This Week

This week has been pretty good all things considered. This week is fall break at MACU so that meant that Jason had a couple of days off and I didn't have class. We basically stayed home and relaxed. It was nice.

It started with an appointment for Ariel with her specialist. This appointment is just a formality that we have to go through every six months since the doctor has ordered blood work and ultrasounds every three months. It was kind of a weird appointment because the genetic counselor and doctor kept asking what we wanted to talk about or what we were concerned about, but we didn't have concerns. We asked our questions at the first appointment and were satisfied with the answers. Plus, Ariel seems to be losing the symptoms she had which is even more reason we don't have questions. We were only there because they wanted us to come back every three months. They asked for the appointment to see Ariel - we didn't ask for it. All her bloodwork and ultrasounds were fine - they would have contacted us immediately if they hadn't been. We had no worries. I wonder if I can ask about only seeing her once a year as long as the screening tests keep coming back normal. Probably not. She weighed in at 26.5 lbs and 29 in. She's not a very tall little girl (but neither are her parents), but I'm really excited about her weight leveling off. She's still above the 97%ile, but she's only gained a pound or so in the last couple of months. She's still eating well, sleeping well, and has a great temperament, so it seems good rather than unhealthy. I occasionally wonder if I had an oversupply of breastmilk that made her so big. At times, I could pump 6 ounces with a hand pump in one sitting- sometimes from just one side. I've been decreasing the number of times she nurses over the last few months. Maybe that is making all the difference. Well, we'll never really know this side of heaven. She may have Beckwithe-wiedeman syndrome or a variant of it or nothing at all.

Anyhow, when we got home we didn't do a whole lot, but we did relax and that was really nice. We used some free movie codes for Red Box and watched a bunch of movies. Jason finished two that he had rented a few months ago, but had to return before he could finish them. I watched some romantic comedies and cartoons that looked interesting when they came out, but I didn't care enough about to see in the theatre. And Ariel danced. Just about everything that has a bass line is dancing material for her...even suspenseful sound effects. She rocks on her hands and knees to the music, she bobs her head, she bounces when she is standing up, she taps her hand on things, she kicks her legs if she is being held. She is super cute and loves music...even if it isn't music. Maybe she just likes dancing.

She loves saying "No" too. She seems to have added "yes" as well, but it clearly isn't as fun to say. She seems to have some understanding of what she is saying, hence the addition of yes. She pretty much only says "yes" when she has been saying "no" a lot and I change up the conversation or she really wants something. When she is done eating she says no - but when she is offered more of something she likes (like mandarin oranges) she says "yea" suddenly. "No" is fun to say for no reason at all, but it is said in response to some questions like "Wanna take a nap?" However, she also says "no" to any question that doesn't really have meaning to her. Like when Jason and I are having a conversation. I guess she can read our tones, so she answers "no" whenever one of us asks a question and pauses for the other to answer. This is especially cute when we don't realize she is paying the least bit of attention to us.

However, it is also enlightening. It makes me think about how much she is taking in of things around her - like music on the radio or shows on tv or conversations that aren't so baby friendly. I've always been aware that she is observing everything around her, but I guess these are the first signs of just how much she is taking in. I have a bad habit of listening to pop radio stations in the car. I don't like any particular bands or musicians enough to be picky about stations. I just enjoy the listening to music, singing in the car, and usually the style of popular music is enjoyable to me. I don't like the content of it much at all, but I like music so I listen anyhow. Now that I have little ears listening so intently I feel like I need to make a change. Here's my problem...as honestly as I can put it. I know Christian music is available, but I don't spend money on music and historically it is poor quality. Plus, I enjoy that the radio has someone to choose songs for me and introduce the new stuff as it comes along. I don't really know of good Christian radio - I've found some online, but I can't access that in my car and I spend a lot of time in my car. Maybe we'll just listen to talk radio only - well, that isn't tons better. Maybe we'll just listen to our baby einstein cd forever. Yeah, that's not going to happen. I like it, but enough is enough. We spend a LOT of time in the car. What to do?

Hmmm...back to our week. Wednesday, Jason went back to work and I turned in my mid-term grades. We went to lunch at El Patron, a newer Mexican restaurant in town. It was ok, but not terribly impressive. No reason not to go again, no reason to go either. Ariel was entertaining as always though. She really is a wonderful baby. That day, I finished her halloween costume too. She is going to be an octopus - I found the idea in this month's Parents magazine. I made a couple of changes, but not many. It turned out really cute. I can't wait for her to wear it. I'm trying to decide if Jason and I will dress up this year. We don't really have much reason to dress up, but I always think its fun so I'd really like to. We could try to coordinate with her. I've considered just being fishermen or scruffy ship workers/captain with waders or rubber boots or even something nautical like a jelly fish using an umbrella and streamers. I don't know. I really enjoy dressing up though. We'll see.

Now, we are sick. Jason woke me up Wednesday night coughing tons and I realized he had a fever. He stayed home Thursday and basically took Nyquil all day and slept. He had a fever and was miserable all day. Seemed like he had the flu. Yuck! I didn't even have to wait - by Thursday evening I was feeling achy too. Jason is feeling some better today and I'm not as bad as he was, but not good either. So far, Ariel isn't sick. I thought she had a little fever last night and gave her some fever reducer before bed, but no signs since then. She slept wonderfully and has been in a good mood all day today. She's coughing a little but that's all. We're watching her closely. Mom ended up surprising me by coming to make sure I was ok. She came and took all the dogs (we had Zoe my sister's dog this week too) home with her. She offered to take Ariel too, but I didn't think it was necessary and I want to be with her if she gets sick. While she was here she made some chicken and rice soup for us and just took care of things. It was nice to relax and not worry. Well, now I have a few minutes to myself. I think I'm going to try to enjoy them.