June 17, 2012

We had a lovely 3-day weekend! On Friday we departed home at 7 a.m. for Duluth and our first stop was Chester Bowl so that Patrick could run in one of his favorite spots and Charlotte could play off some energy built up by the car trip.

Here's a photo of Charlotte after she and I checked out the water running through Chester Bowl. It was a beautiful day in Duluth! Oh how we miss living in Duluth, but we agreed we need to go back in April when it's spring in the Twin Cities and still very much winter in Duluth.

We braved the Grandma's Marathon traffic and parked at the DECC. It was worth it because moments after we arrived at Bayfront Park we got to see a ship depart the harbor.

Charlotte ran the Whipper Snapper race! She was pretty pumped to run and we think she is getting close to running without Patrick. He said he put her up on his shoulders so she could see the mascot race, which preceded the Whipper Snapper, and she anxiously scrambled down when the first wave of 4 and under kids took off. She was not about to have a late start!

We stopped by the Expo to pick up my packet for the half marathon and Charlotte's favorite part was playing in the curtains set up for the pasta feed. We've taken to counting to 3 to get her to do things and this was one time counting to 3 was necessary. I don't know why this works. I rarely have a plan for what to do if she's not complying by the count of 3. Hopefully she doesn't test this anytime soon.

After packet pick up we enjoyed a pre-race meal and celebrated the eve of my 30th birthday with dinner at Little Angie's Cantina. I don't have any pictures of the race (the Gary Bjorklund Half Marathon) because I was running, but it was pretty fabulous. I thought it would be a fun way to spend my 30th birthday and it was! The weather was perfect - cool, partly cloudy, maybe a slight breeze at our backs. Patrick, Kelly, and Pat's parents all made signs that helped keep me going through the last few miles, and it was fun to celebrate with them at the finish. Afterward we went to a new-to-us cafe on Superior Street, Takk for Maten, and I enjoyed lefse with butter and brown sugar - it was delicious.

After lunch Pat's family departed Duluth and the three of us took naps at UMD. Then, after we enjoyed our annual malt from the Portland Malt Shoppe, we decided to check out the Duluth Children's Museum (pictured above). It was a fun way to get out of the rain and do something new in Duluth!

This morning the celebration shifted from my birthday to Father's Day! Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there. We had intended to leave Duluth at 10:30 a.m. for a Father's Day lunch in Eau Claire, however, we had car trouble. We were at Tires Plus when it opened at 9 a.m. and despite the staff person's initial concern that they wouldn't be able to fix it until Monday, we were on the road by noon with new brakes!

Here we are killing time at Caribou while our car was assessed. We were glad we thought to grab crayons and books for Charlotte. 

Then, on a whim we got Charlotte her first hair cut! Here she is after the cut, the stylist only took at most an inch off but it was good practice for Charlotte. She was a bit nervous but she sat on my lap,  answered all of the stylists questions, and stayed still for an even cut.

Shortly thereafter we got the call that our car was ready and we were off to Eau Claire!

Grandma and Grandpa Russell got Charlotte this great bat and ball. Charlotte may or may not have hit Dad's hands a few times, but she definitely connected with the ball more than once!

And because I'm always up for celebrating my birthday I was excited to blow out candles! Charlotte helped and to be fair, the cake was for "Katie and the Dads" :).

It was great to see Charlotte's Great Grandpa and Grandma Mehls even if it did start raining after our arrival prompting a move from the nice deck indoors. I think this is why we didn't get any family photos this gathering! Below are a couple shots of Charlotte playing with Grandpa and Grandma Russell.

We had a great weekend and I'm walking pretty well although going down stairs/hills is not my favorite thing right now. Patrick just reminded me that tomorrow will probably be the worst day as far as muscle soreness goes...thanks dear.

June 9, 2012

Charlotte has become quite the animal lover! Memorial Day weekend Charlotte and I visited my parents and after a few hours she petted Kira Bear and even played fetch with her (see photo below).

The next morning she had almost forgotten her new friendship with Kira and instead wanted to snuggle with Big Gray. Unfortunately Big Gray didn't reciprocate the feeling and eventually hid behind the couch where she couldn't be reached. Baby steps.

AHH! I got new glasses! 

We recently learned that kids outgrow their glasses in 18 months or less - yikes! We found a great boutique in Uptown called Glasses Menagerie and picked up a new pair of frames. At her last eye exam her prescription changed only slightly, but it's nice that she has the latest prescription as well. And the best part - they are transitions lenses!

Last weekend Patrick set out to run 50 miles at the FANS 12 and 24 hour race around Lake Nokomis. He made it 43 miles before stomach cramps sidelined his efforts and then we all cheered for our friend Sonja who was among the brave (read insane) souls running for 24 hours.

Charlotte is becoming quite the running fan! Here she is clapping for the runners and saying things like "Go Runners!" and "Yeah Runners!"

Daddy's biggest fan crashed for her nap about 3 hours into the race. She is such a good napper that she slept for 1.5 hours while people around her cheered for runners.

After Patrick's finish we went home and cleaned up, played, rested, and ate dinner. Then, after all that, we grabbed DQ on our way back to Lake Nokomis to cheer on those who were STILL RUNNING. The race finished at 8 a.m. and I can only imagine those runners are still sleeping, over a week later.

Grandma and Grandpa Russell went to Vegas this week and we got their plants to water! Charlotte took primary responsibility for this job as she loves the spray bottle.

Here is Charlotte walking her dog on the streets of downtown St. Paul (note: her "dog" is a wooden cat on wheels handed down to her by our wonderful neighbor girls). Last night she named her dog Kira Bear (after Grandma and Grandpa Distad's dog) and has insisted upon taking her absolutely everywhere today. This afternoon she renamed, for a brief period, the dog Sandy and she and I replayed the scene from Annie where Annie needs to call Sandy to evade the dog catcher.

Here's a fun photo to wrap-up the blog post. We love the slippers Charlotte received from Grandma and Grandpa Russell from their trip to Amsterdam. She even wore them today in spite of the 90 degree temps.

We're going strong on the no tube feeds! We've adjusted easily to needing to stop and eat at mealtimes rather than just hooking her up to her tube and plowing through life. Her weight has been stable and we're hoping she can pack on a few ounces before we see her pediatrician in August.

May 17, 2012

We've neglected our blog! This is because I kept hoping we'd have good news to share and we do! On April 4 we saw Charlotte's pediatrician for a weight check and she supported our desire to give Charlotte a shot at going tube-feed free. We went back 2 weeks later and were disappointed to learn that Charlotte had lost 3 oz, but our scale at home had shown weight gain so we were also very surprised. Perhaps in part due to our disbelief our pediatrician suggested we keep trying for a month and yesterday's one month check up yielded positive results - she gained 5 oz!

She's still skinny at 24 lbs 7 oz, but our doctor assured us that a child's ribs should be visible so we're not as worried. None of us are in a hurry to remove her G-tube, but we don't have to go for another weight check until Charlotte's 3 year well-child visit in August. Hopefully she'll continue to gain weight!

We've been pretty bad at taking photos, but we've had lots of fun over the past month visiting family and enjoying the beautiful spring.

Charlotte enjoyed Dora the Explorer at the Eau Claire Children's Theater. Above she is coloring before the show began. Grandma and Grandpa Russell took us and it was a cute show.

Last Friday Charlotte had an eye exam that went well. Her prescription has changed only slightly and we're continuing with the patching - the longer each day the better. That afternoon we had fun at a plant sale with Grandma and Grandpa Distad and my cousin. We now have plants growing on our porch, so hopefully we'll be enjoying delicious salads and fresh herbs this summer.

We spent Mother's Day at the Arboretum, and Charlotte loved running around.

Here's a cute shot the Russell's...Grandpa Russell is behind the camera.

April 2, 2012

It's been three weeks since our last post and we've certainly kept ourselves busy in the interim.  Every weekend has involved some kind of event or activity to assist in our attempts to wear Charlotte out and perhaps make bedtime less of an ordeal. It hasn't worked.

First up was St Patrick's Day at the Minnesota Children's Museum and the Irish parade through downtown St Paul with Aunt Kelly and Uncle Tim.

A troupe of Irish dancers at the MCM.

Hard at work.

About half the time spent in the water area was spent activating the hand dryer.

St Patrick Day parade in short sleeves and the that's all she wrote for winter.

The Minnesota road racing scene traditionally kicks of with The Human Race along Summit Avenue. Last year Charlotte was bundled for maximum warmth. This year not so much. Although fine weather for spectators cost Dad 30 seconds versus last year.

"Look! I'm at one of Dad's races and I'm not freezing!"

"Go Runners!"

This year Grandma and Grandpa Russell gave us a membership to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum for Christmas. We took Grandma and Grandpa Distad out there with us to celebrate the early Spring.

This past weekend we traveled to Madison so I could run a race and we could visit with family and friends living in the area.

Learning the do's and don'ts with regards to geese.

We were able to catch the Hoenisch's for dinner Friday night before they left town the next day. Calvin and Charlotte

March 2012

March 2010

Saturday was race day and cold again! The race was at Vilas Park in Madison where, fortunately for Charlotte, there was a free zoo! As I was running laps through the UW Arboretum, Katie and Charlotte ducked in and out to visit the different animals and activities.

After the race we returned for a full visit of the zoo with my cousin Matt and his family. Matt and his wife Anne came visit us while we were stationed at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. After the zoo we all went out for dinner. Charlotte enjoyed meeting their son Owen, but she may have had nefarious intentions depending on her understanding on the different parts of speech, namely the preposition "with." "I want to eat Owen" she told us as we drove to the restaurant.

"Which jungle beast could we take in fight?"

Our hotel on Friday night was a little sketchy; not bad, but there were some definite red flags. We switched hotels for Saturday night so we Charlotte could get some "pool-time." She enjoyed the much more subdued atmosphere of the hotel pool over the chaos of the Shoreview waterpark we went to last time. It was hard to get her to leave in fact.

"Splashing allows me to use up my destructive energy without actually breaking anything."

Sunday we got breakfast at the Original Pancake House and then used our reciprocal museum membership to visit the Madison Children's Museum.

Water is universal.

The Paint Wall.

Madison landmark from the roof of the Children's Museum.

While Charlotte's eating has progressed by leaps and bounds, her weight gain has trickled off. We're not sure why, but we don't seem to worry about it too much. I don't know if we'll ever get over the excitement of watching her eat a full plate of Kung Pao noodles with tofu. It's still such a foreign concept to us that she is eating. We just keep plugging away at increasing the volume and consistency of her meals and hope for the best. A tube-free birthday in August remains our goal.

March 13, 2012

Happy Spring! We've been loving the beautiful weather and hope the "Winter That Wasn't" is over.

Since our last post Charlotte got to see her surgeon one last time (we hope). He gave her a new Mic-Key button which we found out last night is defective. The extension tube doesn't lock so it came out and pumped formula all over her and her bed in the middle of the night. We have an extra button so we'll probably need to put it in this week.

After that appointment Patrick and Charlotte met with a dietician. The dietician gave us ideas of how to increase Charlotte's calorie intake. Basically, Patrick and I cannot eat with her because the dietician suggested using whipping cream to make mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs and adding butter and oil to things. She also affirmed that ice cream is great (Charlotte loves it) and encouraged us to introduce more vegetables to her diet because we can add cheese to them (as opposed to fruit which is low in calories).

I took her to see the speech therapist this week and we decided to see her every other month instead of monthly. Charlotte's doing so well with eating that there's no reason to see her that regularly. In fact, starting tomorrow we are reducing Charlotte's tube feeds from 3 cans down to 2 cans. We e-mailed Charlotte's pediatrician and asked her to look at Charlotte's growth charts using he measurements from her visit with another doctor for an ear infection a week a go. She responded in under 24 hours and said Charlotte's growth looks great and 2 cans is reasonable. The plan is to give her two cans from 7-10 p.m. and then her time to get hungry will increase.

Time for photos...

Play-doh has been a favorite past time lately.

We got her trike out this weekend and she had a great time. Her feet just touch the pedals, and she's working on the leverage needed to propel herself forward. For now, mom and dad get to push.

The sandbox was primed and ready for sandcastle building.

Charlotte got a big girl bed this weekend! We have retired her crib and on Sunday night she slept in a twin bed for the first time. It was quite momentous because although it took 3+ hours to coax her to sleep (the idea of the new bed was exciting but bed time was a bit scary), she slept through the night, in her own bed, for the first time in about a year. I was almost alarmed when I woke up and she wasn't next to me.

Last night of course she woke up when her tube disconnected because she was all wet, but hopefully tonight she'll sleep soundly. Sweet dreams!

February 29, 2012

Thank goodness for a leap year! Without it we would have missed an entire month of blogging. We've had a great month. Here are a few highlights...

Charlotte helped with some Valentine's Day baking for my and Patrick's offices. Her interest in what we do in the kitchen has increased and she regularly asks to use our little kitchen ladder to see what's going on.

Charlotte has been under the weather a couple times this month. Around the middle of the month she was so tired that she laid on these pillows or snuggled with me on the couch for an entire afternoon. We watched two movies from start to finish - so I knew she was in need of major down time.

Then last weekend our friends Andy and Robin from Madison were visiting the Twin Cities and while we enjoyed breakfast with them Charlotte was just not herself. She cried and complained that her ear hurt. While Patrick stayed at breakfast I took Charlotte to the Minute Clinic at CVS and they confirmed she had an ear infection. Within an hour she had been seen, we paid a co-pay $10 less than our regular visits, her prescription was filled, and we were home. Amazing.

The unseasonably warm February weather inspired a trip to a park in Kasson, MN while Charlotte and I visited my parents. The swings were a bit more popular, and we could tell that she is pretty fearless now (well, with an exception to the tube slides - those are pretty scary).

We finally got a snow fall! Or was it a slush fall? In any case, Patrick helped Charlotte build her first snow man. Here she is putting the nose into their snow man.

Dress up has become a popular past time. She loves tu-tus (you can see one poking out under the shirt).

Her eating has been going very well! Tonight we had spaghetti and she carbo-loaded.

And she appeared to enjoy it!

We made it to the speech therapist again this month and we're going to keep doing what we're doing. Based on our weight checks at home Charlotte has maintained her weight and even gained an ounce or two with only 3 cans of formula. Our daily goal is that she eats at least 250 calories, and she makes it most days. Next week we get to meet with a dietician to learn about ways we can increase the calories she is getting.