1st Tooth!

Leta got her first tooth today! It'll be a while before it will be big enough to catch on camera. I can just barely feel it through her gums. It's her front bottom right. Luke got his first tooth a day before he turned 6 months old. Leta's got him beat again!

This morning:

L: I want to go to a different church.

K: What church do you want to go to?

L: A car church.

K: A car church? What do you do at a car church?

L: Play with cars.

Nebraska Trip June 2010

We just got home from a trip to Nebraska to see my parents. My 10 year High School reunion was also this year so we killed two birds with one stone and planned our trip north around that so we could attend.

We left Oklahoma Friday the 18th. Leta has proven to be only slightly better at traveling than Luke was. She took one 10 minute nap and three 30 minute naps. The trip used to take 9 hours. With two kids, it took us 10 1/2 with all the stopping to nurse and eat etc. We stopped at McDonald's in Salina, KS and let Luke play while Leta ate her oatmeal. She hadn't gotten it figured out at that point so it took quite a while. She also had a blow out while there. Just glad it was in the restaurant and not in the car. Luke didn't nap at all but watched Thomas the Train and Veggie Tales. We got to my parents at about 6:30, which was good so they had a chance to play before bed. We put Luke on a pallet in "Michael's" room and we were with Leta in my old room. Luke did not sleep well this night. He was up from around 1:3o until probably 4 and then up again at 6:30. I finally ended up sleeping in there with him. Leta woke up for the day at 6:00.

Saturday Luke spent the morning helping Grandpa on the farm. They checked cows, fed the horse, road the tractor...all kinds of manly things. Luke also did a lot of swinging. Since Leta won't take a bottle, we put them to bed and then headed into town for my reunion. There ended up being 14 of us there, and it as good to see some people, most of whom I hadn't seen since Graduation day. We got back to mom and dad's around 11:30 to find Luke awake and mom in there with him. So, I ended up sleeping with him again.

Sunday morning we went to church and then out to eat and back home for naps. While eating out Leta learned how to work her tongue while eating. Feeding her has gone much smoother since then. (With the exception of supper tonight when I introduced green beans to her. Now she has to get used to some texture in her food!) Luke discovered the Mulberry tree and spent a great deal of time snacking on that. He slept all night Sunday night and didn't wake up until 9 Monday morning.

Monday we went to the city park and played and then went to the grocery store. Gary's Food Town has toddler size grocery carts, which Luke LOVED. As soon as we got back, he ran and layed down in front of Leta and told her all about the shopping carts. Kyle's eye had been red since Sunday and mom thought it might be pink eye so Kyle went in to the Doctor on Monday and got a pink eye prescription. He was surprised that Dr. Felber knew who I was. He didn't grow up in a small town like me =).

Monday night Luke woke up very upset and when I went in to him he immediately said, "Mommy, I don't feel good. I want my temperature." I suspected it was an ear infection related to his previous ones, so HE got to go see Dr. Felber, too. After his appointment we went to my grandparents in town and they got to spend the afternoon with Luke and Leta. Kyle and my dad drove to Omaha and watched OU play in the college world series. Tuesday night Luke slept all night.

Wednesday was our last full day at mom and dads. Luke got to grocery shop with his cart in Laurel again (he felt much more comfortable with his skills this time and was a bit of a wild man in the store) and he played side walk chalk and played in the sprinkler. We went to church again and he slept all night again!

Thursday we came home and we've been recovering ever since ;)

Seen and Heard

Me: Luke, what is in your hair?

Luke: Cake.

Me: (knowing he hasn't had any cake) How did you get cake in your hair?

Luke: The crocodiles climbed in my ears and put it there.

ummmmmm.....????

It's been a while

Luke playing with his Mr. Potato Head accessories

And lots of things have been happening, and we've seen lots of people.

First, Bridget and Kaleb came to visit us. They arrived Thursday evening after Luke and Leta were in bed. Then Friday morning, Leta went to Body and Soul with me and the rest of the gang went to White Water Bay (local water park) and had big fun. Apparently Luke was not intimidated with the big water slides and was fine riding them all by himself. It wasn't until later that I found out just exactly all he'd been allowed to do. Let's just say he probably wouldn't have had quite as much fun if I had gone along. Saturday morning Dana (Kyle's dad) came and we all left for the lake. We stopped on the way at the Hard Rock Resort in Tulsa (yeah, you read that right...RESORT in Tulsa, OK) at ate and then continued on our way. We spent Saturday through Monday at the lake and everyone did quite well. We swam, tubed and skied. Dana was "showing Bridget how it's done" and threw his back out, unfortunately. But, at least it was our last evening to be there and it was after we took him out to eat for his birthday when he got a pie in the face =)

Tuesday we came home and when we arrived my parents were here. We spent the rest of the day with them and Wednesday morning before they had to head home. Luke had lots of fun playing and swinging with them and were are looking forward to a visit to them next week. (Not looking forward to the drive, however.)

Leta is busy being cute. She smiles a lot and giggles frequently. She is proving to be hungrier than Luke and so she has already been started on rice cereal. We started her the day before we went to the lake. It hasn't been going just the best so tonight I'm going to try oatmeal to see how that goes over. She has refused to establish a consistent wake up time, but I've decided her waking is due to hunger. Depending on what time she wakes I'll feed her and then put her back down, sometimes until 8:00. (Those are my favorite days!) Other times she'll sleep more towards 7:30. I have tried giving her cereal in the mornings the past two mornings as well, but this morning she wouldn't eat any. I think I'm going to have to monitor how much she nurses to get her to eat cereal, too. She is not napping well still, either. With Luke, he ALWAYS slept 45 minutes, unless he had a fever due to shots or something. She will randomly pull out 1 really long nap, and occasionally do that for a few days in a row. But it's very unpredictable. She really enjoys her tummy time and is currently very into a soft cloth block that Traver gave Luke for his first birthday. She chews and chews on it and flings it around and makes it jingle.

Luke is his normal ornery self. Yesterday I felt the need to hide from him in my bedroom for a while after a particularly whiny and fussy day. He talks up a storm and says funny things (to his biased mother, anyway). He has a lot to say about crocodiles lately. He also has started saying, "No Way Hosanna!" instead of no way Jose. Right now he's playing with his "Mater and Lightning McQeen". They are playing hide and seek. The cars I mean. "Come off the chair Mommy because to see Lighting when he is driving out. Do you see lighting now? He must be hiding! Where could he be?" Is what he is currently saying.

My spring session with Body and Soul is over and I had been looking forward to teaching a 4 week, 5 day a week 6am boot camp, but Leta's wake up time is just to inconsistent for me to commit to that. I'm bummed out. I like to have all day free in the summer. It gives me a bigger chance to do fun things with Luke etc. We'll be starting our Summer Favorites Session Monday May 28th, so I have all those routines to learn.

Off to make supper. I have 2 items left on my meal plan and neither are appealing to me. I think we might just do sandwiches tonight. I really don't feel like cooking.

Another trip to the Doctor.

My poor little boy. He finished his second round of antibiotics on Monday. He woke up in the night Wednesday night and last night. Last night he was up for hours before he went back to sleep. He had a low grade fever when he woke this morning and we talked about taking him back to the doctor, but decided to wait. I gave him ibuprofen before his nap (12:15). He woke from his nap at 3:30 with a temperature of 104. So we gave him some Tylenol, and read stories with an ice pack on his head while Kyle called the Doctor. His normal pediatrician was booked so Kyle got him in to a different pediatrician in the same facility. Luke ended up having to get a really strong antibiotic shot which made his leg very sore. I was promised that it would kill all bacteria and get rid of the infection completely. But, we have to take him back to the doctor in 7-10 days to make sure his ears are fluid free to see if they're draining properly. If not, then it's off to the ear, throat and nose specialist to see what the next step is. It's crazy to me that he has never had an ear infection and now he's had one for a month now and he just can't get rid of it. I feel bad for him. And Kyle and I. We are TIRED!!! On the upside... Luke has reached a new level of "Daddy's Boy", but we learned today that when his temperature reaches 104, he still wants his Mommy =)

Meal Plan and New Recipes!

I know you've seen this picture before, but I just love it.

Luke is feeling better but is not over his ear infections. He was up last night and then was all off kilter today. He said his ears don't hurt, but he can't leave them alone and had a very low grade fever tonight, so we're not in the clear yet. Leta is still stuffy and has a runny nose and slightly congested, but that is the extend of her ails.

We're having more crazy weather here tonight. Not so much in the city yet (or it may miss us) but just north of us and in the Stillwater area. But the weathermen are having a field day. Sunday there was horrible hail (we didn't get any here) but I kept seeing picture on facebook where people had so much hail it looked like it had snowed (in the Quail Springs church of Christ area--where we were married--if you're familiar). In fact, the wind blew so hard for some that there were actually drifts of hail. I had never heard or seen such a thing before. We had some friends who had their picture window broken by the hail. We were lucky to have the hail miss us, for sure. We just got quite a bit of rain.

New Meal Plan

Tater Tot Casserole

Chicken Bundles with Strawberry Shortcake for dessert

Greek Chicken Pasta

Creamy Baked Mostaccoli

Oven Macaroni and Cheese

Chinese

Scallop Potatoes and Ham

Crockpot Tomato Basil Chicken

Chicken Penne Italiano

Broccoli Tuna Casserole

Oven Baked Mac n Cheese

1 can Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 cups skim milk

1 cup shredded cheddar

1 1/2 c Parmesan

1 cup Mozzarella

1 lb short cut pasta

Cook pasta according to directions. In a separate large bowl, mix all other ingredients. Stir in cooked pasta. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Cover and bake at 325 for 45 minutes.

*Made the mac n cheese tonight. I added 1 lb diced ham, pepper, and garlic powder. And a sprinkle of nutmeg. YUMMY!! I really liked the addition of the ham. No need to add salt, and I felt like it was a more complete meal.

Creamy Baked Mostacolli

1/2 lb short cut pasta

4 oz reduced fat cream cheese

1/2 cup light sour cream

2 (15oz) cans tomato sauce

1 cup shredded mozzarella divided

1 lb cooked ground beef

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Cook pasta just shy of el dente. Put in large skillet and add cream cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and sour cream. Stir until smooth. Add tomato sauce. Stir. Add beef and seasonings. Combine and transfer to casserole dish. Cover with remaining cheese and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Greek Chicken Pasta

2 cups uncooked short cut pasta

1/4 c butter

1 small onion, chopped fine

1/4 c flour

1 (14oz) can chicken broth

3 cups cooked chicken, cubed

1 (7oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained

1 c feta

1/2 c chopped, oil packed sun dried tomatoes

1/3 c sliced Greek olives

Cook pasta. Meanwhile, in a large skillet melt butter. Sauté onions. Stir in flour. Let cook 1 minute. Gradually add broth. Bring to a boil, let thicken. Add remaining ingredients, stir and heat through.

Not so well baby check up

Tuesday Luke did not take a nap at all. Then Tuesday night he woke up at 10:30. And at 11:30. And then stayed up until 1:30. And then woke up at 6:30am. So. Not a good night for all of us. He didn't have a fever, but was coughing a lot etc. So Wednesday morning we fully expected him to be super cranky due to lack of sleep. And then Leta woke up with a low grade fever. I skipped Body and Soul and decided it was a good thing that Leta's well baby appointment was the next day so I could get them both looked at. Leta's fever did go away and has not returned yet.

We just got back from the Doctors. Leta did not get her 4 month shots because of her fever so she'll get them at her 6 month appointment. She weighs 13lbs 2oz and is 24" long. That's just below the 50% for both, which is where she has traditionally been on the growth charts. Leta does have fluid behind her ear but no infection. I got a prescription to fill if she should need it, but hopefully she won't. I'm supposed to elevate her mattress a bit in her crib to help the fluid drain a bit better. The doctor thought it looked like she might have milk in her ear.

Next it was Luke's turn, and to be honest, he pretty well hogged the whole session. I told her all about his rash that we had discovered at the lake and the blood blisters on his ear lobes. She didn't think the rash was because of the antibiotic he'd been on from his last ear infection, because she thought it sounded more viral, but she put in on his charts anyway. The blood blister things on his ear lobes are called "petechiae" I think she said and often result on the face in the sinus area from severe coughing. She thought it was a bit unusual for it to be on the lobes and thought perhaps it was due to his ear infection, but that we'd have to see if that will be a trend. Nothing to do for the lobes. They don't bother Luke anyway. And then she checked his ears and throat. He has a very irritated throat from post nasal drip. He has severe double ear infections. So this time he got a different antibiotic because the last one clearly wasn't effective. So we'll see. She also told us he could have Delsym for his cough (which we'd already done) and that he should take any over the counter liquid children's allergy medication. She thinks both of their problems are being caused by their sinuses being irritated by all the pollen in the air.

I checked to see what allergy meds I can take while nursing Leta, and I can do any over the counter and she said that they would probably help Leta some as well.

Needless to say, we went right to Walgreens and got some drugs. Hopefully they both we'll be feeling better soon. And while knowing that Luke not feeling well is probably the cause of his not very good behavior lately, does not make it any more fun to deal with him. I would be putting him on CraigsList, but Kyle saw on the news where some guy did that and he's in jail now. I guess I'll just have to tough it out. *wink*

And Kyle left bright and early (4:45) this morning to fly to Albuquerque for his UNM track reunion and won't be home until Sunday night. We'll see if I survive. If it gets touch and go I'll just have to reread Luke's seen and heard posts from this morning.