouldn't let her have it until I could get a picture of the lip. She's not still crying from the wound, so it's not quite as bad as it looks!