Parties Galore

We had a really crazy weekend that even spilled over into Monday. On Saturday, I went to a baby shower, then a wedding rehearsal, then a birthday party, and then a Christmas Party. Its was a lot of partying. By the time we got home from all the festivites we were all very tired, but we had fun.

Noah saw Santa Clause at the Christmas Party. He was okay from a distance but really scared up close. Santa was handing candy out and Noah wouldn't go anywhere near him until he saw the candy. Then he went right up, took the candy and ran. It was pretty funny. He also had fun playing with his friend Gavin at the party. They shared their fear of Santa.

That night we decided to paint the bathroom after the kids went to bed. Unfortunately, the paint color I picked turned out to be more orange than beige (which is what I was going for). So, we're going to try just painting it white. You can't go wrong with white, right?

Last night we went to a wedding where Noah was the ring bearer. He looked really cute in his suit and tie. He ran down the isle swinging the little pillow in one had by his side. (He didn't have the real ring.) Everyone thought he was really cute. We ended up spending the rest of the wedding outside because the kids were being too noisy. Luckily, it was quite warm yesterday. It felt like spring in December! I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't get any snow this season. (And I wouldn't be disappointed either.)

Sleep Training and Solid Food

Allison is fast approaching the magic age of solid foods. I decided to give her some rice cereal this morning. She didn't really like it very much. I'm not sure she swallowed any but I'll try again later. She seems to be nursing more often (especially at night) so I think she needs more than just milk. She sure is growing fast.

She doesn't want to be swaddled any more, which is fine, but ever since we stopped swaddling her she wakes up a lot. When I try to swaddle her to help her sleep she gets really mad. I'm not sure what to do. I guess Allison just needs to figure out what she wants to do with her arms when she sleeps. The baby monitor stopped working so I guess now is a good time to sleep train her. We only hear her crying if she's REALLY crying. I forgot how much work babies are. In the beginning I just kept telling myself, "when she's 4 months it will be easier." Well, she's almost four months and it's actually gotten harder. It really doesn't get easier until about six months, at least that's how it was with Noah. I guess I was just hoping this one would be sooner. At least she's not sick anymore and she's happy, even if I'm still sleep deprived.

Doctors

Allison has been very sick. We took her to the doctor on Monday and the doctor said she has RSV. She wanted a follow up the next day. When I took her in this morning I saw the other doctor who wasn't sure that she has RSV, so she ordered a test to make sure. I was told they would call with the results in a few hours. When they didn't call, I called them. The test wasn't back yet but the nurse told me that if the test is positive there isn't anything we can do because it's a virus. If it's not RSV then it's likely some other virus. If the test is positive, do nothing. If the test is negative, do nothing. So, I'm wondering, why bother ordering the test in the first place?? It just doesn't make sense.

So now I'm thinking of changing pediatricians. The time leading up to Allison's birth was very hectic for us and we didn't have time to really research doctors. We ended up going to the first one Keith found in the phone book. I haven't been particularly happy with them. When I went in with Noah shortly after having Allison the doctor thought I was pregnant. That's not a big deal but I had just been there a few days earlier with Allison and saw the same doctor. It just seems like they don't really care. The front desk people aren't very nice and we always have to wait a really long time to see the doctor. Anybody know a good pediatrician in the Burke/Springfield area?

Fun Times

The other day I was cleaning the bathroom. We have an older house that we bought out of forclosure so it wasn't in the best condition. The upstairs bathroom is particularly bad. The previous owners were do-it-yourselfers who had NO IDEA what they were doing. If I ever meet them I am going to introduce them to a little thing called painters tape. They caulked the sink in such a way that it was all over the place (and chunky) and then painted the walls and decided to paint onto the caulk as well. When they painted the walls they didn't bother to clean any dust off so it's all grainy. And don't get me started on the wall paper border! As I was cleaning I realized that not matter how clean this bathroom is it is never going to look good. So, I started with the caulk. I managed to cut it all out (not an easy job) but not without tearing big chunks out of the wall. I think they may have run out of caulk and started using grout instead. So I had to spackle the wall too. After removing the caulk I realized the sink was installed a little crooked. Hence, the massive amounts of caulk. The sink is in pretty bad shape too so I got some stuff to refinish it. So, today I'm going to sand the caulk, refinish the sink, remove the wall paper and maybe try to sand the dust out of the paint before repainting it. I'll have to post before and after pictures soon. This bathroom also need a new shower and toilet but that will have to wait for now. I don't beleive the previous owner EVER cleaned ANY part of this house. The shower has begun to turn yellow and the grout between the floor tiles is a putrid shade of brown. Instead of replacing the floor I'm going to try using some super toxic industrial strength cleaner. That's another project for this afternoon. It's not that the bathroom isn't functional it's just very depressing to try and clean something that will always look dirty. The next house we buy will NOT be a forclosure. Maybe we'll get something new.....

Sick Kids

The kids are still sick. In fact, I think the baby is getting worse. Last night she woke up more times than I can remember. She would start coughing and wake herself up and then she'd get upset and couldn't calm down until I went in and held her. Noah woke up a few times also. I should feel exhausted but I'm actually ok this morning. Sure, I'm tired but no more than usual.

Yesterday Allison was being so funny. I've never seen a baby jibber jabber so much in my life. She was squealing and laughing and wiggling all around. I'm going to start calling her chatterbox. Noah is finally getting over his obsession with oranges. Last week I bought a box of clementines and he's been constantly eating them to the point that he's been having some diahrrea. We decided to limit him to 3 a day. That led to a big power struggle over the oranges. This morning he had one for breakfast but didn't finish it. I think maybe he's finally getting tired of them. Now the rest of us can eat some too.

Another day

So, last night was pretty rough. Allison woke up about every three hours. I've been expecting her sleeping to get better as she gets older but it only seems to get worse. I'm hoping that this is just a growth spurt. Now, Allison and Noah are both sick. At least Noah can take medicine. Allison is too little for cough syrup but she get antibodies from my milk so hopefully she'll get better soon.

We put up our Christmas tree a few days ago. We found a great deal on a fake one at the thrift store. Only $15! It's a little Charlie Brown-ish but after being decorated it looks pretty nice. I even wrapped some presents and put them under it to make it look complete. So far, Noah has only broken one ornament. Hopefully, he can resist the urge to unwrap all the presents.

Keith got a raise at work. Yeah! Now we can start saving for a second car. It stinks not being able to go anywhere. Although, I'm so used to being stuck here all the time, I'm not sure if I'd know where to go if I had a car. I'm sure I'll think of something.

Day Two of the Blog

Today has been off to a great start. Noah has a cough but seems otherwise in good spirits. That was, until I started mopping the kitchen floor. By his reaction you would think I was poking him with sharp needles or something. This is new development. I have mopped the floor many time without Noah caring the least bit. Maybe he was just tired or something. He's asleep now, thank goodness. Allison is too. It's nice to enjoy a few moments of quiet even though I know they won't last too long. Oh! There's Allison crying. Gotta go.

My First Post

So, I'm finally trying out this blogging thing. Everyone says it's great so we'll see. I'm not convinced anyone will read it but it's good practice for me I guess. We are the Hulings: Keith, Heather, Noah and Allison. We live in VA and life is good. We bought our first house this summer and it has really been an adventure. After moving around so much over the last few years it is nice to finally put down some roots.

For almost two years it has been just three of us. Me, Keith and Noah. We loved watching our oldest boy grow and learn new things. In August we had a little girl who we named Allison. She's now 3 months old and SO cute. We can no longer give Noah our undivided attention but he doesn't seem to mind. He really loves his little sister. We have to make sure and watch him so he doesn't love her to death sometimes. It is a joy to sit around the dinner table with Noah and Allison as they jibber jabber about heaven knows what. We really need to get that on video. Already I feel like they are growing up too fast. I'm not looking forward to the day I have to send Noah to kindergarten. Although it is nearly 4 years away, I'm sure it will come all too fast.