I can't believe how easily she has adjusted to the new addition. Here are some pics.
Watching "Peter Rabbit going in McGregor's Garden" as she calls it
Sapphie loves reading to Teo, and he adores her already!
Peek-a-boo
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Bathtime for...three!
Remember how I was so worried about bathtime, and what I was going to do? Well, I figured out quickly that bathtime for two is no longer. We now have bathtime for three!! It's a blast. The few times I've tried to have a bath with Sapphie alone, she's had a meltdown and demanded that Teo take a bath with us. A few times she even suggested that Daddy join us, and I had to explain that the bathtub isn't big enough. I don't know if she'll remember the days when it was just us, but I will always cherish them...as well as the many more baths ahead, even if it is three of us stuffed in there!
I can't believe how easily she has adjusted to the new addition. Here are some pics.
I can't believe how easily she has adjusted to the new addition. Here are some pics.
Not even 6 weeks and already at the ER
Sapphie didn't get her first cold until she was well over 6 months old. I knew that Teo would be different though - Christina has prepared me for all the sicknesses that come through the house when you have more than one child. So, I wasn't surprised when Teo got a runny nose a couple of days ago. Sapphie has had one since Christmas it seems, and even though she washes her hands a lot and we are always wiping her nose, she is all over Teo. She loves him so much and likes to snuggle him very closely.
Tonight, I decided to take his temperature because he felt a little warm to me. He's also been really fussy since yesterday. Sure enough, he had a fever of 101. Not a huge deal for a toddler, but for a baby under 2 months a fever can be life threatening. You're not even allowed to give them medicine without seeing the doctor, because the fever could indicate a serious bacterial infection that needs to be treated. So, I called the doctor and she sent me to the ER. Kevin was getting Sapphie ready for dinner, and I had to call Soe and cancel our hot date for Brasil night. I felt bad but I was so worried about Teo. Lukey had RSV (that's respiratory syncytial virus) when he was Teo's age, and he was hospitalized. I know that was really scary for Christina.
Anyway, I packed us up and headed over to the ER. As usual for a Saturday night, the waiting room was totally packed. Most of the people didn't look sick, they looked drunk. It made me sad. There was another mom there, alone with her two young toddlers. Both in PJ's and very cute. One was sick and looked really scared to be at the hospital. Teo and I got called in pretty quickly, and they took his vitals.
Then, we waited for the doctor. And waited and waited. Teo got sick of waiting and decided to go to sleep.
The doctor finally came in, took a look, and said she needed to have some tests run. Urine, blood, nose swab, and maybe a spinal tap and a chest xray. I thought she was crazy! She explained they need to be sure the fever isn't caused by a bacterial infection. But, she thought Teo looked pretty good so maybe they wouldn't need to do a spinal tap. She left, and about 5 minutes later a very charming doctor swept in. Hey grabbed the stool and sat on it, then rolled really close to me. He said:
"hey. sorry you've been in here forever. Has the resident been in yet?"
I said "yes, and she said she wants to run some tests."
He said "well I run the place, so I want to have a look too."
I said "sure"
This doctor was pretty hot I have to say. He was arrogant and pompous, yes, and clearly the boss around, but in a way that is attractive and not annoying. He grabbed Teo and said
"wow, he's going to be a big boy. You and your husband will have to buy an extra fridge. I have two kids close in age too. It's fun."
Then he told me he wanted to send us home with some Tylenol and call it a night. I liked that idea. But, he said since my pediatrician had sent me in, he needed to call her. She wanted a urine test and nose swab...but no spinal tap thank goodness.
Then the nurses came in and used a catheter to get a urine sample. He was so good!!! They absolutely loved him.
Tonight, I decided to take his temperature because he felt a little warm to me. He's also been really fussy since yesterday. Sure enough, he had a fever of 101. Not a huge deal for a toddler, but for a baby under 2 months a fever can be life threatening. You're not even allowed to give them medicine without seeing the doctor, because the fever could indicate a serious bacterial infection that needs to be treated. So, I called the doctor and she sent me to the ER. Kevin was getting Sapphie ready for dinner, and I had to call Soe and cancel our hot date for Brasil night. I felt bad but I was so worried about Teo. Lukey had RSV (that's respiratory syncytial virus) when he was Teo's age, and he was hospitalized. I know that was really scary for Christina.
Anyway, I packed us up and headed over to the ER. As usual for a Saturday night, the waiting room was totally packed. Most of the people didn't look sick, they looked drunk. It made me sad. There was another mom there, alone with her two young toddlers. Both in PJ's and very cute. One was sick and looked really scared to be at the hospital. Teo and I got called in pretty quickly, and they took his vitals.
Look at this cool thing: it just attaches to his foot and, without puncturing the skin, it measures the levels of oxygen levels in his blood! It tells some other things too because 3 different numbers come up. The nurse told me but I don't remember what they were.
Then, we waited for the doctor. And waited and waited. Teo got sick of waiting and decided to go to sleep. 
The doctor finally came in, took a look, and said she needed to have some tests run. Urine, blood, nose swab, and maybe a spinal tap and a chest xray. I thought she was crazy! She explained they need to be sure the fever isn't caused by a bacterial infection. But, she thought Teo looked pretty good so maybe they wouldn't need to do a spinal tap. She left, and about 5 minutes later a very charming doctor swept in. Hey grabbed the stool and sat on it, then rolled really close to me. He said:
"hey. sorry you've been in here forever. Has the resident been in yet?"
I said "yes, and she said she wants to run some tests."
He said "well I run the place, so I want to have a look too."
I said "sure"
This doctor was pretty hot I have to say. He was arrogant and pompous, yes, and clearly the boss around, but in a way that is attractive and not annoying. He grabbed Teo and said
"wow, he's going to be a big boy. You and your husband will have to buy an extra fridge. I have two kids close in age too. It's fun."
Then he told me he wanted to send us home with some Tylenol and call it a night. I liked that idea. But, he said since my pediatrician had sent me in, he needed to call her. She wanted a urine test and nose swab...but no spinal tap thank goodness.
Then the nurses came in and used a catheter to get a urine sample. He was so good!!! They absolutely loved him.
Then we sat and waited for the results. For 40 minutes!
The nurse came back, and said we were free to go! We'll get more results back tomorrow, but they did confirm it isn't bacterial. So, we got a dose of Tylenol and hit the road to home. We ran into 2 drunk people on the way out, both walking aimlessly around and hiccuping.
We didn't waste any time getting back to our cozy house. Now Teo is sound asleep and I'm thinking about going to sleep myself! I'm so glad he's okay. What a relief. We are very lucky to have two healthy babies. I can handle a cold here and there, and a 3-hour trip to the ER once a year, no problem. I guess this is only the beginning...they'll always be keeping us on our toes...
The nurse came back, and said we were free to go! We'll get more results back tomorrow, but they did confirm it isn't bacterial. So, we got a dose of Tylenol and hit the road to home. We ran into 2 drunk people on the way out, both walking aimlessly around and hiccuping. 
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
5 week old smiles
We've been so busy and I haven't posted any pictures! But here's a cute video of Teo smiling this morning.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Welcome Baby Teo!!
It's a boy! We welcomed baby Teo on Sunday, February 13th at 7:37pm. Here are some pictures from around the big day.
Unlike Sapphie who was sleeping, Teo cried when he came out. He was pretty cozy in my belly.
He's a total mama's boy already
With auntie Hannah, about 1 hour old
Hello!
He had his first bath on Monday, February 14th and got a Valentine's Day hat.
Late on Monday, we went home!
So good to be out of the hospital and into my RL cashmere.
Sapphie's first meeting with Teo was amazing. She was so good!
She was so excited and climbed all over him
Squeezing "little my brother". You could tell she's been waiting for this baby to get here.
Exchanging gifts with the baby
With LaLa
Sapphie now comes up to me and says "hold us both". It's so cute.
Sapphie getting ready to be a big sister
Playing in the snow
On my due date, we went for a mummy-auntie snowshoe
Cabot waiting for the baby to arrive
Friday evening, drinking a virgin spice bloody mary.
Sunday morning, timing contractions...
Just like with Sapphie, the dogs laid on the bed while I was in labor
Just like with Sapphie, the dogs laid on the bed while I was in labor
At the hospital, in the tub. Just a few minutes away from meeting our baby!
It's a boy!!!!! I still can't believe it.
It's a boy!!!!! I still can't believe it.
Unlike Sapphie who was sleeping, Teo cried when he came out. He was pretty cozy in my belly.
He's a total mama's boy already
With auntie Hannah, about 1 hour old
Hello!
He had his first bath on Monday, February 14th and got a Valentine's Day hat.
Late on Monday, we went home!
So good to be out of the hospital and into my RL cashmere.
Sapphie's first meeting with Teo was amazing. She was so good!
She was so excited and climbed all over him
Squeezing "little my brother". You could tell she's been waiting for this baby to get here.
Exchanging gifts with the baby
Sapphie really thinks it's funny that Teo has "no teeth at all" (a line from Beatrix Potter)
She always says "I wanna hold that"
With LaLa
Sapphie now comes up to me and says "hold us both". It's so cute.
Snuggling "all together" as Sapphie says
Having a morning snooze
Having a morning snooze
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
My Sister is Engaged to a Chef
Yes, that's the name of my new hit reality t.v. series. Jealous? You should be. Forget the fact that we totally love Richard and everything about him, not to mention the fact that he is an amazing chef. How has this affected me? Well, for one, my life has changed so that every now and then, when I least expect it, a magical chef fairy (actually, Richard hates fairies. Let's call him a wizard instead) swoops into my house and in hours, puts an absolutely gorgeous (as cousin Phil would say) meal on my table. It's unbelievable! Just the other night, I was going through my normal Sunday routine, minding my own business, when, all of a sudden, Hannah and Richard barged in for family night and whipped up this fantastic Ethiopian spread. No joke, it was amazing. Kevin loved it, and Sapphie too. And, they wouldn't take any leftovers so we enjoyed it for lunch the next day! Then, a few days later, they showed up with Mexican and blew our minds with black bean soup and outrageous tacos (get this - Richard fills the tacos with meat and cheese, then puts them in the oven so the cheese melts and stays hot even when you put the cold fillings on - genius!). It's almost like a fantasy. It gives me an idea of what it would be like to have my own personal chef. Pretty amazing.
The second way this has influenced my life is that if I want to make something from scratch, Richard encourages me and gives me the confidence to do it. My most recent task: to make my own yogurt. Sound scary? Well I'm telling you I was scared. I kept putting it off. Then, when I finally went for it, I realized it's so easy it's laughable! How much money I've spent on yogurt, oh God I don't even want to think about it! And, my yogurt came out so yummy!! Here I will share with you Richard's tried and true method for making your own yogurt:
Ingredients
-1 gallon whole milk (Hood milk seems to make better yogurt than Monument. Richard isn't sure why but I'm going to figure it out somehow).
-1/2 cup dry milk powder (you can get this in bulk at City Market, very cheap)
-2 packets of yogurt starter OR, 1/4 cup live plain yogurt (I used Butterworks. You just want to get plain, and a good brand that you know is fresh so the cultures are good).
Directions
1. Pour the milk into a large pot that has been freshly rinsed with water (to remove soap residue), add the powdered milk, and put the pot on the stove. Cook on medium high until a nice froth forms at the top, or the temperature reaches 180 degrees. Don't let the milk boil or burn!
2. Remove from heat and let it slowly cool to 116 degrees, or when it's cool enough that you can put your pinky in and count to ten without burning yourself.
3. Add the yogurt or starter culture, stir
4. Keep it at 116 degrees, covered, for at least 6 hours.
5. After at least 6 hours, the yogurt will be ready! It should be a nice thick consistency, like yogurt. If it's still too runny for you, you can strain it (I did because I love Greek yogurt). Simply pour the yogurt over a colander lined with a clean white dishtowel, place on top of a mixing bowl so the fluid can drip down into the bowl, and let it sit for 1-2 hours.
Depending on how thick you like it, this recipe will make you 3-4 quarts of yogurt. I used yogurt as my starter culture, instead of spending money on the packets.
What I did is cook the yogurt in the late morning, then put the pot on the warming burner of my stove for the rest of the day, then bottled it up before I went to bed. If you don't have a warming burner, you can either put it in your oven on warm (although my "warm" is 170 degrees), or put it in a sunny spot, or next to a heater.
That's it! If you are a fan of yogurt, you must try this. It's so easy and inexpensive, and you'll be so proud to serve your own homemade yogurt to friends and family. We've been eating ours with lemon curd mixed in, or maple syrup depending on our mood. Sapphie likes hers plain too. Thank you uncle Richard! I can't wait to try and make more of my favorite foods from scratch. xo
The second way this has influenced my life is that if I want to make something from scratch, Richard encourages me and gives me the confidence to do it. My most recent task: to make my own yogurt. Sound scary? Well I'm telling you I was scared. I kept putting it off. Then, when I finally went for it, I realized it's so easy it's laughable! How much money I've spent on yogurt, oh God I don't even want to think about it! And, my yogurt came out so yummy!! Here I will share with you Richard's tried and true method for making your own yogurt:
Ingredients
-1 gallon whole milk (Hood milk seems to make better yogurt than Monument. Richard isn't sure why but I'm going to figure it out somehow).
-1/2 cup dry milk powder (you can get this in bulk at City Market, very cheap)
-2 packets of yogurt starter OR, 1/4 cup live plain yogurt (I used Butterworks. You just want to get plain, and a good brand that you know is fresh so the cultures are good).
Directions
1. Pour the milk into a large pot that has been freshly rinsed with water (to remove soap residue), add the powdered milk, and put the pot on the stove. Cook on medium high until a nice froth forms at the top, or the temperature reaches 180 degrees. Don't let the milk boil or burn!
2. Remove from heat and let it slowly cool to 116 degrees, or when it's cool enough that you can put your pinky in and count to ten without burning yourself.
3. Add the yogurt or starter culture, stir
4. Keep it at 116 degrees, covered, for at least 6 hours.
5. After at least 6 hours, the yogurt will be ready! It should be a nice thick consistency, like yogurt. If it's still too runny for you, you can strain it (I did because I love Greek yogurt). Simply pour the yogurt over a colander lined with a clean white dishtowel, place on top of a mixing bowl so the fluid can drip down into the bowl, and let it sit for 1-2 hours.
Depending on how thick you like it, this recipe will make you 3-4 quarts of yogurt. I used yogurt as my starter culture, instead of spending money on the packets.
What I did is cook the yogurt in the late morning, then put the pot on the warming burner of my stove for the rest of the day, then bottled it up before I went to bed. If you don't have a warming burner, you can either put it in your oven on warm (although my "warm" is 170 degrees), or put it in a sunny spot, or next to a heater.
That's it! If you are a fan of yogurt, you must try this. It's so easy and inexpensive, and you'll be so proud to serve your own homemade yogurt to friends and family. We've been eating ours with lemon curd mixed in, or maple syrup depending on our mood. Sapphie likes hers plain too. Thank you uncle Richard! I can't wait to try and make more of my favorite foods from scratch. xo
Friday, February 4, 2011
With Love from NYC
Sapphie doesn't get to see auntie Kiki and Uncle Ryan very often, but she loves them very much and talks about them all the time. Every time Kevin goes skiing, Sapphie says "going skiing with Ryan daddy?" And if we say no, she says "going skiing with Ryan!!" So we usually say yes to appease her. A few weeks ago, Sapphie got a big package in the mail...full of presents from NYC!
The first gift was a photo from the wedding...it's a great photo of Kristen and Kevin
She has gotten really good at getting presents from under the tree!
Oooo...a Patagonia vest! She loved it and kept saying "thank you kiki!!"
We can't wait to see them in February!! xoxo
First we opened the card. She loved it!!
The first gift was a photo from the wedding...it's a great photo of Kristen and Kevin
She has gotten really good at getting presents from under the tree!
Oooo...a Patagonia vest! She loved it and kept saying "thank you kiki!!"
Posing with Daddy in her new vest
We can't wait to see them in February!! xoxo
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Bathtime for two, part two
This is weird. I just sat down to write an entry about bathtime. Then I remembered I had written one when Sapphie was really little. Would you believe I looked back, and the entry was on February 2nd, 2009, exactly two years ago today! Wow I just can't believe how weird that is. In case you never read it, click here.
Sapphie and I have had a water bond since she entered the world. She was born in the water and we have been bathing together since she was a newborn. Early on, I discovered that I am not into infant bath tubs. They are lame, cold, hard, and awkward. They make you bend over and strain your back, with your cold little baby looking up at you. It felt so much better for me to get in the tub with her, to snuggle her and help her to swim, to nurse her when she went through her fear of water phase, and to continue playing with her to this day. I look forward to our bathtime together.
Tonight, I took a bath alone because Sapphie had gone to bed. It felt so weird not to have my little buddy with me. Relaxing, yes, but also a little lonely. And too quiet. No songs, or splashing each other. I've been having some feelings of sadness to think that very soon, I won't be able to give Sapphie 100% of me all the time. Don't get me wrong, I'm fully excited for the baby and I know that Sapphie will be too. But, it's a big change coming up. No longer just us three, and never just us three again. I really hope the baby waits until Sunday or later so that we can take her on the sleigh ride we've been talking about. Anyway, back to the bath. I've been wondering when the new baby comes, what will change about bathtime? I'll need to take one with the new baby, but I won't want to give up my tub time with Sapphie. I'm not sure what I'll do. Take 2 baths a day? Alternate baths each night? Will daddy give Sapphie a bath? Um, I don't think so. Not to provide too much information, but I don't want Sapphie to be traumatized by the gigantic hairy spider (think 1970's) that she refers to as "Daddy's Tweekies".
Of course when the baby gets bigger, Sapphie and the baby will take baths together and hopefully I'll join them. For now, though, I'm going to give Sapphie as many baths as I can, and I think I'll plan to continue our bath time, whatever it takes. It's just too much fun!!
Sapphie and I have had a water bond since she entered the world. She was born in the water and we have been bathing together since she was a newborn. Early on, I discovered that I am not into infant bath tubs. They are lame, cold, hard, and awkward. They make you bend over and strain your back, with your cold little baby looking up at you. It felt so much better for me to get in the tub with her, to snuggle her and help her to swim, to nurse her when she went through her fear of water phase, and to continue playing with her to this day. I look forward to our bathtime together.
Tonight, I took a bath alone because Sapphie had gone to bed. It felt so weird not to have my little buddy with me. Relaxing, yes, but also a little lonely. And too quiet. No songs, or splashing each other. I've been having some feelings of sadness to think that very soon, I won't be able to give Sapphie 100% of me all the time. Don't get me wrong, I'm fully excited for the baby and I know that Sapphie will be too. But, it's a big change coming up. No longer just us three, and never just us three again. I really hope the baby waits until Sunday or later so that we can take her on the sleigh ride we've been talking about. Anyway, back to the bath. I've been wondering when the new baby comes, what will change about bathtime? I'll need to take one with the new baby, but I won't want to give up my tub time with Sapphie. I'm not sure what I'll do. Take 2 baths a day? Alternate baths each night? Will daddy give Sapphie a bath? Um, I don't think so. Not to provide too much information, but I don't want Sapphie to be traumatized by the gigantic hairy spider (think 1970's) that she refers to as "Daddy's Tweekies".
Of course when the baby gets bigger, Sapphie and the baby will take baths together and hopefully I'll join them. For now, though, I'm going to give Sapphie as many baths as I can, and I think I'll plan to continue our bath time, whatever it takes. It's just too much fun!!
Fish face!
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