Sunday, August 29, 2010

In what shall hereafter be called The Great Hula Hooping Incident


Stitches, originally uploaded by JenSig.

So yesterday Edie became the first of my children to require a trip to after-hours urgent care and get STITCHES.

She was hula-hooping her way down a neighbor's driveway, and managed to slip and whack her chin on the driveway, resulting in my friend rushing her home to my house across the street, where I was at first unable to tell whether stitches were needed because there was so much blood it was hard to see MUCH.

She was pretty freaked out, I have to say — she is a girl who will get herself completely worked up over the idea of a shot, so of course that was her first question — well, after first asking me in a panic (when I had said we'd need to go to the doctor), "Am I going to DIE?" — and while I had a good feeling that she WOULD need a shot to numb the area, I of course didn't tell her that.

WHen we got to urgent care they were, blessedly, empty, so we were ushered right into a room and got immediate service. Edie was shivering, and when I asked her if she was cold she said no, she was just SO SCARED, Mommy! When she realized that they were, in fact, going to give her a shot — in her BOO BOO, no less! — she was pretty unconsolable, which was heartbreaking for me.

Finally, Terry said, "Edie... if you can be really brave and hold still for the doctor, then maybe we can stop at WalMart afterwards to pick out a new Zhu Zhu Pet." Her eyes lit up immediately, and I could see the wheels in her head turning.

Suddenly she turned slightly coy and said, "Could I get a SET?" Way to try and work that situation, little girl!

And I have to say, she was VERY brave, even when the nurse gripped the top of her head to keep her from turning her head and the doctor began injecting that needle full of lydocaine RIGHT INTO THE GAPING WOUND IN HER CHIN and she was crying and whimpering and screeching all at the same time — suddenly she must have numbed up, because she became very still and said quietly, "Hey! It doesn't hurt anymore!"

And that little 5-year-old girl laid as still as the grave while that very kind man put three stitches into her pretty little chin. Didn't fuss, didn't try to turn her head, didn't talk. I was SO proud of her for being so brave.

So, yes, she did get a trip to WalMart afterwards, for a new RockStar Zhu Zhu, named Roxie, a black and white little cutie with a shock of hot pink hair on the top of her head. .

But no... she did NOT get a set, as she'd hoped for. :-)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Blessings


The joys of sisterhood, originally uploaded by JenSig.

I think ever since the old incarnation of my blog died I haven't felt much like blogging, though it could just be my usual summertime laziness... seems I always write less here in the summers because we are just so darn busy most of the time.

But I knew it had been a while, and I thought I'd share this delightful picture of my two girls... I think the look on Isla's face says it all. The two girls are completely smitten with each other. Don't get me wrong — Owen is equally thrilled to have a new baby sister — but I think the bond between my girls is going to be exceptionally strong. At least I hope that it will be so.

Summer is as hectic as always, and now soccer season has begun, and the kids start school a week from tomorrow. Owen is going into second grade, and Edie into kindergarten, which is somewhat bittersweet for me. For so long, she was my baby girl, until Isla came along, but part of me still thinks of Edie in her younger incarnation. Just the other day I saw a picture of her from only a year ago, and I was amazed at the transformation I could see in her over just one year. Gone are the last vestiges of baby fat, replaced by this lanky, lean, tan, beautiful confident 5-year-old, ready to enter this brave new world that is kindergarten.

She is more than ready.

But I'm not.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Monthly Newsletter — Month 8


Blue Eyes, originally uploaded by JenSig.

Dear Isla,

Today you are eight months old, and just as chunky and sweet as ever. This past month you began to take a LITTLE more of an interest in moving around on the floor, so now I have to keep a closer eye on you as you scoot across the floor. Oh, and by the way? You scoot backwards. Haven't figured out how to get it out of reverse, yet. Then you wind up scooting yourself into a corner or wedging your leg under the couch and call loudly for assistance.

Speaking of calling loudly, you definitely have discovered your voice! You screech and yell and chortle and sing at ear-piercing levels, and you are just so happy doing it. And a few words have started to appear: namely. "Dada" and "Mama." At first it was really just coincidence, but now you really say them, and my heart just melts when you look up at me and say, "Mama." In fact, the times when you say it the most are when you are in distress, and it's heartbreakingly sweet when your little chin is all puckered up with unhappiness and you are sobbing, "Mama!"

Of all my three babies (who were all really good at keeping themselves entertained), you are the one who most wants to be held. I can generally leave you on your playmat for a LITTLE while by yourself, while I sit nearby and keep an eye on you, but as soon as you decide you've had enough of being by yourself, you squall for company. And generally that's all it is; as soon as someone comes to sit with you — or even just BY you — you are pretty much all smiles again. Little social girl... you're more like your daddy than you know! What will you do once the two older kids start back to school, and your days become much quieter? Owen and Edie are still two of your favorite people, and you watch them closely, taking in all their antics.

We spent some more time with our new baby cousin, Fletcher, this past month, and you are very intrigued by that little guy. I think you think that he is your very own personal baby, because you reach for him with great interest, and I think you'd probably pinch and squeeze him if left to your own devices.

As for you, you are full of sweet smiles and happy chortles most of the time, for pretty much everyone. Lately you've begun to be slightly shy, and you'll give shy smiles and then turn your face down coyly, looking up from under those dark lashes sweetly. And you also now give kisses — not all the time, but often, if I say "kissy kissy," you'll lean over and smack me with a big wet one — or two or three. And occasionally — the best times, in fact — you lean over and give me a kiss without me even asking.

Those are magic moments for me, sweet girl. I love you so much my heart feels like it will burst.

Love, Mama