Visit From Grandma and Grandpa

Note to Self:

1. Do not feed daughter peanut butter and jelly in the backseat of the car as she enjoys nothing more than opening the sandwich and smearing jelly all over herself and anything within her reach.

2. Do not turn back on daughter while she is operating the salad spinner, unless you'd like to rewash the lettuce after it spins itself all over the kitchen. (Note to guests: maybe pass on the salad at our house, who knows where the lettuce has been.)

3. Do not expect daughter to enjoy a rare morning shopping trip to Target as much as you or somehow expect her to behave because you actually have a Friday off and some time to browse. Instead, expect that she will spend the entire time screaming to get out of the cart and flinging things you give her to stay quiet out into the aisles.

4. Do not expect daughter to go to heated, indoor swimming pool and actually want to stay in the water. Instead, expect that she will find trying to run around outside the pool with mom chasing her and life guard scolding mother much more amusing.

5. Do not expect that on a dreary, rainy Saturday the family can go leisurely browse at our favorite local bookstore. Instead, plan on mom and dad taking turns frantically looking at covers while the other parent chases daughter around the second story while she squeals in glee at the top of her lungs. (Note to other customers who thought they'd have a relaxing moment in the bookstore: sorry.)

6. Do not expect daughter upon arriving at park (where parents detour after bookstore in order for her to get some wiggles out) to want to even so much as walk to the slides or run around. Instead, she will want to swing--in this case, perfectly content to be confined.

Halloween Activities

We had a few fun Halloween activites this week--baking Halloween sugar cookies, carving a pumpkin, and meeting some friends for downtown Bozeman's treat or treating yesterday.



We've been having some very warm weather--up to 70 degrees, so I only put the top half of the costume on Claire. We actually didn't even treat or treat. Because she doesn't quite get what candy is, I thought we could put off eating mass quantities of it for one more year. While strolling the streets of Bozeman filled with all kinds of creatures and costumes, Claire was most interested in seeing dogs. We played at the park for awhile with some friends. Since almost every other kid in town was downtown trick or treating, we had the place to ourselves!

18 Months Old

Claire had her 18 month check-up yesterday, and, thankfully the last of the shots until she goes to Kindergarten. After our trip to the ER last week, she was not such a willing patient for the little prods and pokes that go with a check-up. She weighed 23 pounds 11 ounces (50th percentile), and I'm not sure about her height since she was in such a complete screaming tantrum about getting measured, I didn't catch it.

After the visit, we met my mom's group at Rocky Creek Farms for a hayride, pumpkin buying, and playing in the hay mazes. It was a perfect fall afternoon for the activities, and offered perfect photo-ops for all the moms!

Nema's Visit; Road Trip; ER...in that order!

We've had an eventful week around here. Nema (Nate's mom) arrived Tuesday afternoon for a fall visit. She came bring many wonderful gifts for Claire, including the new playhouse seen below.

Claire put on a good show for about a day and then came down with a fever. I was supposed to leave Wednesday afternoon for a conference in Missoula. However, after Claire got sick I didn't feel comfortable spending my first night ever away from her while she was ill, so I decided to postpone leaving for a day to see if Claire improved. She did improve and seemed back on track Thursday morning, so we decided it might be fun if we all went to Missoula together. Nate and his mom could take care of Claire and see the area while I attended my conference. Unfortunately, by the time we got to Missoula (about 2 1/2 hours away), her fever had returned and got progressively worse. When it reached 103 degrees we decided to get her to the ER. They initially treated her with more Tylenol and Motrin there, but the fever still keep climbing--up to 105 degrees. At that point the doctor recommended a whole spectrum of tests--strep, chest x-ray, urine, and blood. Those of you who have gone through this can relate to the understatement that holding your 18 month old down while these tests are administered is horrifying. Nate did most of the hard work as I felt I had to leave the room while the nurses tried to find a vein. After three failed attempts we told them to stop and NOT do the blood work up. At that point, Claire's temp had finally started to drop. We left the ER with a prescription for antibiotics, a bottle of Tylenol and ibuprofen, and a traumatized child and parents. No diagnosis. We had to go back to a hotel room and pass the night, mostly sleepless, before heading home the next day. Nema was a great comfort and help through it all! I never did make the conference. In the picture below, Claire was over the worst of the temperature and I'm showing the faceless, genderless doll the nurses gave us, but Claire couldn't quite figure out (if you look closely you can see the face Nate drew in).

After the evening in the ER, we did take a brief walk around Missoula in the morning to stretch our legs and get some fresh air.

For some reason, I thought riding a carousel would cheer Claire up. She wanted down after about 30 seconds. Thank goodness we got down before the ride started because it actually ended up moving quite quickly!

We took a scenic detour on the way home and stopped in Phillipsburg, an old mining town that has found new life with a slight "yuppie" vibe. We had some buffalo burgers for lunch and strolled the scenic streets.

After arriving home Friday night, Nema had to leave Saturday morning. We felt bad that Claire was sick most of her visit, but thankful for her help and good cheer in helping us deal with the situation! Claire is improving more each day, and none of the tests ended up showing anything, so I guess it must have been one of those nasty viruses kids can catch.

New Word for the Day: "Snow"

Was it just last week I was complaining about the heat? In typical Montana fashion, fall lasted about two days. We've had our first winter storm this weekend--right when I had finally scheduled a hike with some other moms without kids! However, Nate still watched Claire at home yesterday while I went to town to a big consignment sale where I found Claire's new-to-us snowsuit, just in time! She wasn't sure about how to walk once she was all bundled up and outside in the snow, and, of course, once we were inside and all undressed she started asking about going outside again. Claire's not having much difficulty with the word "snow" since it's so close to another of her favorites "NO."

Drinking Horse Mountain

With my "outdoor mom's group" we hiked the newest trail outside Bozeman this week, Drinking Horse Mountain. We had six kids, four dogs, and five moms. The weather felt like August, hot and dry, and the kids' favorite part was the top where we had snacks! Claire pretty much tried to steal all the other kids' treats, especially this stuff called "Pirate's Booty." (I know a name with many connotations...) Anyway, we found some at Costco, and it's her favorite thing in the world right now--though I'm not sure what name I should teach her to call it.