August 29, 2011

Charlotte to Minneapolis, "I'm crushing your head!"

The last weekend of August was a great one. We kicked off Saturday morning with a bike ride to the Mill City Farmer's Market and toured the Guthrie while we were there.

Charlotte's pink eye patch is her favorite, and the only one she chooses to wear (when given a choice between designs).


The morning was extra fun because our friends joined us. Here's their little guy sitting with Charlotte. He tried giving her hugs and kisses, but she leaned away. Maybe she'll warm up next time.
The farmer's market was pretty busy. Lots of good food for eating there and for bringing home. We hope to go back again soon.

On Sunday Charlotte took her first trip to the great Minnesota Get-Together - AKA the Minnesota State Fair. It was Patrick and my first trip to the State Fair with a toddler - an exhausting yet fun experience.

When we first arrived I realized the SD card we usually use in the camera was at home, but we were in luck! Our second SD card happened to be in the camera case, and on it were pictures of our NICU stay. I'm always blown away at how far Charlotte has come when I look at pictures from then and thought I'd share a couple here.

So tiny and cute in her first dress.

Charlotte's first bottle. Oh how hopeful we were...the end was in sight, or so we thought.

And that's enough of a flash back...

The Minnesota State Fair

Charlotte met Mr. Bubble's from a distance. She was quite fascinated with him.

Here's Daddy trying to convince her that his favorite, the goats, are nice to pet.

I think she liked the hat/head band more than the actual pigs this year.

And this picture clearly states how she felt about the geese.

All in all, it was a good day.

And the medical update.

At Charlotte's last pediatrician appointment they took finger prick blood sample to test for lead. Unfortunately it tested positive, so tonight we were back to have more blood drawn. We're happy to be back home - post tears and 2 needle pokes (first try in the foot and then a successful draw from her left arm), and will hopefully know soon whether or not the lead levels warrant treatment.

Maybe the first test was a mistake.

August 24, 2011

Another dress courtesy of cousin Genevieve

Yo Gabba Gabba in print form. This book cannot be within Charlotte's field of vision lest you have to read it repeatedly.

Charlotte's new puppet book

Charlotte's new tricycle

Charlotte in flight.

Hanging out on the Stone Arch Bridge

Working on her ride.

The new potty can wait. Let's get some use out of this box first.

Now that we're settled into the new place we've been able get out enjoy the rapidly dwindling summer.

Two weekends ago we wrapped up Charlotte's birthday celebrations with a trip to Grandpa and Grandma Russell's and a visit from Grandpa and Grandma Distad. Charlotte loved all the attention. It also appears that she is beginning to understand what presents are all about so Christmas should be interesting.

Charlotte is starting to act her age in many respects. The most challenging is the tendency to "tantrum" at the drop of a hat. Bedtime has turned into an hour long affair with much screaming and gnashing of (baby) teeth.

We've resorted to trying to sap a little of her energy by working her pretty hard. This past weekend we hiked around the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis and spent some quality time at the playground.

At Charlotte's 2-year well child pediatrician appointment tonight she measured 22lbs 9oz (5th percentile) and 32.25" tall (11th percentile).

August 11, 2011

Today was an exciting day for appointments. We started off with a visit to the Ophthalmologist, and got great news. Charlotte is using both of her eyes much more evenly than she was 3 months ago, so the stronger lens in her right eye is helping! The doctor wants us to patch her eye for a minimum of 2-3 hours/day (the more the better) to force her brain to use the weaker eye.

Charlotte was quite interested in the patching concept and asked to have one put on while we were still in the doctor's office. It helped that Patrick wore one our of the clinic as well. Her doctor was quite impressed with this. Here are a couple of photos of Charlotte after we got home:


We ordered some fun eye patches online from a great website recommended by our doctor: http://www.myipatches.com/home.php. She also told us about Ortopad, which is a site that has cloth patches to go over her glasses. If she reacts poorly to the adhesive we might try those, but there's a risk that she'll be able to look around the patch, reducing the benefit of wearing the patch.

Appointment number 2 of the day was to the pediatric rehabilitation clinic where we saw a new speech therapist. We've been pretty disappointed with the feeding/speech therapy Charlotte has received since our move to Minnesota, but we felt much better after leaving today. Her first appointment was in April and we never received the promised 6 week follow-up phone call. We finally got a second appointment for today, but now we have monthly appointments scheduled through December.

The rehab clinic is inside Amplatz Children's Hospital which reminded us of Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. It made me feel a little homesick for a place with which we were all too familiar. Although we never wanted to be there we had a very positive experience, and I'm hopeful we'll feel just as at home at Amplatz soon. Or Charlotte could eat and we'll never go there again.

Appointment #3 of the day with her pediatrician was canceled because the doctor was out of the office. We went to the park with our new neighbors instead! Lots of fun.

August 10, 2011

Happy Birthday Charlotte!

Wow, two years have passed. In some ways they've flown while in others it feels as though Charlotte has always been a part of our lives. I certainly cannot imagine life without her. Regardless of how many times I get up with her in the night my favorite part of the day is getting her out of her crib in the morning - she's always full of smiles and hugs.

Last year on this date she weighed 17 lbs 3 oz. Today she weighs 22 lbs 9 oz. According to my Google search (http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/growth/grow12yr.html) kids should gain 2-5 lbs between their first and second birthday, so Charlotte is ahead of the curve!

When Charlotte was in the Marquette NICU a nurse gave me a pink beanie baby to set next to her to photograph her size. It ended up back in Houghton before her 2 month birthday, but the volunteer at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin gift shop kindly gave me a Thanksgiving Beanie Baby to use there. It has stuck with us and tonight we took it out just for fun. Luckily she's now much larger than the beanie baby, strong enough to hug it, and opinionated enough to tell us she's not putting it down.


At daycare they made Charlotte a crown, which she loved wearing. She insisted I put it on her head before she got in her carseat and didn't take it off until she wanted to walk through my legs - the bridge just wasn't tall enough for the crown.

We've been neglectful at posting video, but here's some video of Charlotte. Her language skills are developing very quickly!

Since our last post we attended Patricks' family reunion where...

...Charlotte demonstrated her impressive pitching potential,

played with bubbles,

and got her first tattoo (temporary, that is).

We moved! With the help of about 9 amazing people it took less than 2 ours to move out of our old place and into our new. A huge thank you to those who helped us move!

After the move we had a little party for Charlotte. Here's Patrick sneakily helping Charlotte blow out her candle. Judging by her fascinated expression, the candle may have fully melted before she tried to put out the flame.

And a nice family photo in our moving apparel.

Tomorrow brings doctor appointments and this weekend more birthday celebrations. Hopefully these events will be promptly followed by blog posts.

July 23, 2011

The month of July is flying by just as fast as June. Last weekend we visited my parents' for a full weekend: we checked out the animal barns at the Dodge County Fair (and may have had a treat or two before leaving), visited with my aunt and uncle from Florida, and celebrated my Uncle Lyle's 65th birthday!


My Dad surprised us all with a table and chair for Charlotte. Charlotte has been using a foot stool and plastic tote as a place to color, so she is VERY excited to have a real table and chair just for her.

Charlotte had a first last week that we aren't very excited about. For the first time she asked to watch TV - Elmo specifically. She was unbelievably clear and insistent and we complied through our shock. Here's Patrick and Charlotte watching Elmo.

On Wednesday we headed up to the University of Minnesota's Biological Laboratory and Field Station in Itasca State Park. All first-year CBS Students attend a program called Nature of Life before starting college and as a staff member I got to bring my family up for one of the sessions. While I was learning about genetics, evolution, and bacteria Patrick and Charlotte explored the park. Above is Charlotte all ready to leave our cabin for the outdoors!
We did find time to visit the headwaters of the Mississippi River together. Here I am coaxing Charlotte into the water.

And here she is with her toes just barely in the water, checking out the view.

She was perfectly happy going further into the water if Daddy held her.

There appeared to be no way Charlotte was going to let go here...but she did eventually.

Daddy and Charlotte relaxing on the rocks and investigating some rocks from lake bottom.

And in case you didn't believe me, here's the proof of our location.

Today we arrived back in the Twin Cities around noon and didn't waste much time getting to the splash park. This was Charlotte's second trip to the park and it went much better. She walked right up to the water and sat on the edge before bravely walking in up to her thighs. I think she most enjoys sitting and people watching.

Charlotte's weight is up 4 oz to 22 lbs 8 oz. We saw Charlotte's Occupational Therapist on Tuesday evening and we're continuing with sensory stimulation. Our goal is to be able to run our finger along the top of her mouth without her gagging. To be honest, I'm not sure I wouldn't gag if someone put their finger in my mouth...

She is showing increasing interest in eating, but she just can't seem to figure out chewing and swallowing. Far too often her snack times result in gagging/throwing up. Her next appointment with the speech therapist will be in early August, and I hope she provides us with some additional guidance.

Until then, we'll continue to enjoy the summer. We don't have air conditioning, so let's hope for 70-80 degree weather!

July 4, 2011

This post is from me (Katie) logged in under Patrick's account.

We haven't seen a doctor since our last post (yay!), and tonight Charlotte weighed 22 lbs 4 oz. That's all for a medical-related update.

See that teeny tiny spot of red mid way up the hill? That's Patrick running the Afton 50k trail race on Saturday. The race is traditionally run at Afton State Park, but was moved to Afton Alps due to the government shutdown (and associated state park closures). The course was very difficult. Patrick had trained on the original course and had thought he could run close to 3.5 hours. The back-up course brought unique challenges (running up and down the ski hill 4 times, for example), but he pulled through with a time of 4 hours and 30 minutes.

After the race we had a nice lunch on the patio of Sail Away Cafe in Afton with Patrick's parents.

Sunday we visited my parents. Charlotte has no interest in swimming pools, but she likes playing in the water while standing next to them. She ended up wearing a dry swimming suit most of the day.

Charlotte enjoyed looking at Grandma's flowers as much as Grandma enjoyed showing her them.

Surveying the backyard for dogs who attack with their tongues.

Here's Charlotte successfully navigating the maze Grandma and Grandpa are growing for her.

And now for the Fourth of July! Happy Fourth!

We returned to Afton along with a few thousand others for the parade.

Charlotte rode in style. The carrier allowed us to easily navigate the crowds and Charlotte was able to watch the parade over the heads in front of us.

She got a flag and held onto it for most of the parade.

We left the parade before it ended so that Charlotte could run and play at the park.

Before long the parade crowd joined us on the playground and Charlotte had to figure out how to share the space.

Going...

Going...

Gone.