She's not Terrible...

but she is Two! Today is Chloe's 2nd birthday. We celebrated all weekend long with friends and family with time at the lake and two cookouts and two helpings of cupcakes.

I thought I'd take a second to remember Chloe's past and first take a look at her, exactly 2 years and 1 day ago:

And now exactly 2 years ago:

April 18, 2008, 10:05 AM, 8lbs 5oz & 20.25" long

Chloe today:


About Chloe:

Weight - 26.0 lbs

Height - 32"

Sleeping Habits - Lots of it. 7:30 pm - 8:30 am is normal (weekends), 1:00 - 3:00 (or longer) for naps. Still in the crib.

Food - YES! Any and all. Favorites are yogurt, string cheese, cantaloupe and milk


Teeth - 12 in, 4 incisors coming all right now. (ouch)

Favorite Activity - riding in the Barbie Jeep

Favorite Song - "Poker Face," Lady Gaga. Seriously.

Communication Style - Some sort of foreign language that shares the word "NO" with English.


Thanks to everyone who spent time with us and helped make Chloe's birthday weekend a ton of fun!

The Fight to Save our Babies

There is a killer out there that is stalking our babies. In fact, over 12% of all babies are at risk - a 36% increase over the past 30 years. This killer does not pick out people who make bad lifestyle choices or forgo their prenatal care. It can happen to anyone, at any time - like it did to Chris and Jennifer at 4AM while asleep in bed. Jennifer's water broke at just 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Statistics were not in baby Myers' favor that day, but the medical team at Greenville Memorial began administering treatments to increase his odds of survival - all based on latest medical research to save our smallest patients. Jennifer received steroid treatments to strengthen Myers' lungs and other drugs to squelch her impending labor. Thankfully the labor stopped and Jennifer remained in the hospital under close monitoring and testing. The Doctors watched for signs of dangerous infection and watched Myers grow on the ultrasounds - only now he was missing his protective amniotic fluid, a vital part of healthy lung development. Three weeks later, on May 22, 2009, Myers was born at 27 weeks 6 days weighing 2 lbs 11 ounces.

Myers - Day 2 (2lbs 6oz)

Myers spent the next 71 days in the Level III NICU receiving more lifesaving treatments, 49 of which were spent on the ventilator, and came home with his Mom and Dad on July 31, 2009 - 2 weeks before his intended due date.

Today, Myers is a smiling and healthy 11 month old - on track developmentally for his adjusted age.

Myers - Easter 2010

On April 24th we will join up with Chris, Jennifer, Myers and the rest of "Team Myers" to walk in the March of Dimes "Walk for Babies" at Greenville's ICAR campus in an effort to raise money for the prevention and treatment of prematurity. Without this research and other donations, Myers would not have received treatment that saved his life - like surfactant treatment, a protein that keeps small air sacs in the lungs from collapsing. We are grateful for and glad to support this cause that is saving these precious lives.

To support the March of Dimes and Team Myers click here

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend full of fun, family and beautiful weather as we did. The Easter Bunny did show up at our house last night - the only other night of the year (Christmas Eve is the first) that we can convince Claire to sleep in for the morning. After all, the Easter Bunny has a lot of houses to cover in one night, and if a kid interrupts his work he takes his eggs, candy and presents and leaves. So, it is safer to stay in bed until Mom and Dad come get you up to be sure the Easter Bunny has finished and left your house.

Chloe was not impressed with the Easter Bunny or getting up at 7:45 to find eggs, and she refused to participate. Sable also decided to sit this year out and stay in bed - last year she found one of the eggs and I nearly lost a finger getting it back from her.

Easter Baskets

After all the (real) eggs were accounted for, the girls had their breakfast of Easter morning champions - bunny ear shaped kit kats and one bite of a hard boiled egg. Now late, we hustled off to church.






After church, we went to Jason's parents house for a HUGE ham dinner that would impress any true Southerner. The girls and their cousin spent an hour searching for more eggs in the backyard - all the grown ups rubbing our pollen filled eyes. Chloe passed out in the car on the way home and now Jason and I are trying to figure out what to do with a bowl full of reese's peanut butter eggs.










Happy Easter!

A Good Friday

One of my most favorite times is in the spring and fall when I can sit on my back porch and do nothing but relax, and hear nothing but birds and crickets. When the weather is warm enough to enjoy the porch it is after daylight savings time begins and the kids are long in bed.

On an occasional night Claire is allowed to stay up for quiet time on the porch with me - not exactly quiet, and difficult to hear the birds out there. The time is still well spent - she cuddles into my arm and we take turns playing with each other's hair. Such a peaceful end to our day.

Tonight I sit on the porch alone - Claire (and Chloe) already collapsed into bed after a fresh air filled Good Friday. Jason stained the swing set today, so the girls and I took advantage of the 86* temps and play time with Claire's BFF across the street. After hours outside this morning, we made a Chick-fil-a run for Jason and Chloe sulked herself to sleep for nap time. Claire and I headed out for her special treat that I have been promising for two months - a real pedicure before Easter. She and I both got our toes done, and Claire even got her nails done. A nice fresh start for open toe season which officially kicks off on Sunday!

Claire was in princess heaven. They had mini pink chairs for her to sit in with butterfly wings and a Cinderella playing DVD player strapped to the chair arm. She watched in amazement as her toe nails were trimmed, cuticles cut, legs lotioned and massaged and her nails painted. She chose purple glitter for her toes, and a bright pink for her fingers. The nail tech topped off her fingers with several small flowers hand painted. She loved it! "Mommy, can we do that every day?"

Several more hours of play followed our salon trip. Before long, all the little girls were in bathing suits spraying each other with the hose and washing toys in a metal tub. Hopefully this means she will sleep past 7AM tomorrow.

Running around

It always seems like we are running from one thing to another - work, to school, to birthday parties, to the grocery store... and on and on. Over the past few years that has been the bulk of my exercise - with a crazy work life and 2 little kids, who has time for anything else?

In the past few months, I thought I needed to do something more - something for my own health and wellness. I was talking with neighbors about schedules and working out (which I had NO time for) and one neighbor described it differently then I ever thought of before. He works out because you should. You should for your own health, for your future with your kids and grand kids and because it is essential to live a long and health life. I always thought as exercise in a different manner - it was a way to tone up, to lose weight, to look better ... notice it was all about something in it for ME - more like something to be gained. After this conversation, I thought about it more as something that you just should do. Period. To have better health and set a good example for my kids - just something that needs to be done as a priority in life. Keeping that in mind, I re prioritized.

I began running the Couch to 5k program (http://www.c25k.com/) in mid January and this past Saturday marked the completion of the program. I capped it off by participating in the Milliken Earth Run 5k. The past 2 months training went really well - I made time to run where time did not exist, and added in cross training (weights, etc) about half way through the program. Gradually I went from gasping after 90 seconds of running to trucking along for 3 miles with tired legs but strong lungs. I couldn't believe the progress! Jason and girls came out on Saturday in the dark and cold (first Saturday after the time change is usually the best sleep in day of the year!) and cheered me on. Hearing the "goooooo MOMMY!!" at the halfway point gave me the boost I needed. The course was all grass - great for the knees, but tough on speed and energy as the soft ground absorbs your momentum. Excuses aside, the race was run and the time was not that great, but the fact remains that I am building my strength and endurance all for a good cause. A happy and healthy life.

My cheering section (the start pack is in the background)


Half way there!

About 3 miles in - the end is in sight!

After the race, we ran (haha) back to the car to head home so I could take a quick shower and head to Niki and Jeremy's son, Caleb's, first birthday party! The girls loved playing with all their friends.

Chloe getting shoes off for the bounce house



Birthday Boy Caleb


Ethan & Alex

Brooke & Nathan

Jennifer & Myers

Maeve & Claire

Chloe & Ethan

Oh Poooooooo.....

*warning* ... if you don't like hearing poop stories then stop now.

*
*
*
*

Today I picked up Chloe from school. Wednesday is my day to pick her up because Jason and Claire go to gymnastics. When I walked in Chloe's class she was wearing some random grey sweat pants that were a school spare. Her teacher immediately pipes up - "she's not wearing shoes because there is poop on them." I didn't notice Chloe wasn't wearing shoes, being the smallest kid in the class, her spare pants were hanging over her feet and dragging the floor (yes, size 2T.) That explains things - she must have had a diaper malfunction that spread to her shoes. Although Chloe is the keep-my-stuff-in-my-diaper sort of girl. (Claire was NOT that type. I have many stories of abandoning clothes in public restrooms due to blow outs!) The teacher then fesses up a little further... "You might want to wash her shoes. Really well. It wasn't her poop." She's completely grossed out. I ask for more details and it turns out that a friend in the class did have a Claire-like blowout that got all over the floor, which of course turns into a kid magnet that many other little ones have to run through. I look around and notice that several other little kids aren't wearing shoes! Groooosssssssss..... I can just imagine the teacher's frozen looks of horror as twelve 18-24 month olds start stampeding through a pile of poo. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. I'm sure they (the kids) thought that was hilarious. Thankfully Jason is a expert poop cleaner. Chloe's shoes are clean, shined and drying in the garage. That would gross me out because it is not my own child's poo... which brings me to my next story.........

Sunday I was on nursery duty at church. I picked the 12-18 month class - the oldest nursery room that Chloe was not in (major clinging problem, so I can't be with her!) I've had nursery duty before in younger classes, but had a lucky streak going where no little ones made a "stinky" while I was on duty. That all changed this past Sunday. I guess this age means that the little ones are experimenting with all different kinds of new foods, that in turn all different kinds of odors. The other girl on nursery duty catches a whiff... we track down the offensive odor and dig out the assigned diaper bag to the little girl with the poopy diaper. Because I don't have a child attached to me at that moment, I land the diaper changing duty. I take a peek to see the damage and the little one is wearing a cloth diaper. I have no problems with cloth diapers - to each his own, and I am all for saving the environment. It just so happened to be MY first cloth diaper experience. We decide it is just best to bag up the diaper and send it home with mom and dad. I can tell you - I have left outfits far less soiled then this diaper in public restroom trash cans. I could not imagine coming home and dealing with this stink bomb - but again, very glad that people are environmentally conscious. Much better then I am. I dig out the wipes that were in the diaper bag - a chlorine free, organic, environmentally friendly variety that would not wipe poop off, no matter how hard you scrubbed. I probably used 15 of these things. Not exactly green living to use that many, but the child had to have a clean bottom, right?? I scrubbed and gagged through the whole thing. NEVER had I gagged through my girl's change but, I admit, never have I changed another child's diaper! I truly have a new sense of respect for my pre-school's teachers. I could not, not, not do that. And this Sunday, I am once again on nursery duty in the same class. I think I might bring my own wipes!

Events of the week

We had some big events this week! Event # 1 was the official kindergarten registration for Claire. I haven't figured out the school system yet, and maybe I am just a little too wound up.... I just found it odd that I had to go out seeking 1) what school I belong to and 2) when I need to register. Isn't it law that kids have to go to school? Why is no one sending me letters saying I need to do this? I guess it is also required that parents know their school zoning, and know when the age cut off is to enter. Claire is close to the cut off, so it did require a little thinking. She barely qualifies as a kindergartener this fall (by 2 weeks!) But now that I have educated myself, I am completely familiar with the kindergarten curriculum to make sure we are completely prepared. :)

I called our elementary school to figure out the enrollement protocol. To them it was simple: immunization cert, birth certificate and 2 proofs of residency, with one (or two) proofs being a power bill. Sounds easy, but I don't get paper utility statements and really didn't want to call up the power company to get a copy. I start asking questions - could I bring a property tax bill? a voter registration? a drivers license? Hmmmmm ..... silence on the line. No, a power bill is a must have. Seriously? Yup. Next line of questioning - WHEN am I to register? Now is the time! The preference is to come between 9:30 am and 2:00 PM - right in the most convenient time of day for working parents who work > 20 minutes from the school, right?

We got it done. Power bill in hand, 1/2 day vacation used up and 6 pages of forms filled out in a #2 pencil later... we are officially on the roster!

Thursday of this week the old guy of this house turned a year older! We celebrated Jason's birthday with a dinner out with his mom and dad and capped off the night with a yummy cheesecake assortment. Claire erupted into a fit of whining when she heard Jason choose cheesecake as his birthday treat - no frosting? What kind of cake is this? One that she ended up loving, and eating sans fork, using 2 hands. She and Chloe both had a second helping tonight.

We're looking forward to this weekend - super nice weather and a bunch of birthday parties to attend! Welcome back to Spring!!