Libby visits the hospital again....

Wednesday morning I took Libby to the doctor. She had a bad hacking cough and the fevers off and on. Dr. Amir was on vacation so we had to see a fill in. Dr. Clark sent us to the hospital for a chest x-ray, an RSV screen, and some blood screening. We got the the hospital about 11am. We went to the lab and had some blood drawn-Libby cried and cried. Then to the ER for the RSV screen-this is where they shoot saline up her nose and draw it back out with some snot. They had to do it twice because they didn't get enough the first time. Next was the chest x-ray-this is where they strap her in a "cone" with her arms above her head (she had one this summer and didn't cry or squirm a bit). This time she screamed, I guess the techs like it when they do that because they get a good picture her lungs. She was so traumatized she fell asleep on my lap for over an hour, which was OK because we had to wait until they read her x-ray. At 3:30 or so Libby got admitted to the hospital for pneumonia. There was more crying when the nurses were trying to put her IV in because they had to try 3 times. Around 5pm she spiked a 101 fever which bought us an extra day in the hospital-good thing I already had these days off work. She coughed a little at night before bed and a little bit in the morning. Nothing like the days before. She would have slept all night if it weren't for the nurses poking at her. Libby was very good for being stuck with her mommy in a hospital room for two days. She didn't even really act sick, which was the hard part. Last time all she wanted to do was sleep, this time all she wanted to do was play. Libby adapted pretty well for having the IV splint on her hand this time. We teased her and called her "thumbs" for two days. They sent us home around 11am this morning. I haven't heard her cough all day. They gave us a prescription for some fruit tasting medication that Libby will not take. I have tried hiding it in food and a bottle. I guess I will try again tomorrow.

Lots of Christmas-ing

We have been very busy at our house lately. Libby hasn't been feeling very well. She had a fever off and on Thursday and Friday. We thought she was getting a tooth but no dice this time. Saturday we went to Omaha to spend the night at Jacque and Austin's. We went to a Christmas at Mike's Uncle Rod and Aunt Callie's on Sunday afternoon. We had a good time eating and opening presents. Then Austin came home with us and spent the night. Libby seemed in good spirits all day Saturday and Sunday because I finally got her to take Tylenol a couple of times without spitting it back up. Monday I baked cookies and wrapped presents while Libby took a four hour nap and Austin and Mike played PS3 and Wii. Late in the afternoon on Monday I took Libby over to Taylor and Caleb's to give them their presents, then went to Mike's parents for our traditional Christmas Eve dinner. We played Wii and Libby went to bed around 9pm. She slept off and on until about 3am. After that we were both up the rest of the night. Sleeping in a strange place, not having her own bed, and coughing- Libby did not want to sleep. Libby and I were pretty much up until 7am. Then I got up at 8:30 to open presents. We let Libby sleep until about 10am. She did not show much interest in opening any presents. Needless to say neither Libby nor I enjoyed our Christmas morning very much.

One more day....

Friday is my last day of work until January 2nd. I am so VERY excited-I never get days off at Christmas time. I feel like I have been running in circle for the past two months. HOPEFULLY this will be the end of my busy phase so I can rest in January. I had big plans to get a bunch of stuff done around the house but then my sitter decided to take the week of Christmas off too. I guess Libby and I will have some quality days together next week. I am hoping to cut down on the number of bottles she has per day before I cut her off entirely. Right now she is sick so I don't know how well I am going to fair with that plan either.

I bought myself a new memory card for my camera so I can take tons of pictures at Libby's first Christmas. Hopefully she will be feeling better by then otherwise I will have a bunch of pictures of Libby sitting on every one's laps opening presents. Check back after Christmas for the report and pictures!

POOP...

Sunday afternoon I was giving Libby a bath and she started making bubbles in the tub. I picked her up and put her on the toilet and she POOPED!! I know it was a total fluke and won't happen again unless I am paying attention to her in the tub. I cheered and clapped and made a big deal about it so hopefully she will remember the next time she feels like pooping in the bathtub.

Oh Christmas Tree.....

Since the weather was crappy outside today Mike stayed home and put up our Christmas tree. Libby decided that she wanted to help. We bought a "new" Christmas tree this summer from our friend Brooke because she was moving and didn't need it anymore. Let me tell you, this tree is HUGE! It is like half the width of our living room and the star more than touches the ceiling. It looks pretty cool and it is only for a month out of the year so I guess we will survive.

quiz....

So I was messing around online tonight. I found this quiz....

http://www.gotoquiz.com/do_you_have_iowa_in_you

What the hell..I only have 68% Iowa in me. That is crazy since I have lived here my whole life....

Let me know if you take it and what your score is. Maybe I won't feel so bad

What is that??

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! Libby was pretty good for her first Thanksgiving. She fell asleep right before we were going to eat. Then she woke up in time to join us at the table but didn't really show much interest in eating. She just wanted to be held. Libby sat on Mimi's lap and watched us all eat. She ate some turkey and about 2 bites of mashed potatoes later in the afternoon. Soon after she was sleeping again. Libby sure has been sleeping a lot these days. I am sure it is because we have all been sick at our house this week. Hopefully we will all be well again after a little rest this weekend.

My blue eyed girl...

Papa Ben had to go home. He was here for almost 3 weeks. Well he was in Sioux City off and on for three weeks. Libby and I got used to him being around, helping around the house, and helping take care of Libby since Mike is gone all the time these days. We sure do miss Papa Ben. I am sure he will be back for an extended visit again soon.

Libby had a good time at Senior's (her other Papa) 60th Birthday Party on Saturday night. She danced with Aunt Jacque, visited with a few of her friends, and drank with Aunt Joyce (our girl sure loves water). She even stayed up until 9:30! Once again, she was a perfect angel all night. BUT I forgot the camera so I didn't get any photos of our girl at the party. Hopefully I will remember it for her first Thanksgiving this weekend!

Who are these cute kids??

My dad and Cande were in town this weekend. We hung out, ate and shopped-you know the usual when they visit. Libby was so GOOD the entire weekend. My dad and Cande watched Libby and Caleb on Friday. Then we ordered pizza and went swimming when I got off work. Libby had a good time at the pool. She just splashed and yelled. She keeps trying to stick her face in the water but doesn't understand the concept of holding her breath yet. I bet she is going to be a great swimmer. Saturday we went shopping and hung out at the hotel. We went out for dinner with my Uncle Mike, Aunt Rachael, and Jaelyn (my cousin Mikey's little girl). Here is a cute picture of the cousins, except Taylor was still swimming with Papa Ben so she missed the photo op. Grammy CC had to go home yesterday but Papa is still here to visit for a few more days.

one more picture from Halloween

Do Ladybugs sleep alot??

Libby had a good time at her first Trick or Treating experience. We went to a few houses in my sister's neighborhood then we stopped at Jeni and BA's. She was fine there but as soon as we got in the car she fell asleep. She slept the whole time we were at Stacy and Shelly's. Then we had to go visit Mimi (that is Mike's mom for those of you that don't know). Mimi had to wake her up to take pictures and give her Halloween presents. She played pretty good with Mimi, Uncle Nick and Aunt JJ for about an hour. As soon as we got in the car to go home Libby fell asleep again. I guess all the excitement and fresh air is hard on Ladybug.

And she's off......

Libby has finally learned how to crawl!! My dad is in town so we went to Quimby on Saturday to visit my Aunt Rachael, Uncle Mike and all the cousins. We made a stop in Cherokee to visit the grandparents then it was out to Uncle Mike's "ponderosa" for his birthday party. So needless to say she didn't get much "floor time", she was held and carried around most of the day. Libby was a VERY good girl all day. She didn't really mind all the strangers. She just smiled at everyday and acted shy.

On Sunday we spend most of our time at home. My dad, Kim, Matt and I took all the kids out for breakfast (at 1pm) and then went to the pumpkin patch (see picture below). Afterwards we all hung out at my house. Taylor loves to play Wii and Kim is still a pro at "Mike Tyson's Punchout". By the end of the afternoon Libby was crawling everywhere. I guess I am going to have to start baby proofing the house. Hopefully she will be walking by Christmas!!

Daddy has Libby working hard

Here is a picture of Libby with her first computer. This is my old laptop that I thought we would save for Libby to mess around with when she gets a little older. This way she will have her own and won't mess with ours. Daddy decided it would be cute to turn it on for her last night and let her "work" while he was in the basement. Maybe since Mike is busy with decorating he thought Libby would be a good help at home. I guess we are going to have to get her some typing lessons early.

Libby's First Pumpkin

I carved a couple of pumpkins last weekend. I guess I did it too early because they are moldy and I have to throw them out already. Good thing I got pictures with the "L" pumpkin before it went bad. My dad is in town visiting for a couple of weeks. I guess my sister is going to drag us and all the kids to the pumpkin patch on Sunday. I am sure it will not be busy with it being the weekend before Halloween and all. HA HA. Hopefully I will get some good pictures for Libby scrapbook anyway.

Libby's favorite show

Libby occasionally watches TV. Most of the time something will catch her attention, she will watch for a couple of seconds and then look away. Last night we were watching the end of "Extreme Makeover Home Edition"(before Desperate Housewives). You know at the end when they do the "big reveal" and everyone claps and jumps around? Well Libby thought that was pretty exciting. She just kept watching, clapping, waving her arms and cheering for the last 10 minutes of the show. I am going to try again next week during the big reveal and see if she does the same thing. It was so cute!!

And finally....new photos

As promised here is my photo of Libby playing in her toy box. Of course I forgot my camera on Wednesday when we went out for Mike and JJ's birthday so there are no photos of that. We had a busy weekend. My friend "Pepsi" was visiting from MN for our 10 class reunion. We made a few visits to Morningside campus and I showed her all the "improvements" Sioux City has gone though in the past 10 years. Libby was a trooper the whole weekend even though she didn't really stick to a schedule or take very good naps.

Be sure to check out Libby's other website at http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/l/liberty107/ for her 9 month updates. I can't believe she is 9 months old already!

Still no pictures....

Well, my plans to overload on photos of Libby this weekend did not turn out as I had planned. I had her all "cuted" up, she was playing with her toys, clapping and having a good time. I put her in her toybox (because it was empty-her new idea of fun is pulling her toys out one by one) and covered her with toys. I went to grab the camera and discovered it was gone. Mike had taken it to Lincoln with him. I did get some cute video-which I haven't figured out how to link to this site yet but I will someday.

So, Sunday I get out the camera. The battery was dead. Maybe we will get some pictures tonight at Mike and JJ's birthday party. Hopefully I will remember to bring the camera.

I am horrible....

I have been meaning to log on to post some new pictures of Libby. Guess what...I don't have any!! I haven't taken any pictures of our girl for about two weeks. I guess I have been too busy watching all the new shows on TV plus Libby goes to bed shortly after dinner and a bath. I don't get the chance to take many pictures during the week unless we want a bunch of pictures in her pj's. This weekend I am going to overload while Mike is out of town at the Huskers game.

Our Husker Girl

Libby is becoming a big football fan. She has been to two Husker football parties. One weekend at Mimi and Papa's and then this weekend at Uncle Nick and Aunt JJ's. Libby thought it was pretty funny when Uncle Nick played the Nebraska song and everyone clapped and cheered. Since Libby is interested in football parties this means that I get to be home alone and get a few things done without interruption. I need to stock up on my alone time because I am going to be a "single parent" in about a month when Mike starts working with his Christmas decorating and is gone 24/7. Anybody want to adopt a cute girl for the month of November?? Just kidding-she is pretty easy and has been MOSTLY sleeping thought the night.

We also found out this week that Libby is going to have a little girl cousin!! Mike and I are feeling less guilty about not giving Libby any siblings since she will have a girl cousin so close to her age. Plus my very good friend Jeni (and BA) are having TWINS!!! Libby will have plenty of friends close to her own age. There are babies everywhere!!

Our girl sure is sleepy....

Sunday and Monday night Libby fell asleep at 7pm and slept until 7am. Sunday night (Monday morning) she woke up at 3am, I fed her and she went right back to sleep. Monday night she slept all night. Tonight she fell asleep at 8:20pm only because we went to Target and kept her awake. She looked very tired the whole time. Hopefully she will sleep all night tonight. I am sure she won't since I am talking about it.

Libby still has no teeth and is not crawling yet. She scoots around on the floor a lot but can't get her front half and back half to work together. She is starting to stand up more but still isn't very fond of putting weight on her chubby legs. She is also starting to prefer food over her bottle. I think she is down to about 12-16 ounces of formula a day. Our little girl is growing up too fast!!

The Cutest Girl Ever...

Sunday we weren't doing too much at home. Just sitting around reading the paper, playing Wii and PS3. I talked Mike into taking some pictures of Libby. We got her all dolled up and drove to Bacon Creek Park. Mike scouted out a good spot, we set up a blanket to get ready for the photo shoot. Libby would not smile. We tried everything. Luckily we got some good shots. Then we changed her dress and went to the park at the top of the water tower. She pretty much screamed as soon as we set her down. Those pictures didn't turn out as well but she is so cute I will still share them.

Hello All!

I have been reading this VERY funny blog by this mom of 6 kids (link on this page)-plus I try to keep on a couple others. Since I am not very good at keeping up on Libby's web page I thought this was a good idea. I will try to post the happenings at the Marlow Household when something exciting happens. I will also still try to keep on Libby web page every month or so.

Nothing is really new to report today. Libby went back to the doctor today for her hospitalization re-check. The doc's only concern is that her weight is still down. She isn't eating as good as she was before she got sick AND we all have colds. Hopefully once she feels 100% again she will start eating normally.

Our family doctor also informed us that she is moving to OK. Anyone know of a good doctor in Sioux City??