"Crappy" Mom Award...

... goes to me. :(

Last night after I took Rylee's diaper off and was about to pick her up and put her in the tub, she pooped herself. Luckily she was standing on her towel (which was laid out for after her bath) so while that was a poopy nightmare - my carpet was fine. I didn't think too much of it. (We all know Rylee has her mud butt issues.)

She had her milk, went to bed, Jon and I watched Terminator Salvation (very action-y) and went to bed ourselves. Around 3 a.m. she woke up. Again, I didn't think too much of it since she tends to wake up periodically throughout the night. I did hear her say "mama" but then she stuffed her blankie back in her mouth (her pre-sleeping ritual), I turned the monitor picture off, and then fell back asleep. At 4 a.m. though I heard her stirring and rolling around. This time I knew something had to wrong.

I went upstairs and the smell of diarrhea poo was overwhelming. When she saw me, she had the saddest look on her face. It was a combination of disappointment and relief. She said "mama" and then immediately started to cry. She must have been waiting for me to come and get her for that whole hour even though she wasn't making much of a fuss about it. I felt so terrible, I cried myself.

She cried so hard and so loud that even Jon came up to help clean her up and entertain her. We all ended staying up for an hour and playing before putting her back to bed.

I told her "Rylee, you just say: 'Mama, poo poo' and I'll come get you right away." She gave me a weak nod. We all managed to go back to sleep for 2 hours (until Rio woke us up for her 7 a.m. poop).

Rylee came down and had her milk and then was playing in the living room. Both Jon and I heard her rip butt so we turned to look at her. Before we could say anything, she said "mama... poo poo... diap (her word for diaper)." I had that diaper off within 5 seconds of that poop. She obviously didn't want to go through that again!

Her butt is a mess today. She looks so red and uncomfortable. I still feel terrible. I feel like I should have known better. But even in that month and a half of mud butt issues she had, she never once pooped in the middle of the night. I'm sure tonight I'll spend the whole night staring at the monitor just in case. :)

Happy Anniversary Jon!

Today is Jon and my 18th dating anniversary! I can't believe we're closing in on 20 years together. I'm not sure how he's managed to put up with me this long. :)

My aunt and uncle are in town so we won't be celebrating tonight, but I think we'll leave Rylee with my Mom tomorrow night and go out and have a grown up dinner. Maybe we'll try to stay out later than 8:30 this time (in case you remember our 10 year wedding anniversary dinner from Sept.)!

I also downloaded a new blog template. I don't really like it, but I am at a loss as to what to do to jump start my comment functionality again. If this works, I'll have to see if I can figure a better template later. We'll see...

Silly Shades

Rylee has finally started wearing hats and sunglasses again. She would wear them she was little, but once she got full control of her arms she would pretty much rip them right off of her head.

She especially seems to like wearing both at the same time. I refrain from telling her that she looks a little ridiculous. (The straps on the glasses fall down and make her ears stick out big time!)

 

Then again, without the hat isn't much better. She looks like a scary scientist... or possibly an Olympic swimmer.

 

Wearing Mommy's sunglasses is pretty fun too. :)

 

In other news...

Happy belated birthday to Angel dog. Can't believe you're 5 already!

Rylee got her first bee sting yesterday. She was playing by the swing and then I heard a wail. I rushed over and the bee was still hovering on her pointer finger. The stinger wasn't there, but there was a nice welt. She only cried for a minute or so and then she was back to playing. She went right back over to the swing so I guess she's not holding the sting against the equipment. And at least now we know she's not allergic.

Adventures in Bathroom-Sitting

I'm having a sense of deja vu with regard to showering. When Rylee was a baby, it seemed like finding the time to shower was a constant battle. When she got older she was on a two nap schedule so I could always shower during her morning nap if all else failed.

Well things have changed over the past five months that I've been working - she's now down to only one nap a day and it's not until noonish. If I haven't showered by noon, I kind of lose my will to do it so there's no waiting for her nap anymore. Plus, we girls are on the go in the a.m. - I need to look good early. :)

The first week I was back home with Rylee, I was getting up and showering before she woke up, but that got old fast. Who wants to get up at 5:45 a.m. when you're not going to work?! Not me apparently. I've transitioned into locking her in the bathroom with me and letting her play while I shower. Thus adventures in bathroom-sitting...

"Wower"
...is what Rylee actually says when she tries to say "shower." It makes me giggle.

Bramazing
... are the things Rylee can imagine out of my bra. She'll put a strap over her shoulder and wear it like a purse. Wrap both straps over her shoulder and wear it like a stole. Fling it over her neck and it's a scarf. It's hysterical. If my bra wasn't so utterly plain and unattractive, I'd snap a couple of pics for the blog. Maybe I'll pull out a fancy one for her some day. :)

Toiletries
...are the things she actually plays with even though we carry in a bunch of toys and puzzles. She loves to pull out all the... shall we say "feminine items" and throw them all over the floor.

I'm preparing myself for the day someone comes over and finds Rylee wearing my bra and offering them a tampon... :)

Weekend Update

Jon flew up to Philadelphia this weekend for our nephew Ben's birthday. He turned 2! Congrats Ben! (Sorry Rylee and I couldn't be there to celebrate with you.)

Here's Ben (in the middle) with older siblings Nick and Maddie. Gotta love the togetherness! :)

 

All the kids love their Uncle Jon. He is pretty cool. He made masks and wings for playtime with Nick.

 

Here he is making some good ole snuggle time with Ben and Maddie.

 

Purple & Gold

Yesterday Rylee got a purple and gold football in preparation for the Vikings game. Even though her team spirit wasn't enough to counteract all their fumbles (and interception), at least it made for some silly photos. :)

 

 

 

Pics of the Day

Today Gaga styled Rylee's hair with gel. Then she put a bow on top and Rylee actually left in it for an hour or so - it was amazing. I thought she looked so cute (and girly) that I snapped a bunch of pics while we were outside playing in the back yard. Here are some of my faves:

Peek-a-boo!

 

The "Kramer" entrance

 

Just plain adorable :)

 

Blow kiss!

 

Take 2...

...with a little less enthusiasm and wit. :)

Yesterday both Jon and Rylee were feeling better so we decided to head out and have some fun, but first Jon took Rylee outside to play while I took a shower. Don't you just love her outfit? Yes, he somehow managed to smush her footie pajamas into her shoes (at least they were on the right feet this time). :)

 

Then we headed up to Palm Beach to go to the zoo. The weather was perfect for walking (or strollering) around.

 

This is a horrible picture, but I was very excited to see the Australian Kookaburra. My grandmother taught me the kookaburra song when I was little so I've always had a fondness for them.

 

Just in case you weren't a girl scout... or Australian born baby, here it is:

Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree
Merry, merry king of the bush is he
Laugh kookaburra, laugh kookaburra
Gay your life must be!

It's a smaller zoo, but there were still a lot of animals to see (tigers, panthers, wallabies - is that the plural of wallaby?). Here's Rylee checking out a napping jaguar. Zippity Zoo Da!

 

Friggin' Blogger

Blogger's on my crap list.

I'm still fuming about my unresolved comment glitch. In the last couple of months, I've been emailed 2... count them 2 comments. One from Jess a few weeks ago and then one from Jenny the other day. Where do all the others go? (And it's not in my junk email folder - I've been checking there too.) I still need to try a new template or new something...

Now today the upload link between Picasa and Blogger is all frigged up. (I suppose it could be Picasa's fault and not Blogger but since I'm already annoyed with Blogger - they're getting the blame.)

Today I was so excited to post pictures of Rylee's first zoo visit that I came home downloaded the pictures to the computer, uploaded them to Blogger, wrote a bunch of witty text (okay maybe it was only witty to me) and then... nothing. Error - post gone!

Aargh! Technology can be so frustrating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Sickies

Not much to report. Jon and Rylee are both sick. :(

I'm hoping I can remain drippy-nose free... fingers crossed... vitamin C overdose in progress.

At least everyone is asleep and there's nothing standing between me and my Dan Brown book. :)

Vikings Win!

I thought today was going to be a tough playoff game for us, but we pretty much humiliated those Cowboys. Now if we can only pull out another win next week against the Saints...

Anyway, here's a few more pictures from our aviation adventure yesterday.

A couple of odd perspective shots looking down from the bomb bay area.

 

 

Rylee checking out the comm system on the B-17.

 

I didn't post this one yesterday, but I decided it was too funny to leave out. Rylee's hair just cracks me up - it looks like a toupee that's about to fly away. :)

 

Red Leader

Jon's Grandpa Bob (call name Red Leader) was a B-17 bomber pilot for the 8th Air Force, 305 Bomb Group (H), 365 Squadron stationed in England during WWII. He flew 28 successful bombing runs before his plane was shot down by anti-aircraft artillery on August 24, 1944 during a bombing run against the Leona Oil Works in Merseberg, Germany.

He spent several months in a German hospital as a result of injuries sustained during the rough bail out. Luckily, he was able to sneak a letter home to his wife, Eunice, by hiding it in the body cast of a soldier that was being sent back to the United States.

After his release from the hospital, he went to the Luft III German POW camp. After only a few weeks, the entire camp (some 10,000 prisoners) was moved during an now infamous road march to Stalag VIIA camp. Bob was imprisoned there until April 29, 1945 when the U.S. 14th Armored Division liberated the camp of then nearly 110,000 POWs.
*The above details came from an interview conducted by Kevin Rofidal entitled "Red Leader on Fire."

We've heard many stories about his wartime experiences and have thus always been interested in the B-17. When we heard the Freedom Tour was making a stop in Pompano Beach, we decided to take Rylee to see the Flying Fortress in person. With Miller's fascination with airplanes, it was pretty easy to get the Froyd's to agree to come with us.

Here's Rylee enjoying the wind in her hair (it was crazy windy out this morning) as she runs in front of the B-17.

 

Posing in front of the B-24.

 

It was tricky climbing in and around the planes with a baby in your arms. As big as they seem, it's a tight fit inside with some scary little walkways.

 

A cute shot of Miller with the wind blowing his bangs up. :)

 

It was a neat experience and I'm glad we made the trek up there to see the planes. (I have a few more photos I'll probably post tomorrow.) Afterwards we took the kids to play at A Latte Fun - an indoor coffe shop with trampoline and slides etc for the kids to play on. Rylee had a blast on the trampoline - it's built right into the floor.

By the time we left there, it was lunchtime so we decide to stop at McyD's. We went to the closest one, but they had experienced some kind of sewage backup/ malfunction and the place smelled (as you might imagine) awful. It didn't seem the most hygienic to eat there! Needless to say, we went someplace else. I felt bad for the people in the drive thru who didn't know what was up inside! :)

More Stories

Since I have the worst long term memory, I want to keep a record of some of these Rylee "stories." Sorry if they bore everyone except me (and my parents!). :)

Safety Inspector
One of Rylee's favorite phrases is "uh oh!" I hear this all day long as she scolds me for forgetting to latch a cabinet lock or for finding a minuscule piece of something on the floor. Thank goodness she doesn't fine me for all these infractions! I'd have to go back to work to pay for them.

Vowel Confusion...
My Mom was asking Rylee to repeat vowel sounds with her the other day. It went something like this:
A... a
E... e
I... points to her eye
Say I... i (still pointing to eye)
O... o
U... me? :)

Mad Hugger
I taught Rylee to hug this week! She's been all about the kissing for forever now, but she never quite got the concept of hugging. You have to say "hug... with arms" but then she'll give your neck a good squeeze. So cute!
*Miller's a big hugger so Rylee was quite excited to try her hug out on him tonight. They were really wrapped up tight! Last weekend they were even kissing on the lips - man these kids move fast these days. :)

Stories

No No!
So Rylee has finally caught the dreaded "no no's." It started out as a mild case on Monday and over the past few days has progressed into a full blown mutiny. Not sure whether she really is this disagreeable to everything I suggest or is just having fun with her new word! Suffice it say, I'm quickly learning to rephrase everything so it's no longer a question. :)

Baby Love
Rylee cracks me up when she plays with her baby dolls. The other day she said her bitty baby wanted to go "night night." She picked up bitty baby, hugged her and carried over to the crib. So sweet!

Then she saw pink haired baby sleeping in the crib in Goldilocks (or pinkilocks) fashion. She was so mad she threw bitty baby on the floor so she could yank pinky baby out. So angry!

Then it was all gentleness and love again as she tenderly picked up bitty baby and put her to sleep. So sweet! :)

Hodge Podge

I don't think I ever posted this pic of Rylee in her kickin' boots. Doesn't it look like she's getting ready to draw her six shooters? :)

 

This is when she discovered her love of spreadable cheese. (Some of it even ended up in her mouth!)

 

Mom, Venessa and I went to see "New Moon" over at the dollar theater on Sunday night. Considering this is the place where rain often pours down from the ceiling, I was doubtful they would have heat. We all dressed warm, but we had no idea it would be as cold as it was. I was grateful I had worn socks and a scarf. Venessa was giddy when she found some gloves in her coat pocket. Olivia had her jacket zipped up to her nose. My Mom even had her hood up. It was hilarious! Venessa snapped a photo of Olivia and my Mom - it looked like they were bundled up at an outdoor football game. (We were all wishing Jacob would come warm us up with his 108 degree body heat!)... It's not just a movie at this place - it's an experience!

All Shook Up

Rylee's Elvis impersonation...

 

...complete with lip "snarl" :)

 

"Fancy" Serbian Christmas

Serbian Christmas fell on "storybook character day" at school so I was all dressed up in my finery today...

 

I chose Fancy Nancy's mother as my character and I was quite a hit. I had her outfit down to a T - I was only missing the plume in her "hat". (I think I look pretty cute for someone wearing a tutu on her head!) The funniest thing was the K & 1st graders thought I looked "beautiful!" To them, I could dress like this everyday. :)

 

Rylee wanted to get into the spirit too. It's not a great shot, but here she is playing with some of her Serbian Christmas bling. :)

 

Countdown to Freedom

I have 3 days to go till my assignment is up, but Rylee was in the mood to celebrate tonight. :)

 

More Blackmail Photos

I'm not sure why we get so much enjoyment out of dressing Miller up whenever he comes over... maybe because he's so darn cute!

 

He and Rylee both donned their aprons yesterday and fired up the "grill." Their hot dogs and hamburgers were... well inedible, but they seemed to have fun!

 

After all that cooking, they needed a little down time with Storybook Man.

 

Jon was reading a Karen Katz manners book though he was taking some liberties with the text. It read: "Daddy wants to give you a treat. You say..." Jon's impromptu response: "heck ya!" He made have said h-e-double hockey sticks. We're still working on his potty mouth. (Just kidding!)

 

New Slideshow

I finally uploaded a "new" slideshow (to the left!). The photos go back all the way to Rylee's birthday, but at least it is something different to look at. The other one has been up since before I went to work in August. :)

I think I might need to change my blog template one of these days as well. Blogger still won't email me any of my comments and this is the last thing I can think of to try. It's really frustrating me. I know I only get 3 - 5 comments per post, but I hate having to keep looking back to see if anyone new has commented.

Thhat's all for now. Enjoy those frigid temps Minnesotans and Floridians too.