Sheboygan

Sheboygan, Wisconsin was our family vacation spot this year and it was beautiful! Lake Michigan never disappoints me although I wish we would have had a little more beach time. That was hard to accomplish since the resort we were staying at also had an indoor waterpark on the property. Hard choices for a 6, 4 and 3 year old. We had a great time together and even Grandma Davidson got to come for a couple days and meet Caroline and Ivy.

It is sad how very few pictures I took during our 4 day stay but my other sisters did a great job of documenting our time together. Besides the beach and waterpark we also went to a Milwaukee Brewers game and the cutest little place called Bookworm Gardens. Caroline was not impressed with the baseball game and cried for most of it but she did like the peace and quiet of the gardens. Liam loved it all! Any moment he was with Violet and Eli was amazing and anytime Mom or Dad tried to butt into his time with them was not met with a happy response. It was almost a nice break for Evan and I if we did not have an infant who also needed our attention.

Thanks Mom and Dad for a great vacation and great food!

Our stylist, Violet Penelope

Best buddies!

Yep, a beach on Lake Michigan = wearing your clothes not your bathing suit

Pit stop on our way home, the Milwaukee Zoo

The dog

Even though this blog has her in the title I rarely have a post about our family dog, Butters. I mean, when all she does is sleep all day, shed her hair all over the floor and eat there isn't too much to write about.

However, our recent vacation has brought about some changes in her routine that I thought were funny.

First, the day Butters rejoined our family she was looking good. Maybe it was just that we had not seen her for a week but I thought to myself, "what a trim and athletic dog we have, she's gorgeous!"

And then Evan showed me the bag of food he had taken to the doggie hotel. It suspiciously still had about 1/3 of food still in it. I had thought Evan told me that he had only packed enough food for Butters for one additional meal. The bag also contained a silver scoop that did not belong to us. Butters food scoop is a red 1 cup measurement. The silver scoop belonged to a Zanie Powell...and was only a 1/2 cup measurement.  And apparently Evan had told the front desk when he dropped her off that she only got one scoop of food, not the measurement of food which is actually 1 1/2 cups. Who knows on what day the scoops were mixed up. But Zanie must have thought she was in heaven!

So, Butters was put on a diet while we were away and instead of her usual 3 cups of food a day she was only getting 1 cup of food total. Poor, poor dog she must have been starving! However she looks fantastic! Don't worry, she probably needed the lack of food anyway. She is still our healthy happy girl.

Secondly, Butters apparently did not miss running with Evan. In our state of still unpacking, our things are not really organized. We have been missing the nose piece that we use to take Butters on her walks and runs so that she does not pull us around. Last night Evan hooked the leash up to her regular collar and off they went! When Evan returned he told me how he was pulling her so that she would keep up with his running pace and all of a sudden he didn't feel any resistance. When he turned to look all he discovered was an empty collar at the end of his leash! He then noticed Butters standing about 10 feet behind him just looking at him. I'm surprised she wasn't walking home in the opposite direction! She had clearly had enough!

My non-athletic lab

Two months

or 10 weeks. I'm a little late with this one but Caroline just had her two month wellness visit today so here our her stats.

Weight: 10 lbs. 8 oz
Height: 22 inches
Percentile: 17 for both height and weight

While her percentile has dropped for weight the doctor is not at all concerned considering what her big brothers stats were as an infant and still are. He says she will find her own rhythm and grow just fine. Caroline was not impressed with the shots today. She did fine with the first one, maybe  trying to figure out what just happened, but the second shot got an audible scream followed by lots of crying when they came in with the third shot. Thankfully, she calmed down enough to eat and has been fine ever since.

I did voice a concern in regards to her fussiness/crying and was told that there are no health reasons as to why she is the way she is and that as the months go on she will get better and better. She has already gotten better in mine and Evan's opinion but here's to the future getting even better.

It's hard to believe that she is already 10 weeks old and that I have to go back to work in 2 short weeks! I have thoroughly enjoyed my time off with her and Liam and while the summer wasn't all I was hoping it would be with trips to the waterpark and me getting super tan; it was still lots of fun. (In fact we stayed inside a lot and took as many naps as I was allowed)

So, Caroline at two months is:

Likes: She has really blossomed in the last few weeks with her awareness. She definitely smiles frequently at me, Liam and Evan; knowing exactly who we all are. She loves the mirror right now. Will actually lay on her playmat and kick/throw her arms and legs to hit her toys. (instead of just crying) She has discovered her hands recently and likes to chew on them. She still likes to sleep, eat and poop. Most recently we have at least one outfit change a day due to a  diaper explosion. Caroline loves bath time although she is now getting a little too long for the kitchen sink. Her new favorite way to be held is like a football. This will usually get her to stop crying very quickly, although she still also likes to be held tummy to tummy. She also likes to play on her tummy. Her neck control is beautiful!

Dislikes:  The beach! (maybe next year) Having a stuffy, snotty nose and having to get that nose cleaned out. A non moving car and even a car that is moving but a long drive home from Wisconsin where all you want to do is to get out of your carseat but you can't due to those stinking laws! She is still not a fan of the pacifier. (we have given up on trying to get her to take that) A brother who accidentally knocks her in the head with his foot (he was just trying to get onto his bed) and a brother who yells loudly right next to her ear. (now we know that that is a bad idea)

Skills: She recently has been putting herself to sleep. It is very rare but on the occasion that I have to put her down to do something else, and she is not happy about it,  I will come back to her a few minutes later and she will be nodding off.  Her neck control is a major skill as well. She has one coo that sounds just like she is saying HI! (love it) She is still eating every 2-3 hours during the day but now will go 4-5 hours at night between feedings (yay!)

Health: She no longer wears her harness at all! We have a follow up appointment in a couple weeks with the orthopedic doctor where she may have an xray to make sure that things are where they should be. 

Returning to reality

We just got back from an amazing family vacation with my family in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. We were right on Lake Michigan and could go to the beach anytime we wanted; or the hotel we were staying at also at an indoor waterpark that we could also visit at any moment.

A perfect family vacation!

Unfortunately all vacations have to end. Liam found that out tonight.

9:00 pm

M: "We're home Liam! Doesn't it feel great to be home finally?"
L:  "No, I want to go to our other home."
M: "Oh, you mean the hotel on our vacation?"
L:  "Yes! I want to go back there! I don't want to be at this home!"
M: "Well, that isn't our home. It's just where we stayed while we were on vacation."
L:  "I want to go back to cation. I don't want to stay here! (tears beginning)
M: "Me too buddy. I want to go back to vacation too."

I'm not sure where Liam thought we were going today in the car. But apparently, when you combine the beach, a waterpark, sleeping on the top bunk of a bunk bed and uninterrupted time with Violet and Eli (and other family members as well) it makes coming back to the "real world" very hard. Especially when it's 9 o'clock at night.

My little introvert

Every Sunday, on our way to church, Evan and I discuss with Liam the proper socializing techniques needed to make friends. And every Sunday we watch Liam walk down with all the kids to sit on the "stage" for children's time. It pains me to watch him walk alone, start to go to sit down and then a kid will run past him, stopping him in his tracks as he is now unsure of himself. He will turn the other way to sit in another spot and another kid will run past him and he stops again. He will then find a teacher and go sit by them.

It is hard for me to watch because I am, for the most part, outgoing. As a kid I made friends very easily and kids wanted to be friends with me. (hello! I was super cool!) I don't know if it is painful for Evan to watch because Evan is an introvert. He is very understanding of how Liam feels because he states this is how he was when he was a kid also. (and still is)

So, imagine after church this past Sunday as we walked to the car, Liam says, "I made a friend today! His name is Chase! And we played together." I was so proud and excited for him until he said, "So now I get parade candy right Daddy?"

Apparently while Caroline and I were getting ready for church Evan decided that Liam's quest for today was to find a friend at church and learn his name. He was to introduce himself and then ask him/her if they wanted to play. His reward for making a friend? Fourth of July parade candy.

It's good to know that bribery always works with preschoolers, in case you hadn't heard.

My funny little introvert wearing his shirt for pants and his pants on his head

For Uncle Zach

While reading a Curious George book today Liam was introduced to the word mammal. I did my best to explain what a mammal is:

M: A mammal is any living creature that has hair....so are you a mammal?
L: Yes!
M: How about me and baby Caroline?
L: Yes, and Daddy too!
     But not Uncle Zach.
M: (laughing) Well, Uncle Zach may not have hair on his head but he does have hair on his arms and legs. Just like you and me. One more important fact about mammals are that they need air to breathe.

I probably should have led with the breathing air part first.

One month

Caroline at one month old is your pretty basic infant. 

Likes: Eating, sleeping and pooping. She is really starting to become more aware of her surroundings. Very curious and likes to watch us. She loves the vacuum cleaner and tolerates her swing and bouncy seat for awhile before she wants out. She prefers to be held, at all times, tummy to tummy is her favorite position. We occasionally get a smile but it is more due to having a happy full belly then a reaction to seeing us or a toy.

Dislikes: We think she is starting to hate her harness. When she is crying she tries to stretch and kick her legs which is possible but not fully unrestricted and so we think that this makes her more upset that she cannot kick and stretch like she wants. We are not into books yet. I try to read to her but she just cries. She really does not like it when the car stops moving. She does not like pacifiers and she does not like it when we try to put her down so we can do anything else. 

Sleeping: Caroline will sleep for 2 1/2 hours straight at night. Waking up to eat every 3 hours. She usually will go right back to sleep but this is not always the case despite her very tired parents.

Health: Today we saw the orthopedic surgeon for our two week follow up visit. I didn't think we would be doing anything today except adjusting her straps as it is apparent that she has grown since the last visit. Dr. Novotny came in to check her hips and I was pleasantly surprised by him saying that he no longer feels a click in either hip. He also states that upon viewing the ultrasound that was done in the hospital when she was 2 days old neither hip was out of socket. Thank you God! We can now start weaning her off the harness which should take another 4 weeks. This means he wants her wearing the harness for one more week 24/7, next week for 12 hours, the next week for 6 hours and the week after that for only 3 hours a day. After that as long as everything still feels good she should be healed and done. We are so thankful for all the prayers from our family and dear friends!

"Yay for me! Good-bye harness!"