Part of last month and into this month we experienced our first health scare. We both had been sick for weeks. I took Jolynn in the morning of our game night and they said she had a slight ear infection. She was put on amoxicillin. She was on it for 7 days when all the sudden she developed a rash around her midsection. We called the on-call doctor and she said to stop giving her the medicine. Not knowing if her ears had cleared up, we took her back to the doctor on Monday. This doctor said her ears were not quite cleared up yet and it sounded like she had bronchitis. The doctor also marked her down for being allergic to penicillin. She was put on two different medications, one for the ears and a steroid for the bronchitis. A week later I brought her back to check on the ears. Everything was cleared up. Her cough and runny nose were still causing her to not sleep, so the doctor gave us a sample of Nasonex. That did the trick! Her nose cleared up within 5 days.
She has actually known her body parts for a month or so, but now she is starting to say the parts. She says eyes and arm. She even knows where her knees are. She sticks out her tongue when asked where that is. I think one of the first parts she knew was nose and belly.
New words: arm, big girl, Avery (friend at daycare), Mary (daycare lady), wawa (water), party, Jon. There have been many times that we think we hear her say something and can't get her to say it again. I also have not been as diligent in adding them to the draft during the month.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Potty Time!
I was cleaning dishes and Jolynn made her normal pooping sounds (grunting). I thought maybe I could catch her before she actually did the duty and get her on the potty chair. We missed the chair, I ended up showing her the poop goes in the toilet. Then I sat her on the chair to try and go potty. The training book said to have her go when you go. So (TMI) , as I was going I told her to sit and go potty too. She got up and started walking toward the door. Butt naked (literally) I worried she would go while I was still occupied. Without me saying a word she came back, sat down, and went PEE! Really truly! Not the caught her midstream kind, this was actual pee pee on the potty!
Okay, maybe I'm a bit more excited than I should be. This seemed like such a huge deal. I wanted to sing and dance. Jolynn just wanted to touch it. (don't worry mom, I didn't let her). Jon was outside shoveling so I didn't dump it out so he could enjoy the excitement too. He did a bit of cheering when he came in and we told him, but still not as excited as I was when it actually happened.
Now I have to get brave enough to just let her run naked around the house so we can get her constantly going on the potty. I'm thinking she may be ready. She still doesn't say "yes", but she says potty. The fact that she turned around and came back to the potty chair instead of just peeing next to the door has to be a sign of readiness.
Okay, maybe I'm a bit more excited than I should be. This seemed like such a huge deal. I wanted to sing and dance. Jolynn just wanted to touch it. (don't worry mom, I didn't let her). Jon was outside shoveling so I didn't dump it out so he could enjoy the excitement too. He did a bit of cheering when he came in and we told him, but still not as excited as I was when it actually happened.
Now I have to get brave enough to just let her run naked around the house so we can get her constantly going on the potty. I'm thinking she may be ready. She still doesn't say "yes", but she says potty. The fact that she turned around and came back to the potty chair instead of just peeing next to the door has to be a sign of readiness.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
18 months
ONE and a HALF! Our little girl is growing so much. She is walking like crazy, almost running. We rearranged the entryway because she is doing the steps now. She does them pretty well, but just in case this way she doesn't land on anything at the bottom.
We haven't used the monitor in a long time. I decided to see what she does when we put her down for a nap. I wish the monitor recorded. She was playing with the metal flowers on the wall, running circles in her crib, then at one point she had half her body over the railing. The crib is already at its lowest, next stage is toddler bed. We thought it better for her to fall out of the toddler bed than flipping over the top of the rail. We weren't able to get her to take a nap in it right away - she ended up taking it in our bed. She is great at getting in and out of it, and when she gets in she lays down and says "nigh nigh" but doesn't stay in the bed.
We tried the BabyCenter approach at nap time. We laid her down and said it was time for a nap. Shut the door. Jon stayed on the monitor while I stood next to the door. He would tell me "she's out of bed" and "she's at the door". Then I would walk her back to bed in silence and no eye contact. We did this about 8 times. She thought it was a game. So the last time I shut the door so it clicked (meaning she couldn't open it herself). She ended up falling asleep next to the door. I came in an hour later and had to gently keep opening the door little by little. Bedtime went a lot better. She gave us the cue when she laid down on the floor. We did our kisses for everyone (including Polly). Then I laid her down and left the room. She cried for a while next to the door. I sent Jon in this time. He put her in bed and she didn't get up. It has been this way for a week now. Once in bed and she pretty much gets it. She cries for a while, but she doesn't get out of bed.
Another milestone - potty training. We are taking it VERY slow. I have a potty chair. We started by having her investigate the whole thing.
She took it all apart. Then we had her sit on it with her clothes on. I have her come in with me when I go and she sits on her chair (clothes on still). Before we get ready for bed and change her diaper one last time we sit on the chair naked. I let her run around the bathroom naked (easy cleanup if necessary). Every once in a while asking her if she has to go potty. When I ask she comes back to the chair and sits down. She took some toilet paper and I asked her what she does with it, she proceeded to wipe herself. I think she knows the concept, just not sure she knows about being wet vs. dry. When I have a weekend of no activities and not being sick, we will have to try the 3 day method.
(This is not the chair Jolynn has, but I thought it interesting when I Googled Potty Chair how many different styles there were and how they have evolved. I think this is the model I had when I was getting trained. Just a bucket under a chair with a hole. The bucket slid out and you dumped in the the toilet.)
New words: Uppee, Yummy, Potty, Baba (Grandpa Benson), mine, me
We haven't used the monitor in a long time. I decided to see what she does when we put her down for a nap. I wish the monitor recorded. She was playing with the metal flowers on the wall, running circles in her crib, then at one point she had half her body over the railing. The crib is already at its lowest, next stage is toddler bed. We thought it better for her to fall out of the toddler bed than flipping over the top of the rail. We weren't able to get her to take a nap in it right away - she ended up taking it in our bed. She is great at getting in and out of it, and when she gets in she lays down and says "nigh nigh" but doesn't stay in the bed.
We tried the BabyCenter approach at nap time. We laid her down and said it was time for a nap. Shut the door. Jon stayed on the monitor while I stood next to the door. He would tell me "she's out of bed" and "she's at the door". Then I would walk her back to bed in silence and no eye contact. We did this about 8 times. She thought it was a game. So the last time I shut the door so it clicked (meaning she couldn't open it herself). She ended up falling asleep next to the door. I came in an hour later and had to gently keep opening the door little by little. Bedtime went a lot better. She gave us the cue when she laid down on the floor. We did our kisses for everyone (including Polly). Then I laid her down and left the room. She cried for a while next to the door. I sent Jon in this time. He put her in bed and she didn't get up. It has been this way for a week now. Once in bed and she pretty much gets it. She cries for a while, but she doesn't get out of bed.
Another milestone - potty training. We are taking it VERY slow. I have a potty chair. We started by having her investigate the whole thing.
She took it all apart. Then we had her sit on it with her clothes on. I have her come in with me when I go and she sits on her chair (clothes on still). Before we get ready for bed and change her diaper one last time we sit on the chair naked. I let her run around the bathroom naked (easy cleanup if necessary). Every once in a while asking her if she has to go potty. When I ask she comes back to the chair and sits down. She took some toilet paper and I asked her what she does with it, she proceeded to wipe herself. I think she knows the concept, just not sure she knows about being wet vs. dry. When I have a weekend of no activities and not being sick, we will have to try the 3 day method.(This is not the chair Jolynn has, but I thought it interesting when I Googled Potty Chair how many different styles there were and how they have evolved. I think this is the model I had when I was getting trained. Just a bucket under a chair with a hole. The bucket slid out and you dumped in the the toilet.)
New words: Uppee, Yummy, Potty, Baba (Grandpa Benson), mine, me
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Happy 2012!
We went to my parent's cabin for the weekend. Jon has never been up there, and Jolynn and I haven't since Memorial weekend. My mom warned me that there was 3 inches of snow up there and that the cabin would take about 2 hours to warm up. Pishaw I said! 3 inches is probably 1 1/2 by now, and the cabin will not be that cold because it hasn't been that cold here. Um, no. There really was 3 inches and I forgot mine and Jon's boots. The cabin wasn't too bad. It warmed up pretty quickly and then STAYED warm. On Sunday it was a whopping 85 degrees inside. We may have stoked the fire a little too much.
The weather was really nice. My mom and I took turns pulling Jolynn in her sled that my parents made. It had another coat of lacquer on it, so it was ready for the wet snow. Jolynn is much bigger than the last time she was in it and can now hold on to the side rails. We weren't going too crazy so she didn't have to buckle up.
My parents just recently had electricity installed. They had gas everything before (stove, oven, fridge, lights). We pretty much only used the stove and oven. Since light was by candle or lantern, bedtime was usually as soon as the sun went down. Things are a little different when you have electricity. It is still a "cabin", so there is no TV and cell service is minimal. It is great for playing games and reading however. Since they now have electricity they also installed a new fridge. This weekend was the first weekend for turning it on. Apparently the temp gauge was not working properly (fridge worked fine) or my mom got some bad meat from Cub. We were supposed to have ribs for New Year's Eve dinner. When I cut open the package the meat smelled really rancid. We ended up going down to Jack's Shack (great bar/restaurant) and ordering dinner to go.
It was a great weekend. I hope we can go back again, maybe when there is a little more snow.
The weather was really nice. My mom and I took turns pulling Jolynn in her sled that my parents made. It had another coat of lacquer on it, so it was ready for the wet snow. Jolynn is much bigger than the last time she was in it and can now hold on to the side rails. We weren't going too crazy so she didn't have to buckle up.
My parents just recently had electricity installed. They had gas everything before (stove, oven, fridge, lights). We pretty much only used the stove and oven. Since light was by candle or lantern, bedtime was usually as soon as the sun went down. Things are a little different when you have electricity. It is still a "cabin", so there is no TV and cell service is minimal. It is great for playing games and reading however. Since they now have electricity they also installed a new fridge. This weekend was the first weekend for turning it on. Apparently the temp gauge was not working properly (fridge worked fine) or my mom got some bad meat from Cub. We were supposed to have ribs for New Year's Eve dinner. When I cut open the package the meat smelled really rancid. We ended up going down to Jack's Shack (great bar/restaurant) and ordering dinner to go.
It was a great weekend. I hope we can go back again, maybe when there is a little more snow.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Benson/Strait Christmas
Christmas Eve was spent at the Strait's. Jackie was home from college and Maggie turns 18 (OMG!) in just a few days. I can't believe how time has just flown by. So here is a glimpse of what last Christmas looked like:
(I know...10 years at Lifetouch has finally paid off - I can actually take a good group photo)
Now here is this Christmas:
We were smart enough to take a group photo this year:
(I know...10 years at Lifetouch has finally paid off - I can actually take a good group photo)
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Painting!
I finally got up the courage to try painting in the tub with Jolynn. Jon was a BIG help. I set everything up and then he "coached" her so I wouldn't get full of paint before Zumba class. He then cleaned the tub (and her) so I could get to Zumba. She started off slow, as the video will show, but she really got into it towards the end.
Finished paintings.
Finished paintings.
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