Miss Mouse has finally found a television show she likes....other than the news. She figures either there is news on tv, or it must be Bob the Tomato (i.e., VeggieTales). It's on Saturday mornings, and she'll actually watch some of it. Being that we haven't trained her to watch tv, she isn't really into sitting down to watch an actual show, but she really enjoys being in the living room, playing while VeggieTales is on. In fact, all week she has been asking for Bob-Mayo. It's so sweet, I'm really almost not looking forward to the day that it sounds like "Tomato"! She's pretty excited now since we've been counting down the days, and he is coming on tomorrow. Bob is often the narrator for the show, so he's often only on at the beginning and the end....which are then the parts that she actually watches. As happy as I am that she enjoys VeggieTales, I'm equally happy with our practice of not really collecting dvds and such for her. I can honestly tell her that Bob the Tomato won't be on for another week. By this point, she knows the difference between tv and a dvd (we bought dvds of pictures of her for the grandparents and aunts for Christmas, and we had continual requests to watch the "bbb"....I finally wrapped them up!), so she would know that Bob was on a dvd and could be watched anytime. Not that we'd let her, but it would just be another battle that I am more than happy not to fight.
But, we certainly are enjoying the requests for Bob-Mayo.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Outside!
We finally made a house-break on Friday. I couldn't take it anymore, and the Mouse was going a bit stir-crazy, as well. We headed out to the mall around 3:30 since Daddy had to preach at church that night and wouldn't be home until around 7:30-7:45. We spent a couple hours just cruising the mall, doing a little shopping, looking a the huge fishtank, and browsing the pet store. Miss Mouse was pretty excited about the bunnies and puppies at the pet store. She thought all the bunnies should be called "Louie", apparently in honor of Auntie Laura's pet rabbit, with whom Miss Mouse has a close bond. It was good to get out, even though it wasn't exactly "fresh air".
Saturday brought a massive dose of fresh air, though. We spent 40 minutes outside in the morning and another 20 in the afternoon. It was marvelous! Just to see the sky again, cloudy though it was, was wonderful for both of us!
Sunday was an exciting day for the Mouse as she woke up from her nap to find her Grandma and Grandpa visiting! They took her on a sled ride around the block which made her day. The ride was especially fun since Maggie, their dog, was in the lead with Grandpa. I tagged along for the fresh air, too. Even a walk around the block at this point, when we haven't been out hardly at all for a month, is incredibly refreshing. Sad, in a way, when I think about how many times each day we walked around the block and up to the park in the spring, summer, and fall! I still wouldn't trade the seasons for anything, but we certainly are enjoying this break in the subzero temperatures. Grandma and Grandpa took us out to eat before they headed for home; the Mouse did everyone proud, eating some vegetables and a whole bunch of shrimp (i.e., 7 fairly good-sized shrimp...these were not the "popcorn" variety!).
We ended the weekend with dessert at our friends' house; what a nice day of visiting and catching up!
Today I had quite a treat. Daddy watched Miss Mouse all morning while I scrapbooked with my friend Mandy. I think it has been at least 3 (?) years since we have had a chance to get together and just visit and drag out our scrapbooking. Very fun. It was a really nice treat to relax and just concentrate on getting a few pages done and visiting with a friend....before the chaos of the addition to the family arrives! Of course, I'm looking terribly forward to meeting our new little one, and I wouldn't trade my time with Miss Mouse for the world. But it was fun to have a couple hours to not vacuum, mix up more milk, set up the ball pit, etc. Especially when I knew her Daddy was home to do all that! :)
Saturday brought a massive dose of fresh air, though. We spent 40 minutes outside in the morning and another 20 in the afternoon. It was marvelous! Just to see the sky again, cloudy though it was, was wonderful for both of us!
Sunday was an exciting day for the Mouse as she woke up from her nap to find her Grandma and Grandpa visiting! They took her on a sled ride around the block which made her day. The ride was especially fun since Maggie, their dog, was in the lead with Grandpa. I tagged along for the fresh air, too. Even a walk around the block at this point, when we haven't been out hardly at all for a month, is incredibly refreshing. Sad, in a way, when I think about how many times each day we walked around the block and up to the park in the spring, summer, and fall! I still wouldn't trade the seasons for anything, but we certainly are enjoying this break in the subzero temperatures. Grandma and Grandpa took us out to eat before they headed for home; the Mouse did everyone proud, eating some vegetables and a whole bunch of shrimp (i.e., 7 fairly good-sized shrimp...these were not the "popcorn" variety!).
We ended the weekend with dessert at our friends' house; what a nice day of visiting and catching up!
Today I had quite a treat. Daddy watched Miss Mouse all morning while I scrapbooked with my friend Mandy. I think it has been at least 3 (?) years since we have had a chance to get together and just visit and drag out our scrapbooking. Very fun. It was a really nice treat to relax and just concentrate on getting a few pages done and visiting with a friend....before the chaos of the addition to the family arrives! Of course, I'm looking terribly forward to meeting our new little one, and I wouldn't trade my time with Miss Mouse for the world. But it was fun to have a couple hours to not vacuum, mix up more milk, set up the ball pit, etc. Especially when I knew her Daddy was home to do all that! :)
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Another Next Baby Update
We had our ultrasound this morning. Miss Mouse came with and now won't stop saying "Doctor. Baby. Pictures." It wasn't even one of the good machines with clear pictures, but she was pretty excited anyway!
After all the measurements were said and done, we were told this one is a long one again - especially with long legs - and that there is no growth concern or anything. In fact, this little one is already over 5 pounds by their calculations!!! I'm fairly sure neither of the other two were that size at this point! I'm curious as to whether that is going to surprise our doctor. I know, I know, subsequent babies are usually larger, but that wasn't the case between Hope and Miss Mouse - Hope was 7 pounds 5 ounces, and Miss Mouse was 6 pounds, 14 ounces. I think Daddy's sister was also a smaller baby than he was, though she was the second in the family. Anyway, I'm just really curious for our next appointment to see what the doctor thinks.
It was encouraging to be told that there is no growth problem - that I'm just "carrying the baby well". It's encouraging since I feel like a pregnant basset hound with its belly dragging the floor!
Oh, and for those who know the gender of what we're having, it was confirmed again at this ultrasound.
Other items of interest are that the heartbeat was 141 bpm, and the baby was doing the little practice breathing motions which was really fun to see.
It was great to have another 'peek' at this one and fun to watch Miss Mouse watch her new sibling!
After all the measurements were said and done, we were told this one is a long one again - especially with long legs - and that there is no growth concern or anything. In fact, this little one is already over 5 pounds by their calculations!!! I'm fairly sure neither of the other two were that size at this point! I'm curious as to whether that is going to surprise our doctor. I know, I know, subsequent babies are usually larger, but that wasn't the case between Hope and Miss Mouse - Hope was 7 pounds 5 ounces, and Miss Mouse was 6 pounds, 14 ounces. I think Daddy's sister was also a smaller baby than he was, though she was the second in the family. Anyway, I'm just really curious for our next appointment to see what the doctor thinks.
It was encouraging to be told that there is no growth problem - that I'm just "carrying the baby well". It's encouraging since I feel like a pregnant basset hound with its belly dragging the floor!
Oh, and for those who know the gender of what we're having, it was confirmed again at this ultrasound.
Other items of interest are that the heartbeat was 141 bpm, and the baby was doing the little practice breathing motions which was really fun to see.
It was great to have another 'peek' at this one and fun to watch Miss Mouse watch her new sibling!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Update on "Next Baby"
I had another doctor appointment this morning. "Neighbor Carroll" wasn't able to watch Miss Mouse (and I really didn't want her to when the Mouse had a cold - I'd hate to expose more people to it!), so Daddy stayed with her while I headed down for the appointment. There isn't a whole lot of news, but here is what I know:
*My blood pressure is still really low - this is normal for me, so she's pleased it is staying at a typical level (for me - I suppose it is sort of "nearly dead" for most people).
*I've put on 15 pounds. I can't remember what I'd put on with the other two at this point (approx. 34 weeks). I'd have to look it up. Somewhere around there, though.
*We're measuring pretty small. She wasn't surprised about that since she thinks it was the same way with Miss Mouse. I can't remember, I guess. However, we're scheduled to have an ultrasound tomorrow morning just to make sure the baby is growing on target, even if it is "on target" to be a rather small baby. Hopefully they won't end up moving our due date back a whole lot! I'm really excited to get another 'peek' at the baby, but it will be a relief to have it done, too. I always get a little bit worried that maybe she suspects something is wrong and just doesn't want to mention it until it is confirmed. She assured me (I think she's fairly good at reading my mind by this point) that that is not the case and that she just wants the ultrasound done as extra assurance that nothing is wrong so that "there are no surprises". We don't really like surprises anymore....
Sooooo....perhaps I will have another update tomorrow afternoon sometime!
*My blood pressure is still really low - this is normal for me, so she's pleased it is staying at a typical level (for me - I suppose it is sort of "nearly dead" for most people).
*I've put on 15 pounds. I can't remember what I'd put on with the other two at this point (approx. 34 weeks). I'd have to look it up. Somewhere around there, though.
*We're measuring pretty small. She wasn't surprised about that since she thinks it was the same way with Miss Mouse. I can't remember, I guess. However, we're scheduled to have an ultrasound tomorrow morning just to make sure the baby is growing on target, even if it is "on target" to be a rather small baby. Hopefully they won't end up moving our due date back a whole lot! I'm really excited to get another 'peek' at the baby, but it will be a relief to have it done, too. I always get a little bit worried that maybe she suspects something is wrong and just doesn't want to mention it until it is confirmed. She assured me (I think she's fairly good at reading my mind by this point) that that is not the case and that she just wants the ultrasound done as extra assurance that nothing is wrong so that "there are no surprises". We don't really like surprises anymore....
Sooooo....perhaps I will have another update tomorrow afternoon sometime!
Or Maybe the Day After....
Yesterday was another rough day. It doesn't help that this is a week where Daddy isn't home until after bedtime most nights; it seems we tend to coincide Miss Mouse being sick, Mommy being exhausted, and Daddy working crazy hours. Last week wasn't so bad when he was home by about 7 even the nights he worked, but 8:30 gets a little tough. On everybody.
Anyway, Miss Mouse had a 1.5 hour nap in my arms in our rocking chair yesterday, so that was better than the 30 minutes from the day before. I even dozed a bit which helped me get through the day (although I always feel bad for doing so because I know her Daddy doesn't have a chance to doze.....'course he didn't get in on much of the nighttime "fun" either, I suppose, which perhaps makes it fair....). She had her little 'cold treats' all day, and by today, she is almost fine! I hope she will have a good nap this afternoon; last night she slept from 8:20 p.m. until 8:20 a.m. without a peep! I put a little wedge thing under her mattress in hopes that sleeping upright a bit would help. Something did! I guess I don't too much care what it was! I'm just really thankful that we seem to have gotten her over the cold in about a day! Whoo-hoo!
Anyway, Miss Mouse had a 1.5 hour nap in my arms in our rocking chair yesterday, so that was better than the 30 minutes from the day before. I even dozed a bit which helped me get through the day (although I always feel bad for doing so because I know her Daddy doesn't have a chance to doze.....'course he didn't get in on much of the nighttime "fun" either, I suppose, which perhaps makes it fair....). She had her little 'cold treats' all day, and by today, she is almost fine! I hope she will have a good nap this afternoon; last night she slept from 8:20 p.m. until 8:20 a.m. without a peep! I put a little wedge thing under her mattress in hopes that sleeping upright a bit would help. Something did! I guess I don't too much care what it was! I'm just really thankful that we seem to have gotten her over the cold in about a day! Whoo-hoo!
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow.....
Today wasn't Miss Mouse's best day ever. I'm hoping, for her sake, that the "sun'll come out tomorrow", figuratively speaking (we did have physical sunshine today). She started the day out by taking a tumble off the couch. We've been having arguments about whether or not she needs to sit on the couch. She posits that she does not; I demand that she does. I was actually on my way over (standing up and moving towards her) to the couch today to force her to sit down when she tumbled - smack on her head. Smack dab on the top of her head. Sad girl. It must not have hurt too bad, though, because she calmed down and was distracted in about 30 seconds. She has a chiropractor appointment now on Thursday anyway, just in case.
The day continued with a 30 minute nap. Anyone who knows our girl knows that that means one very tired girly by the end of the day....actually, by 6 p.m.
Continuing this "wonderful" day, as I was preparing supper and Daddy was making sausage (in the kitchen - below zero highs are not conducive to garage-sausage-making, so we have an entire separate table set up in our not-so-spacious dining area right now - thankfully, he's very clean about it!), Miss Mouse was pushing the new floor washing bucket I got around the kitchen, empty, of course. I didn't think much of it because she pushes her little riding train around all the time; what difference does it make that she's using a bucket? Apparently, a lot of difference, because smack down she went again. I didn't see it happen, just saw a Mouse running towards me in so much pain she couldn't even cry at first. Ugh. Then I noticed the blood from her lip. Poor critter had smacked her lip on the bucket and bitten it. She has a pretty good-sized cut on it, and it bled for a good long time. All over her shirt. All over my shirt. Needless to say, she was not calm and distracted in 30 seconds after this one. However, she did calm down fairly quickly and didn't seem to have any troubles with her "uh-oh" the rest of the evening, other than pointing it out every now and then. Oh, and her lip is swollen and has a big scab. Poor critter.
Topping off the day, she is getting a cold. I'm cautiously hopeful that it won't be too bad. Very cautiously. She had a bath in some "cold and flu" bubble bath, went to bed with 'baby Vicks' all over, got her little homeopathic cold tablets (crazy, but they have worked multiple times for us!), and blew her nose all evening. Cautiously hopeful.
Very hopeful that the night goes well and that tomorrow is better than today!
The day continued with a 30 minute nap. Anyone who knows our girl knows that that means one very tired girly by the end of the day....actually, by 6 p.m.
Continuing this "wonderful" day, as I was preparing supper and Daddy was making sausage (in the kitchen - below zero highs are not conducive to garage-sausage-making, so we have an entire separate table set up in our not-so-spacious dining area right now - thankfully, he's very clean about it!), Miss Mouse was pushing the new floor washing bucket I got around the kitchen, empty, of course. I didn't think much of it because she pushes her little riding train around all the time; what difference does it make that she's using a bucket? Apparently, a lot of difference, because smack down she went again. I didn't see it happen, just saw a Mouse running towards me in so much pain she couldn't even cry at first. Ugh. Then I noticed the blood from her lip. Poor critter had smacked her lip on the bucket and bitten it. She has a pretty good-sized cut on it, and it bled for a good long time. All over her shirt. All over my shirt. Needless to say, she was not calm and distracted in 30 seconds after this one. However, she did calm down fairly quickly and didn't seem to have any troubles with her "uh-oh" the rest of the evening, other than pointing it out every now and then. Oh, and her lip is swollen and has a big scab. Poor critter.
Topping off the day, she is getting a cold. I'm cautiously hopeful that it won't be too bad. Very cautiously. She had a bath in some "cold and flu" bubble bath, went to bed with 'baby Vicks' all over, got her little homeopathic cold tablets (crazy, but they have worked multiple times for us!), and blew her nose all evening. Cautiously hopeful.
Very hopeful that the night goes well and that tomorrow is better than today!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
New Activities
Miss Mouse never ceases to surprise me with her new antics. Here are a few:
*Today in church, she dug out the green hymnal, opened it, flipped through a few pages, pointed at a line in a hymn, folded her hands, and said "pray" (which sounds unfortunately more like "pee" right now, but I have no trouble translating....). She did this repeatedly throughout the sermon.
*Tonight at supper, she pointed to her eyes, said "eyes - blue", pointed to my eyes, said "eyes - green", and then pointed to Daddy's eyes and said, "eyes - yellow". I have no idea where she got the idea that his eyes are yellow, but it made for a really good chuckle! We convinced her that his are green, too.
*We were winding down in the living room tonight; the Mouse was looking through some books. Daddy and I had on some crime show turned way down in the background (now that she can, and does, repeat language we try not to have anything too nasty on in the evenings - she generally figures that if the tv is on it must be "news"). Miss Mouse was not the least bit interested in what we were watching. Instead, she brought us the new cranberry hymnal (yes, we were introduced to it as "cranberry" so as not to be confused with the old, red one - Lutherans will understand this hymnal color dilemma) and asked for songs about Jesus. So, we obliged, singing songs from "Away in a Manger" to "Lift High the Cross" (though I don't know whether that one is in there or not - we just did what we could from memory). Oh, Daddy added one of the renditions of "Create in Me", but as it doesn't actually say anything about Jesus in it, she wasn't too thrilled. It was sort of a sweet moment because just about two years ago, when we first brought her home to Enderlin, her Daddy frequently calmed her by staring in her eyes and singing her songs from the cranberry hymnal (we both attended an introductory seminar for the book, so we have two copies floating around the house). Apparently, she still loves it.
*On the way home from Target, after waiting much too long for a bathroom break, Miss Mouse informed me that she needed to "tinkle". I asked if she could hold it in until we got home so that her 'pretty pants' stayed dry, and we assured her we'd be home really quickly. As we hit rut after rut in the street (over three feet of snow will do that to the streets), I gave up any hope that she would be dry, but we rushed inside anyway, running for the bathroom. She was dry! She made it! What a trooper! I'm fairly sure if I'd had to go badly, it would have been pretty miserable hitting all those ruts, and I certainly would have been complaining more than she did! :)
Fun times with Miss Mouse.
---We just won't mention the two time-outs in church today.....we made it through the entire sermon with the green hymnal as entertainment, and she was calm by the last song. I figure that's a successful service with an almost-two-year-old.
*Today in church, she dug out the green hymnal, opened it, flipped through a few pages, pointed at a line in a hymn, folded her hands, and said "pray" (which sounds unfortunately more like "pee" right now, but I have no trouble translating....). She did this repeatedly throughout the sermon.
*Tonight at supper, she pointed to her eyes, said "eyes - blue", pointed to my eyes, said "eyes - green", and then pointed to Daddy's eyes and said, "eyes - yellow". I have no idea where she got the idea that his eyes are yellow, but it made for a really good chuckle! We convinced her that his are green, too.
*We were winding down in the living room tonight; the Mouse was looking through some books. Daddy and I had on some crime show turned way down in the background (now that she can, and does, repeat language we try not to have anything too nasty on in the evenings - she generally figures that if the tv is on it must be "news"). Miss Mouse was not the least bit interested in what we were watching. Instead, she brought us the new cranberry hymnal (yes, we were introduced to it as "cranberry" so as not to be confused with the old, red one - Lutherans will understand this hymnal color dilemma) and asked for songs about Jesus. So, we obliged, singing songs from "Away in a Manger" to "Lift High the Cross" (though I don't know whether that one is in there or not - we just did what we could from memory). Oh, Daddy added one of the renditions of "Create in Me", but as it doesn't actually say anything about Jesus in it, she wasn't too thrilled. It was sort of a sweet moment because just about two years ago, when we first brought her home to Enderlin, her Daddy frequently calmed her by staring in her eyes and singing her songs from the cranberry hymnal (we both attended an introductory seminar for the book, so we have two copies floating around the house). Apparently, she still loves it.
*On the way home from Target, after waiting much too long for a bathroom break, Miss Mouse informed me that she needed to "tinkle". I asked if she could hold it in until we got home so that her 'pretty pants' stayed dry, and we assured her we'd be home really quickly. As we hit rut after rut in the street (over three feet of snow will do that to the streets), I gave up any hope that she would be dry, but we rushed inside anyway, running for the bathroom. She was dry! She made it! What a trooper! I'm fairly sure if I'd had to go badly, it would have been pretty miserable hitting all those ruts, and I certainly would have been complaining more than she did! :)
Fun times with Miss Mouse.
---We just won't mention the two time-outs in church today.....we made it through the entire sermon with the green hymnal as entertainment, and she was calm by the last song. I figure that's a successful service with an almost-two-year-old.
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