Feeling Crafty and Keira Firsts

Eli and I did a lot of Fall Crafts last week. I think we did six at home and one at the library's Story Time. We are both really enjoying them. I found a website that takes all the guesswork out of crafts and Dendi generously bought us new paints and a palette. I think it appeals to my teacher side and it gives Eli and I something concrete to do together while Keira sleeps. The fortunate thing is that Keira is good enough that even when she's awake we can get a little crafting in. For a while she was happily playing in her play place. But, the good thing about crafts, is that unlike cooking, we can generally stop mid step indefinitely and come back to them when the time is right.




In Keira news... October has been a month of firsts for her. On the 2nd, Keira laughed out loud at Eli. She's done her share of giggling, but that was her first out right laugh. Then, on the 14th, she rolled over for the first time. She was on Tummy Time and she was leaning on her side, which she's been doing for some time, then surprised herself by rolling all the way over. I had to happily exclaim and reassure her so that she knew it was a good thing. Here she is once she was on her back.


Finally, this morning, she was baptized (more on that later) and she cut her first tooth. It's been a busy month for Little Miss Keira.

Nap Walk

We are still loving our nap walks. Yesterday, we were out of the house for four hours. Eli napped in the stroller while we walked around Lake Peachtree, we played for a few hours at Pebble Pocket Park, then we walked back home. According to my pedometer, I walked aerobically for 120 minutes yesterday, which is about right. It takes an hour to walk each way to the park. One of my favorite parts of the walk are the views. It's so peaceful and tranquil. Here's what Lake Peachtree looks like through the trees.

Looking at these views, and soaking up my time with the trees fills me with awe and gratitude that we live in such a beautiful place -- perfect for nap walks to the park of our choice.

Yesterday, once we got to the park, Eli played in the sand first. I played a little, but mostly entertained Keira who sat on my lap and experienced sand between her toes for the first time. She seemed interested and excited about the new sensation.


Next, Eli played on the teeter totter. He created an elaborate game that I sometimes played with him. But, mostly I walked around in the shade with Keira in the Baby Bjorn. She was due for her next nap, but couldn't quite settle down and fall asleep.


Then, Eli drove us to California and the Lake House.



Finally, we spent the remainder of our time on the swings. When we started playing, I told Eli we'd have to leave soon, as I knew Keira would fall asleep once we started our trek home. But, I put her in a swing and she was thrilled. I think it was her fourth time on a swing -- and by far the most successful attempt. She happily sat, swung and chewed on her hat. That gave Eli an opportunity to play on the swings his favorite way -- on his tummy. Of course, the puddle under the swing made it even more fun. Then, he pushed Keira on the swing. He hasn't quite mastered the gentle push, luckily she's exceptionally tolerant. He made up for his exuberant pushing with a little cuddle.

So Cute Together

As Keira is getting older and more active, it's been so fun watching them interract. As she's always been, Keira's fascinated by Eli. She loves to watch him and often gives him her best smiles. Eli says, "She just smiled at me because she loves me so much." And, he always says how much he loves her. Now, that she's getting better with her hands and feet she loves grabbing his face and kicking him when he's in reach. We've told him that she doesn't understand yet, so if he doesn't like it he needs to move a little farther away. But, actually he loves to "play" with her and thinks it's hilarious.

My Birthday Weekend

I felt very spoiled this weekend. We went out for my birthday dinner three times! On Friday, we went to Longhorn with the Dendi, Bapa, Ms. Andrea, and Uncle Jason. We rarely eat out and when we do it tends to be Moe's or Chick-Fil-A, so real restaurant food tasted DELICIOUS! Of course, eating out with two small children is always a challenge. Scott spent most of the meal walking around outside with Keira on his shoulder and I spent most of the time entertaining Eli. He loved Longhorn's kid's menu, since it was like a brand new activity book. As you can see from his scowl in the second picture, the boy is not fond of posing for pictures.


I had the intention of taking more pictures -- lots of us as a family of four and at least one of the whole table, but it didn't happen.

Here's the best picture that we got of the four of us last weekend. Obviously, it's not great, but it's one of very few that I have with all four of us. Eli's not interested in posing and we were in desperate need of a flash. But, of course by the time that happened, the moment was gone.


The next night, my actual birthday, Scott, the kids and I went to Newnan and ate a very early dinner at La Parilla, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. Then, we spent a relaxing evening eating ice cream, and hanging out at Barnes and Noble and Shenanigans Toy Store. I spent a lot of time walking around with Keira while she snoozed in the Baby Bjorn. While she was awake, but still wanted to move around, I went shopping with her in the Baby Bjorn. I even tried on and bought myself a pair of high heels for my birthday with her riding in the front. It felt relaxing and indulgent to be shopping for something frivolous for myself.

Finally, on Sunday night, Babo and Grammie took us, Aunt Seana, Mr. Josh, Uncle Brian and Ms. Kathryn out to eat Chinese Food at Chin Chin. The food and the company were great. But, it was fairly chaotic with Eli. I think three nights out for him in a row was a little much. But, we survived, ate great food, and heard about Uncle Brian and Ms. Kathryn's trip to California. As the meal was a little crazy with keeping Eli entertained, I got no pictures at dinner. But, here are a few that we took before we headed out for the restaurant. Eli was not interested in posing, so we photographed Keira instead.

Some Old Pics

While borrowing Dendi's camera to get the Water Tower pictures, I found some old pictures worth posting. We took these pictures in late August when we were over at Dendi's house for dinner.

My Sweet Little Sickie

I got this great picture of Keira with Dendi's camera on our water tower day. I've been sadly behind keeping up with the blog for three reasons -- our nap struggle, our Nap Walks (I used to blog at nap time) and finally, because of Keira's sickness. Two weeks ago, during our nap battles Eli got a little cold. Keira caught it and it turned nasty. She gurgles and wheezes when she breathes, so with our family history, I took her in early last week to see the doctor. Thankfully, her lungs were clear. But, the doctor said, given all the breathing issues in our house, he's glad I brought her in. He also told me what to look for in case I have to bring her back in.

The next day, she sounded even worse, and using his suggestions, I looked at Keira's chest and she seemed to be struggling to breathe. Her tummy was extending more than usual, and there was a clear line between her ribs and her belly. Not wanting to visit the doctor again in vain, I called the advice nurse and described what I saw. She said that it sounded like she was retracting and told me that I had to bring her in. The doctor that we saw that day, noted the retracting, listened to her lungs and told me they were clear again. She said that Keira looked okay for now, but that she wouldn't be surprised if we came in again on Friday. So far, we haven't been back. Her gurgling and retracting have gotten slightly worse, but as far as I can tell it's not in her lungs. We may be going back in tomorrow, if she doesn't get any better.

Elijah and the Water Tower

I keep thinking that this post's title would be such a good title for a children's book... Eli is enamored with and "startled" (his word) by water towers. Here, in the South, they are everywhere. Whenever we are in the car he's looking for one. When he locates one he wants to get as close as we can to it so that he can try and see the bottom. Fortunately, Dendi and Bapa have a water tower in their subdivision that is easily approachable from a little dirt road. On September 24, Dendi, Eli, Keira and I walked out to see the water tower. Eli and Dendi had been there the day before and he wanted to go back so that I could see it. Interestingly, he's fascinated by the water towers, but up close he's scared of them. It took some persuading to get him close enough to take this picture. I guess, up close they are huge.




In other Elijah news, sleep has been a real issue lately. Two weeks ago, I thought I was going to pull my hair out. We had an entire week of relatively unsuccessful nap attempts. That Friday, I spent four hours trying to put him down for his nap. I hardly recognized myself or him. I was yelling, which I was feeling terrible about. And, he was being naughtier than I've ever seen him. I felt exhausted, drained and guilty each afternoon when Scott got home. Fortunately, after emailing back and forth with a good friend, and fellow mommy, (thanks Amy!) I came to the conclusion that he was probably starting to outgrow his naps. Thanks to a sleep book that I love, I came up with the idea of the Nap Walk.

Now, each day after lunch I put Keira in her Baby Bjorn and Eli in the stroller and we set out. Eli gets to choose our ultimate destination. So far, he's been alternating between Pebble Pocket Park, Jumping Bridge Park and Three Ponds Park. We are so lucky living in Peachtree City with all of the golf cart paths and parks. Within 5-10 minutes of getting in the stroller he's asleep. Then, I walk for about an hour and end up at his park of choice. It's been wonderful. I've been getting my exercise and some solitude in the trees and Eli's been getting a little nap. The best thing as far as Eli goes is that his behavior has improved dramatically. Now that we aren't having nap battles, our old relationship has returned. Thank God!!! At first, I was worried about Keira, but she seems to love it, too. She alternates between dozing and looking around. I nurse her right before we leave, and if we end up spending a good chunk of time playing at a park after he naps, then I nurse her again. Of course, the weather has been gorgeous lately, which has made the Nap Walk possible and pleasurable, and I may have to rethink it once the weather changes.