Phillips Farm

I found a groupon for the pumpkin patch/corn maze just down the road from our house. The deal expired on Sunday, October 5th and the place closes at 6pm. The Streett family pulled into the parking lot at 5pm. I think the countless photo ops made it a $12 well spent.

Jumping Rope

Willa wants to do everything the big kids in the neighborhood can do.

Pics with the PA visitors

Reading books with cousins. Also, getting ready to head to the pool!

Aunt Jamie and the little ones

The crew hanging out at the UNC baseball facility. AJ got a preview of what his week was going to look like. Thanks to all the Carolina folks for showing us around!

Also got some quality time with grandma. Someone was still in her pajamas.

Missing Pictures

The Streett family went to Iowa City over the July 4th to spend time with the Arnold/Green/Goebel/Stiles clan. I only have pictures from our flight to Iowa City. No one would want to see pictures from our return flight. My sweet daughter grew horns and a tipped tail. Also, there wouldn't have been any smiles on the faces of Daren or myself.

At the end of July we had Daren's family stay with us for the weekend and Daren's nephew stayed with us for the week to attend the UNC Baseball camp. Again, I didn't take any pictures and am at the mercy of Daren's SIL sister (Oops! Thanks for the call out Jamie)  for photographic proof they were here.

What I do have pictures of is Willa's bang trim. Since my child can't leave a hair bow in for more than five minutes...it was time to get hacked. All curls remained untouched.

 

Odds and Ends

How do people find time to blog with a toddler? It often crosses my mind but that is about it. The actual action doesn't take place. Here are some quick snapshots of what happened in the Streett household during June and the start of July.


We are working on getting Willa to eat more real foods. I think she enjoyed the ketchup and ranch more than the chicken nuggets.

This kid always wants to be outside! Sadly, the heat and humidity of North Carolina have descended upon us. We have to go outside in short bursts and make the most of our time.

Ice water is a favorite for Willa. Here is the little thief after stealing my drink and running to hide in the playroom.

This is the morning of Daren's 39th birthday. I think Willa added the hat as a special touch to dress up for Daddy. Sadly, that was day 6+ of my sinus congestion and cough. Thankfully we had friends who decided to help us celebrate the day because all I wanted to do was sleep.

 

 Birthday pie!

 

Our friends the Evans' are letting Willa borrow this awesome bike. She loves to peddle around the house. Well, she was all happy until she hit the carpet by the couch. Her face broke her fall. I snatched her up real quick expecting to see some crooked teeth. Thankfully all she suffered was a busted lip just before we flew to Iowa. 

Happy Doctors!

Willa had two appointments within a few days of each other and both doctors are super pleased with Willa's gains. First we saw the GI doctor at UNC. We have not been back to UNC since Willa's uneventful endoscopy. Willa weighed in at a whopping 21.2 pounds and is up to 32 inches in length. WE ARE ON THE GROWTH CHARTS!

GI is so pleased that we are making zero changes in meds and going to continue the same path. We are also going to attempt to stop the 1230am dream feed and see if not getting that nighttime bottle causes her appetite to spike during the day. I'm all for this plan because it means I can keep on sleeping.

We will continue to track Willa's caloric consumption and also need to keep trying to introduce her to "real" foods. I'm hopeful that making the transition to a daycare facility on August 4th will also assist with Willa eating the same foods as her peers. We will go back for another GI in September to give the doctors a status update since starting daycare.

We had Willa's 18 month appointment, only slightly delayed, less than a week after seeing GI. Dr Dunk was also very happy to see Willa's weight make a big jump. Also, Willa's developmental changes are obvious.  Willa babbles nonstop, but not that you can understand everything, is super inquisitive and always on the move. Willa also got her last round of shots until kindergarten. Her only routine shot will be the flu shot. I'm sure Willa would express her appreciation if she understood what I just typed.

Water Fun

My apologies if you have the "Motorboat" song in your head by the end of this video.

A Perfect Weekend

This was a pretty darn good weekend. Grandma Streett caught a ride down south and joined us on Thursday evening and stayed through the weekend. Friday was a pretty low key/normal day. Saturday was when the fun really started.

I joined six guys from the neighborhood in the Ninja 5k challenge. This was a fairly last minute decision for me but I'm so glad I tagged along because it was amazing. It was 3.1 miles of killer hills with 15 obstacles scattered throughout. I'm excited to see if there are any pictures of us on the course but I'm pretty disappointed that I couldn't handle the monkey bars.

For the most part we all hung together as a group with the bulk of us finishing just shy of 60 minutes. We would have had a much better time had we not had to stand and wait for 15 minutes to complete one of the obstacle of the four vertical walls. I was pretty much worthless once I got home. I was exhausted! My leisurely jog around the Cary Park Lake 1-2 times a week doesn't compare to the Ninja 5k.

Saturday afternoon was loaded with water fun. We filled up Willa's water table and also pulled out her splash pad for the first time. Willa wasn't quite so sure about the splash pad the first time I plopped her in the middle but she definitely got used to it as the afternoon progressed. I also enjoyed being a lady of leisure after my strenuous morning (hopefully a video will be posted shortly). Grandma Streett played lifeguard as she was stationed just outside the baby gates.

Grandma Streett had to hit the road early on Sunday morning to meet back up with her ride to Pennsylvania. We sure enjoyed your visit and can't wait to see the entire Streett clan in July.

Twenty Pounds!

That title is not a mistype. At 19 months old Willa has hit 20 pounds according to our home scale. I wish we had an idea of how tall she is but we don't have another doctors appointment  until the end of June. I hate the fact that the majority of what Willa eats is baby food but our doctors are very focused on Willa gaining weight and the baby food is definitely working. One new food for Willa is cheese puffs. Those things are straight calories. Only one problem with cheese puffs, I'm eating 3-4 puffs in the amount of time it takes Willa to eat 1. I don't need the extra calories.

Last weekend we hosted a cornhole tournament in the neighborhood. We had 24 teams sign up and the games started at 1pm on Sunday. Somehow, Willa must have sensed the impending chaos and decided to take an early nap. Willa went down at 1230pm and didn't MOVE until 330pm.  Her timing was impeccable. I was sure that Daren and I would dominate the tournement during Willa's nap because we could be 100% focused on the competition. So not the case because we went 0-2 and barely even made a showing. It was a great day with neighbors and friends even if we didn't win.

Hoop Star

Endoscopy

Thursday was Willa's endoscopy. We had to be at UNC Hospital at 630am and the procedure was scheduled for 730am. It was a fairly painless morning (I hope Willa agrees). Willa was all smiles for the various nurses, anesthesiologists, and doctors. She showed no fear. Also, there was a TV in our room so Willa go to watch Peppa Pig while chilling in her hospital gown and super big socks. The doctor let us know that the procedure would take about 10 minutes and we would be updated shortly after.

The short versions of the results is everything was normal. The medical findings are as follows -
1. No gross lesions in the entire esophagus.
2. No gross lesions in the stomach.
3. Diffuse mucosal flattening was found in the duodenal bulb.
All three areas were biopsied and we are awaiting the results. The final pathology report should be back by the middle of this week.

I went back to recovery to get our little girl. She did wake up crying and didn't like the IV that remained in her hand. We did some singing and drank some apple juice. I think most of Willa's crying was to get attention from the hospital staff.

We were released and headed home just before 9am. Willa handled the anesthesia so well that we brought her to daycare and Daren and I headed to work.

We have yet to speak with our GI doctors about the findings of the endoscopy. Nothing found during the procedure explains Willa's frequent gagging and throwing up. I'm not sure what the next step will be but we will keep plugging away and trying to keep Willa's weight gain on the upward swing.

I have some more cute photos to share from this weekend. We've had lots of rain in North Carolina so our plants (and weeds) are very happy.

Mother's Day

I had a fairly uneventful Mother's Day. Went for a run at 715 am with neighbor Kathy (this is our routine on Sunday mornings) and then headed to church with the family. While driving to church I mentioned to Daren that it would probably be packed at our service. Boy was I right…I think almost every seat was taken and extra chairs were even brought in. Need to remember the craziness for next year and get to church extra early for 2015.

We tried to take some pictures of Willa sitting in an old rocking chair of Daren's but Willa still needs to work on sitting still. Maybe we need to take more pictures and give Willa some more practice. We had a family afternoon nap and then took a trip to Sam's Club once Willa woke from her 3+ hour nap. The goal of our shopping trip was to buy Willa a water table. We were successful and pictures will hopefully be taken this weekend.

It wasn't exactly a perfect weekend. We had some major struggles with trying to get Willa to eat. The only thing we got Willa to eat all weekend was hummus. That is not an exaggeration. There was also plenty of puking. Tensions ran high. Hoping to get some answers on Thursday when we head to UNC Hospital bright and early for an endoscopy.

This little girl often makes me want to pull my hair out one minute and overflows my heart the next. Is this the part of mothering that people forget to mention?

What is Happening Now...

Remember how I was super stressed out when we were told that Willa needs to get 900-950 calories per day for weight gain? Well, it isn't quite as tough as I thought. We are surpassing 900 calories about 3-4 times per week. That calorie mark plus all her magic potions which increase Willa's appetite/add calories had little bean gaining one pound during the month of April. That is a HUGE weight gain for us and Willa is now over 19 pounds at 18 months of age.

Last week I had a root canal. It wasn't awful and it made me realize how much I favored the left side of my mouth. Thankfully, Willa took a brief break from giving me "love pats" to the cheeks.

Do all 18 month olds think that anytime is the right time for a somersault?

Willa loves to be outside (we need to get her saying this on video). The pinwheels purchased from the Target $1 bin might just be my best buy ever. We've had them for at least three weeks and Willa still loves to play with them. More than likely if  she is outside running wild there will be a pinwheel clutched in her hand.

Easter Pictures

Willa and I made an impromptu stop to see the Easter Bunny at the mall after a quick trip to the pediatrician (had to get a second medicine for that pesky ear infection). Willa got very excited as we walked up to the photo area. She even started woofing at the big bunny. I plopped Willa down on the bunny's lap and was waited for a smile to break out across Willa's face. Nothing. I waited for Willa to try and tug on the bunny's face or bow tie. Nothing. Would she cry? Nope. She did nothing.

After Easter service we did a family photo session around the yard. Big thanks to neighbor Kathy for taking our family picture.

55 Goldfish

Fifty-five goldfish. Fifty-five stinkin' goldfish is a serving. Who the heck can eat that many cardboard like snacks?

For the past three weeks we have been very focused on calories and serving size because we are tracking Willa's daily calorie intake . Usually Willa is getting between 675 - 750 calories per day and has surpassed 800 calories on four occasions. I felt like those  800 days were a cause for celebration…until this morning. I sent an email to the nutritionist at UNC to find out what our daily/weekly caloric goal should be for Willa to gain weight. Her response made my heart drop -

Hi Shelly,

 

I’m glad you are tracking Willa’s caloric intake.  She needs 900-950 calories per day to promote catch-up weight gain.  Hope that helps.

 

Elizabeth

Does anyone know how to set up a direct line of bacon grease or ranch dressing? Maybe we need to visit cousin Regan so she can teach Willa how to dip all foods in ranch. Trying to put weight on a toddler is a tougher than trying to lose weight as an adult. Also, I'm sure it doesn't help that Willa is always on the go. Walking has been replaced by running. The one time she isn't exerting calories is when riding her buggy. No calories are being burned because Daren and I are the ones making the car move across the room. She has us well trained. 

because he MATTers to me

The entire Streett family joined in for the fun at the 2014 Triangle MS Walk. We are a part of Team Habib to support our great friends Matt, Erika and baby toddler Brooklyn.  Matt was diagnosed with MS in the summer of 2010. We had 40 team members and raised just over $1300! TEAM HABIB!

The Triangle MS Walk isn't a small event. It is a fun filled family extravaganza! In total, there were over 4,000 participants, a live band, tons of dogs and tailgating fun. I know Willa had a tough time deciding what group she wanted to hang with because she was running from tent to tent the entire time we were there. I'm hoping next year that Willa will be content with chalk and bubbles like the other children in our group.

I think the Team Habib pictures do a better job of describing how much Matt matters to us more than any words I could type.