Staying Warm at 55 Weeks

Dear Kids, 

So I've been listening to a lot of podcasts lately, so I'm currently working on creating a house that cleans itself.  For those of you who may not know what this is about, it's basically putting logical systems in place so that clutter doesn't build up. Every few days or so, I identify a problem area and come up with an issue to solve it. For example, the top rack of the dishwasher always fills up in half a day. That's because each person uses like 3-4 cups a day. With 5 people in the house, that would make 15-20 cups to wash each day. So, I'm going to try a one cup a day rule, which should cut down on the cups issue. 

We have also installed a lot of new storage spaces around the house and the final installment comes tomorrow, so hopefully we can work on getting our house a bit tidier on a day to day basis. 

Last weekend, we attended one of Hannah's school friend's birthday party.

 Nathan did a few cool flips into the foam pit. I snapped this pic just in time.

Hailey really has been preferring pouches lately. It's very annoying when you throw things on the ground without even trying. I'm trying to wean you away from purees, but you simply just don't like to each solids (with the exception of peas and carbs).

 I served you some noodles and chicken chunks from canned chicken soup the other day and you broke out into hives. I immediately gave you some benedryl and then it got a bit better.

 We have an appointment set up for you at the allergist for the end of this month. We'll see what she says about your allergy.

You really enjoy flipping pages on books. Board books are no longer acceptable to you. You want the pages. So far you haven't ripped any new books lately, so I've been a bit more lenient on allowing you to practice the fine motor skill of turning pages.

 It's been rainy and cold outside for the past week or so. We've spent lots of time inside doing quiet activities. Hannah stayed home from school on Monday and Tuesday because of a little cold, so we had to come up with things to do that also keeps germs away from Hailey. You worked on a sticker book and made 2 stuffies.

 Hailey is obsessed with putting lids on things as well as putting things in containers and then dumping them all out.

When I'm trying to prep meals, all I have to do is hand you a bag of pouch lids and you can keep yourself occupied with those things for 15 minutes before I find you clinging onto my legs again. 

Hailey, you have slept through the night 2 nights this week, but lately you've been waking up again around 2 hours after you go down for the night. I can't figure out what is going on, but let's get on a schedule, OK? During the day, we have you wake up around 7:15-7:30. You'll go down for a nap around 10:00 and 2:30 and then you are in bed at 8. Your total sleep hours is teetering right under 13 hours, depending on how many times you wake up at night. I'm going to try to embrace these final months of nursing, because I know how quickly it can end. 

 Nathan, you completed your first session of Tennis and you love it. You want to try something new, but you agreed to complete one more session of Tennis before trying golf in the spring.

 Today you went on your first field trip. I stayed home with Hailey for her nap while you went to our church's pumpkin patch. Then you guys headed out to the Manchaca fire station for a tour there. We joined you for about an hour and a half before I had to go and pick up Hannah. Kindergarten teachers are just impressive. I have lots of respect for them because they have the patience of a saint.

This afternoon we went in for a follow-up visit at the allergist for Nathan. She ordered a new blood test in addition to a test that identifies the specific peanut protein that you are allergic to. Apparently you different proteins correlates with a specific severity of reaction. Since we have never had to use an epipen on you, I asked her about the possibility of not having to buy one. The doctor told me that with how severe you are allergic to peanuts, it is probably not going to happen;however, if you end up being allergic to a not so bad protein, we could possibly go without one.

So today you got your blood drawn and you were so brave. I held your hand and we sang the alphabet song twice and then you were done. You had told me that you were nervous about it, but I did my best to explain to you what to expect and that was it. You made me so proud!

Grandma and grandpa come to visit this week so I'm sure we'll do lots of fun things. We also need to get on the ball for Halloween because that's approaching quickly as well.

Until next week,
Love,
Mommy