Snow Day!

The threat of snow finally came to reality! I woke up at 5:15 and peeked out the window to see a light blanket of white on the ground with snowflakes falling all around. I happily turned off my alarm clock and went back to sleep. While Jordan ate breakfast, we talked about the snow (her chair faces our kitchen window) and what was going on outside. You could tell that she noticed something was different. We bundled up and went outside to enjoy it. The snow had stopped by the time we got out there, but it was still fun. Poor thing was so bundled up that she had a hard time leaning over to hold any of it, but when she did, she thoroughly enjoyed it! It was also the perfect time for J and I to sport our matching hats that my mom knitted for us!

















A finger update...J stayed with my Mom Saturday night. She reports that the nail came off without incident that afternoon. It really looks pretty good all things considered and we don't even need a band-aid anymore! Yay!

uh oh!

I'm about to hang it up! It's been a pretty rough week and 1/2 at the Manning house! Wheezing, ear infection and now we have a hurt finger. Jordan's left ring finger got smushed in the door at school. The hinge side, no less!

Right at the end of school, her teacher came to get me with Jordan screaming on her hip. It really caught me by surprise because the whole nail was off and just barely hanging on to her finger. I grabbed her but realized that I couldn't hold her because I needed to get on the phone to call Kenneth and the Dr.'s office. To make Kenneth proud, I won't get into all the details (call me or email if you want 'em!) and cut to the chase. We got to the office and the doctor doesn't think it's broken. She suggests keeping it wrapped up until the nail comes off and then just keep it clean. Jordan had really settled down by this point, so the only thing she really didn't like was when the nurse dressed it. (For the record, Kenneth was probably just as upset by that as she was. I was the one holding her, though! Something doesn't add up, huh? :) )

We re-wrapped it tonight because it had already come off once. I just didn't want to worry about it while she slept. She really favors that hand, though. She won't use it to help hold her cup, so instead she wraps the cup in her right arm and twists her head to the straw. She also holds her hand up and out so as to not touch anything with it! As much as we hate that it happened, she has been great about it. We took some pictures to prove it...

On a lighter note, today was pajama day at school. And, it's not just for the kids, so I went to the doctor's office and then the store in my PJ's. No, there was no mistaking that we were in our jammies, so I'm sure we made some folks giggle. The doc's office was OK, but we needed some tape and neosporin for that finger, so I had to go there, too.

Is it Friday yet???!!!

Dr. Daddy with the right call!

Our resident Dr. Dada made the correct diagnosis about the ear infection. Jordan did have a low grade fever, but other than the ear infection, Dr. Stoeber could find nothing else wrong. He could hear a little bit of the wheeze still, so we are to continue the breathing treatments until the cough goes away. Admittedly, we had backed off a little over the weekend because it was starting to sound better. Anyway, we've started the Omnicef, so that should help us lots!

And, you can see, that even though my balance is not so great, I still love shoes and am happy to try to get around in Mama's shoes!!

I don't feel good...don't take my picture!

Jordan has run a fever all weekend. Friday night Mom came over for dinner. She and I were going to go to Heather's candle party. As Mom came in, I was getting a reading of 103 on the thermometer. Jordan got Motrin and I stayed home! The fever broke before she went to bed because it was normal when we checked it.

Saturday morning it was around 101, so I gave the Motrin and didn't really think much more of it since the fever came down so quickly the night before. It was still around 101 that afternoon, but it was relatively close to bedtime, so I wanted to wait and give the Motrin as close to bed as we could. Well, I get the bad mommy award because by bedtime it was 104.7! After we put her down I talked to the hospital nurse on call who advised us to check her temp every 3 hours and give alternating Tylenol and Motrin until the fever was 102 or less.

Finally, this morning it was down to 99, but it took all night for it to creep down. 103, 102...I was pretty well freaked out! I talked to the nurse at our ped's office this morning and she thought it was just viral and could wait until tomorrow to see the doc since it was finally down below 101. I went on to work and J stayed home with Daddy. When I got home she was already napping, but he said that her balance was nonexistent. That's the only consistent symptom we have had with her ear infections--she can hardly walk!

But that didn't stop Daddy from taking pictures of me! Can't he see I don't feel all that great! :)

it's torture!

After school today, I thought that Jordan felt a warm, so I checked her temperature. It was 99.9 and her breathing seemed a little labored. She started coughing yesterday and the Delsym didn't really help her last night. I decided it was time to visit the doctor. He confirmed that she was wheezing and needed to use an inhalant to help get rid of the cough and open her bronchial tubes. He showed me how to use the air chamber in the office and Jordan played with it, too. She didn't fuss the whole time we were there and laughed at Dr. Wylie putting the mask over her face. How hard could this really be?

It can be like torture! Jordan hates it. We hate it. It sucks. It's so hard to know if she's getting what she's supposed to. But, it has to be working because she's already not coughing as much as she was last night. I'll just have to keep telling myself that it's worth it!

Falls Park

Today was the MLK holiday, so Kenneth didn't have to work. The weather is supposed to be rainy this week, so we decided to get out while we could. For those who are not familiar, downtown Greenville is a fun place to visit. There are lots of neat attractions and great restaurants. We went to Falls Park. When the weather is warmer this summer, we'll get closer to the water, but I didn't want Jordan getting any bright ideas today about getting her feet wet. Instead, we just viewed the falls from a distance!

The best time for us, though, was on the way home. We don't really know what came over her, but J decided that she should wear her coat...on her head! It was too cute to not catch a picture of.

Grandma and Papa came to visit!

The Manning's came from Rock Hill to see us today! Jordan has got everyone figured out and knows that Papa will happily take her outside if she asks. Thankfully, the weather is so pretty, that it's not really an issue.

Today Papa was on camera duty, though. He was able to catch Jordan doing one of her favorite outside things...pick rocks out of the pine needle beds!

trip to the zoo #2!

I know it's been a while since we've had any new pictures. We (I) have given up on the old camera because it was so hit or miss. We have been researching a few different cameras and finally made a decision. We are definitely making up for lost time because there are quite a few (169 to be exact...and that's after deleting the back of the head and blurry ones!) pictures from today. It was back to the zoo for us! We met some friends there, but had time to play on the playground while we waited for them.

Jordan was more interested in the animals this time, but it seems like she only likes the big animals and the turtles. She didn't care much for the little tamarins or birds. When we would get to those exhibits, she would say "no". And then repeat it if we didn't get moving. Here are a couple of cute animal shots.

It was definitely a fun trip and if you have the time, it's worth checking out all the pictures. There are so many cute ones that I just couldn't decide on which ones to post!

our first trip to the zoo!

Don't you hate it when you plan to do something and you're really excited about it and then the weather stinks? I'm embarassed to say that we have yet to go to the zoo with Jordan. We decided we would go and the weather forecast was to be clear and mostly sunny. Needless to say, I was so bummed when we woke up this morning and it had rained. Surprisingly, Kenneth said we should go anyway, so off we went. We weren't the only people there, though, and it only misted for a few minutes the whole time we were there. And, I don't know if it was the weather or what, but Jordan didn't really seem to get into the whole zoo thing. We talk a lot about a number of the animals that we saw, but she didn't seem to care much...














And, when she did perk up and seem interested in the chickens, the camera wouldn't take any pictures--imagine that! :)

Can Ash wear my shoes?

It is next to impossible to get good pictures of Jordan and the dogs. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, if you move in the least, the moment is disrupted and the would-be subjects of your photo wonder what you are doing and totally lose interest in what they were doing. Second, when the camera comes out, the would-be subjects want to look at and touch the camera and totally lose interest in what they were doing. Third, our camera is temperamental at best, so it's not always going to come on when you want it to do so.

Lo and behold, not only was there a cute moment with Jordan and Ash, but I was able to take some pictures of it!! Jordan was playing with her shoes and I guess wanted to figure out if Ash could wear them, too. She sat in his "lap" and moved his legs all around while trying to finagle that shoe on his paw!

Christmas tree pictures

So, after all that drama of trying to get the "perfect" Christmas tree picture for cards, I ended up using a picture from our Portrait Innovations session. I really thought those cards were going to go out with no picture and the front would just read "Insert photo here"! Of course, I could have just sent them out as Happy New Year cards because as Christmas Day was winding down, we were able to get not only a family shot, but also a picture of Jordan in front of the tree. Isn't that the way it always is?!?!

Merry Christmas, part 3!

The next visitors were the Manning's. Nathan was happy to know that the dogs would be out on the porch for the duration of his visit. They don't have a great history! Jordan seemed happy that Nathan was there, though. They even sat nicely for a picture.

Then, I think Jordan decided she'd had enough. Nathan was really getting into the picture thing and wanted to pose with his cousin for multiple shots. Jordan didn't. (Note the strong arm!)

Jordan ended the day just as it had started...'nacking all the way! She really liked the Li'l Smokies, but preferably off of a toothpick from Tio Chanchi!

Thank you, Grandma and Papa for the storage bins for all of Jordan's stuff! It couldn't have come at a better time! :)

Merry Christmas, part 2!

After Pop and Grammy left, Jordan went down for a nap and the dogs came in for a visit, too. They were pooped from pacing the porch all morning, so they promptly passed out in the floor.

I wanted to illustrate Jordan's present opening technique. One of us would have to get the paper started because she had a hard time seeing where the "seam" was. Then she would tear a piece of it off and turn to whoever was in the recliner and give it to them. It didn't really matter who was sitting there, but that person was the designated paper collector. This worked pretty well except the paper size was a touch small...

Nana and Papa Carroll arrived while Jordan was still sleeping. We visited for a while and Nana was happy to bound up the stairs to retrieve the Peanut when she woke up! After opening presents and stockings, we sent a video e-mail to the family in Florida. Jordan has yet to put it on her head, but thanks to Nana for the cool hat she knitted!!

Merry Christmas, part 1!

Christmas Day occurred for us in 3 different stages. Each wave was celebrated with different parts of the family. The dogs were the only losers in this event because they were relegated to the porch. Poor babies couldn't even go outside (nor did they want to) because it was raining for most of the day!

Pop and Grammy came over first. Grammy didn't even get in the door before she wanted Jordan to start opening presents. We finally got her to at least let everyone get a seat before we began the festivities. Auntee Cheryl was with us in spirit as she was not able to travel down from NY. Jordan got a great introduction to the world of Dr. Seuss with some books and stuffed animals. Grammy set the tone of the day by giving her a box of raisins. She commenced to "nack" (snack) ALL day long!

ice cream!

I had to do some last minute running around for Christmas and decided to bring home a treat! Kenneth loves cookie dough ice cream and Jordan really wanted a bite, so Daddy shared...

Jordan is a lover now, too!

trip to NJ

We had a big day today! It started at 4:30 when I got Jordan out of bed and into the car to go to the airport. What would possess me to do such a thing, you ask?!? Well, you'd actually have to take that up with Jordan's Nana! She got a great deal on some air travel to New Jersey for the day (yes, one, single day) to see her Dad and his family. None of us have been up there in years, so it was time for a visit. The whole trip was a Christmas surprise. Mom and I didn't finalize plans until Monday afternoon and Rob and his family were the only people in NJ to know we were coming! I think we make for a pretty good present!

Jordan behaved really well, all things considered. We had a short layover in Charlotte and she slept for a few minutes on our flight to Newark. Uncle Rob picked us up and had Madagascar playing for Jordan's viewing pleasure for the ride to Poppy's house. She was fun and interested at Poppy's and really took to everyone as if they were not people she'd never met!

Poppy, Pat and Rob all got to hold Jordan as she made her way around the room. Of course, Nana is always a hit, so if in doubt, to Nana she went! She did sit still long enough to read a book or 2 and play with Nana's water bottle.

Megan and Matthew got out of school early to bring lunch over and visit. They brought Jordan a baby doll and a stuffed puppy, too! Jordan really enjoyed going outside and all around the yard with Megan's help.

After about 4 hours, we got in the car and headed back to the airport. The trip home is not worth writing about because of lack of sleep on all sides. :)
Let's just say we made it home safely and it was all worth it although I'm looking forward to not travelling any great distance any time soon...

a priss pot in the making?

Jordan is always the first friend to arrive in her room at school. I have to be in my room to receive babies, so Jordan gets to hang out with her teachers. I like to hang out for a few minutes to chat with the teachers because I don't get to do that much any other time during the day. Her teachers usually bring Jordan to me in the afternoons because they are ready to go and I still have moms chatting about the day. But, I think that's the difference in infant moms and toddler moms--much more to talk about with infants because they are changing practically every day!

Anyway, Miss Tiffany was telling me this morning about an incident on the slide in their room earlier this week. Apparently, Jordan fell going up the steps and Tiffany was on her way to her anticipating the meltdown that seemed to be looming. Instead of crying, Jordan stood up, looked around and said, "Bow, bow?!?", seemingly distressed because her hair bow had fallen out when she fell! Yep, she's a girl... :)

18 month well check

We went back to the doctor today. Jordan was in a surprisingly good mood considering I had to wake her up from her nap to go. Doc thinks she is right on track and maybe a little ahead with language and fine motor development. She has about a 30 word vocabulary (average is 15-25), knows 7 signs and can feed herself yogurt (and a few other things) from a spoon. He is thinking that she might be around 5'10" tall, but they'll check that again at 2 years. She is currently 33" tall (86th %ile) and weighs 25 lbs., 9.6 oz. (69th %ile). He said to expect that between now and 2 for her to become picky with what she eats and that she will become more and more defiant as she tests her limits. I'm not sure she can really be too much pickier, but as long as she eats a little at each meal time and a couple of snacks in between, we'll be all right. In terms of testing the waters, I like what he said...Pick your battles carefully, but win the battles you pick.

still in search of a tree picture

I am really wanting a picture of Jordan in front of the tree for our Christmas cards. Time is running short and these cards may turn out to be Happy New Year's cards instead of Merry Christmas cards--everyone please make note in case you don't get your card anytime soon! :)

In the perfect world, Mackenzie and Ash would be sitting on either side of Jordan in front of said tree, but I'm not sure that's going to happen...
I guess I can settle for sweet moments like these, but I'm not sure this is what folks want in their Christmas card!

the tree is up!

Our Christmas tree went up this weekend. It's been fun to watch Jordan explore the tree, look at the lights and peek at ornaments. I thought it would be a great time to get a "tree picture" worthy of going in our Christmas cards. If I wanted a picture of the back of her head, we would have had no problem. But, playing with Daddy was more fun!

Home alone with daddy!

I was out this afternoon, so Jordan was home with Daddy. This is really not an uncommon occurrence since Kenneth picks Jordan up on his way home on Wednesday nights, but this afternoon was special...and captured on film! :)
Apparently when I'm not home, Jordan eats wherever she wants, her hair is out of control and she doesn't behave much like a lady!

more turkey!!

Because we didn't eat enough turkey yesterday, we decided to do Thanksgiving again today! Seriously, my Dad (Pop) flew in yesterday and my brother and sister-in-law were down in GA, so we did a repeat today. Heather cooked up a storm and everything was delicious. Grammy (my grandmother) and Pop brought over some bubbles for Jordan and she kept everyone busy with them. She just wants to do everything on her own, so she wanted to dip the wand in and blow bubbles. Only problem was that she put it right on her mouth, so when she did blow there was rarely any bubble stuff left with which to make bubbles. It was fun for her all the same and I think Grammy and Pop didn't mind helping her "blow" bubbles anyway!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We went to Rock Hill to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Manning's today. Traffic was not bad at all, so we made it in regular time and Jordan slept about an hour during the ride. The food was wonderful, but it was more fun to see Jordan follow Nathan around wanting to do everything he did...outside, play with the ball, play with the Legos, etc. And Nathan ate it up! He didn't seem to mind too much even though I think he was a little disappointed when she took some of his Lego creations apart. They hugged on each other, though and really seemed to enjoy each other's company...

monkey see, monkey do!

Tonight we ate dinner at Doc Chey's (yummy Asian food!). They bring chopsticks along with the silverware and also bring "beginner" sticks for the kids. Jordan loves the rice, but was having a hard time getting rice into her mouth from her hand without most of it ending up on her. I broke out the chopsticks to see if that would be any better. She loved eating anything I put on them. She also took the plastic straw out of her milk and made her own chopsticks! She wasn't very successful getting any food on them because one was a lot shorter than the other, but it was entertaining to watch her try!

visit with the Manning's

Yesterday was Tio Chanchi's birthday, so we went to Rock Hill today to visit with everyone. Jordan was in a good mood, despite only sleeping 40 minutes on the way there (she refuses to sleep in RH, so we don't even bother trying!). The Manning men enjoyed a strangely modified game of kick ball and Jordan hung right in there with them. She had a great time carrying around her small orange ball and trying to keep up with Nathan. Tio Chanchi started to make friends with Jordan (even though this picture doesn't really show it!) as he gave her a demo cell phone to play with during her visit.

yet another ear infection!

I noticed yesterday afternoon Jordan seemed a touch out of sorts, but I didn't really pay that much attention because I figured she was just tired or hungry, but didn't really want to sleep or eat--the usual stuff. Well, this afternoon she was running a temperature and her teachers at school said she wasn't quite herself. She was a little more clingy and needy than usual. Kenneth and I had already talked about taking her to the ped. to check her ears, so I called when they opened after lunch. We were able to get an appt. right after school with our favorite doctor, so we took off! And even though she has a cough, her lungs sound clear but there is an ear infectino brewing in her right ear. Thankfully, our favorite doctor had antibiotic in his closet, so I didn't even have to go to the drug store! Woo hoo!

a chapter ends

So, it's been an interesting week! Kenneth wasn't feeling the best starting Sunday until Tuesday night. Jordan spent the night with her Nana Monday night because I went to Atlanta for work. Because Kenneth was still in and out of the bathroom, J stayed an extra night at Nana's because I didn't get home until 10ish. I drove to Mom's this morning to pick her up, go to school and try to get her routine back in place. It's nice to have her back in her bed tonight!

There are many varying opinions in the world about nursing and I would venture to say that how long one chooses to nurse is probably the most controversial topic. If this subject is bothersome to you, I would stop reading now! :) You see, I have been thinking for a while that J might be ready to give up her morning nursing session. She seemed pretty uninterested Monday morning. With her being gone 2 mornings in a row, I figured I could use today as the real test. As I was changing her diaper, she asked (signed) to eat. I didn't even ask her if she wanted to nurse because it was obviously not the first thing on her mind. The good news is that I'm not the least bit engorged even though she hasnt nursed in 3 days. The bad news is that I'm a little sad. But, considering today is her 17 month birthday, I am pretty proud of what I consider a great accomplishment!

a side note about Kenneth

The last couple of weeks have been crazier than normal. Kenneth has been diagnosed with a Deep Vein Thrombosis (blood clot) behind his knee. His leg had been bothering him for about a week before he went to the doctor. Bothering him is actually an understatement--he wasn't comfortable doing much of anything. She took one look and sent him for an ultrasound which confirmed the DVT. The initial treatment is shots of an anti-coagulant in the stomach and a blood thinner (orally) once a day. And, be careful what you eat (Vitamin K interferes w/ the blood thinner) and if you feel short of breath, get to the hospital because the clot might have moved to your lungs and could kill you--is what they sent us home with! It was a VERY stressful and confusing weekend. The next Monday we went back to his regular doctor with a long list of questions about what in the heck was going on. The most important thing we learned was that he wasn't going to just fall out and die! The density of his blood has to be checked each week until it is within a certain level.

The following appointment Kenneth learned that there was nothing he could have done to prevent the clot. He has 2 genetic factors that make him prone to clotting. One of those factors has to come from both parents! Jordan has to be tested at 13 to see if she's inherited something, too. Aren't we the lucky ones!?

Thankfully, all is well now. After 2 1/2 weeks of shots, the levels have evened out and he doesn't have to go back for another month. He will stay on the Coumadin for the rest of his life, but that's better than the risk of another clot!

Jordan's first trip to NYC!

We just got back from a trip to see my Dad in New York. We had a ton of fun. The weather wasn't the best, but a good time was had by all. Jordan adjusted to the time change well, slept on the plane (up there and back home), and made her Pop pretty happy!

We went into the city Saturday and had lunch. The original plan was to go to the petting zoo at Central Park, but it was pretty wet, so we roamed around Grand Central instead. Sunday afternoon we went to a little park just down from Dad's place and she had the time of her life on the slide. It was really windy, so we had to stay bundled up and J didn't quite know how to maneuver with mittens on.

She had THE best time anticipating the free fall down the slide. She would just sit at the top and ever so slowly lean far enough over that she would start sliding. She wouldn't make eye contact with any of us until she was actually sliding and then she would crack up laughing. Our hands practically froze helping her up the steps and making sure she didn't fall off the slide, but it was worth every minute!
This picture doesn't do it justice, but Jordan really did have a good time. We just figured this picture truly captures real life with a toddler--unpredictable at best!!

Boxes ARE the best toys!

Jordan really enjoyed playing in this carseat box. It had previously been used as an aid in containment when she actually played in her playroom. Since that is no longer amusing, she has taken over the whole downstairs! She had a great time closing herself up in the box and then popping the sides out, but I thought this was the cutest when she fell back!

home with daddy

I have a pretty crazy schedule right now. Aside from work during the week, I am taking a class (required for work) on Tuesday nights and working on Wednesday nights. Tuesdays I leave from home with usually just enough time to stuff something in my face and race to class when Kenneth gets home. Wednesdays he comes by church on his way home and picks up the princess. I don't get home either night until after bedtime.

Kenneth tells me that the last few times he has been "on duty", that she has asked to go to bed! She will grab his finger and lead him over to the steps (which are gated). He asks her if she's ready to go upstairs and watch her Baby Einstein DVD (bedtime ritual), to which she signs "please". So they go upstairs and do the get ready for bed thing. Typically, we hold her on our shoulder for the last few minutes of the video to make it easier to scoop her up and take her to her crib when it's over. One night recently when he tried to do that, she fussed and fidgeted, so he asked her if she just wanted to sit in his lap like she had been doing. She signed "please". And then when she was ready to go to bed, she turned up and looked at him and when he asked her if she wanted to go to bed, she signed "please"!

That's definitely my girl because she loves bedtime just like me! :)

Firetruck visit, Part Deux!

The firetruck visit was rescheduled for today since we got rained out last week. Kenneth was able to visit, too! Jordan really enjoyed the visit and interacted a little more with the truck and the firefighters. In fact, she is flirting with one of the guys in the bottom two pictures. The ff noticed that Kenneth was trying to get her attention so we might actually have her looking at the camera in the picture. Instead, she was totally preoccupied with him and just smiled coyly and waved when he waved. She's becoming such a flirt...