Friday, January 27, 2012

Good Week

Gracie has had a good week at daycare and school.  I've been working on getting her to bed earlier at night.  That seems to help her moods greatly and she has been tired enough that she falls asleep early, but it sometimes backfires with her waking up in the night or too early in the morning. 

At school Gracie got to be the special helper at school one day this week and I'm told she LOVED that.  They said she was very happy and very talkative that day.  At daycare they are learning about the ocean and made an octopus out of toilet tissue rolls.  They also made jelly fish out of upside down paper bowls and yarn.  I just love hers.  It has just two tentacles, but you can tell she really worked hard on it and it is hanging from the ceiling and well I'm just a proud mommy! 

On Tuesday night Gracie got to talk with Grandma and Grandpa D. via Skype.  She played shy as she always does, but did talk a little bit.  On Wednesday night she came home and was really cold, she just shivered and shivered and when we asked her if she wanted a blanket she agreed she did.  Jeff (the warm body of the house) had her sit on his lap and he wrapped a blanket around her and just held her close to try and get her warm.  Once she had stopped shivering, I put her jammies on and added a big fuzzy sweatshirt over the top.  I was just sure she was coming down with something, because Gracie is rarely cold and never shivers unless she is sick, but she has remained healthy.  So I'm not sure if she just caught a chill that day or what. 

Last night Gracie ate and ate again, although she did not like the chicken tacos they had for lunch at daycare, so I think she was just a hungry girl from not eating much lunch.  Although when she woke up this morning I was just sure she looked taller. 

Yesterday I had a dental implant put in and had a very sore cheek and mouth.  When Jeff picked Gracie up, he informed Gracie that mommy had an owie and that she had to be very gentle with mommy.  She was very concerned about this and when she saw me she kept insisting she wanted to "see" the owie and she kept wanting to touch my cheek.  Oops...maybe we shouldn't have told her. 

This morning Gracie was in a great mood!  She was singing and dancing and smiley.  I dressed her in this adorable pastel sweatshirt and added blue leggings, but soon realized the leggings were a little too form fitting to be worn without having something over them so I added a pink tutu.  That was a huge lit, she danced around the house saying "tutu" and telling us that she was a "ballerina".  She looked adorable. 

Have a great weekend.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Monday/Tuesday - Back to the Real World

Gracie had a good day at daycare yesterday.  I'm told she had a lot of fun playing ring around the rosie with two of her daycare buddies.  A new family came for a tour of the facility and Gracie took them by the hand and gave them a tour of all the hot spots in the room.  She must have sold them on the place, their little boy starts today.  She did have one time where she became completely overwhelmed when the room got a little crazy. 

Last night at home was not a happy place.  Her getting up at 4:00 a.m. and no nap took it's toll.  If she wasn't crying, kicking, hitting, or screaming hysterically, she was walking around the house and grabbing anything she could get her hands on and throwing it to the floor.  I feel so bad for her when she is in one of these moods, I can't imagine what must be going on in her little head.  I know for fact there is no ability to reason and control her actions.  We got home at 6:00 p.m. and I had her in bed fast asleep by 7:00 p.m.  She was just plain OVER tired.  She slept until 4:00 a.m. this morning, then woke up and told me she was "awake".  I told her she wasn't and that she needed to go back to sleep.  It actually worked this time and she went back to sleep until about 5:30 a.m.  My sweet girl was back this morning.  Amazing what a good night's sleep can do for a person.

She did have two fun moments last night:

1.  She helped set the table for supper and was having just a blast doing it.  Needless to say, we'll have her do that again.  She loves to be helpful and if we happen to mention how helpful she is, she just beams.

2.  I had some Andes Mints left from Christmas time, the bigger ones that have pictures molded into the top.  I opened one up for her and it had a snowman on it.  She saw it and all by herself sang "Frosty the Snowman was a jolly happy soul."  It was so cute.  Unfortunately it was sung so softly that Jeff didn't hear it.

Gracie is back to daycare and school today.  I think she was ready to get back into her routine.

Have a great week and stay warm.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Monday, January 23, 2012

Healthy Again!

Okay, so I didn't quite make my promise of posting last week.  Gracie had a G.I. bug that hit on Monday night and lasted the full week.  Thankfully no vomiting, but she had lots of stomach cramps and diarrhea.  I really felt sorry for the little pumpkin.  Her appetite was gone as well, although she was still wonderful about taking her seizure meds with applesauce.  I was thankful for that.

On Monday before the "bug" hit, Gracie and I met Jeff where he was working...doing audio for a Robert Robinson concert.  Robert is a phenomenal gospel singer and tours a lot with Lori Line.  I was thrilled to get the opportunity to hear him again and Gracie loved it as well.  Gracie was just sure that when he sang "Amazing Grace" it was just for her.  She is pretty amazing, you know.  She got to meet Mr. Robinson and his piano player afterward.  She was thrilled and held both of their hands. 

The G.I. bug hit that evening and was in full force the rest of the week.  Jeff and I took turns staying home with her.  We practiced good hand hygiene and I disinfected everything I could think of, including door knobs and light switches.  I think it worked.  Both Jeff and I remain healthy. 

This weekend Gracie was feeling much better and making up for her lost appetite.  Jeff and I marveled as she inhaled food.  I do not know where she puts all that food!  She was a good girl all week and all weekend as well.  On Sunday, I made a quick trip to the mall, while Jeff and Gracie decided to go outside for a bit.  She had been asking to go outside all week and I think not leaving the house for a full week was getting to her.  It was just cold and raw enough outside, they didn't stay out long and Gracie made no fuss when it was time to come in. 

Gracie is back at daycare today.  Schools were two hours late here, which means her preschool was canceled.  That's okay with me, I think it was for the best.  This way she can get back in the swing of things without too many transitions. 

Our biggest fun while sick was running around the kitchen island 2000 times (this was in the evenings when she was starting to feel better), playing with her Fisher Price Little People Zoo, and playing with her Mickey and Minnie Mouse figurines and driving them around in their "toon cars".  We have one each for mommy and daddy to play too!!!!

Have a great week and stay healthy!

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and the very healthy Gracie

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

G.I. Bug has Hit!

Gracie has a g.i. bug of some sort...so no time to write.  Will have a post later this week.

Stay well!

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Friday, January 13, 2012

"I said"!

Gracie had another good day on Thursday.  Her daycare teacher reads the group many books and uses alot of books in her teaching and activities.  This is right up Gracie's alley!  Not to mention Ms. Alyssa is so good about writing down some of Gracie's favorites for me so I know which ones she really seems drawn too.  They are working on opposites right now! 

Last night after bath Gracie started getting hives again.  We gave her some Claritin right away and by this morning they were gone.  I've changed no products that we use with her, so I'm just not sure what is causing these outbreaks on occasion. 

I think I've mentioned that I start out giving Gracie her baths - I get her hair washed and combed out and I get her all clean and then she asks for daddy to come in and play and splash her.  So when my work was done, Jeff came in and I was in the laundry room next door.  I hear her tell him that he can't do something, but I wasn't quite sure what.  Then I hear Jeff ask her why he can't do whatever it was he wasn't supposed to do...and the reply was "I said".  I couldn't believe my ears - I doubled over in laughter.  We have never told her to do anything because "I said to"....I am guilty of saying "Just do it!" once in awhile.  So I'm guessing she probably hears it at daycare from the other kids.  I do know the little boy in her room got in trouble for swearing quite colorfully the other day (twice I might add).

I'm looking forward to the weekend.  I do believe we will need to go to the shoe store.  I noticed Gracie's toes are at the end of her shoes again. 

Have a great weekend.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Thursday, January 12, 2012

A Great Week Continues...

Gracie has had a great week at daycare and at school.  She's getting on the bus without much hesitancy and just seems to be taking things in stride.  On Tuesday, there was a sub at school, a young gentleman named Mr. Jake.  I'm told that he was great with all of the kiddos, but Gracie seemed to be especially taken by him and he was able to get her to participate in group time as no others before him have.  She was in such a good mood coming off the bus and all the kids in her room at daycare started chanting her name as she started running toward her room.  I'm told she got all excited and loved all of the attention.  I'm told they get quite concerned if Gracie's bus is running late and they all wonder where she is.  I love that!  :)

It was also reconfirmed for me this week that Gracie does a much better job with the transition from our house to the car to go to daycare if daddy isn't there.  If daddy's there, we are sure to see a fall to the floor resistance to go.  If it's just mom, we stall a bit as we figure out what toys to take in the car with us, but we aren't into the drama of making a big scene. 

Gracie has been quite brave on the slides at school and daycare lately and is even mastering the crawl through tunnels without assistance.  Yay - big girl! 

Last night Gracie was so tired and moody that she fell asleep on my lap as I was talking to mom on the phone.  When Gracie falls asleep she has these jerky movements that appear somewhat seizure-like (they aren't - we've had it checked out).  She is sitting on my lap and she starts jerking and I'm thinking "uh-oh" and then I see her little eyes are closed and she is fast asleep.  Sweet, sweet! 

Here's hoping for continued good health for her.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Great Weekend...Great Week

Gracie had a GREAT weekend.  We just hung out at home all weekend and played.  She was such a good girl and you can tell she is feeling so much better.  She still has a nasty cough at night, but other than that is healthy!!!!  We went to the playground on Saturday to swing and slide and run and she had so much fun.  Gracie was very verbal all weekend too and could tell us so much.  I just love that! 

On Sunday we went outside for a while too, but Gracie's tummy didn't feel well that morning and she wasn't quite as active.  She didn't want to walk, but she wanted to be outside, so we put her in her wagon and wrapped her in a big blanket and pulled her around the neighborhood. 

Yesterday (Monday) Gracie didn't have school, so she spent the full day at daycare and I was told she had the best day EVER!!!!!  Her teacher told us that Gracie didn't have any problems with transitions at all, she even came indoors after outside play with no fussing.  All was great until daddy came to pick her up.  That transition was difficult for her, but we all no she fusses more for mom and dad and she was tired.  After Jeff got her calmed down a bit they called me on my cell and I told her how much I missed her and that she needed to come home.  That helped and soon they were on the way.  Gracie had a great night, but was extremely hungry and couldn't wait for our homemade beef soup to heat up, so she filled up on applesauce, oranges, peanut butter toast, and chocolate chip cookies.  When it was time to eat her soup, it was fun to stir, but we really weren't in to eating it. 

Gracie slept good around her coughing attacks and was in a GREAT mood this morning.  I'm hoping for another great day!

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Friday, January 6, 2012

The Week in Review

Tuesday was a little rough for Gracie being back to daycare and back to school.  It took her a bit to get on the bus to go to school.  She finally went to the bus with the parent of another little boy in her daycare class.  Gracie's teacher at school said she cried more than she has ever seen her cry at school and she would not participate in anything until about 11:00 a.m.  Her school day ends at 11:30 a.m.  She did have a good afternoon at daycare though, so I felt better about that. 

On Wednesday, I accompanied Gracie to daycare for a Hibernation Party.  All the parents of her daycare class were invited to join them to drink hot chocolate, listen to a story about a bear who was hibernating, and then they could bring a favorite stuffed animal and put it in the cave they had made.  Doesn't this sound like fun?  Well for all the other kids in her class it was great fun.  For Gracie who gets overwhelmed easily it was NOT fun.  I could tell from the moment the other parents started arriving that Gracie's routine was being messed with and she was very unsettled.  She didn't want to join in the fun, yet she did.  When everyone else was drinking hot chocolate she insisted she didn't want any, then realized she really did, but didn't want to sit at the table with everyone, but then did want to, but on the way decided maybe it wasn't a good idea and got upset and threw her hot chocolate everywhere on herself, me, and the floor.  Let me say that through all of this the other mothers and kids were simply wonderful, as was her teacher. 

Gracie had school this day, so knowing this would probably be a bit much for her, I chose to drive her to school rather than adding the bus to her day.  On the way out of the room she decided she didn't want to go and layed on the floor face down having a small tantrum.  I finally talked her up and we got to the car under her own power, with mommy encouraging her all the way.  Once in the car, the switch flipped and she was happy, delightful, no longer overwhelmed, and happy to be going to school.  Once she got to school she was excited about it.  While we waited for her teacher a little girl named Miriam came off the bus and gave her a great big hug.  Miriam told me that she and Gracie sometimes sit together on the bus.  Then I found out that both of Gracie's teachers were gone for the day, as was her speech pathologist, and one of the two para's from her room.  I was very relieved to see the para that we know and love and Gracie was too happy to go with her.  She also got a big hug from another little boy that rides her bus that is in her class, I suspect he is the one that has a few behavioral issues, but Gracie seemed to be fine with him as well. 

I was pretty sure we were going to have a difficult evening....not so!  Gracie was happy and delightful all night.  I was shocked.  Yesterday (Thursday) night was the same.  She was in a great mood and had a great day at both daycare and school.  My assessment from all of this is Gracie really likes daycare, she really likes school, I even think the bus is okay.  I think Gracie's biggest challenge is the transitions between each. 

Gracie had a pretty restless night, she seemed stuffed up again.  I hope she's not coming down with another cold.  She still has a cough from the previous one.  She has a different teacher at daycare on Fridays and she was a little tentative at first this morning, but did fine once she warmed up. 

I'm hoping our beautifully warm temps will stay through the weekend so we can do some playing outside.

Have a great weekend.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Back to the Real World

Happy New Year!  We spent New Year's Eve celebrating Jeff's birthday quietly at home.  We did make a trip to the clinic to have Gracie's skin checked out.  Her hives turned into a weird rash of bumps.  We wanted to make sure it wasn't strep or some other contagious disease.  Seems her body reacted weirdly to her cold virus...first with hives and then with Papular Acrodermatitis of Childhood.  She wasn't contagious, just itchy.  I'm happy to say they are finally healing and she isn't itching anymore. 

Gracie loved helping Jeff blow out the birthday candles on his cake.  He left two candles burning on his cake and told Gracie they were for his girlfriends.  Then he asked her if she knew who they were and she replied "Gracie and Momma".  Good girl!!!! 

We  were all in bed before midnight!

On New Years Day we went to hang out with Aunt Sheila, Uncle Chris, and cousins Kayla and Jason.  Gracie was in a great mood and we all had a good time.  Sheila baked a cake for Jeff and when the candles were blown out, once again there were two left.  I'm pretty sure I heard Gracie say they were for "girlfriends"!

Yesterday we just hung out at home and had a lazy day.  I think we all were happy to just be inside and out of the cold.  Gracie was daddy's girl big time.  She was pretty much attached to his hip.  Every once in a while she would come sit on my lap.  She's so funny because mealtime and bedtime she is mamma's girl...otherwise it is pretty much daddy's girl.

This morning Gracie did not want to wake up.  She's been used to sleeping in.  I was afraid I was going to have to take her to daycare in a sound slumber.  She finally woke up and was in a very good mood.  I'm not sure she was ready for daycare or school to start back up, but she did have a big hug for Ms. Alyssa!

Wishing you (and us) a healthy, happy 2012.

Love,
Lisa, Jeff, and Gracie