Edmonton Weather

The weather here in Edmonton continues to astound me - I really had no idea it could be this hot here! Several days its hit about 35* - better than 90*F!!! It doesn't bother me TOO much because there is very little humidity to go along with it. Every night, we have some spectacular thunderstorms. And then I get rained on, until I close the window.... Which isn't that bad except that the window opens from the other side....

Mila is doing good again with the formula but she is starting to spit up some more and has been coughing and gagging QUITE a bit. Alex says he doesn't hear it but I think thats rather an auditory issue :-) As you can tell from the photos, she is packing on the weight finally!!! When I had her weighed Friday, she was up 5 ounces. YIPPPEE!!!!!!!!!

Robby is still seriously enjoying camp :-) We have a very unique opportunity to send him to a great preschool... It has a very " low " ratio of students to teachers ( 5 : 1 ) and he already knows a few of the children and the teachers. We are considering it carefully - it is a very orthodox school and <> we simply aren't that religious... But its a once in a lifetime opportunity and I feel it would really be good for him!

As for *me* ( I know I don't blog ** that ** much about myself ), I'm doing gooooood. The weight watchers isn't really a fantastic success, but I am trying. I am attempting to meet other moms and have had several playdates. A special thanks to Raelynn, whose daughter recieved the pink MT.... She gave me EIGHT cans of formula all together for Mila! I certainly turned a profit, even though the MT had some huge mistakes... I hope she enjoyed it anyway.

Alex and his parents are doing well and we frequent their pool as much as possible. Boola seems to be very chipper and mobile and Boola #2 is wonderful as well.

All in all, things are looking good. After some vacuuming, I'm hoping to get some pictures of the new place up.

Doing good....

Things are settling down into a routine here at Casa De Kagan. Its been determined that I am much less of a bitch when I get to bed before midnight, therefore getting closer to 7 hours of sleep rather than 4 or 5. In fact, Wednesday, I crashed at 8:30. I don't think I even woke up when Alex came home. I certainly didn't cook him any dinner, for which I actually feel guilty! But when he told me the next morning that I was in a great mood, I agreed. So early bedtime for me!

Mila continues to be cuter than heck. She's not eating *quite* so well again - closer to 17 -20 ounces. I can hear her refluxing and now that she often takes 4 oz, she's beginning to spit up a bit after each bottle. Most of the time she merely looks concerned, but once and a while it must hurt her because she starts to cry or arch. The doctors office has scheduled the Upper GI Series and I am hoping that her weight gain does not mean that she no longer needs it. I really want this test done.

Robby is enjoying camp again. I happened to have seen his teacher yesterday while picking him up - his afternoon counselor is the morning teacher's daughter. She told me that he was SO well behaved. He ratted himself out and told me he didn't eat his lunch - it was mac n cheese. ( Robby has always hated mac n cheese. After a forcing him to eat a few bites, and then having it gagged down as if it was poison, we decided that maybe he really truly just didn't like it. ). Then his teacher told me " Thats not true. He did eat a few bites even though he said he didn't like it. " I was so proud. So so proud.

We did get the black dress and I'm trying hard to stick somewhat to WW in order to lose the 5 lbs the dress really requires. Wish me luck!

I also made a child sized mei tai for a friends daughter. Its her birthday and she reaaaaaaaaaally wanted one, but Mom's sewing maching was broken. It was great practice before I make my own, which may happen tomorrow. Here are my fabric choices, and the pink satin MT.

I am NOT a Fashionista!

Update on Ms. Skinny Chicken

Here is Mila and I modeling the new sling! Its fairly comfortable but I need to sew the pleats down into order behind my shoulder so it cups a bit better. They tend to slip over my arm a bit. Other than that, I am totally loving it! Woulda been better if I had remembered to backstitch, but a few stitches over the existing thread should anchor them down. Learning as I go, so to speak :-) Its my first successful sewing project, and it wasn't an easy one. I even had to IRON!!! And PIN! I did cheat a bit and tape some areas down... For what its worth, the ribbon accent on the shoulder was to cover up some seriously unstraight, unflattering stitch work. OOPS!
Closeup of the shoulder accent - pink paisely ribbon. I'm in love. It was a nightmare to sew through, though!

The skinny chicken herself! We had our feeding specialist appointment today. Of course, like always, she was so enthralled with the new surroundings and the therapist herself that she down a 3.5 oz bottle in just a few minutes, with none of the screaming that usually ensues. However, based on what the therapist COULD see, we are ( so far ) going with the diagnosis of SILENT INFANT REFLUX. Mila is refluxing acid and formula into her esophegus and throat, but she swallows it down. Unfortunetly, it burns both ways :-(. She's basically trained herself right out of being hungry and wanting to eat. Her treatment right now is baby Zantac ( to make her less acidic ), thickened formula ( to help keep it in her tummy, and to prevent it going down her windpipe as she eats ), an X cut nipple ( so she can get the formula out of the bottle easier ), and spacing her feeds. She has to really be hungry so she can get back into a good cycle. It should be HUNGRY - Eat - Feel good for a few hours - HUNGRY, etc.
Mr. I am going to camp boy! He is SO enjoying the Chabad house camp. Its a little tough in the AM to deal with Mila's first feed, getting Robby ready, getting Mila ready, and getting Robby to EAT before he goes. He rarely eats his lunch there, so he absolutely must eat a decent breakfast ( egg, pancake, or waffle + chocolate milk or juice + fruit ). Since he is staying till 3:30 now, skipping breakfast AND lunch would mean one very cranky boy. Its also making him REALLY tired. Today after camp, he passed out on the couch and took a 2.5 hour nap!

Updates

Mila hasn't been well... she's taking 12 ounces a day or so and thats it. She won't even take solids right now. We are very concerned and will be seeing a doctor at the speech pathology department of the childrens hospital.

Found the camera card. Learned ( sorta ) to sew.

Robby enjoyed his first week of camp.

This is what i sewed. Wil Update more later.

Things I cannot Find

1. The card reader for the camera / computer connection so that I can download cuteness pictures, of which there are several, including one of Robby smiling that may not be blurry. In fact, he might even be looking at the camera AND smiling. These are hard things to accomplish. Hence, my desperate search for the card reader.

2. Half of my measuring spoon set. Not that I need it since I cannot bake in the oven-that-has-no-temperature-dial-and -only-half-a-knob. After two hour chicken, and brownies that became rocks before cooking through, I determined the oven didn't work. So I haven' exactly SEARCHED for the measuring spoon set.

3. A dress for the August wedding. I looked last night for close to two hours. I wanted something slightly sexy, very fashionable, but not downright Las Vegas whore. Instead, what I found was slightly overweight mom attempting teenage fashion. I didn't buy anything, and I didn't come home and eat crap. Instead, Alex convinced me that I was still beautiful. Thanks. ( Chrystil attempted this also, but it just wasn't the same. Her efforts, however, were GREATLY appreciated ).

4. My BUM jeans. I know they are here somewhere.

5. The bounce static sheets.


On other notes, I did end up running Mila over to the pediatrician and she was wheezing pretty badly. She got an inhaler, aerochamber, and an RX for albuterol - 1 puff every three hours. She's nearly maxed on doses ( I can't increase them ) and she's still wheezing away. Unfortunetly, the wheezing makes it hard for her to bottle, so she's taking even LESS formula ( like 16 ounces ) and then she puked up a whole bottle gagging. Nice touch.

Robby is starting summer camp!!! Starting MONDAY, he'll be going to the Chabad house four hours a day to play with all the little kiddos his own age. The following week, he'll be there from 9-3:30! WHOOHOO! What am I going to do all those hours to myself? ( The answer is sleep. And learn to sew. )

As a clarification on my last post... I said I suck. This was a sentence in a paragraph about sewing. One could reason that if I was staying on topic, I meant I suck at sewing. There is no need to panic. But I still suck at sewing. It could very well be the lack of pattern ( who needs a PATTERN??? ), the lack of talent ( I can sew straight lines... just not sure where they go... ), and the hatred of an iron ( which I bought several months ago but have yet to unpack. Alex wants me to iron his pants today. Eeep. )

I am off to look for #1. There is such CUTENESS youwouldn't believe it.

Mila's Coughing :-(

Mila woke up last night and began to cough. It was bad enough that Alex woke up, terrified that she was choking. We patted her back and she relaxed, although she continues to cough on and off. I'd bet a dollar she's wheezing, too.

This is, practically to the DAY, when Robby began his long journey of illness. Right at 4 months and a bit. I can't tell you how worried this has me... Although I sincerely DOUBT Mila has pneumonia the way Robby did. At least, Robby was still getting breastmilk. Mila is only getting it in small doses at night right now. I will call the pediatrician as soon as they open. ( 8:30? 9:30? 10? Can't remember!!!! )

Alex bought me a sewing machine. I suck. I seriously, sincerely suck. I am soooooo disappointed.

Cute Things My Child Has Said

While Robby's vocabulary is literally astounding, his word pronunciation is not so hot sometimes. Here are a few words that, as of yet, he cannot say :

Hospital = Hostipal
Yellow = Lellow
Marmellow = Marshlellow
Gift Certificate = Gift Fertickatick
Granola Bar = Barn Barn
BackPack = PackPack
Differant =Diffent

And, my all time favorite, in russian, which had EVERYONE laughing so hard last night.

I love you ( Ya Tibyah LooBloo ) = Ya Tibyah Yeebloo ( I'm having sex with you)(( in not so nice language ))

Hello Loyal Readers!

Hello, loyal readers!! I apologize for the extended delay in new posts - I promise more posts and pictures are forthcoming!

We've moved into our new apartment and boy is it wonderful! Yes, it took me three days to scrub from top to bottom, 12 hours each day or so. Yes, I still gag a little when I look at the nearly 30 year old stove. But, regardless, its ours, its bigger, and the rent is cheaper. When all is said and done, this is a great move for us. But don't get me started on carrying groceries up THREE FLIGHTS of stairs.

The weather here in Canada is delicious the last few days! It has been above 20*C ( around 68*F) the last week, and yesterday it reached 27*C ( 80*F). While I am well aware that the low 80's is not even WARM by Floridian standards, it IS a day at the beach for Canada! ( Not that we have a beach here in Edmonton. Lake beaches are not really beaches. Lakes have shores. Not beaches. Doesn't anyone understand???? )

We've made the decision to move Mila over to formula. It was literally heart wrenching for me. If you look at the bath pictures, her arms are so skinny and her chest is bony. Scroll down to the park pictures, and you'll see long, skinny legs with painfully bony ankles. At least, thats how it looked to me. After much deliberation and talking to various members of my parenting group, we decided to start the transition to bottled formula.

It would be nice if she'd take it more easily from us, but so far the only person who can get her to chug a 4 oz bottle in 5 minutes is Alex's mom. My reservations about leaving the kids with her have now reached NIL. Both my children prefer my MIL. Exactly what does that say about my parenting? ( The kids love grandma. You should hear Robby talk about Grandma & Grandpa in Florida, and how they flew on an AIRPLANE to come see him when Mila was born. They stayed in HOTEL! They brought him puzzles! They are absolutely the best people! Yes! )

Robby continues to do well and is growing so damn fast. I'd like to put bricks on his head to stop the upward motion, but I don't think that would do much for the mental ability. Robby's new ability is to annoy someone SO MUCH that they give into his demands.

Robby: Can I have a juice, please?

Me : You've already had one this morning. You can have another at dinner.

Robby : I want a juiiiiiiiiiiice!

Me : Too many juices give you big diarheaa. Remember? You don't like that.

Robby : JUIIIICE! I'm really FIRSTY! Please Mommy?

Me : I said "No." Robby. How about some water?

Robby :No water! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Say <>" Alllright! "

Me : Robby! I said, NO.

Robby : Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Juice! Please can I have a juice? Juice? I'm very firsty! Say " Allllllright! " Say " Okaaaaaaayy, Robby " Mommy Juice! JUICY! JUICY! Pleasssssssse can I have a juice? I didn't have a juice yet! Mommy! Mommy! JUIIIIIIICE!

At this point Robby generally recieves the asked for juice because I simply CANNOT listen to that any longer. He's not exactly whining, per se, but he's.... wheedling. Pleading. And the ability to exactly duplicate my exasperated, eye rolling, totally-giving-in-to-toddler-demands tone of voice and body language is uncanny! And really, really funny.

Yesterday, we all headed to the park. As soon as we UNPACK the car charger, I'll be posting pictures. Until then, loyal reader, you'll just have to make due with text posts.

Unless your ability to wheedle and connive is as good as Robby's.