Those Eyes

Last week I had a few moments of self-pity (okay, more than a few, but let's just focus on the few).  It was midweek, the house was a disaster, dinners had consisted of rice and peas or peanut butter sandwiches and I was completely exhausted.  I almost broke down, my thoughts raced, "What is wrong with me?!  Why can I barely function?!  I can't even keep this tiny apartment clean lately!"  We were just living our average day-to-day, but I couldn't even keep up.

Fortunately my pity party quickly ended as I realized what our "average" week had really become.  ALLERGIES!!!  While in Savannah Isabella was obviously quite allergic to the pollen (or something in the air), but some children's Claritin helped ease the symptoms.  Once back in New York the Claritin did very little.  She was coughing all night long and frequently woke up crying because her eyes were swollen shut.  The doctor prescribed some eye drops over the phone, which worked about two days.  The coughing got worse and the eyes were painfully red, swollen, and oozing.  Most nights she would fall asleep as I held her in my arms and gently rubbed her eyes with a cold, wet washcloth.

On Friday I finally got her in to see the doctor.  He walked into the examining room, glanced at her and exclaimed, "Whoa, that's the worst I've seen this season!"  (I thought, "I know!  Hello?!  I only call the doctor when it is really bad!  I only bring my kid in when it is really, really bad!!")

After some examination and discussion the doctor sent us on our way with two different eye drops, nose spray, allergy medicine, and instructions to wipe her down frequently when we are outside.   Not only are her eyes highly allergic to what is in the air but they had become infected because she would frequently rub them.  (If you have ever experienced seasonal allergies in your eyes you know how horribly painful it is!)

Yesterday her eyes looked fabulous!  It was the first time in two weeks they looked almost normal.  Today is even better.  She's doing 97% better.  I'm finally sleeping and feel like I am almost back into the swing of things (the house is clean, laundry done, and dinner is in the oven!)

I never thought I would be grateful for the horrible allergies I experienced as a child, but last week I was.  Empathy was a necessary requirement for survival. 

Below you can see her swollen eyes.

Oliver: 10 Months

How can my baby be 10 months old?!

 This was a bit of a self-portrat...he was strapped onto me...like usual.

Oliver is THE sweetest boy in the universe!

Brian's cousin put it well when she said, "It will be a sad day when he throws a tantrum!"

He finally sprouted his second top tooth; the first top tooth is almost all the way in, which has made for some super cute smiles.

Favorite Photo

I'm hoping to post loads of fun, beautiful pictures from our trip down south.  But for now here's a favorite of my two most adorable little ones on the beach.  Oh, how I love them!

Right Now

Digging Oliver's post-nap hair. Riding Amtrak home from Savannah.

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Watching a rousing game of croquet on Jekyll Island.

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Spotting dolphins while boating through Georgia's intercoastal
waterways. Beautiful. (And atempting to keep Oliver distracted from
his puffy, uncomfortable lifevest.)

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Getting ready for bed with cousin, Roman.

Oliver: 9 Months

Eeek!  Oliver is on-the-move!  No, he's not crawling.  No, he's not scooting.  He just moves, ever so slyly.  It's freaky and funny at the same time.  He likes to sit on the floor and play with toys.  Whenever I glance over at him, he's still sitting, just in a different spot.  I try and watch him--catch him in the act--buy he just reaches for toys, twists around, stretches and reaches some more.  I look away for 2 minutes and all of a sudden he's right by me!  I jump, "Whoa, where did you come from?!"  He just smiles, his huge, gummy smile.  I'm totally excited for him.  At the moment he's discovering how much easier it is to get around on the hardwood floor rather than the carpets I normally plunk him down on.

Now I'm thinking I should really be cleaning.  He's gotten much farther today than ever before!

Yes, this is terribly late, and not a great photo, but I have my excuses.  I'll spare you...this time!

Besides his super stealth moves he's also:

using his hands to communicate: waves "bye" and "all-done"
gets quite upset if you take something from him
loves to drink water, and spit it out
prefers watching his food fall to the floor instead of putting it in his mouth
laughs hysterically at his sister
often prefers sitting on the floor, playing with toys than being held
become more of a picky eater, but has fallen in love with cheese and crackers

Okay, he just got into the dirty laundry...

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Oliver is completely giddy over his first time in the swing. He has
been laughing the whole time (about 10 minutes). Although, when is
this kid NOT laughing?!

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Enjoying Jazz and sunshine.

Home!

We loved spending the last four weeks with family in California, but
it feels great to be home. The kids are absolutely gleeful when Daddy
is around! (Me too!) Brian had to work a little late tonight so we
met him for dinner and Isabella "worked" at his office. In her
leotard and tutu, of course.

Snow Play

Amazingly, we have successfully avoided 3 out of 4 major snowstorms that have hit New York City (so far) this winter.  Could I have planned this trip any better?!  Yesterday we did snow California style.  One of the many fabulous things about growing up in California's central valley was we were always 2 hours from everything: San Franscico, beautiful beaches, and majestic mountains.  Each winter we'd drive to the snow as a family.  Play hard until we were wet, cold and tired.  After hours of playing we would warm up in dry clothes, fluffy blankets, and hot chocolate as we drove back home to the warm valley.

Yesterday afternoon, Kayle, one of my older brothers, took us to a sledding park near Tahoe (just an hour drive).  We had so much fun climbing the hills and sliding down several times before it got dark.  Kayle was so sweet and patient with Isabella and her determination to do it herself.  We ended the trip by warming up with mugs of hot chocolate.  It's tradition, of course!

 

 

  

  

California!

I am so glad we followed the sun two weeks ago!  We have two weeks left of our stay in California and it really feels like a dream at times.  We spent yesterday afternoon outside, sitting in the green grass, on a blanket, in the warm sunshine, eating snacks and reading stories.  It was heavenly.  This trip I've learned: I am solar powered!

Here are just a few favorite photos--mostly with cousins--from the last two weeks.
 

 

  

  

  

 

Cousin Love

We are having a blast playing with cousins, soaking up the warm sunshine and running in deep green grass here in Northern California.

I'll share some photos from my camera soon, but for now here are some fun ones Emma took with photo booth last night.  Before these photos were taken we all had lots of laughs and wrestling with a full on ice-down-the-shirt-war.  Isabella was ruthless!

 

 

Lens Love

Brian got me a new 35mm lens for my Nikon D40.  I love it!