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Sylvia is one month old!

siblings.JPGMarch 10: Sylvia is four weeks old today.  And tomorrow is her one-month birthday.  She’s getting to be so beautiful, and her eyes are seeing more and more of the world every day.  Happy birthday, little sweetie!

In other news, a gray hair has been spotted sprouting from the top of my head.

Neither Sylvia nor Andrew napped today, our first full solo day together.  And Sylvia cried or needed to be jollied nearly the entire day.  Why am I still awake at 10 pm?  I wanted some “me” time.  And I needed to digest the turtle sunday that Terry brought over for dessert.  Mmm turtle sundays…

And right now both children are sleeping, and I sort of want to be awake to relish the wonderfulness of it all.
Andrew said so many adorable things today that I wanted to pop.  He pointed out all the parts about Sylvia that he loved.  “And I wove her widdle hands and her teeny tiny widdle fingers.  And I wove her eyes (he says while poking them) and her ears and her hair (he says while kissing it) and I wove wove her widdle nose.”
Later he turned to Sylvia and said, “I can’t wait until you grow bigger and we can play!”
He’s such a great big brother, I almost wish he were my big brother:)
Pictures are in the gallery.

Continue reading “Sylvia is one month old!”

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Grandma is gone

grandma.jpgMarch 10: I got a call from my dad this evening with news that my grandma passed away this afternoon.  Her 86th birthday is tomorrow.

Dad was with her as were two of his siblings, my Aunt Julie and Uncle Scott.  She declined much more quickly than we thought she would, but perhaps that was a blessing for her.  I’ve been trying to get my head around the fact that she’s gone. It’s a really odd feeling to have these people who have always been such constants in life be gone.

Since Mom, we’ve lost Bryan’s grandpa, Dandy; my grandpa; Terry’s dad, Forry; and now my grandma.  I’ve had enough.  Looking at little Sylvia’s tiny hands and feet and newborn movements, it’s amazing to think that she’s at the beginning of the life cycle that Grandma has just ended.  I’m really glad they were able to meet.

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Twisting with Grace

curlyandrew.JPGMarch 7: Wow…it’s already Friday!  Bryan’s mom flew back to Texas on Tuesday (and she called this morning to say that it was in the 30s and snowing in College Station!).  Then Andrew and Sylvia and I were on our own Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday.  We even did a solo trip to Woodman’s!  Wednesday late afternoon, my dear friend Grace flew in from DC to help us and spend time with us until Sunday.
We’ve been having a good time together:)  Yesterday we went to Madtown Twisters again, and Andrew had a wonderful time jumping and swinging and running about on all the gymnastic equipment.
My Happy Bambino mom’s group has been providing us with dinners every Tuesday and Thursday night for the last couple weeks, and the delicious meals are going to continue coming to our door twice a week through March.  What a pampering treat!  And it’s so wonderful not to have to think about dinner.  Since Sylvia really most prefers to sleep on me, it makes it easier to just sit and be her pillow knowing that dinner will be provided.
Grace has been a big help with Andrew, and it’s a lot of fun to just be spending time together these last couple days.  I think today we’ll do an outing to the library.
Photos from the last week are in the gallery.

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Great visit with Grandad, Granny, Melanie, and Ben

introductions.JPGMarch 4:  We’re just back from having dropped Granny Lu off at the airport.  We had a wonderful visit with Mark and LuAnn and Ben and Melanie from Thursday through Sunday.  Then LuAnn stayed until today to give me some extra Andrew-care while I buzzed about town with Sylvie.
It was so fun to introduce Sylvia to her family.  It’s amazing that we’re all just meeting her for the first time, and yet she is going to be such an important person in all our lives from here on.  The weather was cold for our Texan family members, but they braved the elements and headed out into the yard to build a snowman.  The snow wasn’t that cooperative, so they ended up adding a snowman head to the top of a large pile of snow.  It turned out really cute.
Bryan’s mom gave us a beautiful quilt that she’s been working on these past months.  It’s purple and yellow and just wonderful.  I want to look at it all the time.
[Side note: Sylvia woke from what should have been a long nap and was very fussy.  So I just sat her in her chair and turned on the loud fan above the oven.  Now she’s either asleep or totally content.  Wow. White noise does work!]
Andrew loved playing with some of his favorite people these last days.  He just adores his family.  And they must adore him too, given how willingly they play the games he wants to play over and over and over and over again!
Pictures of our weekend are in the gallery.  Also, for a fun comparison, check out the pictures from Andrew’s third week in the summer of 2005.

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She’s growing!

fingersucker.JPGFeb. 28: Sylvia had her two-week doctor’s appointment on Tuesday.  She weighed in at 8 lbs, 10 oz and was 21.25 inches long.
That’s up a pound and an increase of 2.25 inches in two weeks!  She is in the 50th percentile for height and head circumference and the 25th percentile for weight.  Her pediatrician thinks that she’s pretty cute:)
My friend Janelle brought us a delicious dinner on Tuesday.  My mom friends have organized and are taking turns bringing us dinner every Tuesday and Thursday through March.  What a wonderful and yummy treat!
Andrew has continued to say enduring things about Sylvia that make me melty.  Earlier this week, he turned to me and said, “Mommy, Sylvia is my best friend.”  I think something inside me popped.  Then this morning, he came to our bed and saw Sylvia all curled up next to me.
He said, “Aaawweee, Mommy, Sylvia is soooo cuuuute!”  Followed up by, “Can we touch her widdle nooose?
I’ve posted some photos from the last few days in the gallery.

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Not good news about my grandma

Feb. 26: You know, as I typed the title of this post, I realized that I was applying a parenting technique of my mom’s.  She made a point of not using the word “bad” in regards to us…even in regards to our behavior.  Instead, she would say “not good” or “not appropriate” or some such phrase.  The idea is to focus on what you want (good or appropriate behavior) as opposed to pointing out the negative.
Anyway, there’s some negative to report from Grandma’s meeting with the oncologist today.  Turns out that her stomach cancer has pretty much blocked her lower stomach, so food isn’t able to make it’s way to her intestines.  She was hospitalized again on Sunday.  The oncologist said that her tumor isn’t operable, even if she was much younger and more robust, and chemo or radiation would not be effective.
So now, quite suddenly, Grandma is looking at an end-of-life situation.  Dad and Aunt Julie are trying to decide whether to move her home with 24 hour nursing care or to move her to the Hospice center in Madison.
When I think of my grandma, I think of a quiet, loving woman who tries to live her life as responsibly as possible.  Her religious devotion is deep and really rather impressive.  I love making Grandma smile.  Best of all is making Grandma laugh.  That really makes me feel good partly because it isn’t too easy.  The fact that I’ve gotten her laughing hard a couple times is one of my big accomplishments in life:)  I love Grandma’s cooking.  Her meals are the staple of our holidays, and I fully associate the taste of her cooking with family and love.
My grandpa died in October, and it’s hard to believe that we’re looking at the real possibility that in the near future, I won’t have grandparents living in Monroe anymore.  And my poor dad will be planning another funeral.
As Terry said after being at his dad’s memorial service in Oregon last weekend, “Between you and me, I’m all deathed out.”  Agreed.  In the meantime, I am going to think through what kinds of things I can do to brighten Grandma’s days while she’s still here with us.

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These are the days of our lives

Feb. 26: I think Sylvia is starting to look a bit older.  I can’t quite pinpoint where the changes are happening, but she doesn’t look as newbornish to me as she did last week.  Yesterday was her two-week birthday.  She’s currently nestled on my chest, her long fingers gripping a handful of my shirt.  I can almost hear her thinking, “Can’t I nurse again while I sleep, Mom?”
She did a cluster-nursing marathon last night, starting about 6 pm and finally falling asleep for a couple hours around 8 am.  I really don’t think she stopped nursing for more than about a half-hour at a stretch all night.  I think this is the nursing mania that proceeds the 2-3 week growth spurt.  Makes for one tired mommy, though!
Fortunately, Andrew was perfectly content letting me sit on the sofa and talking him through his bird book or exclaiming as he jumped off the sofa onto a pillow 53 times.
Sylvia just decided that sleeping on me wasn’t quite what she wanted.  She wants, very strongly, to nurse while sleeping.  She normally fusses for about 10 seconds before letting out a shriek, but this time there was nor warning.  It’s a stunningly loud sound, somewhat reminiscent of a red-tailed hawk.  OK, now she’s a happier girl.  Good thing I didn’t have anything planned today!
On Sunday, we drove down to Monroe to see my grandma.  She was happy to see Sylvia, and she held the little one in the crook of her arm for quite some time.  Poor Grandma is so very frail.  The skin on her hands felt almost transparent.  And from the sounds of it, her recently-diagnosed stomach cancer isn’t giving her much opportunity to eat or drink.  As she said, it’s a hard place to be.  It was nice to sit with her, though, and to share Andrew and Sylvia with her.
Sunday night, Sylvia and I went to my friend Sara’s house for an Oscar party.  I love watching the Oscars.  And now I not only have my fashion tank filled but I also have lots of new movies to add to my Netflix cue.
Yesterday was my first day home alone (but just for the morning) with the kiddos.  We packed up and went to the Pinney library branch story hour.  A good way to spend some time.  I took advantage of my at-home day today by baking a couple loaves of whole-wheat bread.  It’s a new recipe that I got from one of LuAnn’s friends.  So far, I give the dough some big thumbs up:)
Bryan just got home for the afternoon, and I’m going to take Sylvia in for her two-week appointment in a bit here.  Have a good day!

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What day is it, again?

kisses.JPGFeb. 23: I have utterly lost track of what day of the week it is.  I haven’t forgotten that it is winter, but that’s only because of the pervasiveness of the snow.  Bryan has been off work for the last couple weeks, and our days and nights all blend together.  It’s been a good last week here in the Dotzour home, so I guess knowing the date is
just one of those things I’ve decided don’t matter right now.
Bryan heads back to work next week, but he’s only working in the mornings.  He should be home in the afternoons, so that should be a nice transition.  Bryan’s mom and dad and Melanie and Ben fly into town next Friday, and LuAnn is staying until Tuesday.  Then my friend Grace is coming into town on Wednesday, March 5 and staying through the weekend.  Then Joe will be home from Bowdoin until March 23.  Maretta will be home as well from March 14-23, so I imagine that there will be lots of opportunities to have another adult around.

On Thursday, I did my first trip solo with both kids.  It was pretty low-key…I took them to Gathering Waters to have lunch with my co-workers.  Vicki arrived the same time I did, so I even had help getting all my stuff in the building.  Karen held Sylvia the whole time – and she loved it.
Yesterday I ended up staying in my pajamas all day long, which was mostly nice, but I kind of felt like a human milk supplier/pillow for the littlest one.  Sylvia vastly prefers to sleep on a person than in her chair.  And in general, I think she deserves whatever makes her happiest.  I hope the magazines I got at the library today will help give my brain something to do during the sweet hours spent with the little one.
Today Sylvia had her first restaurant experience.  We went to Rocky’s, where Andrew ordered a slice of pizza “with pepperoni and sausage, but no mushrooms.”  When did he grow up?
We are planning a trip to Monroe to see Grandma tomorrow morning, and at this point, we’re enjoying a quiet and sunny wintery Saturday.  see, I now know the date:)  Pictures from the last couple days are in the gallery.

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Grandma Babler’s recent diagnosis

Feb. 22: Some unwelcome news has come out of Monroe today.  My grandma (my dad’s mom) was diagnosed with stomach cancer.  Poor grandma has been through so much these past months.  My grandpa died in late October.  In December, Grandma’s osteoporosis got the upper hand, and her hip broke.  Since then, she’s undergone surgery and been living in a rehabilitation center.  She fell again a couple weeks ago, but didn’t seem to break anything.
My dear grandma hasn’t had much to feel hopeful about these days.  It’s been a hard winter for her.  Dad gets down to see her a couple times each week and is working hard to keep her spirits up and her life in order.  In the last couple days, doctors were concerned with some of her bloodwork, so they did further testing.  Hence the new finding of cancer.
I’ve got to think that one of the last things my dad needs in his life is more visits with oncologists.  Appointments are scheduled next week to follow-up on the CT scan she had today.  From there, we’ll determine if surgery is an option.  Grandma is already so frail.
We’re going to try to get down to Monroe this weekend to share some baby- and Andrew-love with her.