Layla in the park!

After a wild night of pole dancing (see below), we had an early-morning park date. It was a rare and beautiful sunny day in Seattle and we went to an amazing park overlooking the water. Seattle has no shortage of those, and Layla had a fantastic time.

Whenever we go to the park, or anywhere new, it always takes Layla a little while to 'warm up' - she spends a bit of time hugging my leg first before she ventures out on her own.


As you can see, it's incredibly cute. Sometimes, when we go to particularly crowded parks, she wants to just sit in my lap the whole time and watch everyone. She never does this at home so it's a rare opportunity for me to cuddle with her.

We've been going to a lot of parks lately, to distract her from all her various illnesses. It works very well, but we're running into some trouble at home now - she always wants to go out! She tries to put on her shoes, goes to the door and reaches for the doorknob, sneaks out the back door if we have it open, and constantly points out the windows. When we start putting on our jackets and shoes she is beside herself with excitement. So, what can you do but oblige, and spend the weekend at the park? Thank goodness it's spring!

Pole dancing class!!

Even though I'm still sick, I couldn't turn down an invite to a pole dancing class at a local pole dancing studio - pole for the soul. I didn't know what to expect but thought it seemed like the sort of thing a stressed-out mom like me might enjoy.

It was pretty fun!! They really focused on 'sexy' - and also showed us some moves that I never would have thought I could do (it helps to have some upper body strength from lugging the baby around). When we arrived, we were told to take down our hair, and the room was lit with dim red lights, so everyone looked extra-sexy - even though I had forgotten to shave my legs and most of us had gym shorts on (there were 15 of us at an evening 'pole party' as part of a bachelorette party).


The teacher, who I'm pretty sure is also a stripper, started us off by teaching us how to 'sexy walk' in a large circle. Then we 'sexy walked' around our pole. Then we started learning the moves. For the most part, the moves were pretty easy (step-spin and turn with your back to the pole and then slide on one leg to the floor and then turn around and get back up, etc). It required some coordination and a lot of butt-wiggling and for the most part we were all so focused on the moves that we weren't being very sexy - but every once in a while someone would really get it right and we would all cheer wildly.

This is a picture from the Pole for the Soul website - we took pictures while we were there but I haven't seen them yet and I'm not sure I'd want to share them anyway.

There was one move, at the end, where we jumped up and spun around the pole, and it was a real taste for what pole dancing can be - my arms were wrenched from their sockets, my legs were bruised, my adrenaline was pumped - and I was assured it was sexy (hmmm really??). I did it a few times and then had to quit for fear I was going to cause permanent damage to something.

One thing of note was their 'sexy' approach - they were TEACHING us how to be sexy!! You're probably thinking, well duh, it's a pole-dancing class - but I have never been taught how to be sexy and I thought it was really neat. Seriously, it's not easy or natural for someone like me to coordinately wiggle my butt and chest and walk in a straight line at the same time - and it really helped to have some instruction and encouragement!! I think I would need about 6 months solid of serious training to be able to do it with any sort of real talent though.

First birthday gifts!

Layla got a lot of good loot for her birthday.

Here's what she got:

- A talking dog named Violet, that knows her name and sings songs to her about her favorite things like bears and cheese


- A tupperware ball with plastic shapes she can put inside it, which is finds extremely fascinating

- A giant tigger, and a soft doll, and a baby Elmo, all of which she LOVES to cuddle

- An amazing little banjo music box, and a Baby Einstein iPod that importantly provides Layla a toy like those her mommy and daddy are always playing with (our phones)


- A red wagon, which Mommy and Daddy still haven't put together

- An awesome spring outfit and gorgeous warm Seattle sweater, and a shopping spree at Hannah Anderson, where she got to pick out some colorful spring tank tops and shorts and a beautiful dress

We owe great thanks to the many wonderful people that sent us gifts for Layla (thank you cards are still on their way). You would not believe how helpful all these great gifts were during our long days at home with a cranky kid over the past few weeks.

GERMAGEDDON 2011

We have experienced nothing less than Germageddon this month.

First, Layla got a nasty cold that lasted something like 3 weeks (I got it too). During the cold, about 3 weeks ago, she got a horrible diaper rash, like nothing we'd ever seen before (she doesn't usually get rashes) - it turned out to be a yeast infection and cleared up quickly once we used the right treatment. Before that was over, she popped out another molar (#2) and started working on #3 and #4. Then she rolled right into the nasty horrible stomach bug (see below), which we all got. There was lots of puking, and way too much pooping, and the Studly Hubby missed the entire week of work (I fared better, but just barely). There was one day, a Saturday, when everybody felt ok and we went to the park.


Then, before the end of the day, the next thing - pinkeye (see below) - hit us like a ton of bricks and we were up all night with a screaming baby again. We went to the doctor Monday, she got booted out of daycare for another week, but by Tuesday she seemed to be doing better. Then out of nowhere, on Wednesday and Thursday she screamed all night again (Wednesday night, and all day Thursday, she only slept about 6 hours total). We were about to head back to the doctor, or import a relative to help out, or pay a stranger just to give us both two hours to sleep (seriously, I was on the phone trying to find someone), when suddenly she slept all night on Thursday night.

We were flabbergasted. Especially when she slept all night Friday, and Saturday, and Sunday too (and even Monday and Tuesday!). This is the longest run she has had since sometime in October.

Then I got hit. But not with pinkeye - our sneaky little girl went and caught another cold WHILE SHE HAD PINKEYE (probably at the doctor's, since we hadn't been out much other than that) - and as I went through two nights of the aches and the chills and a horrible sore throat and an extremely short lived but very high fever (on my birthday!) I realized our little girl was actually enduring it all quite well.

Thankfully when the week ended Layla hadn't had a chance to catch anything new and we were finally germ-free for the first time in probably five months... hence the amazing run of all-night sleeping.

So now, time for a recount (the old numbers are here):

Layla -
Total: 22, 1 rash, 1 pinkeye, 1 stomach bug, 19 colds
Fevers: 3
Days home from daycare: 12

Me:
Total: 17, 1 sinus infection, 1 stomach bug, 15 colds
Fevers: 4
Days home from work: 11.5 (including 7 half-days)

Derek:
Total: 10, 1 stomach bug, 9 colds
Fevers: 0
Days home work: 9.5 (including 7 half-days)

The whole year has been hard, but the last week surpassed my Worst Parental Experience So Far (sleep training, last July) by about two-fold. But, alas, most parents I have talked to (in Seattle) have had similar experiences - one other father said his kid was sick 24 times the first year, and he was sick 22 (amazingly, his wife was sick only a mere 7 times - likely a testament to how genetics might influence your chances of getting sick - although he's biased, since that's what he studies for his career).

Ugh, what a nightmare. Hopefully spring will bring a new beginning and lots of health to our household! We really need it.

Pink Eye!!

Poor Layla! Just as she was recovering from the stomach bug last week, she came down with pink eye. She was only in daycare for 2 days and she caught it the second it came through (they sent the other baby home as soon as they realized but... it was too late).

The Studly Hubby and I haven't caught it from her yet, thankfully - we all really took a pounding last week from the stomach bug and the sleep deprivation that comes with having a sick 1 yr old, so we needed a few days' break! But now we're ready. Today Layla looks like she's been hit by a train so by the weekend I'm expecting our whole family to be really scary looking. Maybe we can figure out a way to take advantage of it. I think Zombiefest is going to be in town...

Meanwhile Layla was kicked out of daycare for the week due to her contagion and we are juggling our work schedules and each staying home with her. And since she's sick, and it's cold out, we are really staying home - which could be rough. Fortunately Layla has been mostly good, and I bought a People magazine pre-emptively over the weekend, and the Studly Hubby has figured out all the good daytime shows to watch on TV (his favorite is Ellen) - so we aren't having too bad of a time, although I do miss work a lot (seriously).

The silver lining is that we are seeing a lot of Layla, and she's even in surprisingly good spirits most of the time. She's really trying to learn how to do things for herself. She wants to dress herself (without much luck yet), eat with a spoon, brush her own hair, carry around her own snacks, put her dirty laundry in the hamper (and everything else), pick out her own books (she's REALLY gotten into reading), and decide what to play with. She's also started 'taking care' of her stuffed animals, including a little baby her Grandma C sent her that she carries around the house, wraps up with a blanky, rocks, hugs, kisses, and reads books with, and a giant Tigger doll her Grandma and Grandpa A brought that she gently puts down for a nap with a pillow and blanket. I'm thinking she may have been paying very close attention at daycare... wow! She's also really communicating - she knows sign language for 'milk' and 'hungry' and is pretty clear about wanting to go down for a nap, all of which is super helpful. She also points at things and can clearly indicate when she wants something out of reach, and she's been keeping track of where some things are and where they go (like her binki, which is very important to her). She's also walking with no problem except when she's tired and stumbles around like she's been drinking a little too much (milk, of course). I feel like she's been making big leaps in her development over the past month, it's a little dizzying!

Here's one of my all-time favorite pictures of Layla and her Daddy. She's feeding him a banana in this picture, which is one of both of their favorite snacks. It was taken right before Germageddon.

Stomach bug!

Our house is afflicted again, this time with an evil stomach bug. Layla got it first, on Sunday night. She threw up in her crib, and again the next day, and was a little fussy but not too bad. The Studly Hubby stayed home with her most of the day Monday and then of course he caught it next. Now he's on the couch moaning and looking totally miserable. As usual we are both really surprised at what a trooper Layla must have been through all these miserable symptoms. I haven't caught it yet, but I suspect it's coming.

Today, Layla is feeling a ton better. I came home early to take over when the Studly Hubby got sick, and she cuddled with me and helped me put blankets and give get-well kisses to the Studly Hubby to help him get better. Hopefully he will be over it just as fast as she was.

Whenever I am at work worrying about my baby at home, the Studly Hubby will send pictures to make me feel better. Today he sent me this picture during snack time.

Layla in the cart!

Now that Layla is a big 1-year old, she really likes running errands with us. Yesterday we took her to the mall and did a little shopping, which included a stop at Storables to look at locking garbage cans. While we were there we let Layla ride around in the cart for the first time.


Before this we rarely ever took Layla to the grocery store. We order a lot of our groceries from Amazon Fresh, we get a fresh veggie box twice a month, and the few times we go to the grocery store we either leave Layla at home or take her in a baby carrier or the stroller. After she had so much fun in the cart at Storables on Saturday, we decided to take her with us to the grocery store today and she had a blast. We had her ride around in the front part. It was a full grocery run with a full cart and by the end she really wanted to get at all the stuff we had piled up in the cart. Fortunately we were done right when she start really getting upset!