First boots. Lexi has this thing about wearing her boots all the time and has just recently figured out how to put them on herself. She used to stand them up and hold on to the wall and slip her feet in. Now she is just a pro!
I think we are at some kind of bossy stage now. For some reason Lexi decided Vegas should not be up on the bed. Good thing Vegas knows who the REAL boss is! Just nevermind the hockey pillow in the background.
This weekend was Lexi’s first camping experience out at Otter Falls. Shan and I actually honeymooned there when we got married and as much as I want to tell Lexi she was conceived there, the math just doesn’t work out.
It was also the first time we had ever been camping with a 1.5 year old. Thank the Lord we bought that van! On top of our usual gear we also needed to make room for the pack n’ play, the stroller, a bin of toys, a tiny camp chair, a screen tent, and an inflatable turtle. Not to mention all kinds of special food, clothes, and diaper stuff. The van was completely maxed out with just enough room for Vegas beside the baby seat. I really wish now that I had taken a picture of that pack job (I could use it next time).
It took a little more time to set up than normal too. We confined Lex to her pack n’ play while we got the tent set up and after that I did as much as I could by myself. There is also this extra sense of awareness that comes with having a camping baby. You are so much more aware of the sun and the bugs than ever before. We were constantly making sure she was wearing a hat and scanning her for mosquitoes every 30 seconds. They still managed to get her a couple times but for the most part the bugs weren’t that bad until the evening.
At night Shan would take her to bed and lie with her for a bit. When she started dozing she would come back out and join us around the fire. The first night I think we woke her up when we came back in the tent and then she slept with us for a couple hours. The second night she slept 11 hours and woke us up around 8am for breakfast. It was awesome.
We had some fun at the beach floating around and learned all about the dangers of fire. She was very aware that the fire was HOT and stayed clear of it without too many reminders from mom and dad. She also learned how to drink from a water bottle and how to bounce on just about anything inflatable. She learned the joys of eating our breakfast outside and hanging out on our chairs talking with good friends.
Can’t wait to do it all again next weekend at Great Woods Park.
You would not believe the difference a little bit of uninterrupted sleep can make on a toddler. Since we have been on the Advair Lexi has gotten back into her sleeping schedule. Now that she is not waking up coughing every couple of minutes she is back to a couple naps a day and 11 hours at night. The best part about that is that she is back to her happy little self!
May and June really took it’s toll on her but we are happy to have her back. We still need to travel with the puffer and ward off a few attacks here and there but it is certainly under control. It’s nice for us to be able to sleep through the night too instead of being awake all night listening to her suffer and feeling completely helpless on those nights we went in just to hold her upright and comfort her. 2 months of that nonsense.
Anyway, she is back and more bouncy than ever. We have been to the park a lot now that the weather is nice. Lexi will try any slide and is quite good with her obstacles now. Check out her dismount on this video from Morier Park in the old hood. I love the little jump down the step! Also nevermind that she is dressed like a tourist…
We went out on the bike again this morning too and took Vegas with us. After some quality time on the swings we took a long ride around Lorette and I started to sing one of Ernie’s hits. She hummed along the whole way with me which I thought was really cool. Here is some swinging, ignore the PJ’s.
Anyway, just an update to let everyone know we are doing much better and looking forward to some camping this summer. Updates on that coming soon.
We have been fighting this cough since May 8th. I know this date because I have been documenting everything for the multiple doctor visits we have been to over the last month and then some. It started with a fever that triggered an allergic reaction to cats. We know this now that we have been to a “specialist”.
I am blogging about this now because the process was horrible. When this cough first came on our first instinct was common cold so we waited it out for a couple weeks. It was keeping her up at night and we would take turns going in and sitting with Lexi upright until she would fall back asleep. We tried elevating her bed, firing up the humidifier, removing certain blankets, removing dairy, and even visiting the chiropractor (which has been great but not for the cough).
Once the cold was over the cough didn’t let up. Every time Lexi tried to lay down for naps or at night she would cough like crazy and eventually wake up crying because she was hacking so much. At several doctors appts I tried to describe this cough and could never really do it justice. On my way to one appt I took some footage to show the doctors. This is 3 different rounds of the cough on the way there.
On the third visit the doctors prescribed a Ventalin Puffer (“the Blue one”) and some saline for her nose. We did that for a week and it made little or no difference at all. She was fine during the day but was still not sleeping during naps and night time. It seemed to postpone the coughing for a bit but not enough to get through a nap. As parents we were super concerned with all this hacking and the lack of sleep. It had to be hard on her physically and the lack of sleep made her BEAR and tired all the time. By the end of that week I was basically lying in bed listening to her cough on and off all night. Going into her room several times a night to sit with her.
At the end of the week we went to another appointment and a second puffer was introduced. Flovent I think. The “purple one”. We also got an appt to see a specialist in October! The Flovent, the Vetalin, and the saline changed nothing. After a week on both, plus the saline, with no results we went back to the doctor and she was able to call the specialist and set up a sooner appt. In the meantime she also gave us some Advair to try.
The first night on the Advair the wasn’t a huge difference. The next day we saw a 2 hour morning nap and another 1.5 in the afternoon. That night we heard a little coughing around 1am but she managed it herself without waking up and she slept her normal 11 hours from 8pm to 7am.
We have continued to use it with success and finally saw the specialist yesterday. She confirmed Lexi has asthma that was triggered from the fever back in May. More specifically it brought out her allergy to cats and as a result she hasn’t been able to break this cough. We are staying on the Advair for a couple more weeks and then we go back. Eventually something will be prescribed to rid the cough completely.
We finally made it out to the lake this weekend to see JD and Linda. Lexi has been out there a few times already but this time we actually got her in the water despite the weather. Of course we had a great visit too. Lexi had lot’s of cuddles for Papa and Nana Linda.
Fathers day was awesome this year. Lexi sent me to the Ten Spa with Uncle Al for an “Intro To Hamam”. It is by far the best spa treatment in Winnipeg bar none. Not that I am any kind of expert on the spa treatments in Winnipeg but I love the Hamam and I already can hardly wait for my next one!
For lunch Al and I went to Loveys BBQ and I still don’t know what all the fuss is about. I am always hearing how great this place is but I have been about 3 times and the ribs have never blown me away. Roma’s are better fersure and so is Montana’s if you ask me. This time they came burnt to a crisp and I couldn’t even eat them so I sent them back. The next batch were a little less burnt but we mostly fat. Maybe I just shouldn’t get the ribs there anymore. We also tried the wings and they sucked too. Too chewy for my liking. My fries were good thought and the nice girl who worked there suggested we try the “Hogwash” beverage (50% iced tea and 50% lemonade) and it was awesome.
After I dropped off Al I went back home and washed both vehicles just as any good dad should. Can’t have my girls driving around in dirty vehicles.
At dinner time Grandma and what has now become “Papa” came over to babysit Lex while Shan and I went out for a nice dinner at the Round Table. I had a wicked steak and Shan really likes the Prime Rib there. After dinner we went to see Joe Rogan Live at the Burton Cummings theater. Big thanks to my parents for a night out with my wife.
I slept in this morning before going out and cutting the lawn like any good Dada should. We filled up the pool and Lexi and mommy had some fun outside. A perfect day if you don’t mind the mosquitoes!
My grandma sent over these dancing flowers for Lexi. She likes to stop and smell the flowers from time to time but it’s a lot harder when they are moving. She also manages to pull out a couple sweet moves right at the end so stay tuned or you might miss them!
Lexi’s great grandma Gladys passed away and we made our way to Vancouver for the funeral. Lexi was lucky enough to meet her last summer when she came to visit. This week we packed up our bags and flew to Vancouver to say goodbye.
Lexi was awesome on the plane. It is only about 2.5 hours but with a 15 month old it seems like 5. Once we were in the air we just jumped through hoops to keep her content but once that plane starts descending there wasn’t much we could do to comfort her popping ears. If you are ever going to fly with a baby around this age here are a few good pointers.
Once in Richmond we stayed at the Holiday Inn on No 6 Road. I tell you this because the people there and the accommodations were super. I also really enjoyed the free breakfast each morning. The staff there loved Lexi and always played with her when they could. They treated her like royalty and called her the hotel mascot.
We were a little nervous about how Lexi would sleep in the hotel room, especially with us watching TV and with Uncle Tim sharing the room. We put her to bed the first night around 9pm and sat in bed expecting a battle but it never happened. At one point after some rolling around she stood up and looked over at us. I told her to lie down and go to sleep and that’s what she did. I was amazed. We were amazed.
Lexi also took ownership of the pool. She was in there every morning after breakfast and again at night before bed. It was great to have so much fun with her in the pool. She is really liking it more and more since she started her swimming lessons. She is now jumping in off the side while we are holding her hands.
It was a great trip and nice to see some family while we were there. We went to the aquarium and although it was a long day for her Lexi was a trooper. It is getting so easy to travel with her now that she is eating more and napping less. We even had some time to stop for her favorite sub in honor of Uncle Paul.
On Friday Lexi and I went to Danger Park in our pajamas. We rode the bike too so it was super fun. Oh, it’s called danger park because the structure there is old school. It has the plastic tube slide with the screws all hanging out and all these old steel radial tires used as steps. This thing is 90% splinters. Didn’t stop us from hitting up the swings though.
Pajama day rocks!
Lexi has some big ass molars coming in and I have to take credit for those. Whenever I go for a cleaning my dental hygienist always comments on my enormous girth. Bigger than most I have seen she said. I am sure she is talking about my molars but I can’t be sure. There are a lot of large teeth in there. Anyway, Lexi’s are coming in fierce the last couple weeks and she has been a bit off.
She can be just fine one minute and then all of a sudden her body goes jelly and she lies on the floor and makes a fuss. Even at daycare this week when I drop her off she claws and scratches so that I don’t hand her off. The cries and reached for me and it is the most heart breaking thing in the world. Jennifer has called me a couple of days now because she just refuses to sleep there. She is fine the rest of the day but at nap time it’s been a fight. She falls asleep on the way home most days and although she is still sensitive in the evening I am sure the car sleep helps. Hurry up teeth.
Today is our day though and she has been nothing but an angel. We declared it pajama day in the park this morning.
I am sure there is some separation anxiety in the mix as well. I heard that comes on about this age and Shan and I can see it more and more. Last night she freaked when Shan brought her in and would not calm down enough even for a bottle. I went up to help out and she reached out for me and calmed right down. I think she figures I am going to hand her off every time we are together now or something. It’s also hard on Shan because she feels punished for having to go back to work and that has to suck big time when all she wants is to be home with her.
Just a couple months left then summer, can’t wait, and neither can Lex. Couple of new firsts: Swimming Lessons and popsicles.
