Is she back?

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So far today has been the best day this week with Sienna. Yesterday we were all ready to go to music class and I was really excited to get her back to routine. I think she would have really enjoyed it as I played the cd for her that morning and it made her smile and dance and clap. Right before I was about to get her ready to go, she had a big coughing fit and threw up. A lot! She had done that earlier in the week but didn’t throw up nearly as much. I had to change my clothes, her clothes and clean up the big mess on the carpet and the sleepy chair. Up came her breakfast with the specks of blueberry, orange juice and mucus. Lovely, eh? So instead of music class, we were in the doctor’s office. He prescribed some medicine to dry up her nose as that was probably what was making her cough (the mucus from her nose dripping down into her throat). She slept relatively well. I thought I heard her talking around 3 AM but I could have been imagining it. She was definitely crying at 4 AM but stopped and I actually had to make noise around 7:30 AM to wake her up!

She still shows signs of some clinginess and telling me no and having little tantrums but nothing nearly as major as earlier in the week. Perhaps I’m just extra sensitive to it now. I took her to the playground today as I was anxious for her to get some fresh air and be able to run around. It went pretty normally! Dare I say? Things are looking up. Plus Yves got an earlier flight home on Sunday! Yay! Unfortunately, now my dad is sick with a stuffy nose and sore throat! Yikes!

Bunny Pod finished!

Just to show that my life isn’t currently all crazy toddler stuff, here is the Bunny Pod finished (previewed here)!
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The head seems a little off (har har) and not as nice as the photo from the pattern but it came out cute nonetheless! I’m not sure what I’m going to put in it though!

Clingy toddler

It has come to my attention that I have a clingy toddler. Sigh. I briefly read about this in passing and where I thought Sienna was clingy before, I didn’t know nothing! I don’t mean to dwell so much on the down side of parenthood but I’m just trying to document everything we go through, including the downs (which really are not that many, keep fingers crossed!) There were signs of progress as far as her cold was concerned. Last night was the first night since Wednesday that she slept through the night. Not a peep out of her. Yves even went in to check on her before he left for the airport and she received him well. There was a bit of whining this morning because she wanted to watch tv. Since this was the first day on my very own, I decided to pick my battles and this one I wasn’t even going to battle. I let her watch Sesame Street. I figured I would do things backwards so took a shower and had some computer time. It was even looking good at breakfast where she ate some blueberries and half of a banana. Then it started. The constant crying, the whining, the arms up to be lifted. At first I gave in but she was even struggling with me in my arms. I didn’t understand. I broke down. I tried to rationally explain to her that we had to help each other out. I was briefly able to google ‘clingy toddler’ and discovered that the constant crying and wanting to be held by only mommy and not wanting to be 2 feet away was normal. Some moms mentioned they couldn’t even cook dinner because their toddler just wanted to constantly hang on to them. Sigh. Normal. Of course some toddlers don’t even go through this stage. And some have it full force. That is my world. Some useful links: the short version of what the do and the longer version. She showed signs of clinginess before and it didn’t really last long, not like this. I can’t help but wonder if I pushed it over the edge because she was sick and I catered to her. I just have to deal with this. One hour at a time, one day at a time. Wish me luck!

Gocco Swap Collate time!

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I received the last of the packages for the Gocco Swap last week and I think it turned out great! I have to admit that I did expect some flakiness and/or no shows so it was a great surprise that everyone came through! One swapper had to drop out due to health reasons (hope things are improving you know who!) but I did have a back up swapper (he actually signed up too late but agreed to be a backup) and he pulled through with flying colors! I have to say, Gocco users rock! I haven’t shown my cards yet (I did 2) but will make a post after all the packages have gone out. I collated them Saturday night. It took me longer than I thought (3 hours! ok, maybe the tv might have distracted me for bits at a time) but I tried to keep it as organized as possible. Looking back, collating was the easiest part (once I figured out that dividing each set into twos helped speed it up instead of  laying them out into twos)! The packing of the packages is kind of a pain! I printed up all the labels and wanted to re-use all the envelopes they were sent in and tried to carefully take off any of the existing labels on them. But I still had to tape a scrap paper over the front anyway so as not to confuse the post office with any old addresses. And then trying to tape them all up and write out all the customs forms for the overseas packages all while Sienna wanted my attention because she was sick! It was still great fun receiving all the packages, seeing all the great talent and getting inspiration from everyone. Autumn Gocco Swap-Success!

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Where is my child?

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I can’t wait for Sienna to be back to her old self again! Me too! Me three! Me four!

As I mentioned briefly last week, Sienna is sick. I was hoping by this time, we would be back to our normal routine and her illness would have been a distant memory. Somebody else had other ideas. So, Wednesday she felt warm and her nose was stuffy. It was already planned that my parents were going to be here and I was going to run some errands. By the time I got back, she was not napping and had a higher fever but tylenol seemed to help.

Thursday I really thought she was getting better (she’s usually over something like this in a day or 2) and even napped in her crib. I took this opportunity to run into the city to get some film for Kagero‘s photo shoot on Sunday while my parents were here. I was really fast because I made it home 15 minutes after she woke up.

Friday she seemed to go backwards. She still had a stuffy nose and was coughing more. She didn’t want to nap in her crib and fell asleep in my arms in the sleepy chair in the living room (thank goodness for Tivo as I watched Grey’s Anatomy while she slept). Friday night was sort of crazy. We cringed everytime she coughed but when she started crying at around 2:30 in the morning and would not stop, it was unbearable. She again fell asleep in my arms in the rocker in her room. I was a bit of a zombie while heading to Zack’s mark of birth ceremony as the official photographer upon Tammy’s request. A huge banana berry with energy boost from Jamba Juice was actually very helpful! Again, I really thought she was getting better on Saturday as she let me leave for the ceremony and even seemed in good spirits (she had been very clingy and only wanted mommy to comfort her). Yves said she was and then just turned on him suddenly. She also fell asleep in his arms while in the sleepy chair in the living room. I called the doctor and took her in on Sunday with my dad. (Yves went to the photoshoot on his own-turned out to be a beautiful day). Sienna was actually happy in the car and even in the waiting room, playing with the toys and hanging out with grandpa. The doctor checked her all out. Her throat is fine, her lungs are fine and her ears are fine. Everything was in her nose and she’s on the tail end of her illness so did not want to prescribe anything for her. Only suggested we elevate one side of her mattress to help with her stuffy nose and some fresh air. Took her into the back area in the afternoon. She had limited energy and she didn’t seem as happy to be outside as I thought she would be. Sigh. Going to bed Sunday night, I thought for sure we would be getting the first decent night’s sleep in a few nights. I must have jinxed it. It was the worse night by far. She started crying at 10:40 and would not stop no matter how we tried to soothe her. She only stopped when I picked her up and had her in my arms. I was prepared to have her sleep in my arms the whole night. I just wanted her to sleep because if she sleeps, she’ll get better. She kept fidgeting while I was in the rocker. I went out to the sleepy chair in the living room.More fidgeting. I looked at the clock and it was 11:30 ish. I gave up on the idea and thought I convinced her to go back in her crib to be with froggy and bunny rabbit. It didn’t last long. The 2nd time I tried to elevate her mattress even more by puttiing one of our old pillows underneath (Yves had put some wood underneath) and relented and gave her some Tylenol. She just wanted out of the crib and in my arms. Back to the living room and it was around 1:30. More fidgeting and she even sat up.  I thought maybe my shirt was too itchy for her to relax on and tried to move it up but she was still fidgeting. I recited Good Night Moon to her and put her back in her crib. She cried at first but stopped pretty fast. I don’t knkow what happened but she ended up sleeping till 6.

That brings us to today. I let her watch 2 hours of Sesame Street and in an attempt to get back to normal, shut it off after 2 episodes. Well, she had a fit! Cry, cry, cry and pointing to the tv and the remote and to me to put it back on. Yves took off since he has to leave tomorrow and won’t be back until Sunday because of work so we decided to take her with us to run some errands in the neighborhood. Cry, cry, cry all the way in the carriage. Cry in the post office, cry in the drug store, cry on the way back. So I took her home while Yves finished up the errands. I tried to get her to go up the stairs on her own but she wanted to be carried. I didn’t want to. She was breathing fine and only coughed sporadically so I felt she was mostly over her cold and wanted to ween off babying her. What a struggle. I sat at the top of the stairs trying to get her to come up to me. Cry, cry, cry, whine, whine, whine. Sigh. I tried to compromise and went down past halfway. Nope, no can do. I finally gave up after 20 minutes and carried her up. Crying stops. It was then that we realized that her teeth must have really been hurting her. Her incisors are due to come in and another mom told me they were the worst of all the teeth. I gave her teething drops but it was the teething ring from the fridge that seemed to calm her down the most. Lunch was a failed attempt and I had to sit her in my lap so we can finish our lunch in peace. She was falling asleep in my lap at the table. We thought for sure she would not go down in her crib but I whispered to her if she wanted to take her nap. She slid down and out of my lap and walked toward her room!! I put her in her crib and she has now been asleep for the past 30-45 minutes. BIG SIGH!

Zoo who!

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Kangaroo and wallaby
As I mentioned before, we took Sienna to the Prospect Park Zoo on Sunday. It was a bit windy and cold but we bundled her up and she seemed to have a good time! Yves was the photo taker on this excursion so no pictures of him!
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You want me to do what?

I know this photo is blurry but I love the look on her face.  The light in the back is a little hole you can peek through and see the other side. Yves was trying to get her to do it but she wouldn’t.

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Watching the ducks and making duck sounds.
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Baboons!

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Look over there Sienna!
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What sound does a cow make Sienna?

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Sienna climbed all these stairs by herself and if we let her, would have climbed down on the other side and go around and probably back up this way.

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a high-5 for going up all the stairs!

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And lunch at Golden Krust!

When it rains, it pours

There has been a lot of things going on the past few days and I have not had a chance to update the blog. I want to make sure I get this down before I forget and hopefully make a more detailed post when things calm down a bit.

Saturday we went to dim sum with the gang to Chinatown’s Golden unicorn, our usual place. We ate like pigs because the bill was more than usual. Sienna was with Grandma and Grandpa and they took her to the playground and had their own dim sum in the neighborhood. Sunday we took Sienna to the Prospect Park Zoo in lieu of going apple picking. We are not ready to invest the 1.5 hour drive to upstate. It was cold and windy but we buttoned up Sienna and she seemed to really have a good time.

Monday Sienna spent some time with grandma and grandpa again so I could get some work done. I got a typing job from Alison, I’m tying up the final details for Carrie’s Save the Date card and the freelance brochure design from Nice Spots is back! There was a little bit of an episode on Monday when my dad brought her upstairs to change her diaper. Once Sienna saw me, she just wanted to be with me and didn’t want to leave. I brought her down for lunch and managed to leave so I can run some errands in the ‘hood. It actually worked out. Whew!

And speaking of episodes, Sienna had another one Sunday night. She had one the previous Sunday night as well but this one seems worse. She would cry out in the night. We try to ignore it and usually she stops and goes back to sleep. She kept crying and stopping then crying and stopping. Last Sunday night I actually almost slept on the floor in her room so I can soothe her everytime she cried out for me. Yves made me realize that was just silly and something I should not get her used to. He’s right and I guess my brain wasn’t functioning at 2:30 in the morning. I figured this was the 18 month regression a month later since she was born a month early. I was dreading the next night but nothing happened again until the following Sunday. (I hope this doesn’t become a Sunday thing!) Yves went in and I went in but she kept crying and then stopping and then crying. Yves compared her to the snooze button on  alarm clock. Just when you fall back asleep, it goes off again! It was especially hard for Yves because he had work the next day (last week was Columbus Day).

And now yesterday the plan was for my parents to watch her while I do more work/errands. She had a bit of a runny nose when she woke up and felt a little warm. I gave her tylenol. It was another cold and windy day and with the runny nose, I didn’t think the playground was a good idea. She was a bit cranky when my parents came over and Barney was the only thing that let me leave. I went over to Trader Joes and the craft store for yarn for my projects. My dad called and she definitely had a fever so more tylenol for her. She didn’t take her nap and the only thing that kept her relatively calm was watching TV. I spent the whole afternoon watching Sesame Street with her. Whenever I tried to shut it off and get her to play with her toys a little bit, I get whining and crying. I figured she’s sick and gave her special TV time because of it. She threw up a little bit after eating a little lunch and wasn’t interested in food after that. We put her to bed at 6!! There was a few cryings but for the most part, the night went fine. I hope she is better today!

Officially addicted!

Currently I am addicted to Etsy, obtaining crochet patterns and swap-bot. I’ve been getting active again on swap-bot as it helps me keep creative juices flowing. I find myself looking for swaps to join and even started my own swap for Amigurumi food, my first hosting on swap-bot. And then found another Amigurumi swap with an Autumn theme, a knit/crochet dishcloth swap, and a knit/crochet Christmas ornament swap! That’s how I became obsessed with looking for crochet patterns. There are tons of free ones on the internet! Then I joined an Etsy favorites swap where your partner will buy you a small priced item from your Etsy favorites list (feel free to buy me something too! HA!). I debated joining this swap because 1. I could just buy it myself! and 2. I didn’t have an Etsy favorites list. Well, I decided it would be a nice surprise to see which item my partner would pick and then became obsessed with finding things to put on my list. Then I found this cute bunny pod pattern that I couldn’t resist and am currently working on. I figured that I got lots of free patterns, it’s ok to buy one here or there. And then last night found this cute pattern that I just couldn’t resist (again)! Crochet Dim Sum! I really just wanted to make the egg custard and am not clever enough to figure it out on my own but some of the other items are cool too. The great thing is that these patterns get e-mailed to you so that’s instant gratification!

Here is the top part of the bunny pod or the head. It doesn’t look as nice as the picture from the pattern. It’s funny how the shaping of the snout could really alter the look! I’m not crazy about my shaping of the snout but am too lazy to fix it. It’s got character!
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And via Celestina’s blog, I discovered etsy seller onefourzero and got my own personal stamp with the bunny logo and my signature and e-mail/website, which I love. I e-mailed her my design on Sunday and it was in my mailbox on Wednesday! From the UK!! I love Etsy!!
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After making this skullholder from the Happy Hooker book, I had such fun that I went on the prowl for more potholders and found this adorable fish! (I also want to make that cute chicken in her banner, which is from this book that I will probably end up buying but am trying to resist)
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I already finished the dishcloth for the swap with the same color yarn as this fish. I might include this fish too, if I could part with it! When I told Yves I bought a pattern for the bunny pod, he asked if we were keeping that one because I seem to be swapping away everything I’m working on! HA! I told you I’m addicted!

Sienna-wear

I finally got around to doing a Gocco print of the Bob shirt I attempted to make here with the EZ screen print. I have to say that out of all the Gocco prints I’ve made, this is the one I’m most satisfied with probably because of it’s simplicity. If you or anyone you know wants this same shirt, just send me a shirt and I’ll print it on there!

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It came out a little off center but don’t think it’s really a big deal. She sported it on Saturday at pumpkin picking.
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I’m also happy to have started AND finished a monkey embroidery shirt for Sienna. I bought the t-shirt stabilizer months ago and did not use a hoop for this. It took me about 3 nights of doing this. I can’t say embroidery is my favorite thing as the process is much slower than crocheting, my eyes don’t see so well for precision needle sticking, the backs look so sloppy and I just plain suck at it. But you know, it came out pretty cute even tho the mouth is a little messed up!

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(I just realized that these 3 shots were taken with 3 different cameras! ha!)
She sported the shirt today at the playground but with a sweatshirt on, couldn’t really show it off!

Pumpkins and a cow, oh my!

Saturday we met up with Tammy, Mark and Vitamin Z at the Queens County Farm Museum for some pumpkin picking (or pumpkin picking upping as corrected by Yves as we weren’t literally picking pumpkins, just picking them up off the ground) I was unsure about the place, it being Queens and all, but it wasn’t bad! It was actually perfect for Sienna. Not too overwhelming but enough things to entertain her. There were farm animals (a cow, sheep and horses) and some sort of birds roaming around (which I thought were turkeys but no one agreed with me) and chickens and roosters. There is a corn maze but there was a sign that said it was a bit muddy so we didn’t bother. And we picked up lunch at the lone food stand where they made gyros and kebabs which were actually pretty good! Go figure! Zack ended up having to leave a bit early as he was cranky from being woken up from his nap to meet us.

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running after the unidentified birds
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Mark and mini Mark
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Zack as snuggle bunny
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Sienna kept trying to pick up huge pumpkins!
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So many pumpkins! Which one to pick?
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This one!
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Tammy & Mark choose 3 pumpkins. I asked what they were going to do with them and Tammy said roast the seeds. She asked what I was going to do with ours and I said ‘decorate it and let it rot!’
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At first Sienna didn’t want to go up to the chickens or the cow. We had to convince her it was ok.

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