9-month check-up

So, another check-up for Mackenzie and another ear infection. Double ear infection I should say. No wonder she's been fussy off an on for the last few days. She hasn't been tugging on her ears or anything, and when she fusses and you pick her up she stops so we just thought she wanted someone to hold her all the time! Goodness. So I had to go to the store and get an antibiotic for it.

I told the doctor today that last time we were there and saw the nurse practitioner will be the last time that we see that woman. I filled him in on all the nonsense of her basically saying Mackenzie was fat then criticizing me for not feeding her solid foods earlier. Dr. Monzon was mad and said thanks for telling him and that he would report her to her supervisor. It didn't seem like it was the first time he had a complaint against her.

I have a feeling Brady may have an ear infection starting, but I didn't have him looked at. He has just been really stuffed up for a couple weeks now, but he's not complaining of any aches and pains, so hopefully his crabbiness is just part of being two-and-a-half. He is exactly that old today. Tomorrow Mackenzie will be exactly 9 months old and Thursday is our 4th anniversary. It's a busy week for us. Stacey and Jeff had their anniversary last week, and Jenn and Mike and Mom and Dad have theirs this week too.

So Mackenzie has grown, slightly. She is now 18 pounds 5.5 ounces and 26 inches long. Basically she has grown more than a pound a month since birth, but less than an inch per month. She is evening out though. She is in the 40th percentile for weight and 20th percentile for height. Last time she was in the 90th percentile for weight. I think she is slimming down because she has been on the move a lot more. She crawls really well and can now sit herself up on her own. Today I was talking to Jeremiah on the phone while watching Mackenzie and Brady play when all of a sudden Mackenzie grabbed onto a basket and pulled herself up to a stand! It was cool! She stood there for a minute hanging on to the basket and then plopped back down on her bottom.

Brady didn't have a checkup today, but he did get a flu shot with Sissy. He didn't like it one bit, but he did good. Mackenzie has to go back to see Dr. Monzon in two weeks to recheck her ears, and then two weeks after that to get the second half of her flu shot. Babies have to get two small doses instead of one big one. Next year Brady will be old enough for the nose spray kind instead of the shot.

I have never gotten a flu shot and do not plan to this year. I feel like I have a head cold coming on though. My nose is really stuffy and I've got some nasty drainage that I won't go into detail about. I am trying to drink more fluids so hopefully that will help. There have been a ton of people at work passing illnesses around. Tis the season.

So I'm going to clobber the dogs. They ate more of my pump stuff again. Yes, I left it out where they could get to it, but that doesn't make it ok. Now I'm down to only two sets which is ok because I've cut back to only two times a day most days anyway. We're supplementing with formula when we run low on milk for Mackenzie. She's only got three more months and she can have regular whole cow milk then. Formula is just so expensive I am going to try to keep going with pumping as long as I can. It's just getting old.

Well, Jeremiah's out tonight looking for hookers. What other wife can say she kissed her husband goodbye this morning and said have fun with the hookers? He and his partner are working with a couple different agencies tonight, tomorrow and Thursday on prostitution and drug stings. I talked to him earlier and he sounded like he was having fun.

Well, I guess I should get off the computer. I have a ton of laundry and dishes to get done since I had to work all weekend. This is the last week that I have two days off until January so I have to make the most of them! I am off today and Friday. Starting next week all salaried managers will have to work six days a week. It's going to be miserable. I really need to get out of retail. I think in the spring I will look at some other options to going back to school and see if I can get something worked out with that. Too bad I didn't win the million dollars in the McDonald's Monopoly game.

Well, I'll try to get some updated pictures on here soon. I have taken a few here and there of the kids recently - just at home...we haven't done anything but work and play at home - so I'll try to get them on here next time I'm on the computer.

Oh, one funny thing before I go. I took the kids to Jenn's house Sunday because Jeremiah was hunting (didn't get anything) and I had to work. I forgot the pack-n-play though so Jenn made a makeshift bed for her in a drawer! It was really funny!

Updates..

Well, it's just been crazy as usual around here. It's normally pretty chaotic, but add a sick baby into the mix and things get ugly. Mackenzie has been sick since Sunday...well, for about a week before that she had a stuffy head and a cough for a couple days. Then all of a sudden Sunday night she was really fussy at dinner which is totally not like her. She never cries unless she is hungry or tired and she wasn't crying like either of those things was bothering her. So after about 30 minutes of this fussiness she threw up. A lot. So I gave her a bath and when I was putting her to bed she threw up again. Monday morning she seemed a little better. She didn't throw up anymore all week ... but she had a problem with her other end. So then tonight I gave her some baby mac-n-cheese to try to stop her up and she got really fussy again and threw up again. I have no idea what is going on with her. She is playing ok, and acting normal. She's eating ok and has no fever. We go to the doctor Tuesday anyway for her 9-month checkup and flu shot. Hopefully she'll be better by then, poor thing.

Brady has had a runny nose for a couple weeks, but it hasn't slowed him down at all.

So I guess the whole going back to school thing isn't going to happen. I got accepted to UMKC's graduate school, but it is too expensive. I could probably take out loans for the classes themselves, but during the last three semesters I would have to do classwork and wouldn't be able to keep my job. Working part time is not an option with our bills and such so I guess I am stuck at Sears for now - hopefully not forever. I'm not really happy about it, but since only leaves are falling off the trees outside ... instead of money ... I'll deal with it.

What a weekend!

We went to our friends Jenn and Ted's house last night for a bonfire party. It was also a birthday party for their daughter Alex's 2nd birthday. Brady had fun playing with all of her toys and watching her ride on her little horse!
Hugs!

Jenn and Ted live out in the country and have a ton of land. Jeremiah took Brady for a loop around the yard on the four wheeler. When they got back to the house I asked Brady if he had a good time. He was smiling, but said, "Uh-uh." I asked if he wanted to go again and he said no, that he wanted to get down! I think he was probably afraid of the dark and would like to do it again when it is light outside.

We went trick or treating in my sister Jenn's neighborhood Friday night. At the first couple of houses Brady was kind of unsure about the whole thing. Then he figured out that at each house they put candy in his pumpkin so he learned to like it really quickly!!! He was Aunt Jenn's best buddy and had her walk him up to the houses. I took him up to one and when we got back to the end of the driveway he let go of my hand, ran over to Jenn and grabbed hers!

One house had a really cool squash cut like the shape of a dragon or something. It was really cool!

Before Jenn took over, Jeremiah led the way for Brady down the sidewalk.

Sissy was Princess Leia. I made her costume!!!! I made her braids out of yarn. She was the cutest little girl out there!

Brady was Darth Vadar. His hat didn't last long. It kept falling off. I think they had fun. And Jeremiah did too - he's been on a sugar high ever since.