The Higgins Family

Monday, October 5, 2015

The House of Higgins: October 5

Embry's Birthday

Embry's birthday celebrations continued this week! Tuesday Embry and Kiki baked and decorated cupcakes for Embry to take to school on Wednesday!

Then Thursday, we went to Northpark Mall to spend a gift card at Build a Bear. She had a blast and it was so funny to see her pick out her stuffed animal. She pretty much picked out the biggest, goofiest pony...NOT what I would have picked for her at all! Hah! But it was so fun to see her decide on it. Then we met up with her "besties" for lunch at Chick-fil-A! That evening Jacob came home from work early and we opened presents and had more cupcakes! It was the perfect birthday!

In case you missed it, here is Embry's 3 year old update!

Medical Updates

Last Monday (September 28), I got my staples removed at my OBGYN and it was fantastic! They'd started to bug me over the weekend so I was relieved to have them out. BUT, while there, I learned alarming news that my blood pressure was REALLY high...like 160/105. Scary stuff. Blood pressure is the ONE thing I don't have issues with, ever, even when pregnant. In fact the pre-op nurse told me I had one of the best blood pressures she'd seen for a lady about to go into a c-section the day Todd was born! Ugh!

Today, October 5, I had a follow up with my OBGYN and she wants me to see a cardiologist to get to the bottom of this. My blood pressure has stayed pretty high and she wants to make sure nothing serious is going on.

Wednesday September 30 we went to Todd's urologist to hopefully have his circumcision done. Well, bummer, it wasn't done. The good news is, I pretty much am in love with the doctor...he was one of the most down to earth doctors I've had. He sat with us for a long time, totally explained EVERYTHING and just overall made me feel totally comfortable with our decision. He explained that they use some sort of tool to do the circumcisions (some sort of clamp or something) when it's standard...but when the foreskin doesn't go completely around, like in T's case, they have to do it totally by hand. And since that's the case, they like to wait until 6 months old to when baby (and penis) are bigger and it's easier to do. He was glad our OBGYN didn't try to attempt it because he said he's seen it before where they try and then it needs to be redone at 6-9 months anyway. T also has something called hydrocele, where the scrotum has excess fluid in it, and it typically takes care of itself and goes down over the first few months. Also, again, nothing to be concerned about, just a not so uncommon issue that takes care of itself mainly. But another benefit of waiting to do the circumcision is that if the hydrocele hasn't taken care of itself, he can take care of it during the circ. The downside is that Todd will have to be put under and it'll be done at Children's hospital....which also means, medical expenses for the millionth year in a row for us. Blah. Regardless, we're comfortable with the decision and confident in the doctor.

Finally, Friday October 1 we had Embry's 3 year well check and Todd's 2 week well check.

Embry:
Our big girl weighed in at 32.6 pounds (70%) and is 39.25 inches tall (92%). They no longer do head circumference, but they start blood pressure and urine samples...which....was hilarious taking Embry into the bathroom and having her pee in a cup....

Besides getting her stats and answering the ASQ questionnaire (she passed all developmental categories with flying colors!) we were told she is right on track! Our pediatrician said her vocabulary seems great and she was super talkative during the appointment....but I'm still going to get her speech evaluated for annunciation.

The downside...she had a DOUBLE ear infection. It didn't surprise me too, too much and almost made sense because the previous few days, she was super crabby! In fact she threw a huge fit walking into the doctors office because I wouldn't carry a ton of toys inside for her. So she's on antibiotics and on the mend!

Todd:
Todd weighed in at 9 pounds 8 ounces, which means he gained a full pound since the week before. That put him in the 75%. They got his length still at his birth length, 20.25 inches which puts him in the 45%. They said how inaccurate length is at this age, and T especially hates to have his legs stretched out. His head circumference was 37.5 cm, which shockingly is the 55%. Who would have thunk I'd have a baby with an average size head, hah!

He's been awfully congested, but the doctor explained how babies who gain a pound in a week are basically over-eaters and still trying to get a hang of getting the right amount. That tends to back them up, congestion wise, which is totally true for him. After a lot of feedings he'll have milk come out of his nose...which is then causing congestion. Nothing to be concerned about, just a bit of a pain.

Dr. Hart was happy we saw the urologist and is happy with our decision to have the circumcision done late winter!

The Rest of Our Week

Sunday September 27, Jacob's mom, "Kiki", arrived to help for the week! We had a great time and it was so nice to have someone to entertain Embry, help with cooking, chores, etc. So thankful that our moms each were willing to spend a week to help cater to us!

Embry and Kiki

Nursing her baby

Rat tail potential

Three sleeping babies!

Saturday morning before she went to Austin, Daddy took E to the zoo!

One of my besties, Emily, was in town for a baby shower and came by to meet Toddy!

Embry's farewell lunch!

Eliot at Todd

His post bath hair kills me!

T had his first bottle Sunday night! Jacob stayed up to give it to him at 11pm, so I got a solid 5 hour stretch of sleep.

Embry in Austin!

Saturday after lunch Kiki left to head back to Austin and took our girl with her. Embry is staying there until Wednesday when I pick her up in Waco from my mom! It's been so nice to ease our way into life with a newborn, with no help here, and get to focus on Todd. Bonus, she's having an absolute blast at Mimi and Papa's house!

Embry and her tree at Kiki and E-Pa's house

Craft time with Uncle James

Cheers with Mimi and Papa's margaritas

Lunch with Ford!

Friday, October 2, 2015

Embry: 3 Years Old

3 Year Stats

Weight: 32.6 pounds (70%) (Taken at 3 year well check at pediatrician today)
Height: 39.25 inches (93%) (Taken at 3 year well check at pediatrician today)

Clothes: 3T-4T clothes and PJs

Shoes: Size 8

Eating: Blah, very picky. But loves fruits and veggies! Favorites are broccoli, bell peppers, roasted cauliflower, carrots, salads, and pretty much all fruit! Also is obsessed with Greek yogurt. Doesn't love milk, but will go through phases of drinking it.

Sleeping: 11+ hours straight through the night (8:00 pm-7:00 am). Nap at 1:00 pm, typically for 2-3 hours. She doesn't always nap at school and even when she does they're only given 90 minutes to sleep, so on school nights she's ready for bed by 7:00-7:30pm.

Teeth: 20 teeth...FINALLY her two year molars have all cut within the last 6 weeks! The last one is partially in, but

Favorite Toys: "Crafts", dolls, any pretend play in general!

Favorite Books: Loves Dr. Seuss (Daddy loves Dr. Seuss, Mommy not so much) and loves picking out books at the library. We go through phases at home like for a week straight we read Cinderella every single day, multiple times.
Favorite Shows/Characters: She's in a big Dora phase, that's usually her most requested show when she gets one. She's starting to be able to sit through *most* of a movie and we've shown her some Disney movies which is fun for us! She still likes Bubble Guppies and Umizoomi.

Funny Things She's Said:

*"I'm bossy everyday. To Mommy and Daddy."

*"Let's play hide-and-go-seek! I'll hide in the closet and you'll never find me!"

*"I want a big booty like Mommy and a big booty like Daddy!"

*"Oh no! It's gonna get muddy in my neighborhood!" (When we were at Costco and it was raining outside)

New Things

*Just ADORES her little brother! She loves being the big sister or big helper! She is SO sweet with him and is always wanting to hold him, help with diaper changes.

*Loves playing games- kid board games (Hungry, Hungry Hippos and Matching Game) and I Spy

*Can get dressed by herself, including shoes

*Knows our full address, birthday, all of our names in the family (first, middle, last- although Todd is "Baby Todd Lucas Baby Boy Higgins" to her, hah!)

*Can write a few letters (E, T, F, D)

*Doesn't call Lovey "muh" anymore, just Lovey....but still very obsessed with Lovey.
*Still takes a pacifier at nap and at night. Still don't have any plans to take away since she's a great sleeper and doctor and pediatric dentist/orthodontist have no issue with her sleeping with it.

*She loves making lists....She just draws lines on paper and tells us things she's making a list of. It's pretty hilarious. (Like mother like daughter!)

*Still refers to everyone as "my friend". (My friend Daddy, my friend Lovey, my friend Baby Todd)

*Has thrown us for some major loops this past "quarter" with her new fainting issues. We now are prepared for her to faint at the sight of blood on herself. Oye! Like Daddy like daughter.

*I know I'm biased as her mom, but she's an incredibly sweet girl. She is always doing sweet things for us and is very kind with her gestures and manners...most of the time!

*To the above point, she definitely has shown some streaks of the whole "threenager" thing. She will just flat out say no to me when I ask her to do things on the rare occasion and has thrown a few fits of power struggles. She tends to take more advantage of Daddy who's more of the softie.... ;)

*Her imagination amazes us! Love watching her making up games to play, playing Mommy with her dolls, pretending to be a train conductor with a train full of passengers behind her, and on and on and on....

Birthday Questionnaire

*I've seen on Pinterest and had some friends do these birthday questionnaires with their kiddos starting at age three. I asked her these questions yesterday on her actual birthday. Jacob and I were cracking up. Some were totally expected and some made us giggle. Like the book...neither of us have read her Icky Sticky Anteater in months. So random she said it!