Happy "Valentimes"

Molly got her first Valintines day present from a boy today... sniff sniff! Her buddy Jai got her a box of chocolates. She was mostly excited about the box, and has been carrying it around since. She has excitedly talked about her "Valentime".

What happens when I take 5 minutes to blog...

In the 10 minutes it took me to write the last post, Molly decided to explore her artistic side. I walked into the bathroom to discover this:

As you can see, she was quite contrite. I just wish she'd chosen a less expensive medium than my foundation- and a less expensive canvas than my makeup cases...

Molly trusts the doctor

Yesterday, Molly woke up at 6:30. This is a highly unusual occurrence. She usually goes to bed around 8:00 and wakes up between 8 and 9.

When I went to check on her the reason for the early hour became apparent- poor baby was burning up! After a quick change, she snuggled with me until 8:30. This is unheard of- the most snuggle time I can usually get out of her is 30 minutes, and that's if we're watching Dora. She kept asking to watch her favorite shows (Sesame Street and Dora). I told her they were still sleeping, which she accepted (whew!). The fact that we snuggled for an hour before any TV was on was quite telling.

During snuggle time, we read some books and I tried to get her to drink something. She cried when I gave her a cold drink because it "hurt her hands". I assume she meant it was too cold. So, in the interest of fluids, I filled a cup with 1/2 juice and half hot water. Sounded gross to me, but Molly dubbed it "warm juice" and drank it down. She also wouldn't let me pat or rub her back unless it was on top her of her shirt and a blanket because my hands were too cold.

Normally, I just let this type of thing run its course. No reason to pay a doctor to tell me "yes, she has a fever and a runny nose. Give her some tylonol". However, since Molly's little sister could be here any day, I took her in just to make sure.

I love how children miraculously recover the moment you enter the doctor's office. My limp, whiny two year old turned into an energetic, delightful little person again. She immediately attacked the playhouse and slide in the waiting room. I was just glad she let go of me long enough for me to sign in.

She did have a fever, and they did a blood count test just in case. This requires the dreaded finger prick. I carefully explained to her the process (or so I thought). "The nurse is going to poke your finger, and it is going to hurt. BUT, then you will get a sucker...". Molly took it like a man- she didn't even cry when they pricked her thumb. She just looked at me and said "Now get a sucker?". What I forgot to tell her was that they squeeze the thumb afterwards... Oops :-( Still, she calmed down pretty quickly after that fit...

When the doctor came in to examine her, he asked her what she was thinking. She paused for a moment and said "I trust the doctor". Hehe... During the exam she sat in the chair all by herself! This was a first. She even let him look in her ears without thrashing. My baby is growing up!

After a 3+ hour nap, she was more herself last night. However, she's been CLINGY and CRANKY all day today. So much fun when you're almost 20 months pregnant :-p I'm still trying to enjoy the last few days of having only one kiddo. Even when she's a sickie...

Baby Food

One thing I am looking forward to with the new baby is making homemade baby food.

I didn't start doing it with Molly until she was close to a year old. I was amazed at the apparent difference in her appetite! Foods that she formerly refused she began eating with gusto. The only down side was that she'd eat the same thing for a day and a half. (One baked sweet potato = quite a few baby sized servings that don't keep for very long)

I also discovered that it is SO much cheaper to make homemade food. In my experience, two 1/4 cup servings of babyfood = $1 (sometimes more). One large sweet potato at $1 (or less) mashes into 2 cups- that's eight 1/4 cup servings. 50 cents a serving > 12.5 cents a serving.

I'm looking into options for extended storage of homemade baby food that doesn't involve canning/cooking/preserving. One method that sounds great is to freeze it using ice-cube trays. That way it's already portioned and will keep for way longer than in the fridge. I'm not sure how it would work for things that you don't cook though...

OLD picture, but so sweet :-)