Geography

Well, we haven't been teaching Vivi any of the states locations, etc. But, she knows that we live in North Carolina, and her grandparents live in Alabama. A few days ago, she asked if we could go to Alabama. I told her that we wouldn't be able to go for a while. She said "Oh...Alabama is closed." This response probably came from us telling her that Pump It Up (the jumpy place, as she calls it) is closed. She's asked to go several times, but I can't really play with her there...chasing her through the obstacles (yet...still recovering a little) and they are open only one or two nights a week. So, every time she asks to go, they are closed. We'll go this weekend I think. But anyway, I guess she thinks that we can't take her places b/c they are closed. Including Alabama. Maybe I should get a map of the US.

Anyway, Bryton went today for another weight check - he's gained an ounce a day since last weeks' weight check, which is what they like to see. He's getting big, but still not up to his birth weight yet. He was 8 lbs, 15 ozs today. The doctors say that that's normal of pre-term babies, especially bigger ones, to lose more weight and be a little slower to put it back on. They are typically lazy eaters until they get to 38-39 gestational weeks, which is where Bryton is now. We're doing good and he's getting more and more interested in eating. It's hard to believe that he was bigger than he is now when I was carrying him around on the inside. I think we are all grateful that he's on the outside, and doing well!

We still haven't gotten used to the little surprises little boys sprinkle you with every time you change their diapers. Does that eventually stop? If so, when? He got the nurse today at the doctor...with pee and poop. Ha! I'm glad it's not just me.

Well, not much else to say....Oh...we took Vivi to the ER a couple of nights ago. During the day Wednesday, she told me she was cold, so I put a sweater on her, noticing that her skin felt warm. I took her temp and it was 102.4. So, I gave her some Motrin. We went on with our day - she was playing like normal and never would admit that anything felt bad. I kept on with the Motrin/Tylenol; she would cool down a bit (never back to 98.6), but then go back up. Later that evening, she was burning up, so we took her temp again and it was 103.7 in one ear and 104.1 in the other. Yikes! We called the nurses help line at her pediatrician who said to take her to the ER. So, I took her in and they said that it looked like it was a virus of sorts and just keep on alternating the Tylenol with the Motrin every 4 hours (which is what I'd done all day). So, we came home and I put her to bed. I woke her up during the night to give her more Tylenol, and by the morning, she was as cool as could be, and has been ever since. Her appetite was down during the day she had fever, but returned to normal the next day. So far, so good. It turns out that 3 or 4 other kids in her preschool class had the same thing...just a fever for a few hours, but no other symptoms.

Nothing new with Kyle or me. We are enjoying the spring time weather (today) and hoping that it stays that way. We like watching some TV during the week. We watch The Biggest Loser, Lost, Friday Night Lights, The Office, and I like American Idol. We set them up to record and watch them after we put Vivi to bed. What did we do before DVR (well, while we were in Alabama, we'd watch the shows online later in the week). Anyway, it's nice to be able to put Vivi down and fold some laundry and feed Bryton while we enjoy a hour of TV. Then Bryton goes to bed, then mom and dad! He's slept 5 hours at night a couple of times in the past week; it's usually just 3.5-4. I try not to let him go too long without eating, but now that he's getting better at eating and getting full, I feel okay with letting him go longer at night (and weight check indicated he was getting enough). Kyle goes to get him and brings him to me. I feed him, then Kyle changes him and puts him back to bed.

Other than that, we are doing well. I can't wait to get back to the gym, but it's a little tough with little guy now. We've been going for walks after dinner, but I'm definitely an inside/AC/TV exerciser. Plus, all that extra humidity kills my hair. We had an opportunity to get a treadmill from Kyle's brother while we were in Birmingham, but we don't have anywhere to put it here. We opted to put a kitchen table in the kitchen (yes, after living here 5 months, we finally got a kitchen table) instead of a treadmill. (the table we had in our kitchen in Yuma is in the dining room now...covered with scrapbook stuff! yay!)

Anyway, that's all for now! Have a great week!