Nate’s Favorite Things November 21, 2008

Nate and Bailey playing

I came up with the idea for this post because I have always been a huge fan of  The Oprah Winfrey Show and every year one of my favorite episodes is called Oprah’s Favorite Things. For those of you not familiar with Oprah or Her Favorite Things, let me explain. She does this show once each season and the purpose is to showcase all of the different objects (ranging from clothing to jewelry and even food items) that she has come across and has really enjoyed. The fun part for me and I’m sure also for those lucky enough to be able to attend the taping of this particular show is that she not only describes the things she likes but she also gives everyone in the audience one of each of her favorite things. It is always fun for me to watch grown adults jump up and down and clap their hands like a child on Christmas morning:) Anyway I decided to share with my readers some of Nate’s favorite things at this stage in his life. Unfortunately I will not be able to send each of you the different toys and what-nots that I will be talking about as Oprah does. But maybe you will see something that your own little one would be interested in and with the holidays just around the corner hopefully I can give you some gift ideas.

The first thing I’d like to share is called Playskool Kick Start Air-tivity Gym and Nate absolutely loves it. The idea is for the child to push the green feet located on the bottom of the toy. This starts music playing and makes two balls spin around a tube shaped circle. This is not only one of Nate’s favorite toys but our cat Bailey has been infatuated by it sense the first day I brought it home. I was lucky enough to purchase it at a yard sale this past summer and Nate really wasn’t old enough at the time to figure out the dynamics of turning it on. Bailey on the other hand was smarter than we had given him credit for and much to my surprise was making the balls fly around by pushing the feet himself on or around the third day we had it. By now Nate has figured out how to turn it on and also that if he starts playing with it Bailey will be his new best friend. They have both gotten hours of entertainment from watching the tiny balls. It has definitely been worth the 3 dollars I paid for it. I am including a link I found online if you think this may be something your child or cat (LOL) would enjoy. http://www.parents-choice.org/product.cfm?product_id=8136&award=xx&from=Hasbro,%20Inc.

The second item is something my dad purchased for Nate years before he was born and can be seen at the top of my blog as it is the photo I am currently using as a backdrop for the header. Both of my parents really wanted a grandchild and have been collecting different children’s toys throughout the years as a hint to Tyler and I to get on with it and make them grandparents. This may be a little harder to find if you’d like to get one yourself as it is a vintage Volkswagen Bug Peddle Car. As I mentioned I have had it for a few years now but only pulled it out of storage the last time my mom came to visit. I wanted her to be there to see Nate’s reaction the first time I sat him in it. Once again he loved the thing. My dad would have been so happy to hear the squeal of excitement he let out! Luckily for now anyway, due to the fact that its so cold outside where we live Nate is content to just sit in it and play with the steering wheel. He hasn’t figured yet out that if he pushes the peddles like a bicycle the cars real intent is to move.

Last I’d like to share something that I have found extremely useful when it comes to raising a toddler. It is a plastic portable highchair that sits on the ground or can be sat on a table or even in a chair. At our house I have found that it is much easier to use than the traditional highchair for a number of reasons. I am able to place Nate in the seat while its resting on the floor and never have to worry about him falling out. It also comes apart and the trays can be put in the dishwasher. It folds up easily and is very light weight which makes it great for traveling. I even take it with us on day trips when we visit family. Nate likes it because of the fact that it comes apart. He enjoys taking the tray and back of the seat off and pushing them around the house. Another plus is that he now either climbs into the seat or brings the tray to me when he’s ready for a snack. How much better can it get? I purchased Nate’s at Target and again have included a link if this interests you. http://www.target.com/Swing-Tray-Portable-Booster-Ocean/dp/B0000798L1/sr=1-2/qid=1227247686/ref=sr_1_2/183-9904941-8060709?ie=UTF8&rh=k%3Afirst-year-high-chair&page=1

In the future I plan on adding to the list of Nate’s favorite things as they change as he grows.

Twilight Saga November 18, 2008

I realize that it has been a while since my last entry and I can only say that I have been quite busy taking care of Nathan, running our family business and have fallen in love with the characters of The Twilight Series by Stephenie Myer. I have been reading a lot lately.. compared to the past few years. But I haven’t found any book or in this case series of books that have drawn me in to the point that I have had trouble putting them down. If you enjoy reading for the sake of pleasure then these books are a must read. The first book entitled, Twilight, may be one of if not the best book I have ever read. I actually found myself crying on page 314! The second book, New Moon, I wasn’t nearly as thrilled with. Mostly because the author took the hero away until the very end. I found this both frustrating and irrating at the same time. It seems like many others that I have developed a liking to the character she deemed, Edward Cullens. I just finished reading the third book, Eclipse and am having a rather difficult time keeping myself from running out to buy the last book in the saga, Breaking Dawn. Knowing my personality all too well… it is odvious to me that I wouldn’t be able to stop reading until it was finished. And seeing that it is almost midnight that is not an option. So tomorrow is another day and you can bet you will find me reading the last of these glorious books in between taking work calls and caring for Nate.

Speaking of my little man.. it looks as though he has completely recovered from his ear infections. Thank goodness! He still has two days of antibiotics left. But has returned to his normal boisterous toddler self. I will keep everyone updated:)

Update on Nate’s Ear Infection November 12, 2008

Update on Nate’s rather nasty ear infection…

I ended my last post with “hopefully the worst is behind us”, and it seems I may have spoken too soon. We woke up as usual around 8:30 Monday morning but again I took one look at Nate and realized something was wrong. He had developed a rash seemingly overnight. It covered most of his face, his back and his belly. I immediately called his doctor’s office and told the receptionist rather matter of factly that I needed an appointment ASAP. As you can tell I am no longer on good terms with his pediatrician’s office after the bad advice I received last week.  To make a long story short we ended up taking him back to the doctor’s office and was told that yes he did have a rash, Duh? But that it was too early to tell if it was related to the shots that they gave him at the ER, the antibiotics or perhaps it was his body’s way of fighting off a viral infection. Great, huh?

They ended up prescribing him a different antibotic, adding benedryl to his medicine list and sending us home. The good news is he seems to be responding well to the new medication and is eating and drinking again. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we are on the path to recovery this time!

My poor baby! November 9, 2008

To say the least it has been a very trying few days. Wednesday night or should I say early thursday morning at approximately 4:00am I was awakened to the sound of Nate lightly moaning, which is not unusual because he sometimes still takes a bottle during the night. I got out of bed, eyes half closed, prepared his milk and noticed the moment I looked at him that something was definately not right. He was extremely flushed and his moans had turned to tears. As soon as I picked him up it was obvious he was running a high fever. I grabbed the thermometer and couldn’t believe my eyes when I read 104.5! I called the ER and was told not to worry, start a regiment of Motrin and Tylenol and if his symptoms continued for 48 hours take him to his pediatrician’s office. First off BAD ADVICE. Secondly I hate that I listened. We did what the nurse suggested and spent the next 2 nights and 3 days rotating the meds, taking his temperature giving him warm baths and trying everything else imaginable to console him. Yesterday it looked as though he was responding to our efforts and the medication. He wasn’t his normally lively toddler self… but the fever was down and things seemed for a while at least like they were beginning to get somewhat better. Then came friday night. We were up ALL night. The temperature would spike and then come down. And poor Nate had simply had enough. He was very irritable and cried off and on into the early morning. By 6:00am we all had finally fallen to sleep. Tyler and I most likely out of pure exhausted. The next morning things seemed better.. compared to the night before anyway. But by 12:00pm the fever was back… 103.9 this time. I decided that was it. I called the ER who this time had an actual doctor call me back and was told that with a fever as high as his I should have already have brought him in. I was livid. I explained that I had phoned the ER the night this all began and was told specficly to wait 48 hours before a doctor should see him! The doctor apologized and agreed to personally meet up at the emergency room. Four hours, 2 shots and many tears by everyone involved, I was informed we had been dealing with a double ear infection. The right ear infection was considered  severe… while his poor left ear was not too far behind. They then prescribed an antibiotic and told us to continue our Motrin and Tylenol regiment and sent us home.

Thank goodness for both my sanity and Nate’s health, he seems to be doing much better today. The fever has stayed down and he has begun eating and drinking more again. The lesson I learned in this is to not trust the first professsional I seek advice from. And to listen to my mother’s intution. Hopefully the worst is behind us now and our little man will be back to his old self again soon.

Halloween November 3, 2008

Our happy little cowboy

Its holiday season again!! As I have mentioned before I am a lover of all holidays and can never wait to get started on the decorating, baking and gift giving. Halloween was a lot of fun this year. Last year Nate was too young to dress up so I am considering this year his first official Halloween. We dressed him as a cowboy and took him to a get together at Tyler’s brother’s house. He had a great time playing with the other kids and I was a happy camper because we were all home in bed by ten o’clock.