February Features (Part Two)

Today, we took Lyla to Cooks Children's for a bilateral myringotomy. Yes, I wanted to be fancy and use the medical term for "tubes in both ears." I had been fretting about it since we made the appointment, not sure if we were maybe making this decision too soon, but she has been sick an awful lot this year, and I don't think daycare is to blame 100%. Her consultation was last Monday with the ENT (ear, nose, throat) doctor, who recommended the procedure after reviewing her history. There was an opening just a week later, so we signed up and put her on another round of antibiotics to clear the ear infection she was just starting (only 2 days after being off antibiotics).

So, we arrived at the hospital at 6:45 and Lyla got dressed in a gown, did all her pre-op excitement, etc. After a short wait, I went back with her to get a squirt of sedative up her lil nose and within five minutes, she was relaxed and content. The nursing staff there were fabulous, obviously very experienced with trying to keep kids happy during scary ordeals like this; they blew bubbles for her while she was getting dopey and let her hold all the instruments they used. She had no problem riding the "choo choo" (aka the gurney) back to surgery. The actual procedure was only about ten minutes and Dr. Roberge came out to let me know she did well, however her ears were a complete mess (ah, reassurance that we truly needed to do this for her), and only two days after completing an antibiotic (once again).

After another ten minutes or so, we went back to recovery, where our girl was stirring and groggy. She had a Popsicle and some juice shortly afterward and when she was coherent and perky, we were sent on our way. Easy enough! We spent the day at Grandma and Grandpap's house "recovering" (me, mostly, from my lack of sleep - Lyla was back to normal within an hour). All in all a positive experience and hopefully this will help her stay healthy!!

Unfortunately, the only photos we got of Lyla during her surgery experience are on my phone, which can't be uploaded. I guess there are some occasions I don't tote my camera to!

February Features

Happy Valentine's Day!

Just like last year, this year we made some heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast to celebrate Valentine's Day. This is about all we do to "celebrate." This year, though, Lyla helped, which was a special treat for Momma. She loved stirring and attempted flipping (with some hand-over-hand assistance). Mostly, she just liked eating them, though. No surprises, there!

Next year, we may have to brainstorm a few more creative and eventful ideas since she'll really be catching on. Until then, though, Luke and I generally prefer to stick to the sidelines on this "holiday," and pancakes are harmless. We'd have eaten some anyway!

In addition to being our #1 sweetheart, she is blowing us away with how much her little sponge brain soaks up, and how adorable she can be, especially when she doesn't really think anyone is watching. Normally, she clams up when I get out the camera, or she stops doing her cute-thing because she wants to use the camera to watch previous footage. I discovered, though, that these rules don't apply in the bathtub. And so, friends and family, here is our dear Lyla uncut and being her typical self. Video is password protected due to nekkid babyness. For eyes of close friends and family only!

Fun in the Tub! from Emily Quattrochi on Vimeo.

Snow Day(s)!

This winter has been crazy! Just when we were blissfully bragging about the bright, sunny winter weather of late, we get hit with another snowstorm. This storm, however, has been much more welcome and pleasant than the icy mess of Christmas Eve. This storm has left us with beautiful piles of soft white snow, perfect for rolling into snowballs and snowmen!

Lyla was so excited to see flurries falling Thursday morning, and I was sad we all had to go to our separate ways for the day. Grandma picked Lyla up from school early, though, and informed me that her class went out in the snow to build a snowman, so I was happy she got to play in it. I didn't think it'd be around for long. I stand corrected, though, as the foot-deep of fluffy white still blankets our front yard and all of North Texas classes have been canceled. So, Lyla and I have been cozied up at home together, occasionally darting outside to play in the snow.

Last night, we built a snowman with Daddy (ie, I built a snowman while Mr. Gloveless and Miss Snoweater watched). Oh but how ill-prepared we were, with only a scarf at the ready and a mere baby carrot for a nose! Some pebbles and mulch pieces from the yard had to suffice for the eyes, mouth and buttons, and the poor guy had to go armless. BUT! For the first time in Q Household History, there is a snowman adorning our crispy white front lawn!

Hot chocolate immediately followed (of course), which greatly pleased our girl, who snuggled up to Daddy for her sweet treat, marshmallows included.

The next day (today) we went back out to play and saw that our snowman had grown a little overnight with the few inches more that fell while we were sleeping. Lyla got a kick out of the crunching beneath her feet as she plowed through the front yard, snow up to her thighs. She's too little to know just what to do, and has no context to pull from. So other than Mommy's snowman and the snowballs made and handed to her, the only other thing she could think to do with the snow was, well, eat it. And it turns out, she very much enjoyed that.

Monkeying Around!

Last month (yeah, yeah... so I should have posted this last month), Lyla and I took a special trip to the zoo with our good friends Joe and Michelle, and their little boy, Aidan. One might think January is an absurd time to visit the zoo, however, Texas weather is crazy... as we will discuss further in my post to follow this one.

It's almost been a year since Lyla's last trip to the zoo (on her first birthday!) and this time she was much more aware, informed and verbal. Her favorite part, just like mine, was the orangutans. We were able to watch them for awhile as we waited to meet up with our buddies. She loved watching them monkey around and continues to ask to watch the video we took of them that day.

We attempted to feed the birds in the aviary like last year, but we were less successful. They even warned us not to bother because the birds were full and disinterested. It was still cool for my girl to get up close to them, though.

She got to ride the zoo train this time, too, which may have been her (other) favorite part. If you're under age 8, I think trains may qualify as one of the neatest things ever.

We finished up our zoo tour with some ice cream and a little playtime. Lyla and Aidan flirted a little, finally warming up to each other. Of course, Lyla talked about Aidan and the zoo for weeks afterward, even though she hardly spoke a word to him while we were there. Silly, shy toddlers!

What a beautiful, relaxing and fun-filled day! If only every winter day were so warm and bright!
As always, the rest of the pics can be seen at my Picasa.

Season of Sickness

The other day, the nurse practitioner at Lyla's pediatrician's office said, "Never will she have a sicker year than the first year at daycare." No. Kidding. Luke and I think we could count the number of healthy weeks she's had since August on one hand. This Christmas, Lyla was ill the entire two weeks we had off and seemed healthy for just one measly day following the treatment of her double-ear / bacterial lung infection (ie: two rounds of painful broad-range antibiotic injections, breathing treatments four times a day, and harsh oral antibiotic medicine) before she was slammed with yet another viral infection.

Five trips to the doctor later, we are still battling "the crud."

The positives: 1. Lyla has become a pro at pointing out all the yellow fish in the waiting room aquarium, 2. She is no longer driven to tears of fear by the scale or forehead thermometer, 3. She is now able to (very) clearly communicate when she is ready to leave (bye-bye's? go? all done?), 4. Lots of snuggle time with Mommy, 5. Learning how well root beer, M&Ms and Elmo work as bribery tools, 6. A future in the medical field?

The drawbacks: 1. Copays, copays and copays, 2. Prescriptions, prescription refills, dosing medicine, bribery in exchange for consumption of said medicines, 3. An absurdly inappropriate amount of Elmo, 4. Dwindling sick days available at work, 5. Dwindling tolerance of lack of healthy sleep, 6. A whiny version of an otherwise joyful child who now cries immediately when not serviced with all her favorite toys, videos, snacks and affection, 7. A disgustingly cluttered and filthy house which is otherwise just "cluttered," 8. A grouchy Mommy, 9. A child who has come to expect her day to be filled with time spent "watching" [Elmo, herself] in front of a screen (TV or computer), 10. A sick little girl who just breaks your heart.

Clearly the drawbacks outnumber the positives.

She does manage to make "nebulizing" look slightly adorable, though...

The Most Wonderful Time...

What a wonderful Christmas we had together! I have cherished so many moments with my daughter, family, and friends this December, it will be hard to recount them all, but I will do my best to sum up.

We put up and decorated our new tree shortly after Thanksgiving - a process that took several days and a task which consisted of many steps forward (5 ornaments up) and a few steps back (2 ornaments down). Lyla was particularly fond of the vintage Sesame Street ornaments I made sure to hang right at her eye level. They were hung and rehung all through the month.

Lyla's school had a "Family Blizzard" where they invited family to come eat chili and participate in various holiday activities. Lyla loved playing at school with Mommy, making ornaments, pinning the nose on Santa, writing a letter to Santa (ha!) and eating all kinds of sweets. She did not enjoy getting her face painted.

We took Lyla to the Grapevine Parade of Lights with my family and close friends. We bundled up in many layers and extra thick coats (because it was unTexasly cold) and brought some hot cocoa in a thermos to share. Lyla seemed to enjoy it, her favorite part being Santa at the end. She waved and waved! It was great having our family and close friends there with us!

In preparation for Christmas cards and the December portion of the annual grandma calendars, we attempted to do a mini-photo-shoot of Lyla in front of the tree. I must have snapped a-zillion pictures and managed to get ZIP that I really liked, but I guess the whole ordeal was pretty humorous. I am surprised Lyla hasn't developed a seizure disorder from all the flashes...

We took Lyla, Rain and Faryn, along with Grandma and Grandpap, to the North Pole Express. It's a vintage train that normally goes from downtown G-vine to downtown Ft. Worth, but during this time of year, they send it 15 minutes in one direction, with caroling and the whole bit, then they just head back to G-vine for a 30 minute trip, all after a 30-minute preshow complete with hot chocolate, dancing elf girls in tight clothes, etc. Lyla didn't fair so well with the pre-show. It was a little lengthy and not particularly geared toward 1-year olds and she was very anxious to see the "choo-choo." When we finally got on, she was worn out, but managed to enjoy it nonetheless. Santa made an appearance (briefly) on the train, and she was excited by that. I thought that might be evidence that she wouldn't be terrified afterward when we went to take pictures with Santa. How foolish of me! The poor girl sobbed big fat tears of sheer terror, even with Mommy and Daddy sitting with her. As Grandpap put it, though, you always have to have at least one picture of "crying with the Claus."

Christmas came around super-fast after that. Really, though, I should say "Christmases," since we shared Christmas with our families and friends at separate special times. We had "Roommate Christmas" with our close friends (dubbed so because most of these friends have been roommates at one point or another), "Quattrochi Christmas" with Luke's dad's side of the family, "Pearson Christmas" with my side of the family, and "Nonna Christmas" with Luke's mom's side. Not to mention our own Christmas! Phew!

Somewhere in the midst of all that, we managed to bake cookies with Grandma, too. Lyla enjoyed painting the sugar cookies old-school style, with colored egg yolks and paintbrushes. Mostly, she enjoyed eating them after they baked.

Lyla's favorites among her Christmas prizes this year have been her little piano that Santa brought her, her kitchen that Mommy and Daddy got her, and her dollhouse from Grandma. She seems to rotate between the three throughout the day, occasionally distracting herself with her other goodies and bringing us new books to read.

And last, but not least, here she is "performing" in her school sing-a-long show:

We hope you had a Very Merry Christmas!!
We sure did!

Our Turkey(less) Day!

We had a fun-filled, food-filled day, as usual! This year, we spent Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpap's house. Aunt Shannon and her family joined us, as well. It was a typical Thanksgiving and there's not much else to be said. We ate too much, the house was chaotic and loud, I took too many pictures, we ate too much food, there was football on TV, and we ate too much food. Still one of my favorite days of the year!

Lyla had a blast because she got to spend the day with her cousins. Rain, Faryn, and Grandma taught her how to play ring-around-the-rosie. She loved the "falling down" part best, naturally.

Here are a few pics from the day. You can see more at my Picasa!



She loved her turkey shirt, and so did everyone at her school, despite the vegetarian propaganda. She did, however, perform her very first googly-eye-ectomy. Twice. Poor bird.