Follow-Up On Maryn's Ears

This post is long overdue but I've been wanting to do a follow-up post after Maryn had tubes put in her ears. She had her post-op appointment probably 3 weeks ago now and the doctor said everything looked wonderful. We will be going back every 6 months for a check-up and obviously in between if she has any problems with ear infections (we're hoping not).

The changes we have noticed in Maryn have been positively drastic. She started saying more words and talking more clearly on the very afternoon she had the surgery. Her talking has just taken off and we are amazed by the difference in her ability to communicate in just one month since her surgery. She is much more willing to try new words and now loves it when we read picture books that she can point to the pictures and say all her new words! She also has learned how to tell us what animals say :) She can tell us what a cow, duck, pig, sheep, dog, monkey, cat and possibly even a chicken says. The funny part is that she can't differentiate between cows and horses yet so she is constantly saying "moo" when we drive in the country! She thinks there are cows everywhere!

The other noticeable difference in Maryn is her demeanor. I've often talked about how Maryn was our laid back, easy-going baby and that she got a feisty bone in her body after she turned one. Well she has seemed to have reverted back to her laid back, easy-going self since the surgery. She obviously has some of the typical toddler characteristics (occasionally gets frustrated, doesn't like to be told "no", has a hard time sharing, etc) and is a very determined little child, but her ability to deal with these frustrations has increased dramatically since the surgery. It's like she feels so much better now that she can cope with all of life's other stresses so much easier.

Josh and I are so thankful that we went through with this procedure for Maryn. It has truly been a blessing for us and we are so glad that our baby is feeling well and can hear better!

Our happy baby playing outside! What a big girl!

Cold Feet Update

Just wanted to give an update on my cold feet.... they are starting to warm up a little :) Josh encouraged me to try open water swimming again on Monday morning. It was much warmer out, the wind was fairly calm, and the sun was actually shining so I figured it was in my best interest. Logically I knew it was a good idea to try again before the race but I was seriously sick to my stomach the entire drive out to the lake. I couldn't imagine making myself go through it again.

Well there were a bunch of triathletes out at the lake swimming so I had hope that maybe it was better :) Josh went first and everything seemed to go well for him. I took my time getting acclimated to the water (probably 10 - 15 minutes before I would finally put my head under!) and then finally I swam! And it went very well!! I actually did it! I comfortably swam the crawl stroke and didn't swallow water every time I tried to breathe! I was so pumped when I got out of the water! Whew! What a relief! I think I thanked Josh 20 times for encouraging me to try again before the race. Now I know I can do it, I just need probably 20 - 25 minutes to warm up in the water before the race begins!

With that all said, my feet are still slightly cold... :)

Allergist Appt.

Today was Makenna's appointment with the allergist, Dr. Brown. We were referred by our family doctor based on a number of reasons... past food allergies, sun allergy/sensitivity, eczema, and most importantly her apparent allergic reaction to antibiotics. It was not a fun appointment. Makenna used to LOVE going to the doctor and I think this may have changed her mind now :( We had to wait for what seemed like forever... this is hard for us because we are spoiled at our family doctor (the very longest we've ever waited is probably 10 minutes). So Makenna was already antsy by the time the appointment started.

I got some really good information from Dr. Brown. Regarding Makenna's sun sensitivity/allergy and eczema, we have everything right on track and she wants us to continue doing exactly what we've been doing already. The only thing she really wanted to emphasize was to make sure that we give her a dose of Zyrtec every single day during the warm months when the sun is out. She also took a look at her tonsils and her exact word was "ginormous." Yes this child's tonsils are so big on a regular basis that you can't even see the back of her throat. Dr. Brown told me this is not normal (I have heard this from other doctors as well) and that if it were her child she would take her to an ENT to be seen about getting her tonsils out. Her large tonsils are most likely related to all of her allergies. Anyway, we are to watch for signs of sleep apnea in Makenna and also if she gets another round of strep throat the doctor said that she will most likely need them out. She said the combination of Makenna's likelihood for strep throat and allergy to antibiotics is a bad combination and she wouldn't want to mess with that situation for very long.

Regarding the allergy to antibiotics, Dr. Brown seemed very positive. There is a blood test that will basically tell us if Makenna has the severe allergy to these antibiotics (ie. resulting in anaphylactic shock) or if it's just going to be a mild reaction (ie. rash). This is very important information for us to have in moving forward in treating her in the future so the doctor's know what their options are. Well I kept thinking "Just a blood test, can't be that bad." Poor child got stuck with some lady who had NO clue what she was doing. After digging around in Makenna's arm with a needle for what seemed an eternity (in reality I think it was only a few minutes) I finally told her to stop. I was so irate I asked for my lab papers back and told her I was going somewhere else. Despite Makenna screaming from being in pain (wouldn't we all?) she actually held very still and I helped to hold her arm so I know she was still. The lady wasn't competent and just couldn't get it. She even told me that Makenna was the perfect patient and that her veins looked great, for some reason she just couldn't get it. I was SO mad. My daughter is now terrified of doctor's offices and has been emotional the rest of the day as a result. So after all of that, we have NO blood for this test. UGH! So I called around to find a competent lab that could do this quickly. I found a lab in town that specifically caters to pediatrics so I am taking her there tomorrow. I would honestly just forego all of this if it wasn't so critical to Makenna's health care in the future. She's such a little trooper. Say a few prayers for her (and me!) as we plan to go in again tomorrow.

Cold Feet

I would like to start this post by saying that I don't ever recall having cold feet ever in my life. Not when I started my first "real" job... it just felt right. Definitely not about having kids... I knew part of my life's calling was to be a mom. And not even a smidge of cold feet when Josh and I got married... we were ready to be married five years before we actually were so there definitely were no cold feet at that big day in our life. Even though all of those events in my life are WAY more important than my triathlon next weekend, for some reason I have cold feet about doing this. I know this triathlon is definitely out of my comfort zone and is somewhat of a risk for me (I am definitely not a risk taker), but that's part of the reason why I wanted to push myself to do it in the first place.

Yesterday Josh and I got the genius idea that we should go open water train for the swim portion of the triathlon. Sounds like a marvelous, well-planned idea until I tell you that by the time we got to the lake it was gusting winds of at least 25 mph and the temp wasn't even up to 60 degrees yet. In all seriousness, thank God for the people that invented wet suits. I don't know how else I could've survived yesterday. Jumping in was horrible. It honestly took the breath right out of me it was so cold. I had to just stand out there and get acclimated for probably a good 5 - 7 minutes before I could even consider moving. Then I attempted to swim. HA! I maybe swam half the distance of the triathlon and then had to turn around and come back... that's when I started swimming into the whitecaps. Every time I turned my head to breathe I would get a mouth full of water. To say the least, it was a horrible experience. Thankfully my seasoned triathlete husband went for a swim after me and told me that it was the worst he's ever seen it so I shouldn't worry, it will definitely be better than that on race day. Right?!!! Oh please!!

I have been training for the triathlon for 9 months and now I have one week left. I am proud to say that I am in the best cardiovascular shape of my life. I am running the fastest and farthest I've ever run, I'm biking farther and faster than I've ever biked and I'm swimming lengths I've never even attempted. I feel confident about the run and the bike and I was feeling confident about the swim up until about 24 hours ago. Give me the nice warm indoor pool at my gym and I'll be set. But NO!!! They're going to throw me in a freezing cold lake with 750 other crazy people who will probably try to swim over the top of me! I guess if worse comes to worse, I'll just side stroke the whole thing :) Agh!! So anyway, here's to a week of having extremely cold feet! Everyone say some prayers for me!!!

Big Sister's Shoes

Maryn decided that she just had to wear Makenna's shoes and socks around the house today. They are much too big so she just clunked around in them for awhile. You could hear her coming from a mile away :) As cumbersome as they were to walk in, she wouldn't take them off for anything. She even ate lunch in them! I think she was having fun emulating her big sis!

Condiments

Maryn has been cracking us up lately - she is hooked on condiments! It all started very simply some time this spring. We grilled hamburgers and I noticed she wasn't eating hers (which she typically would). She kept reaching for the ketchup bottle after she saw me put some ketchup on my burger. So I indulged her and let her try a little ketchup to dip her burger in. Well it has all spiraled out of control from there... now she wants ketchup on EVERYTHING! Not only that but if there is some left on her plate she will dip her fingers in the ketchup and lick it off! Gross!! We try to stop that as soon as it starts!

And now she's started adding to her list of acceptable condiments and will now dip things in mustard and veggie dip as well :) She is up for trying any kind of "sauce". I'm not a huge fan of letting kids eat ketchup with everything and I always serve her without it first, but how can I not when she will eat almost an entire pork chop or chicken breast if she just has a little ketchup to dip it in?! The little peanut needs to put on some weight and I think this might be just the way to do it!

Well last night her condiment obsession was at it's peak and I just had to take some pictures. She had ketchup, mustard and veggie dip all on her plate and she was eating them all together. The carrots were getting dipped in the mustard, her hamburger in the veggie dip, etc. She really didn't care because she had three condiments to choose from!

Just to make note of it, Josh is absolutely repulsed by this new obsession. He does not like condiments whatsoever. No ketchup, mustard, mayo, pickles, relish, dip, etc. The only thing he likes is BBQ sauce. To say the least, sometimes he has to excuse himself when she gets it all over because the condiment mess makes his stomach churn :)

I think this newfound liking has actually come from her strong desire for salt. Actually I call her my salt addict sometimes. She loves any kind of salty food... give her a cracker and she will lick the salt off the top. Serious. I'm sure the ketchup and such is just another salty delicacy to her :)

Look at all that stuff on her plate... she's trying to decide which sauce to dip her carrot in next!


I had to include this one because you can see all the "sauces" dripping from her face and hands!


Licking the goodies off her fingers

Spring Program

Tonight was Makenna's Spring Program for preschool. She got all dolled up and just had to wear her Easter dress :) Every chance she got she was looking at her reflection in a mirror, window, etc :) We've been practicing the songs at home for weeks so she was very excited to finally sing them for everyone at her program. And it made it even more exciting that Nana and Peepie were able to come! Makenna sang all the words and knew all the motions to the songs! She likes to swing and fluff her dress around a little too much but we'll work on that as she gets older ;) Maryn had fun too... she was clapping right along and got so excited to see Makenna up there on stage!

Makenna posing before the program


Makenna up on stage!


Makenna and her teacher Mrs. Sodman :)


More smiles :)

Indy Wedding

My good friend Matt from college was married this past weekend in Indianapolis. Thanks to a very competent and willing husband, I was able to travel to the wedding and have a weekend away with my college friends. It was SO much fun! Molly shared the 14 hour car ride with me and it was so fun to catch up - I honestly didn't even think about turning on the radio even once because we had so much to talk about and catch up on! Time went by so fast! The wedding was beautiful and it was great to see dear, sweet Matt find happiness with JoEllen. All of the "girls" decided that we loved her the first time we met her. They are a very good match :) So it was a little reunion of sorts.... in college it was Matt and the girls! We pretty much had all our Health Promotion classes together all my years at the UI and we grew really close. Five out of the seven in our group were able to make the trip so it was great to see every one! It was just like old times... ripping it up on the dance floor, making each other laugh until we had tears rolling down our faces, Kristi telling all of her crazy stories (I will never look at a goose the same away again!), and closing down the wedding! I don't know the last time I was out that late! It was so great to see the gang again and I hope we do it again soon!

The Health Promotion gang back together again... (from L to R) Molly, Carrie, Matt, Katie, and Kristi. We sure did miss Katie and Amy :(


Matt ripping it up on the dance floor!


Stealing a dance with the happy groom!


Me, Molly and Kristi chilling at the wedding

New Kids On The Block

Like most women my age, I'm having some serious flashbacks to my childhood lately. With all this talk about New Kids On The Block and their big reunion tour I almost don't know what to do with myself!!! Yes, I was one of the faithful back in the 80s and early 90s. My sister and I were totally, completely devoted to the NKOTB. Our room was covered in their posters. We owned every book, video, tape, t-shirt, shoelaces, doll, etc. You name it, we probably had it in NKOTB. Heck, I think we even had their bedsheets! We memorized all the lyrics, knew every fact about every member and could do every dance to every music video. Yes, we were obsessed. I was going to marry Donnie, Jeanne was going to marry Joe and Carrie (my best friend across the street) was going to marry Jordan. We had our whole lives planned out! We were going to move to Boston and marry the New Kids! The culmination of my obsession came during my dream trip to Iowa City to see them live in concert and I was able to see Jordan hanging out the side of a tour bus. I nearly fainted... serious, just ask my parents. Oh the days. It brings a smile to my face. Call me a dork, but I still like their music :) And I'll probably have to buy their new CD just for old times sake. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my sister and I can get tickets to their concert in Chicago next fall! Rock on!

If you're a NKOTB fan, put on your favorite neon NKOTB t-shirt with some dangly earrings and rock out to this link!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24583744/

Doing Dishes

I think it has become the "big girl" rite of passage on my side of the family... little girls getting to help my mom with the dishes. Sounds so silly, especially to all us older people who do dishes everyday and find absolutely no pleasure in it whatesoever, but to my two little girls they think doing the dishes with Peepie is the best! Maryn got to experience doing the dishes for the first time in one of our recent trips back to Cedar Falls. It took her awhile to catch on, but what kid couldn't love all the bubbles, sponges and of course the sprayer! I do have to mention though that I think she ate way more bubbles than Makenna ever did :) So I guess that means that Maryn has officially graduated to big girl now and she can do the dishes with Peepie! What happened to my baby!?

More MarBear

A few more MarBear stories to add to the mix...

One of Maryn's favorite activities continues to be reading books, whether some one's reading them to her or she's reading to herself. Well lately little Miss Maryn has started to assert a little independence in regards to her reading style :) She will be sitting on my lap and I'll be reading her a book and she'll shake her head no repeatedly and put her hand over my mouth as I'm reading. If I continue to try and read out loud, she will continue to tell me no and cover up my mouth! She wants to do it all by herself and doesn't want any help from mommy!

Today at lunch Makenna asked if she could be done and I told her only if she took seven more drinks of her milk (Makenna is really into counting so we change the of the number of drinks or bites and it's great motivation to get her to finish her food). So Makenna started on her way, counting between each drink of milk. She got to five, paused and without missing a beat Maryn filled in the blank with "six"! Makenna looked at me all wide-eyed and said "Mommy she knows six!" I was in total amazement myself! I knew she could repeat counting to ten but it's looking more and more like she understands numbers far more than we had given her credit for.

Cute Story Updates

Tonight Josh and I took the girls on a walk over to the playground equipment at the school. The following was my conversation with Makenna as we walked...
Makenna: "I know what I want to be when I grow up?"

Me: "Oh really... what?"

Makenna: "I want to be a teacher."

Me: "Cool. That's a great idea. What age do you want to teach?"

Makenna: "8 year olds"

Me: "That will be fun! Will they call you Miss Makenna or Miss Budke."

Makenna: "Miss Makenna"

She went on to explain that she wants to be just like her teacher Mrs. Sodman. Then tonight after we tucked her in bed I peeked in on her and saw her reading a book to a pretend classroom of kids :)

Awhile back we were packing up for a weekend home in Cedar Falls and Makenna was in charge of packing her own bag. She was also making sure she got everything ready to go for Duckie ;) I was going through a checklist with her making sure she got everything. Once I made sure she was good I went through a Duckie checklist and asked her if she had Duckie's pajamas, to which she responded "Mommy, Duckie doesn't need pajamas. He can just wear his fur." :)

As Maryn starts talking more and more (she's adding new words everyday!) we are realizing just how much she is understanding in the world around her. Tonight she was getting ready to go down the slide and she noticed the three large shiny bolts at the top of it. She very concisely points to each one and says "One.... two.... three" I couldn't believe she was actually counting objects!

On Sunday Josh and I had a very proud parent moment. Makenna's little friend Reece has been having a difficult time at church. Makenna knows him from both preschool and church so they've gotten to be good little buddies. I've been talking to Reece's mom and he's been telling her that the kids are mean to him and hit him when he's at church. His mom asked who and his answer was "Not Makenna." I was relieved to hear that but wanted to use the situation as a learning moment for Makenna. I talked to her all about what was going on and how Reece was sad at church and the other kids weren't being nice to him. Then this past weekend she walked into Sunday school, walked right up to Reece, asked him if he would like to play with her and then took him over by her two other little friends Paige and Zariya. She told us when we picked her up that Reece was much happier that day at Sunday school and that she liked playing with him. I am so proud of this little girl. We gave her a little direction on what the right thing to do was and she took our advice and ran with it. I pray that she continues to build character qualities just like this.

1st Outdoor Ouchie

Maryn sustained her first outdoor ouchie yesterday. She was attempting to climb on to her trike (like she always does) and somehow must have lost her balance, flipped over the side and face planted on the cement. She had her face planted to the cement with her feet in the air until I got to her and picked her up. Unbelievably she calmed down rather quickly but it left this nice big mark on her forehead :( My poor baby. I know it goes with the territory with toddlers and that I can't just hold her all the time, but boy this getting hurt stuff is hard on mommy too.

The morning after the ouchie... Still looking pretty rough, but in good spirits.

Playhouse Picnic

We got to start one of our favorite summer traditions today... the girls and I had a picnic lunch in the playhouse in the backyard! It is so absolutely beautiful outside that we couldn't resist! We spent a good portion of the morning at the park and then took our lunch outside once we got home! Maryn was too little to remember last summer so this was a fun new experience for her. She liked not being strapped into her booster seat ;) Hope you're all enjoying the sunshine!

I brought sandwiches, carrots, bananas and milk for the girls but for some odd reason Maryn wouldn't put down this Honey Nut Cheerio bar. She dug it out of the pantry without my knowing right before we went outside. Luckily she must have been really hungry because she ate part of her sandwich and banana too :)



I absolutely LOVE the looks on both of their faces in this picture! Priceless!

Happy May Day!

We participated in our first May Day with the girls yesterday! It was so much fun! Makenna and I spent the afternoon creating our little May Day baskets and putting all the goodies in them! Of course Makenna didn't understand the concept of putting them on the door step and running so we just handed them out :) Maybe next year we'll get into the secretive aspect of May Day! It really took me back to my childhood to see all these kids running around the neighborhood with their baskets, ringing doorbells and hiding. I remember having so much fun doing this as a kid. We are very blessed to live in a community that is very family-oriented and still enjoys these old-fashioned traditions!

Below is a picture of Makenna with all of the May Day baskets we made! I thought we handed out a ton and covered our bases but we ended up with more baskets than we made and we have no clue who they're from. Makenna loved it - the doorbell kept ringing from 4:00 until after 8:00 and the girls got so excited every time to run and see what they could find on the front step :)