Apple Picking...

This last Saturday was one of the best days that we have had in a long time. Mark, Mikayla, and I decided that we needed some time away from our "normal" life (read: school, canning, garden), so we took up an offer from our neighbors to go apple picking. The place we went was called Douglas Orchards and is located in Shoreham, Vermont. Our neighbors have been going here for years and they love it.

The drive took about an hour and a half and was very pleasant. I got to talk with Nancy, which I don't get to do often. Jon and Nancy's son, Gabe, is four now and we talked about the different stages that the kids were going through. Mikayla is in one right now that I will touch on in another post. The only distress that I had was riding in the back of the van. I was reading a book to Gabe (which is not smart for me) and then we started to go around many curves (again not good). I started to get real nauseated and my head started to spin. I held it together and we arrived at the orchard.

The day was beautiful and the place was amazing. The trees were all full with perfect apples. I was in awe. As you can see from the pictures below, you couldn't find a tree that was not full of apples. At the end of the picture I included a video of the day as well.

Copy Cat II...

Just recently Mikayla has started to do something that Mark and I could not figure out. We have been doing a little potty training (not much she is too young still), but nothing too in depth. We have been asking if she has to pee or has done so. We ask if she has pooped and she usually says yes when she did. She has not gotten the idea that she needs to tell us before she does it, but when she has we take it to the toilet and flush it. This, we hope, will associate the process with the place to do it.

But then one day we were walking through the bathroom (yes we have a walk through bathroom) and she ran to the toilet, lifted the seat, and grabbed her shirt and pulled it towards the water. We thought she was going to pull it into the water, but she only pulled it far enough to go over the rim. Then she closed the seat cover and flushed. You probably already know, but for Mark and I (we are slow in that way) we could not figure out what she was doing. This became an event that happened more than once a day. We figured that it was something that her little mind needed to process and only she knew what it was.

Then one day it hit me - she was copying her Daddy and Papa. She wanted to pee int he toilet like we did so she would walk up to the toilet, open the seat, and pull on her shirt since that was the only thing that she has. She was pretending to pee like us. Once we figured this out (again we are slow), we figured that she was ready to understand that she needs to sit while she used the potty (unless of curse she is trying to be Madonna). So from that point on we are making it a point that when she is around we are showing her what she needs to do when she used the toilet. We now tell her that she needs to sit when she pees and she turns around and tries to sit.

Below is a little movie of her trying to use her shirt to pee from.

Talking More and More...

The little one is off and running with her speech. She is quickly learning the alphabet (not verbatim) but she does know A, B, D, F, H, I, J, M, O, P (and tell you what P sounds like), S, T, Z (but she thinks Z is YEEEEEAHHH!). If asked, she can point out almost each letter. I started to recite the alphabet and stopped at L and she followed up with M - without me helping her.

She now knows the difference (somewhat) between Yes and No and she says both very clearly. Colors are coming. We have a book, "Little Bear Counts His Favorite Things", where under number 8 are a set of crayons each a different color. She can point to the color you ask. She has only been able to do it with this book. She hasn't been able to point out all the colors outside this book. We are working on that though. While down at grandma, she had some crayons and she grabbed the color we asked for.

So the confusion that I have when teaching Mikayla new words and associating those words with the actual objects is interesting. The reason is what do we teach her. Is a cup a cup or glass or plastic or blue or round or clear. There are some many ways to describe something and I have noticed that Mark and I have told her a different description for the same object. Is this confusing her or is it helping to build her understanding of the world around her?

In the video below, Mikayla is outside playing with some sidewalk chalk that Grampa got for her when we went back to visit. While we were on vacation she learned how to do surprise, drama and blow a kiss. The drama is the best.

Copy Cat...

They grow up so fast...and it is driving me crazy. Mikayla is now imitating almost everything we do. She needs to take a piece of toilet paper and wipe her nose because Mark does this all the time. She wants to flush the toilet, while we are going mind you. She will usually sing with any song that is being played - although her singing is more like a scream, she can hold a note for a surprisingly long time.

But the worst thing that she is doing is coping us when we plug things in. Mark made her a nice necklace with keys hanging from it. She was carrying that around for a while and then she disappeared on me. I ran after her and found her in the kitchen with her key necklace trying to plug a key into the power outlet. Thank god we had it covered. The problem is that she knows how to unplug things as well. She has unplugged the vacuum while I was using it. So now we have to be much more aware of what she is doing and what we are doing.

They grow up too fast.

Dance...

Well not only is she talking. She is singing. She still loves to sing and will do so with a smile on her face when she is asked. Along with singing, she is a little dancer. Whenever she hears music she breaks out in dance. She does this even in her highchair. We try to have music on all the time, so when she hears a song she likes her feet take over (or her knees).

One day I had the music low and I could barley hear it, but when Janet's "Feedback" came on she stopped what she was doing, paused a second and then started to bop her head with the beat.



Here she is with Janet's "Feedback".

She Talks...

I have to admit that these are from July. I wanted to get them up, but school got in the way. In the videos she says "out", "hi", "car" and "house". OK, the word house only Mark and I can understand, but that was in July. Here are the videos.





As I said, these were taken in July. She has advanced since then, but I have no video yet. She now says, "hi", hi-ya", "car", "house (clearer)", "out", "please", and she knows some letter and can say them. She knows and says "m", "s", "b", "d", "f", and she can point out "a, c, o, q, z, x, y". She is growing up too fast.

Gender Roles...

One of the classes that I have this term is Sociology. This past week we were discussing the roles of gender in our society. Why is it that boys and girls are set into certain "gender roles" within 24 hours of their birth? It used to be that some hospitals would bring the baby to their mother and father wrapped in blue for boys and pink for girls. Why? Many researchers are coming to the conclusion that a lot of boys are “emotionally mideducated”. Emotionally miseducated means that “our culture emotionally cripples boys--a set of unique stresses is continuing to propel today's young males down a troubled path.” The article that we had to read was from James Henslin, who mentions that “parents gently and sometimes not so gently push (their child) onto a predetermined course”. This course seems to be becoming more destructive to the male gender as our society feeds us “images (of men that are) hyper-masculine--emotionless killing machines…Many boys learn to hide behind a ‘mask of bravado’”. Since we have a society that sees us (men) as the dominate of the species, we tend to be the ones that find ourselves in more trouble. Some feel that this can be attributed to the father figure since “fathers have been found to reinforce gender stereotypes more often than mothers”.

So if males are more predestined to head down that path, where does that put women when we dress them in cute frilly little dresses, tell them that they cannot do something because it's not "lady like", and hold them back from being the little person that they should be. People tend to ask Mark and I how old our son is. I even had Mikayla in blue jeans with flowers on them and a peach and pink top with flowers (not too gaudy) and I had people say (two at least) "hey little buddy" or "how is the little buddy today". But my point is that no matter what we do to our children with regard to their clothing, toys, or outside activities, we need to let our children grow up in a society that allows them to be who they are and not to hold them back. I want to give my daughter the a hammer so she has the capability of smashing the "glass" ceiling.

Now that I have a daughter, I want to change the way people think about her. Mark and I want our daughter to be able to grow up in a world where her gender does not come into play. She can do or be whoever she wants to be. The clothing that we have bought for her stays mainly on the “gender neutral” side and I toss her around and let her play in the dirt as I would any child. Now the problem that we are facing is my mother wants to see her in dresses so that she will be "pretty". She is always asking us why we do not “allow” her top wear dresses. It is not that we don't allow her to wear dresses; we just don't see dresses in her personality. She is a child that wants to play, get dirty, run, jump in the water, and however else she wants to play is fine by us. You see I see my daughter as one of the strongest personalities that I have ever meet and I will never extinguish that by telling her that she cannot do something or be something because of her gender.

When Cats Attack and Kids Laugh...

When trying to figure out the best way to wear down a child that has more energy than both parents, use the animals. They have almost as much energy as the child and both child and animal has fun. Mikayla found something that made Milo happy since he was able to chase this around the house. Mikayla likes to be chased and having either the dogs (Phoebe is Mikayla favorite chase buddy) or Milo takes the pressure off the older folks (i.e. us parents).

Now before anyone gets excited about seeing another dog in the video, no we have not gotten another dog (even though the thought is there). This is our neighbors dog, Sammy, who we were watching for the weekend. It seems that all the animals that Mikayla meets seems to like kids. This is very important to us since we want her to enjoy all species. We are teaching her the importance of being careful and not all animals are the same as hers at home. She doesn't quite get ti yet, but we are setting the foundation.

Dress Up...

We have now moved on to the next fun stage (which grandma is going to enjoy). It is now "dress up" time. Mikayla walks to the rooms where she knows her cloths are and points to them. We grab one and she helps up put it on. Once that one is on she points again to have us get something else. And so on. We have not done this with all her cloths, but that will be coming soon.

This picture (you can't see them all) has her pajamas, her pants, a red sleeveless jacket, a green hooded coat, a flowery rain jacket and her winter hat. She was on her way to get her sandals on as well. She dresses up like this and walks through the house carrying anything she can. Mark gave her a canvass shopping bag that she carried with her for a while. This is going to be a fun stage and just seeing her smile makes my heart melt.

Eating With a Spoon...

Mikayla has been asking (not verbally) to use her own spoon to eat. This is the result. This was the only time that we have given her a spoon to eat with on her own. She still needs more practice. It took forever to get the sweet potatoes out of her hair. Click picture to make larger.

Ear Problems...

Once again we have fallen into the area of trying to do the best for Mikayla and other things have happened instead. As I have mentioned before, we have been feeding her the organic formula, giving her the organic solid food, not letting her have sugary food until she is around two or three. But no matter how hard you try, life decides that it has other things planned. Now this may sound dire, but I assure you that it is all in my head. Nothing terrible has happened to Mikayla. I just look at the worst possible things that can happen and start t get depressed.

Mikayla has (in layman's terms) an "congenital ear pit". You are probably asking the same question that I did, "What?". The medical term is "Preauricular Sinuses". What is preauricular sinuses you may ask (because I know I did). Here is a definition:

Preauricular sinuses are common congenital malformations first described by Heusinger in 1864. They are frequently noted on routine physical examination as small dells adjacent to the external ear, usually at the anterior margin of the ascending limb of the helix. However, they have been reported to occur along the lateral surface of the helicine crus and the superior posterior margin of the helix, the tragus, or the lobule. Anatomically, they are lateral and superior to the facial nerve and the parotid gland.

(via eMedicine)

Our pediatrician wanted us to get an ultrasound done. The reason was to determine the depth of the "pit". The problem that Mark and I had was putting a 1-year-old under anesthesia. It didn't feel right. We had canceled the appointment that they had set up for us and we did some research. The information that follows is from a friend. We are also going to be talking with our pediatrician as well as the anesthesiologists. Here is what we found out:

The three issues I saw repeatedly were hearing loss, infection and possible link to kidney dysfunction.

Hearing loss
I would ask about this. Measurement is not invasive and should not be too expensive.

Infection
It looks really important to avoid infection. The infection itself can cause pain and disfigurement. Surgery would be recommended if infections occurred frequently. However, once chronic infection happens, it could continue after surgery (something like a 40% chance). If the pit is deep, I could see the recommendation for surgery before multiple infections so the surgery would have a chance to be more effective (does this make sense?) This looks like the most probable area of difficulty. Infections could be painful, occur frequently, and cause scarring/disfigurement.

Kidney Issues
I might ask for information about symptoms of kidney dysfunction so that I could keep an eye out for them. If there is a problem, it might be wise to investigate treatments sooner so that future kidney damage could be avoided.

Ultrasound
The ultrasound would give you information about the depth of the pit, which relates most closely to potential infections, and a look at the structure of her kidneys. If the pit is not deep and kidneys are fine, then no action would be needed (as far as I can see). If the pit is deep, then it might be time to consider what to do (if anything). The kidney issue seems like a long shot, but having the information sooner may be helpful.

So as a quick recap and my opinions:

1. I would be most concerned about the potential for frequent infection and want to know the depth of the pit. I would also want to know what to look for so that I could recognize an infection quickly. Although infection is not life threatening (as far as I can see), it could be a serious hassle for her in terms of management and her physical appearance.
2. I would want to know what to look for to signal kidney dysfunction and what would happen next so that I could act quickly if needed
3. I would ask about hearing loss and probably have a hearing test at some point
4. I would consider the ultrasound so that I had more information about what to expect. I might not do it tomorrow, but plan for it while I wait and see if infection or kidney issues develop. In planning for it, I would ask about cost management.
5. Overall, I would try to do what would cause her the least amount of pain (physical and emotional), considering today and tomorrow (as best that I could judge).
6. So there could be no impact, a hassle with infections ranging from mild to serious, or scary kidney stuff (which probably isn’t likely).

So needless to say, I have been tossing things around in my head for the past week now and I hope all is well. We will be talking with our pediatrician this week and try to figure out how urgent the ultrasound is. Mikayla has not had an infection in the "pit" as of yet, but I don't want to wait to long if the possibility is great.

Wow...

Things in the house have gone from extremely busy to extremely and stressed (for me at least). I just logged on today and noticed that the last time I made a post was more than a week ago. So many things have happened, but my mind has not been able to rest or to think about all the new information. I have comments to make about earlier post, Mikayla, and other things that seem relevant to me anyway.

There are times at night that I wish I could just clear my head by coming down to the office and write what I can't seem to get out of the vast emptiness of my mind. Last night was one of those nights. Mikayla is sick again (hanging around those other kids). She has gotten another cold that seems to make her restless and keeps her kicking me throughout the night. I think it's her way of saying "I am still here!"

Summer?...

The last week seemed like summer here in Vermont, which is very unusual. We had temperatures in the upper 70's. This is not supposed to happen until August. There is a saying that Vermont has two seasons, Winter and August 15th. Some years it is very true.

Mark's mom came up this last weekend to help with the yard work. They planted new flowers and dug up old ones and moved many around. During this time Mikayla got to play outside with the dogs and she had a great time. She is such an outside girl. She always starts to scream and cry when we come back inside and she isn't ready.

Below is a picture of Phoebe, Mikayla, and Bailey playing ball.

Walking...

Well one of Grandma's vows when she came to visit was that she would have Mikayla walking before she left. Before grandma and grandpa showed up. Mikayla only took two steps on her own and the last step was because she lost balance. Well grandma held to her vow. Mikayla is now taking up to eight steps. She is a little unsteady and cannot carry anything with her when she walks, but she has progressed more over last week.

Grandma started by having her walk whenever she was going someplace. Now whenever she is going from one place to another she is holding our hands and walking. Below is grandma and Taylor helping little miss thing into a restaurant.



So now we are gearing up for the crazy baby run throughout the house. I remember that I used to wish that she was crawling and when that day came I regretted ever saying that. Now I can't wait until she walks but I know when that day comes and she is walking all over I will regret that as well. Below is some of her first steps.

Visit...

I forgot to mention that the parents (mine) made a visit this last week. This is why I have not been writing any post. My niece took over the office (where my computer is) and spent a great deal of time on my computer. I also wanted to spend more time with my family, so writing post got pushed to the back burner. Sorry for this, but I have much to talk about and will do so starting tomorrow or Monday. One of the biggest things is that Grandma told us she would have Mikayla doing something by the time she left and she did. I will talk about this tomorrow. Changes a coming daily with the little one - and its all good!!!

Until tomorrow - Make a Memory Every Day!!!

It's A Vagina...

Adults are funny when it comes to talking about the body. We all have one and we all know (or should know) all the parts of the human body. If this is so, why do we make up names for our genitalia. Not names like Mr. Happy, names that make adults sound like they are three years old.

Even before Mark and I knew that we were going to have a baby girl, we talked about how we were going to raise her. We wanted to be sure that she was comfortable with her body and her decisions. The only way that I feel that she could be both was to answer her questions truthfully when asked or be open about everything that she may be dealing with. The first part of this is the understanding that she has a vagina. She doesn't have a who-who, or a va-jay-jay. She has a vagina.

I knew this silly naming of the genitalia got out of hand when our vet's tech was told that Eva had discharge from her vagina. The tech then clarified the situation by asking if there is a lot of discharge from her "who-who". It's a vagina people. I have never strayed from this. When she was only three months old and my parents were out visiting, my mother was worried that she had UTI. Mikayla wasn't upset or hurting so I told my mother that her vagina was alright. Then looked at Mikayla and said, "your vagina's fine. Isn't it?" I think I may have startled my mother, but her vagina was fine.

From Saturday Night Live. It takes a minute to load, but very funny.

Sick and Tired...

After finding out that Eva had cancer last week, Mikayla started to get a cold. She seemed to have some sniffles on Saturday March 15, but nothing we were too worried about. Then Sunday came and we could tell that the cold took hold. This is her second cold and was different than her first one. Last time she was stuffed up with little nasal drainage. This time she was (is) like a faucet. We had to stop giving her solid foods because she would start to cough and then throw up everything she ate. I noticed on that Monday (when she was crying) that the back of her throat was red, so eating solids just irritated it.

So last week we took her to the doctor and found out that she had ear infections in both ears. We have started her on antibiotics to help with the infections, but now we have non-smelling poop. Why is this important? I have not been able to tell if she has gone to the bathroom like I used to.

So with Eva being sick and needing to go out a lot more than usual and Mikayla sick and needing more attention Mark and I are more tired than usual. I know that I am going to jinx us by saying this, but we have not gotten what Mikayla has/had so that has helped a great deal. What is happening now is both of us are doing school, taking care of Eva and Mikayla, trying to give as much attention to the other pups as well. So we are much more tired than ever.

The picture above is of Miss Mikayla during the worst part of this cold.

Preparation...

Today started my new job as babysitter. One of our friends and neighbors asked me to help them one day a week (Tuesdays) to watch their two year old, their 5 1/2 month old, along with Mikayla. A toddler and two infants. I was going to be working from 9:30 in the morning to 3:30 in the afternoon. Now I will not be alone (for the most part), the mother will be there to take the youngest when she needs to nurse and sleep - so why was I worried. The reason is the little monster that I call my daughter. The mother will be working from home and the way Mikayla screams, well need I say more. Mikayla also is in the "I want to be held now put me down" stage. This will be hard when I have the small one in my arms. Then the thoughts of keeping the oldest entertained while I take care of the younger ones. Simple right?

Many may not know this but I have had many days where I had to hand Mikayla over to Mark right when he walked through the door. The best one (which we still talk and laugh about) was a day that I had very little sleep, Mikayla would not stop crying (not sure why), she wanted this and that, the dogs would not stop bugging me and well by 6p.m. I had just about enough. Mark walked in the door at 6. I was at the dinner table with only the light above me on. I stood up, turned to him, handed Mikayla to him, turned away and walked up stairs. No words were said. About 15 minutes later Mark came upstairs and knocked on the bathroom door. The rest is how he tells it because I don't remember it well. He said he opened the door to a dark bathroom, me in the tub with bubble bath all around, my arm covering my eyes and me not saying anything. He asked if I wanted some wine and there was some sort of sound that he understood as a yes.

So as you can tell, Mikayla can be a little draining on me and I was scared that having three would be too much. My sister had three. I have a friend in California that has three (really four with her husband). I know people do this on a daily basis and I was only doing it for six hours one day a week. Mark tells me that it is in preparation for our next one (or our third).

Well the day was really uneventful. Mikayla played with the oldest. She really didn't climb on me that much. She didn't scream (until we got home) that much and overall it was fine. I think I can handle three kids with no problem. No problem that is if I only have them one day a week!!

Dance...

Now when you watch this video, you will notice Mikayla using various methods of dance - Ballet, Jazz, and many more. Also take notice of her Diva lean at the end. Martha Graham watch out!

Peek-A-Boo...

With in the last week, Mikayla has been using anything she can get her hands on to play Peek-A-Boo. It really didn't start with us covering our faces and pulling our hands away. It started with a book called "Baby Faces". In this book is a baby under a basket and it ask "Where's Baby" and on the next page it has the baby uncovered with the caption "Peek-A-Boo!". Mark and I started covering Mikayla's face with our hands when we ask where's baby and pulling them away for Peek-A-Boo. This progressed to a towel and then to anything that she could find to cover her face. This is a game that you will not win!

Below are two videos of Mikayla playing Peek-A-Boo: