Hannah at 15 Months

Hannah turned 15 months two weeks ago and had her well check one week ago. After two bouts of  the mystery virus fever, one in February and one in April, she is finally a healthy girl. Except for the occasional runny nose. And the small rash on the back of her neck. But neither of those things bother her, so I (and the doctor) declare her healthy!

Weight: 20 lbs, 12 oz. - 19th percentile
Height: 31.75 in. - 86th percentile
Head: 18 in.

While she has gained weight, it's not as much as we expected due to being sick. You can see at one year she was in a higher percentile. The doctor was not concerned since she is getting taller and her head circumference is fine. She also passed all of the questions he asked with flying colors. Does she walk? Does she talk? Does she cook a three course meal and set out the forks in the appropriate order while setting the table. You betcha.

But seriously, it seems Hannah is just so smart. Of course, then I reread my post about Josie at this age and things are about par for the course. I think that, despite having had three of them, I just don't know what to expect of babies kids toddlers at this age.

Hannah has figured out how to sit in chairs. It's a struggle to get herself pulled up onto some of them so sometimes her little legs flail as she squeals for help. When she gets up she will usually sit there contentedly, kicking her feet. Oddly, if I am there, that is when she will try to get on the table and will throw a fit when I pull her off. The best was the time she climbed up onto the bench at the table. I heard Josie yell "Mom!" and I turn around to see Hannah on the bench holding Josie's cup of water. And of course time slowed as I headed toward her and she lifted the cup with a big grin on her face. Then the water tipped over onto her and the face registered shock which quickly transformed to terror and screaming. Even Josie started to cry. So imagine me standing in our dining room with one screaming toddler soaked in water, one sobbing preschooler and water dripping off of the bench to the puddle on the floor.

Hannah's vocabulary is slowly improving. She seemed to stop talking for a month and just squealed and cried when she wanted something.  Now things are really rolling. Sure, most of the words sound the same, but I know what she means. For instance:
-A couple weeks ago she would pull up her shirt and pat her bottom and say 'psss' and I know she was saying "I peed, change me woman!"
-This morning she pointed to her toothbrush and said 'psss' and I knew she was saying "Please, may I have my teeth brushed."
Same word, a world of difference in the meanings.

Hannah is also super observant and a big believer in routine. When we are getting ready, she gets her shoes and gives them to me. Great! Then she goes to her coat and tugs on it insistently until I put that on her. Since the weather has turned warm and she doesn't need a jacket, there is sometimes a fit thrown when no coat is put onto her.

Yesterday, Hannah was sitting on the coach with Josie when Josie found them each a pillow to sleep on. So Hannah got off of the coach, went over to the buffet, opened it and pulled out a blanket, and walked back to the coach with it. I stood there for a moment wondering how Hannah even knew the blankets were there.

Her 'no's are plentiful and enthusiastic. They just aren't as cute as her 'yes's. My favorite thing she does right now is say 'yes' while nodding her head. Except it sounds like a quiet 'essss', almost a hiss.
"Would you like your water?" "...essss," with enthusiastic nods.
"Would you like more food?" "...essss," with enthusiastic nods.
By the way, this kid loves to eat. I tried a new recipe that turned out horrible (Chris actually spat it out) but Hannah still went to town.

Hannah is also excellent at 'uh-oh' and I think she likes saying it just for fun. She uses it appropriately, usually when she drops something. Sometimes she'll find the gate at the bottom of the stairs open and will say "Uh-oh!" and swing it shut. She also uses it when other people do something wrong. It's rather hysterical when Josie has spilled something and I only know because I hear Hannah say "Uh-oh."

Uh-oh, that smile just melted my heart.

The Kids on the Bus Go...

A week ago, on Monday exactly, Xander headed out the door excited to go with his kindergarten class and the 4th graders to the zoo. I had asked him what animal was his favorite and drew his answer, an elephant, on his brown bag lunch. He talked about sitting with his 4th grade prayer partner and was careful to wear the required green shirt.

So imagine my surprise when I received a phone call two hours later from his teacher saying Xander threw up on the bus. She politely asked if he was ever car sick because he was sitting in the last seat of the bus. I replied no. A school aide was helping Xander get his clothes washed off (she tried calling while I was on the phone with the teacher) and we agreed to see how Xander was doing.

I hadn't even finished listening the message left by the aide when the teacher called back and said Xander definitely wanted to go home. I was already rounding up Josie and Hannah for the required bathroom trip/ diaper check and we headed to the van. I sent a text to Chris about what happened. I called the sitter to say the girls wouldn't be over. I called school to say I wouldn't be in to teach my class and let them know where the quizzes were for my students.

Fortunately, Chris received my text and called, offering to get Xander from the zoo (his office is closer to the zoo than I was) and I could meet him at his office for a sick child transfer. I agreed, sent him the phone number of the aide staying with Xander and called the aide back to let her know what was going on.

Yeah, Xander was getting sick again. So as I told her about Xander's dad coming to pick him up I heard her telling him to lean over and her repeatedly saying "Oh, God bless him." God bless her for taking care of him!

The pick up and transfer went smoothly though Xander was wearing a wet shirt and pants in 50 degree weather. On the way home he said the aide told him he would get a hot shower and watch television at home. So we did just that.

Xander did get sick one more time and he had a low fever through the afternoon and evening. He stayed home on Tuesday but was fine and was back in school Wednesday.

I'm not sure what caused him to get sick. Everything he ate, someone else ate too. The fever implies some 24 hour bug which, fortunately, no else came down with. Now I owe Xander a trip to the zoo.

Mixed Signals

At about 11:30 on Wednesday night, I woke up to Hannah wailing. It was one of those wails where a mom just knows something is wrong and worry immediately sets in.

When I went into her crib, she was sitting up and stopped wailing in order to start saying 'Mama' (which she never actually says) and her voice sounded hoarse. Then she coughed, which was more of a seal barking sound than a regular cough. That was followed by labored, wheezing breathing.

I picked her up and calmed her and sat rocking her for a little bit. I decided to change her diaper and as I lay her down she started wailing again. Then I saw that the inside of some of her mouth was hugely swollen. Add in the hoarseness and suddenly my mind went to food allergy and anaphylactic shock. Was Hannah's throat swelling shut as I held her??

In an effort to not over-react, I woke up Chris. He suggested putting her to bed and checking her in a half hour. I think my eyes may have bugged out. So I stayed up holding Hannah and rocking some more. She drifted off to sleep and her breathing was regular. So after about an hour I managed to talk myself down and put her to bed.

She woke up 3ish but the swelling in her mouth was not as bad and, again, she fell asleep while rocking.

In the morning, when getting her up from the crib, I noticed some spit up marks in the bed with what appeared to be a few small specks of blood.

Hannah spent the rest of the day week a snotty mess.

So I can only guess that she had a cold or allergies causing the hoarseness and coughing. And that she chewed the inside of her mouth while sleeping, causing the swelling and bleeding. But just in case, we're avoiding giving her mandarin oranges (what she ate for dinner that evening) until the next doctor's appointment.