Happy days are here again

Well, after my last posting, Miss C decided that we (mama and daddy, that is) were going to win the bed time discussion so she pretty much caved. Caved, that is, as much as any 20 month old can after 36 hours of frustration with wanting to sleep on the couch. Its really no big deal now but boy, what a rookie mistake! We should have known better, should have kept her in her bed but when your little one gets sick, its hard to not give them basically anything they want to make them feel better, ya know?

Other than that, we have been doing just fine. We are planning an exciting trip to visit a ton of family in a couple of weeks. We can only go for the weekend but Miss C will have a chance to meet Aunt A and her cousins there and see Aunt L and Uncle W and their little one. We also plan on visiting a couple of other friends in the area and perhaps one or two more family members, not sure of the schedule yet.

To help on the trip, I got Miss C a harness for her airplane seat so we don't have to carry a car seat on to the plane. I also plan on bringing a portable DVD player and some stuff to watch in addition to our normal travel fare of coloring books, paper, crayons, tons of her favorite books, snacks, etc. I admit I am a little nervous because this is the longest flight she has been on (4.5hours on the way there, just under 5 on the way back). I know how fidgety I get, I can only imagine how difficult it will be for her. That's one of the reasons we got her a seat rather than taking advantage one last time of being able to have a lap infant. In case you are wondering, we fully intend to have her pacifier handy to help her clear her ears, that or a sippy cup always make it easier to fly.

So, here is my question to you all. For those who have endured air travel of this duration, do you have any recommendations or words of wisdom?

Miss C turned 20 months old and all she got was a fever

20 months, already?

Yep and for our 20 month day we got, a fever. Lovely. 103. No fun. Funny thing, Miss C was mainly her normal, cheerful, playful self. She snuggled a little more but who would think that would be the only sign (other than, later on, the fever itself). She's doing fine, taking Motrin and sleeping pretty soundly. I just got back from about 15 minutes of snuggling. Miss C woke up and just wanted to snuggle. Poor kiddo.

Well, I started this posting on Monday but didn't get far with it until tonight. Our week has been rough. Miss C has been very healthy so her getting and keeping a fever for more than a day was unexpected and we suffered, that's for sure.

It took 4 days and 3 nights of constant cuddling, sipping on juice and water, sleeping on the couch and sometimes the floor (all of us) and two visits to the doctor but I think we are beyond the worst. Miss C's fever finally broke for more than an hour this afternoon. She still isn't back to her chipper old self, but that will take time. One of the negative aspects of this situation is that we allowed Miss C to sleep outside of her bed. While some folks have done that all along, Miss C hasn't slept in anything but her bed or the cot at school, ever. I mean, she always went upstairs for her naps, always slept in her bed (even her own pack and play when we travel) so this was different. Unfortunately, she liked the different, especially when it means downstairs where we are when she needs sleep.

Well, we had to get her to sleep in her bed tonight. I mean, she wasn't running a fever anymore but she (we all) sorely needs the sleep and we know that she will sleep well in her bed, if we can get her to even lay down in it. That took a lot of doing, a lot of crying and a serious amount of will power. Miss C has discovered that crying gets attention. We are talking to her about not crying just to make noise, especially when she knows the words. I think that will be an on-going battle, but I digress. Tonight after dinner and bath, normal routine, we tried the bed again (last night we caved because she still had a mid-grade fever). Ok, so first I tried, I talked, I asked, I did everything short of close the door behind myself. DH then tried. He even offered to move a different mattress in the room. I tried again. This time I told her she wasn't getting off the bed and I sat at the opening of it. She stood and stared at me like i was the meanest mama ever. We had a stare-off. After about 10 minutes, DH came back in and we told her good night, we love you.

About an hour later (we were terrified to even open the door), DH poked his head in to see if Miss C indeed fell asleep standing up. Ah, success! She was laying down asleep in her bed, for now. Hopefully we won't have to go through this again tomorrow!

CONGRATULATIONS, ALPHAGAL AND COMPANY!

My BFF (Alphagal) just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy! Hugs and kisses and of course well wishes to Alphagal, SNG, E-baby and the newest addition, A-baby! We love you all!

Talking in full sentences

When did my little babbling baby suddenly turn into a little girl who could express her thoughts in full (or close enough to it) sentences? In my sleep apparently!

Just last week we noticed a significant shift in Miss C's speech, sentences! Her first real sentence was "I got it!" After that she added "Right here!" in response to "where is (whatever)". Then she began to say "here you go" and added "angel" at the end of it because apparently I say that to her. Now she is more than just directive (you remember, "sit down", "wait", "come here" and all of those fun directions) she is up front about what she wants "mama, more milk (insert word of choice, such as color, play, water, etc) please" and where she wants to go "[Miss C] go outside, play" followed quickly by "please" in case I missed the earnestness in her voice. Its incredible how much our little sponge has retained. While coloring ("mama, color [Miss C]"), I started writing and spelling her name. Now when she wants me to write her name, Miss C spells it for me! I know! Its scary!

Beyond that, Miss C has a boyfriend. Ok, quick story. Over Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa (two more words she uses regularly!), Miss C received an Elmo Live. For the entire time we were visiting, Miss C wouldn't come any closer than my arm could reach to Elmo (I say it that way because if she wanted to hear him talk, she would use my hand to make that happen!). Ok, so we couldn't bring him back with us because we only had so much bag space. Instead, Grandma put it in the mail. Two weeks separated apparently made a difference because almost as soon as we got him out of his bed (the box he was mailed in), Miss C gave him hugs and kisses. He is her little boyfriend now! I have some pictures but seem to have misplaced my transfer cord so those will have to be posted once i find it!

Ok, that's enough of an update for now. Hope everyone is doing well!