Both girls are sick right now. Sami came down with "the crud" on Saturday, innocently thwarting our Valentine's Day plans. It happened to be my week to plan the date, so I had lined up a sitter so we could go try a local German restaurant that had gotten good reviews. After Sami came down with a fever of 102.5 degrees, we both knew it would be best to cancel the sitter
and order pizza instea
d. Good thing, 'cause Sami woke up late at night crying and yelling for us from having thrown up on her bed. Within 48 hours, that fever and tickle in her throat mutated into full-blown bronchitis. The doctor has her on a nebulizer and an antibiotic (I HATE those, and really wonder if they do more harm than good if taken too often). Allie's just a day behind her on this thing, having woken up screaming in the middle of Sunday night just for Kevin to rush her to the kitchen and shove a bowl under her before she puked. Although, it hasn't gone straight to her lungs the way it has with Sam, the way it ALWAYS does with Sam. Well, either there or her ears.
And I'm sitting here praying hard that Drew doesn't catch it.
At least we got some fun in before the winter germs found us.
We went to Sea World on the off-Friday before my birthday
again-- got the Fun Passes so we could go back for free the rest of the year. To Sami's delight, and our surprise, she was tall enough (just barely) to actually ride the Shamu kiddie rollercoaster. Allie rode behind us... all by herself, and didn't care about that in the least. No fear. I sort of wish I had bought those ridiculously expensive pictures t
hey take mid-ride. We walked down the ramp to find our pictures displayed on the monitors. There was Allie, all alone, laughing... with her arms straight up in the air. She had her arms up, for Pete's sake! How does she think to do that? She's only four! Then there was Sami, teeth gritted, clinging to the handle bar, her eyes showing she wasn't sure whether she should laugh or cry. Classic.
The next week we participated in the Harris Family Medical Center's annual 5K. I walked with Jill, pushing the double stroller with Allie and Sami, an
d Kev ran it with Drew. It was a beautiful morning, sunny and cool-- perfect weather for such a race. The girls participated in the kids' Fun Run at the end. I think it was actually a real race, where
they actually rewarded the winner, but I didn't really notice-- I was too busy watching our little girls. Nah, they weren't anywhere close to beating the bigger kids, but they were darn cute-- arms pumping and hair flying, and smiling all the way. They were proud, and so were Kevin and I.
Later that very day, I took Allie and Sami to their friend Jade's birthday party. Jade recently moved back to Colorado with her mom and big sister, so I'm really glad we got to go. Allie has shed many a tea
r over Jade leaving. But Jade's mom Mary hired a clown for the party. I wasn't sure how the girls would react, since I really don't like clowns myself, but they loved him-- thought he was hilarious! And he really wasn't nearly as freaky as circus clowns-- not as much make-up.
Well, Drew is growing right up. He's over two months old already, smiling and cooing. He still loves his "happy corner" of our bedroom where we change his diaper-- maybe he likes the sunlight. After changing his diaper, I can leave him there for a good twenty minutes usually, and he just smiles and "talks" to the dresser.
And Sami has been wearing underwear for over a week
now! Last month I started out with the potty chair in front of the TV in the guest room, letting her watch cartoons if she sat on it, rewarding her with M&Ms every time she peed. She was glued to the TV for a week. Then I moved the chair by her book shelf, letting her sit with it in front of the TV only once in the morning for ten minutes. I warned her that after another week, she could only wear Pull-ups at night, and she'd switch to underwear during the day. She made the switch after a week. Now I need to start the transition to the toilet, which she does use on occasion, such as at church. So hopefully it won't be too bad. It hasn't been nearly as painful and aggrivating as it has been with Allie. The downside for you all may be that I won't have nearly as many entertaining poop stories...
I hope that's the case.
and order pizza instea
d. Good thing, 'cause Sami woke up late at night crying and yelling for us from having thrown up on her bed. Within 48 hours, that fever and tickle in her throat mutated into full-blown bronchitis. The doctor has her on a nebulizer and an antibiotic (I HATE those, and really wonder if they do more harm than good if taken too often). Allie's just a day behind her on this thing, having woken up screaming in the middle of Sunday night just for Kevin to rush her to the kitchen and shove a bowl under her before she puked. Although, it hasn't gone straight to her lungs the way it has with Sam, the way it ALWAYS does with Sam. Well, either there or her ears.
We went to Sea World on the off-Friday before my birthday 
again-- got the Fun Passes so we could go back for free the rest of the year. To Sami's delight, and our surprise, she was tall enough (just barely) to actually ride the Shamu kiddie rollercoaster. Allie rode behind us... all by herself, and didn't care about that in the least. No fear. I sort of wish I had bought those ridiculously expensive pictures t
hey take mid-ride. We walked down the ramp to find our pictures displayed on the monitors. There was Allie, all alone, laughing... with her arms straight up in the air. She had her arms up, for Pete's sake! How does she think to do that? She's only four! Then there was Sami, teeth gritted, clinging to the handle bar, her eyes showing she wasn't sure whether she should laugh or cry. Classic.
d Kev ran it with Drew. It was a beautiful morning, sunny and cool-- perfect weather for such a race. The girls participated in the kids' Fun Run at the end. I think it was actually a real race, where 
they actually rewarded the winner, but I didn't really notice-- I was too busy watching our little girls. Nah, they weren't anywhere close to beating the bigger kids, but they were darn cute-- arms pumping and hair flying, and smiling all the way. They were proud, and so were Kevin and I.
Later that very day, I took Allie and Sami to their friend Jade's birthday party. Jade recently moved back to Colorado with her mom and big sister, so I'm really glad we got to go. Allie has shed many a tea
r over Jade leaving. But Jade's mom Mary hired a clown for the party. I wasn't sure how the girls would react, since I really don't like clowns myself, but they loved him-- thought he was hilarious! And he really wasn't nearly as freaky as circus clowns-- not as much make-up.
now! Last month I started out with the potty chair in front of the TV in the guest room, letting her watch cartoons if she sat on it, rewarding her with M&Ms every time she peed. She was glued to the TV for a week. Then I moved the chair by her book shelf, letting her sit with it in front of the TV only once in the morning for ten minutes. I warned her that after another week, she could only wear Pull-ups at night, and she'd switch to underwear during the day. She made the switch after a week. Now I need to start the transition to the toilet, which she does use on occasion, such as at church. So hopefully it won't be too bad. It hasn't been nearly as painful and aggrivating as it has been with Allie. The downside for you all may be that I won't have nearly as many entertaining poop stories...
