June 21, 2011

Alas! Patrick was at Kelly and Tim's wedding this past weekend. Here he is after putting Charlotte in her dress before the ceremony started. We waited until the last minute to minimize the possibility of her vomiting on her dress before the wedding.

Charlotte hasn't been sleeping for about 2 weeks, and has therefore been pretty cranky. Tonight we took her to the pediatrician's office and learned that nothing is wrong. The doctor theorized that she might be cutting her molars. To determine this he first gave her a catheter to rule out a urinary tract infection. It was not fun, but at least now we know her ears are fine, her throat is fine, her joints and tummy are ok, and her teeth just need to cut through quickly!!!!

June 19, 2011

Whew, what a whirlwind weekend! Patrick's sister, Kelly, married Tim on Saturday and their wedding was very fun. It all started Saturday morning...

Here's Kelly with hair and make-up in progress.

Mother-of-the-bride was very fashion forward with her English-style hat (it has a fancy name that escapes me at this moment). For interested parties: similar hats are available on E-bay.

First Dance!

Father-daughter dance

Charlotte was lucky enough to get some one-on-one time with the bride...

...and what better to do than lay on the floor.

Charlotte loves her aunt very much.

Mom loves Charlotte very much.

Hi's for everyone!

It seemed there was somewhere to go go go! all night long (or at least until 9:30 when Charlotte was escorted home).

Patrick was at this wedding, and I know photos of him exist, but not on our camera. Perhaps one will be posted at a later date.

We had a great time at the wedding on Saturday and had a nice Father's Day as well. This morning we enjoyed brunch with family in town from the wedding and this afternoon attended my family reunion. All in all this weekend was great with lots of time spent catching up with family. Charlotte felt a little pressure to do some growing after she saw her cousin who, at under 7 months, weighs just 1-2 lbs less than Charlotte at 22 months.

Patrick and I learned a lesson this weekend: we can no longer wait until the last minute to prepare for events. We were constantly running late this weekend and forgetting important things (camera, extension tube, wedding gift, cuff links, jewelry, etc.). I'm going to blame it on the fact that I was sick last Thursday so everything I'd planned to do was pushed off until Friday after the wedding rehearsal picnic.

Update: The no-vomit streak ended Saturday, but there were no incidents during the wedding or reception. Hopefully we can get back on track this week when life returns to a normal pace.

June 15, 2011

Time has flown since our last post! On Sunday we made a trip to Duluth for a graduation party for the daughter of one of Pat's former UMD co-workers. We loved seeing our UMD friends and enjoyed a perfect summer day in the most beautiful city in Minnesota (the world?).

We enjoyed lunch at Little Angie's in canal park. We got Charlotte a kiddarita, which I think she would have enjoyed if she hadn't had a little piece of chip in the back of her throat. Instead she ended up vomiting all over, and Patrick and I shared the delicious kiddarita. In the photo above she's chewing on a cherry stem...we tried to explain that the good part was in her hand, but the stem made her happy.

We just had to take a photo in front of the lift bridge.

And Patrick taught Charlotte to throw rocks into Lake Superior.

She was very good at it.

So many rocks!

Last week Monday Charlotte saw her GI Doctor for a check-up. Dr. Erickson was very happy with Charlotte's growth. When we started seeing her in January Charlotte was in the 3rd percentile for her weight (actual age) and is now up to the 10th!

This was good news because we were concerned with her vomiting. She still vomits for no apparent reason every once in a while, but most consistently she vomits in the morning. Dr. Erickson explained that this is perfectly normal because she's being fed slowly all night, her stomach is draining slowly while she sleeps, and then she wakes up and everything starts moving faster all at once...in every direction. At that appointment Dr. Erickson prescribed a new antacid so we can be certain that when she throws up there's no irritation to her esophagus.

Knock on wood...Charlotte has not vomited since Sunday.

We've had a couple of appointments with the occupational therapist. We're introducing a brushing technique on Charlotte's arms, legs, and back to work on her sensory responses. This is in case she's not eating because of the sensory reaction. Who knows, we'll try anything. Charlotte thinks the brush tickles and she likes it. It feels like a massage to me!

This weekend is Pat's sister's wedding. We're looking forward to celebrating with Kelly and Tim (and all of their friends and family)! Pictures to come!

June 5, 2011

A busy weekend at the International Children's Festival on Saturday and Minnehaha Falls and Grand Old Day on Sunday.

Let's go. I'm ready!

Relaxing on the big pillow (in a new outfit since I threw up all over mom within 5 minutes of arriving.)

Just the right size.

It's important to properly hydrate.

Mom. Baby. Charlotte.

Working the stairs.

How do I get down gracefully?

Taking a dip in Minnehaha Creek.

Charlotte does her David Banner (Incredible Hulk) walk.