The Linda Family

We had a great day for Ashleigh’s birthday. We went to playgroup this morning (for the first time in about 6 months) and then headed to Dr. Stern’s office for Rebekah’s 2 month check up and Ashleigh’s 4 year check up. Rebekah is 11lbs 4.8oz and 23.5 inches! Holy cow! That puts her in the 75th percentile for weight and the 95th for height! I thought it was a bit odd that the 0-3 month clothes fit her so well. Guess that’s why! Ashleigh is 3’4″ and 34lbs! That puts her in the 50th percentile for both height and weight, so perfectly proportioned. Dr. Stern says she was in the 50th for both last year too.

We discussed the fact that Bekah has had this cold/congestion thing basically since birth, and it seems to get better, then get worse and at this point it’s not really affecting us, but I was concerned. He doesn’t think it is a cold, he is assuming it is seasonal allergies. Apparently Ashleigh’s slightly purple under eye circles are a sign of allergies. At this point, we are not discussing doing anything different than what we currently do. Benedryl as needed for Ashleigh, and we’re running a humidifier in our room and in the living room for Bekah as well as the rest of us. It is my understanding that the fact that she is showing signs of seasonal allergies means she is at a higher risk for food allergies, so we will need to be cautious when we do start to introduce solids. So, for now we watch her and hope it doesn’t turn into much.

I had to fill out a questionnaire about Ashleigh to measure her skills. It was broken into sections to see her development in different areas. Each section was made up of 6 questions. Some of the questions were things like “Ask your child what they do when they are hungry, and record their answer” of course, she knew she should eat when hungry and sleep when tired. She also was able to look at 3 very similarly sized circles and choose the smallest within seconds. I was actually shocked at that one. Each section was worth 60 points, there were 2 sections I scored her a 55 because I wasn’t sure she always did one of the questions asked, so she got a sometimes. One of those questions had something to do with throwing a ball overhand, I forget what it was exactly, but I scored her a sometimes, and there was another question I forget as well.

After we finished at Dr. Stern we headed to get Wes from work. He was actually finished early and we headed to Chick-fil-a for an early dinner. We were all hungry, and Ashleigh requested Chick-fil-a for her birthday dinner. After we ate Ashleigh played in the play area for a good hour or so while Rebekah and I ran to pick up the rest of the stuff for the party. We came home to change and headed off to the gym. Ashleigh was very excited to go show off her new baby sister at the gym. Rebekah did great. They said she sat happily in the bouncer for the whole 40 minutes. The woman working said she felt guilty Bekah just sat there contently, so she brought the bouncer over where she is. She also let me know that they don’t allow the other kids to get close to the babies, which this time of year makes me happy.

As Ashleigh and Wes got into the car on the way to the gym they were discussing Ashleigh’s birthday. She commented that it couldn’t be her birthday without cake! Wes tried to explain that we’re having her special castle cake on Saturday at her party, but she just wasn’t having it, so after the gym we hit the food store and found some yummy cupcakes that were even topped with cool Dora and Boots rings. She had requested to play Mario Kart, so our night was finished off with 2 rounds of Mario Kart before she opened some presents and headed off to bed.

She loves the new princess nightgown we got her and wore it to bed tonight. I snapped a quick picture of my FOUR year old!

Bekah is tired and cranky tonight thanks to the shots. She cries when her leg is bumped, but I’m sure she’ll be fine tomorrow. I’m going to give her another dose of Tylenol and head off to bed in just a few minutes. I have a feeling she will be sleeping well tonight! Tomorrow and Friday will be filled with getting as much ready for the party as we can. Her Prince/ss party will be here on Saturday. We expected some people to be unable to attend, but so far, everyone is coming! So, we’re going to be busy trying to clear out some space! Ashleigh is VERY excited for her party, so hopefully she will be a big help!

Rebekah,

I can hardly believe that you are two months old already.  Time sure is flying by!  You have started to smile and interact with us in the past month.  When someone smiles at you, you smile back.  You often look up at me and smile until I look at you and smile back.  Despite the fact that we’ve been fighting illness for the past month plus, you are a happy baby.

I’m starting to learn just how different you and your sister are.  I sometimes forget that not every baby is the same or has the same needs.  You are not much of a comfort nurser at the moment.  There are times when you will nurse to sleep for naps, but you usually prefer to be rocked.  I have resorting to walking around with you in my arms, with one hand under your bottom and the other holding your head tight to my chest.  You seem to really like this and you often fall asleep quickly.  If I put you in the Moby Wrap and start working on housework, you will be asleep within minutes and you will happily stay there for hours.  You don’t like me to sit down much, so I figure this will be a good weight loss plan, though it means I will be up late at night catching up on my work.

You’re very opinionated, and quite determined.  You still are vocal about your needs.  You will sit and smile and coo at me for what seems like hours on end.  That is, until I grab a camera.  Then the show is over and you are done.  This has made getting cute photos of you a bit of a challenge.  I have learned to have a camera within arms reach as much as I can.  I’m thankful we live in a world of digital cameras, because I sometimes have to take 50 – 60 shots to actually catch one where you are willing to give me half a smile.  One day we’ll capture that smile….

Your sister loves holding you and playing with you.  She begs to hold you and loves it when you get in the bath with her.  She can’t wait until you are sleeping well enough to sleep in the bedroom with her.  I’m very excited for you two to be able to play together and be best friends.  I can already see the special bond you two have.

We go to the pediatrician in a few days.  You’ll get weighed and measured, and probably get a shot or two.  I’m excited to see how big you are getting, yet sad that you are growing so quickly.  I’m enjoying getting to see your personality come out.  I love to learn who you are day by day.  Thanks for keeping life interesting kid!  I can’t wait to see what the next few months have in store!

Love you,

Mommy

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So while I was cleaing up the kitchen and getting the dishwasher loaded Ashleigh was heading upstairs for bed.  She is yelling something down to Wes, who was playing with Rebekah in the living room.  I hear him calling back, “What?” “I don’t know what you’re saying” and other various phrases.  I come to the bottom of the steps to hear him call back, “There’s a bug in your room and it’s not dead?”.  Her difinitve “YES” meant she was freaking out.

Wes decided it was a “Mommy Job” and up the stairs I went, happily of course muttering something about bugs being Daddy’s job.  I went upstairs and was confused by where Ashleigh’s voice seems to be coming rom.  It sounds like she’s in OUR room.  I pop my head in and don’t see her.  But, I still hear her making scared noises.  I look in her room and see nothing.  I finally asked her where she was.  She said she was in our room.  When I looked again I saw her.  Hiding in the corner by the window in the front of the house.  If you know our house layout, she was as far away from her bed as she could be while being upstairs.

When we tell her we don’t see a bug, she tells us it was a little tiny bug, it was on her shelf and she brushed it off.  He then was on the floor and ran away.  I have no clue what it was, it could have been her imagination, but we never found it.  All I know is she was TERRIFIED of this little bug.  It was hysterical and sad all at the same time.  Hopefully she’ll outgrow the extreme fear of little bugs.

We hope that your 35th anniversary was wonderful!