Why the Long Silence

Why the long silence? Well, I'll tell you.

My dearest daughter is teething, hitting a milestone, having a minor vitamin deficiency, and possibly hitting a growth spurt. Which all boils down to this: in the last two weeks I've been bitten numerous times, I've been sleep deprived, and I've been wanting to rip my hair out. Potty training has been slowly going downhill in the last week until I finally reached a point where I took her only once a day. Ray and I agreed that if she fussed at all about using the potty, we would not force the issue. So our potty break began...snicker. Meal times have turned into a battle of wills...basically she wants only foods that will cause constipation and so I often end meal time early. Then there's the issue of sleep. This and potty training both took a hit with the recent bout of travelling we've been doing. With the aforementioned issues, they've both worsened. She now wakes at least 3 times in the middle of the night and is difficult to get back to sleep.

Oh, and the vitamin deficiency. I went to clip Hannah's nails early this week and discovered that several had slight indentations with some flaking of the fingernail. I recalled this as a sign of a deficiency and looked it up. The results I found indicated an iron deficiency. I promptly started adding more iron to both mine and Hannah's diets and then finally got her an infant's multi-vitamin. So the vitamin tastes and smells terrible, but I believe soon (because her nails grow so fast) we should see improvements.

Regarding the milestones, we have exciting news! Hannah has taken her first steps as of this past Tuesday!!! Sadly, I was not really in the mood to call, text, or blog. Sorry eager Hannah fans. She has since taken to moving from object to object without holding on to something. For example today, she stood up near her potty (as of yesterday she became willing to use the potty again) and sort of took a step/lunge towards the side of the bath tub. Daddy also has taken to walking her down the hall and playing with her while she is standing at the couch (encouraging her to let go).

In regards to potty training. As with potty training at any age, there are hiccups and obviously the hiccups occurring with an infant are different than those of a 2 year old. Any of a number of issues can cause problems with infant potty training and unfortunately, we've been experiencing several at once. Travel, milestones, illness, and teething are some of the main ones. I responded to her obvious displeasure at being taken to the potty by cutting back to the morning potty time and the potty time following naps. Eventually, I gave up those as well this week until yesterday. Now, we're gradually getting back into the hang of things as she indicates an interest. I'll include more on the infant potty training in future posts.

Further news on potty training. Something new happened in the world of potty training today. Hannah wore her first pair of training pants!! They only lasted 20 minutes. But when she was wet, she let me know immediately that something was up. I can't wait for the rest of her training pants to come in. We had to special order training pants because the smallest sizes available right now in local stores are still way too big. So we went on-line and found several sites selling training pants. We ordered a small variety of training pants that we hope to add to once we've determined we have the correct size. We ordered some with sides that snap close, some with sewn sides (so basically a pull-up), and some with velcro side closures. All the ones we purchased thus far are supposedly waterproof, but we'll eventually get some that aren't because it's easier to tell if they are wet.

Further interesting news and updates. My dearest husband had a colonoscopy this past Friday. I'll end the suspense now and tell you that everything turned out ok. The colonoscopist...snickers...um...doctor said that he didn't see anything that wasn't normal. Now, this whole process was an interesting event because it started Thursday with a colon cleansing. Ray had the great pleasure to drink a foul tasting drink twice on Thursday. I'll skip details. Then he had to drink a wonderful fizzy beverage called magnesium citrate at 4 am Friday morning before the procedure. Ray at one point told me that he was "not full of crap" and therefore I should believe everything he said.

That morning after Ray was called back for the procedure, I went and got breakfast which I was under the mistaken belief that he would be able to eat. I got breakfast burritos and two donuts which I thought would be a special treat to cheer Ray up after his ordeal. Sadly, all he would be getting for the first 24 hours was soup. I did, however, make him a wonderfully nutritious corn chowder that ended up more like chicken-corn-potato-and anything else I could find soup. 

That pretty much sums up the recent events. Stay tuned for more blog posts!

Railway Museum

This past weekend we decided to go to the Railway Museum of  San Angelo. This museum is the Historic Orient-Santa Fe Depot that was built and opened by the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient (KCM&O) in 1909. I have to say, it was by far one of the better museum experiences I've had. I don't know if it was the actual content (learning about the running of a train station) or the honest enthusiasm of the tour guide, but whatever it was, it worked.

I discovered that building or working on railroads required and probably still requires some serious muscle. As I held a few heavy antique tools in my hands, I could almost imagine what it must have been like to be out in the hot Texas sun working on a railroad with grit under my nails, straining muscles, and looking around at the treeless desert that was San Angelo, Texas in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

There was a case showing off the china that was decorated according to the train it belonged on. There was even an old menu listing what was available for those in the ritzier portion of the train. 45 cents for a cup of coffee. For those not traveling first class, there was an old refrigerator in which you put ice at the top and your food at the bottom.

Upstairs, orginally the headquarters of the Texas branch of the KCM&O, are several elaborate model trains. One was a model of Coleman, Texas and another was a model of a portion of the KCM&O down in Mexico where they built a monument from the remains of a train wreck. This monument is built up into the side of a hill/mountain and is made up of several train cars stacked on top of each other. I have to say, I think Hannah liked the model trains the best. Her little legs started wiggling when a train would come zooming past her and she would reach out, desperately wanting freedom to rain terror on small model cities and the little trains running around them.

The final portion of our museum trip included climbing onto real train cars and engines. Despite the heat, we had a marvelous time and took quite a few pictures.

If you're interested in the museum, I encourage you to check out their website at http://railwaymuseumsanangelo.homestead.com/index.html



This was a replica of an actual train that a man made and rode around in on his ranch.



Infant Potty Training, Day 5

Yep, we're potty training our 9 month old. And it's going well.

I stumbled across mention of infant potty training (also known as elimination communication and various other names) on the Kellymom website on a page about attachment parenting. I was admittedly confused at first because I've never heard these terms before and had no idea that anyone outside of a third world country potty trained children under the age of one. So I did what I do best, used my obsessive-compulsive tendencies for research purposes.  

I began researching elimination communication on Tuesday along with the current methods of potty training. I checked out some books from the library, read numerous websites, decided elimination communication was the way to go and promptly started. My general outlook was - 'heh, we have a potty, I have the time and the energy, let's give this a try.'

And it worked. I probably nearly wet myself when Hannah promptly 'went' in her little pink potty after I followed the advice given by Laurie Boucke. No fighting, no bribing, no coercion of any kind. (I did hold her there long enough to distract her with song/toy/book but that's it.) I put her on her potty, gave her the signals, and away she went. Who knew putting a child (who needs to go to the bathroom) on a potty would result in the child actually 'going' in the potty?! And she's only 9 months old. I almost tear up at the thought of years of diapers I might not have to buy.

Anyways, we purchased a little potty and a potty seat for traveling. I began to closely watch Hannah's behavior and I discovered that she already uses clapping as her signal. I have now begun trying to teach her to use the American Sign Language sign for toilet to hopefully replace clapping. She has now used the toilet sign a couple of times, but she still uses clapping as her standard cue. I would guesstimate that we have reduced our diaper usage by maybe 3 diapers a day. I can honestly say that Ray and I both have really enjoyed embarking on this new phase in Hannah's life. It's incredible, our level of communication with Hannah has really improved.

In starting this post, I realized that there's way too much information to share in one post, so I plan to do a little series on the information I found. The next installment will likely be a brief history of potty training.
To close I will include my favorite song that we sing to Hannah in the restroom. Ray came up with the lyrics and it's sung to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Tinkle tinkle on the pot

Going wee-wee where we ought.

Up upon your chair so high

Like a princess in the sky

Tinkle tinkle on the pot

Going wee-wee where we ought

Chocolate Tasting

Yes, I am writing a post about chocolate tasting. Milk chocolate tasting to be exact. I got started on this idea when I was on a website and received a request to fill out a survey. The survey asked me to list as many brands of chocolate as I could. I think I was able to list four and this got me to wondering if there was really a difference in the various brands of chocolate. Is one brand of milk chocolate like another brand of milk chocolate?


As this idea blossomed into a full out chocolate tasting, I decided to do the chocolate tasting in two parts. The first part would be without any knowledge of how to do a chocolate tasting and the second part would be done after having done a little research on the proper way to do a chocolate tasting. My aim here was to have a layman's perspective and an educated perspective.


So here is how we set up our layman's perspective chocolate tasting. Raymond and I purchased 10 brands of milk chocolate - two of which had something extra in them besides the milk chocolate. We included these two because either we couldn't find that brand's plain milk chocolate or that was the brand's version of plain milk chocolate. We did the tasting in the evening and water and milk were made available for cleansing the palate between chocolates. Small chunks of each chocolate were placed on a plate according to the numbers on a clock. We recorded in a notebook which chocolate was at which number. This was done to try to discourage bias towards particular brands. We then tasted each chocolate and made comments accordingly. We then put down our top three favorites.

Here is a list of the 10 chocolates:

Toblerone (with honey and almond nougat)

Godiva

Rittersport with Cornflakes

Milka

Dove

Lindt

Hershey's Symphony

Cadbury

Ghirardelli

Hershey's

Our favorites from round one all came from the first 6 chocolates we tasted. By the end of the first tasting, we realized that we had not properly cleansed our palates between chocolates, and the last four chocolates all tasted a little odd. Our taste buds had been overwhelmed, and the results may  likely reflect that fact. We did discover that yes, there is a difference between brands of chocolate. Our favorites tended to be the ones with the smoothest, softest chocolate that melted easily in the mouth. The Lindt had a creamy center that was a pleasant surprise after all the solid chocolates we had tasted. Also, the Ghirardelli had a fruity flavor to it that was a delightful surprise. The Cadbury had a nice slightly stronger cocoa flavor to it and we both found we liked the chocolates that had something in them such as the Rittersport and the Toblerone.

My Top Three:

Toblerone

Lindt

Rittersport with Cornflakes

Raymond's Top Three:

Toblerone

Rittersport with Cornflakes

Milka

The research I did on chocolate tasting came from one website. The suggestions were to have no more than 6 chocolates in a tasting session. For more than six chocolates in a tasting session, they suggested waiting at least 15 minutes before continuing with the tasting to allow the taste buds to recover. AllChocolate recommends the chocolate be at room temperature (65-72 degrees F). Their palate cleansing suggestions included water (also at room temperature), unsalted crackers, and plain white bread. The website also notes that it is best to have a tasting follow a light meal.

When grading the chocolate, they recommend assessing aroma, texture, flavor notes, and the order in which you experience the flavors (such as at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end). This website goes on to suggest beginning by looking at the chocolate, then touching it (get an idea of its firmness), break the chocolate and listen for the snap, smell the chocolate, and so on.

Ray and I didn't follow most of this for the second tasting, which took place about two weeks after the first tasting. We changed our method by doing only 5 at a time and had water and (salted) crackers to cleanse the palate between chocolates. We then finished the last 5 the next day.

Sadly, I don't think some of the chocolate stood the test of time very well because several had very different flavors the second time around. This could have been due in part to overwhelmed tastebuds in the first tasting, but I think it was just that the chocolate had aged.

So here are the winners for the second round!

My Top Three:

Toblerone

Lindt

Ghirardelli

Raymond's Top Three:

Toblerone

Rittersport

Cadbury

We also decided to come up with different categories for grading the chocolate.

Here are the categories and the top chocolate(s) for each one.

For best "go-to" chocolate (As in, now that you've had a chocolate tasting, which will you likely buy when you're craving milk chocolate.) This does take into account price and availability to a small extent.

Ray's pick was Cadbury. Mine was Milka with Dove in a close second.



Most unique chocolate

Rittersport with corn flakes won hands down for both of us. There was just something really nice and balanced about milk chocolate with corn flakes.

The chocolate we actually bought the next time we wanted chocolate

Toblerone (Ray found a smaller portion of it and decided to get some.)

We had a marvelous time having a chocolate tasting and we enjoyed learning about and eating chocolate. We totally recommend trying a chocolate tasting yourself. Our suggestions would be to have the palate cleansers recommended by AllChocolate and definitely do not taste more than 4 or 5 in one session without a 15 minute break. Enjoy!

All, Bluebonnets, Easter, and Shades

Well, I have to say, April is turning out to be an exciting month for us. So here's the story...
  
I was rounding up the recycling into one area so that I could rinse the plastic containers. Among those plastic containers was an empty bottle of All laundry detergent. I set this on the floor next to the rest of the recycling thinking to myself "Hannah won't go over here to this stuff and if she does, I can certainly get to her before she actually makes it." Yeah, was I wrong!! I realized where she was and what she was doing about 2 seconds after the damage was done. She had taken a taste of the detergent residue around the spout and had some on her chin.
  
I totally freaked out! I grabbed a wet washcloth and proceeded to wipe out her mouth and gave her a sip of water out of my water glass. I called Ray while I was doing this so that he could find the number for Poison Control for me to save time. He got me the number and I called. A nice RN from Parkland Hospital in Dallas told me that since it was just residue that was possibly swallowed and not detergent, that Hannah would probably be fine. I was to give her 4-6 ounces of breastmilk and keep an eye out for mouth sores which was my sign to take her to the ER. The nice lady also told me not to worry if Hannah threw up; however, she didn't really think that would happen since Hannah only got a taste of residue.
  
Well, Hannah didn't develop mouth sores and didn't throw up. She was furious about having her mouth rinsed out and let me know about it. =) I fed her and got her down for a nap like nothing had happened.

Fortunately, Easter weekend wasn't quite as exciting. We went to stay with my parents for the weekend and took some wonderful pictures of Hannah sitting in the bluebonnets in front of my mom's house. Hannah seemed to think this was a fantastic game and was really pleased when one of the dogs tried to check her out.
  

We visited with my grandparents and also with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Everyone enjoyed playing with Hannah and were thrilled every time she smiled. 

At Great-Granny's House

                                  
Hannah also got her first Easter basket bright and early Sunday morning! It included her first baby doll, sippy cups, and plastic plates, forks, and spoons.



Too Early



  

Fine, I'll Smile for the Camera


I stood in for Hannah during the Easter egg hunt and even put her initials on one of the eggs I decorated. Sadly, no one liked my idea of issuing paint ball guns or crossbows to the egg hunters. I just thought it would add a Halo-style or Hunger Games-esqe feel to the hunt, but no, it wasn't to be.



The Easter Egg Hunters

My aunt and uncle were determined to have an Easter egg hunt because it's tradition, so that would be why all the hunters are um...so old. LoL. The only person under the age of five (Hannah) can't walk yet so the task was left to us. I can tell you that everyone seemed to have fun even though certain guys found their eggs, ate the candy, and rehid the empty eggs.  I think I only had three eggs with candy in them.  Ha ha ha.

These pictures were not a part of the Easter weekend stuff, but they were taken only a few days later, so I thought I would share.

Here's our girl showing off her cool shades that finally fit her. Well, they fit her for about five minutes before she broke them. =(



Sup?





Playing It Cool Like Dad



Up Next! I plan to finish my "Chocolate Tasting" post this week so keep an eye out!

Updates on Hannah

Our bundle of joy is a fast-paced ball of energy these days. She is hitting milestones left and right, has two teeth, and is staying up late at night in order to practice her new skills. Her new skills include clapping (yay!), crawling, pulling up on furniture and people, and (as of today) is cruising along said furniture and people. She's also teething and we wait patientlly for signs of more teeth.

She has also begun eating solids and thus far she has tried rice, oatmeal, peas and sweet potato. I have been trying to make her baby food and have had mixed results. I was unable to get carrots or green beans to puree in my little food processor and getting the food out of the ice cube trays has been a challenge too. (I discovered that thawing the trays for a few minutes in the refrigerator is sufficient to get the food out and keep it from actually thawing.)

My current goals this month are to get her to eating twice a day with a cereal and/or fruit in the morning and a vegetable in the evening. We'll see how things go!

Other areas of Hannah's life. Our darling dear is also shrieking, growling, grunting, and chattering. Her eyes are still a wonderful shade of "I don't know." Somewhere along the lines of gray, brown, and green. I would say hazel, but they are like no hazel eyes I've ever seen. I would say gray, but then there are days when they clearly have green flecks or brown flecks. Her hair is red and appears to be very close to the same shade of red as my own.

I will try to add pictures soon!

An Eye Opening Experience

In the last two weeks I have been put through the spiritual ringer. Or at least it feels that way. I have been reading a friend's 'infertility blog' and it has broken my heart and opened my eyes. It has opened my eyes to more that just the plight of women who battle infertility but also to the very knowledge (or reminder of the knowledge) that ALL children are a blessing from God. I am ashamed of my own behavior and other people's behavior. I'd like to go back in time and slap myself for every time I said anything negative about someone else's child or even my own.

I certainly cherish Hannah even more after reading that blog, but that's not to say I didn't cherish her before-I did. But I think its easier to cherish her even more now. Easier to be grateful for her no matter what current irritating circumstance is happening. There's now a little reminder in the back of my mind that at least I'm getting to have this experience even if I'm sleep deprived, have a massive headache, and the baby won't quit crying. I remind myself constantly to enjoy her while I have her. There's no guarantee that I will have her with me tomorrow or even an hour from now. And each day is special because she changes each day and each week and each month. It's incredible the differences from the day she was born to now, seven months later.

This is my first official post on this blog which is my first official blog. Yay!

Ray, Hannah, and I are all doing well. Teething has started, so our lives are certainly different, but still enjoyable. My goals for this blog are mainly to keep friends and family updated about our family and to practice writing about books and baby stuff.