Poor little kid...

Sydney has molluscum contagiosum. Basically she as a few little tiny bumps on her face. They kind of look like small, smooth warts. The doctor said they will go away on their own, and once they go, they are gone forever. You can have them removed (liquid nitrogen), but it is pretty painful - especially for a 2 year old.

Anyway, Sydney scratched one of these little bumps one night and it started bleeding. We noticed it the next morning and we washed it with soap and water and didn't think much of it. Three days later it was extremely red and about the size of a quarter. When we touched it it was really hard.

WARNING, IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH DO NOT CONTINUE READING. JUST SCROLL TO THE PICTURES



The next morning she woke up screaming. She scratched it and blood and puss were everywhere! It was disgusting. So Donnie and I had to hold her down while I pushed all of the yucky ooze out. Blood and puss were flowing down, and her cheek was a purply-black color. We used about 10 tissues to saok it all up. IT WAS DISGUSTING!

I called the doctor and made her an appointment for that afternoon. After a really long wait and a rude doctor, we left with a bandaged child and two prescriptions.

My mom came with me to help out with Jaxon, and I am so glad she did. I had to hold Sydney down while the doctor pushed out the blood and whatnot that accumulated since that morning.

The dr said that we have to wash the area with peroxide, dry it, apply the gel (Rx) and then cover it with gauze. We have to do this for at least a week, when we have to go back for a check up. If it starts to fill up again, we have to take her to the hospital. She is also taking an oral antibiotic every six hours - which I have to force down her throat.

She is doing remarkably well. This morning she laid on my lap after her bath and held the tape while I did the rest. She even agreed to take her medicine if I would let her pick a piece of candy out of the candy bucket. She chose Donnie's sour gummy worms (sorry honey!).

The swelling is gone and her cheek is almost back to a normal color - there is just one red spot about the size of a dime. She is taking it all in stride, but has informed me that she is not going back to the doctor again - it's Jaxon's turn.

Are they for real?

So I recently read an article in a parenting magazine that said, "Your child will triple his birthweight in the first year of his life."

Umm, Jaxon was 9 lbs 6 oz at birth so that would mean he would weigh in at over 28 lbs on his first birthday. Sydney only weighs 33 lbs and she's almost 3. Are they sure about this? If so, he better start walking next week!

At his 4 month check up, Jaxon weighed 16lbs 3oz and measured 26 1/2 inches, so he is a little bigger than most 4 month olds, but 28 lbs might be a little much. At least I hope!

After months of grining and bearing it, Jaxon has finally found Sydney's weakness - hair.

Here she is "calling" Grandma to tell her what Baby Brother did.

Yesterday we went to help Donnie's brother and his family pack - they are moving across the country (**sniffle, sniffle**). Sydney decided to do a little packing as well.

Fun times

Sydney is pretty much potty trained, but sometimes she's a little lazy (or distracted), and just pees in her pants rather than going to the bathroom. So, to help Sydney with potty consistency, we put a Dora chart on the fridge and told her when all 21 squares have a sticker in them we can go to the toy store, and she can pick a prize. The catch is that when she doesn't go to the potty, but has an "accident," we take away a sticker.

I have tried to be very supportive and cheer her on, and I guess it's working. Yesterday I walked out of the living room and Sydney followed me to the bathroom. She walked in and said, "Wow! Mom I am so proud of you! You did a great job! Now we can go put a sticker on your chart!"

She was so excited about it that we did, indeed, put a sticker on "my chart" (a calendar hanging on the fridge). If we fill up my chart do I get a day at a spa?

Jaxon's 4 months!

Jax had his 4 month check up this week. He weighs 16 lbs 3 oz and is 26 1/2 inches long. He also rolled over for the first time while we were at the doctor's office. He seemed surprised - even more so than me:-)

He is such a sweet baby. He has the cutest smile - with two little dimples. He loves to see his big sister. Everytime she comes close to him, he lights up. I hope they will always be this sweet to eachother.

The Real Halloween...

So last night was finally Halloween and I no longer have to hide Sydney's costume from her (she wanted to wear it ALL OF THE TIME).

I also found out that there wasn't really a reason to hide it from her because by the third house her wings were broken - sad! She also refused to wear a crown last night. So for (the real) Halloween, Sydney was a ballerina, not a ballerina-fairy-princess like she told me she wanted to be. At last she was what she wanted, and that's all that matters.

According to Donnie, Halloween ranks second in the holiday department (right after Christmas), so last night was a big deal for him too. He loves to go trick or treating! He loves to pick out neighborhoods weeks in advance and concoct plans on how to acquire the maximum candy load. It's really kind of funny to see how excited he gets.

We went trick or treating with Deidra, Jeannette, Dustin, and all of the kids. Jaxon and I tagged along for one street then we went back to Deidra's.


At one house, the lady said, "When I see a tutu I expect some entertaintainment. Are you going to do a little dance?" Sydney set down her bag and started spinning around in circles, singing "Dance, dance, dance." It was so cute. I wish we would have recorded it.


Then a few houses later Sydney just sat down on the porch with another lady as she was handing out candy. She just started talking to her. It was so funny! As we walked from house to house Sydney would sing songs she made up about Halloween.







































Sydney absolutely loved it and probably could have gone around all night begging for candy, but they came home around 9:30.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween came a little early this year for us. We already have attended two parties and collected A LOT of candy.


I don't really feel the need to go trick-or-treating Friday, but I'm sure Donnie has other plans. He loves trick-or-treating! Sydney did a pretty good job trunk-or-treating last night, so I guess it runs in the family.


Here a few pictures, but I will have to post a good front and a good back picture of Sydney's costume later. We couldn't get her to stand still long enough to get a great photo.

Here is our little Teddy Bear Jaxon














And here is our fairy princess




























































































































And in other news, do you think Jaxon looks like his dad?
































(That's his cute little cousin who is 43 days older than Jax)

Kids say the...you know the phrase

Sydney is quite the talker these days. In many ways it's great because she tells what she needs. and if something is wrong she can communicate that with us as well. The downside, however, is that she has a complete lack of inner-dialogue.When she thinks something, she says it aloud - and she doesn't speak softly.

Last night we went to Target (she also dresses herself these days and so she wore a pink tutu [over her jeans] and pink princess shoes, and refused to ride in a buggy) and she provided the color commentary the entire time.

As we walked by the Hallmark section Sydney took off down the aisle. Then she screamed, "Ahhh! This old lady's coming by me."There was a lady on the same aisle looking at cards, but she was maybe 40 (not old by any means) and she wasn't even close to Sydney.

It was enough, however, to send Sydney running and screaming.I felt badly that she called the lady old - and said it so loudly - but I was laughing so hard that I couldn't do anything about the situation.

I'm sure the lady heard because Donnie was two aisles away and he heard her. Hopefully she wasn't listening enough to understand.

Did I really sign up for this?

Some days I need a reminder as to why I decided to become a mother. This doesn't happen very often, but with a 2 year old, it happens. In fact, today is one of those "remind me again" days.

As I sat at the kitchen table with my sewing machine working on a tutu for Sydney's Halloween costume, I heard a scream, followed by the words I never want to hear again: "I have poop on my hands!"

I slowly pushed back from the table, and pleaded with Heavenly Father, "Please, let this be a game of pretend." I didn't need to wait for an answer to my silent prayer, because I could hear the frantic patter of Sydney's feet making their way to the bathroom.

We arrived at the door at the same time, both in a state of disgust. I shook my head in disbelief and asked Sydney why she had poop on her hands, to which she matter-of-factly replied, "I had to clean it off my doll house."

I quickly put Sydney on her stool, loaded her hands with soap, and instructed her to keep her hands in the water until I got back.

In her room, I found her panties shoved into the doll house and a pile of what should-only-go-into-a-potty-and-never-be-seen otherwise, artfully displayed across the entire roof of the doll house.

As I choked back the vomit, I cleaned the house with an entire pack of Clorox wipes. Then I took everything to the trash can outside. I returned to the bathroom and silently washed Sydney's hands. Then I opened a new tub of Clorox wipes and scrubbed the sink. I handed Sydney a new pair of underwear, and went to the kitchen to bake cookies. It was the only thing that seemed to make me not so mad.

All of her toys have been put away for the rest of the day - her books and puzzles are still accessible - and now, I am just waiting for the oven timer to beep so that the world can return to a happy place.

Like I said before, these are not things that should be seen, so I do not have any pictures to add. Plus, our camera battery died two weeks ago and I can't find the charger. I guess I will have to buy a new one (argh...).