Filed under: Family, Holidays

Merry Christmas!

We had a really nice day. Forrest woke us up at 6:45 this morning and Lauralei wasn’t even awake yet! I only got up because my back was killing me. Eventually Lauralei did wake and so I fed her and we all went downstairs together. Leilani was ecstatic that Santa remembered to get her a Doll house for her Barbies. Forrest’s gift from Santa was 45 cardboard bricks so he could make a fort. They both were happy as pie.

Lauralei had trouble tearing her gifts open, so Matthew helped a little. I think she was overwhelmed at the noises they made so she didn’t really play with them, but I bet that will change in a few days.

Matthew got me a hot-shoe flash for my Canon Rebel. I was so excited! My pictures might actually start looking a little better. Now I just need to figure out how to do everything manually. There is so many things on that camera to learn. I may have to break down and take a photography course one of these days.

Lauralei has another ear infection. This is the second time she’s had one. The first was in October. I’m beginning to worry they will keep recurring. When I was a little girl I always had ear infections, so it could be genetic. And here I thought with all the breastfeeding I’ve done, she would never get sick. Boy, was I wrong. She’s been sicker than the other two ever were when they were babies and I didn’t breastfeed them full-time or as long. So, WTF!?

My health has been terrible this past month too. Seems that I am never going to get over the cold and cough crap I picked up after Thanksgiving. Just once would I like to not have to wipe my poor raw nose anymore!

Well, that is all the update I have for now.

A HUGE and heartfelt thank you goes out to Emily for creating yet another beautiful layout for me. I ya girl!

Filed under: Friends, Holidays, Humor

I apologize for the title of this entry. Its the kid’s fault. They were watching Good Burger last night. I wonder if that movie has a cult following?

Things here are well. It’s SNOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wonder if it will stay? Over the weekend it reached 37 degrees and the patches of ice/snow we did have were melting. I just want snow for Christmas. And hey, if it melts after that, yippee!

I have all of the Christmas decorations up and we bought a real tree! It smells so lovely in here and I’m really digging the blue and silver decor I chose last year. Finally, I have the look I’ve been trying to achieve for years. As soon as I don’t have a sleeping baby on my lap I will upload the pictures.

I still haven’t heard from my father. He’s being really selfish not communicating with us. I would love to send him a Christmas card and some pictures, but I guess he will just miss out this year.

The other night I went out with my mom’s group and we had dinner at the Istanbul Cafe, which served Turkish food of course. It was something I had never tried before so I had to go. To make a great, funny story short - the food was delicious and the entertainment was even better. There was a beautiful belly dancer who went around to each table and danced and she came over to ours. One of the chefs made me get up and dance with her. It was hilarious! The belly dancer showed me a couple moves and told me I did pretty well. And then the chef came over and tipped me a dollar. Right in my cleavage! I was so embarrassed, but at the same time, I had a blast! After dinner we went to see the movie Awake (which sucked) and then went home. All in all, a wonderful evening.

Filed under: Baby, Family, Holidays, Kids

My dad is moved out of his place, but I haven’t heard from him. My brother begged me to call him Thursday, so I did. There was no answer so Joey called back. That time a stranger answered. According to my brother, the stranger was a teenager my dad paid to help him move out. Don’t ask me why he didn’t do it weeks ago, because I haven’t a clue. I’m so relieved my dad had help because I was really worried he would be homeless. Since he refuses to have any communication with me, I really feel in the dark. But, I’m not going to worry about it anymore.

Christmas is on its way and there is no snow! There are some areas that have small patches of snow and ice, but for the most part, Anchorage is without. Pretty soon I really will be dreaming of a White Christmas! It’s just not the same without it.

Lauralei turned 6 months old on the 19th. She had to only get 2 shots this time at her appointment. Right now she is sitting up pretty well without support but occasionally topples over. She smiles really big when she does. Its so cute We let her try some Gerber Veggie puffs and she does really well with gumming them, so we’ll continue to give them to her. She’s eating solids twice a day now with the puffs being snacks. Besides that, she is mastering her skills at the sippy cup. My baby girl is growing so big. She weighs 19 pounds, 8 ounces and is 27 and 3/4 inches long. She is such a chubby little monkey that we have to buy her 12 month clothing. Unfortunately we still have to swaddle her at night. She flails her arms all over the place and smacks herself in the face (and scratches too). We’ve tried to put her to sleep without it a few times, but she always wakes herself up. She’s getting too big for the Miracle Blanket but I don’t know what else we can do.

Matthew and I went to the meeting I wrote about in my last entry and found out they haven’t evaluated Forrest yet. They needed our permission and information about him before they begin. It should all start within the next couple of weeks. Though it may sound crazy, I am very excited about this. We have been waiting for someone to tell us what they think of his behaviors for a very long time. Last night I searched You Tube and found several videos of children who were demonstrating some of the symptoms of Autism. There was a video with a little boy about Forrest’s age who was stimming. Watching it was like watching Forrest do it! I could not believe the similarities between them. I now know in my heart that my diagnosis is right. We just need something official.

The friend who made my Mei Tai carrier asked if I wanted to knit up a batch of hats and booties to sell on her site. I am so excited! I have to come up with a name for my “company”, but I want it to be something Alaskan, so I’m going to brainstorm. I need to find some more patterns too. It would be so nice to earn some extra money! Who knows, maybe it will go far and I can open my own online store (yeah right lol).

Filed under: Holidays

If you celebrate it, have a happy and delicious Thanksgiving!