Happy Halloween! (oink oink)

Aglow with warm and happy family feelings, I wanted to capture a few memories from our first adventure into trick-or-treating. The past two years Adelaide was in bed too early, and way too rigid about bedtime, to attempt trick-or-treating. This year, though, she was ready. We practiced the process of ringing the doorbell, saying trick-or-treat, getting the candy in the bucket, thanking and heading to the next house. It went just as planned!

Ade picked her costume out of a catalog weeks ago - Squiggly Piggy - and I ordered it. This alone had be cracking up that while growing up we would have never, ever even considered purchasing a costume, Ade is already fine with the concept of online commerce. And, she adores adores the costume, even the head piece, and would gladly wear it any day for any length of time. We headed out around 6pm, and returned, all exhausted by 7:30pm!

* One woman declared Ade so adorable she just wanted to take her home with her. After we walked on, Ade said, "She wants to take me to her home."
* She met many costumed dogs, and got along well with them all, telling me "the doggies are my friends."
* Another little girl (dressed as Kai Lan) said "Mommy, she is beautiful!" about Adelaide. :-)

* Ade was a very polite trick-or-treater, never taking too many candies, and always thanking. I was so proud of how polite and sweet she was the whole time. She didn't beg to eat much candy and just gladly had the ones she was given and no more.
* When we got home and the dogs weren't at the door (we had sequestered them on the third floor while we were out so the visiting kids didn't get them barking like nuts), Ade said, "The doggies aren't home yet." She thought they were also out trick-or-treating, apparently without us.

Tonight was so precious and fun. It makes me look forward to many more years like this!

Guhs to the rescue

After a very long rough week of Ade and I feeling sick, missing work and school, Ryan headed off to Boston to visit friends and family, and the Guhs headed down here to visit NC. After about only 3 hours of sleep Thursday night due to coughing (mine and Adelaide's), I couldn't wait for them to arrive.

We celebrated dad's 60th birthday with a Mexican dinner (Ade wanted "Enchilada!") and yesterday we got him inked:


Today we hit Little Gym where Ade forced Grandpa to do a handstand with her! Right now, the two babies (Ade and Grandpa) are napping and the three adults (mom, me, Jenna) are watching an awful Hallmark movie in bed. :-) Lazy Sunday!

Being sick is good for your health

Yesterday we took Ade to her class at Little Gym as we do every Sunday morning, and knew immediately something wasn't right. Normally Ade is the kid who joins in and starts running around like a maniac - the kid the instructor uses to "demonstrate" every new skill. Not yesterday. She snuggled us and didn't want to do anything. She said she wanted to go home because she didn't feel well (but she wanted to ensure she got the stamp on her hand first). She had been constipated since Thursday, so we thought she was just uncomfortable. We instituted some prune remedies and Ryan made some home-made chicken soup for lunch. The bowel trauma passed (and it was indeed traumatic!). However, after her nap, she felt warm. Sure enough, she had a fever.

So. This morning she still had a fever and had also developed a fever rash. Her eyes had the glazed and so-sad look to them that I have come to know so well when she is sick, and she was pale with flushed cheeks. She was in good spirits and happy, though definitely low-key.

I have been a mess of nerves lately. I've been under terrible pressure at work, the classes I teach had papers and final grades due, and I've had MBA homework and papers to write, on top of all myriad household and motherhood chores that pile up. My anxiety levels have been hitting max. Taking the day off today, not feeling that great myself, to care for Ade, and working it out with Ryan, was at first a thought that terrified me. But, when it comes to Ade, I find it very easy to drop everything and make her the priority. Once we knew we needed to keep her home, I did what I needed to do to move my meetings, wrap up tasks, and just let other people handle things.

Bottom line is that I was far more relaxed today than I have been for weeks. Ade and I just chilled out! We watched movies, snuggled in the shower, snacked, played quietly, and just rested. I really had nothing much else on my mind but to make sure she was feeling well, and taking it easy. For someone who finds it tough to make herself a priority, sometimes being forced to unwind can be just what the doctor ordered.

Pumpkins, trains, and hayrides

Last weekend we went to Hill Ridge Farm for the first time for Anna Burckart's 3rd birthday party, and we had a great time! We rode the train, and also took a hayride. Ade was more interested in playing on the swings that picking a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, however.




Ade has had quite an attitude lately. She is driving Daddy and me crazy. She insists on having her way, and can turn on dramatic waterworks in .5 seconds, covering her cheeks and eyes with her little hands and wailing. Her phrasing and expressions are so hysterical though, it is almost impossible not to laugh at times. This makes parenting difficult.

Make sure to check out the YouTube video of her running me and the dogs around the house going "grocery shopping" :-)

Potty trained?

Ade talks so much now it is near impossible to capture the hysterial stuff she says. This morning in bed, after yellow light, she was cracking us up. A few of her gems included:
* "That was my stinky fart." (after a loud fart)
* Ryan yawned with exaggerated noise, Ade looks at me conspiratorially, "So much noise!"

Also I realized the past few nights that even things songs she doesn't sing herself, she still knows ALL the words. For example, she could insert the right word at any point to "You Are My Sunshine" (even the lesser known second verse), as well as "Part of that World" from The Little Mermaid. We have now taken to singing duos.

While she is falling asleep, we also hear her saying some very amusing stuff. Last night was, "Aaarrrgggh! I'm a pirate! Aaarrrgh!"

The other morning Ade woke before yellow light, a very rare occurrence, and I told her she could come in bed with us if she promised to go back to sleep. She snuggled up queitly for a few minutes, then she petted my arm and said, "You are my beessst friend." I thought I had died and gone to heaven - the sweetest girl in the world! A minute later she said, "I have an eye brow." A minute after that, "I wear a hat so the rain doesn't get my head." These are the things weighing on her mind.

The biggest news is that Ade has had no accidents at all in her panties for a week! She has been wearing panties everywhere, all day. She wears a pullup during naps and at night. Does that qualify as potty trained? I think it does.