Unfortunate Pattern - Sores :(

Olivia's Sore on Saturday after the Party

Olivia has adopted a pattern of falling ill when Kev goes on travel.  This time her little bite, lesion, sore, whatever it is that showed up on her arm Sat had several friends show up Monday night.  7 friends to be exact, the worst one being on her finger.  So we went back to the urgent care for the third time and were given a different antibiotic.  After one very fussy day with Aunt Patti, Olivia seemed to be somewhat improving by Tues night... and no more friends showed themselves.  Today, Olivia and Patti had a much more fun and relaxed, normal day.  At our follow up doctor appointment we learned that nothing grew in the culture, but Olivia is continuing to take the antibiotic because there may not have been enough of a sample to culture.  In any case, it also seems like a strong correlation between Olivia's improved mood and the timing of the antibiotic.  Tomorrow, Olivia returns to daycare.  She has one good sized blister on her finger, but the doc said she's good to go and if it's bacterial she isn't contagious due to the drugs.  Yay!

Olivia looking at a new sore that Mom didn't notice yet

I checked around for fleas and changed her linens... nothing turned up as suspicious.  I forgot to move laundry to the dryer tonight.  Oops.  Tomorrow.  Nighty night time.  Can't wait for Kevin to return Friday.  It's not as fun without him around!

Cuddling with Raggedy Ann at Urgent Care Monday evening

Sad little Ring Finger Monday evening.

First Birthday, and First Word?

Birthday Girl!!! on 7/24/14

Ok so the birthday party was awesome and I'll write more tomorrow, but.....

The big news of the day is Olivia said "Trixie" twice in the span of 10 minutes!!!!

She was concentrating so hard!  My parents were even here to witness the event.  So fun!!!  My little girl is growing up so fast!!! 

First Hamburger at The Counter in Fremont

Poor little one has a nasty bug bite on her arm and we went to urgent care after the party on Sat and again today - now we have antibiotics and are feeling better about the whole thing.

Sarah is home safe after a quick trip, and I just dropped off mom and dad at SFO for a red eye. 

Kevin Is Off On Travel Early Tomorrow Am And I'm Headed To work.

Party at Ardenwood Farm was a great success, the highlight being Olivia and her first birthday cake.  We had far too much food and about 49 guests.  The animals were cute, the bubbles a hit, and no big games because of the Ardenwood rules.  Olivia was fairly well behaved.  The shade of the trees was wonderful and everyone seemed to have a nice time.  It was really special to have my parents and Sarah come all the way out here for the party.  We really needed the help!  We are happy to be moving on to the next thing, whatever that will be.  

Sunday after the party, Mom helped me clear out the kitchen pantry in an attempt to eradicate the moths that keep infesting it.  That is a chore best done with a helper!  Kevin had a horrible headache and slept for most of the day.  Annie came by for a visit, but unfortunately that was the moment we decided to take Olivia *back* to Urgent Care because it looked like her sore was spreading/streaking.  So we missed the opportunity to socialize with Annie & Walter. :(  Eventually, we pumped up Rodi - grandparents  

birthday gift to Olivia - and put together a little tricycle and had a grand time playing out on the patio when things cooled off a bit.  I was speaking in tongues by the end of the day.

I need some sleep!  It's been a hot weekend!

Birthday Girl at the Party!  The Cake photos are on my other camera.

Tired Girl

Poor Olivia, we shocked her system and took her to daycare early with Kev back at work.  She only slept for an hour during the day and was so tired she started lashing out.... and biting other kids.  At nught she was so tired she wailed from the moment she awoke from her catnap until about 2 hours later when Kev finally managed to calm Olivia to sleep.  Poor thing, she was miserable.

Olivia needs more sleep and I need to figure out a way to give her the opportunity.  Hmmmmm.  Oh, and today at daycare she was pulling up without help all day!  Olivia just couldn't figure out how to sit down and would then get all fussy.  Doh!

Speaking of sleep.... I managed to get all 10 hours in for work, call to change the cake order, Kev confirmed the catering, and do a little work in the backyard after picking up Olivia, feeding her and tag team getting her to sleep.... all on a few hours' rest as the little girl had gas or something last night and was up at 4.  I sure hope we figure out what's going on so she is on her best happy behavior on Saturday!

Nighty night time for Momma, and fingers crossed Olivia sleeps through until 6 tonight. Dad's already asleep. :)

:) last Thursday

Olivia to sleep at 7ish, cocktails with hubby while debating landscaping philosophies and where to put Olivia's future playhouse, jalapeño poppers from our home grown peppers, dinner of chicken and salad (with another round), chasing the dogs around the backyard.... I love our little family.

Nice Weekend, Pulling up!

OK, OK, I still haven't written about Hawaii...

But, this weekend was relatively calm.  Saturday we prepped a bit for next weekend's 1st birthday party extravaganza!  The big news is that Sarah is going to travel out here from Texas and Olivia's party is included in her itinerary.  Fun!  We took a family trip to Costco for beer/wine and a few other party items, and Olivia had diarrhea.  So, we changed her in the car and went to the Party Store to pick out a few games and items... halfway through, Olivia had diarrhea.  This time we opted to go home.  Last Monday I was down for the count with food poisoning and it took all of Tuesday to regain my normal strength, so you don't want to mess with tummy problems!   Back home, I gave our angel a bath because she was stinky and sweaty from crying (very fussy all morning), and got her down for a nap.

Then went back out to the Party Store.  Lots of errands, and we have things somewhat under control.  At least, a cake is ordered.

Olivia is pulling up much better these days and even took a step to the side while holding on to the coffee table this morning.  Her hips are getting stronger and she's so proud of herself for pulling up.  Olivia's new trick is to be super loud and frustrated when she can't get something she wants - like having trouble pulling a book out of a box.  That one really ticks her off.  Today she's really wanted to be held.  Olivia will crawl after you and flap her arms at your feet, maybe tug at your legs a bit to get you to pick her up.  When she can keep up with my walking around the house, she sits in the middle of the room and starts crying!  Poor sweetie.  WE did have fun on the swings in the park today - she was loving it!    Mom really enjoyed the bonding too.  Our other moment was out on the front lawn while dad planted a tree we bought some time ago before it dies in the pot.  Olivia was crawling all over me and using me to stand up - it was really cute.  She kept putting her head down on me like she was sleepy too.



Tonight, Charlie and Delores babysat for a few hours and we went out for dinner and a walk around Lake Elizabeth - so nice to have some time with hubby!  Kevin returns to work this week and he'll be going from 0 to 110%.  There are several transports coming up so he'll be working long hours to prep, and then will be on the road.  It's been so nice having him around, and being Mr. Mom.  This will be a shock to all of us.  Our dog walker is also still on vacation so I'm not sure what we'll do with the girls. :(

Olivia has also been doing High-5s a bit more, and at daycare they're talking about prepping to move her to the next room.  I'm excited for her to have more stimulation, to be able to take a break and have Olivia eat school food... but the little girl still needs more sleep than what she gets and in the next room it's just one nap a day.  When we pick her up in the evening she's *exhausted* and super fussy, so it's right to bed.  I don't get to see happy Olivia much - and we'll see what happens this week when we have to take her in much earlier since dad's back at work.  We will have to come up with a better plan for the long term.  This is not sustainable nor fair to the little girl. :(

Can't wait for our First Birthday party!  At Ardenwood Historic Farm in Fremont.  We have somewhere around 57 confirmed guests - crazy!

OK, it's late and we have to get up at 5:30 am for work fun tomorrow.  Signing off - with a few photos!

Tonight's Bath

Olivia pooped in the bathtub tonight.  I was laughing so hard!   I couldn't get her out fast enough!  So, we did a second quick bath.  Lolz

Starting to Catch Up

Okay, it's been awhile... but the pics are just about up to date on smugmug (uploading Hawaii pics as I type) and work is calm, and this latest stomach flu (food poisoning) is over!  Yay!

These days Olivia is crawling around *everywhere*!  She still stops at the threshold to the backyard, but it's only a matter of time.  Olivia has been pulling up to kneeling pretty regularly on the fancy coffee table that Kevin has put upholstered foam protection from bumped heads.  Olivia follows us around the house, and is starting to throw mini tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants.  Today when picking her up from daycare, I was told to start thinking about moving Olivia up to the next room.  They think that being around other walking kiddos will help motivate her to stand and walk more.  I agree with that assessment, having seen her around Walter and other slightly-older children.  Olivia has been sleeping through the night much better lately and is down to one nap a day.  I'm sure she could use two, but she's still stimulated at daycare.

It seems we have a sweet daughter - after just about recovering from the Hawaii bug bites, Olivia came home with two arms covered in bright red bug bites. :(  Poor thing.  And this round of bites actually seems to bother her.  Fortunately, they're starting to fade as well.

Last weekend we enjoyed "Christmas in July" at Patti and Steven's house, and had a lovely trip to Berkeley to see Annie/Joel/Walter's new home, partake of delicious brunch, check out the Claremont Hotel lobby and pick up a few things from the Middleton's.  When we returned home, the new bed frame spawned clean-the-garage part I.  Kevin did most of the work as Olivia awoke shortly after we started.  Kevin has continued that project for the last couple days while I was sick with the food poisoning.  This is Kevin's last week of paternity child-bonding leave, so time is short.  The garage is much safer now.  It isn't totally cleared out because there are still too many tools for just a garage, and to many projects to be done.  My next task is to list my old bedframe on Craig's List and see if it'll sell.  Sad to see it go - it was a big deal to me when I bought it several years ago.

The coming weekend will be filled with planning the birthday party!  Can't wait!  Lots of games to plan, cake to order, salads to plan... Mmmmmm!  Maybe I'll catch up on email finally and the blog.

Next posting will finally be Hawaii!

Quickie....

I'll have to do the full vacation report in a couple nights but today.... Olivia copied me when I lightly blew her little face!  So cute!  So she cluck with you, blows raspberries, and will try to blow your face with a big old smile!  She is crawling everywhere, and so curious pulling things out of bags.  She crawls over to us at daycare and tries to follow us around the house. 

Tonight when I left the room after putting her in the criv, she grabbed a few little toys and started playing.... first time she didn't cry when I left the room!  She's growing up.

In other news, Aunt Annie and family have moved to Cali as of today.  Annie and Walter will probably come by tomorrow to bother some basic needs things until the mover truck arrives in a few weeks.

I had an interview today within LM for a manager job, so we will see how that turns out.  Just need to make sure I don't lose more precious time with my little girl.

Ok, Hawaii post to come this weekend.  Nighty night time for momma!