This past week turned out kinda differently than I had planned.

Wes was sick over the weekend. He woke up several times Saturday night, I think because he was dry heaving. He slept pretty much all day Sunday. Occasionally I’d pull him out of bed when he was awake to see if he wanted to watch Barney or Signing Time, but he’d fall asleep again after a few minutes. He threw up a few times after I tried to give him something to drink. On Monday he was better, playing and acting a lot more normally, even eating pretzels and drinking diluted milk.

Both kids had a doctor’s appointment on Monday. It was Carissa’s two-month checkup and Wesley’s three-year one. I knew it’d be a little tiring for me, keeping a handle on Wes and keeping him from touching things he shouldn’t at a doctor’s office while keeping Carissa content. Carissa was scheduled for immunizations, but the surprise was that Wes needed a booster shot, and we decided to give him a flu shot too.

I managed to get both kids through their various weighings and measurings, pokings and proddings, and both came away appearing healthy and growing. Carissa is already 9 lbs 10 oz and 22 inches long, up from 7 lbs 9 oz and 19.5 inches at birth. That’s 23rd percentile for weight and 38th for length. Wes is 27 lbs and 34.5 inches. On the “typical kid” chart, that’s 11th percentile for weight and 2nd for height. It would be a higher percentile on the DS chart.

When it came time for shots I opted for Wes to get his first so he could calm down a little before Carissa got hers. Good decision. He cried, of course, but he got over it once he saw that Carissa was getting something done to her. He was more concerned about her than him and quickly forgot his own little pokes. Carissa, I have to say, did not handle the shots especially gracefully. I don’t remember Wes as a baby crying quite as much or as long as she did. It took a while for her to calm down. But at least both kids weren’t crying at once.

Wes was fussy and cranky the rest of the day, probably because he wasn’t feeling all that great. I had planned to go to a Zumba class that night once he was in bed. I needed the exercise and sometimes it’s nice to do something just for me. Frankly, I was a little tired of cleaning up throw up. Even the cat had thrown up. I settled Wes in bed a little after 8 and about three minutes after I left him I heard him crying. I went to check on him and he had thrown up. Everywhere. I changed his clothes, changed his sheets. Cleaned the carpet. Cleaned the mattress and crib rails. Started laundry. Got him settled again and by then it was close to 10 p.m. Time for bed.

Tuesday he was even better. However, a couple hours before I had to leave to teach my first Zumba class I started feeling not-so-great. But I went and taught my class anyway. I took a bottle of Sprite for my tummy. Class was actually pretty good, but the further into it the more sick I got. By the end I was not doing so great. Afterward I sat a few minutes to gather my strength and a couple of my students kindly offered to help me out to my car. I had one more class to teach, but I was able to find a sub on short notice, which I was grateful for.

I went home feeling miserable and crashed. I think I was pretty dehydrated. After several hours of sipping water and sleeping I started to feel better. The next day was better.

On Thursday I was going to send Wes back to school (we kept him home on Tuesday as he recovered). I was excited because usually I use that time he’s at school for getting things done related to work, but since I had a sub lined up for my class that night, I could use those hours for something purely fun or me-oriented. And Wes was so excited, sitting out on the front porch with his denim jacket and backpack and lunchbox all packed, waiting for the bus. And it didn’t come. And didn’t come. And didn’t come. The bus has been late before, but after a while I finally put 2 and 2 together and realized that’s Fall Break and there is no school.

So Plan B was to take Wes and Carissa for a ride in the car to Walmart so he could still go somewhere and I could get some errands accomplished. It wasn’t exactly fun or me-oriented, but it was productive. We go and get everything on the list, the kids are both being good, and we finish up with just enough time to get Wes home in time for his nap. Perfect.

Then I’m standing in line with all our items on the conveyor belt when I fish through my purse and realize my wallet’s at home. Dang it.

So I apologize to the clerk and tell her I’ll be back soon, take both kids back to the car, drive home, get the wallet, and drive back to Walmart. By this time Wes is dead asleep. I pull him from the car and into the cart, but he can’t stay awake. He keeps nodding off and wanting to lay his head on the front handle. I was so worried the Walmart cashier would be all snotty with me for forgetting my wallet, but I was relieved to find she was a nice cashier! She had set aside all my bags and simply scanned the receipt so I could pay for it. Then she looked at Wes and said she has a friend with Down syndrome, and she thinks her friend is more normal than not. Which I agreed with. And then she said, “I think he may give you a run for your money.” Which I also agreed with.

So that’s the week so far. A few more days to go.

Wes and Carissa.

Wes is 3 and Carissa is 5 1/2 weeks.

Wes loves preschool and is so excited when the bus comes. He hops on board and doesn’t look back. He loves to count (or, rather, I count while I hold up my fingers and he holds up his hand). And I just taught him the “Give me five, up high, down low, too slow” thing and he thinks it’s hilarious. He likes playing in his sandbox out back, which means I frequently get to brush sand out of his hair and sweep up sand that’s thrown everywhere. But he sure has fun. We’re also working on brushing his teeth at night. This is essentially torture for everyone involved, but maybe someday it’ll get easier.

Carissa’s eyelashes are growing in long and curly and I am hopeful she has John’s luscious lashes. She’s getting stronger at holding her head up and does well at tummy time. And she’s starting to smile on purpose, but not too often yet. Someday I’ll catch it on camera. Smiles really open up a baby’s personality, like they’re more than diapers and milk–they’re a person!

This week I resumed teaching Zumba and it’s good! Even last night when my pants (which I usually cinch up) were too long and I slipped and totally biffed it hard and nearly fell off the stage and the microphone’s batteries died and then didn’t work even when I replaced them–the class was still good! A couple girls came up to thank me for how sweaty they were. One said she looked at the clock once, sure class wasn’t even half over, but discovered there were only ten minutes left. That’s Zumba. I am glad to be back.

I am watching what I eat, following an eating program designed by KristiApproved, and it is the best thing ever. I’m eating a structured, well-balanced diet that’s low carb, high protein, and very low sugar. I love it. I grocery shop on the weekend, get all my food prepared and in the fridge, so when it’s time to eat I know exactly what to eat and it doesn’t take long to prepare. I eat essentially the same thing every day for seven days, with some variation. I thought this would be weird, but it’s totally easy and convenient.

This is one of my favorite things to eat. I usually have it about mid-morning, and it’s so tasty that Wes eats mine and then I have to make myself a new one. It’s egg that makes me think I’m eating a pancake.

Egg Pancake

1 egg
2 egg whites
cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla Stevia

Mix ingredients and pour into greased skillet heated on medium. Spread to crepe or pancake size. Cook until you can flip it, then reduce heat to low and cook 1-2 minutes more. Serve with 2 Tbsp sugar-free syrup.

Stevia is new to me. It’s a natural zero-calorie sweetener and it is the first non-sugar sweetener I’ve ever used that I actually like. Scratch that. LOVE. I also put the Stevia in club soda for a drink that’s like a creme soda. So good.

I always eat the egg pancake with apple spice oatmeal. Also so stinkin’ good.

Apple Spice Oatmeal

1/4 apple, diced
2 Tbsp instant oatmeal
2 Tbsp cream of wheat
1/2-2/3 c. water
1/2 packet sugar-free apple cider powder
cinnamon

Microwave apple 30 seconds until soft. Microwave oats and cream of wheat with the water for a minute or two. Remove and stir in apple, sugar-free apple cider powder, and cinnamon.

And both those things eaten together is only about 240 calories.

First off, here’s our resident princess.

She’s nearly five weeks old now, growing, and I think her blue-black hair is starting to go more dark brown/black.

This week I start teaching Zumba again. I’m looking forward to it and hope I don’t keel over in the first hour from lack of stamina. Five weeks postpartum might be a little early to start, but I hope it will be good. I’m following a new eating schedule that so far I love. It’s helping me feel healthier, more energetic, and I’m starting to lose a little weight. All good things.

A lot of big changes lately for Wes. He turned three on September 12. First, he got a bouquet of balloons from my folks. He went nuts over those.

His occupational therapist (whom we love) brought him a terrific and timely gift of a memory matching game. We’ve been working with him on matching, and he’s doing so great. Instead of flimsy cards, the pictures are on more of a cardboard material so Wes can’t destroy them as easily. There are pictures of balls (his favorite toy), and even of pretzels (his favorite food)!

We took him to an indoor bounce house place. Wes is completely in his element there. He jumps off everything and is braver than I am on the really tall slides. Here he is climbing with his cousin Savannah.

For his birthday I made cupcakes, more for the tradition of it than for Wes to eat. He’s not into cake. Too bad, as these were cream-filled chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter cream frosting.

I bought him some pretzel M&Ms that he ate instead. But we still lit a candle and sang to him, and John blew out the candle for him. Maybe next year he’ll know how to blow on things.

But he does know how to open presents, and he got to do that.

Now that Wes is three he starts preschool. He’s been there twice so far and, as far as I can tell, he likes it. He doesn’t really talk, so I actually have no idea what he truly thinks of it, or what exactly he does each day, but the teacher has a blog where she posts highlights of what they’re learning about.

I know he likes riding the bus. We sit outside on our front porch and wait for it to come. When it pulls us, Wes jumps up and walks down the steps and gets on the bus without even looking back. And when he comes home from school he is tuckered and takes a great nap. So far, preschool is good.

Reason #126 why having a little girl baby can be fun: Dress-up.

I gave Carissa a bath yesterday, and she hated it. She burst out crying the instant the warm water hit her tummy, and she flushed so brightly red that for a minute I thought maybe something was wrong. So we had a noisy bath time as she screamed, but at least she got clean.

Here she is right afterward, still looking offended.

Wes was in the same room playing as I started to bathe his sister. When she started to cry he hid himself under the sink (presumably waiting for her to stop). When she didn’t he popped back out and I saw that his lip was pouty and poised for crying himself. Which he did. And then he ran into his room and cried some more. Two crying kids.

So this is why I asked someone to watch Wes today while I took Carissa to her two-week checkup at the doctor’s. I knew they were going to do the PKU (where they poke her heel and squeeze out blood for testing), and that it would be cause for some serious crying. And frankly, one crying kid at the doctor’s office is plenty.

Aside from the PKU testing, the checkup was positive. Carissa is gaining weight at a terrific rate. She was born 7 lbs 9 oz, left the hospital at about 7 lbs 3 oz, and two weeks later she’s 8 lbs 2 oz. That’s about the 41st percentile. She’s grown 1/2 inch (I thought she was starting to fill out her newborn sleepers) to 20 inches long.

Today was a good day for a few reasons.

1. I fit into my first pair of non-maternity pants. It’s a little snug, but I’m happy to have at least one non-maternity clothes option.

2. Carissa’s umbilical cord fell off. She now officially has a belly button.

3. We took our first family outing. As we pulled out of the driveway I realized we had four persons in the car. FOUR.

The outing was fun. We celebrated the momentous event by getting lunch at In-N-Out. We hadn’t been there yet (except for once in California). The burgers were cheap yet delicious.

Then we went to CostCo and spent too much, as always. But the very best thing we got there (in my opinion) was the $1.50 waffle cone hand-scooped with three flavors of gelato: mixed berry, pistachio, and vanilla with chocolate chunks.

Oh. My. Good. Heavens.

The place was jam packed with people (Saturday afternoon), so John took our goods out to the car while I waited in line. It was totally worth the wait. And the buck-fifty. Wes and I sat outside in the shade and shared the cone. He liked it. I liked it. We came home very happy.