May 31

These kids are sick. Really, really sick. Coughing and fevers and runny noses and whining - oh, the whining - and constantly wanting to be held and snuggled. It's exhausting and demoralizing and did I mention exhausting?

I am so sick of them being sick.

Yesterday, the sun shined and Caleb wasn't quite so sick.

He lounged on the deck and pretended my clothes line was a microphone. Funny boy.

Also yesterday, I went in to get Daisy up from her nap and found her sitting up in her crib. That's not a big deal for most babies - it's a natural part of development that usually occurs around 7 or 8 months. But this was the first time I'd found Daisy this way. I was so excited! Once she saw how excited I was, she got pretty excited, too.

See the crusty nose? Poor girl.

She has been rocking and rolling with the gross motor skills the past few days. She finally knows that she can get herself up to seated, and it's a fun game for her now. When we play, she'll scoot over to me, pull up onto one knee and one foot, throw herself down, then get up on her hands and knees, sit up, and do it all over again.

It seems little, but it's huge for us.

Yesterday First Steps emailed me their evaluation of Daisy. She didn't qualify for their physical therapy services. I was disappointed, but not surprised. Her motor development (not just gross motor, but overall motor) would have to have been at the level of a six-month old for her to qualify. But their test didn't differentiate fine motor from gross, and Daisy's fine motor skills are pretty fantastic. She tested at the level of  an average 10-month old, so her delay isn't as major as we feared.

But the good news (aside from her late-breaking gross motor development spurt)? They tested four other areas of development, and she was advanced in all of them. Way to go, Daisy! It's funny - Caleb is our benchmark for most things, and I think we can all agree that he's not a normal child. His language has always been off the charts, so it's hard for me to have a normal frame of reference for Daisy's progress. But the First Steps test put her communication skills at the 20-month level. Guess I don't need to be concerned, after all. So even though we didn't qualify for First Steps' services, it's nice to have quantifiable evidence of Daisy's progress. It's also always nice to hear that, though my baby doesn't crawl, she's a rock star in every other area.

Except the immune system area. Today was gray and gloomy and cold and sick.

She only wanted to be held, all day long.

Later, she just wanted to chew.

If my baby wants to chew, I'll give her something to chew on! These teeth have been the longest, most drawn-out drama session ever. I will absolutely appreciate them when they're in. They also make me almost willing to try the new-agey hoo-doo magic of amber teething necklaces. I'm skeptical of them, and I'm generally annoyed by babies wearing jewelry of any sort, but I'm nearing the point of being willing to try ANYTHING to make this nonsense stop! Almost.