the scariest costume ever

Apparently Lydia had a slight case of the runs today. She blew through all the clothes she had at daycare so by the time I arrived to pick her up, she was in "daycare clothes."

They're pretty scary. I told Lydia she was already dressed for Halloween. She could go as a Four Month Old With Diarrhea. That's scary as shit. Literally.

four month old taco

Last Thursday Lydia turned four whole months old. That's a third of a year -- quite an old taco! So much has happened this past month, as well. She has been quite busy.

First, she became a cousin three days into her fourth month with the arrival of her cousin, Elizabeth. We are all glad that Elizabeth is finally here, and Lydia is pleased to have a buddy.



This month was also Lydia's first real sickness with an impromptu trip to the doctor, medication, and everything. She recovered very quickly, thankfully. She certainly did better than me -- I had about a month-long sinus infection during this time that I could not shake. I'm sure we were an absolute blast for The Husband.

Lydia discovered her hands could grab things -- on command! -- and she has made great use of this new superpower. Fingers, bibs, itty bitty toys, Mommy's necklace . . . anything that swings by she'll take a swipe at it. She keeps her claws at the ever ready.



Sometimes, The Claws get confused and just grab each other, producing an entanglement of fingers. It's like a puzzlebox.



To top off a month of many changes, Lydia figured out the fine art of rolling over the other weekend. Ever the ham, she waited until she had an audience of seven with cameras already out before she did it. She likes attention and loves to watch people watching her, or even better, talking to her. If in the right mood, she will talk right back.



This girl has been so much fun. Every day she is doing something new. She's actually making it hard to keep up. I keep waiting for her to stand up, toss her pacifier to the side and announce, "Okay, I'm off to college. See ya!"

I'll just run behind her, hollering, "Wait -- one more picture!"

this is how we roll

A year ago today I found out we were going to get a little taco, and thus this blog was born in secret. It's been a wonderful, crazy year that has gone by quite fast, though there were very slow moments.

I've got to say I am most pleased with the outcome :)

getting better

Miss Lydia has quickly been getting better. She was cleared to go back to daycare on Friday and is all smiles and giggles. She is still taking the Pink Bubblegum Medicine through most of this week but hopefully that is all she'll need.

She is not a fan of that medicine. I can't imagine why; I loved that stuff as a kid. That and Histussin were the only two medicines I would willingly take -- I was a bear with anything else. Oh, Lydia, you have no idea what horrible concoctions await you in the world of medicine. You will relish the pink goodness of amoxicillin soon enough. It's one of the few tasty ones.

She's already learning her own ways of resisting. She has figured out how to spit out some of the medicine very cutely by blowing bubbles with it, her eyes smiling.

She might be like me with medicines, I'm afraid. I was known to try to hide the stuff from my parents or drink so much water afterwards I'd throw it all back up. My parents praised the day I learned to swallow pills.

I can hear my parents chuckling now, thinking, "Hahaha, vengeance."

poor sick taco

About a little over a month ago Lydia got her first cold. No biggie -- just a lot of boogers and it died down pretty quick. All the boogers never really went away, though. There was just enough to be a morning nuisance.

Last week she started tugging on her ears. Admittedly, I did know what that could be a sign of, but she had gotten so grabby with everything lately and seemed like such a happy baby otherwise that I didn't think much of it other than to put more lotion behind her ears because, WOO!, they sure were red from all that tugging.

Two days ago, Lydia starts up with a horrible, racking smoker's cough. Somebody's been slipping my baby cigarettes! After mildly admonishing her that she really shouldn't start smoking until she's 19, a doctor's appointment was scheduled.

After the general poking, prodding, and two chest x-rays -- the technicians were expecting a screaming baby but she actually smiled for the camera -- we found out my poor baby has not only an ear infection (way to pay attention to the signs, Mom) and bronchiolitis. Apparently bronchiolitis is like bronchitis but in the smaller passageways. Nice.

Being an asthmatic myself, I have hoped and prayed that Lydia will get her Daddy's excellent health. I almost cried when the doctor started talking about way-too-familiar drugs like albuterol and Aerochambers. She was about to go into detail about the workings of a spacer when I stopped her. Don't worry. I know. Belieeeeve me.

This doesn't mean she will get asthma or allergies, but it's still a big downer for me. After seeing Lydia get the jittery shakes from the albuterol last night I don't think I'm going to give it to her anymore (which the doctor said is totally cool).

I pray it's just a fluke and she will get stronger from this. She did sleep very well last night and hopefully she is on the mend.

I hope she doesn't get sick again for another 20 years because I don't think my heart can take it.

three month old taco

Lydia turned three months old wayyyy back on September 23rd. A few days later things got real busy around here with the arrival of her cousin and other accouterments of life, so I'm a wee bit late with this post. Bad Mama. The internet will never forgive you.

A few days into her third month Lydia slept through the night for the first time! There was much celebration to be had. There really was no turning back from that. Sometimes there was some 2 a.m. fussing for a pacifier but once that night feeding was gone, man, it was GONE. Through-the-night sleeping makes for very happy Daddies.



We also got A New Thing -- a vibrating papasan chair. At first I was against anything vibrating because I was afraid she would get too used to being soothed by it. However, we gave in once we realized the swing did not amuse for long periods of time and she did love the one at daycare. I'm all about the vibrating papasan chair now -- it lets me get ready for work.



Also soon into her third month -- many new things seem to happen right after a month milestone is reached -- Lydia discovered her hands fit wonderfully into her mouth and BOY do they taste good! She never goes for any individual fingers -- it's always the entire fist. As a side effect, her hands are now constantly wet and clammy, which makes for an excellent cat hair magnet. I'm always having to watch for the cat hairs.



The world is beginning to amuse her. We get big smiles every morning, especially after she's just eaten or if she's just had a really big poo. We're starting to get a feel of her personality: she's a morning person, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, but is quite crabby by the evening. She likes all the attention she can get and likes to entertain. She reminds me of my sister. She knows when she's got an audience and is starting to know what to do when I get my camera out: pose.



We made a daycare switch this month so now I am the one picking her up and dropping her off each day. She is on the road and away from home less and handled the change with no problem at all. She hangs out in her papasan chair each morning while I gussy myself up. I put on my suntan lotion while explaining to her why I have to do it each day: "Mommy is a vampire but she wants to go outside like normal people." Lydia grins at me and kicks at her bunny. Poor girl -- she's half-vampire herself. She just doesn't know it yet.