Back to the doctor

Well, yesterday wasn't a good day in our household.  I got a call from daycare around 11:30 that Brianna had spiked a fever and was not herself at all.  When I got there, her teacher, Miss Heather, told me she had refused food pretty much all day and only wanted to lay in her crib.  She said when she was out of her crib, she was very dazed and lethargic, which isn't my active little baby girl at all.   So, I took her home and she was like a limp noodle in my arms.  She as running a very low fever but I was pretty worried at how lethargic she was and that she wouldn't eat any of her favorite foods and she would barely nurse at all.  When the doctor looked in her ears, sure enough, she found that the ear infection from last week had only worsened and not responded to the antibiotics at all.  Bree screamed and went rigid in my arms when they looked in her ears so I cannot imagine how much pain she must have been in.  Thankfully, they gave us stronger prescription and some drops to numb the ear canal.  Once those drops got to work, she was much happier, which meant so was I. 

My parent's have been looking for a reason to come visit and see her so when I called to tell them what was going on, they packed up and headed down.  Thankfully, that meant Brianna could stay home and play hooky for a few days while Mommy and Daddy went to work.  We've both got way too much going on right now to be able to work from home so thanks a million mom and dad for coming to the rescue!

First Steps and Sippy Cups

Friday was a big day at our house.  Well, technically it was a big day at daycare for Brianna but regardless of where, she had a big day!  We've been transitioning from bottles to sippy cups for lunch and on Friday, she voluntarily gave up all her bottles with absolutely no fuss.  Such a big girl!  She's been standing unassisted for several seconds for a few days now and she also took her first steps on Friday.  She took three steps the first time and two the second.  Of course, I can't get her to do it at home where Justin and I can see it, but its only a matter of time till she's off and running, literally.

We also had our one year well check this past week and as usual, she's on the top end of the height charts and the bottom end of the weight charts.  She's 30" long (73%) and weighed 19.8 pounds (24%).  Her height has slowed down and dropped out of the 95th percentile but she's still a tall little girl.  We also found out she had a double ear infection, which we would have never guessed since she's been her happy, funny self with no fever.  So, she's on antibiotics for a few more days.  We got a couple shots but opted out of two of them till she's a little older.  I just didn't feel comfortable giving her the MMR and Varacella until she's both older and not battling an infection.  She was unhappy enough that she had to have two shots after being poked and prodded by Dr. Karen.

Here's a few more pictures from her birthday party ... I've been meaning to post them for awhile but haven't had time.   She never really touched her cake so there's no messy face pictures.  She ate a few nibbles but she's not much of a sweets girl. 

My mom sent her this adorable beanie and I really wish she'd leave it on her head longer than two seconds!  It looks so cute on her and is very soft.  But, Bree doesn't like things on her head.  We'll just have to keep trying it on her till she gets used to it because it looks too cute to not wear it!

And last but not least, do you think she has enough toys out this morning??

Interview Update

Interviews have been postponed until mid-March.  Still excited, just have to wait a little longer now.  So, to all of you who were praying for guidance and a little clarity for me on this opportunity, keep praying because those things are still needed!

Job Opportunity

Big news, potentially! I have a job interview next Monday for a new position within Bayer.  I haven't interviewed in almost 5 years so the thought of doing so, even with people I know and respect, is a little daunting.  And, if I were to get the position, it would be a big change for our family.  Change is scary and unnerving and a little exciting but ultimately, its a catalyst for growth, and I need a little growth in my life from time to time.

So, what is this position I'm interviewing for?  Well, glad you asked!

Its a sales position that manages our Convienence Store and Single Serve businesses.  (Think of those little individually wrapped packages of Aleve and Alka-Seltzer you see in airports and hotels ... that's single serve.)  There's a lot of upside to this position, but there's also a downside.  Travel ... and potentially a lot of it.  But, what's unknown at this point is how much of that travel is overnight.  7-Eleven is one of our biggest clients and they're headquartered right here in Dallas so that makes life a little easier.  I'm also not too upset by the thought of traveling to Tulsa to call on QT since my sister and Robyn both live there, plus my beautiful nieces (and their mommy & daddy) live en route.

There's a lot of questions that have to be asked from both sides of the interview desk so who knows how it will all shake out.  I'll be excited if it happens, but if it doesn't, then I know it wasn't the right thing for me at this point in my life.  Regardless of the outcome, I'll be happy since I'm still very challenged in the position I have now.

So, stay tuned and we'll see what happens.  The interviews aren't till Monday morning and I have no idea how long it will take to finalize decisions and make offers. 

What's Brianna Up To?

I realized this morning that one year ago today was the first morning Brianna woke up in her new home, after staying awake till 4am her first night home.  Justin and I asked ourselves "what's wrong" more times than we could count that night and were walking zombies in the morning.  I miss the cuddle newborn days but I'm so thankful for the fact that she sleeps from 8:30 pm to 7 am every day, or at least most days.

So, what's Bree up to now, a year later?

Here's a video of her playing with one of her new birthday toys.  My parents gave her her very own rocking chair and she spent Saturday morning watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in it, just rocking away.  Of course, that only lasted for a few minutes before she decided it was time to move on to something else, but here she is, rocking in her rocking chair!

• Table Food: So far, she's done well with the entire menu at daycare and has only table food for dinner every night.  She seems to love steamed carrots, peas, zucchini and squash.  I found organic chicken nuggets at Target a few weeks ago and she eats those up too!  YoBaby Yogurt's another favorite, regardless of the flavor.  Berries are also a favorite and she seems to want to eat them in some form of order.  For example, last night, she ate all the blueberries, then blackberries, then the raspberries followed by strawberries.  She's done that several times now so either she's figured out shapes and likes to eat the same shape ones together or its just a personality quirk.  So far, I haven't found anything that she won't at least try.  I'm hoping that this appetite for variety continues!
• Clothes:  She'll soon be out of all her 12 month clothes, or at least the pants.  Most of the tops still fit her but after finishing up this last growth spurt, it seems the pants are getting a little short.  Time to move up to 18 month size, at least in a few pairs of jeans so we can stretch her wardrobe a little longer!  She's also pretty much outgrown her size 3 diapers so the next box we buy will be size 4.  She's getting big way too fast!
• Talking / Signing: For those that missed it in the last post, she made up her own sign for music and now knows where the Ipod and speakers are stashed as well.  Needless to say, there's always a variety of music playing in the house now.  At daycare, the signs they're working on this month are cookie and cereal.  She's already got cereal down and even used it when she was home with daddy to ask for her cheerios last week.  Cookie is a little more complicated than I think she's got the fine motor skills to master but we'll see.  Since she doesn't seem to like the cookies and rice crispy treats at daycare, she might not need to add it to her vocabulary!  She also said "kitty cat" for the first time this morning.  She's been working in it and puppy dog for a few weeks now, but she said kitty cat clearly this morning (twice!) while petting Cleo. 
• Personality: I swear I have the happiest baby ever!  She wakes up smiling and laughing and goes to sleep smiling.  She'll play games with me right up to the point she can't hold her eyes open any longer.  She rarely cries or fusses and she greets everything in her world with a huge grin.  When we walk in the house, she's all giggles and shrieks to see Moab.  Its just so much fun to watch her be so happy all the time.  I don't think I could have asked for a sweeter, more easy going baby!
• Appearance: She still has her daddy's eyes, at least in shape. So far, they've stayed a gorgeous shade of blue instead of the hazel we both have.  Her hair is getting a little bit of a wave to it now that its longer but not much.  She's losing that baby face look and is starting to look more like a little girl every day.  The only times I still see that baby face is when she's sleeping.  Then, she still looks like a little baby instead of the little girl she's becoming.

I think that about covers it.  I'm getting sleepy and I've still got bottles to wash up and bags to pack for work tomorrow.  Justin's in California on his 10 day jeep trip so its up to me to get us both out the door in the mornings.  I normally just wake her and feed her ... Justin does all the rest, including packing whatever I need for work.  Having to do it all on my own's a bit different and makes me appreciate all he does for us.  So for now, good night everyone!

What a Difference a Year Makes ...

I'm feeling sentimental today ... its Brianna's first birthday and I keep looking at the clock and remembering where I was on this day last year. Of course, lying in a hospital bed waiting for her to make her arrival is how I spent most of the day, up until 9:55 pm that night when she arrived.


I was rocking her to sleep last night and remembering how it felt to have our "last meal" (it was Carino's and I had lobster ravioli if anyone's wondering) before heading to the hospital the night before her induction was scheduled. It was a very strange feeling, leaving the house that night and knowing that the next time I walked through those doors, I'd be holding a brand new baby ... one that I honestly had no idea how to take care of or what she was going to be like.  Would she take to nursing?  What would her sleep patterns be like?  How again did you change a diaper?  Looking back, it amazes me that we survived and even more, that she survived! 

So, today, I look back and remember all that she's accomplished in the last year and it makes me a bit teary-eyed to see how much she's changed.  This morning, as she was eating breakfast, I realized that her knees almost hang over the edge of the chair.  Her entire body used to span a space of less than 2 feet and now, she reaches the top of my thigh when she stands up next to me (no small feat even if I am on the short side!).  She's finishing up a growth spurt and suddenly, her wrists stick out past the ends of her shirt sleeves and her pants don't cover the tops of her boots any longer.  She looks more and more like a little girl and less like the cuddly, sleepy newborn I brought home a year ago.  She's opinionated and independent and that makes me fiercely proud of her.  She's also sweet and loving and so smart she still amazes her teachers at school (she made up her own sign for music last week!).  To top it all off, she's beautiful ... that heart wrenching, innocent beauty that only children have.

I'm sure I'll post up more birthday party pictures this weekend and a "what she's up to" post to go with them but for now, I'm just sentimental.  The last year has flown by at times and at others, its crawled.  I look at those first pictures of Justin and I holding her when she was just minutes old and compare them to the daughter I have right now and I wonder ... what will she look like at 2 or 6 or (heaven help me!) 16?  What kind of girl and woman will she grow to be? 

She's changed our lives so much that it has yet to amaze me what a difference the last year has made...