Playing is such hard work

Eliza only takes an afternoon nap these days so when I need to shower in the morning and get ready for the day, I put her in her crib with some toys and books to keep her busy. She is pretty happy just entertaining herself. The other day when I got out of the shower, I didn't hear her in her room and when I went to check on her, she was sound asleep. I thought it was so funny because usually for nap time, we have a whole routine that we go through and it's such a process. She must have been exhausted because I never would have thought she would fall asleep so fast with the lights on and surrounded by her fun toys. If only it was that easy all of the time. : )

Tag from Shelly

This is also known as The Long Survey. Rules:
1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.I’m not really going to follow all the rules but I thought the tag was fun.I don’t have a middle name but I always thought Marie would have sounded good.
M: Mom
A: America First Credit Union (I spent nearly 7 years of my life working there!)
R: Retired (thankfully)
I: Itchy (my skin gets so dry in the winter!)
E: Emily
1. Do you like cheese? Yeah but I actually haven’t tried many different kinds
2. Have you ever been arrested? No
3. Have you ever held a shot gun? Yes
4. Your favorite song? I have lots but I especially love anything Josh Groban does.
5. Do you get nervous before doctor's appointments? Yes
6. What do you think of when you eat hot dogs? This is disgusting, why is that all we eat at cookouts?
7. What's your favorite Christmas song? O Holy Night or It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Water or O.J.
9. Can you do push-ups? I can do more than I used to thanks to carrying a 25-pound baby around but I’m still kind of a weakling
10. Is your bathroom clean? It was a couple of days ago but for some reason, that never lasts very long
11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring
12. Favorite hobby? Reading
13. What are you listening to right now? Celine Dion concert on TV
14. What is the last thing you ate? Italian from Olive Garden….yum
15. What trait do you hate about yourself? I wish I were more self disciplined (exercising, keeping things organized, etc.)
16. My middle name? I don’t have one
17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment: I hope Eliza sleeps well and isn’t getting a cold. I’m so glad it’s a three-day weekend for Matt. I think I’ll go to bed early tonight.
18. Name the last 3 things you have bought: Valentine’s Day present for Matt, food for Eliza, gas
19. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink: water, milk, and ice water
20. Current worry right now? Everything related to motherhood
21. Current hate? There is a pile of clothes on the bed waiting to be folded
22. Favorite place to be: Home with Matt and Eliza
23. How did you bring in the New Year: At home. We were in bed by 9:30 pm.
24. What is your quirkiest habit? I usually check to make sure the door is locked about three times before I go to bed.
25. Name 3 people who will complete this and return: No idea
26. How many siblings do you have: 3 brothers
27. Do you own slippers: Yes and I need a new pair
28. What shirt are you wearing: I’m wearing a fuzzy pink bathrobe.
29. What shampoo do you use: Pantene
30. Favorite colors: green, pink, black, brown
31. Would you like to be a pirate? Only if I could sail around with Jack Sparrow or Will Turner.
32. What songs do you sing in the shower: I think the walls in our place aren’t insulated very well so I try to keep the embarrassing things to a minimum.
33. Favorite girl name: Matt calls me Betty so I guess that’s it. I also love Eliza, of course.
34. Favorite boy name: I’m not sure
35. What's in your pockets right now: Nothing
36. The last thing that made you laugh: Eliza in the bathtub. She was laughing hysterically at her floating bath toy. Things are always funnier when she’s sleepy.
37. Best bed sheets as a child: I honestly don’t remember.
38. Worst injury you've ever had: Child birth : )
39. When's your birthday: July 23rd
40. Who is your loudest friend: Courtney Santos (Boice). I love being around her though. You just can’t help but be happy!
41. How many TV's do you have in your house: 2
42. There is no 42
43. Does someone have a crush on you: I hope Matt still does
44. Do you wish on shooting stars: No but I probably should
45. What is your favorite book: I’m a huge Harry Potter nerd
46. What is your favorite age: Probably being 18 or 19
47. What song did you have played at your wedding: We didn’t have a specific one but we had Josh Groban’s “When You Say You Love Me” on our video.
48. What song do you want played at your funeral? I have to copy Shelly on this one. I love “Come Thou Fount”
49. What were you doing at 12 a.m. this morning: Sleeping I think
50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up: I wish Eliza liked to sleep in as much as I do.

PS I actually posted this a couple of days ago but then I got 13 spam comments. That's so annoying. Anyway, so I deleted that one and posted it again. Fun tag!

Good news

Eliza had her 15 month check up today and we're happy to report that all her little problems seem to have resolved and her hives are all gone. She's back to her smiling, happy self. What a relief! By the way, I wish my hair had this kind of body and volume. : )

However, she did have to get three shots today at her appointment which is never fun. Good thing she has chubby thighs, I'm sure it helps a little. She weighed 25 1/2 pounds and is 32 inches tall. It's amazing to think about how much she has grown since she was born. She has gained about 16 pounds and has grown almost a foot. We're so grateful for a happy, healthy little girl.

Tough times

Poor Eliza has been having such a tough week. It all began with a diaper rash that wouldn't go away. I finally took her to the doctor and he prescribed a powder to put on it. After a few days it still wasn't improving so I took her back in and the doctor determined that she must have something else going on that her body was trying to fight off. He thought she might have a sinus infection. Although, how you diagose a screaming one year old with anything is beyond me. So we started a round of Amoxicillin and I was told to call back in a few days if things weren't improving. Well, not only were things not getting better, they seemed to be getting worse. As some of you may know, antibiotics kill bad bacteria as well as the good bacteria which tends to cause diarrhea. Let's just say that after a couple of doses of her medicine, Eliza was awoken at night in a most unpleasant way that required a complete change of clothes and, on a few occasions, a bath including shampooed hair. Anyway, you get the idea. She had practically no appetite and it was all we could do to get a little bit of fluids in her to keep her hydrated. When I called the nurse to tell her what had been going on she said that the antibiotic must not be killing the alleged sinus infection and that they would call in a new prescription for an antibiotic called Cephalexin. Feeling a little hesitant to give her more medicine, I started the new antibiotic on Saturday morning which was followed by more of the same side effects. By Sunday night I was so tired of all the medicine that I put plain old zinc oxide on Eliza's diaper rash and Monday morning, it was all cleared up. Go figure. But that was not the end of her troubles. Monday afternoon I noticed that a few red spots had shown up on her tummy and back. I thought she might be having a reaction to the new antibiotic and so I skipped her nighttime dose and just hoped it would improve by morning. I got quite a shock when I got her out of her crib Tuesday morning. She was covered, head to toe, in a red rash. The doctor couldn't see her until 1:30 that afternoon so I spent the morning worrying about everything from measles to roseola to anything else I could find on the internet. Thankfully, Matt was able to take part of the day off to be home and help me take her to the doctor. Turns out I was overreacting just a bit and she had developed hives due to an allergic reaction. I think it looks a lot worse than it is. We're 90% sure it was a reaction to the Cephalexin and the rash should improve over the next couple of days. It is really itchy and all I can give Eliza to help is a little Benadryl every few hours. The good news is that today the rash seems to be improving and will hopefully be all gone soon. Eliza has been remarkably patient and good through all of this. I am so thankful to have such a sweet, good-natured daughter. I don't think I would be half as pleasant as she has been these past days if I was going through the same things. What a sweetheart!