Christmas, etc.

We have had a very busy week... as I'm sure most people have!  Most of my family has made their way to our area.  Mike was here (stayed with us) the 22nd - 27th; Mat & Alaine & Linc were here the 24th - 26th; Craig is here, 26th - 31st (staying with us); Dad and Carol were here the 24th - 27th;  Joy, Rusty and the kids were here for Syd's birthday.  Whew! We had a lot of fun...

Though I must say I would have had MORE fun if Foster had been feeling better.  I was pretty distracted by his first cold and boy was it a doozy.  He started feeling yucky on the 22nd and it lasted until the 26th.  On Christmas Eve he was a WRECK, which is of course when we had a lot of people over here.  I ended up staying home with him alone on Christmas day while Andy, Syd and Mike went over to Mark & Lisa's for the day.  We thought best to keep him away from the crowds to avoid getting anyone else sick.

Luckily, he was feeling much better by Sydney's birthday and we were able to enjoy the luau we had planned for her 6th birthday.  Sydney had a great birthday party (seen here with her friend Marley) and we all managed to enjoy ourselves.  

Yesterday Syd and her Uncle Goggy (Craig) went ice skating with Mari & Tierney while Mark, Lisa, Foster and I watched. The picture of Foster is out observing his big sister. They did great!  Craig says achieved his two goals:  1) Not to fall & 2) Keep Sydney from any serious injuries.  Done and done.

I am looking forward to an uneventful week (knock on wood) after pure craziness!

The prep work...

We are in the middle of getting ready for Christmas & Syd's birthday!  We have a lot going on in the next few weeks, obviously.  Cleaning the house. Wrapping presents (with the part-time nanny's help!).  Prepping food for various parties.   We are looking forward to having a nice visit with lots of our family members.  We'll have someone staying with us from Dec 22nd - Dec 30th... Mike for part of it and Craig for part of it.  :-)  Can't wait!

We managed to get to the mall for a visit with Santa, who Sydney deemed the "real" Santa.

Thanksgiving...

We made it.  After a 10 hour drive to LA last Wednesday, a day at Disney, a day at Mat & Alaine's and another day driving home (only 5 hours that time!) we made it home.  Whew!  We are exhausted.

The drive on Wednesday was nothing short of awful.  Some power lines fell on the freeway and they shut it down.  After an almost 3 hour detour, we were again on our way.  That, of course, got us into LA right at rush hour.  I spent the last 5 hours of the drive in the backseat with the kids, who did surprisingly well.  That evening Mat, Alaine and Lincoln brought us some dinner - Baja Fresh!  We finally got to meet Lincoln - what a cutie!

On Thursday we were up bright and early and made a quick drive to Disneyland from our hotel in Burbank. We had a blast there and enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner with Mike and his friends (ok, ours, too!) Dave & Allison and their kids.  We ate at Ariel's Grotto where Sydney got to meet several princesses.  We spent most of the day at California Adventure, which we all really enjoyed.  That night Rusty, Joy and the kids came by our hotel and Andy went out to dinner with them and Mike ( I stayed behind to put the kiddies to bed).  

Friday was OUR Thanksgiving dinner.  We all went to Mat and Alaine's and prepared a feast of turkey, ham, prime rib (thanks, Andy), mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, squash soup, etc., etc.  It was lovely!  Mark, Lisa and the girls (see the pic of Mari and Tierney holding the cousins) drove down from Sunnyvale and we all had a blast.

Saturday we got up early and headed home.  Five hours later we were here.  We spend the day today prepping our home for Christmas.  The tree is up, the lights are on the house.  We are ready!

Foster-con

Just a quick update

Hello! 

We are doing well around here.  Mike has been here since last Thursday and has enjoyed (I think) spending time with Syd and Foster.  He watched Foster for us last Friday when Syd had her last doctor's appointment (we hope) regarding this whole fainting business.

The neurologist at first thought we should have another EEG, but then after looking over the cardiologists letter, thought that this was not a neurological issue.  The conclusion is that Syd had low blood pressure and if she feels like that again, she should sit down, drink some water and eat some crackers.

It was funny... at the doctor's office the neurologist said "Sweetie, you are JUST fine."  To which Sydney said:  "Yes, but then why did I faint?"

Very good question!  The doctor then explained it all to her... That's my girl!

We heading to Disneyland for Thanksgiving (eating with Mike and the Geissberger clan at Ariel's Grott) then to Mat and Alaine's for the day after Thanksgiving for a feast with Mark, Lisa, Joy, Rusty (and their kiddies), Geisburger's and some others.  I, personally, am looking forward to Foster and Lincoln meeting!!

We have had a pretty uneventful week.  For the most part, of course!  

Andy has worked a lot lately so this past weekend I had the kids. 

 We did manage to all go out for ice 

cream together yesterday afternoon. 

 Sydney enjoyed her ice cream, as usual, and Foster got a taste of Daddy's shake.  Just a tiny taste.  He loved it!  Of course...

Today was Foster's 6 month check up.  He weighed 19lbs 

4oz (50 - 75th percentile), was 30 inches long (off the charts) and his head was 46cm (90th percentile).  So his head and his body match and his weight is a bit under what they'd expect for his length.  :-)  Poor little guy, wasting away!  He's doing great.  Very healthy and alert baby.  We now get to start him on a few more veggies and some meats.  He got four shots and we'll go back in a few weeks for the first half of his flu shot.  She also gave me a nice pat on the back for continuing to breast feed him.  Of course, it is something I want to do... but it is nice to get the acknowledgment sometimes, too.

In the picture of him in his high chair, you can get a sense for how long he is (and also how much he enjoys munching on apples...)

Sydney had her sharing day at school today.  She was supposed to bring something that she is thankful for... so she brought her blankie (Ayayou, is what she calls it), her doll (Oddry) & pictures of all of us.  I'm anxious to hear how sharing time went!

a day off

Today Syd had the day off of school (tomorrow as well) so we decided to go for a bike ride/run at Ranch San Antonio out to Deer Hollow Farm.  Syd rode her bike and I ran, pushing Foster in the jog stroller.

Several months ago when Christan was visiting, we took the training wheels off of Syd's little bike, so this weekend we took the training wheels off of her new, bigger bike.  So I decided it was time to get her on a long bike ride.

She did fabulous!  It was a total of 2 miles and she took a few breaks on the way out (which is a slight incline) and then FLEW back.  This picture is one of the breaks on the way out... she's snacking on a bagel to get energy!  We also saw three deer, one of which was in the middle of the path. :-)

On another note, her doc called today and her blood work and EKG looked fine. We are going to see a pediatric cardiologist on Wednesday and her neurologist on the 21st.  Just to make sure we are checking everything.  Tomorrow our part-time nanny, Kirstin, is here to watch Foster for a bit (normally on Tuesdays I work at Syd's school). Sydney and I are going to the park with some friends, then off to the mall for lunch and a little shopping.  

whew!

Well, it has been quite a week around our house.  Quite a week.  The highlights:

• Sydney was able to skip TWO bars on the high monkey bars at school!  She's been working and working at this and was so proud to tell us about it.
  
• Foster has been on a nap strike.  I remember when Syd was a baby and telling Andy often that "we had 'No-Nap Grignon' again" and it seems this trait has been passed onto Foster.  Makes for very long days.  Most of the time he takes a very short morning nap (less than a half hour most of the time) then a short mid-day nap (an hour or so).  Then he's good for the rest of the day.  This week, however, we had many days where he didn't sleep at all.  
• Foster is getting very good at going to sleep on his own and back to sleep on his own (after nursing at some point in the night).  
• Sydney fainted at school on Tuesday!!  Yep, you heard it right.  Fainted.  We thought at first it might be a seizure since she has had those in the past.  Nope... the neurologist thinks it was a good, old fashioned passing out.  She was playing on the playground after snack and went up to one of the parents and wanted some water.  Then she went down.  We saw her pediatrician on Thursday who ordered blood work and an EKG.  If the blood work doesn't give us any clues, then he wants us to see a pediatric cardiologist, just be on the safe side.  We are also going to see the neurologist at the end of the month, just to cover our bases.  I have to say that I was pretty proud of Syd, Foster and myself that we got all her tests done on Thursday with no melt-downs.  Now... if Andy had been there we might not have been so lucky.  ;-)
• 
  
• I finally got a picture of Foster with his HUGE smile.
• Foster celebrated his half-birthday yesterday!  To celebrate the occasion Andy and I split a "Foster's"

Other than that, it's just been the same old, same old around here...

Halloween

Yesterday was Halloween and boy was it a busy day.  It started with the four of us heading to Syd's school for the Halloween parade.  Then Andy went off to work and Foster and I came home.  Kirsten, our part-time nanny, came over for a few hours so that I could go baby-free to a lunch in Syd's classroom.  Andy managed to get away for a bit from work and also joined us.  Then after school we had a little down-time before trick or treating.  Here are some pics from the holiday!

The past week has been a little challenging with Foster's  new "schedule".  He has yet to fall asleep on his own for a nap.  Night time is going great - he cries off and on for half an hour or so, then sleeps all night (for the most part).  Naps, though... he cries and cries and cries.   I could take a few days of it, but I just couldn't take day after day after day of it.  So I am back to rocking/nursing him to sleep for naps.  

Quite the day

We had quite the day today after quite the night last night.  

Big thing #1:  Foster is officially learning to put himself to 

sleep at bedtime & at

naptime. 

Last night Foster WOULD NOT stay asleep. 

 We had friends/family here

 (Ken Wright and his daughter, Kendra and Rusty) and I wanted to see them!  It was so frustrating!  I tried for a very long time, rocking him, nursing him and every time he'd fall asleep and when I put him down, he would wake up.  I made the decision that he needed to learn to fall asleep on his own.  So, last night he did it.  I left his room and he cried for 15 minutes, then slept for a few, then cried again, then slept... for about 45 minutes.  Then he was asleep.

For consistency's sake, we decided we should take this route with naps and bedtime the "rule" being we would let him cry/lay in his crib for an hour at naptime and pretty much unlimited at night.  So today I tried three times to get him to take a nap and three times he lay in his crib, mostly crying.  No nap.  All day.  Tonight I nursed hi

m and he promptly fell asleep, only to wake up (as usual) when I put him down.  So I gave him a kiss and his blue bear, told him I loved him and 

left.  He cried off and on for 45 minutes and then fell asleep.  :-)

Big Thing #2:  SYDNEY LOST ANOTHER TOOTH!!! She and 

Andy were in the car and out it came!  She is VERY excited!!  The Tooth Fairy should be making an appearance tonight!!

Big Thing#3: In between no naps today, Foster OFFICIALLY turned over from back to belly.  He had done this on the couch with the help of the cushions, but this was his first unassisted turn from back to belly.  Andy witnessed it and we happened to be on the phone with PopPop at the time.  Very big stuff.

Big Thing #4:  At bath time Foster was fussing away and I noticed that he cut his first tooth!  In fact, he cut the tooth that Sydney lost!  Finally!!

Very big day at the Grignon house.

Crab-Apple

Foster has been a wreck all day.  He woke up early (5:45) and tried to put a stop to my plans to go for a walk at 9am with my friend, Angela.  I pushed through and he slept the whole walk (after screaming in the car all the way to the trail).  Since then, he's been a mess.  I think a tooth may finally be making an appearance soon.

After dealing with Mr. Man all day (and a few issues with Syd not cleaning up her art supplies), I decided to take a trip to the park with the kiddies (Foster in his stroller, Syd on her scooter) and sent Andy on a motorcycle ride.

Everyone was happier at the park.  Foster looked at the leaves, Syd ran around and I watched them (with lots of interaction with both, of course!).

Andy joined us for a bit after his ride.  A nice way to end a rough day. 

This evening our friends Anne and Scott are bring us some dinner (which they share with us, of course) - brisket that they smoked in their new smoker!  :-)  THAT will be a nice way to end a rough day!

Oktoberfest

Today was a full day.  Foster and I ran a 5k this morning to kick off Campbell's Oktoberfest.  Ok, I ran it, Foster slept in the stroller.  We had fun, though.  Afterward, we met Andy and Syd downtown (they had a breakfast date) and Andy bought beer tickets for later.

After lunch and Foster's nap, we walked downtown  with our friends Anne, Scott & Nitin.  Sydney rode her scooter and Foster rode in the stroller again.  Andy spent a good part of his time standing in lines & Syd, Foster and I spent most of our time in the kids area (jump houses, small rides, etc).  Foster was mostly in the Ergo baby carrier (sleep part of the time), Sydney playing.   On one jump thingy, Syd fell off the slide.  It looked like she was doing a cartwheel with no hands!!  Scared the crapola outta me!  :-)  She was fine, though, and recovered with a beautiful butterfly face painting. 

Foster did great until I left him with the guys while I got some food.  He was a little upset while I was gone, but once I got back life was good again.  

Ah, such is the life of a 5 month old.

Another day..

I had to pick out a picture of Sydney when we joined our Las Madres group (@ 6 months) and her most current picture (her kindergarden pic) for a "Yearbook" that my Las Madres group is putting together.  I thought the comparison was pretty cute!

The Tooth Fairy, for the record, brought Sydney $5, a High School Musical thing and a glitter super bouncy ball.  AND, the tooth fairy managed to get all of that under her pillow without waking her up!

Foster has been up a lot the last few nights and then today napped all of 20 minutes.  He fell asleep tonight around 6pm, so here's hoping for a long night of sleep...

Big News!

Can you guess what happened to Sydney at school today?!

two videos

Thought I would post two videos today since I don't feel like complaining about the horrible night we had with Foster...  

One video is of Sydney from Labor Day weekend when Christan was visiting.  Christan helped Sydney learn to ride her bike with no training wheels!  This video is of the first time she rode with out those extra wheels.

The video of Foster is from yesterday... Andy fed him his first Applesauce! Think he likes it?!

First Ride

First Apples

Dentist

We went to the dentist today to fill that cavity and it was, in a word, traumatic.

Or maybe I should say, "dramatic".

She did great until they had to give her the novocaine.  Then she screamed.  And screamed.  We got through the numbing part and she wanted them to stop.  

"I WANT TO LEAVE NOW!  I DON'T LIKE THIS!!"

So we explained that we could stop, but if we did that we would have to come back another day, go through the numbing again, just to get where we are now and that the part that was left was painless.  

The dentist was trying to talk to her about "sugar bugs" and basically not giving it to her straight.  So I had to just explain to Sydney that the pinching was to give her medicine to make it not hurt while they fixed her tooth and that part was now over and what was left wouldn't hurt.  That made sense to her, I guess.  Plus, I made it very clear that if she didn't let them finish today we would definitely be coming back to let them do the job.  

She thought about that and after several deep breaths, she agreed to continue.  Syd pulled it together and let the dentist finish up.  

Did I mention I also bribed her?  Hence the new scooter in the picture...  :-) 

two kiddies

Foster's new toy!

Silly Sydney!

What a crazy couple of days it has been.  Foster has been sleeping like a champ at night (knock on wood) but has been a WRECK during the day.  Hardly napping at all and pretty much I need be holding him from 3pm on.  It has been wearing on my nerves a bit.  Sometimes a mom just needs a break.

Sydney has a dentist appointment tomorrow - cavity!  It is her second.... she definitely has her mama's teeth.   She brushes and flosses twice a day, but still - CAVITIES!!  So Kirsten is coming tomorrow (instead of today, which meant no break for me today) to watch Foster so I can focus on Syd.  She'll be getting the laughing gas again.  She had a cavity filled a few weeks ago and while she was breathing in the gas she said to me:

"Mama... I don't know where I am!"

We got a new "exersaucer" for Foster this week.  We had one for Syd and it has been stored in our little attic above our utility room.  I've asked Andy for weeks to get it down and on Saturday I told him that if it wasn't down by Sunday night, I was buying a new one.  So I did.

He informed me that it was most definitely worth the $70 to not have to get up in the storage to get the old one down.  So there you go.

Twins?

Sydney - around 5 months

Foster - 5 months....

Maybe twins separated by 5 1/2 years.  Cute, eh?

Last night Foster slept from 6:30pm - 6:30am.  It was wonderful.  I woke up, fed him, got Sydney's breakfast made, woke her up, made her lunch, woke Andy up and felt wide awake the whole time.  There's just something about uninterrupted sleep!

Today our part-time nanny, Kirsten, comes to take care of Foster while I work at Syd's school.  I work an hour in the classroom, then lunch/yard duty, then with another parent I run a drama center.  It is pretty fun and Sydney is always happy to have me there. I think.

Andy has  work dinner tonight so I'll be dealing with both kids until bedtime.  Hopefully Foster will cooperate and go to sleep at 6:30pm again so Sydney can get some undivided attention for a while!  

Cereal

Today was Foster's first time eating cereal.  His first time eating anything other than Mommy's Milk.  A very exciting day, indeed.  In addition, I (Mandy) got to sleep for 7.5 hours IN A ROW.  It was awesome.

Foster is a very happy baby and a very big baby.  :0)

Sydney was very excited to sit next to him, eating Lucky Charms.  She didn't know his cereal wouldn't have marshmallows in it...

First Time...

This is my first blog post on here.  After years of using Apple's iWeb software, I have grown wary of it.  I don't want my updates to be tied to software on my computer. Cloud computing is where it's at, baby.