Family Bleh

Just after my last post I came down with a raging sinus infection. Just as I got in to the doctor and got myself squared away for some casual recouperation, Gaz got sick. Not just a little sniffle, there were 104-degree temperatures and hallucinations at one point.

So there was an ER visit (we like the nearby hospital) and a visit to our normal doctor's office, and many lab tests and phone calls later we find out that Gaz has a urinary tract infection and we get her her own prescription for a bit of amoxicillin. So much for that casual recouperation.

Since Wednesday we've had fevers, chills, vomiting, and tantrums over taking any sort of oral medication. Even the easy to chew stuff that tastes like Smarties. I've gotten little sleep, but at least my medicine has taken care of my infection just as well as it's working on hers. She's already looking a lot better (though still vomiting every now and again) and acting more like herself. We're back to diapers for the moment because she's having a hard time being awake/energetic enough to get to the bathroom in time for anything, but I know she would like nothing more than to get back to normal.

And we will, but it's probably going to take a little while yet.

Birthday and groveling

Gaz is now four and seems to be loving it. I think she hit the annual growth spurt early this year, so she's been a bit grumpier than usual and a bit more ravenous. Her appetite has returned to normal, but she's still a little more whiney than normal. I'm hoping that will be decreasing any minute now.

We had the birthday party on August 1st out in the park near our house. We had a few kids attend, and everyone seemed to have a good time. Gaz requested a red velvet cake decorated with a rainbow and sprinkles, and that's what I made. She even helped with the sprinkles and the rainbow, but mostly she ate sprinkles and begged for icing.

By now you're probably wondering where the pictures of this merry event are. It turns out that after years of playing with the camera, she's finally figured out how to delete every single picture from the camera all at once. You can imagine my glee. Now I don't have a picture of her from her birthday morning, etc. etc. Fortunately for you all, the party was documented by the fabulous Auntie Darci, so you all will get to see pictures that are probably a lot nicer than I would have taken with my crappy old one that sometimes like to zoom all the way in for no good reason.

Anyway, the birthday was had, the presents were all deemed acceptable by Her Majesty, and cake and ice cream were shared by all. We had a fine time, despite the incredible winds that threatened to blow food and everything into the river.

probably way too much information

Gaz has her first Barbie. She's stripping her as I type, of course. I don't think we've got a clothed doll in the house. And already she's planning Barbie's first haircut ("Your hair is too long! It goes all the way to your butt!")

This is a good thing: An evil sorceress put a spell on Barbie so that she could only be released from her cardboard and plastic prison if a certain girl pooped in the potty. It only took months for this fairy tale to reach its conclusion.

But actually the doll was not the prime motivator. She kept asking for a diaper and we told her that she could have one if she sat on the toilet for ten minutes. I guess all it took was a little conveniently timed boredom.

I'm unbelievably excited at the prospect of not having to change diapers much longer. It's about damn time.

Baby's First Big Girl Haircut

Originally uploaded by georgiegrrrrl

By which I mean, the first haircut done by a professional.

Gaz was a total champ the whole time, even though we had a bit of a wait for her turn to come around. She was reasonably compliant with all the "hold your head this way" and "okay, don't move" business, and now she looks (as you can see) fabulous! She got some new headbands as a treat, as they are the one hair taming device she actually enjoys wearing.

I have my fingers crossed that this will help make this summer a bit less unbearable for her. Now it's less of an issue that she refuses to ever consent to ponytails, even during a heat wave.

Us girls are heading down to visit my alma mater tomorrow for a girl's weekend out, so look out for pictures of the impending Hooisierification of Gaz!

This afternoon Gaz and I were Queens of the Wild West. We wore rainbow-colored dresses and sang songs. We also saw a cloud shaped like a bunny with really lumpy skin.

We finally got around to sorting out the back porch, so we even got to do our imagining out doors, while snacking on our newly lounge-friendly porch.

Now I have to go here the one-queen band in the living room.