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.

I Forgot about Easter

I can't believe I never posted our Easter pictures. Not that there is anything to be impressed with. Still I went through all of the effort to make my family presentable and find a spot to rest the camera and figure out (again) how to turn on the timer and then get everyone in frame.... How do people do this all of the time??

To get us started, here is Hannah modeling her outfit from her godmother. It has a matching coat (not featured) and those styling shoes were donated by a kindly friend.

Next up we have the father strapped into a button down shirt, Xander is his classic (aka go-to) sweater vest and Josie wearing the bright colors of the season.

Finally, here is the happy family together.

(This whole lighting, framing, aperature, shutter speed thing is for the birds.)(I need to find some birds to take better family pictures for me.)

Mystery Virus Fever, Part 2

It began Thursday when I picked Xander up from his classroom and we walked up to my classroom to wait for the end of dismissal. The key word here is 'walked'. Xander never walks. He skips, he jumps, he runs, he races, he skips again. He does not walk. So the fact that he walked was the first clue that something was wrong.

The second clue might have been him saying his belly hurt during snack time at school. However, it is not uncommon for Xander to comment that his belly hurts.

The third clue was what gave it away. He quietly sat in my class after school. And then he said he was cold. Anyone who has met this child knows he does not sit quietly. He asks questions, tells you about the day, repeats facts that he has already told you five times. Also, my classroom is never cold.

We picked up his sisters and headed home where Xander spent the rest of the evening huddled under three blankets while his fever slowly climbed. It was definitely the same thing that all three kids had in February.

Xander stayed home from school on Friday. The fever persisted through Saturday and Sunday with little appetite and no energy. Monday arrived with a lower fever but then Hannah became warm. That is when I wrote this status update:
Mystery Virus Fever Strikes Back - Day 5: Xander seems to be recovering but that may just be a good night of sleep helping him through the morning. Hannah has succumbed to the fever and insists on cuddles. We forge on.

Xander was better on Tuesday but had to stay home due to school regulations (fever-free for 24 hours). So Josie stepped up to take over on the fever front. And she added a random vomit to the fun. Xander had complained about an upset stomach but hadn't gotten sick beyond spitting up dinner while coughing. No puke from Hannah either. Josie has her mother's weak stomach.
Mystery Virus Fever Strikes Back - Day 6: Xander has returned to the Healthy Side, will resume active duty tomorrow. Hannah fights the temptation that is the Fever but Josie has gone over fully by embracing vomit.

In a moment that I'm sure will be hysterical to relive in five years, Josie freaked when she found an itsy, bitsy, little spider on her pants. I'm talking high pitched screeching sobs that she did not learn from me. I took care of the spider in short order. However at 5 am, Josie woke up with the same screeching sobs convinced that there was a spider on her leg. I talked her down and tucked her in but within five minutes there was more sobbing, so she was brought into bed with me. Chris decided to go for an early run rather than listen to Josie snore.
Mystery Virus Fever Strikes Back - Day 7: Xander has returned to active duty allowing me to focus on his sisters. Both have shown signs of recovery. Hannah attempts to sleep off the effects. Josie has suffered fever-induced spider paranoia and had to have her sleeping quarters temporarily reassigned.

The spider issue has come up this afternoon, too. She saw it on her toes! And now it's in her bones! Yes, she was convinced the spider was crawling inside of her leg. I explained that spiders don't like being in bones because they can't make webs. Anyone who tells her differently will have to spend the next week sleeping next to her bed.

We have not been to the doctor about this because the fevers never reached higher than 103 and did not last more than 5 days. Since it's getting spread around it's some type of germ, presumably a virus. I tried to stick with the notion that the fevers were fighting the alleged virus so tried to avoid medicine to lower the fever unless a child was completely miserable or at bedtime so there could be some good sleep. Heck, Xander and Josie are so tough that they actually declined medicine when I offered.

Hopefully the girls will be over this by tomorrow (day 8!). The first time through this, Josie and Hannah both had it for a full five days. Xander had it for two days. I figure that is why he had it for five days this time. So just maybe the girls will be able to fight off the virus a little easier since they may have built up an immunity. Yeah, right, that is such wishful thinking.

Getting Around

For those not in the know, Hannah is finally walking. She showed an interest before she turned one but then had the nasty mystery fever virus for a week and she just wanted to be carried for another week after that. So she spent another month showing interest in walking and finally has it down (as much as a 13 month old can have walking down).

She totters and wobbles, falls and then scoots along on her knees. I find it funny that she seems to walk better when clutching a toy, usually the doll that is about half her size. 

Now she thinks walking is the bee's knees. She laughs and giggles and smiles. She's become our little ball of sunshine (unless she is throwing a tantrum, but that is a post for another time). 

(Oh. My. Word. I have been trying to upload this video for two weeks and it kept giving me trouble. I finally set up a youtube channel (which I'm not going to share) to get it here. Grr. Argh.)

Getting Punch

I'm not huge into celebrating St. Patrick's Day. Maybe I'll throw on some green but that's about the extent of it. However, now Xander is getting education and that education includes holidays. So they discussed St. Patrick at school as well as leprechauns.

Last week, every single day, Xander would ask someone if they could keep a secret. Then he would whisper in that person's ear "Leprechauns are sneaky."

He asked to make Leprechaun Punch on St. Patrick's Day, which he learned about at school. It is lime sherbet and Sprite, just like a root beer float. So I added those key ingredients to the grocery list and we enjoyed them in the afternoon.

I have to say I am glad that this new tradition of setting up 'leprechaun traps' and finding gold coins in the morning hasn't hit our household. I can barely keep up with the other holidays.