Hailey will be turning 18 months old next week. So, for this weeks Thursday Thirteen I am doing a little reminiscing over the last year and a half. I can't believe how fast time is going. Please someone, slow this time machine down!
Hailey at 1 month old
2 months old
3 months old
4 months old
5 months old
6 months old
7 months old
9 months old
10 months old
11 months old
12 months old
15 months oldStop by Thursday Thirteen to see more participants.
Robin from Pensieve is our host for Fun Monday this week and here is the assignment she gave us:
"...please share words that inspire and motivate you--brief or bloviatory, silly or serious, from great world leaders to last night's Comedy Central...from a Hallmark greeting card to your favorite book. Choose one, choose many; let the quotes stand on their own or tell where you first read or heard them and how they affected you."
I just have two that I would like to share- and they are both about kids and how fast time goes. If you have ever been to my blog then you have certainly seen these before.
The first one I say to myself all of the time- when I'm getting busy and Hailey is trying to get my attention I think of this poem. Then I put down what I am doing and spend time with my baby toddler.
Cleaning and cooking can wait 'til tomorrow
For babies grow up as we've learned to our sorrow.
So, quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.
The next one is something that my cousin Lisa shared with me last spring. It was during a time when I was having a really hard time with Hailey and her sleeping. I wasn't getting much sleep at all and was feeling overwhelmed with a lot of things. So I had shared some of my concerns and questions with her. She offered me some great advice and shared this quote with me:
The days are long but the years are short.
I love this quote so much that it's posted in the header of my Livin' With Me blog. It's something I think about daily- some days really do seem to drag on and on. And then I stop and think that it just can't be possible that Hailey will be 18 months old in a week. And then I think that before I know it I'll be saying that I can't believe Hailey will be 18, in years instead of months.
And so, those are the words that are inspiring me these days. Stop by Robin's blog to see who the other participants are.
Back in October Andrea challenged us here to come up with an activity menu to help keep those winter blues away. Today all of the participants are supposed to post about how it went and whether or not we followed through with our plans.
For this weeks photo hunt the theme is different. So, I was thinking about how fast Hailey is growing up and how different she is now than she was one year ago.
Hailey on March 7th 2007
Hailey on March 7th 2008
You know how I am a blogaholic? Well, I've tried not to blog on the weekends, but I just can't resist. So, I've seen some of my friends doing this Saturday meme- Photo Hunters. Every week there is a different theme and everyone posts pictures about the theme. While some people who do this take excellent pictures, I won't pretend to be a photographer- I'm just doing it for fun and to meet some new bloggy friends.
This week the theme is party. So I am going to post some pictures of Hailey's first birthday party. I can not believe how much she has changed in the last 5 months since she turned one. She still looks like a baby in these pictures and she looks so much older now. Anyhoo- here are my pictures for the party theme.
Thirteen reasons for telling my toddler "no"
1. No, Hailey- don't lick the floor, yucky.
2. No, Hailey- don't pinch Dottie (the dog).
3. Ewww, no- don't eat that. Where did you even find that?
4. No, Hailey- don't kiss Dottie on the bottom.
5. No, Hailey- don't bite mommy.
6. No you can not play with your dirty diaper.
7. No, Hailey- Dottie does not want you to put your shirt on her.
8. No- gross, yucky- take your finger out of your nose.
9. No, Hailey, don't put ________ in your mouth.
10. No, don't put your finger in Dottie's ear- she doesn't like that.
11. No, Hailey- don't climb on _________.
12. No, Hailey- Dottie does not want you to check her blood pressure.
13. No, I haven't had enough hugs and kisses yet today- come give me some more.
Visit Thursday Thirteen to see more participants.
I don't know why, but I have been debating for a while whether or not I want to blog about this. I blog about almost everything, so I'm not sure why I've had a hard time deciding if I want to talk about this or not.
But, I've decided to go ahead and tell you what has been on my mind just about 24 hours a day lately. This post will probably be kind of long, but I am just really hoping someone somewhere might have an answer or know someone who might have an answer.
On to my concern- sometime a little while after Hailey turned one I noticed her doing something odd with her eyes. When I would be rocking her to sleep her eyes would turn up towards the right side of her head. At first I thought- well, she's tired and her body is just relaxing and her eyes are rolling up as she is falling asleep. I did ask her doctor about and she agreed with me- totally normal.
A couple of weeks later Hailey did it one day while in her car seat and then again while in her high chair. Both times she was tired when she did it, so I still thought- maybe it was a tired thing. But, the way it looks is unusual- her eyes go up so far that you can see mostly the whites of her eyes and only a little of the actual colored part of her eye (which I'm sure has a much more technical name).
Then she started doing this little head bobbing thing where she moves her head so that her ear almost touches her shoulder. (It does not happen at the same time as her eye movements but it is just another unusual thing). She was sick with a cold at that time so I thought maybe her ear hurt. We went to the doctor and her ears were fine. I explained the things she was doing. I had a done a little Internet research and found something called Paroxysmal Tonic Upgaze which seemed to kind of describe what Hailey was doing. I told her doctor about it, she had never heard of it but went and looked it up. She wasn't sure because she said Hailey did not meet all of the criteria. But, she referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist.
That was all right before Thanksgiving. I made her appointment with the eye doctor for Dec 17th. Then I actually didn't see her doing it much anymore and thought about canceling the appointment. Well, last week when she was sick she started doing it a lot more. Whereas before I might only see it a couple of times a day- or not at all- I've been seeing it quite a bit. Now they are not only turning up towards the right, but to the left as well. And, sometimes they do a little roll right across the top. It is very quick- seconds at the most. It happens and she closes her eyes and they are back to normal. While she has been sick it seems like sometimes coughing triggers it. The other day she fell and bumped her head and then did it several times after the bump. While she used to only do when falling asleep the last few days I've seen her do it right after she wakes up too.
So, anyways we decided to keep the eye doctors appointment. He asked us lots of questions and watched Hailey for a while to see if she would do it. (Of course- she did not)
A bit more information about what she does: When she does the eye rolling she doesn't have any other unusual movements with her arms or legs, which should rule out seizures. The frequency of it really varies- there have been days I haven't seen her do it all. While she's been sick I have seen it as many as 20 times in a day. She doesn't act like it bothers her- just blinks her eyes and then they look normal.
The eye doctor's opinion was that she does not have this Paroxysmal Tonic Upgaze that I found on the Internet. (although he gave me compliments on my intelligence for finding the information about it, and asked me if I had a medical background. I'm sure that's a normal thing- tell the parents how smart they are so they don't feel stupid for bringing their child in).
He said he'd been practicing for 17 years and had never seen it and in fact he only knows of 14 confirmed cases. So, it would be very unlikely that she has such a rare thing. Although, someone has to have it, even if it is rare.
He said he had 2 ideas of what he thinks could be going on. First- dry eyes- she's rolling her eyes up and blinking to moisten them. I told him there is no way it is that. Of course, he hasn't see her do it, so he can't quite understand.
His second idea was that it could be a childhood tic. He said a lot of kids have tics and do things with their eyes and faces and usually outgrow it. I do think he has a point about a tic, but then I wondered why Hailey's pediatrician never even suggested that when I was explaining the symptoms to her.
Another thing I have noticed Hailey doing (since the appointment, so I haven't told the doctor this) is sometimes she tips her head down towards her chin and looks up at me out of the very top of her eyes. At first I thought she was being silly, but now I think it's an involuntary thing with her eyes and so she has to tip her head in order to see me. I don't know if that even makes any sense because it is so hard to describe.
I'm trying really hard to get it on video but it happens so quickly that it hasn't been possible yet. I found something on Youtube about Paroxysmal Tonic Upgaze and if you go here you can watch it. It's over six minutes long, but it's about a little boy who does things very similar to what Hailey does. He also has seizures though, which Hailey does not. And his upgaze tends to stick longer than Hailey's- so they were actually able to get him on video doing it.
The eye doctor said that even if she had this Paroxysmal Tonic Upgaze that there is nothing that can be done for it. Kids outgrown it and it is completely benign. He said we could put her through all kinds of tests (MRI, catscan, etc) during which she'd need anesthesia (a major risk in itself) and find nothing. But, basically he told me to stop worrying- she's fine and on track developmentally. But, of course I am still worried and every time I see her do it I feel sick to my stomach with worry.
As my friend Kellan would say- On the upside- I've lost a little weight because when I worry I don't eat.
But- I'm just hoping that maybe someone might know something or know someone who knows something to help put my mind at ease.
If you're still here reading- thank for your time.
Don't forget to check out my other blog- Livin' With Me.
The day was going perfectly according to my plan. And with a 14 month old- you know that is a rare occurrence.
We spent the morning playing in the playroom. After a quick morning snack Hailey went right down for her nap and slept pretty well. She even ate most of the grilled cheese sandwich I made for her.
I got Hailey dressed in her Christmas dress and off to the mall we went.
We arrived at the mall and there was only one person in front of us waiting to see Santa.
"Things could not be going any more smoothly." I thought to myself with a smile on my face.
I KNOW- I can hear you all laughing at me right now and saying to your computers, "Oh, you poor foolish lady. You know you should never have thoughts like that."
So, then one of Santa's helpers came over and said, "Santa is going to take a little break. He'll be back at 2:00."
I didn't think that was too bad- only a half hour away and I had shopping to do anyways. So, I got some shopping done and at 2:10 we went back to see Santa. But Santa was not back. Well, I figured that maybe Santa was having a hard time finding a place to park his reindeer. I mean can you imagine how difficult that would be? So I decided we'd give him a few extra minutes.
At 2:30 we went back again to check. Still no Santa. So, I asked one of the helpers when Santa would be back.
"We're not exactly sure where Santa is or if he's coming back." She told me.
"Oh?" I responded.
"Here's a coupon for a free 5x7 if you want to come back tomorrow to use it."
We waited around until a little after 3:00, just to make sure. But Santa never came back. (Can you blame the poor guy though? I mean really- can you imagine doing that job all day?)
The next day was much too snowy and we did not go back. We made it back two days later (and- yes the manager did let me use my coupon). Hailey was so excited when she saw Santa. She waved and said, "Hi, O-O-O." (her way of saying "Ho, Ho, Ho")
When we got a little closer to Santa she started to dig her fingers into my arm. And when she sat on his lap..... well- I'll just show you.
My title? That's how much we've spent between Saturday and today on Hailey's doctor appointments and medications.
In case you missed my post yesterday- it's here- and Hailey is still sick.
By yesterday afternoon I was getting worried because about an hour after her breathing treatment she would already be wheezing and breathing hard. So, I ended up talking to Hailey's doctor. She actually listened to Hailey's breathing over the phone and recommended using the nebulizer every 2 hours instead of every 4 hours. The treatments already had Hailey so wired that she couldn't sleep, so doing it even more often proved to be lots of fun.
Today she went back to the doctor. She's taking a new prescription that is exactly the same as the Albuterol, but it doesn't cause the hyperactivity. Why didn't they just give her that to begin with? Because it is considerably more expensive. She's also taking a steroid inhaler to see if that will help.
She also had an appointment with an eye doctor today. But, I am going to save that post for another day because that is a story in itself.
So, between the doctor appointment on Saturday and today, a nice new nebulizer machine, and several medications the cost has been $412.40. The nebulizer machine was $270.00 so hopefully the insurance company will be covering all or at least part of that. So, that will shrink the cost considerably.
I had planned to participate in the Christmas Tour of Homes today over at BooMama's blog. But, I am just out too drained. So, you can go on over there and check out all of the other participants.
Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with a bit more energy!
Is so very sick. My poor little Hailey has had a cold for about a week and a half. What a coincidence that two weeks ago we went to a playgroup and there was a little boy there with a runny nose. His mom said, "Oh, he's just teething." Mm-hmm.
Well about three days later Hailey's nose started running. Since Hailey has turned one she has had one cold after another. She was perfectly healthy for the entire first year of her life (minus about 2 days when she got her first cold). Something about turning one did not agree with her. Or- could it be that we joined several mommy groups and playgroups right around that time too?
I know that kids are germ factories and colds and viruses are to be expected- but if you know your child is sick- keep him/her at home.
Anyhoo- Hailey's cold seemed to be like her other ones and she was feeling better by the middle of last week. But, Friday afternoon her cough was back and sounded much worse than usual. During the night she coughed and coughed non-stop. By Saturday morning I knew her cough was different so we went to the doctor.
Sure enough- as soon as we got into the room, the nurse said, "Oh, she doesn't sound good it's a good thing you brought her in." The doctor came in and heard the wheezing right away. So, they gave her a breathing treatment in the office which seemed to help.
The doctor said that there is a virus going around right now that is causing wheezing and that this does not necessarily mean that Hailey has asthma. I certainly hope that is the case. My dad and bother both had pretty severe asthma as children and my brother developed his at the age that Hailey is right now. I have problems with asthma when I get sick. So, given that history I am worried that it might not just be this particular virus.
Anyways, after purchasing our own breathing treatment machine, and a prescription of Albuterol we came home. Now every four hours Hailey has to get a breathing treatment and she has been really good about it. It almost seems like the treatment makes her coughing temporarily worse and it makes her nose run like crazy. But, it makes the whistling, wheezing noise stop- so I guess it is doing what it is supposed to.
Apparently the medication is also making it hard for her to sleep- even though the doctor said it shouldn't. She barely napped yesterday but once I finally got her to sleep around 10:15pm last night she actually slept pretty good. She has to propped almost upright in order to get any relief from her coughing. (I'm actually holding her upright right now so she can nap.)
Then this morning she woke up with a fever too. So, she is really having a hard day. So, please pray for my poor little sweetie that she will feel better soon and that this wheezing is not the start of asthma but is just part of this virus.
We are going to be taking a break from our mommy groups and playgroups for a little bit. While Hailey loves going and playing with new toys and seeing her friends- and I need some adult interaction- it is just not worth this.
Here's the news from our Happy Weekend!
A little while ago I entered the Christmas Giveaway at 5 Minutes for Mom and I WON! And, not only did I win- but I won two different contests. Yay for me! Well, look what came in the mail on Saturday?
It's a cute DVD called My Bedbugs. I let Hailey watch it for a little while in the car on Saturday while we were out driving around do some shopping. She loved it! There was also a poster that came with the DVD.
When I put the poster on the floor so that Hailey could look at it- she laid right down on it. Hmmmm- maybe if I put it in her bed she'll lay down there too. Not likely.
Now, the other contest I won- there were two prizes, but I won't be sharing pictures of those because I am actually going to use those prizes as gifts. And, I don't want the recipients to know I am cheap thrifty and that I am giving them something I received for free.
In other exciting Happy Happenings weekend news..... On Saturday Rich put up the Christmas lights on our house. 
Hailey stood on the couch and watched Rich working on the lights for a long time. She was fascinated that she could see him right outside the window. (Please do not be offended that I did not clean my windows for you. But, if are feeling a bit put out- please refer back to this post- Excuse The House.)
I think we have quite a few lights on our house and when we were coming home from some shopping on Saturday night I said, "Oh my goodness, look at our house." Rich told me that I can not tell you how many lights he put up because he wants me to take pictures and then have everyone guess how many lights there are.
So, I will be sharing pictures, but not until next week. (Remember that BooMama is hosting the Christmas Tour of Homes, so I am saving my pictures for the 17th. Check out her post if you haven't already- it sounds like lots of fun to me.)
On Sunday we Rich put up our tree.
Hailey offers some assistance in getting the tree set up.
I put the ornaments on our tree last night after Hailey went to bed. And, I'll be sharing those pictures next Monday as well.
So, that was our fun filled weekend. How was yours?
Now, the second part of my post- I just want to say- I am glad you are still here.
Can I just tell you that right now my blog seems like one big advertisement and I really hate it?
I know I have been doing a bunch of paid posts lately and I am sorry for that. I don't want to do it, but we need some extra money right now, so I have to do it. I plan to do several paid posts on the weekends when I know bloggyville is usually pretty quiet and I don't have a lot of visitors anyways.
When I do my paid posts, one of the requirements is that I do not have more than one in a row. So, I have been putting up some comics in between my paid posts. So, I will probably have quite a few posts during the weekends.
During the week my plan is to only do one paid post each day. I will also do my regular posting that I normally do. I will keep my regular post at the top of my blog with the paid post under it. Please feel free to skip over the paid posts like they are not there and go right to the regular Happy Happenings posts.
When I started my blog I never even considered using it to make money, it was just supposed to be a fun hobby to keep my family and friends up to date with our lives. Now it just doesn't feel that way anymore and for that I am very sorry.
Okay, I'm glad I got that off my chest.
I can't believe that another month has passed and Hailey is already 14 months old. Time sure does fly by. So, once again it's time for our monthly update.
First a quick update on Hailey's newest words and signs. You can go here if you'd like to see the words and signs Hailey was using at 13 months.
During the past month Hailey has added these words to her vocabulary:
mum mum (yum yum)
wow
woe
sit
no, no (she says this to Dottie)
Ssssshhhhhhhhhhhh (she also says this to Dottie)
hi (everywhere we go she waves and says "hi" to everyone)
aaa daaa (all done)
hot
hat
And these are the signs she has learned in the last month:
turkey
play
phone
hat
Hailey picks up very quickly on the signs, if only I could remember to use them more often with her she would know so many more.
Hailey has also figured out how to whisper in the last month. She prefers to screech and scream, but when I ask her to find her whispering voice she smiles and whispers for a few minutes seconds then goes back to the screaming.
Today we were supposed to go to our local children's museum with one of our mommy groups. We I had really been looking forward to it. But, Hailey has had a cold for the last couple of days and last night she was up a lot coughing so I decided that we had better stay home. (If only all of the moms kept their sick kids home then Hailey wouldn't be getting sick so often. But that is another post for another day.)
Anyhoo, I had planned to take pictures at the museum to share with you- but since we stayed home I am sharing some pictures from home instead.
Hailey loves her Dora car that she got for her birthday. She has just recently figured out how to use her feet to make it go. She goes backwards, but she is proud to be moving the car all by herself.
Every week I pick a theme and then I plan activities around our theme. This week our theme was hats and mittens. So, we've been playing with lots of hats and mittens and putting them on the stuffed animals. Here Hailey is showing off her Virginia Tech hat.
Up until a couple of weeks ago Hailey didn't have much interest in dolls. Just recently she decided that she just loves the doll in this picture with her. She carries it all around and brings it to the table with her. She always gives her doll some of her food and drink too.
Right around the time that Hailey became attached to her doll she also decided that she must sleep with this teddy bear.
(The pajamas she has on in this picture- they belonged to my 22 year old brother when he was a baby.)
Another new thing in this last month? Hailey has discovered the toilet paper. Such fun!
I know that I usually take the weekends off from blogging, but I'll probably be around a bit this weekend trying to get in a few more ads. I won't feel bad if you don't stop by though- so have a wonderful weekend!
