Saturday, March 26, 2011

The Sickies

Friday night after work did not come soon enough. I got home first, picked Seth up and we made it to the bank in time, before heading over to Noodles & Company for dinner. Jason would be meeting us there after he was done with work.

We had a fun dinner with Seth, but he was becoming a little whiny and not his happy self. We made a stop at Babies R Us. That's when we knew something was up with Seth. We were standing in the checkout line and all I remember was looking down at a slouching, tired little baby boy. Poor Seth - it must have just hit him. He was warm, tired and starting to get that sick zone in his eyes. I've never seen Seth like that.

Upon getting home, we took Seth's temp and sure enough, he had a small fever 99.8. A little infant acetaminophen, some cuddles, a bottle and bedtime. We were praying that God would help Seth fight whatever virus his little body was taking on.

Seth slept until 9am in the morning. Wow. I couldn't believe he needed so much sleep. Poor buddy was so warm this morning. His fever got up to 100.8. Seth barely had anything to eat for breakfast and I was trying to get as much liquids in him as possible. He just wanted to be held and cuddle his Pooh bear. He was starting to yawn around 11am, so I put him down for another nap. He slept until almost 2pm.

His fever got up to 101.6, so we called Triage just to make sure we were doing everything right. Thankfully we haven't had many instances in which Seth has been this sick in his little life, so this was a little sudden and I wanted to make sure I was doing the right things. We were.:)

Seth took another nap and when he got, his cheeks weren't as red and his fever had broke. He was a little more himself and even had some food for dinner. We knew Seth was getting back in business when while he was sitting in his highchair, he started to blow raspberries when he knows he shouldn't and giggled when he tooted.

This is how Seth looks when he isn't feeling the hottest. Seth is always such a happy, spirited little boy, so seeing Seth like this makes me feel for him. Bad momm for taking photos of my sick baby.:)







Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Made it

Jason is finally home from training in Denver! He got home on Friday night after being gone for two whole weeks, plus a short weekend home and then another week in Denver. I missed Jason soooo much and the evenings were lonely.

While it was nice to have a lot of just me and Seth-time, not everything got done around home because I was still working during the day. I'm so thankful that my mom and mother-in-law offered to take on additional days for watching Seth during the week.

I kind of felt like a working single mom. When I got home from work each day, it was a juggling act to spend time with Seth, make dinner and do other typical evening stuff like a little playtime, storytime, and baths.

On most nights, we were able to Skype with Jason after he was done with training class. Seth got a kick out of seeing his Daddy on the laptop. I'd set Seth in his highchair right up to the table and set the laptop on the table. Jason would talk, make faces at Seth and Seth would just eat it up, squealing over his Daddy.

Seth and I had some fun bonding moments. On Wednesday nights, I'd bring Seth to Noodles & Co. for dinner for a Mommy and Seth date. He'd get a kick out of all the other families and little kids. We'd go to church afterwards. It was a fun time, plus it made me really confident in handling a pre-toddler out in public. :) But Seth is so easy-going that it's an easy job. :)

Here are some fun pictures.
One night while playing after dinner, Seth would head to his bedroom and we'd hear him rummage around his room, mumbling to himself. He'd run out of his room with a stuffed animal and deposit it on my lap. He did this 3-4 times. He was so happy to share his animals!!

This is either "So big!!" or "Touch down!".

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

15 months

Seth, you are 15 months! You seem like such a little boy. When we came home from Mexico and saw you for the first time in a week, it seemed like you had grown two feet.

In two weeks we go to your pediatrician to make sure you're "on track" with your height and weight.
Weight:
Height:

You never stop moving. I repeat. You never stop moving on your feet unless I am rocking you to sleep before you go to bed or you are sleeping. I am a little bewildered by how busy you are!



First, you play with your blocks. Then, you're flipping your green dinosaur upside down to spin its wheels. Then, you're carrying a toy to your room and back out to the living room. Then, you're kicking a soccer ball down the hall. Then, you're pulling your bag of diapers out into the living room. Then, you're climbing onto the little stool in the dining room. Then, you're throwing your blocks down the stairs. Then, you're running around the dining room table. Then, we're reading a book. You are so busy!






You just started climbing onto the couch. Oh, dear. You're learning how to slide off the couch too.






One day, Grandma found you kneeling on your knees on the piano bench banging on the piano. You had flipped the green dinosaur upside down and used it to climb on the bench.






You love to dance. When an upbeat, bouncy song comes on, you stop what you're doing and start bouncing to the music. You shuffle your feet and slide to the left and then the right. Sometimes you turn around in a circle. When your favorite Kindermusik songs come on, you stop what you're doing and run to me or Jason because you like to be danced with, since it reminds you of the dance we do at Kindermusk.






You are good at communicating to us, plus you take in so much and remember it well. We show you the animals in books and the next time we read those books, you point out the animals when we say, "Where is the ____?" You can also point and touch our mouths and noses when we ask you, "Where is Mama's nose?" We're working on getting you to touch your nose and mouth. Every morning while I'm rocking you in your nursery chair, I unzip your sleep bag and we play the game "Find Seth's Feet". I say, "Let's find your feet. Are they in here?" Then, you rummages around the bottom of your sleep bag until you find your feet and then we celebrate.:)






You point and "Mmmm" for something that you want. I'm trying to teach you how to sign "Please" and "More", but we're still working on that. Sometimes I don't guess the thing you wanted, so sometimes it can be a guessing game.



Your box of words just started expanding. For a few months now, you've said "mama" and "dada" here and there, but not necessarily to our faces. You try to repeat easy words back - it's cute because you think you're saying the word.:) Just the other day you repeated "doll" which came out like "Daw" and you said "ama" for "grandma".

You love to read and look at books. Your favorite books are the Winnie the Pooh Encyclopedia of Animals, Biscuits Goes to Sleep, the World in 7 Days book, the Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Vikings book and the Nursery Rhyme book.

You have even had your first.....tantrum! Are the terrible two's starting early? I'm not sure....you've had a few little crying fits, but I think it's mainly because you're frustrated with not being able to communicate.

Being your mother is such a joy. You're my little buddy and I love seeing the world through your big, ocean-blue sparkling eyes. I've seen the moon for the first time all over again. We sit rocking in your nursery chair before going to sleep and you play with my hair and touch my nose. Sometimes we just giggle and giggle.:)

Seth, you are a fun, spirited, sweet little boy and I'm glad God gave you to me and Jason. We are blessed that you are healthy and growing right on track. I enjoy every moment of these sweet days of your little world. Enjoy these moments, Seth.





Monday, March 7, 2011

Dancing King

Who doesn't love watching a little baby dance?? Seth has been taking cues from his mommy and daddy and is perfecting his dance routine: spin around in a circle with arms wide out, shuffle to the left and shuffle to the right, bounce up and down.

Seth's favorite song is "Skinnamarink" because we also played and danced to this song at Kindermusik. When I play the song on his CD, he stops what he's doing and comes over to me to be picked up and danced with.

Guess what little gem I found? Hand motions from a 1980's Canadian children's show that put hand motions to this original song:



Guess what we'll be doing soon??

Friday, March 4, 2011

Back from Mexico

Jason and I were blessed to go on a trip to Mexico. By ourselves. For a week. Happy dance! Our parents were UBER generous to watch Seth while we were gone. We will owe them for a while. Seth stayed three nights at the Teichroew's, then he stayed three nights at our home with Mom Joyce, then another night at the Teichroew's and his last night at home with Mom Joyce. We left on Feb. 20th for the sunny, white-sandy beaches of Playa del Carmen. We were able to stay at an all-inclusive resort - I had never stayed at an all-inclusive, so a week of not preparing meals was one of the best treats ever! Jason and I really didn't do much except lay on the beach, swim in the ocean, grab some cocktails and eat. We walked the cobble-stone streets of downtown Playa del Carmen one night. Our biggest decision each day was deciding where we would be - the beach or the pool! The beach had a perfect, white-sandy beach. The waves were just big enough to jump through, but not so big where I'd feel out of control swimming through them. A few weddings took place on the beach that we peeked on. Each night we'd go to the main resort court where they'd have caribbean or latin bands, karoake and other festivals. There was nothing better than walking around the resort and along the beach at night in 70-degree weather. It was so fun! I was so hesitant to be away from Seth for seven nights. Not because I was concerned about the care he'd receive while we were gone, but because I knew I'd miss Seth alot. We saw quite a few young families at the resort and it would make my heart hurt seeing them, thinking how fun it would be to have Seth with us. At the same time, I kept reminding myself that it was equally as important for Jason and I to have extended time for just the two of us. By about the fifth day that we were gone, I was really missing Seth. By our last full day, I was ready to go home. When we flew back to MN and our parents, along with Seth, met us at baggage claim, it was a happy and tear-filled reunion. My dad was holding Seth and when we got 10 feet from Seth, it registered to him that it was us. The look in his eyes and face was one of panic, "Where did you guys go? Why did you leave me? You're here now!" He couldn't get out of my dad's arms fast enough to get to us. Seth was so happy! Seth did great while we were gone. He enjoyed his time at my parent's. Sunny and Molly made peace with having Seth around. We are so lucky that Seth feels so comfortable with his grandparents that he can be away from us overnigth (if needed). It was so nice to have a get-away with Jason and really just focus on being a wife. Jason was patient with me as I worked through missing Seth and my mommy responsibilities.