5 months old!

I love this picture! She looks so sweet and content. This was taken just after bathtime so her curls are present.

(10/01/2008) We got some good pictures on Genevieve's 5-month-birthday. I had to keep her from trying to eat her dress or pull off her hat, but I succeeded. Aunt Nae Nae was here for this photo session with her big fancy camera and Tristan got in on the action too. Actually, Tristan was a very helpful big brother when it came time to put Genevieve's shoes on. You can tell by his face just how determined he was to do this all by himself. It was very cute! Right now he wants to be helpful but I have a feeling that in a few years she will still have him "serving" her but it will be by her own will at that time.

Las Vegas

Renae was living in Las Vegas and decided it was time to come home for a few months so Nicole and I flew out to visit for a few days and we all drove back to Texas together. This was to be a quick trip, with most of our time spent in the van driving. That’s the short version of the trip…

Nicole hasn’t flown much and therefore is a very nervous flyer. She did great though. She also had never been on any sort of subway train or tram. Once we got to the Vegas airport we rode the tram and we were on the last car, right by the back window. I pointed out how cool it was to be able to see the tunnel behind us and she didn’t think it was as fun as I did. She was ready to be off all of these “jankety” (her word) modes of transportation and safe in a car. I pointed out that she was safer on a plane or on a subway than in a motor vehicle, but it didn’t matter. She FELT safer in a car. Other than the nervousness, our trip there was uneventful and we were all excited to be together for the first of (hopefully) many “sisters” trips!

Renae had been preparing to move for a while but there are always more last-minute things to do than you initially intend. After our first night in Vegas that included a nice dinner at a tapas restaurant and some sightseeing, we were put to work. We had one last load to take to the storage unit, ran a few errands, and loaded up the van as much as we could. We finished with all of this around 3 in the afternoon and went down to the main strip to walk around some in our comfy clothes. The plan was then to go back to the apartment, get showers, get dressed up and return to the strip to see Love, the Cirque Du Soleil show set to Beatles music. Well, on our way back to the apartment, the power grid to the majority of the town was down so none of the traffic lights were working and it took us an hour to travel six miles. Renae said that that had never happened in the time she lived there – lucky us! Needless to say, we were now running late and only Nicole was lucky enough to get a shower. We raced back down to the Mirage and practically ran through the parking garage and hotel, but we made it to the show on time. With five minutes to spare, actually. The show was great! Afterwards we had some time to leisurely walk around and relax, see the new fall décor in the lobby and the fountain show at the Bellagio. We also saw three more water fountain shows a bit later while sitting in traffic… We then met a group of Renae’s friends at a local bar for a slide show they had put together and one last good-bye.

The next morning we got up and packed the final few items into the van, got snacks and got on the road, although not as early as we had planned since we were up pretty late the night before. Instead of driving through the desert, Renae plotted a route that would take us through Sedona for lunch. I’m so glad she did! My idea of Sedona was much different than what it was actually like. Once you turn off the highway and onto the road that will take you through Sedona, it is almost instantly perfectly picturesque. You drive through some mountains and then you travel down into the valley. The temperature dropped about 20 degrees in about 10 minutes and that cool air was so welcomed since we were traveling in a non-air conditioned van! The trees were so tall and the vegetation was so green. Water flowed right alongside the road and everything was just perfect. There were tent campers sprinkled between the water and the road and families creating memories. We even smelled a couple of campfires and we all just tried to suck it up and bottle the surroundings and this experience. I think we all felt our Dad there with us and it was just amazing. I wanted to get to Austin so I could gather my family and go back to that wonderful place and share the experience with them… Then, the valley opened up a bit to reveal more mountains and eventually a national park. We HAD to stop and hike around. The water, although it looked refreshing, fun, beautiful was COLD! The kind of cold that makes your foot numb two seconds after it hits the water. So much for us taking a swimming break. We got some great pictures and some special Sedona-grown apples, got back into the van and drove on to the town for dinner (remember: we were supposed to be eating lunch here and now it was dinner time). We ate on the back deck of a restaurant with amazing scenery all around. Then it was back into the van for the business of getting home. In hindsight, we would need this wonderful couple of hours to help us get through the rest of the trip!

We’d driven for only about two hours and now it was dark and were in the middle of nowhere and the van decides to overheat. Fine. We have water, oil, and all the other fluids we may need. Renae had had the van checked out before we left Vegas and it was given a clean bill of health, so we thought it would at least make it back to Austin but we weren’t sure how long after that it would be with us. I immediately pulled over, we waited for things to cool and then…all the levels were just fine. Apparently we didn’t need to add any water or oil or anything else. We got back on the road and drove about 500 yards and the van decided it was done. Thankfully there was an exit right there so I took it. That got us off the side of the highway and I felt a bit safer. Everything stopped working. Apparently a hose got disconnected so nothing was circulating and the motor seized without warning. I called James just to let him know the status. Then I called 311 since it was technically not an emergency, but the call wouldn’t go through on my phone, so then I had to call 911. A tow truck was called for us. The location of the exit was great in regards to being able to tell someone where we were. We could see the lights of Camp Verde from where we were stopped but apparently there are no motels/hotels, rental car places, etc., nothing to actually help us. So, we had no choice but to pay for the long tow to Phoenix. We had to go even further to the airport since that was the only place we could get a rental vehicle that late at night. Our tow truck driver was interesting and told us all about his seven kids and how he and his wife started their family at 14 and 12, his tattoos, his step-dad and his real dad, and how his boss’ sister was just found by the police OD-ing in a parking lot. He drove at speeds between 90 and immeasurable on the odometer but seemed to know the road very well and I wasn’t nervous, even in a huge flatbed tow truck with our large van strapped to the bed. He had to stop to do a “safety check” on the truck before we started a particular section of the road due to the steep nature of the mountain road. In the back of my mind, I was thinking, “great, this is where we end up as victims of an unsolved crime or something.” I was just trying to be ready for anything but it worked out fine and we got to the airport. Since the clearance to the rental car area was too low for the tow truck, the driver tried to do a u-turn out of the area and ran the very large truck right into a concrete barrier – fun. Then we had to do the back-forth-back-forth motion in the truck to turn around the rest of the way and get out of the entrance. We found a way to get somewhat close to where we needed to be and all three of us girls ran from one counter to another trying to get a van so we could just get home. That scene must have been interesting for the rental car employees. No one else was there, it was late, and these three girls were running back and forth to all the different counters. We found one and then got lost on our way to finding the vehicle in the lot. When we got to the new van, we all got nervous because it was quite a bit smaller than our van and we didn’t know if we’d be able to fit everything in. We got in and drove the rental to the parking lot where the tow truck was waiting for us and the driver helped us load the new van and strap various items to the roof. Since I’d had almost two hours to think about our options regarding a vehicle with a burned up motor (extra cost for additional nights in hotels, meals, waiting for parts that may or may not come in timely, extra costs for possible flights, paying $5000 to tow a vehicle worth much less than that back to Texas, etc.) in the end we just gave it to the tow truck driver. We still had to pay for the tow – blah, but the van was not our problem anymore. I wasn’t going to get a bill from the city of Pheonix months down the road for abandonment and storage fees, and so it was done. We were back on the road by 12:30 am and were more determined than ever just to get home. I was also nursing and pumping and I had a sweet baby at home that was going to run out of milk soon, so the pressure was on!

The next afternoon, back in Texas, there were some buzzards having a meal on the side of the highway. As we drove by most of them flew one direction, Renae swerved the opposite direction, trying to make sure she avoided them and one lone buzzard flew in the direction of our vehicle. It hit hard and took the driver’s side mirror with it. Of course this would happen! We stopped and assessed the damage and I couldn’t believe the grill was still intact and the windshield wasn’t cracked. Missing the mirror was really a safety hazard though since we were loaded up and couldn’t see through the back windows or the rear-view mirror. We couldn’t think about the buzzard because it was too sad so we just got back on the road.

It seemed to take forever to get home. Texas is a big state and those west-Texas roads are long and boring. We got home Saturday afternoon – yeah! I fed Genevieve, Jeremy and the kids came and picked Nicole up and we unloaded all of Renae’s stuff. While unloading, Tristan was playing with the buttons on the door and I, with his help, locked the keys in the rental van. We didn’t realize this until both kids were loaded into their carseats in the red car, with Renae as the driver and I tried to get into the rental van to take it back to the Austin airport. We were taking the kids with us to give James a little break and then I had to knock on the door again and get him to break into the rental and get the keys. Thankfully he was able to get the doors open and we got the van back before our 24 hour deadline and didn’t have to pay for an extra day. It turns out that in my state of mind the night before, I had agreed to take the $20 bumper to bumper coverage which covered the mirror – awesome. I normally wouldn’t have done that but it worked out in our favor this time. We were free and clear to go home. Well, not exactly. We were leaving the airport and got pulled over by the police for a burned-out headlight (which honestly had just happened). I was given a warning and I asked if I could get my son out of the car to see the lights on the police car. The officer acted as if I was crazy for requesting this. We weren’t able to show Tristan any airplanes, so I thought a cop car would do. Then a second patrol car pulled up and officer #1 told his officer friend in a ‘she’s crazy’ voice that I wanted to show my kid the flashing lights. The new officer actually got excited about it and even gave Tristan one of those Police Pal badge stickers – so HA, Mr. Officer! You guys are supposed to be encouraging a positive image of the department in the community, so be nice to the kids, okay? Firefighters always seem to bend over backwards for kids so I think cops should be able to handle it too. Although I should add that I have a soft spot for firefighters since at one time, several of my friends were firefighters and EMT’s either professionally or on a volunteer basis.

So, WOW, what a trip! We were all so emotionally and physically drained from our 4-day affair that it seriously took almost a week to recover and be productive on a normal level. It’s good to be home!

One more note: When going on a long road trip, don't make Nicole your wing man to talk to you and keep you awake while you drive. She's a sleeper and she's HARD to wake up!

Auntie J's birthday

Auntie J (Jennifer) had one of the milestone birthdays this year so there was lots of celebrating. Luis and Jennifer joined another couple for a weekend in Vegas and there was also a surprise party in the works back home in Austin. Luis had organized a big surprise party at the Downings’ and we all hoped the trip would throw her off and she truly wouldn’t expect a party too. This party was actually supposed to take place earlier in the month but due to hurricanes, rescheduled football games and other events, the party landed on Sunday, September 28th. There was quite a turnout of guests and plenty of kids to entertain each other. Grampie got out his water rocket and it was a hit, especially with Tristan. Sometimes the pressure is too great and he needs a little help actually sending it flying. Camille was more than happy to help. Thanks Camille!

We also went out to Serrano’s for the family birthday dinner on Jennifer’s actual birthday!

Pertussis and the hospital

(09/19/2008) On the morning of Genevieve’s 4-month check-up, she did a strange choking cough sort of thing where she turned a little red and took a few seconds to recover. I didn’t think much of it, but at the appointment I did mention it. We agreed that it was probably something new in the air or just some excess drool. If it continued, we were to put a humidifier in Genevieve’s room at night. Fine. After the mechanics of the appointment (length, weight, checking reflexes, checking neck strength, etc.) we proceeded to the very un-fun vaccination part. As always, my happy baby gave me the “What have I done to you? What did I do to deserve this pain and why aren’t you stopping them?” look when her smile suddenly disappeared at the first stick. I hate that look that babies give you during shots to make you feel like you’ve betrayed them. We got calmed down to the tune of “You are My Sunshine” and did some nursing and were on our way.

In the next week the cough got worse in intensity and frequency. We called the nurse line and the general feeling was that it was excess drool and some babies are more prone to this than others. Not wanting to seem like a crazy, scared, first-time parent I accepted this reasoning even though we weren’t first-time parents and we are actually pretty laid back when it comes to our kids. However, another week goes by and things are getting worse. We went back in to the doctor because by this time, every coughing fit was a scary event. Genevieve would run out of air and her nose, eyes, and eventually her whole face would turn red. We couldn’t leave her alone in a room for fear that she actually would stop breathing. We started putting her to sleep in our room in her bouncy chair and taking turns through the night running over to pick her up during a coughing fit. Back to the appointment, again it’s “something in the air or excess drool from teething.” At this point she’d been drooling for two months without choking and we knew this was not normal. Tristan NEVER had this sort of coughing fit as a symptom of teething. The tricky part is that she didn’t seem like she felt bad, she was in good spirits, did not have a fever or runny nose and her chest was clear. This was a Friday and the doctor did do a pertussis swab and told me that if it was negative, I wouldn’t hear from them and if it was positive, they would call us on Monday.

We heard nothing on Monday so we assumed the swab was negative. A friend suggested that maybe it was reflux so I kept that possibility in my back pocket and proceeded to wait and see. The following Thursday night was horrible. Genevieve was waking up (and in turn waking us up) every 15 minutes or so, always with a scary coughing fit that would last longer than the previous one and where it would take her longer and longer to breathe again. I’m no medical professional so not only am I laying awake praying that she keeps breathing, I’m also praying that she doesn’t have any lasting effects from a lack of oxygen. As soon as I could, I called the doctor’s office in the morning and made another appointment for that afternoon. Around 11 am a nurse from the Health Department called me to say that Genevieve had pertussis and the whole family needed to be treated and repeatedly telling me that she needed medical attention. The tone in her voice was such that she was accusing us of being indifferent to the seriousness of the issue. My response to her was basically “Thank God it came back positive and we know what is wrong with this child!” We are not crazy parents and we were right that this was not normal. It was a complicated issue to get medication for James and me, but that’s another story. I took Tristan to the afternoon appointment so we could get a prescription for him as well. When we got there, the doctor told us to go to the Children’s Hospital. They would be waiting for us and we already had a room number. She wanted to wait until the appointment to tell me this so she “didn’t scare me over the phone.” I still don’t know why I wasn’t called at the beginning of the week with this info… We left the doctor’s office and went home to gather some stuff and headed for the hospital. The whole stay was somewhat uneventful aside from trying to draw blood – that was horrible and I’m not a squeamish person. She was stuck in several different places and has apparently inherited my difficult-to-find, rolling veins. They were going to do all kinds of tests until I piped up and said that all I was told by our doctor was that we were going to get medication (the same meds we would have been given to administer at home, so no IV was necessary) and be observed. At this the doctor was surprised and went to check with the head doctor. They cancelled all additional tests, thank goodness. As is typical with kids, Genevieve did not have as many coughing fits through the night as she’d been having at home, however, her monitors did go off quite often. That night was the first time I had actually seen very apparent striations down Genevieve’s face. It only lasted a few seconds but boy was it weird. The next morning James and Tristan came up to bring me breakfast and check on the status. We thought we would be there at least one more night, if not until Monday, since we were told she’d need to be monitored for 48 hours from the time the first meds were given (and we were there for 6 hours the previous night before we even got any medication). We were presently surprised to be released Saturday afternoon.

It turns out the incubation period for pertussis is 21 days and Genevieve could have picked this up from being around someone with a seemingly harmless cough, although we couldn’t remember anyone we’d been around coughing. To our immune systems, this would have been a non-issue but Genevieve’s body interpreted the germs as pertussis. She’ll be getting the third shot of the series at her 6 month appointment. Apparently, the cases reported are increasing and the medical community is adding a pertussis booster to tetanus shots in hopes to eventually reach a large portion of the adult community. Two weeks before this, James went to the ER for stitches and actually received the new booster-containing tetanus shot.

I spent some time with Tristan at the Butterfly Wall, while James stayed in the room with Genevieve. This is a pretty cool wall made up of squares that turn colors if you touch them and all together make it appear as if butterflies are flying across the whole wall. Tristan wasn’t quite strong enough to push the squares hard enough to make the wall change colors, but Mommy was. We spent a good deal of time there to get him out of the room and give him a chance to stretch his legs. As Ann and Jim are in the Grandparents Club at the hospital, we’d been given an opportunity to tour the new hospital months earlier…too bad we weren’t able to make that tour.

Thanks Honey for encouraging me to bring a pillow because those hospital pillows would have been really uncomfy!


I don't look sick Mommy!

Tristan's room

To be fair, I need to post pictures of Tristan’s room. We leaned towards colors and patterns again instead of a traditional theme. We wanted to make this room gender neutral and if we needed to, there were plenty of places to add pink or girly accents. We used frogs for accents because they were cute and also because when I was little and Renae, Adam and I shared a room in Michigan, my Mom used froggie wallpaper. I used to fall asleep counting the frogs on my wall and loved it, so for me, frogs also have some sentimental value. Plus, the frogs playing band instruments were perfect for our family. We were blessed with Tristan so there was no need for any girly stuff. I’m not a fan of decorating with the typical themes anyway, because maybe that child won’t like sports or princesses, etc. We never got a chance to post these pictures on the original blog. We moved only a few months after he was born and because I loved how his room turned out, we recreated it in the new house on a much larger scale. Talk about a time-consuming idea/pattern… But, I still just love it. It’s still my favorite room in the house. Part of Tristan’s night-time routine is rocking in the rocking chair and singing songs. When it’s my turn to put him to bed, after he has fallen asleep in my arms, I enjoy sitting quietly in his room just holding him. Of course, who doesn’t like to hold a sweet sleeping baby (okay, he’s not such a baby anymore)? Both James and I will be sad when it comes time to repaint or move. We put a lot of thought, time and energy into both of our kids’ rooms. Tristan also loves his “bubbles” and his froggies!

There are supposed to be frames that hang on ribbons from the knobs on the wall above the dresser. However, while changing diapers, Tristan would kick the frames and and then one day he pulled down one of the knobs. The frames will be re-hung once we no longer need to use the dresser as a changing table.

Genevieve's Room

(09/2008) I know some of you have been waiting to see what we came up with for Genevieve’s room. Well, here are pictures! So what if she’s already four months old. I didn’t want a theme necessarily and wanted colors and patterns to mainly decorate the space, although it did turn into a very flower-y room. I had a Pottery Barn crib sheet that I got when we were expecting Tristan. You know – one boy bedding possibility and one girl bedding possibility. Since then, they discontinued the bedding. This was actually fine since all I liked in the set were the crib sheets anyway, but I would have liked to have two of them. I couldn’t find any bedding I liked so I picked out the fabric and had a picture of what I wanted in my head. Ann (Gran) had the blanket and crib skirt made for us and it turned out better than I imagined. It’s so soft! After waiting for James and Jim to make the wooden window box, I made the valance out of the leftover fabric. Oh yeah, I also HAD to bedazzle it a bit with fun fringe. It took me forever to find the right knobs for the dresser. The originals were clear glass, so they were boring to begin with, and then two of them broke after just a few days of me putting clothes in the drawers. I cut my fingers/hand twice on the knobs and knew that they would obviously not hold up to wear and tear from kids. I wanted pink knobs for the dresser anyway. The dresser also has some beautiful legs that go on it but they will be in the closet until after Genevieve is potty trained. Since we are using the dresser as the changing table, I wouldn’t be able to reach her with the extra 8 inches the legs would add. There are some specific shelves and a hat rack that I want, but we’ll have to get those at a later time. I love how it has turned out. Thanks to James, Karen, Ann and Renae for helping me put my vision together!





Look at those seams! I was pretty proud of myself, especially considering that I haven’t sewn anything in about 5 years and even then, that was a very easy project – wall curtains for the music studio in our old house.