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.

Indian Summer

The weather throughout most of September has been in the 70s and 80s. We've enjoyed some hikes with my Mom's Group--though now our little ones want to walk part of the way so we actually can't hike as far as we could last year when they were babies. Claire loves to play on her slide everyday, and Hem likes to hang out with us on the lawn.

Shoe Drama

Some kids have pacies, some kids have blankies, some kids have teddies, my child has a pair of shoes as some kind of security object. Although the weather hasn't gotten cool yet (and we're wishing it would), in anticipation of cooler weather I decided it was time to find Claire some fall shoes. I spied some great little Merrell's at our local shoe store last weekend, so I decided to bring Claire back yesterday to try them on. Little did I know.

I managed to trick her into trying on one pair--too small. After that it was her sandals or nothing. To make matters worse, they didn't have the next size up in that location, so I had to drive across town to another store to try on the next size. Once there, Claire threw an absolute fit about taking her sandals off. Picture: screaming, running away, and when I catch her, feet-kicking temper tantrum. I managed to calm her down with the bribe of a fruit leather, but still no luck trying on the shoes. I just bought them and (a little red-faced) said we'd try them on at home.

Once home, it took us hiding her sandals and about 15 minutes of talking the new shoes up before she'd put them on. They do fit, and the picture above shows her happily walking around in them! (However, this morning when she found her sandals she did a little dance of glee.)

We had some fresh Montana corn for dinner last night. Claire ate two ears and it was the longest she's sat at a meal in months! We need to have corn every night!

Warning: Political Commentary Follows

As I've been watching and reading the coverage of Sarah Palin's selection as a running mate for John McCain, I've been getting more and more worked up. I realized as Nate and I were walking the other day and I went off for about ten minutes, that I felt strongly enough about the issues this raises to spout off to a broader audience. And, though it may not seem like it at first, this actually has less to do with the values espoused by the Democrats and Republicans and more to do with my disappointment in the way the public responds to females in politics.

Aside from their political views, both Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama have received criticism from the general public on their roles as women, their strong wills, their roles as wives, and their outspoken demeanours. However, in my view, both women are smart, extremely well-educated, and have successfully managed career, family, and marriages. They both have made steps to create new opportunities for women and provided an alternate model of a politician's wife. Still, they are no favorites of the general public, especially conservatives.

Sarah Palin, in contrast, from the moment she stepped on the stage has become an instant celebrity and darling of the voters. I wish I could say it was due to the same characteristics I listed for Clinton and Obama. Unfortunately, according to what I read/hear, she's well liked because: "she's hot," "she's a soccer mom," "she's a good public speaker," "she's a hunter," "she's fresh" and so forth. Clearly, Palin has leadership skills and is a smart and polished person. However, it seems ironic, and tragic, that the reasons for accepting her onto the national stage have little to do with her preparation, career, or education.

I wonder how much her ready acceptance has to do with the fact that she's characterized as an "everyday woman"--a soccer mom, PTA mother, fashionable dresser, etc? (Not that there is anything WRONG with any of those.) I wonder if the public feels less threatened by her than women like Hillary and Michelle? I wonder if we are more willing to embrace her because she's going to be mentored (or patronized) by the older, masculine, McCain? Thus, she is still in a safe place for a woman as opposed to Clinton as President. I wonder if we really are taking a step forward with the way her candidacy as vice-president is being characterized?

It certainly doesn't feel that way to me.