Updates

Happy to report that during Tummy Time yesterday, Madoc reached out and grabbed the item I placed before her!

Her reflux is really getting so much better. But I get punished if I stray from my diet. Yesterday I had a handful of jelly beans ('cmon, it's Easter) and she was up all night.

The good news? I can eat Sesame seeds (and oil) as well as seaweed (which I love). YUMMERS. I can also eat bananas (I think). Madoc is super-healthy and is squarely in to 9-12 month clothing (at almost 4 months). It is amazing to see her in outfits that Chase was wearing at 1 year. WOW. And she is so smiley. So sunshiney. She rarely cries - very similar to Chase.

Chase, on the other hand, has had a rough couple days. Maybe it is because she is sleeping poorly, but she has been a real mess all day long. Tears over everything. Poor darling!

Mom's Time In Denver

Not the greatest photo, but I have been so bad at not posting pictures that I figure all pictures are good at this point.

The Girls

Happy Easter!

We have had quite a fun-filled week. Loads of eggs colored - both at home and at our friend's houses.














We made Easter baskets for our friends...



















On Easter morning, Chase woke up to find an Easter egg hunt in her backyard...

































So many eggs!














And then on to the Easter baskets!




















Mmmm, candy!














Daddy and Madoc....














Thank you, Easter bunny!




















Special thanks to NeeNee for the Easter package!

Kids and parents

I hesitate to write this, but I am finding it increasingly difficult to find both kids and parents I like - maybe it's just because age 3 is so volatile, but seriously! It's like kids who were previously nice are developing mean streaks. Is this normal? Or should I look for other playmates?

Easter

So Chase ate three hard-boiled eggs today. She wanted four, but I told her she had to wait until tomorrow. It is at this point that I must note she only eats the whites, not the yolks.

The eggs must have tasted especially good because they 1) were not from our house, and 2) brightly colored with stickers on them.

It's a good thing she thinks Easter is all about hard-boiled eggs! This will probably be the last year we can get away with filling the plastic eggs with stickers.

Updates

So I have found that if I stick to the basic elimination diet, Madoc sleeps SO well. I added avocado the other day and she woke every 20 minutes - all - night - long. The good news? She is thriving and not on Zantac anymore. The bad news? Looks like I will have a severely restricted diet for the next 6 months (let's just hope I can keep nursing for 6 more months). It's really weird not to be eating any-fat-at-all. But I'm starting to feel good, instead of deprived. Although we were at a birthday party today and I really wanted a piece of cake, or at least a taste of the sorbet. Arg.

We have some travel coming up which is really going to test it - I'm going to have to cook up rice and squash in various locations and people are going to give me funny looks. It's amazing how social food is - and how when you can't eat certain things - people react to you in ways you'd never expect. Not like I'm doing this for fun, you know? It's not like I'd be doing this if I had a choice.

If I have to keep this up for 6 mo, I will be thinner than ever in my whole life (and will probably feel pretty darn good, too), but I can't imagine re-introducing processed or fatty foods after being off them so long. I guess we'll see! Oh, but I do long for avocados.

Chase and Icky, her imaginary Komodo dragon, are doing well. She just had her 3 year check-up and is now in the 75th percentile for height and the 50th percentile for weight. Everything else checks out! Thank goodness for happy, healthy kids!

Thanks, Mom!

Can't believe it has been so long since I posted something. I am pretty tired so this will be short and sweet.

HUGE thanks to my mom for coming out to Denver. Picture of the BIG SMILE to be posted soon.

Gotta run and get some sleep.

Chase Quotes

"Madoc's toes are delicious."

"What kind of cake should we make for daddy's birthday?" - Me
"A blue cake. With blue frosting." - Chase
"And what will it taste like?" - Me
"Vitamins." - Chase

Madoc Update

Just as I was about to throw in the towel and switch to bottles, it occurred to me that Madoc sleeps the best during the day and is downright squirmy, scrunchy and gassy at night (I have been getting up at least 6x/night).

What's different between day and night? To start, I have been giving her a bottle of formula, just before bed. No amount of zantac, gasex or gripe water helped. Unconvinced that zantac was the answer, I decided to do a little more research and try to figure out a way to get Madoc off it.

That's when I found Dr. Sears' elimination diet - so now I am eating only range-fed turkey and lamb, baked or boiled potatoes and sweet potatoes (with salt and pepper only), rice and millet as the only grain, cooked green and yellow squash for your vegetable, and for fruit, pears and diluted pear juice. He recommends a rice-based beverage drink in place of milk on cereal or in cooking. He recommends against soy.

I decided to start the diet at the same time I took Mads off Zantac - and, knock wood, it seems to be working. Last night I had to wake her up to nurse at 1:30 and then she stirred again around 5:00 am. This is amazing, given the fact I have had no sleep in 3 months. And she didn't scrunch - her gasiness was there, but it was minimal. Amazing!

So now I start adding things, little by little.

Chase 3rd Birthday

A couple pictures from Chase's party...

The cake:













The friends:
































































































































Eating the cake:













Toddlers on sugar:







































An attempt to calm them:


























And then it was time for hand prints:

Huge Thanks

Super huge thanks to everyone who sent Chase birthday gifts. They meant the world to her!

Madoc 3 Months

And one in color...

Mona Lisa

Not kidding. Chase was doing a painting and I asked her what it was a picture of. She replied, "The Mona Lisa, Mom," as if surprised I didn't recognize it.

Chase Birthday Cake

How old are you?







































All done?

Happy 3rd Birthday, Darling Chase

I can't believe it has been three years since I drank a cup of tea at St. George's Hospital - awaiting Chase's arrival. People had told us having kids would change our lives forever - and it sure has.

I still remember the look of awe and amazement she gave me when they handed her to me in the hospital. I remember the overwhelming feeling of responsibility and wanting desperately to protect her from everything. Three years later, she has transformed into a lovely little girl. So amazing, in so many ways.

I will have to spend more time on this, but now I must go as her little sister needs me...

So Many Things...

Chase is talking non-stop. All the time. Telling stories. Giving instruction. Teaching me "how to be smart." Seriously.

And she just keeps coming up with the most amazing things - like today, she was painting, and I said, "Chase, that's really nice. What is it a picture of?" And she turned to me and said in her most serious voice (like, really, mom, how could you not know?) - "It's Mona Lisa," she said to me.

Madoc Weight

So Madoc now weighs 15.5 lbs. She's 12 weeks old. That puts her into the 95th percentile for weight. And all she's been doing is nursing. Whoa.

The Library Woman

"The library woman told me not to sing too many songs. But I sing songs every day. With lots of words." - Chase

Chase's 3rd Birthday

Chase's birthday (March 18th) is coming up!
I'm trying to pull it all together...

Activity: Kiddos are going to paint on a giant canvas, then break for cake, then the canvas gets cut into squares while kids are eating cake. Then kids put their hand-prints on their square and have something nice to take home (and hopefully frame).

Invites and cake decoration created (above).

For family...
Shoes (size 10)
Tops (size sm/6-7)
Pants (size sm/6-7)
Still loves the Einsteins
Enjoys art, reading, story telling, building with blocks
Trying to get her in to science this summer