New Tooth

Big News - James got his first tooth!! Very exciting. It is his lower left incisor. I didn't even know he had any ready to pop through because he hasn't been fussy or anything. He was chewing on my hand while I was clipping his fingernails and I felt it. The second exciting news was today was his first day to have cereal. He did well for his first time. Hopefully tomorrow will go just as well and then maybe he will start sleeping all the way through the night.

Sophia news is that today she spelled MOM. Well, okay not exactly spelled but I wrote the word on the side of the bathtub and she pointed to the letters and said "M...O...M...Mama!". I know Jim worked with her on her M's today but I don't know where she learned the O from. She is a little sponge for new information. Smart little cookie!

Neuro Visit

We got our neurology appointment moved up to today. Sophia did awesome. We met with the doctor and she educated us on a lot of information regarding seizures. Then Sophia had her EEG. She sat very still while they put the electrodes on and then she sat on my lap while they did the test. The test took 30 minutes. We read books and she did very well. She only cried at the end when they had to take the electrodes off because the electrodes were pasted to her hair on her head. We got the results back already - normal - YEAH!! However, the doctor expected that. Now we have to go into the hospital for a 2 day video EEG. Ugh. We will get a call tomorrow when that is but the neurologist is trying to schedule it for next week. I am going to stay with Sophia during that time. Jim has to work two days next week so if it is scheduled during that time we might need to call in some reinforcements to help with James. Anyway, I'll keep everyone updated on that report. Hopefully the video EEG will be normal as well.

7 Things

I got this from Paula. So here are 7 random, weird things about me that you may or may not know.

1) I love blueberries. I could eat my weight in them - and since having two kids so close together - that is a lot of weight :-). Every summer I buy 4 pounds at a time and I buy them every week. YUM!

2) I cannot stand to hear people eating. Therefore we eat our meals with either the news or music on. When I hear people eat or when I see them eat with their mouths open, I want to throw up. I have been known to stop eating because I could hear my own self eat and it made me lose my appetite.

3) I love cars. I love how they look, how they drive, all of the features, the colors...everything. If I had millions and millions of dollars I would probably own 10 or more cars.

4) The last thing I do every night before I go to bed is go to the bathroom. It doesn't matter if I just went 5 minutes ago. If Jim starts talking with me or if I go check on one of the kids, I will have to go to the bathroom again before I can fall asleep.

5) I always have the house alarm on - unless Jim is home. Even in the middle of the day, I will turn alarm on. I don't know why, I'm not scared in my own home. It is just something that I do.

6) I secretly watch The Girls Next Door when I am bored. I don't know what it is about the show but I think it is funny. Maybe it is because it is a lifestyle that is soooo different from my own that is interesting. Also, I don't quite understand what it is about Hef that attracts all of these girls.

7) I have an anxiety attack every time I fly. It doesn't stop me from flying but every time the plane takes off and lands, I pray and take deep breaths while my heart pounds and I get very very still with nervousness.

There you go - 7 strange little facts about ME! I don't know 7 people who have blogs (and I don't know how to attach the blog to this posting and I don't really have time right now to figure it out - I'm a busy Mom today) but I will tag people that I know who have blogs as well as some people to respond via email. I tag Beck, Carol, Mom, Paula A., Jim, Suz, Christina.

Sophia

It looks like Sophia is having seizures again. For those of you who don't know, Sophia started having seizures at around 4 weeks old but the EEG was normal and the pediatric neurologist thought she would out grow it. Well, she did, up until about 3-4 weeks ago. We have an appointment Oct. 21 with the neurologist. I am sure she will order tests. Jim saw two of the seizures this week and he is going to call on Monday to see if we can get the tests done sooner so when we come to the appointment, we will already have test results in hand. Let's hope she will just 'grow out of them' and that it is nothing serious. Keep her in your prayers, please.

Skunk!!!!!

Well, we finally caught the animal that has been stinking up our house! The skunk has been living underneath our sunroom for a good portion of the summer and when he sprays - YUK - it really stinks. So we are thankful that we caught him. He was not hurt at all. Critter Control came out and got him for us. It is my understanding that they relocate the skunk away from our house. For all of those animal lovers out there - no skunk was hurt in the catching of said skunk.

He was a pretty big skunk!

I thought he might actually try to figure out how to open that cage!

Sophia was very interested in the animal. She kept saying "catch animal".

The Critter Control man was able to get the skunk without being sprayed.

4 Month Check-Up

James had his 4 month check-up this past Monday. He pasted with flying colors. He is 16 pounds (50%ile), 26 1/4 in long (95%ile), and his head is 17 inches. I believe he is going to be built like Jim. James also got 4 vaccines. Since then he has had a fever of 100.9 and has been tired and fussy. Poor little buster!

Colts

Jim and I went to the Colts game on Sunday for Jim's birthday (his birthday is in Oct. so it was an early birthday present). We had a great time. Our tickets were AMAZING! We were on the 50 yard line on the second level, fourth row in the club seats. We could see everything! The new stadium is so nice. It's too bad that we lost the game but it was close! We were entertained at least. Something exciting that happened was that I saw Billy Bob Thornton! It had to be him because it looked like him, he had the same smile, and when he talked, it sounded just like him! I couldn't believe it. There were only about 10 people in the concession area of the club section so I don't think anyone else knew he was there, unless they were like me and didn't want to be one of those people who bugs them. Beck watched the kids for us so we had a nice relaxing time out. Thanks Beck!

Once Upon A Potty

For those of you who don't remember, Sophia is potty training. She was doing great but then went through a "NO" stage. Now she is back to wanting to sit on the potty but she wants to do it in the kitchen. Apparently the bathroom in the hall was too far away for her. She does sit on it for long periods of time and the downstairs bathroom is pretty dark and small. So, I let her bring it into the kitchen area. At first it turned out great because when I saw her get 'the look' on her face that she was going to poop, I could quickly get her on the potty. We were having lots of success. Well, then we got the movie "Once Upon a Potty". It is very cute but now Sophia wants to watch it while she sits on the potty. As a result, I know the movie and "The Potty Song" by heart. I even caught myself singing it at the grocery store! I thought it was wonderful at first because she was then motivated to sit on the potty. We don't get "NO" anymore when we mention the potty so we were thrilled. However, it has resulted in a lot of movie watching for Sophia, which I do not like. We have also invested in another potty movie with a girl names Hannah. I forget the name of the movie but it too has a potty song. It is also very cute but, good grief, I am tired of them.

On other notes, Jim is telling me that Sophia just identified all of her colors, including brown and she can identify circles and ovals. She can name ovals. She has mastered a 15 piece shape sorter and tonight was just putting together a puzzle that involved putting two pieces together to make the picture, as opposed to just putting one piece in the slot. I realize to some of you out there that this may sound like bragging but I really just proud of her and want to share her accomplishments. I am her MOM after all, isn't that what mom's are supposed to do? Anyway, James is rolling over now and today I found him in his crib, laying on his belly and face, with his left arm and leg stuck through the bars of the crib. He was NOT happy about this. I don't really like that he is doing this because he is not rolling from his belly to back very well. He does do back to belly well though. Monday we have his 4 month appointment. I can't wait to see how much he has grown!!

Taste Tip

Here is a tasty tip - try Country Crocks Cinnamon Butter. Yum-O!! I bought it to go with our pork chop dinner the other night and we all loved it. This morning we tried it on pancakes - Mmmmmm. Try it - I think you'll like it. Warning - it is possible that this item will make you fat!!

Catching Up

It is time to catch everyone up on what has been going on. I forget what I have already blogged on so if I repeat anything I am sorry. Just bear with me. First off, Jim got home from his hiking trip on Saturday and he had a great time. They saw lots of bears and some were in their campsite (scary!). I have yet to see the pictures but all the men made it home safely. While he was gone, the kids and I had a great time. We stayed super busy. The first part of the week we were at Mom and Dad and I did some painting (which I LOVED). When we came home we had the maids here, errands to run, the Schwan man to treat us, my speech therapy child graduated, my sitter cancelled, breakfast with Suz and Maria, a visit to the Honda dealer, pictures to pick up, and a garage sale. Speaking of the garage sale, I thought it was a lot of fun. Beck did it with me and Lisa came over to help. All of us went shopping around the neighborhood too. Beck ended up buying a crib and Adam got a bike. Matthew got some toys (which Adam wanted to trade is bike in for - funny boy). Sophia got some My Little Ponies, a CareBear doll, some small toys from Beck, and lots of books I bought to kids a ladybug tent. There is a picture of it below. Len and Suz brought over a picnic table and more books for the kids too. Sophia LOVES the picnic table. She has colored on it everyday so far.



Sophia was sick this week. Her fever got up to 103.3. We saw Suzanne several times over the weekend for various things so she said it was probably viral. She has seen a LOT of hand-foot-mouth but Sophia never developed the blisters that accompany this. Jim tested her for strep and the results were negative. I guess it was a run-of-the-mill virus. Anyway, after 3 days of illness, she seems to be back to normal. Today she was laughing and running around like normal and her appetite was back as well. James so far hasn't developed any symptoms so that is good. Now we are just trying to plan out the rest of the week. With the illness, we missed Sophia and James' Gymboree class so on Thursday I think we will make up Sophia's class. We will make up James' class on Saturday. Sophia and I are supposed to ride in the Tour de Carmel on Saturday but I can't find a babysitter for James. Anyone want to watch James for me????

James and Daddy after Jim got home from the airport. Everyone was happy to see him.

Sophia and Mommy

Sophia is still doing well with potty training. At first she was doing awesome but then we hit the "NO" stage so we took it easy and didn't pressure her. Now she is back to wanting to sit on the potty again. I think it is because we wash hands afterwards and she thinks it is fun to make bubbles on her hands with the soap. Hey, whatever works right?!