Summer Mode

I cant believe its really been over two months since my last post and so much has happened and changed. Memorial Weekend was wonderful, as always. We took an extra day and went to the Schott's house on Monday and drove home on Tuesday. It was great - we got more time with them, got everyone clean which is always nice after camping, and avoided all the rush traffic home that we normally get going home on Monday.

We had a garage sale in June... successful overall. We had so many things we were holding on to because they were too big or "valuable" to donate, but really didnt have a purpose for anymore. So we got rid of all of them at the garage sale. We only made like $150, and the money wasnt worth the time and work involved in pulling the whole thing off, but it was worth going through the whole process to realize how valuable our space and time is. Hopefully we don't need to relearn the lesson anytime soon and can be good stewards of our home and keep a close eye on what comes into the house from now on.

Rory also had her first dentist appointment in June, and it went great. She was wonderful, and let the hygienist clean her teeth no problem.They could tell, however that she was still on the paci, as she has a little overbite, and told us it was best to get rid of it as soon as we were able. Easier said than done - we caved and gave it back to her after a few weeks of hell not having it. I lied in my last post when I said it was getting better. We will likely just take ALL pacifiers out of the house from BOTH girls at the same time.

We also had a few jeeping adventures, which we have now had I think 3 of as a family. Ryan has taken the girls out on his own a time or two as well. Its a fun outdoor activity that keeps the girls clean and restrained. :0) Its also fun to drive these roads and feel "extreme" even though its totally not (at least when you compare it to the YouTube videos of crazy jeep stuff).

Abby's 1st birthday party went off without a hitch - besides the sick birthday girl. She had developed a fever on Tuesday night, and it didn't clear up while at Diane's the next day. In fact it got worse, and so I had to call out on Thursday and Friday to stay home with the girls. It was high - 104 without Tylenol, and about 102 with it. I took her in on Friday to get it checked out and they tested for strep and a UTI (traumatic experience to watch her get a catheter poor thing), both negative and said it was likely Roseola which we would know if it cleared up and a rash presented after, or some other virus she was fighting. Sure enough, she was tired and slept through most of her party (woke up between 2 two-hour long naps to snap some grumpy pics and hit her pinata.), and the fever finally broke that Saturday evening, and on Sunday she got the rash.The party was wonderful though - Chuck and Carol were amazing hosts, Rodeo's taco cart was awesome food, and our margaritas on tap were a hit. It was also nice that the jump house was free to all the little kids for once, as there were not many older kids.

Then two weekends ago we did another camping trip with our good friends the Landis' in Palomar. We were excited that they raised enough funds to keep it open (it was on the budget cut chopping block). It is further away than other camping to central SD but its so green, with lots of trees, and the camping spots all have great amenities (food boxes, grills, accessible water, flushing toilets, trash cans) and lots of shade. We got side by side spots (19 & 20 for recording purposes). Besides a diarrhea mishap the first night with both girls, the weekend was a grand success. It was the first "test" of our mega camp/kitchen box that has a "stocked" list of items. It made packing much easier knowing that everything on the "stocked" list was already accounted for and we didnt have to pack.

The day after we got back, on our 7th year wedding anniversary, I lost my wedding rings. Im devastated, as the design was one of a kind and the diamond was a family stone. I have no idea where they went, as I don't remember taking them off. I only take them off to put on lotion at work and at home after showers. I've looked everywhere, and can't find them. I'm still holding out hope that they will turn up in some random place.

We are now gearing up for our big trip with Melinda and Nathan to the Grand Canyon and Zion. Its going to be spectacular.

The girls are great. Abby just eats all the time. When she's not eating, she is wandering around or playing - that girl never stops moving (except when she is sleeping). But she is turning out to have a really sweet and easy going personality. She doesn't seem to have nearly the stubborn streak that Rory has. She really only flips out when she is hungry. She enjoys her finger foods, but still needs the "substance" of her old baby food and cereal. Luckily most of the time we can get some in Rory too, which that little stick girl needs. Abby is not picky and will eat just about anything. Rory is still picky, and what she will eat changes every day. She is starting to talk, saying basic things like mom, dad, dog, or at least her versions. She says "ya" but for no, she just shakes her head vigorously.

Still no more teeth for Abby but I think she is teething again - she has been in pain and keeps grabbing her mouth. I'm realizing that Abby's body manifests more severe symptoms, and that they are  more painful for her than with Rory:

Abby: Terrible teething; in a lot of pain long before the tooth is even visible beneath the skin.
Rory: Got a low grade fever the day before the tooth popped, which didn't bother her, and neither did the actual tooth coming in. In fact, I prepped her for months about getting her final molars, and told her to tell me if her teeth hurt and we could give her something for it. She never did, until one day I noticed that she had one of them. She didn't even notice!

Abby: Got Roseola and the worst range of the symptoms associated with it. 5 days of a high fever, followed by 2 days of rash.
Rory: If she did get it, we didn't even notice it (most kids get it by the age of 2 but in some, the symptoms are so mild the child and parents don't realize it)

Abby: When she is sick she has a really tough time, is clearly in a lot of pain and needs Tylenol.
Rory: When she is sick she really just gets cuddly and sleeps a lot. Not a big complainer.

What it boils down to is this:
Abby: Ryan's pain threshold
Rory: My pain threshold

In other girls news, Rory has been doing a good job of pooping in the potty. Its been a long road; she has for the most part gotten the peeing down, and besides going a little bit in her panties if she gets distracted, waits too long or doesn't want to take the time to go to the bathroom, she is pretty much good to go. But the pooping was a problem. Recently it was clear that her natural cycle put her at pooping sometime between bedtime and morning time, so she was pooping in her sleep most of the time. Well thats a huge mess, since she would not wake up after doing it... so she was rolling around in a poopy diaper all night long. And shes got big girl, full adult nasty poops now. So we were lucky if all we had to do was clean up a poopy diaper and change her pajamas. Some episodes involved sheet changing and baths... lets just say we are VERY happy we decided to leave the plastic cover that came on the mattress. Anyway, so we started including trying to go poop into her bedtime routine. She wasn't happy with it at first, but with lots of insisting on our part, various bribing techniques, she is now going poop almost every night before bed. And those nights that she doesn't its because she has given it an honest try, and just doesn't have anything to offer to the toilet, and generally stays clean all night then. I'm really hoping we don't have as tough of a time with Abby, because potty training with Aurora has been a nightmare.