Thursday, February 16, 2012

17 Months Old

The month started off with Alexa getting sick. This is her first real sickness since her ear infections ended back in August. Alexa started getting crabby and eventually did not even want to be held. We were assuming it was teeth coming in. We gave her Tylenol as well as Orajel on her teeth. Her school called me on a Wednesday telling me to bring her something around 10am. I went in and did the Tylenol and Orajel and hoped for the best. Around 2pm they called again to say I needed to pick her up. She was on the floor screaming and they could not console her. I took her home and she was acting fine. She was a bit congested but nothing I was overly concerned with. Later that evening she started having trouble breathing. When Justin got home we took her to the ER. The diagnosed her with RSV. Fortunately this is not very serious for a 16 month old. The information I have read about RSV is that nearly 100% of children get it by the age of 2. Only children in high risk categories (preemies, previous RSV before 3 months) raise a red flag. Of kids like Alexa is just means two days out of school with fluids. Since its a virus you cannot treat it with anything by Tylenol for discomfort and some TLC.

With in two days Alexa was doing a lot better. Justin and I had to rotate staying home with her. Neither one of us had the time to miss a full day. We would work a few hours at a time and then rotate. It made for an exhausting week. Justin was not getting home until as late as 6:45pm. Over the weekend we did some furniture shopping. Alexa did surprising well for the 4 hours we spent in the furniture store.

On Sunday afternoon we went to a restaurant called T-Rex Cafe. This is the same company as Rain Forest Cafe. The decorations and sound effects really make the restaurant. Alexa likes the dinosaur's and plants. However when the stuffed character was walking around she cried inconsolable. She was terrified! I am not sure why she is afraid of a 6ft stuffed dino but enjoyed the 20ft moving & talking one. There is no explanation for this.

Alexa returned to school on Monday. She also returned to swim lessons. Like always she enjoyed the jumping in & Mr. Square. Alexa's after school activities have turned into something she really enjoys. Justin and I both enjoy the bonding time and taking a break from the more serious things in life. This week was one of the busiest for our family. Wednesday was another swim lesson for Alexa. This is the first time I got into the water with her during this session of classes. Normally I am the parent who takes pictures and watches for the viewing room. Alexa was really excited when I got in the water with her. It was our first time swimming together in a long time. We had to leave class ten minutes early. Alexa was not happy about being the first one out of the pool. We had to rush and change and get home quickly. My friend and coworker Tanya graciously agreed to watch Alexa for us. Alexa took to Tanya quickly. They spent an hour watching Mickey and playing with some toys. She went to bed for Tanya with out making a single noise. I think Alexa makes parenting look easy. Justin and I had a farewell party to attend. Justin was MC'ing the event and I even had a small role in handing out a gift to the Colonel's husband. It was great to have some adult time.

Thursday was our busiest day yet. We had our new living room furniture delivered, a luncheon with my work and then gymnastics in the afternoon. Justin and I both decided to do gymnastics class. It is very exhausting to assist Alexa with all the maneuvers and keep up with her when she runs around. Her skill level has improved to a toddler level. She can follow the instructions on rather to walk or run, dance or skate. She can jump over the obstacles & walk on the balance beams. We are still working on front rolls and holding onto the bars.

On Friday we got home, packed quickly and headed to Great Wolf Lodge. This was our second marriage retreat since being apart of the Army. We were very excited about the location. The retreat itself was not as beneficial as the first time. We did enjoy the fellowship and the free time. Alexa spent an hour on Friday, four hours on Saturday and three hours on Sunday in child care. They kept telling me she was doing great. She played with the other children, watched Mickey on her Kindle, had lots of snacks & even took a nap each day. When we got her back she was very refreshed.

Saturday afternoon we were able to go swimming. Alexa had a great time on the baby slides. Most of the time she would turn over onto her stomach to slide down. It really made me nervous but she was having a great time. We spent some time in the pools, the lazy river and even the kid friendly "warm pool." While in the warm pool Justin and I would send Alexa back and forth between us. We were counting 1, 2, 3 just like we do in swim lessons. Alexa started countng and holding up her pointer finger. She made it all the way to three and then would push off of us. She is totally getting it. So I guess we will need to start teaching her how to count items. On Sunday afternoon we were able to get in a little bit of swim time before we went home. Camille watched Alexa so Justin and I could do the slides together. We then spent some time with Alexa in the water before calling it a weekend. When we got home we all three were exhausted. We managed to get the house cleaned up so we could have a fresh start to another busy week.


I thought it would be fun to do a Valentine's Day craft with Alexa. We ended up wreaths for the Grandparents. They were outlines in pink foam hearts with the phrase, "Roses are red, violets are blue, someone loves you, here is a clue. Hanging on the inside is a heart with Alexa's handprints on it. The heart is having from a piece of string so you can flip the heart over. On the other side of the handprints is a picture of Alexa with her name in glitter. I have not say I was impressed with my idea, but a little disappointment on how they turned out. I have always set a standard for profection for myself. Dealing with a toddler makes that goal very challenging. We did have fun & I look forward to our next holiday project.


Alexa has been going to therapy with me right after work. I could leave her at school and pick her up on our way home, however I do not. I really do not like Alexa having to spend a lot of time away from Justin and I. So I suck it up and bring her with me to therapy. The first few times she was terrified of my therapist. It was actually funny to see her freak out when he came near but was cool with everyone else. By our last visit Alexa was jumping off the therapy bed into Brian's (my scary therapist) arms.


Thursday the 2nd was certainly the most eventful day for us all month. We had our usual gymnastics class. Alexa and Jackson were having a great time jumping on the trampoline when things took a scare turn. Jackson's Dad, Kyle started having a seizure. At first being only 2 feet from him I did not realize what was happening. I immediate yelled to Justin & then grabbed Jackson. Justin, Alexa, Jackson and I hung out while the ambulance arrived. Jackson did surprsing well for the 20 minutes we were all waiting. I tried to explain to him that Daddy's belly was hurting. What else do you say to a 17 month old who sees his Daddy on floor? I have to say that I was VERY shaken up by the entire experience. This was an otherwise healthy young adult who just started having a seizure. Once things started getting under control I had Justin leave with Alexa and I stayed back with Jackson. Unfortunately Justin took my phone with him leaving me with no form of communication. After rushing to get Jackson home to him Momma I then had to hurry to get to Applebee's.


Justin had prior to the chaos of gymnastics arranged to take his staff and their families out to dinner. When I arrived I met 7 of his soldiers, 2 spouses & 4 children. Its a surreal thing for me to see people who work for Justin. I guess we are really growing up now. Alexa watched Dora & Mickey (of course) with a 2 year old named Heaven. She is a very sweet girl. They will actually be in class together starting in March.


Friday evening we flew to Chicago. We had a relatively bumpy flight but arrived in Chicago on time. We were very fortunate that the weather was cooperating with us. Although it was cold it was not snowing. Alexa took a little while to warm up to Grandma and Grandpa. By Saturday afternoon she was sitting with them on the couch, giving out high fives and blowing kisses. I really treasure those type of weekends. I have to say that Justin and I have really mastered flying with Alexa. SouthWest has open seating. This means you pick your seat in the order you board. We always go to the far back row on the right. We then separate between the aisle and the window and have Alexa stand in the middle. Most people do not want to deal with the three of us so they pick another row. Our last few flights have only had a half dozen or so empty seats. We have been fortunate enough to get one between us each time. The extra space is really helpful when dealing with Alexa. We can stretch her out if she is sleeping or give her a place to sit when she is reading a book, coloring or watching Mickey.


Once we got back in Kansas we were back in our routine of therapy twice a week, gymnastics on Thursdays & Justin working late nights. My goal that was to find Justin his birthday gift. He has been wanting a dog for many years. We finally agreed this was our best time to do it. I was determined to find the perfect dog for us. I found one that met all of his criteria, female, puppy, brindle & AKC parents. We spent most of that week anxiously preparing for "Laney's" arrival. Saturday morning we drove the hour and fifteen minute to meet our new girl. She is TINY! Her birthday is December 23 & she is the runt of the litter. She was very quiet for most of the first day. But at night time she made up for it. We are not sure if she was afraid of the crate or just did not want to be away from us. Either was she was not having it. The next four nights we tried different combinations of the large crate, the small crate, different rooms, lights on & lights off. On the fifth night we found something that at least let us sleep. Justin made her a little home in the basement with the light on. She did not bark all night so we got some sleep. Puppies are a lot of work.