Household update

I have been having a tough time finding time to blog and when I do, I am generally so tired that I can't come up with anything too inspired or cohesive. I have been really trying to unplug and connect with Bill in the evenings b/c we have a hard time finding time to tend to each other and it bugs me. I am afraid that if we don't make an effort to connect, the days all blend together in the routine of parenting and I worry that a couple of years will go by and we will look at each other like, "Hi there, who are you again?". Its definitely not easy to nurture your relationship when you rarely get time away from the kids and evenings are filled with screen time and then we dive into bed hoping to get a couple of hours before someone wakes up. So we are working on that.

Here is what has been going on in our house:

We are in the throws of remodeling our house. Our back yard is all mud and there is a big hole with the cement poured for the foundation. Its especially lovely when it rains. Especially b/c we have to go through the back yard to access our garage (we have alley access to our garage only). We are becoming one with mud and dirt and noise, which has made me care even less if my house is clean and tidy. I am not sure what is going to happen when they tear down the wall and we don't have use of our kitchen. A shitload of take-out, I imagine--LOL!

Lana is such a joyful kid lately. So sweet and kind. She laughs a lot, has a ton of energy and TALKS. The talking can sometimes totally overwhelm me. She just keeps on going from the moment she wakes up till the moment her eyes slam shut. Her behavior has been stellar (I'm sure I jinxed myself many times over here), except for a few instances of not listening, which usually leads to me raising my voice, which then promptly hurts her feelings and she "needs a minute" which means she goes to her room for a few minutes to either cool off or cry. There has been no major behavior issues, no leaving public places kicking and screaming like we used to do, no time-outs in the corner with the timer, no privileges being taken away. I am enjoying this moment of calm b/c I know it can be fleeting.

She has been doing great in school. Lana loves her teachers and her classmates. She is beginning to sound out words, read a few and her writing is impressive (I think, at least). The art continues to amaze me, mostly b/c she is so into it and she takes it so seriously.

Lana is also becoming interested in her sister, finally. She has always been very kind to Lacey, but she has seemed a little afraid of her, mostly b/c Lacey was so tiny and delicate and we were always reminding her to be gentle. Now Lana wants to hold her, feed her with the spoon and "play" with her. Lana has never said anything mean to or about Lacey, which has really surprised me. I am so looking forward to watching their relationship develop and I hope and pray everyday that they like each other most days.

Lacey, sweet Lacey is 6 months old!!! I know this deserves its own post. She is such a happy and calm baby. She loves to cuddle and be held. She has such an easygoing personality and it still amazes us--we literally had no idea that babies could be like this. I can't help but compare Lacey to Lana when she was a baby and the differences are astounding! Things that were a HUGE deal for Lana (like immunizations, or strangers) are no biggie for Lacey. Of course, Lana slept through the night by the time she was 6 months old and well, we are no where near that goal with Lacey. But I know one day she will sleep and so will I. It may be a year from now, but at least its possible. A couple of days ago, Lacey had some great nights where she was only up 3 times in 12h (with a 5h stretch!). But last night, she was back to her every 2h business, which sucks. The sleep training has helped her take longer naps and she has a pretty predictable schedule now, but nights are still all over the place. It is SO hard to listen to crying in the middle of the night especially b/c she tends to cry for a few minutes, stop for a few minutes, then start again and stop--this can go on for an hour or more. I know 5 minutes of nursing will put her back to sleep (and us too), so I often cave after about 30 min of the on/off crying. Things have gotten tons better overall, but like I said, we are not even remotely close to sleeping through.

Lacey only rolls from belly to back at this point probably b/c we are always holding her. She sits up pretty well, but she will topple over after a few minutes. We started introducing solids a couple of weeks ago and she is doing great with it so far. She loves rice cereal and sweet potatoes. She does pretty well with prunes and apples, but butternut squash she sends back every spoonful. I am amazed at how much volume she can eat of the solids. So far I am doing some trials with the Gerber stage 1 foods, but I just bought a mini blender and some ice cube trays so that I can make my own foods. I never did this with Lana, but I am going to try with Lacey and see how it goes. I can only hope that Lacey is half as good of an eater as Lana. So far, so good though! I have to admit that the whole baby food stage is not my favorite. Its so messy and the poops get really gnarly.

I finally had Lacey allergy tested. Her eczema was not getting better. Well, it gets better as long as we keep the steroids on her skin. As soon as we stop, the eczema comes right back. But even when you can't see any rash, she still seems itchy. Its the worst on her head, forehead and around her ears. She scratches like crazy, especially at night. Up until a few days ago, she has been swaddled arms in because of the scratching. We did one arm out, now both arms are out. But, I have to keep her hands covered when her arms are out so she doesn't scratch. It is getting hard to find shirts with the hand-covers on the wrists in her size. So we are going to try the second line treatment for eczema and I took her to the allergist to see if there was anything in my diet that may be contributing to the eczema. The skin test revealed a very strong allergy to milk (I am already eliminating dairy from my diet), but no other allergens showed a positive result, thankfully. I am so glad I know b/c there was some question about whether I should eliminate soy as well b/c so many milk allergic kids also have soy allergies. But now I know that soy is okay. They say kids frequently outgrow eczema and milk allergies, so we will re-test when she is about 2 or 3, but for now we will be dairy free, which really isn't that hard.

I can't believe I have made it 6 months of breastfeeding! YAY! The thrush a few months back almost did me in. I was on diflucan for almost 2 months and I still had pain. I almost threw in the towel, but I am so glad I didn't. Lacey gets one bottle of formula every 2 or 3 days, mostly so she stays accustomed to the taste of it and now that she is on solids, the demand for a huge supply is much less. I really hope to make it for the full year. This is a major accomplishment for me, even just the 6 months.

I love this baby so fully. I love looking at her face, kissing her cheeks, making her giggle. Her gummy smile never ever gets old. I love that when I hold her, she kind of grabs on and hugs back. We call Lacey "Bill's special friend" b/c they have such a strong bond, but really both girls are our special friends--I feel so blessed to have them and they fill my heart with happiness every single day.