I'm devastated as I write this. I think I have killed Ryan's first pet. Mimi got her a beta fish and Ryan named it Foodie because it eats food. I love it! Anyway, I bumped Foodie's bowl with a glass casserole dish and water started shooting straight out of the bowl. At first I couldn't figure out what was happening and then I realized. The little bump broke a hole in the fish bowl while the rest of it was intact. Well, Foodie went flying out and hit the floor. I put him in a coffee mug and we quickly transplanted him to our big glass measuring cup that sort of looks like a fish bowl. We put some of his water that was left in the bottom of the original bowl and some of his rocks in the new "bowl." Right now he is struggling and it's terrible. Ryan asked if he would be OK and I pretended he would. Pat initially said it would be a good lesson for her and now he has changed his mind and we are going to tell her that he is sleeping tomorrow and replace him with a new one without her knowing. I didn't think I could get attached to a fish but I'm so sad.
I've been meaning to write that Charley has been pulling up on taller things since about immediately after my last post last weekend. She wants to pull up on everything now but she gets up and doesn't think that she can sit down and whines until we help her get down.
In other Charley news....after talking about what a good sleeper she is becoming we had 3 nights in a row of demonic, blood-curdling screaming that went on for two hours the first night and then about an hour (I think) the next couple of nights. It was horrendous. I was in the bedroom with her all of those times (I think-maybe only 2 of the times). I was so tired and wanted to go downstairs and sleep on the couch but I was too tired. The first night after two hours she vomitted and ended up in our bed nursing. Very clever....but we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps and stayed the course the next night. There was still the horrendous crying the next two nights but by last night (night 4 of this) there was some crying in the night but the fingernails on chalkboard guttural cry was absent.
On a good note about Charley's naps (I'm afraid to say this because I'm afraid I jinxed her sleeping at night)...today she was so cute because I laid her down on her back and she was smiling at me and kicking her legs. She didn't seem all that tired. Then she just turned over and got in a little ball and closed her eyes (she sleeps in a ball with her bootie in the air). I can't believe she can independently go to sleep. Pat says she's like me in that she likes to sleep/go to sleep. He also seems to think that her easy irritability/frustration may come from me, too.
More good Charley news is that she is eating so well. It's CRAZY and such a change from the last 10 months of force feeding. She takes 23 ounces a day, which is what Dr. Moody said should be minimum (because that was the most she had ever taken at our last appointment). Dr. Moody said 25 ounces is really the minimum but she was gaining at 23 so to go with that. We don't have to fight her. It is relaxing to sit and rock her and look at how sweet and precious she is as she takes her bottle. That's one of the fun things about babies and I'm sad that it's been such an ordeal for both of us. So, I haven't had to throw baby spoons this week! Progress!
Ryan is doing well in school. Nothing much to report. She goes three days a week until 3:00 and she naps there. When we ask who was there or who she sat with at lunch she will say "anybody." That means "nobody." She will say "anybody there today...no kids...no teacher...me all by myself." Quite the imagination...hopefully we will channel it in a socially acceptable way.
Ryan has said that she wants to be a butterfly for Halloween so I spent time finding two options on the Internet and one kitty (because she loves cats-Hello Aunt Ashley). She didn't like any of them and then said she wanted to be a dog or princess. Back to square one.
Ryan is getting very big. After meals she will walk her plate over to the sink and give it to me or put it on the counter. Today she ate a banana and threw the peel away without being told to do so. When she is finished with her t.v. shows in the morning she turns the t.v. off without us having to tell her. Last night when I was getting both R & C ready for bed at the same time by myself (poor, pitiful me) R got her p.j.s on and disappeared. I looked in the bathroom and she was standing on her stool putting toothpaste on her toothbrush and proceeded to brush her teeth. She came back in her room and was so proud and told me that she put the water in her mouth, swished it around, and spit it out.
I went to this new community-wide, inter-denomination Bible study this week and R & C stayed in the nursery. I would have been more nervous about it but the worker was R's Mother's Day Out teacher and I knew her. Charley cried at first but then was fine. R cried and clung to me and ended up going with me at the beginning. I told her that she couldn't say a word and she would look up at me and give me the sweetest smile ever. Later, I tried the nursery again and she went and was just fine. So, that is what we will be doing on Tuesday mornings which is the only day I have both of them by myself. It's nice to have something to take up time-especially something that will keep me focused on God because those days are long and it's easy to get frustrated. We're doing the entire Bible and it will take several years but we're starting with Genesis. I knew I was in the right place when the leader said she started studying the Old Testament 20 years ago and thought it was going to be irrelevant and that she needed something that was going to help her get through the day raising small children and cope with having just moved to a hick town. Perfect-me too! Maybe Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob could shed some light and perspective on sleep training and getting rid of ringworm (Charley). No-I do think the OT has much much to offer-that was sarcastic!
One last thing...I've been told some very disturbing news. Daddy admitted that he only today read my Father's Day post from June and that he just got caught up with my blog from June. I will have to "process" that as we psychologists say and I hope that I can recover mentally. He said something about my posts being really long. I don't know what he's talking about.
One more thing...talking about being traumatized by parents reminds me of what Charley heard come out of her grandmother's mouth this morning. Gin Gin generously agreed to keep her at the Heritage House while I went to visit Baby Drew this morning (by the way-I was afraid I'd want another baby-thank the good Lord I don't!) Granted the store was quite busy before I left but after I came to get Charley Gin Gin was saying goodbye to her with a nice smile and baby voice and said in her sweet voice with a big smile to Charley "Don't come back." I think that may be the only time those words were ever utterred to a grandchild from a grandmother.
OK, gotta go find R's "baby sheep" that she sleeps with. Foodie appears to be with Jesus now. I really am sad.
KK
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