What's in a Name?

What's in a name?  As it turns out, a lot...

Like I mentioned in my previous post, there are days when I forget that I'm pregnant (side note - not anymore.  I'm uncomfortable and sporting quite the round belly, so I'm constantly aware that I'm pregnant now).  Caroline is keeping me so busy and Luc's job is keeping him pretty occupied as well, so most days little baby Smith isn't high on the priority list.  Poor thing.  I hope she doesn't have 2nd child syndrome already! 

We've been kicking around some names ever since we found out Baby Smith is girl, but nothing was sticking.  Charlotte, Abigail, Claire, Ellie, Penelope, Eleanor, etc.  We liked Penelope from the start, but then silly Kourtney Kardashian had to go and name her baby Penelope, so we crossed that one off the list.  We like traditional names, but Eleanor seemed too old fashioned for a baby.  We decided on Charlotte for a week or so, but gave up on that name as well.  We were waiting for a name to jump out and say "That's it! That's the name!" much like it did with Caroline. 

I guess our list of criteria was just too much:
- no names that can be shortened to a nickname.  Luc and I are both nickname babies and not fans.  Especially me.  Erin Kathleen, but I go by Katie?  That's a lot of stress for a 5 year old to learn to recite before Kindergarten.  I still get funny looks when I tell people my name is Erin.  I tell them to call my mom and talk to her about it.
- no boy/girl names.  It has to clearly be a girl name.  We don't want any Dawson's Creek mishaps like when Joey ended up in the boys' dorm.
- traditional, but not plain.  Our last name is Smith...need something better than Mary.
- it can't be on the "do not name list" I compiled while teaching.  I only had a few from my days at my first school, and my second school had zero names that I would use...thanks to names like Tra'Angle and Diamond.

Something had to give, otherwise we'd take home a baby with no name!  Ellie kept creeping back into our minds and so we decided to go with it.  It was a front runner from the start, but we didn't like Eleanor as the long version.  We needed something better.  Then, one day, I was talking to someone (can't remember who) and they mentioned using Elizabeth.  It hit me right then and there - ELIZABETH!  That's it!  DUH!  Why didn't I think of that before?  It's my sister's middle name and beautiful!  If you're the person who mentioned Elizabeth, please let me know so I can thank you with a nice batch of brownies.

So there you have it, folks.  Elizabeth Kate Smith.  We'll call her Ellie from Day 1 and stick with it until she becomes a doctor/lawyer/baker and wants to go by Elizabeth.  Or until she gets called smelly Ellie and needs a quick way to stop it...either way, they are both great names.

She's only got about 8 more weeks until her debut, so I'm glad we got that figured out!  Now, if we can only get the nursery painted...

Third Trimester = Gastric Bypass

So this happened a few days ago.  I've been dreading it/blocking it out for some time now because it causes flash backs to my third trimester with Caroline.  Heartburn.  No sleep.  Being starving and only able to eat a few bites of food.  Not being able to eat anything red, fried or made with butter.  Sounds a lot like Gastric Bypass, huh?  It's caused by a large baby literally sitting on your innards.  Don't get me wrong - being pregnant is loads of fun, but these last weeks aren't exactly my favorite.  Things are a little different this time around because my body has already been through this once before and is prepared to deliver.  Baby Smith is head down (and burrowing, I swear) and kicking like it's going out of style.  I think there's already some sibling rivalry going on because she loves to kick Caroline while I'm rocking her to sleep.  I think it's adorable, but Caroline thinks otherwise.  Aaaaah, aren't sisters fun? 

Although my handy dandy app tells me I have about 12 weeks left, I'm hoping for 9.  And if I'm hoping for 9, that means I better get my rear in gear!  Our plans are to move Caroline to her big girl room upstairs and do some minor changes to the nursery to get it ready for Baby E.  (Notice I called her Baby E.  I think we've chosen a name.  More on that in the future.)  I want to paint the nursery pink and add some pretty shades of green, such as this rocker/recliner fabric I just ordered:

 

I love it!  I was looking for something different and found it at the Baby's First Furniture store in the Woodlands.  They had a big grand opening and I braved the elements (50 degree weather) to be one of the first 100 people through the doors to receive a gift bag.  Not too shabby!  As I waded through hoards of first time parents, I decided that I need to market myself as a baby registry consultant.  Those poor suckers have no idea what to register for.  Cute sheets and crazy pillows?  No!  Save the money and get those totally bland looking mattress pads that'll save you from buying a new mattress when your kid pees through his diaper.  Pretty blankets with lace and fur?  No!  Baby puke doesn't come off of fur.  Get the cotton ones that can be soaked in OxyClean.  Really pretty Kate Spade diaper bag?  Put it back!  If it can't be thrown in the washing machine or isn't lined with plastic, you're wasting hundreds of dollars on something that will smell like rotting formula after 2 months of life.  I need to come up with a marketing pitch and start offering my services this fall.  ;)

Other than third trimester pains, things have been pretty sane here lately.  Caroline started dance/gymnastics and LOVES it.  She's in a class with 3 year olds so she's not as skilled as they are, but I'm satisfied if she has a good time and leaves with a smile on her face.  

We went to the Kingwood Library for the first time last week.  She loved it!  And by "it" I mean the touch screen computers that had games galore.  They had some pretty cool toddler games that kept her distracted while I picked up an arm full of books. Too bad she's not all that interested in her new books.  She still requests the same 3 at bedtime.  Pinky, Boots, and Duckies...Pinkalicious, Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?, and Fuzzy Yellow Ducklings.  She's going to be really good at retelling these books one day!  By the way, thanks to whoever is teaching her letters.  She knows a lot of them and it's not by our doing.  Elmo?  Mickey?  Ladies at the gym child care?  What 22 month old knows "Q" and U is for unicycle?  Our kid!

Another first - painting.  I picked up some finger paints at Target and decided to let Caroline give it a try.  She loves painting!  I had to teach her that it's more of a stroke and not a stab, but she picked up on the concept pretty quickly.  

She spent a great afternoon celebrating Leighton's birthday - she was all partied out!  She couldn't finish her "pop" and remained asleep as Luc carried her into the house...that never happens.

 Monday morning- I was getting ready and she crawled into our bed.  She asked me to snuggle with her.  How can I resist??  Needless to say, our Monday trip to HEB was delayed.

Her favorite toy in dad's garage - bicycle pump.  Nutty child.

Here's Caroline modeling her latest Grammy outfit from Kelly's Kids.  I love it!  I bought a matching bubble for Baby E.  They are going to be cute, well dressed sisters!

 We went to eat at the newly opened Lupe Tortilla on Tuesday night, only to find that the wait was over an hour long.  We hopped on over to Johnny's Carino's and Caroline ate pasta and smiled for an hour straight.  She loves her carbs!

Sunday night - Luc was trying to run some cables through the attic for our new security cameras.  The last thing I tell him before he heads upstairs is "don't fall through the ceiling".  Guess what I heard not 10 minutes later?  The sound of Luc falling through the ceiling.  My gut reaction was to get up to see if he was OK, but my actual reaction was to grab my phone so that I could call 911 if necessary...or take a picture.  911 wasn't needed, so I took a picture.  Actually, I took many pictures but the first 20 came out blurry because I was laughing so hard.  Thank goodness he wasn't hurt, but it sure did make for a good laugh!  Caroline walked into our bathroom the next morning and was shocked - "Uh oh.  Dada broke?"  Yes, Caroline.  Dada broke.  But Mommy got it fixed.  It looks good as new and we found a new sheet rock/painter to help us out in the future!

We're spending our Valentine's Day evening with my siblings and their spouses at a local restaurant while Grammy and Backe babysit the grandkids.  I'm looking forward to a nice evening out!  We're also going to a nice French restaurant on Saturday - THAT should be tasty. We'll see if I'm able to get some food down before Baby E rejects it.  ;)

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

You better baby your baby

Today was Caroline's first day of dance/gymnastics class.  The first 15 minutes are spent doing ballet and the next 30 are in the big gym doing gymnastics.  Like, actual gymnastics.  As in high beams, rings and uneven bars.  I was shocked!  You want to know what was even more shocking?  Caroline loved it!  I never expected an almost 2 year old would be able to walk across a high beam or swing from rings, but she did.  She even did a forward roll on the high beam (with assistance).  The pregnant lady in me almost broke down in tears a few times watching her do these things.  I thought to myself that there's no way my little bitty baby is capable of doing such big girl things, but I had to remind that same self that my baby isn't a baby.  She's a little girl now.  Ugh!  Heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time.  Add that to a preggo's emotions and you get an emotional breakdown just waiting to happen.  Lucas is waiting for it to happen because he knows his robot of a wife will repeat Ugly Cry 2012 one of these days...keep waiting, babe!  It's bound to happen before baby #2 comes. 

Back to adorable girls dancing around in tutus - I went to Target and purchased Sweet C her very first leotard and tutus.  Again, almost cried but I held it together!  I hope she loves gymnastics as much as she did today because I went ahead and booked her birthday party at the Little Gym.  For a small fee, the Little Gym provides *everything* but the cake and promises to throw a fantastic party for Caroline and 14 of her closest 2 year old friends.  Being that her birthday and my 36th week of pregnancy coincide, I am more than delighted to have someone else host C's 2nd birthday party.  Only 3 more months until our little lady is a 2 year old.  I can't believe it!

At 21 months, Caroline is:

- brushing her teeth and washing her hands by herself
- knows a couple of letters, numbers, colors and shapes...but all of the characters on Mickey Mouse.
- obsessed with buckles
- sleeping 12-13 hours a night.  It. Is. GLORIOUS!
- throwing fits when the car carts aren't available at HEB.  Parents of young ones, hold off on that experience as long as you can because once they ride in the car cart once, it's all they want from that point forward. I've learned that a lollipop will stop the fits and allow me to shop for a good 20 minutes before more entertainment is needed. 
- putting on her own bibs (yes, bibs, as in 4 at a time) and crawling into her high chair for meals
- refusing to nap at Grammy's
- able to navigate through an iPod better than I can
- sporting a new haircut!  We chopped off the baby mullet and cut bangs.  
- asking to snuggle with me and Luc...precious!
- a total backseat driver.  If I break or accelerate too quickly, I get a rude "WOAH!" from the backseat.  Or "GO!" if we've been at a light too long.  I'm hoping she doesn't start yelling out some of the things that I *might* say when I drive...

My second trimester is going very well.  There are some days that I forget that I'm pregnant altogether.  I am quickly reminded of my with child status when she kicks or heartburn rages like a bull through my throat, but for the most part this part of the pregnancy has been really easy.  I've hired a personal trainer (who is fabulous!) to help me get in the best shape before this little one comes.  I really enjoy lifting weights and stretching with her, but I know that it'll get harder as the weeks roll on.  I'm hoping to do mostly yoga and cardio towards the end...all with the end goal of a shorter labor and recovery time come May.  I haven't had many cravings and I can usually ignore any that read their ugly head.  My current one is pie - like a chocolate cream pie - all because yesterday was National Pie Day and it was advertised everywhere.  I'm hoping it'll end soon because this preggo really, really wants some PIE!

Baby #2 doesn't have a name just yet.  Luc and I have it narrowed down to 2 (which is a HUGE improvement from 17!), but we're giving it a couple more weeks until we decide.  My mom has a few outfits to monogram and embroider and I know it's killing her not to know what the name is yet.  We aren't changing much as far as the nursery goes so there's not a lot to do before she arrives.  We DO need to move Caroline upstairs into her new room so I guess we need to decorate that...and buy a double stroller, and bigger diaper bag, and borrow a bassinet (anyone have one we can borrow??), and pick a name...


Here are some pictures of what we've been up to lately:

Caroline is still obsessed with jewelry.  I let her stop playing in my jewelry box shortly after this picture was taken because she tangles everything!  Santa brought her a jewelry box of her own for Christmas.

Cheese!  She LOVES to swing.

She's also very fond of purses...many, many purses.

Such a cute little sleeper.  Might I add that her fat baby thighs are gone and have been replaced with little girl thighs?  So sad!

This is a picture from Thanksgiving.  We spent the week with Luc's family, including Miley!

This picture is a little blurry, but she's kissing Minnie.  Our neighbors had this pair on their lawn for the Christmas season.  Caroline had to visit "Mouse" on a daily basis.

Caroline loves Santa!

Cheese!!!  Playing in the tent with James and Matt.  She loves her cousins so much.

In addition to her jewelry and purse fixations, she also loves scarves.  She had to have 3 to go to the gym on this particular morning.  The ladies in the child center just laughed and promised to not let her choke herself.

Silly girls at the zoo!

I finally popped!  I think I was about 22 weeks pregnant in this picture.  I'm a little bit bigger now.

Caroline loves giving hugs!  She'll even pat your back if you're lucky.

She's a crazy driver.  Watch out!

Three cousins at Christmas mass, during Christmas mass.  Caroline had enough after 30 minutes.  She needed cousin supervision, hence the 3 amigos.

My two loves watching Mickey.  She now calls out the "Mystery Mousekatool" before Toodles reveals it.  I'm going to say it's because she's so smart and not because she watches too much Mickey.

Pretty day at the park

It's her favorite!  The lot next to us is finally under construction.  Yeah!

Sweet angel baby...I mean, little girl...

Where to Begin...

This past week has been CRAZY at the Smith house.  Just crazy.  Pure insanity.  You think you've got a plan and - BAM - God says, "Haha! Fooled you!".  Ok, Lord, I get it.  You're in charge.  Thanks for the reminder, but can you be a little less dramatic about it next time???

Let's start with the good news - Caroline is going to be a big sister sometime in May.  My official due date is May 17th, but this little baby is already measuring 1.5 weeks ahead of schedule.  Did I mention we're having another GIRL!?! I am beyond thrilled because I think little girls are the best, and Luc is happy because it means no new baby clothes to buy.  Lord knows we've got bags upon bags of clothes upstairs for a new fat baby to roll around in. 

Our new baby girl!

My pregnancy thus far has not been fun.  At all.  I was sure that we were having a boy because this first trimester was so very different from Caroline's.  I was sick for a solid 12 weeks.  Yuck!  The sickness has gone away, but the food aversions have not.  Chicken, unless from Chick-fil-a, grosses me out...as does most raw meat.  All vegetables taste like metal.  I am fully lactose intolerant, which is probably the worst part.  No more Culver's custard.  I brings a tear to my eye!  :(  I've lost about 7 pounds so far, but I'm hoping that will turn around soon as my appetite is starting to come back.  My second trimester has been pretty good so far.  I'm very thankful for that!

Big Sister!

 
Now for the crazy news -

Remember way back in February when Caroline had RSV?  That nasty viral lung infection?  She caught it from the gym day care and it never really left.  Dr. S. told us back then that having RSV is like having an open wound that never really heals.  It leaves your body very susceptible to other lung infections that non-RSV kids can easily fight off.  Since having RSV, Caroline has had bronchiolitis and some minor coughs, but nothing serious. 

Fast forward to last Tuesday.  I brought Caroline to the gym for the first time in months (morning sickness made working out impossible).  I enjoyed yoga while she enjoyed germs, apparently.

Wednesday - coughing started.  I thought it was just her "fake" cough, so I didn't think anything of it.

Thursday - the cough got worse so I brought her to see the doctor (not our regular one).  Doc said she had bronchiolitis and to continue breathing treatments.  I was shocked she didn't put her on antibiotics, but trusted her medical advice.

Friday - fever (really high) started, as did Caroline's sleepiness, so I brought her back to see Dr. S.  (meanwhile, in the waiting room, Caroline vomited all over me.)  ALL OVER ME.  She ordered a chest x-ray (where I was yelled at by the tech for being irresponsible and unprepared for not bringing someone with me to hold her, as I couldn't go in the x-ray room because of pregnancy)  and confirmed it was pneumonia.  Dr. S. gave Caroline a strong antibiotic shot and said she'd call and check up on her that afternoon and in the morning.  Her fever got worse and uncontrollable, as did the coughing.  That's when the rapid breathing with retraction started.  I called the on-call doctor and he said to bring her to the ER.  For the second time.

Here's where the fun starts!

We went to Kingwood Medical and they saw her right away (8:00 pm).  She was given some breathing treatments and put on an IV for dehydration. The retraction and breathing didn't get better, so they ordered a series of blood work.  The blood work showed nothing out of the ordinary, except for a really high blood sugar level.  Here's the fun part - the doctor came in and told us we had to be transferred because they aren't equipped to treat pediatric patients with diabetes.  DIABETES!  WHAT?!?  He said she was obviously diabetic, that was the only way to explain her high blood sugar.  He tells us this and leaves.  No explanation, nothing.  (Meanwhile, back at our house, Meghan and Jenny are trying to get things together for a baby shower that I was supposed to host the next morning!  Thanks to my co-hostesses for pulling through!)  Luc left to get clothes for the night and I was left to Google "high blood sugar and pneumonia".  Want to take a guess at what the top entries for that query say?  Deadly!  Causes death!  That's what I started to freak out (11:00 pm).

The ambulance arrived shortly after Dr. Death delivered the news and Caroline and I were on our way to Texas Children's Hospital (12 am). 

TCH is AMAZING!  We walked in and I immediately felt better.  I could instantly tell everyone there knew what they were doing, down to the lady who changed the linens.  I was in awe of their speed and efficiency, their caring nature and love of children.  We were in the ER for 12 hours because Caroline wasn't quite stable and they didn't have room in the PICU or the PCU (progressive care unit).  During that time, Caroline got a 2nd IV line and a nasal oxygen mask.  It was absolutely heart wrenching to watch.  At this point, Luc and I had been up for about 30 hours.  Needless to say, we were so happy to hear that Caroline is far from diabetic and we have nothing to worry about as far as that goes (Thank you, Jesus!!!).

On her way to get a chest x-ray with our awesome nurse, Bola.

Sleepy baby trying to get some rest in the ER.

She was finally hooked up to a nasal high flow of oxygen.  She hated it and I hated seeing it on her sweet face.

Aunt Kayla brought her a bow!  Look how swollen her eyes are.  :(

We were transferred to the PCU around noon on Saturday and stayed until Monday afternoon.  The rooms at TCH are giant so that made it a little easier to get comfortable.  We all slept well the first night because we were so tired from the night before!  I'm pretty sure I told a nurse who came to do the 4 am vitals that I'd fight her if she touched Caroline again...oops!  It was nice sleeping with my little angel, but tough to hold a baby hooked up to so many machines.  :(

This is probably the worst that she looked.  High fever, 4 machines and so listless. 

We watched Caroline go from being hooked up to 4 machines, down to 3, down to 2 and then none.  The IV and oxygen (high flow) were the hardest to see and deal with because the cords were so short and it made moving around impossible.  She was able to get off IV fluids when she started eating and drinking.  That was a relief!  Her fever started to decrease as her appetite returned.  We took her on a walk to see the fish tank at the end of the hallway and that really lifted her spirits.  The nurses were able to remove the oxygen on Sunday because Caroline was absorbing more oxygen.  Yeah!  The NP told us on Monday morning that we were moving to another floor that afternoon, but the doctor saw Caroline running around the fish tank and said she was "too cute" to be in a hospital.  I think it was the bow I put in her hair!  Her vitals were taken again and everything looked good, so we were on our way home before they could change their mind.  We were so blessed that the same awesome nurse who checked us into the PCU was there when we left.  We love you, Sheba!

We took walks to go see the fish tanks on the hallway.

Off of IV and oxygen!  She was so happy to sit in a chair and not the bed.

Minnie Mouse makes everything better!

We arrived home to a clean house and dinner on the table - thanks, Mom!  Everyone took a 3 hour nap and slept for almost 12 hours last night.  Caroline is on the road to recovery and Luc and I are starting to smile again.  :)

So happy to be home and sitting in her new pup pup chair.

I knew it couldn't feel good to be hooked up to that many machines, but somehow Caroline got through it.  She was poked and prodded and held down so many times.  It was heartbreaking, over and over and over again.  The only thing that kept me going was our view out the window - the giant MD Anderson Children's Cancer Center - and knowing things could be so much worse. I counted my blessings each time I saw it and thanked God that our little girl wasn't dealing with something much worse than pneumonia.  It's amazing how a change of view can put things into perspective.


Now for a little comic relief...check out her discharge form...

Anorexia?  What?  Have you met my child?  Apparently they had to put that on there because she didn't each much while we were there.  I literally laughed out loud when I read that.

Ooooooooh! What this?

I know! I know! It's been a while since I've posted anything about our crazy little Caroline. My apologies, but like I mentioned in the previous post, things have been busy around here lately.  The good news is that most of the big "stuff" is out of the way and we're on the downward slope to my favorite time of the year - holidays! Holidays mean family, which usually means wonderful times spent with the ones we love. Cliche, I know, but it's true. I love all of my families and can't wait to spend the first one (Thanksgiving) with the Nadons!

Caroline turned 18 months on Monday (!) and she's determined to leave her baby ways behind. She's such a big girl now and her daily growth continues to amaze me. She had a wonderful 18 month check-up with Dr. S, who was blown away by how social she was. Yeah! It's always good to hear that Caroline is social - that's one thing I worry about with her being an at home toddler, but I guess our play groups are doing good things for her. And me. I just adore the ladies I spend Wednesdays with. And Tuesdays. And the occasional Friday.

As for stats, it's no surprise that Caroline is not on the charts yet. She's 99% for height (34.5") and weight (31 lbs) and 96% for head circumference. Dr. S always giggles when she shows me the charts because she "just knows" Caroline is going to be one of the tallest patients she's ever seen. I've always heard that you can take a child's height at age 2 and double it and that'll be their height as a grown adult. If that's the case, Caroline is already looking at 5'9''! Our long (not-so-lean) baby has 8 full teeth and 4 molars that are half way grown in. One day I'm going to ask God why it takes FOREVER for her teeth to come in, but until then, Ora-gel and Advil are our friends.

Some of her new words and phrases:

I'm stuck!  for when she's stuck, as in she's been in her car seat for more than 2 minutes

All done!  usually at the end of her meals, or when she's finished playing with a game

Uh-oh.  When she drops something or can't find what she's looking for. 

My personal favorite:

Ooooooooooh, what this?  I makes me laugh each time she says it! She loves to pick up new objects and ask what she's looking at. This phrase is usually heard when she's looking at something shiny, like jewelry.

Speaking of jewelry, Caroline is a girly girl.  I might have mentioned it before, but I'll say it again.  She LOVES to accessorize and glam it up.  She hides her "jewelry" all over the house and chooses which items to wear on a daily basis. Her matching skills aren't there just yet, but I know she'll get it with more practice. ;)


The other big thing that happened recently was Meghan and Rusty's wedding.  It was beautiful!  We were so busy the whole weekend that I only got to take 1 picture.  Caroline LOVED being a flower girl and was so adorable in the dress that my mom made for her.  She ran up the aisle and strutted back down when it was time to go.  I can't wait to see pictures of the entire wedding because it was gorgeous, and of course the bride was the prettiest!

Here are some pictures of what's been happening lately:

Caroline helping me water the flower beds. 

"Mom! I had the craziest dream last night!"

Reading her favorite post-nap book - Pinkalicious!

Tailgating stowaway! She wanted to go to the game with Lucas.

She thought she was hot stuff sitting the car seat in Dad's truck.  She loves facing the front.  Six more months!

She loves to climb in my warming up showers when I'm not looking.

She LOVED Grammy's veggie soup!

Beautiful bride on her wedding day.

Someone had a rough night.

Jammin' out in Kindermusick.  She loves music!

Smiling at James and Matt's school pictures.  Please ignore the food on her face.

Caroline found a new chair - Molly!

My little lovey hoarder.  She's got 7 in this picture.

Caroline showing the people at the pumpkin patch her belly.

Sweet friends, Carilyn and Caroline.

Silly friends in playgroup!