Another Day in the Life

The (clean) laundry is piling up on the changing table, the library books are going unread, and I'm watching Conan now (and I don't even really enjoy Conan) yet, here I sit rambling on about a regular old day in the Rowe household.

Avery woke up early to go potty (definitely a down-side of potty training!), but for once, due to the croup/cold, she went back to bed until 8:00. Yippee! No Melba's for her today -- too sick. Nana Noma came over to help out, but she was pooped too, and suffering a bit from Avery's cold. We were all tired, and a bit crabby. I tried to get a quick nap in after I pumped and fed Jordan, before we headed off to physical therapy. Nana Noma decided Jordan needed a bath, and Avery jumped right in to help. At least Jordan was clean for PT.

Katie the physical therapist was elated at Jordan's progress. Don't get me wrong, she's not going to be running the hurdles any time soon, but she has shown marked improvement in flexibility, which is great for learning how to use her muscles. She's usually as stiff as a board (extended), and although we've been working on "squishing her" (flexion) for months, it's never really taken. She's moving her hands together, and toward her face, bending her elbows, legs, fingers, and ankles. She's also working hard to keep her poor, wobbly head up, and tolerating tummy time much better. And we're having more and more success keeping her own hands in her mouth. If she can learn to self-soothe that will be great! It will be interesting to see what happens with her development once the seizures are under control.

After PT it was time to come home, play with Avery, feed Jordan, pump, have lunch, and then load up to head down to the pediatrician for her bi-weekly check-up & blood pressure check. All was well with the check-up (up to 19 pounds, 2 ounces), and the blood pressure is holding steady, for now. The ped took the news about the neurologist switch in stride & all is well. She was very diplomatic about it, and said she was glad we found a doctor that we clicked with.

Of course that appointment took 2 hours & 45 minutes start to finish, so by the time we got home, Avery was up from her nap and it was time to feed Jordan on the deck while Avery jump jump jumped on her trampoline, and played in the bubble soap (instead of blowing bubbles, she rubbed it all over her hands, arms, legs, and the bench, then needed hosed down before she could go in the house). She was obviously feeling better and rested and was in her typical 2-year-old hyper mode*, but still won't really eat much. Daddy made grilled cheese sandwiches and peas, which she barely touched, but was all in favor of a trip to Dairy Queen for ice cream to soothe her sore throat (I think daddy's a bit of a pushover for "sick" Avery). So we loaded up the Pilot and headed out for a family ice cream social. Jordan turned up her nose at it, and then fell asleep. I'm not sure how much she would enjoy the coldness in her tube/tummy anyway, so it's just as well.



By the time we got home, daddy threw Avery in the bath (well needed) and got Jordan fed again, while mommy escaped for some "mommy time." It was thrilling: I went to the bank, the grocery store, and the pharmacy. Yippee. Now that's what I call a night out! I did get to stop for a quick visit with Kelly & Kate, so that was nice, and by the time I got home the kids were both asleep. Nice job daddy.

Of course because of our doctor's appointment this afternoon, daddy is burning the midnight oil to get caught up. His current deadline is a HUGE report that was supposed to go out on Friday, but they're still plugging away. . . . We all can't wait to have this report done, and daddy will be excited to not be awake 20 hours a day keeping busy with both work and family. All the girls think he's quite the superstar!

All-in-all a pretty boring day, and now it's tomorrow already. And so it goes.

*I'm amazed at how MUCH Avery can talk, just to talk! She'll say the same thing over and over again 50 times, just to hear herself, I think. It's a bit RainMan-ish: "is this the ice cream store? is this the ice cream store? is this the ice cream store? is this the ice cream store? YES! is this the ice cream store? YES! is this the ice cream store? YES! is this the ice cream store? YES! is this the ice cream store? YES! is this the ice cream store? YES! is this the ice cream store? YES, AVERY, THIS IS THE ICE CREAM STORE. Oh, are we gonna eat ice cream? are we gonna eat ice cream? are we gonna eat ice cream?. . . . "