18 Month Pediatrician Well-Check

Gabe and Ari had their 18 month old well-check today with Dr. Sudha, and here are the stats:
Gabriel is 25.8 lbs (45th %tile for weight), 33 in. (65th %tile for height), and has a head circumference in the 100th %tile (he has lots of brains). Ariana is 23.5 lbs. (50th %tile for weight), 32 in. (55th %tile for height), and has a head circumference in the 75th%tile. They are growing well, and we feel fortunate for their present health.
Dr. Sudha was also able to diagnose Ariana's past sickness as Roseola. Roseola is a viral illness that typically occurs in young children between 6 months and 2 years old. It is marked by several days of high fever (over 103 degrees F) and followed by a distinctive rash that occurs on the trunk and spreads over the rest of the body just as the fever breaks. This is exactly what happened to Ari -- glad to know some doctors have the answers.
Auntie Marci came to hang out and help us with the doctor appointment. The kids had so much fun having her here -- they hardly fussed the whole time. Though I think Marci won't have any trouble sleeping tonight... and tomorrow...

32 Week Pregnancy Update

I can't believe that I'm past 32 weeks already. I keep remembering how at this point in my last pregnancy, I was on bedrest, dilating, with only 1 week left in my pregnancy. This time is, thankfully, so different. At my ultrasound appointment, yesterday, Isabella was measuring 3 lbs. 13 oz., which is slightly small for her gestational age (14th percentile), but nothing to worry over. Everything looks as perfect as it can be and she seems to be progressing right on track. Unfortunately, she was very camera shy and despite my prodding, she wouldn't move her right hand from in front of her face so I don't have any new pictures. I have one more shot at a good picture before she comes (36 week ultrasound), so hopefully she'll be in a posing mood that day.
As you can probably tell from the belly pictures, I have started my Lovonox (blood thinner) injections. Unfortunately, the twice a day injections do nothing to make my belly look pretty for pictures. Instead, I get a ton of ugly bruises and marks (and I'm showing you my good side). I guess I should just count my blessings that bruises, unlike stretch marks, will fade in time. The bruising is, frankly, the least of the side effects that comes with the Lovonox. Lovonox has put the fear of blood in me (my own blood that is). Everytime I shave my legs, I will bleed for apparently no reason at all. So, naturally, I'm worrying about what the heck is going to happen to me when I'm in labor? Granted, by the time I go into labor I will have hopefully been switched to Heparin, which has an antidote (whereas Lovonox has no antidote or reversal). But still... it makes me nervous. On a lighter note, I have turned into a mosquito magnet. This is not a documented side effect of Lovonox, but there is no denying it. I am swarmed by them the second I step outside -- I have 15 new bites since the weekend!
It seems that I have entered into the phase of pregnancy where exhaustion strikes. It's not the sleepy feeling I had in the first trimester, but a winded and hot sensation that's entirely new to me. I feel like an old woman in menapause (or so I'm told). Needless to say, Gabe has nearly mastered all the sign language on his Baby Einstein signing DVD and Ari immediately recognizes and claps to the Barney sing-along songs. Yeah, they watch their movies now... and not just when I'm making dinner.
I'm not proud to announce this, but my strange cravings are back. They happened late in my last pregnancy and they've returned once more. I crave towels -- yes, fluffy bath towels straight out of the dryer. And the smell that comes from my car air conditioner. And Home Depot. If I could sit in my cleaning closet all day, I would. I have not given in to these cravings with the exception of the towels (obviously, they don't get eaten, just chewed on). I've learned that I'm not alone in this... it's called Pica, and in my defense, it's fairly common in pregnancy and not a sign of mental illness :). One of the most common Pica cravings is laundry startch and soap. Pregnancy is so strange.

Summer Fun

Well, even though the temps outside are still high, I can't say this summer has dragged on for us, because it has flown by. Ariana has fully recovered from her mysterious fever, and has since began eating like a champ and smiling and laughing non-stop once again. I was really getting down for a few days there when she offered not one smile even though her fever was gone. Well, my little peachy peach is back, and she even has a shiny new molar to boot. With Ariana's impossibly high fever, we were given a little blessing... no seizures. And what does this mean (other than a miracle)? Ariana is off her Phenobarb for good (we hope). Now Ariana is completely medication free! On a tangent to that, Ariana's standard constipation issues that have plagued us since she stopped breastfeeding seemed to resolved themselves as well.Gabriel is changing so much every day that I feel like I can't even keep up with all that he does. He has at least 10 new words since the beginning of the month, which include "shoes," "cup," "bowl," "Ari," and "movie." He has been practicing his sign language, and my favorite new sign word of his is 'please.' Of course, he will sign please when he wants something to anyone other than me. Still, I'll take what I can get.
Jake and I took Gabe and Ari to the splash pad on Sunday evening. It was their second visit, and they had so much fun. Gabe was still a little apprehensive about water in the face, but he loved running around and yelling "bop-um" (his word for water, a.k.a. 'bottle') with hands waving. Ariana was a trooper and went under the water fountains with only smiles the whole time.

Yesterday, Jake had a networking meeting for work at the IMAX theater, so we got to take the kids to see an IMAX movie for free. They had so much fun stuffing their little mouths with popcorn and taking in the big screen animation. They lasted for a whole 45 minutes without a peep.

Happy Birthday to Me (July 29th)

Just wanted to say -- look what Jake got me for my birthday! It's an ASUS eee laptop computer. It weighs 2.5 lbs. in all and is 9" x 11". It has all of my programs and pictures already on it, and it has a built-in wireless nic card so I get internet anywhere there's a signal. And it fits oh so nicely in my diaper bag, so I carry it with me wherever I go and use it as my planner. It has been written up in magazines and has A+ reviews -- I love it already. And because it is the most affordable computer out there (look it up!), we could afford to upgrade the RAM and get the extended battery. I feel so chic and mobile. (The cell phone is in the photo for scale.)

Ari is on the mend

Ari is finally recovering from her strange sickness. Wednesday and Thursday were cranky days for Ari. If anyone has ever met Ari, this should come as a surprise in and of itself -- Ari is never unhappy. For a minute there, I was beginning to think that this was the beginning of her tantrum toddler stage, and I nearly lost my mind over it. On Friday evening, we noticed that she seemed to have a fever, so we gave her some Tylenol and sent her to bed. Saturday morning, it was apparent that she had definitely come down with something. Jake took her to get checked out at the urgent care right next to our house, and they diagnosed her with an ear infection and possible intestinal bacterial infection. They put her on an antibiotic called Bactrim that makes you heave just smelling it. Well, it goes without saying that things usually get worse before they get better, and they sure did. Ariana peaked at a 106.7 degree fever that night, and Jake took her to the emergency room. They gave her 700 mg. (plus the 200 mg. I already gave her) of Ibprofin, ran all kinds of bloodwork on my poor baby, gave her a catheder, and ran an IV because the fever had severely dehydrated her (all not without sticking her a dozen times before finding a vein). The bloodwork & urine came back normal (white blood cell counts normal, etc.). They were left with no diagnosis. Somehow, we manage to stump doctors a lot -- very frustrating. They suggested we admit her due to her dehydration, but seeing as though it was already 2:30 AM and she needed sleep desperately, we elected to bring her home. The next morning, her fever had gone down, but not substantially -- she was at 105.5 degrees. We kept her on her increased doses of Ibprofin (because the Tylenol doesn't really work for us) and tried to keep giving her fluids as instructed. Well, we needed to get her to eat, because the Bactrim is to be given on a full stomach, but she refused. We are still on the Bactrim (1.5 tsp. 2 x per day), and it is pure torture for everyone. She refuses to swallow it, and when she does, she often throws it right back up. One documented side effect of the medicine is a decrease in appetite. Ariana will barely eat a thing. She'll scream if I put her favorite foods in her mouth (blueberries, cheerios, yogurt, whatever). It is a chore to get her to eat cake! All this, of course, exasserbates the problem of her keeping the medicine down. I called the urgent care today for a change in antibiotic, and they told me that I could either keep her on the Bactrim until Saturday or switch to Amoxicillin (which is only 6 ml. versus 7.5) but keep her on it until next Thursday. I am torn. I think I'll get the new med and let Ari decide which she prefers. I think that I remember Amoxicillin tasting pretty good actually. Anyway, today is the second day that Ariana has not woken up with a fever, convincing me that she is finally on the road to recovery. She is still pretty darn tired, so I've been giving the kids two naps a day instead of one (Gabe loves his naps still!). Hopefully, we'll see the light at the end of the tunnel soon.

What's New at 17 Months Old

I tend to treat at my blog as if it were my journal. I like to keep a record of the little things that we do and experience as a family that I might not remember when I'm 50... or in a couple months when I'm making their annual scrapbooks. Besides the vacation, which was an obvious one, this month was full of small developments and new acheivements. Every day, I see my kids grow up a tiny bit more, and it fills me with a mix of excitement, nostalgia, and a little sadness at how quickly time passes.

This month, Gabriel is getting into everything (as if I thought he'd discovered everything last month!). He cannot enter a room without leaving it in shambles before he departs. Gabe is my little chatterbox -- he is constantly babbling sentences and asking us questions that we can't quite understand yet. He has a vocabulary of about 25 words; including his latest "bird," "blankie," "bear," and "car." He is constantly imitating any sounds he hears around him, especially funny noices and laughter. He likes to talk about things as he's pointing at them. He plays games and loves to laugh at Ariana (they are getting to be such great friends!). He is willing to share all of his toys, food, and sippy cups with her. Whenever I put cereal on his tray and not hers (because she can't feed it to herself yet), he lovingly puts one on her tray every time he eats one. He willingly gives her one toy after another when asked. He loves to socialize and has no inhibitions whatsoever -- Jake and I can't hardly recognize him, because we were both so shy as children. Gabe will go up to any child (he prefers older kids) and say "hi" and wave and start babbling and laughing as soon as he makes eye contact. I love that he loves people! He is so affectionate -- loving to give hugs and kisses. Gabe loves typical boy things like cars (he pretends nearly all of his toys are cars and zooms them across the floor), playing catch with balls, making a mess with his sippy cup, a being roughhoused by Daddy. He tries repeatedly to somersault, but always falls to the side. He is also very focused and can concentrate for long periods of time on one activity, such as matching shapes in a puzzle, putting pegs in a pegboard, building towers with blocks, or putting little balls down his rolly ball ramp. I frequently find him "reading" books in a corner aloud to himself. He can take off his shoes and tries to put Ariana's on. Gabe can identify body parts (ear, tongue, teeth, nose, hand, foot, belly button) and can name one... can you guess which? He is learning animals and can name three. He likes to scribble with pens (on the couch) and with his magnadoodle. Gabe is starting to learn to use a spoon at mealtime. Like last month, Gabe is getting a little more demanding of attention. Whenever Ari is sitting on my lap, he will try to push her off or sit on her lap. This will definitely be a challenge when the third baby is vying for her spot on my lap too! Ever since our vacation, Gabe is getting so attached to Daddy. He wants Daddy to tuck him in and he throws and all out tantrum whenever Jake leaves the room or the house to go to work. Gabe is now getting to be very aware of what is right and wrong. When he repeatedly does something that he's told not to do, he will throw a temper tantrum and have to spend a minute in time-out. It's very odd, but it seems like Gabe likes time out, because he quits crying the second he's facing the corner and he often peaks over his shoulder and grins at us, trying to get us to smile back. When the minute is over, he always runs over and gives us a hug and a kiss. I love this boy, and I feel so lucky to have him in my family.

Gabe loves to play catch with Chewy.Gabe had a blast playing the games at Peter Piper Pizza. His favorite was bowling, as you can tell by the crazed look on his face.Gabe got to bond with his Uncle Ryan. While Ariana has not had as many formal skill developments, she has definitely grown and is seeming more mature and like a big girl every day. Ari loves to use her left hand -- she claps with it to music, waves (and says "hiiiii!"), splashes in the water, feeds herself (large foods like bread, green beans, chunks of cheese), reaches and grabs toys, scratches and pulls my hair when she's frustrated with me, and so much more. She belly laughs and plays games with Gabriel anytime they're together (especially in highchairs & carseats). Her favorite games are peek-a-boo and word play nursery rhymes (like "itsy bitsy spider"). Ari has a keen awareness of her surroundings and a great sense of humor. She laughs at almost any incongruity (even the most subtle ones). Ariana is getting to be more and more vocal. She frequently babbles sentences with many different consonants. When she wants to get my attention, she'll yell "mamamama." She will also ask for food by shoving her chest out, waving her hand, and saying "eh eh eh." She loves to play with whatever Gabe has and wants more and more to be treated like he is. She loves to practice drinking out of a sippy cup (she brings it to her mouth with the handle but only chews the spout) and use a spoon. Although Ari's expressive vocabulary isn't where Gabe's is yet (she says three words), she understands most of what we say. When we ask her a question to which her answer is 'yes', she will nodd her head vigorously. She is also very responsive to direction. While sitting in her highchair or practicing sitting independently, Ari sometimes slouches foward or to her right. When I ask her to "sit up please," she corrects herself to an upright position and smiles at us. She also likes to take her sweet time when drinking her bottle. When she is getting distracted, I simply say "Ari, drink your milk" and she gets right on it. Ari is eating all kinds of regular foods -- pretty much anything we eat as long as it's room temperature, and she hasn't had baby foods in over a month. She can take her hat and sunglasses off, throw her toys, and turn the pages of her books. When we put objects in her right hand (her weaker hand), she will use them functionally (brush her hair, feed herself, attempt to push a ball). Ariana is getting so close to sitting, and although it is a gradual process, I now have no doubt that she will get there. I am so proud of my baby girl. Her sweet angelic (and sassy!) spirit keeps me strong. She is my sunshine.My princess is all smiles.Bowling with Grammy.

Vacation in Dominican Republic

We just got back from our vacation late Monday night. We had so much fun, and I am SO glad that we went. The break was much needed, and it was everything that I had hoped it would be. My prayers were answered (finally)!
We left on Monday, July 14th early in the morning and caught the first plane (Southwest) out to Ft. Lauderdale, FL. I say we "caught" it because we were flying standby on buddy passes (yes, we're brave!). We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale after a six hour flight and immediately checked in to the Ramada that we were staying at for the night. Our flight from Florida to the Dominican didn't leave until the following evening. The kids did so well on the flight -- I was shocked! No crying the whole way there! They ate lunch on the plane, took a 2 1/2 hr. nap, and played with all the little dollar store toys that I bought them for the trip. Like every flight we took, we were lucky enough to have a full row to ourselves, so Gabriel got to sit in the middle seat between Jake and I (even though technically he was supposed to be a "lap child" and we were flying "nonrevenue" a.k.a. lowest priority). We didn't spend much time at the Ramada in Florida other than to sleep. That evening for dinner and the next day for lunch we were visited by my Uncle Bruce, Aunt Cindy, and cousin David. It had been four years since I last saw Uncle Bruce and 11 since seeing the others. Jake and I had so much fun just catching up with them. On Tuesday evening, we began the next leg of our journey. We took a two and a half hour flight (Spirit Airlines) to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Then, we rode another 2 hours by taxi to the resort, which was in La Romana. This was a bummer only because it was an extra $100 each way that we hadn't budgeted, but the babies were angels the whole ride.
We arrived at our resort, called the Sunscape Casa del Mar, late Tuesday evening. Our newly renovated room on the first floor (for the stroller) with two cribs was ready for us when we arrived. We were so pleasantly surprised by everything, because we were in the habit of never expecting things to go that smoothly :). The weather was perfect every day we were there -- always sunny and consistently in the high 80's. The babies slept great in their cribs, which surprised us as well, since they normally are used to having a room each to themselves. From that day foward for the rest of the week, we had such a relaxing and fun time. Jake realized that it was the first week that he got to spend with the babies uninterrupted since they were born. The babies napped well, ate well, and had such a great time playing in the water with all the other kids. I am so glad that they got to have those experiences -- I feel that it was so enriching to them to have the socialization and break from routine. Gabe made tons of friends and loved to practice "swimming" in the one foot shallow part of the pool (he would crawl on his hands, floating his legs and rear as he moved) and jumping into the deep end (into our arms). Ariana perfected her waving -- she now waves and grins every time someone waves at her or says 'hi'. Gabe and Ari loved the beach and the pool. They would often fall asleep right there in our arms. The resort itself was really nice. The grounds were beautiful and perfectly manicured. There were flamingoes and palms of every variety. The food was not the best, but as I've said before, I can be hard to please when it comes to food. There was so much variety to choose from, though, that everyone was satisfied.Although this trip was definitely a family vacation, and by no means a romantic getaway, Jake and I did get to have some time to ourselves each day. Since our room was on the first floor and only a couple yards away from the pool, Jake and I would put the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door and sneak out the balcony to have a swim during naptime, alternating checking on the twins every five minutes. This worked perfectly, and we were usually done with our break before the babies were finished napping. Jake also got to go scuba diving three mornings that we were there. Although I didn't get to go with him (because I'm pregnant), I was really glad he got some time to do what he is passionate about.Although we were sad to leave, we knew that it was time to get back to normal life. The way home was probably the roughest part of the trip, but even then it was surprisingly hassle-free. We did travel for 20 hours straight, waking up at 1 AM and not arriving home until 10 PM. Gabe had a couple 15-minute crying spells in the airport, but the plane rides were pretty easy thanks to a baby dose of benadryl and our portable DVD player. I am so thankful that this trip was a success. We prepared as best we could and then we just had to relax and trust that things would fall into place. And fall into place they did. It was very liberating to feel like we are now able to travel with our kids and still hang on to a little bit of adventurous spirit. Now, my only regret is that I didn't take nearly enough pictures (tear*).