Happy Halloween!
Well, so far…Halloween is not one of Vivianne’s favorite holidays. We first bought her a pumpkin costume…but when we got it and tried it on her, she fussed. She didn’t like the piece that tied around her head. They were going to be dressing up at daycare, so I thought I’d buy her one that’s basically one-piece, thinking her teachers could just pop her in it and hopefully she wouldn’t be as uncomfortable as she let on while she was in the pumpkin costume. So she was a bunny during the day and a pumpkin tonight…neither of which she liked. But, mean old Mom made her wear them anyway, at least long enough to take a few pictures…as you can tell she wasn’t too happy with me.
This picture is of her at daycare. As you can see she wasn’t the only one that didn’t like being dressed up (notice the three criers in the back)..she’s the crying white bunny.
Here’s her in her pumpkin outfit tonight.
Click here to see a few of her other shining moments
Happy 7 Months Old!
Vivianne finished all of her baby food today for the first time EVER. Before today, she only would take a bite here and there, but today she ate the entire 2.5 oz container of sweet potatoes in one sitting! YEAH!
She also showed an interest in crawling today! She rolled onto her belly and started to inch or scoot her way forward to try and grab her toy bunny. She did this over and over again. She was getting so frustrated because we would keep moving her toy farther out of reach each time. At one point she was up on all fours only for like a second though, but it was still a major turning point for her :)
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Deer Hunting
I just got back from deer hunting in North Dakota with a few friends and lots of family. We had a great time and I was even around long enough to help make sausage this year…which was a treat for me. Here is a picture of my cousins Morgan and Heather I took with my phone while I was there. Morgan’s rockin’ it out, as usual…
The meeting (for work) is over!
I spent my first night away from Vivianne on Thursday…boy did I miss her.
Good thing she came to visit me at the hotel where is was being held:)
Our new camera...
We finally got a new camera, the Sony A100, so we’ve been testing it out. Thomas took this picture of Vivianne…it’s one of my favorites so far.
The details are so vivid.
If you happen to look at her November photos and see the ones of her sleeping in her crib, those were all taken in the dark!
The little one is sick...
Vivianne started to develop a bit of a cough on Sunday and it later escalated into a full blown hack that evening. Her sleep was constantly interrupted by her cough. We were ALL up most of the night.
We took her to the doctor on Monday and discovered her left ear was infected and she had contracted what they call RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) which is basically a very contagious respiratory viral infection. We come to find out that at her daycare, another little girl in her room had RSV and was admitted to the hospital, and another little girl was diagnosed with bronchitis…so the germs must have been having a hay day in her classroom.
With the combination of the ear infection and the RSV, she’s not a very happy camper. She has difficulty lying down on a flat surface so we’ve either had to put her in her carseat to sleep or hold her…thomas spent a good part of last night in the chair, with her sleeping on his chest…surprisely he was in good spirits about the whole thing. When she was first born one of his favorite things was when she would fall asleep on his chest. Last night brought back ol’ memories.
She isn’t too fond of her medicine (the pink stuff), in fact, it takes two of us to give it to her. Thomas squirts it in her mouth little by little and I make funny faces and sing songs to try and distract her all the while telling her its yummy. This crazy method is proving to be the most effective so far…she only spit out a little during this morning’s dose. When I tried to give it to her by myself yesterday, there was more amoxicillin on her face and clothes than there was in her mouth.
Isn’t is funny how no matter how much your baby has grown or how big they’ve gotten, when their sick all of a sudden they seem so small again. You even hold them differently, so gently…like they are somehow made of glass and could shatter at any moment…we sure hope she gets better soon.
Thanksgiving brought snow to Chicago!
The first snow fall of the season is happening right now! It was very entertaining for Vivianne…she sat there for a long time and just watched the snow flakes come down. It will be so much fun to watch her play in it when she gets a little older.
Currently, we are getting the “lake effect” flakes…the real big and heavy ones. It makes a person feel good about staying inside and cooking up a big Thanksgiving feast…and while that’s underway having a cup of hot chocolate to feel extra cozy!
We are at home this Thanksgiving…our original plans of spending the holiday in Minnesota with family were spoiled by the dreaded ear and viral infection Vivianne picked up earlier this week. She seems to be doing a little better as each day passes, so that we are grateful for but we are missing everyone’s company on this special day. However the celebrating must go on…I am in charge of cooking the bird (oh Lord, say a prayer) and Thomas is psyched about trying out a new stuffing recipe so he’s going to get started on that soon and of course there will be enough garlic mashed potatoes for a family of ten! YUMMY!
We wish you and yours a VERY Happy Thanksgiving!
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Jenny's Favorite Things
This marks the first of many posts regarding some of my favorite things (like Oprah’s list—-but cooler…or maybe not so much, you’ll have to be the judge). Anywho, the first thing on my list is The Discovery Channel’s Planet Earth DVD Set. This one also happens to be on O’s list, but believe me when I tell you I was way ahead of her on this one:) Thomas asked for these DVDs for his 28th birthday…I thought it sounded a little weird, but because he wanted it I bought it for him. We started the first DVD and literally within the first five minutes I was absolutely amazed. It is beyond awesome…nuff said.
So if your wondering what to get that ‘person who has everything’ this year, I HIGHLY recommend this series and be sure to pick up a set for yourself too…I guarantee you will not be dissappointed. It seriously is that good.
Vivianne in black and white!
Mom’s a sucker for the black & whites images:)
Click here to see more of her in her birthday suit!
Good Gift for Kids...Everywhere
There is something called ‘The One Laptop Per Child’ project. I had a relatively long post about this…and then my browser crashed…and right now I am just not up to writing all the details over again.
Do me a favor and take 10 minutes to watch this (it’s 18 minutes long…but you’ll like it enough to stick around for the other 8 on your own, I think).
When you are done…the laptop he is talking about in the video is (for a short time) being offered on a ‘Buy 1, Get 1’ deal. You spend $399 to purchase two of the laptops…one goes to you, one goes to a child in a developing nation. The unit you donate is a $200 tax deduction. The other one would be a great gift for any child…or tech-nut…you know, in my opinion.
The device is a victory from both an engineering and educational perspective. Kids can draw, play games, meet other kids, take video, pictures, recordings, etc. The software for it is all free and there are TONS of applications that have been (and will be) written for it which can be downloaded (also for free). It’s built to handle extreme conditions well (dirt, water, heat, cold, etc), so it should be able to put up with more wear-and-tear than your average laptop.
Without going into too many details, adults would be able to join wireless networks (if you have one set up at home) and check email, surf the web, etc. Worst-case scenario is that it’s a cheap device for you to sit in your recliner with and look at those dirty jokes your friend sent you and still feel like a good person inside…because…HEY…at least that kid in Somalia (or wherever) is doing something productive with theirs ;-)
Something to think about…
Things to note:
- It does not run ‘Windows’…so there won’t be a ‘Start’ button waiting for you on it. However, it is designed for kids under the age of 12 that haven’t seen a computer before and may not have electricity…so you should be up the challenge. (Oh…and before you think you ‘caught me’ in that last sentence with the ‘electricity/computer’ thing, they don’t require a power source, and how how they get around that requirement is pretty cool. You’ll have to buy one to find out the answer to that little question…)
- You are not allowed to blame me for ‘telling you to get this computer instead of a Dell for your wife to do scrapbooking on’ (or whatever). This is a cool little device most gadget-lovers or children would enjoy…I think. If they don’t like it…odds are VERY high that the other recipient will think it’s the greatest thing in the world and may remember it as a life-changing event. I’ll take those odds any day…
I donated one and look forward to getting mine before X-mas. I think it will be entertaining to me as well as Vivianne (when she gets a bit older). In case you are wondering, the total cost ends up being about $425 with shipping.
If you are interested in doing the same, you can do so at LaptopGiving.org. Regardless of whether you donate one, drop a comment on this post or an email to me…I’d love to hear what you think about it.