California 2012

Poor Sassy. She had a runny nose for about a week. Chris and I weren't too concerned with it. Last Wednesday night/Thursday morning she woke up at 3am vomiting. Poor thing--we cleaned her up and made plans for Mommy to stay home on Thursday. On Thursday the vomiting continued...On Friday the vomiting continued. On Friday, Leah was only awake for 5 hours of the day.

Chris and I were very concerned about our little one. We called the pediatrician, who told us that a virus seemed to be going around. We were advised to keep her hydrated, well-rested, and comfortable--and that the bug usually works its way out of the system in 24-48 hours.

Chris and I started wondering whether we would be able to make it to California. We knew we weren't going to put our baby through a day of cross-country travel if she had vomited recently or if she had a temperature. The airline was willing to cancel our tickets, and put the money we paid for the trip into a "voucher" to to use within the year. We figured we could go to California in April, if needed.

Leah woke up Saturday morning, vomit free. After looking her over, we decided that she was well enough to travel.

Friday Afternoon
Saturday Morning

Well, Leah was definitely ready to travel on Saturday. She had a great time at the airport watching the planes, eating fruit snacks, and dancing around. We thought she was recovered. After all, she had been sick for a week and a half, right?

Wrong. Leah knocked out the trip on Saturday (she is such a traveler! All smiles and laughing. No screaming, whining or complaining). On Sunday, she seemed a little tired, but we expected that after a day of travel. On Sunday evening she developed an upset belly. By Monday afternoon she was vomiting again. Monday evening she was running at 102 degree temperature. On Tuesday she developed a runny nose, congestion, and general fussiness. This continued throughout the trip. Though she was an awesome traveler on the way home, she looked awful. She kept coughing and her eyes were all red and swollen.

We made the best out of California. We tried to take her to the beach, playground and do other short activities that we thought she would enjoy when she seemed to be on the upswing. She spent most afternoons and evenings in the bedroom watching DVDs (good thing we packed several) and cuddling with Momma and/or Dadda.

Though we enjoyed our time in California, it wasn't the trip we had planned. This was the last vacation that the three of us will take. Soon there will be a little sister in the mix. I was hoping that we could make this trip a fun last hurrah for her as an only child. I'm already starting to plan a short weekend trip in the near future, because I feel like poor Sass was robbed of a vacation. Luckily, I know the only thing she cares about is having her Mommy and Daddy close. I am sure she was happier sick in California (with her Mommy and her Daddy there to dote on her 24/7) than in Michigan.

Now we are all recovering from our vacation. We hope to see a healthy Sassy in the next few days!

Domaine Carneros

Even though I'm 7 months pregnant, I couldn't pass up a trip to my favorite winery. Before leaving in the morning, Leah seemed to be feeling well. I thought she was recovered. Once we arrived in Napa, it was obvious that she wasn't feeling well. Leah got an upset tummy at the winery. Her only solace was the fruit snacks that Grandma packed. Here she is putting on her best, "I'm only doing this for the fruit snacks" face.

Leah in the Tub

Leah was quite freaked out by Grandma's bath tub. It has glass sliding doors instead of the shower curtain she is used to. She was just not comfortable in the tub.

Grandma suggested using a blue tub in the shower with us. So, for the entire trip, Leah bathed in a mini tub while Chris and I showered (luckily the shower is quite large). Chris and I thought it was funny that Sassy was bathing in a "kitty litter tub" (for the record--it was never used as a kitty litter tub). She loved it, though.

Playground Pics.

Leah was well enough to go to the playground most mornings. We would go and spend 15 minutues or so at the playground, and another 30 minutes or so at the beach. By the afternoon, she was usually pretty beat down. The above picture is my new favorite picture. So cute!

Leah liked sitting on the bridge while Mama or Dadda jumped. She would bounce right off!

My little Elton John.

Bodega Bay Beach

When Sassy got the beach, she looked at it skeptically for a few minutes before deciding that she would like to get out of the stroller and play. She found an old log, and she immediately set about covering it with sand, rocks, and feathers. Here is Sassy looking at the water for the first time (this trip). She wasn't sure what to make of it. I think, in general, she likes the ocean. As we were driving to the airport, she said, "bye bye ocean" several times.

Sassy and her finished log/rock/sand creation. She was pretty proud.

These pictures got all out of order. Oh well.

Daddy's Hike with Grandpa

Leah really prefered to be in bed watching Sesame Street or a Muppet Movie for most of the trip. We would lay in bed, and she would just watch DVD after DVD, sip on Petalyte, and suck her Nukie. When she would nap, she would sleep restlessly (lots of kicking, snoring, and searching out for skin to touch) and preferred for someone to nap with her. Daddy started to go a little stir crazy in the back bedroom of Grandma and Grandpa's house. One day he went for a hike with Grandpa while I stayed with Sassy. Here are some of his views.

Blowin' Bubbles

Sassy had fun blowing bubbles out on the patio. She was really excited to blow bubbles, with the weather "nice" in Michigan, and her able to play outside, she will often ask to play with the sand table or blow bubbles. I have to remind her that both activities need to wait until Spring. Leah's technique is really improving. She got more bubbles than ever independently!

Sassy got to wear her beloved Elmo shoes again in California. They have gotten a little tight. When she kicked her feet forward, her toes would come out of Elmo's mouth. Leah would walk on her toes every time she put them out. Watching her try to "tip toe" in the shoes was pretty darn cute, though I was afraid she would fall on her face.

Oakland Zoo

I researched zoos in the Bay Area before leaving for California. I found some really good reviews of the Oakland Zoo. We decided to try it out. Sassy enjoyed the zoo for the first hour or so. Then she got an upset belly and got a little grumpy. She spent the last half hour or so demanding to be carried. Poor thing obviously wasn't feeling well still. I'm happy she enjoyed at least part of the zoo, though. The weather was beautiful, 80 and sunny. Her favorite animals this time seemed to be the monkeys, turtles, giraffes, and meerkats.

We took some family pictures at the end of the trip. I should have learned from the Toledo Zoo experience to take these types of pictures first. Sassy is obviously done (Nuk in mouth, sullen expression, papoosed to Mama). I wanted it to be a great experience for her, like the Detroit and Toledo Zoos were, but she was still not-quite herself. I think she enjoyed the zoo, but I think we'll plan another trip when she is 100%

I thought Sassy was being cute playing "peek-a-boo" in the leaves, but she was really just looking for some privacy with her upset belly.

Earlier in the week, Leah and Daddy were singing "Old MacDonald". Daddy put zebras on the farm, and invented a silly sound for them to make. When we came up to the zebras at the zoo, we heard a weird bird screeching sound/barking sound. Turns out it was the zebras. They did not make quite the cute, silly sound Daddy had them make in the song.

This adorable monkey just hung from a tree branch for over 5 minutes. It was really cute.

Happy Valentine's Day

Poor Sassy has had a runny nose for the past week (plus). Her little face is starting to get irritated and chapped from the constant nose rubbing. I think I've caught a variation of her illness. I feel so bad for her if she has felt like I do now for the past week. Leah is such an all-star, though, you'd never know she's sick aside from her nose (and the 20 minute hysterical crying fest at 11:30 one night last week). Luckily, rubbing a little vasoline on her face makes her feel good. She'll ask to put "blue on face" throughout the day. She really slathers it on!

We had a lovely Valentines day. Besides the happiness that comes from the polka-dot princess, we had a family dinner of Chinese (just what I've been craving) and exchanged some lovely gifts. Leah got a play cookie set and a new Pinkalicious sticker book. I got a new bracelet from Tiffany (very unexpected, though appreciated!). And Daddy got the company of his two favorite ladies.

My Ride

We are taking a family vacation to California! We knew we needed a car seat this vacation. We didn't want to lug our beloved Britax, or risk it getting damaged in transit, so we bought a second car seat. Leah can display some serious control issues with her car seat. She doesn't like when it is moved around the car (cries, "noooooo! noooo!" and frantically clings on to you like you are trying to give her to a new family when you try to put her in her seat), she wasn't a fan of it being turned around, and Lord knows how she'll react when we try to put her in a new car. We decided to get her acclimated to the seat before the trip. The good news is that Leah loves her seat. She watched a DVD in it this weekend while Daddy watched a basketball game. The amount of "friends" in the seat with her just kept growing.

Look! The new seat has cup holders! Perfect for the girl on the go--the hard part is choosing whether an elephant or a sippy cup should sit in the holder.

Check out the toes! Leah wanted red toes for valentines day. Her feet look like a 30 year old woman's feet on a 2 year olds body.

Outside in February!

The weather this weekend was nice enough to let us play outside. Leah loved going for walks and playing on the patio. She was a little bummed out that I wouldn't move the sand table back out or let her play with bubbles.

Sesame Live!

This weekend we went back to Sesame Live!

Baby Lukey and family came with us to the show. In an effort to fit 2 preggos, 2 babies, and 2 daddies into the van, we had to turn Leah's car seat around. She is now forward facing so Mama and Dada are driving extra carefully!

Leah got a new Abby shirt with her favorite, go to catch phrase, "That's so magical". The next day we went to get dressed and Leah was insistent on wearing her "pink Abby shirt".