We didn't get to go to KC this weekend as originally planned. However, Eric's sister and her family have been in town. So Friday and again today, we got to spend some time with our new niece. She's a doll. Almost makes me want to have another... I said, almost.
By the time you're on your 4th kid, you'd think you had discovered all the various household items that your kids could possibly put in their mouths and potentially choke on. The things I've been most worried about with Chloe are her older sisters' toys. Well, Chloe found another item today that I never thought of. Before I go any further, let me say that she is fine. She just scared me to death!
Chloe loves to go into the bathroom with her sisters (or us for that matter). In fact she screams and carries on if you shut the door. Usually she just tries to climb on one of the step stools or tear up toilet paper. Today she found a new "toy".
Everyone's toilets are bolted to the floor in 2 places, one on either side. Toilet manufacturers cover up these bolts with decorative plastic "knobs". They don't glue these knobs on so you can take apart your toilet if need be. Well, these knobs are the perfect size to fit in a one year olds mouth. They fit in tight and are very hard to get out.
Chloe followed Elise into the bathroom after we got home from preschool. I was putting things away, changing laundry around, and just generally not paying attention when I heard this odd slurpy coughy noise. Thank God those knobs are just big enough not to fit down a toddlers throat because she would have sucked it right down there. You could see the panic on her face as she walked towards the kitchen with this sticking out of her mouth. It took me a few minutes to pry it out of her mouth, and I even cut her mouth under tongue a little bit. She immediately started screaming and laid her head on my shoulder. Poor little thing.
She's fine now and running around playing. Needless to say our toilets all have an ugly uncovered bolt on either side of them and the little plastic knobs are in a ziploc bag up in our hall closet until she's much older! So if you have little ones or frequently have them at your house, either keep the bathroom door shut or remove the knobs please!
Here's some pictures if you're not sure what I'm talking about:
Poor Chloe's had a rotten week. She got a really bad ear infection and had a fever to go with it. We were up from 11-5 Monday night. Then she also cut her last molar and another tooth up front. But today she is feeling much better. Thank goodness for antibiotics, numbing ear drops, and motrin!
I'm also trying to figure out what to do with her increasingly shaggy hair. She doesn't leave barrette's or the little top knots in for long. So today we tried pigtails. I thought the result was pretty cute. We'll see how long she'll leave them in! Oh and she also says "Cheese" now when you take her picture. Gotta love a ham. Glad you're feeling better Miss Chloe.
I think I mentioned a while back that Eric started taking banjo lessons. So here he is after about 6 months of lessons
Well, it finally came. The first day of school. The girls were actually ready to go and super excited this morning. While I'm a little sad to have another one starting kindergarten, I'm looking forward to a little more freedom with only 2 in the house and no little babies. Elise will start M-W-F preschool next week so she's looking forward to that too. Here's some pics of the big girls:
And as quickly as that, they're gone... Hope you have a great first day of school, Claire and Emilie!
This morning we added another little girl to our extended family. Cedar Kate was born at 9:15 to Eric's sister and her husband. She weighs 8 lbs. 3 oz. and is 20 inches long. Grandma Becky also reports a full head of hair. We can't wait until our trip to Kansas City over Labor Day weekend when we'll get to meet her! This brings the total to 7 girls under the age of 8 on Eric's side of the family.
Ok, bad pun. But the news is that Claire's got braces. Yes, braces at age 8. Evidently they do braces a little different than when I was a kid. Now orthodontists prefer to have kids do a year of braces when they're 8 or 9 and then another year when they're 12-13. The thinking is that after your front 8 teeth are permanent ones, they can straighten those and fix any bite problems while you're still growing at a faster rate. This also allows the rest of your permanent teeth to come in straighter, leading to less work later. It supposedly is a much easier way for the orthodontist and the patient. In between the braced years, kids just wear a retainer. Claire will also only have to have her braces tightened every 6 weeks instead of every 4 like we had to. So she's very excited with the thought of getting to change rubber band colors every time and having braces. Although she's complaining a bit about her teeth hurting. The gap in between her front teeth has already almost closed so I can understand the complaints. Here's some pics:
