Toddler/Preschool Moms, Week of April 9

[HRJ]

I know I haven't been around too much lately -- so, what chutzpah to start the thread, huh? ;)

But we're leaving tomorrow to spend the week with my mother in Florida, so I wanted to stop by and wish everyone a very joyous Passover and Easter!! :)

I hope to get back to posting more often after things calm down at work (we're approaching the end-of-the-academic-year craziness) -- I also sort of overextended myself on some volunteer commitments. But I was able to get in al little lurking during the week ...

Joanne, how nice about your new dog -- sounds like a lot of fun. I'm sure the kids are going to love having a dog around.

Sarah, good luck with the floor project -- hope your week away from home goes well.

Lara, wishing you a tantrum-free week -- I know it's not much comfort to hear this, but I think it's mostly just Natalie's age -- it just seems like there's some sort of developmental need for kids to go through this. JMHO.

Kim, your question about how to handle Lainey and the swimming made me think a lot, because as I've mentioned, we often have issues with Victor and unfamiliar situations -- although I think he reacts to a much stronger degree than Lainey does. DH and I have talked and talked about how to handle things, we've even sought out some professional counseling advice, and we're still not sure what's the best approach. I really need some time to get my thoughts together -- but maybe I'll come back to the subject after I get back from vacation. BTW, I think you handled it very well.

Sorry to everyone I've left out here -- gotta go finish packing.

Take care!!

Helene

[RunnerKim]

Happy Monday everyone,

Helene - have a great visit with your Mom and happy Passover.

Do post your thoughts about the whole swim class/timid situation. I agree that I think Victor often has stronger reactions than Lainey does but often in the same spectrum so I learn a lot from how you handle things.

I signed Lainey up for a class at a new kids' gym that opened near our house. First class will be on the 22nd so I'm fully prepared for the same situation to arise. Probably worse because she's very familiar/comfortable at the pool since we go so often. She's only been to the this gym place once. It's a chain called My Gym - has anyone taken classes there? Lainey had a blast at the open house - running around from equipment to equipment. Worked up quite a sweat. I was impressed with the staff who worked hard to know all the kids names, keep order and safety. Of course class will be more structured so that'll be another challenge since she her first experience was free-for-all. They have a kid-sized vault and horse, balance beam, slide in to a ball pit (her favorite), rock climbing wall, trampoline. I'm hoping the class is more than just fun and excercise (i.e., skill-building - in a fun way of course). I feel I'm over-scheduling Lainey since her swim class won't be over yet but I wanted to take advantage of the free lifetime membership deal :rolleyes: I think Jamie would love the place too - but his class would be 2 hours earlier and that would just be crazy. Poor second child.

Lainey had a physical weekend as she had a party at a place called "Pump it Up" that's those huge inflatables. She was running around there non-stop. She didn't get a nap since the party started at 2:30; so she was very ready for bed last night. :D

Jamie turns 1 tomorrow (already :eek: ) and this weekend we transition him to milk and off the bottle completely. All because we didn't want to go buy another can of formula. Between our savings on formula and pull-ups I feel rich :D Is 1 too early to potty train....

Looks likes its suppose to rain all week and this weekend too. Another Easter wearing rain boots and coats and slogging around in our marsh of a yard for eggs. We could do it inside but that just doesn't seem right either.

Kim

[Sarah428]

Helene - Hope you're having a blast in Florida, enjoy!

Kim - You could always give infant potty training a try! ;) Happy 1st Birthday to Jamie! The gym sounds perfect for Lainey, she sounds like such a fun bundle of energy.

We're officially at "the lake house" and it's going quite well. Ella transitioned nicely, when she walked in & looked out the windows overlooking the lake and said "look mommy, it's the ocean!!" :p She even requested to sleep in the big girl twin bed while we are there. I showed her the crib (which looks much more "babyish" than hers at home) and she said "I'm not a baby, I don't want to sleep in there." When I showed her the twin she kept saying how beautiful it was! So I'm hoping to have a twin ordered and ready for when we move back in and not have to put her crib back up. She still using the potty exclusively and hasn't gotten out of the twin bed for the 2 nights she's been in it....I really I hope I'm not jinxing this!!! :eek:

The floors in our dining room are going to have to be replaced, not just refinished (long story), and that may add a day or two onto the project. We have to be out of the lake house Friday night because the owners are having family stay there over the Easter holiday. I'm trying not to worry about it yet but we might be sleeping in our car for the night :rolleyes: :p.

Well, lunch break is over, time to get some real work done
Sarah

[NMG]

Sarah - yaaaahhhh for Ella!!! It's so amazing how quickly they change and want to do "big" kid stuff :D That stinks about having to replace part of your floor instead of refinishing them all. I hope they get done before this Fri!
We're having a bit of difficulties on the dinner home front with Miss Tesa. She's usually been an extremely good eater - exp when I let her choose the vegetable and let her help my add herbs and stuff to the other dishes. Lately she has basically not been eating dinner and just wanting snacks (since I'm catching onto what shes doing, I wrap up her dinner adn she has it for a "snack" later. If she eats most of it I let her have a snack, but if she doesn't eat her dinner I don't give her anything different). I really don't want to get in the habit of making 2 seperate things (unless we're eating something spicy) - am I going about this all wrong??? She's not losing any weight and I do give her flinestone vitamins (the ones specifically for 2-3 yr olds). Has anyone else encountered this problem???? What have you all done??
Kim - Good for Lainey and adjusting well!! Sounds like she had a lot of fun :D

[LaraW]

Hi Everyone

Helene, glad to see you here - enjoy your trip to FL, and hope things in your life slow down soon. :) I *totally* agree with you that these tantrums are probably mostly Natalie's age, but I think there is some sleep deprivation going on too, which just makes it worse. It is hard to remember that its mostly her age when I'm cleaning 16 oz of lotion off of her, her clothes and the carpet. :eek:

Sarah, glad you're enjoying your "mini vacation" and hope you find a place to stay on Friday night! :eek: Glad Ella is doing well with the twin bed.

Kim, that gym class sounds like fun. Happy Birthday, Jamie! That's so exciting! :) We always did Easter egg hunts inside when I was a kid.

We had a pretty good weekend. The weather was really nice, and so we were able to get outside and play a bit. I think it got up to close to 80 degrees on Sunday. I took Natalie to DSW to buy some sandals. They apparently are discontinuing carrying kids shoes, and so all shoes were 50% off. I bought her 2 pairs for less than $20.

Yesterday was pretty good too. We bought some new chairs for our table outside a few weeks ago, but hadn't taken them out there yet. I decided that it was too nice of a day to eat inside, and so we got the table outside cleaned up, put the umbrella up and had our dinner outside. It was kind of windy, but overall pretty nice.

We have had a few tantrums though. Nothing like that humdinger last week but still frustrating. Naps have been a bit better. I actually talked to one of my coworkers yesterday about borrowing their old crib. We talked about setting it up in her room and asking her if she needs to go back into a crib like a baby if she can't stay in her bed. This is SO hard! :(

We're still working on potty training too. Sunday night before bed, Natalie pooped in the potty! I think it freaked her out a bit because she got a little upset, but DH and I made a big deal out of telling her how well she had done and gave her a ton of hugs and kisses (I said that you can tell that we have little kids when we get so excited about poop! :p ) A couple of different times she will stop what she's doing and ask to use the potty and then will go, so I think she's starting to understand. Thank goodness the weather is warmer so that she can wear less clothing and I dont have to worry about her being cold. :)

[dearamy]

Hi All,

Helene--I hope your trip is wonderful & relaxing :) ! I wish you well in balancing all of your year-end committments with home life.

Kim--A very happy birthday to Jamie. One year old already! I am not familiar with My Gym. We have done Gymboree, but your place sounds like even more fun. I am not enrolling Lila in Gymboree again. I am so fed up with her getting sick almost every time we go. I really do not think they are diligent about washing toys. I don't ever remember a rainy Easter, but it looks like we'll have one this year. Our rain is just not letting up. Today we're having a winter storm--cold & blustery. Today Lila took about a 45 minute bath. We are trying all kinds of things to stay entertained indoors! She loved it!

Hi Sarah--it sounds like Ella is just doing great with the changes! I am hoping to figure out if we're moving before doing the transistion to a big girl bed for Lila. If we do end up moving, I'd rather just buy her a bed there & have one less thing to move.

NMG (sorry, I can't remember your name :o )--Have you read Ellyn Sattler's books? I really need to go back & read her again, now that we have more toddler (rather than baby) eating issues. I think she has very sound advice--you decide what the child eats & when, & the child decides if & how much is her main tenet. The idea is to stay away from food battles & any forcing. I *think* she would say to feed Tesa her normal meal at mealtime & if she does not eat it then, that she does not get it as a snack later. I'm sure someone else here will chime in with more practical experience.

Lara--It's always so interesting to read your posts because Lila & Natalie are pretty similar (from what I've read) in terms of the stage that they're at. We are dealing with some nap resistence too & some nasty tantrums. She has started throwing her toys when she gets angry. Time outs don't seem to be working, so today, I started giving her toys a time out if she throws them--I have then all lined up on top of the fridge so she can see them & I remind her why they're there. We'll see if this works. It sounds like Natalie is really far ahead of Lila with pottying though. Lila will one in a while agree to sit on the potty & a few times (literally, 3 or 4 times) pooped or peed there. Mostly, she just gets angry when I ask if she wants to sit on the potty. She also gets mad when it's time to change her diaper. I am trying to just take a step back with it. I'm not in a particular hurry (ask me again in 6 months :D ) & the last thing I want to do is push her. She is so head strong that if she thinks I really want her to do something she won't do it, as if it's a matter of principle.

Not too much else here. The realtor we met with last week will be over tonight to discuss what her marketing plan would be for our home. I am really anxious to see what she has to say. I need to straighten up a bit when/if Lila naps.

I almost forgot--I know a couple of you exercise at home with dvd's. Do you have a suggestion for a dvd that has both cardio & toning exercises? I need something fun, so that I am motivated enough to do it & challenging enough so I don't get bored. I would prefer not to have to buy any new equipment. I have hand weights. I have put on 5 lbs. over the past few months & starting to feel bummed about it. I know part of the problem is that we have been cooped up inside. I prefer not to join a gym now, again in case we move. Thanks!

[LaraW]

Amy, I guess its good to have someone to commisserate with, huh? ;) I don't know what kind of potty you're using. We had a little potty chair and Natalie had some interest in that, but her interest really kicked up when we got an insert for the toilet. She really likes being able to sit on the "big girl potty". The reason I got it was b/c that is the kind they have at daycare, and she isn't wanting to sit on the potty there. I thought it was b/c she was afraid of the big potty and if we could have her practice at home, she might be more willing there.

[RunnerKim]

Sarah - see it's the stuff you overly worry about that the kids have no problem with. If you don't think it'll be an issue then BAM - major problems. :D I would totatally go straight to a regular bed when you go back to your house!

NMG - I agree with Amy 100% about Ellyn Satter's book - I just wrote about it on the Wobbler thread; so eating issues must be "in season." I have her Child of Mine book and we follow her philosophy pretty closely and I have 2 good eaters (knock on wood). If I were in your shoes - I would not be saving the food; but I would have pre-determined meal and snack times. She doesn't get to eat again until next scheduled time to eat. Satter also recommends that you make sure to offer a starch with each meal (not necessarily a snack) which are typically kid friendly. I have noticed time and time again that Lainey will eat the "comfortable" food first but will then try other things - sometimes liking them and and sometimes not. I'm much more interested in her being willing to try things than her actually eating them. We'll also offer dessert on occaison and we offer it at dinner time (since there's not that much time after dinner before bed). She will eat it along with her dinner - not often first- and its not unusual for her to leave some (especially if some kind of pasta is being served at dinner).

Lara- I agree potty training when it's warmer is very helpful! Sounds like she's really making progress. It took Lainey a lot longer to figure out the pooping business.

Kim

[nori]

Hi all! I totally missed last week...came here a bit, but didn't get to read all of them. Hopefully I can join in more this week!

Natalie(NMG)....I was going to say the same thing with Kim and Amy. Although I didn't read that book mentioned, my advise would be not saving food for later. If she wants to eat it, she needs to eat it when served, not later. Yes she may get hungry (and it ishard for you to say no) later, but too bad. She needs to wait until next meal/snack time. Once you do that, and she understands how it goes, she'll try to eat more, if she's hungry. We did that both with our kids several times, and it was hard to say no, when the came back a bit later to eat more and I had to say "sorry, but you have to wait until breakfast time." But they're both good eaters, and they both know that once they got down from the chair, their meal/snack is DONE.

Kim, sounds like Lainey's going to have a blast!!! Too bad about another possible muddy Easter....sounds like a bit fun, just thinkking about it (and especially being here in AZ :D ), hopefully the weather will dry up a bit over the weekend. We do egg huntingn inside....because DH said he used to do it indoors, growing up. I didn't grow up doing egg hunt so I had no idea.
But I thought it is usually done outdoor. Anyway, indoor is kind of fun, too, but I'd love to try hiding eggs in grass outdoor for a change. Maybe we can try that this year. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JAMIE! I can't believe he's already one!!! Time flies...do you have any plan for his party?

Amy..good luck on your meeting tonight!

Lara..yay Natalie for pooping in potty! You're right, you realize it's a bit silly when you think about how excited you can get over pee and poop. :eek:

Sarah...sounds like a lot of fun living in lake house. Hope your house's remodeling goes well. That's great Ella wants to be a big girl now!!

Helene...have a wonderful trip, and great time!!!

We're doing our floor redone by ourselves (means DH is doing it), in the kitchen, dining and living and hallway. He's been doing bit by bit. Kitchen is done, and dining is almost done, then we'll slowly move to other area. Doing that while living in the house is...well let's say that I don'treally like it. I feel like we've been living in a mess for soooo long! I wish we could temporary move to somewhere and get it done in a few days. Financially, we didn't make our decision that way and as long as DH working on it, it'll take time, you know. Well, we'll get there someday, I hope. :p

This Easter DH suggested to go out for Easter Brunch at the hotel. We usually ate at our friend's house but this year he wants to do it differently. We have a nice Westin Hotel where I went for brunch a few years back and it was very nice. We'll try that place. Hope kids behave well. It's not super-fancy place so as long as they behave as usual, they should be fine. Tomorrow, we're having friends over for decorating cookies. I already baked cookies, and we just ice them and put sprinkles on them. So much for detailed pretty cookies, when you have several toddlers around!

[NMG]

Thanks everyone for the name of that book - we'll be heading out to the library either tomorrow night or Fri so I'll have to check it out :) I think the idea of once your down from the table dinner/snack is over and she'll have to wait till the next meal (breakfast).
Nori - Easter egg hunts outside are fun - we belong to the SNPJ and they have an outside eater egg hunt every year and if you find a plastic one with a number in it, you get to pick an extra treat from the table (every child gets at least 1 number). It was so much fun when my brother and I were little and Tesa went for her first time last year and had a blast! This year they both get to participate so I'm pretty excited to see them both searching and having fun:D Easter brunch sounds fun!
Amy - I understand the whole potty issue - Tesa has days where she does great going on the potty, even if she told me in the am she wanted to wear a diaper, but other days no potty time at all. I hope everything worked out with the realator last night.

How do you all find time to exercise??? I always feel like by the time I get a chance, it's 10:00 pm!! We do play a lot of music and dance and go outside whenever we can, but I really don't exercise much and feel like i need to start - and stick with it.

[JoanneOR]

Helene, hope you are having a great time in Florida!

Happy belated birthday Jamie!! Wow, time sure does fly. Kim, that class at the gym for Lainey sounds like so much fun. The boys and Caitlyn all start a gymnastics class this Friday. Luckily they overlap, so there's only one trip involved. We have a Pump It Up here, too; it must be a chain. I've never been, but DH has taken I think Jameson to a party there once.

My SIL had an Easter egg hunt at her house last weekend. It was fun and Caitlyn finally caught on this year that there was candy in the eggs so she was pretty excited to grab as many as she could. Ian found our stash of plastic Easter eggs and put all his candy in the eggs and hid them around the house already for the egg hunt he wants to have on Easter. I told him now that we have a dog he has to be careful because she'll sniff them out and eat it all. I have a feeling we'll be finding those eggs for years to come. :)

Sarah, sounds like Ella is really enjoying the lake house! I'd definitely take the opportunity and put her right in the twin bed when you get home! It sounds like the house will look great when you get back.

Natalie, we've had alot of eating issues with our kids. Although, Caitlyn is probably the best eater - she'll really try anything. I wish I had known about that book when our first was born! So, I don't have much advice, but what we do now is they have to at least try what we are having for dinner. I don't make anything else for them if they don't like it; but I make sure there is something on the table that they will eat.

Lara, I know what you mean. :) I never thought I'd be excited about poop either! Or talk about it so much. :rolleyes: Sounds like Natalie is making good progress, though. Caitlyn was a bit leary about pooping on the potty at first; in fact it took a few months before she was comfortable with it. Now she's a pro. Finally!! Now we just have to worry about the dog. :mad: More about that later..

Amy, I do try to exercise at home with DVDs. A good place to start might be with The Firm - almost all of their DVDs are weights and cardio. You can find them at www.collagevideo.com. And, I think they sell them in places like Target and Walmart. Good luck with the potty training. We kind of did the same thing with all our kids. At first they were pretty reluctant (except Ian who announced on his third birthday that he was ready to where underwear and that was it. :) ) at first so we backed off for a bit and then tried again. And, like Natalie, Caitlyn really seemed to progess with it when we used the insert for the big toilet. I hadn't really thought about that until Lara mentioned it.

Hi Nori! I know what you mean about the home remodeling! It really is a pain! I hate disorganization (you wouldn't know it if you walked in our house :rolleyes: ) and our basement project has been very trying! We went out for Easter brunch, just us and the kids, a few years ago and it was really nice. I still don't know what we are doing. I'd like to go out to eat again and then just go visit the grandparents. Have fun with your cookie decorating!

Life with our new dog has been interesting. She really is a good dog - great with the kids and very obedient. You can tell she's had some training. The big problem is she is NOT housebroken. :mad: We thought she was, but she's not. We're working on it. I don't know what she used to do with her previous owners, if we did, that might help us train her. She never asks to go out; if we time it right and she happens to have to go, she'll go. But, she'll also sneak off somewhere in the house and go. I feel like I'm going through potty training all over again. Besides that, she's been great. Almost too good. The kids were complaining that she's boring. :p I'd rather have that than too rambunctious. Of course, we haven't left her alone in the house for more than five minutes. I don't know if she would get into anything and I'm not too anxious to find out. Oh, and she has never barked. Hasn't made a sound. Very strange.

I got Caitlyn's pictures back. If someone can give me a quick lesson in posting a photo; I'll try to post them. I've done it before, but the "insert image" button doesn't seem to be working. :confused: Or, I'm not remembering how to do it, which is the more logical scenario :rolleyes: .

[Sarah428]

Joanne - You need to have your pictures saved onto a outside site (imagestation, shutterfly, etc.) to post pictures. If you need help you can email me the pics and I can post them for you...I can't wait to see them! Sounds like overall you got a great family dog, hope the doggy potty training kicks in :p.

Natalie - I hate to tell you this but I get up at 4:30am to make it to the gym from 5:00 to 6:15 to work out. Being pregnant and plain tired I my goal is 3/4 days a week now but I've been a regular 5 day/week exerciser at the gym for years now. On weekends we take long walks, play outside, etc. Collage video is a great source for at home exercises, I just can't get motivated at home though.

Nori - Wow, you're living there while the floors are being redone, more power to you! I wish we could but it's also nice to just be gone for a week and come back and have it done. Being pregnant was a great excuse to hire a professional ;)! Have fun cookie decorating!

Kim - How was Jamie's birthday? Are you having a family party or have you already (sorry I don't remember)? If you got pictures, please share!

Floors seem to be coming along nicely, we'll find out today when we can move back in. I'm scrambling to find Ella a twin bed before we move back in, there aren't any retailers where we live so not sure I'll get one in time :(, hope this doesn't set her back.

I feel bad because Easter this year is just a blur with everything going on. We haven't really talk to Ella about it. I did get her basket together before we moved out but she's going to wonder why she's getting one since we haven't talked about it, oh well.

Sarah

[NMG]

Joanne - here's the way I download pics into these threads - someone gave me these instructions when I first checked out this site and hasn't failed me yet!


1.) Log onto Imagestation.com and follow their instructions on uploading a piture. (I found that this website works better than others for posting pictures)

2.) View the picture and right click on the picture. Select Properties off of the menu that pops up, then highlight the entire Address portion (http: through .jpg) and <ctrl> "C" to copy it.

3.) In your post to the thread, click on the IMG button and paste the address into the field and select OK.

How old is you dog??? We've been talking about getting a puppy (one of those wrinkly ones :D ), but I really have to look into it more since I don't know much about them (including the real name!!), plus we may wait until DH's business gets started and I am able to stay home.......Tesa's been talking about getting a puppy for a little while now (her babysitter has a dog, 2 cats and 3 horses and both kids love the animals).........

[JoanneOR]

Thanks for the instructions Natalie and the offer Sarah! I'm going to try to post them. If it doesn't work I'll e-mail them to you, Sarah. Our dog is a little over a year old. Puppies are alot of fun, but I'm kind of glad we got one that was past the puppy stage! Although it would have been helpful to have raised her from the beginning because sometimes it's hard to tell what she's used to and how she was trained. But we are all learning together.

Sarah, I wake up around 5:00 to exercise, too. It's really the only time I can do it unless I go to the gym during lunch. And, they don't really have any good classes anymore and I get pretty bored with the treadmill or elliptical.

OK, here's the pictures:

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p07137099cd8e7c84b2a2bcbcfdaeb77c/ef78b19a.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p484dbda351fae84260e75b2f8c058ef1/ef78b194.jpg

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/p4661c758fc56bd97e6c3def6d8fc12e3/ef78b197.jpg

[tbb113]

Joanne - beautiful pictures of Caitlyn. She has grown up so much!

Kim - happy birthday to Jamie

I am so glad I don't have little ones anymore. It has been raining non-stop and it is forecasted for the next 10 days! I'm glad I'm not trying to entertain little ones during this time. Amy - you have my deepest empathy and sympathy :)

[Sarah428]

Joanne - She's adorable & beautiful at the same time, thanks for sharing!

[Sarah428]

Joanne - She's adorable & beautiful at the same time, thanks for sharing!

[NMG]

Joanne - Caitlyn is so cute!!! I exp love the one of her and the bunny :D

Wow that's early for exercising!!!! I might have to try that out though - if I don't hit that stinking snooze button :p

[dearamy]

Joanne - beautiful pictures of Caitlyn. She has grown up so much!

I'm glad I'm not trying to entertain little ones during this time. Amy - you have my deepest empathy and sympathy :)

Hey, Tyra...do you want to bring some of that sympathy & empathy through the Caldecott tunnel for a play date with Lila?? :D :p
Seriously, we're getting desperate for new things to do. Today we went to longs to ride the mechanical horse outside. I used up all the quarters in the house!

Joanne--I love the pictures! She's adorable :)

[cchhbb]

Wow, you guys have all been busy.

Kim, Happy belated birthday to Jamie. Where has the time gone. I can't believe Griffin will be 1 at the end of the month.

Amy, so sorry to hear about the rain. We've had great weather this week, but I remember our winter break was so bad that I was about ready to lose my mind.

I took the boys to the zoo today. Griffin really seemed to enjoy it this time. It's the first time that he really seemed to get into one of our outings. Garrett got butted by a goat. Poor thing hit him right in the stomach really had and knocked him down. The zookeeper working in that area didn't seem to know what to do. I went and got another zookeeper and they put the goat in time out.

Griffin hates shoes with a passion. He just sits down when he is wearing them and tries to take them off. Often times he is screaming about them. I did buy him a pair of tennies and 2 pairs of sandals. I always have trouble finding sandals after June here and we can wear them through September usually so this year I stocked up. I should go check out DSW. I don't think they carry kids shoes here, but it will be worth a try.

Joanne, Caitlyn looks so cute. We had a terrible time last week trying to get Easter pictures taken. I ended up leaving during the sitting since the bunnies were not behaving and my kids were being difficult.

Good luck with the dog. I would like to get one in a few years when the boys will be able to be okay around one.

I have to run.

[tbb113]

Amy - I currently am at home (on the bench) waiting to hear from my office on when I will be laid off. If you want to meet somewhere on Tuesday for a change of pace, I'm available.

[dearamy]

Tyra,

That is so sweet! I definitely want to take you up on that if you're sure I didn't strong arm you into it ;) I don't think I have anything going on Tuesday. I will confirm & get back to you via PM. I would be happy to come out your way too!

[nori]

Cheryl, did you try Robeez shoes? They're supposed to be child-proof. :p My kids didn't really have serious problems, but both of them tried to take them off once or twice, but didn't succeed. Maybe those leather shoes are more comfortable for him, too?? Sorry Garrett got attacked by a goat. Hope he won't get too scared of the animals because of that.

Amy and Tyra...send those rain on my way!!! If you two and Lila get to meet up, have fun!

Natalie, I usually try to work out in the morning, too. If I miss that, I can't sneak one into my routine during the day and in the evening I just want to relax. I used to do Step aerobics using DVD, and sometimes I did it while kids were still sleeping, but if they were up, they used to just play around me or get up on teh step with me (not really good). Lately, I take them to jog around the park and neighborhood in the morning. If we have a plan to go out in the morning and kids get up too late, I just skip the exercise but I don't feel so good about it. I do walk/jog pushing the stroller about 40 min. and it's a nice workout. Like you, I try to move around with kids a lot, and I admit it can be a good exercise, too, but it is different. The Firm DVD sounds good. I may have to look into it.


Sarah, that's exciting that the floor is coming along so nicely. It'd be great to see that big change in your house at once. Our floor is coming along slowly, and I really wish I had an excuse to use professional. :D

Joanne, Caitlyn's such a cutie!! She is really a little lady. It is amazing to see how big she's gotten...a few years ago we're just looking at her tiny, baby pictures! Thanks for sharing.

I didn't know you got a dog....Noah'd be very, very jealous. :p Good luck on potty training on the dog...At least you don't have to buy any more diapers!

We had fun decorating cookies with Noah's friend today, but his little brother (15 months old) was very tired and cranky and fussy, he was screaming and crying a lot. His mom tried to put him to sleep (for a nap...that's how he usually go to sleep) but it didn't work out, so she took him out again because he seemed not to be sleepy but then with a small incident he'd explode. He even got some timeouts but it was really rough on my friend. She must be exhausted. We had fun, though. I found that it is amazing that between moms we can have a conversation going on and with so many interruptions, still can come back to the original topic (where we were distracted) without any problem. We do multitask all the time, don't we? ;)

I found out that the hotel brunch we were trying to go to cost 45 bucks a person (kids will be free). Kind of steep because of the holidays. It was about 25 when I went there for regular brunch. We may still go, but it'll be a 100 bucks brunch!!! Well, it's a nice hotel so it'd be worth it, but still.....

[cchhbb]

Nori, Griffin has successfully gotten his Robeez shoes off many times in the past. He's walking now, so I got him some shoes to wear outside. He wants to keep up with Garrett so he's always in the mulch and on the concrete so I bought him some hard shoes. He just needs to get used to them. I only have him wear them outside.

Garrett didn't seem to mind it when the goat knocked him down. He went back to petting the goats and lambs. I was pretty upset that the zookeeper didn't seem to know what to do. The zoo shouldn't have someone working in that area that doesn't know how to handle farm animals.

Wow, that is an expensive brunch. At least the kids are free. I used to go to these types of things when I worked a lot. Generally, they have free mimosas and bloody marys.

Sounds like a good time decorating cookies except for the meltdowns. I think I'll try to do that with Garrett this afternoon or tomorrow. My recipe requires you to rest the dough for 2 hours so I should go and get it started soon.

Tyra, have you heard about how long you will be in the beach. When I worked for a consulting company, they generally would keep you there for up to 90 days, but that was years ago. Have you started your job search?

I went to Target today to get stuff for the Easter baskets. I also bought a step stool for the boys' bathroom. If I get it together, I think I may paint on it. It will be their big present together from the Easter bunny.

Tomorrow we are going to try again to get our Easter pictures taken. DH will be off from work so can help. It was too much for me to manage both boys there.

Cheryl

[tbb113]

Cheryl - I haven't heard anything from the company at all. Some of the people that rolled off earlier were on the bench anywhere from a day or so to a couple of weeks (I think). I'm not expecting much since I've only been with them 14 months (the length of this project). Also, they don't have any place to put me that I can see. It looks like the whole CA part of the company is in turmoil. Rumor has it that the guy I'm waiting to hear from resigned. My engagement manager doesn't respond to me (and I guess he isn't my engagement manager since I'm not at the client any longer). The admin assistant/HR person isn't responding to me. I feel unloved but well compensated ;) :rolleyes: :cool:

[LA98]

Hi everyone. I thought I’d take a few minutes and try to compose a post for this thread. It's gonna be a long one!

We ran into some illness here too, Brian had croup two weeks ago. I woke up one night around midnight to the sound of stridor. :( Definitely my least favorite sound in the world. By a lucky coincidence, we were due to see the pulmonologist the next day for a routine follow-up. The discussion came around to the fact that they had wanted to test Brian at 6 months old for cystic fibrosis. I had refused at the time because I had tested negative for that gene (didn’t know at the time that there’s no real safety in that fact) and he had so many other *known* problems we were trying to fix that seemed more urgent. Well, truth be told, that decision of mine has haunted me ever since, especially because he often sounds so congested. So the doctor called up the lab and got us right in for a sweat test. Cheryl, I thought of you and Griffin. It was ironic in that this was probably the least invasive test he’s ever had, yet he totally freaked out. They let us go outside during the half hour he had the things strapped to his arms, we sat on a bench and he fell asleep on me out of sheer exhaustion. That was a Friday, so we had to wait until Monday for the results, which were negative. I’m so glad he doesn't have it, and also that I don’t have that worry hanging over me anymore. It was so foolish of me, I have never gone against a doctor’s advice in my life, I don’t know why I did it then.

Not much else going on here except my ongoing job search. DH started a new job this week with medical benefits, so at least we don’t have to worry about having to pay for Cobra. That was keeping me up nights!

Paula, if you’re out there, I think you mentioned your daughter is taking Singulair? I asked the pulmonologist about it because I just don’t believe Flovent is giving Brian any real benefits. He threw out some statistic, I think he said Singulair only helps 30% of the people who try it. Have you heard that? He did give me a prescription to try him on it this summer as a test, but I could tell he only did it to sort of shut me up. I am not crazy about this doctor, but pediatric pulmonologists are not so easy to find.

Tyra, sorry you’re waiting to hear about your job. If it’s bad news, I hope you find something quickly. From what you’ve mentioned of the work you do, it sounds like you have very marketable skills. I’ve been berating myself lately for my career choices. I wish I had gone into something more mainstream. Ah, I was twenty-one, what the heck did I know? :rolleyes:

Nori, brunches here are usually around that price. Expensive, but worth it if it’s a good place. I am hosting Easter dinner for my family, though I’m still not sure how that happened!

Joanne, Caitlyn looks like such an angel! You can practically see the halo. ;) And congrats on your dog! I’m sure she’ll get the housebreaking thing soon. After all, you are an expert! I think the no barking is probably a kind of shyness. My dog did that after we had adopted her. Almost like she was afraid she’d be sent packing if she barked. After she got more comfortable, she’d bark. For food. :rolleyes:

Kim, happy first birthday to Jamie! Sheesh, that seemed to go fast.

Sarah, yay to Ella on potty training and her big girl bed! Brian’s potty training is taking longer, like slow progress, but I guess I shouldn’t complain.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter or Passover.

Lori

[RunnerKim]

I went and got another zookeeper and they put the goat in time out.

Cheryl that made me LOL for some reason. It's often teenagers that are minding the goats are our zoo; but they seem to know what they're doing.

Joanne - I can see why you love those picture of Caitlyn - they're great! Are you using a crate for the dog? It'll really help with potty training. Also you can keep her leashed to you (or DH) for a few days. She's old enough that she should "get" potty training quickly - so doing something like leashing her to your belt will be a pain for a day or two but should take care of the issue. Make sure you take her out right after she eats or wakes up and then maybe every hour otherwise. It's been a long time since I've had to house train a dog.

Tyra - maybe they've forgotten about you and you'll just hang out on their payroll indefinitely ;) :D

Nori - that is a pricey brunch but at least the kids are free and you know it'll be good. It would be different if you hadn't eaten there before. Easter is so sneaking up on me. I should at least hard boil eggs tonight. I do have stuff for the plastic eggs: character bandaids, water color tablets for the tub, some kind of candy (DH bought it), a Thomas friend train if it'll fit, fish crackers and stickers.

Sarah - do you have a mattress yet? You could use just that on the floor until you find a frame. Or have her sleep in a sleeping bag or a mat on the floor - or heck even use the only the crib mattress on the floor and tell her that the new bed is coming soon.

Natalie - the other thing I do to get exercise in besides getting up early (which I haven't been successful at doing for awhile) is that I have Lainey signed up for swim class at a place that has a lap pool too. I have about 25 minutes to lap swim during her class. The bonus is that it's so much easier to help Lainey with her shower after class if I'm taking one too.

Jamie's "party" was just our family. My sister and her two boys were suppose to come over for dinner and cake but she ended up having 2 additional kids (being a single mom, she has a kid-watching arrangment with another single mom). Jamie was thrilled to be handed brightly colored objects and not so thrilled when DH and his sister tried to put their hands on them to unwrap them (or in Lainey's case actually try to take them away to look/play with). He was most thrilled with the helium (mylar) balloon we gave him. Lainey had gotten a latex balloon at a party on Sunday and he was fascinated with it but he puts everything in his mouth and I didn't want him to play with it - so the mylar balloon was a huge hit. He also liked the music from the Leap Frog Farm Fridge. His favorite kitchen activity is to throw Lainey's Fridge Phonics letters down the kitchen stairs so I figured if nothing else he has more to throw now. He loved ice cream - after his first initial "what's this cold stuff" expression, he stuffed the rest in his mouth before going back to the cake. Rather appropriate because he's named after my Grandfather (and grandmother) and he was notorious for his love of ice cream.

Had his 1 year and Lainey's 3.5 year appt. last night. Lainey's 39.5" and 37 lbs. Jamie was 32" and 25lbs. 1 oz. As we suspected Jamie's sized has leveled out and he's not so high on the charts anymore.

Kim

[tbb113]

Tyra, sorry you’re waiting to hear about your job. If it’s bad news, I hope you find something quickly. From what you’ve mentioned of the work you do, it sounds like you have very marketable skills. I’ve been berating myself lately for my career choices. I wish I had gone into something more mainstream. Ah, I was twenty-one, what the heck did I know? :rolleyes:

Lori

Lori - congratulations to DH on the new job and what a relief to have Brian's test come back negative. CF is a NASTY disease.

My job skills were much more marketable when I went into it 26 years ago. At this point, many companies are buying packaged software for their AS400 or switching of the machine completely. Southern CA is a much better market then here but I don't want to relocate since it will be Michael's senior year in September. I've always found a job in 2 or 3 months. Hopefully, my track record will hold :)

[JoanneOR]

Thanks for everyone's compliments on Caitlyn. She really has grown up - I'm not so sure about the "angel" part, though, Lori! :p Anyone have an recent pictures of their kids to post? I'd love to see them! Since our digital is out of commission, I don't have any recent ones of the boys that I haven't already posted here, I don't think.

Lori, glad you got the negative CF results, but sorry you had to go through all that. Don't beat yourself up about not doing it sooner, sometimes mother's intuition is best and Brian was dealing with so many other issues at the time. How is he doing now?

Lori and Tyra, best of luck to both of you in your work situations. So, Tyra, they are still paying you? If so, hope they take awhile to let you know if you're still working there! Hopefully something else will come up soon. But I know it's got to be stressful not quite knowing what's going on.

Tully did start making some noises; no barks yet though. DH was playing rough with her in the backyard and she was kind of growling. Not a mean growl, but a playful one. DH is paranoid something is wrong with her because she doesn't bark. I think she's just shy and still getting used to us. Had some more accidents in the house. :mad: :mad: This is getting old fast. We never see her when she does it, which make it hard to redirect her to go outside. DH did put up a gate in the backyard so now we can let her out there without being with her on the leash. Hopefully that will help.

Cheryl, good luck with the pictures!

Nori, sounds like the cookie baking was fun. It's tough to schedule things like that around naps. That brunch does sound expensive, but at least the kids are free. We're still deciding what to do.

I came home last night from work and DH had started on the floor in the basement. He rented a tile roller that had to be back at 9:00am today, so he wanted to finish it all last night. I was helping him and at about 11:30pm I told him I had to go to bed; I was exhausted. He went to bed, too and got up at 4:00am to finish it. It was just about done when I left for work and looks really good! I'm very excited. All we need to do is finishing staining the trim and put it back on. We might actually be able to shop for a TV to put down there this weekend! Yea! I get my Tivo back! We still need to replace the stairs but we can move the stuff back down before we do that.

[Laura]

Delurking on the dog issue.

Joanne, do you have a crate for Tully? It has been a long time since I housebroke a dog (almost 20 years!), but we got our lab from a man who raised dogs for hunting, and he suggested using a crate as the dogs learn to hold it because they don't want their own area to be dirty. I seem to recall it worked pretty quickly as the dog was 8 months old when we got him.

[JoanneOR]

Laura, no, we don't have a crate, but are seriously considering one. I would have already gotten one, but DH didn't want to spend the money. :rolleyes: He may change his mind if the housebreaking doesn't improve. We'll be spending more on cleaning supplies than the crate at this rate. I'd also like to be able to put her in the crate if we are going out until I know she won't be destructive while we are out.

[MrsReber]

Joanne, Caitlyn got so big! Or maybe I haven't seen a picture of her in a while? Absolutely beautiful.

Laura, we have 2 dogs. Both have crates. They both like their crates so we leave them open for them when we're home. I highly suggest it. It works great for us. We can crate them when we're eating or when people come over. They really don't mind it. Some people think it's "mean," but the dogs actually love it.

[RunnerKim]

Lori, I think we were posting at the same time. Glad you can now be relieved about the CF test and even more happy that it was negative. My pediatrician was not that excited about Singulair either but I wasn't at the appointment when DH asked her about it. For us Flovent is doing the job so I wasn't concerend but it seemed the essence of her arugment was that Flovent is the "cadillac" that does the job and that Singulair was still rather new and particularly for pre-school kids she wanted to stick with a more known quantity (but again - Flovent is working for us). She's having Lainey try to reduce her dosage. We just tried that with Jamie and he started coughing a lot at night within a week. I don't have much hope for Lainey either but I'm happy the pediatrician is having us test it. I've also realized I'm past the denial stage as I had no problems starting Jamie back up at the higher dosage after the 2nd (worse) night of coughing. It's really the fear of having to have give that horrible nasty liquid prednisone that got me over it ;) I'm sorry Brian doesn't respond to the Flovent. Have you tried Quovar? A coworkers son is on that - I don't know if there'd even be any reason that would work better for him than Flovent.

Joanne - bite the bullet and crate or leash Tully for a day or two. She cannot be out of your (or DH's sight) until she's 100% realiable. Fortunately at this age it really shouldn't take her long to learn. The longer you go with her sneaking off to pee in the house the harder it will be to fix. Welcome to dog parenthood :D Lots of reinforcement for going outside - but don't yell at her if you find an accident after the fact. You really have to catch her the instant before she starts to squat if you're going to discipline her. Has she been checked by a vet? Could have a bladder infection or something that's making this more challenging. Good luck.

Kim

[LA98]

Kim, I'm glad you can at least try to reduce Lainey's dosage! She's getting older, maybe it will work this time. Brian's just got increased :( from once a day to twice. I've never heard of Quovar, I'll have to look into it. That's the thing here, I feel like this doctor's belief is that Flovent is all there is. I mean, I get the "Cadillac"-ness of it, but if he's not getting good results I would think it's time to at least try something else. But no, he's just upping the dose. Well, we'll see if it works I guess. I'm going to try the Singulair too, he just told me to wait until June.

Okay, I'm going to *try* to post a picture, but my track record stinks :p so it might not work!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid204/pc6338372efededcc4be92b446c283a84/ef7572a6.jpg

[JoanneOR]

Kim, I missed your earlier post. You're right; we need to either crate her or leash her to us in the house. That's a really good idea about the leash if I can't convince DH to get a crate. I've read about not disciplining them unless you catch them in the act. After we found her accidents, DH told her she was bad and yelled at her. Poor Tully had no idea why he was being "mean" to her and wouldn't go near him for the rest of the night. I told DH she has no idea what he is talking about; we have to catch her in the act. UGH! I thought we were done with potty issues! She was checked out by the vet at the shelter but we need to decide on a regular vet for her close to home.

OK, back to toddler issues!

[paula]

Lori,

Yes, Rachel started on Singulair last December, and she has not had bronchitis (or worse) since. She still has some asthma issues when she gets a cold, but has been fine with a treatment or two of albuterol. Before Singulair, we went 13 months with at least one bronchitis/pneumonia incident per month. She has no allergies and the only thing that induces her asthma is a virus infection - consquently, chances are high that she will outgrow it. Whether her response is a result of the drug, or of her increasing age, I do not know, but the response was dramatic and overnight. Before, she was on antibiotics at least once a month, but she has not had any since November. (BTW, it took us more than 3 months to get an appointment with our pediatric allergist. Yes, he is the best, but that was three additional months of teeth-rotting antibiotics. He didn't consider Rachel urgent because it was only once a month and only viral-induced. He was hesitant to consider her asthma severe enough to treat prophylactically. IMO, borderline pneumonia once a month is certainly severe, but his comments do put the situation in perspective.)

You can add my name to the list of those moving this summer, and potentially to the list of those umemployed and seeking a job. My DH finished graduate school in Jan and has been looking for a job both locally and more distally since last fall. Last week, he accepted his dream position with a major pharmaceutical company just west of Philadelphia, and we will be moving in early summer. I have been looking for a job in Philadelphia since last September, and there have only been a couple of openings for which I am qualified/interested. (One of those, I lost to DH, as the hiring manager was explicit that he would not hire spouses...) I have another interview next week, and I have my fingers crossed that it will work out. Otherwise, I am prepared to stay with the kids until I can find something. I keep trying to convince myself that staying home for a while would be a good thing - it will let me looking for housing (we get paid temp housing) and properly scout daycares.

If anyone has comments, suggestions, or contacts in the King of Prussia area, I would love to hear them.

Paula

[RunnerKim]

Lori - what dosage is Brian on if you don't mind my asking? Both my kids are regularly on 2 puffs/twice a day. They're classified as pretty minor asthmatics - we weren't having nearly the number of issues as Paula's daughter. I'm not sure if Lainey is only virus-induced. I know it's not excercise related though. They both have atopic dermatitis, although Jamie's is more significant, which means they're less likely to outgrow their asthma (but I don't know how that relates to use or success of Singulair). She mentioned that she'd been to an atopic dermitis seminar/conference and a speaker said that we should be using a pound of vaseline a week. I wonder if the speaker works for Johnson & Johnson! I have upped how much I put on - but it's hard enough to hold on to a wiggly kid as it is!

And I agree - it doesn't sound like what you're doing now is working for Brian. My pediatrician specifically said that if Lainey (or Jamie) aren't having a normal, no restrictions life then she's not doing her job.

Paula - that's great news for your DH and I'll keep my fingers crossed that you find something soon too. You have a fairly specialized career so I'd think it could take a little longer to find a good fit???? Maybe you should divorce your DH, get the job and then fall "back" in love. ;-) Glad you have some moving benefits.

Kim

[LA98]

Kim, Brian's on the 110, two puffs twice a day now, but had been on once a day for probably a year and a half, which is what had been prescribed to me as his normal treatment when he has no symptoms. We would go up to twice a day with albuterol every 4 hours when he's having symptoms. He has no allergies or eczema/dermatitis, and his episodes are triggered by viral infections, just like Paula described with Rachel. I don't think exercise is related, although he does get out of breath when he's running around like crazy (but I have no way to know if another kid would be just as out of breath). What I resent about this doctor is, I've stated several times that I wish the Flovent was doing more for him, his response was "Well, he might be much worse off without it." It was like he feels the number of episodes is "good." I of course want him to have fewer! We're on our second doctor in the same practice, it's the respiratory center affiliated with our children's hospital. I guess we could try yet another one in the practice.

Paula, thanks for the information. It's wonderful you found something that works so well for Rachel. And good luck with your move. The company I used to work for had two husband and wife teams, one couple was even in the same department. There were no problems ever. What a stupid rule that recruiter has...

[Sarah428]

Paula - Good luck with all the changes ahead! I agree, what a goofy no spouse rule but if you have to lose to someone it might as well be DH.

Joanne - Another vote for a crate here! It's the best training tip I've ever received and really made a world of difference when Lily was being housetrained. I had to bring the crate back out when she was 3 during my divorce. I had bought a new house and when she was home alone she was eating the wood work off the walls :eek:! Tully will be a great dog...sooner or later!

Lori - That's a great picture, he's growing up so fast! That's great about DH and you now having medical benefits, what a load off.

Kim - Sounds like Jamie had a great 1st b-day, with ice cream and all!

Well we won't be able to get back into our house over the weekend, the last coat of poly is going on Sat and we can't walk on it until Wed. We're staying at our friends across the street tonight & Sat and then back out to their parent's lake house from Sun-Wed...I feel like such a refugee! DH has stopped over there and said the floors look great, I can't wait to see them.
The good thing is we'll be across the street from our house so we can get some yard work done!

I was able to order Ella a twin mattress & frame, it's arriving today and we'll pick it up on Wed when we move back in, she's very excitied. I'm hoping to find some bedding over the weekend that she & I can agree on to make her big girl room done.

Have a great Easter weekend everyone!
Sarah

[JoanneOR]

Lori, great picture of Brian!

Paula, sorry to hear about your not getting the job. I hope everything works out soon for you with the move and job search.

Sarah, I'm sure you can't wait to see your new floors! That's great that you'll be able to have the bed ready for Ella.

Ian had his dentist appt. yesterday but DH got there and there was an 1.5 hour wait, so they rescheduled for next week. I was anxious to hear what he had to say about his "extra" tooth. But, Tully was home alone for the first time and DH didn't want to leave her long. She was fine; didn't get into any mischief.

Ian really seems to have inherited DH's allergies. They are both really stuffed up with puffy eyes and sneezing. I should probably take Ian into the doctor to see what we should be doing. Right now we are giving him Claritin but there may be some prescription drug that might help him more. Or allergy shots.

[RunnerKim]

Happy Friday everyone!

Joanne - glad to hear that Tully was fine while you were gone for a short period of time. Sorry that Ian is going to have allergy issues. :( A coworker of mine's daughter was allergic to cats and allergy shots helped considerably for them (and age).

Sarah - that must be so hard bouncing around like that! At least it sounds like it'll be really worth it. Glad you managed to find a bed in time.

Lori - I can see why you're not very happy with the doctor's attitude. Maybe because he's a specialist and sees many kids that are worse off he's not appreciative of "milder" symptoms :confused: I had to pull out the kids Flovent when you mentioned "110" because I wasn't sure what that referred too. It looks like they're on 220 - if you're talking about mcg. So if that's twice as much as you're on and then they're regularly on 2 puffs/twice a day then we're using a considerably higher dosage. As I mentioned we are trying to cut Lainey back right now and she's on 1 puff/twice a day. We just tried that with Jamie and within a week he was coughing at night. We tried Lainey cold turkey last summer and since we were still in denial/hoping asthma would just disappear we let the coughing go on for awhile but it started at about a week too and she ended up having an "episode" and needed to go on the oral prednisone to get us back on track. Honestly I'm not that hopeful that 1 puff is going to do it but I'm happy their doctor is testing. I do remember about a year or so ago that Lainey was getting a bad cold and coughing about every 3+ weeks because we thought her canisters we're running out. The pharmacist assured us this isn't the case and this winter we haven't had near the number of bad colds/coughing that we did last winter. So maybe her condition is getting better. It's interesting because I think she (and Jamie) or on rather high dosages but the doctor classifies their asthma as mild/intermittent.

Here's some photos from a bike/trike/walk outing we had about a month ago.
I love this picture. Jamie *adores* Lainey and will follow her anywhere.
http://www.wierhere.net/portland/images/2006/winter/GreenwayJamieFollowingLainey.jpg

http://www.wierhere.net/portland/images/2006/winter/GreenwayPlay2LaineyJamieSlide3LookingUp.jpg

Here's jamie about to go down a short curly slide head first. He did that several times.
http://www.wierhere.net/portland/images/2006/winter/GreenwayPlayJamieSlideTummy2.jpg

Kim

[JoanneOR]

Kim, the kids look adorable! Jamie seems like he'll be quite the daredevil! :) It's obvious they are siblings; they look so much alike!

[LA98]

Kim, what beautiful photos! I loved the one with Jamie crawling after Lainey, too funny. You (or is it DH?) are a very good photographer!

As for the Flovent, hmmm, now I'm really curious! The doctor has never classified (to me, at least) Brian's asthma as mild or severe or anything. He did say once that his lungs were "damaged" by the RSV, and I had assumed by that and also the hefty number of incidents that it would lean more toward serious than mild. But if that was so, wouldn't he be on the 220? Moving him up to 220 has never been mentioned. This is all very interesting, thanks for mentioning it. BTW, they had us try going cold turkey last summer and it was a disaster for us too. In fact, the doctor didn't even mention trying it this year. Somehow, I'm still hopeful he's going to grow out of it one day.

Joanne, could Ian and DH be allergic to the dog??

[Sarah428]

Kim - Those are great pictures! We're probably going to get Ella a tricycle for summer time, how old (or how tall) was Lainey when she was able to ride that one? Is that the classic Radio Flyer tricycle?

I saw this Schwinn Roadster Tricycle (http://homestore3.com/yermountrika.html) in Parents magazine this month and liked it.

[RunnerKim]

We bought that tricycle for Lainey late spring of last year-making her a little over 2.5 years. I'm not sure how tall she was at that time - 37" maybe. She could reach the peddles on the ones at school and a day trip with her older cousins who'd be on bikes was looming and I knew she'd want to "keep up" with them. It's the taller of the 2 that radio flyer makes. She can ride it really well (she was going uphill in the photo so put her feet down, but I was impressed with just how long she peddled on the flat part of the path). I'm not sure I would buy it again though - trikes (at least this one) are rather unstable and she's tipped over several times on, including after just getting it when going along the sidewalk by our house on a place where a driveway dipped the sidewalk down. That was enough of slant to tip her over. I'd consider a 3 wheeler instead I think, but will keep this one for Jamie to use. So I think the "retro" trike you're looking at might be a good compromise. We live on a hilly block (we're towards the bottom) and it was never feasible for her to ride her triek on our short block walks so she hasn't actually gotten that much use from it, mostly riding it around our driveway while we're doing something in the garage etc. Or a few times taking it in the car to go somewhere.

When we were buying DH his bike/gear a month ago we had Lainey at one store and they had small two wheelers with training wheels and I was surprised at how well she could ride it. I had to drag her out of the store. We will probably get her one this summer before we go camping.

Lori - we didn't get a "classification" on Lainey's asthma until I asked (or rather had DH ask since I missed that appt.). I'd been reading up on it on the Web (places like the Am. Lung Association - so reputable) and trying to take their quizzes but since her condition is controlled while on medication I didn't know how to classify her myself. I thought maybe it was worse because she did have to be on medication all year round.

I think I'll know in a week if Lainey's improved. I'm just doubtful but maybe that's my "don't get too hopeful" tactic kicking in. We're suppose to stay at this level for a month before reducing her more. I didn't even know there were different dosages of the Flovent until you mentioned the "110"

this morning she was acting weird. I even asked DH if he'd given Lainey some albuterol, even though I knew he hadn't. She wasn't listening and how she was responding to me was just different. I don't know if that's due to the reduction in Flovent or just being 3.5 :rolleyes:

Kim

[JoanneOR]

Lainey's bike looks alot like the ones we got for the boys. We bought two of them; one was from here: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=37292 and the other, I think from Costco or Sam's Club. Except when we bought them I thought they were around $30. We also got the trailer that you can attach to it; the boys loved pulling stuff (and each other :) ) around in it. Ours must be a bit bigger because Caitlyn can't ride it yet. She does have a small two-wheeler with training wheels, but she's still a bit too small for it. She can't get any momentum going to push the pedals, so we wind up pushing her on it.