cheese

Last night, I was kneeling next to Eden trying to figure out why she wanted to play IN the suitcase while Graham was watching us from Eden's bed. Either she said cheese or Graham did, and he then pretended to start taking a picture of us.

Eden looked up at Graham, then leaned over and smushed her face next to mine to "take the picture" ... made my heart smile right then. We took quite a few pretend photos, and she leaned in each time. Too cute.

Christmas was full of joy, family, presents, and proper reflection. We laughed. We played. We reminisced.

Christmas was also, however, full of anxiety, doctors, unwanted gifts, and proper medication. It wasn't this way long, and it wasn't because we experience a variety of conflicting emotions due to family drama. Nope. Like last year around this time, Eden is currently battling a "cold." She initially came down with the sniffles around December 4th. Her cough started a week later and has stayed around for a while. On the Sunday night after Christmas {when we were supposed to be headed over to play cards with friends} Eden had a coughing attack.

As the name implies, it was not fun. She started coughing and could not stop. We called the triage nurse. She told us to turn on a hot shower and give Eden something warm to drink. She also recommended Benadryl - which,of course, we had left in Baton Rouge. So, I headed to Kroger {which sounds fine, but it is a 20 minute trip from Ashley's parents' house}{{Editor's Note: Graham said it was a good thing there weren't any cops out while he drove}}.

When I got back from Kroger, Eden was in a foggy bathroom with Ashley and her CC and Granddaddy. I slept in the room with Eden that night, and Ashley tried to get some sleep in an isololated location {though I'm told it was mildly unsuccessful}. Eden coughed every 20-30 minutes - some times it seemed as if she was awake and other times it was clear she was not. Regardless, every time she would mutter several names after her coughing fit - "Mommy. Daddy. Nona. Elmo." Yep, Elmo has made her VIP list.

We went to a doc-in-the-box on Monday morning. We were there for 3 hours and were basically told that it was a virus. Thanks. They did give us a little comfort by telling us her oxygen saturation was 98%.

And, I felt pretty good because when they pricked her finger she did not even cry ... I talked to her before, and told her what was going to happen. She looked at me, then at her finger while the nurse pushed blood out. She looked back at me with a confused look. I told her that they needed to do this to find out what was going on. She shrugged and showed me the index finger on her other hand. When it was over, I put a bandage on her finger. She pointed to my finger. So, I put a bandage on. She laughed and wanted to compare bandages.

Although she was relatively even tempered most of the time, there was also a bit of this given her short fuse ...

and this {"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy ... ... "}

but thankfully also this ...

On Monday night we decided to come back to Baton Rouge to see Eden's doctor. We left Tuesday around 1 p.m., and Eden slept until Denham Springs with only a few coughing spurts.

Ashley took her to the doctor today. {As a side note, I have officially thrown out my lower back - side effect of trying to stay in shape. So, I lay on the couch with a heating pad instead of accompanying Ashley and Eden to the doctor. Who said "when it rains it pours?"}

Her pediatrician did a few chest x-rays and found a mucus pocket on her right lung. Ashley got to experience holding Eden's arms above her head while Eden sat in a clear plastic tube for the chest x-ray - joy.

The diagnosis? It could be RSV {the official test apparently has a high false negative rate} or an a-typicial case of walking pneumonia. They did a breathing treatment, and that seemed to help. The doctor also put Eden on antibiotics and wants to see her next week.

Perhaps the most unique thing about the whole doctor's vist was that the nurse asked Eden to step up on the scale as she walked in. Ashley reports that the nurse of course did not seem phased by this change to our routine - it was the first time that Eden did not get placed in the baby scale. Eden just stepped up and got weighed. Amazing! I guess we shouldn't be so surprised since she hops up on our bathroom scale all the time and stands there like she can read the numbers. The balance was 25 pounds!

Tonight she was her normal self, albeit with a few more "Mommy-Mommy's" and whiney moments than usual. At bedtime she wanted to be tickled and to jump on the bed. She did her breathing treatment and went down without protest.

We'll keep updates posted as they come. We'll also post Christmas stuff soon.

photographer in training

Recently, Eden has turned her passion of the camera into a passion of using the camera. She'll point it and say "Cheese!" Of course, her aiming skills are not fully developed since she has to press the camera against her belly in order to push the button all the way down ...

... but Ashley has helped her by positioning some things in her view ...

... I help by encouraging Eden to take crazy pictures of her Momma.

Perhaps we'll have a second photographer in the house soon ...

Merry Christmas!

from Graham ...

from Ashley ...

i love ...

The other day I was sitting with Eden trying to get her to eat something for lunch. She was picking at everything. Then, she picked up her yogurt and put the spoon that was in the yogurt in her mouth and started pretending that the spoon was a straw. I asked her if she wanted to drink the yogurt. She said yes. So, I got out a straw.

She started sipping it ... after I realized that the straw wasn't working all that well, I put the yogurt in a blender with a little milk. She abolutely loved it!

Other things she loves lately are her baby, Betsy ...

... reading books (and sitting in her little cubby doing so) ...

... she also loves combining things that she loves - like reading books to Betsy ...

... and Lucy (who is pictured wearing Betsy's shirt that Betsy is normally restricted from wearing)

where is he?

On Sunday afternoon, we woke Eden up from her nap at 3:30 then put her in the car on our way to Bass Pro Shop ... we don't shop there ever, but we have formed a new family tradition that involves waiting in line for a picture with Santa. This time, we waited with friends which made it enjoyable. Of course, while we were standing there we were less than joyous when one of Santa's elves told us that Santa was taking a 30 minute break.

About 40 minutes into Santa's 30-minute break, we decided it would be fun to get a picture of Eden trying to find Santa ...

... in case you were wondering, he was in his workshop with Mrs. Claus (seriously, there was a little house, and both of them were inside for about 45 minutes).

While in line, Eden and Keegan were entertained by Saltines and Cheereos.

We were entertained by making fun of ourselves for standing in line for two hours waiting on Santa ...

... and the prospect of a few good pictures.

In our defense, there were supposed to be tickets available that would tell you the time to come back to take your Santa photo. Apparently, that system was "too confusing" so they just gave up and had people form a huge line. We will definitely have a different strategy next year.

a minute with Santa

We did, of course, get the picture. Like many toddlers, as soon as Eden saw Santa and figured out that she would sit on his lap, she started saying "No. No." All the coaxing in the world wasn't going to make that better. So, Ashley relived her childhood slightly ...

... Eden did not have a problem last year ...

I argued that "everyone needs a crying Santa picture." Maybe next year.

Goin' for a ride

Sarah, we really have tried to get Eden to practice saying your name but it just must be too hard for now. Guess you'll have to be patient.

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no way

Ashley was stressed on Friday. Not only are we in the middle of teaching an entire semester within the confines of 12 days (yes, we did it to ourselves, we know), but Ashley had also been feeling a little bit under the weather and PDO ended for the holidays on Thursday. So, what a surprise when Ashley called her mom on Friday afternoon and asked where are you to hear, "We're on our way to your house." "What? No way!"

Yes, way ...

Although Ashley had to teach on Saturday morning, she got to spend some QT with her mom and sister. Eden also enjoyed the time with her Aunt Whitney and CC (that's what she calls her now even though there is debate about her real name). I enjoyed them coming, seeing them for about 27 minutes, and getting to prep my class all morning on Saturday. A fun Friday night/Saturday for all.

*Editor's Note: The top photo was staged. It was really taken as they were leaving, but doesn't it look like they just arrived as a great surprise. The staged photo was of course Whit's idea.

I do not like you, Wintersession.

Now I know we signed up to teach this wintersession, but that is not keeping me from at times having a lot of ill will toward this session. On one hand, I only have 12 students (as opposed to 80), we are able to actually have conversations, and I'm getting paid extra which will help tremendously as Graham and I save for a house downpayment. For these things I am grateful.

On the other hand, I despise having to leave the house between 7 and 7:30, especially on mornings where Eden isn't even awake yet. And, I hate starting to feel sick and feeling exhausted from the continuous cycle of teaching for 3.5 hours, grading, preparing, etc. {I know it really isn't anything to complain about}. But most of all I dislike the wintersession because it meant that my baby needed to go have some fun on her own while we taught class this Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. And, I really, really hated the wintersession last night when I found out the Eden had a 104 degree fever as she was on her way to stay with her grandparents in Mobile ... and I wasn't with her!! Oooh, wintersession you have made me so sad.

I'll admit that I broke down last night and cried as I was supposed to be grading exams, but thankfully Eden and I are both doing better today. The report was that Eden had fun all day playing with her Aunt Ashley, Nona, and Big Daddy. I will get to see her in less than 48 hours, and I know between now and then she will have a grand time. I just selfishly wanted her with me.

So, dear wintersession, just wanted to let you know that I do not like you. Please don't get your feelings hurt. You are a good thing; you're just not at the top of my list these days.

- Ashley

Let's talk

Here's some proof of our recent conversations.

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our very own little sue sylvester

new p.j.'s

Hi, Daddy. Hi, Mommy.`

It was a dark and rainy night. I stepped out of my Camry and spotted a smiling face smushed against the window next to our front door. When I got close enough I heard, "Hi, Daddy. Hi, Daddy." This is, by far, the most impressive of her new phrases ... "Night, night, baby.", "More milk.", "Blue paci.", "Please, Daddy."

Of course, Ashley thinks her most impressive phrase is the "Hi, Mommy." Eden blurted when Ashley got her out of the car this afternoon. Ah, perspective.

{the photo is from October, but it's her favorite look-out spot}

memories

3months ...



21months ...

before and after

Well, I knew that post title would get the attention of some of you. This is a before-and-after, but it's really a mini before-and-after.

The Before ...

For Eden's first birthday party I decided to put up one photo from each month of her first year. You can imagine how hard it was for me to choose just one for each month, but I loved the end result. My brother was tempted to turn one crooked just to mess with me, but he didn't and the photos stayed up for ... ... 6 MORE MONTHS! I just loved seeing them so it didn't bother me that I had printer paper taped to the wall.

Finally at E's 18 month mark, I decided the pics really should come down. Se, we planned on finally printing and hanging some photos from my birthday gift last spring. Here is "and" of the before-and-after ...

I saw the frame on a whim at Target, ordered the one photo I was sure would go up, and put up the inbetween stage. Now don't worry, it only looks like the big frame is just resting against the wall. It was really attached at the top with removable velcro picture tabs - nice.

The After ...

Finally, just two days ago, I got the other two pictures Graham and I agreed on and put them up. Eden helped me prep the frames with rubbing alcohol. Courtney, please tell Britt not to worry, they only look crooked in the photo.

I think Eden approves.

ashley

more practice

today

{compare to her first curls in July}