Nights, no, independence and hugs.

The last few nights, Brianna has been slowly sleeping longer and longer periods. Until recently, she generally got up 2-4 times a night for 30-60 minutes each time. Which was fine with me, I was just super tired. But a few nights ago, she slept a 5 hour period before waking for the first time. The next night, it was 6 hours. Then 7 hours. And now last night, she slept for 8 whole hours before waking up for the first time! (I put her in her crib about 9 pm, after her bath and feeding and cuddling. She was asleep by 9:15. She did not wake until 5:20!). Let's hope she ends up taking after Kaitlyn in being a great sleeper - especially now that I am coming up quickly on a return to working night shifts. I know Andy would sure like it if she continues this trend. Otherwise he would end up being awake half the night and then having to go in to work the next day. Andy does not do well when he loses too much sleep :-) (Sorry hun, but it is true and you know it! lol).

I can't remember if I have mentioned it yet, and I may have but it could use a second mention. Kaitlyn LOVES the word NO these days. "Can I have a hug?" NO! "Can I have a kiss?" NO! "Can I have a butterfly kiss?" NO! "Do you want this sippy?" NO! "Want to pet the kitty?" NO! She is also so strong willed as far as wanting to do things herself. For example, if you try to hand her sippy to her, she will sometimes knock it out of your hand, scream, run away, etc. But if you leave it somewhere for her to grab herself, she picks it up and drinks it right away. What a cute little stinker :-)

I am happy to report that I did get a spontaneous hug from her this morning, without even asking for it. One of the best things about being a mommy is getting those spontaneous hugs or kisses from your child. Aaaaaah....

Ridiculousness

So we have been having some confusion and issues with our billing from Brianna's birth. Andy requested an itemized list and after looking through it (all 4 pages)...ugh. Makes me sick what the charge for things. For example - ONE tablet of Ibuprofen 800 mg cost $5.00. Seriously? You charge people FIVE BUCKS for ONE tablet of Ibuprofen? You could get a whole bottle of 200 mg pills for five bucks, and just take 4 to equal that 800 mg tab.

Oh well - at least I had a much better experience this time, than last. This time was so much calmer. No unexpected, scary emergencies. I was in the hospital only 1/2 the time that I was last time. I am very grateful for a smooth, mostly uncomplicated experience. I just wish they didn't bend you over, so to speak, as far as the costs of everything.

Terrible twos, poos and foos.

Ok, so Kaitlyn isn't quite 2 yet...4 months shy, in fact. But last night, I think we got a little taste of what "terrible twos" can really be like. It was by far the biggest, longest fit we have seen out of her. She was hitting and screaming and crying and pouting. Of course, her favorite word is "NO", especially last night. Oooh the joys :-)

A couple of nights ago she went pee pee in her big girl potty for a second time. For a while now she has been telling us when she goes poo (by saying "poo" and putting her hand on her butt". And now we think that to tell us she went pee, she says "foo" and puts her hand on the front of her diaper. Where she got "foo" from, I have no idea other than it sounds like poo only with one letter changed.

My maternity leave is quickly dwindling and I am getting sad and nervous about returning to work. It is just so hard to leave your baby for the first time, you know?! Unfortunately, we are not in a financial position for me to stay at home. Though, at least this time we aren't leaving the baby with somebody we barely know. Last time, we had met our day care provider and checked out her house and all, but we didn't really KNOW her. But now, Kaitlyn has been going there for 1.5 years and loves it. Brianna will join her soon, and hopefully she will grow to love it as she gets older, too.

Who knows, maybe we will win the lottery! Then I could stay home. We would play together, go on walks, go on play-dates...it would be great :-)
If only!

Brianna is growing quickly

Here are a few more recent pics of Brianna.

Boo at the Zoo

This weekend we brought Kaitlyn and Brianna to Boo at the Zoo. Kaitlyn had a big smile on her face most of the time - I think she liked seeing all of the other kids all dressed up. Brianna spent the whole time bundled up in her stroller, sleeping. Here are some pics for your enjoyment!

Trying on her mouse costume for the first time


The polar bear was out and about


Kaitlyn wandering (see me in the background)


Posing with a very large pumpkin decoration


Trick or treat!


Daddy was taking the pic but she was looking at mommy

Election 08'

So Andy and I are planning on voting for Obama-Biden. I won't make this blog into a political war zone, but I have to at least state the fact. I can't speak for Andy, but I have many reasons for my decision.

However, Saturday Night Live has been absolutely hilarious with Tina Fey's new found talent impersonating Sarah Palin. If Obama gets elected, there will be no more Sarah Palin impersonations. Maybe we should elect McCain-Palin just to guarantee good Saturday night entertainment for the next 4 years?!

Here is a video taken off of youtube, from Fox News, highlighting some of the best from this past weekend. I love where he tells Tina (as Sarah) that the real Sarah is coming. The way she says "byeee". Then Tina (as Sarah) exits while the real Sarah comes on. Good stuff!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br5jGTlX7sU

Fall Fun

Big girl potty

Tonight, Kaitlyn went pee-pee on her pink big girl potty for the first time! Yay for Kaitlyn!

Blast from the past

Do you ever run into somebody from way, way back - and end up shocked that you really don't remember? I grew up and went to school in a small town where everyone literally knows everyone. I also have a very good memory. So I was surprised when, while at a store in the mall checking out today, the cashier asked me if my last name used to be Fiskari. I was like "yeah"...and he said "I was from Cook too". I studied him but still had no clue who he was. Finally he told me his name, and it started coming back to me. We made small talk a couple of minutes (I'm doing well, did you know X is in prison, blah blah) and then I left. Still wondering how I could forget anybody who went to the same school as me, seeing as how there were only 35-45 (give or take) people per class at the time. Granted, this guy has changed a LOT since then, but still. If I recall correctly, we were even friends at some point. Yet, I still could not remember. Am I really getting that old?! Ugh...

TMI for all but a parent...

Unless you are a mommy (or maybe a brave daddy) this kind of thing would be TMI for you. But I had to share the crazy 20 minutes I just had.

While feeding Brianna, I felt a vibration under my arm. From the sound of it, I could tell there was most definitely poop involved. So we go to the changing table. Low and behold, it's a poop. A lot of poop. A "-pause-and-think-how-to-go-about-this" sort of poop. One that requires a new outfit, and dozens of wipes. And as it turned out, one that requires a bath (once I realized there was poop on her hand and arm in addition to her back, lower belly, and everywhere in between). Luckily, Andy was home for lunch and was able to get a new outfit out, and then a bath ready for me while I figured out what to do to cover us during the trip from downstairs to up (the only bathroom of the house is upstairs, boo). While I was contemplating this mess, Brianna also decided now was a good time to spit up all over. In the position she was currently holding, this meant milk all down her cheek, over her ear, and into her hair. Lucky me :-)

Fast forward. Bath is complete. Lotion is slathered. I pick her up in order to lay down her new outfit. As I hold her against me, she promptly spits up even more. I have a decent sized spot of spit up on my shirt, and she has spit up all over her newly-clean arm, face, and neck. I can do nothing but laugh to myself. When it rains, it pours, right?! Poop and spit up is no big deal to me of course - but that still doesn't make it FUN. By this point, Andy had enough and fled the scene. Once I got Brianna cleaned up (again) and dressed, we headed downstairs just in time to say bye to daddy, who was heading back to work. He let us know he loves us anyways, despite all the bodily fluids flying. What a man :-)

A step towards potty training...

So this evening Kaitlyn made me very proud. She walked up, put her hand on her butt, and said "Poo". I asked "Did you poo?" and she nodded yes. Andy checked, and what do you know - she had in fact, pooped. They say kids generally get ready to potty train between 18-36 months. She is almost 20 months so she is definitely in the range. The time, it is a coming!

Hunting or Killing

I am an avid hunter. I enjoy it, I enjoy the chase, I enjoy the time in the outdoors as many others do. Hunting is like fishing, sometimes you get some, sometimes you do not. I am a member of the Duluth MN Freecycle list. I saw this post....

To: DuluthMNFreecycle@yahoogroups.com

We got our moose liscense and low and behold the moose we have been watching for 4 months now left the area. and we cant find where they went. So if you have a moose tormenting you or your dog and want him gone please give me a email and we would sure be glad to come get it for you. Or if you have any info on a place where they are now please can you pass it on to us? thanks in advance, jim

Now is this hunting? Maybe you can see if there are any zoo's around that will let you in. Depressing, very depressing..... How one person can give a group a bad name.

The good and the bad and the teeth

The good - or actually super exciting: I am confident that Brianna officially started "socially" smiling today. Not just a gas smile, or a smile as she drifted off into dreamland. I mean smiling in direct response to me and my smiles/talking. She has done it 4 times already this morning. Talk about melting mommy's heart! I will try to get a picture to show off.

The bad: Poor Kaitlyn has been feeling under the weather. Sunday night we discovered a fever of 102.9. Monday morning it was still 101.6 or so, and Kaitlyn stayed home from daycare. I was a busy momma. It wasn't as crazy as I thought though - just hard to balance a sick toddler and a constantly-eating baby. Anyhow, Kaitlyn was not having much in the way of other symptoms and after checking her mouth, Andy is pretty sure she has new teeth coming in. I know many docs say that teething does not cause fever but I say BULL CRAP. Maybe not always...but it certainly can. Every time Kaitlyn has had these high fevers, there have been no other symptoms. Once (in the ER) she was even tested for all sorts of things but nothing came up. The ONLY common factor has been that each time, there were new teeth close to coming up.

Oh and speaking of teeth - I swear, I am not kidding...we think Brianna already has one partly through. It's hard to get a clear view, since it is a molar and her mouth is so small...but it is a definite hard, white spot where a tooth would be. I think it is hilarious that Kaitlyn has been a late teether (compared to average), and now Brianna might be early! Funny how things work!

Product Recommendation: Swaddle Me

I ordered a Swaddle Me blanket from Babies R' Us and was very excited to receive it yesterday. We tried it out last night, and I am not sure if it was a coincidence or not, but Brianna slept great. She was up twice overnight, which is good for her. She slept from 9:00 to 1:00 and then 1:30 to 5:30, and then 5:30 to 9:30 (roughly). It was great - I was able to get some things done this morning. She is now napping in it, and doing good so far. It is usually very hard to get her to nap anywhere but my arms during the day. I love it of course (who doesn't like to cuddle with the baby), but it makes it hard to get anything done. And I also don't want to condition her to ONLY be able to nap in my arms (which happened with Kaitlyn and it took us some work to get her to nap in her crib). We need a happy medium, you know? So anyways... time will tell if this is just a coincidence, or if the Swaddle Me blanket really is what we needed all along. (She breaks right out of her swaddle when we use regular receiving blankets - then gets mad when her arms/legs are flailing around).

So if you have or will have a newborn and plan on swaddling (or find that you need to swaddle even if you hadn't planned on it) - I highly recommend the Swaddle Me blanket. You can get it at Babies R' Us for $10. Not bad! Of course, here in Duluth (or Northern Minnesota) there is no Babies R' Us around - but you can order it online like I did.

Kids are amazing!

Kaitlyn honestly cracks us up. She is the best entertainment that anybody could ask for. I can't begin to say how much I love her and all of her cute little actions and words. I love how she says Barney (Bombey) and points to the TV, when she wants to watch her Barney song movie. I love how she is getting so good and helping to dress and undress herself. I love how she loves bedtime! I love how she gives her baby sister kisses, so gentle and sweet. I love how she says "ah gah" (all gone) when she can't find something, when something falls off of her high chair, or when somebody leaves the room. Or how she runs to the window at night before bed, to try and find the moon. Oh, and she is an amazing dancer now...she has some pretty sweet moves for a 19 month old, let me tell you! And we are encouraging her to use her words more (like if she wants up, to say up. Or if she wants her sippy, to say it. Or to ASK for "Bombey" rather than just pointing at the tv and stomping. She has a ton of words, it is just a matter of getting her to use them every time they are needed.
Of course, I could go on and on and on. I just love her SO much!!!

And as for Brianna...well she turned 1 month old yesterday! I can't believe how big she is getting already. She is proving to be a strong little girl - she does awesome holding her head up for periods of time. She was a very sleepy girl at first (especially with the jaundice) but is now spending more and more time awake during the day. She is studying my face a lot, with her big wide blue eyes. She fits into 4 of her footed jammies now, isntead of just the 2 that fit her at first (and even those were big). And she has been eating constantly...sometimes every hour for several hours - at least in the last couple of days. Probably a growth spurt...so way to go Brianna! I love her SO much, too!

Soon we will post some updated pics. Maybe a video, if we have any good ones.

What do you think?

Creepy or cute?

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26970782