Such a nice girl.

She really is.  Sarah Beth.  I’ve been watching how she plays with other little ones, and I’m so proud of her.   We went to the park with our neighbor Gavin and his Mommy Nikki this week, and loved watching these two share back and forth.  Toys, snacks, sticks, rocks. Whatever it was, they would pass things between each other in the sweetest way.    Another little girl a little older than SB came to the park, and SB walked over to her and handed her a shovel.  The little girl exclaimed “Mommy she’s sharing with me!”  Her new friend was sitting on the rocking horse, and SB methodically took scoops of sand and dumped it gently on the horse’s head as she smiled happily.  The little girl said “Mommy she’s putting sand on my horse and it makes my horse feel better!”  How cute is that?  

Today we went to the spraygrounds at Veterans Park where she found another little friend to run around with.  This girl was a little older 3 or 4, but enjoyed splashing around with SB just the same.  SB was picking up leaves and holding them over the water so they’d flip about, and she made sure her new friend had leaves so she could do the same.

We had a big treat this weekend as some of our favorite people came to visit us!  Ouida, Greg, and Avery drove down from Pilot Mountain for a few hours of fun.  We had lunch,   the kids played.  Sarah Beth thought Avery (Ayyyy-Geeee as she called him) was the cat’s meow.  I wish I had my camera when the two of them sat on the piano bench together playing a duet.  I must say, Mr. Avery has skills!  He doesn’t bang on the piano, he really sat and played.  Definitely a musical future for that one.  I’m attempting to instill the same in SB, but I don’t know if I’m having much of an effect on her.  I play a little every day and encourage her to play or sing along, but sometimes she pushes me off the bench saying “Off! Off!”  I try not to take it as a criticism of my piano skills, but I am a little rusty.  She prefers to jam to J-Lo or Ke$ha on 95.1 at the moment.

Here are a few pics from Avery’s visit.  We hit the park across the street for a hot, hot play date then drove over to Rita’s Italian Ice.  Poor Avery conked out in the car and slept through the whole Rita’s experience.  SB managed to stay awake and sample everyone’s flavors, staining her face, hands and shirt a nice shade of red.

Mountain Adventures

Last week we got fed up with the oppressive Charlotte heat and retreated up to my parents’ house in the mountains for some relief.  We ended up spending the whole week there.   Kurt worked a few days and took the rest of the week off.  We would have worried about overstaying our welcome, but we had a cute little blonde ambassador who fell over herself trying to please Grandma and Grandpa, so we figured we were good for a few extra days. 

Sarah Beth is head over heels in love with Grandpa.  Or  “Pawgaw” as it sounds the way she says it.  Poor Grandma does everything to keep this girl happy and entertained, from tap dancing to rolling around on the floor, but it is Grandpa sitting in the recliner who has her wrapped around his finger.  The slightest glance or act of silliness from Grandpa and she is in hysterics.  It is about the cutest thing I have ever seen.  We all went on an outing to the WNC Nature Center which was fantastic, btw.  But for Sarah Beth…cougars, wolves, and bears…whatever.  It was Grandpa who got all her attention.  She was quite concerned about leaving him behind so when he lingered a little, she would holler “PAAAAAAWWWWWWGAWWWWWW” and wait until he caught up. 

So a little about the WNC Nature Center since I brought it up.  It’s in Asheville.  And it’s amazing.  The animals have wooded and wild enclosures, but some of them were right up at the fence.  We were 10 feet away from two wolves.  One stood up and stared us right in the face.  There was so much intelligence behind those wild eyes.  Sounds corny, but I felt like he was looking right into my soul, sizing me up.  A humbling experience.   We saw the newest residents, two beautiful cougars, pacing their enclosure.  They were so graceful and quiet as they moved their huge bodies, jumping effortlessly, showing off to their slack-jawed visitors (including us) by bouncing off trees like a Kung Fu movie.  I could have sat there for hours watching them. 

The bear exhibit is a little unusual as you are actually viewing them from above on a wooden walkway.  One could technically lean over the barrier and fall right into the bear enclosure.  I have visited before and it never bothered me, but standing there with my 2 year old it freaked me out a little.  Especially since the bears below us were clearly in the midst of a domestic dispute.  The larger of the two bears stood up on his hind legs to prove a point, I’m assuming, and it definitely got my attention, if not his partner’s.   Bears are fast by the way.  You are not going to outrun one.  Of course there was the token redneck there dangling his toddler over the railing.  Seriously, people are so stupid.  I didn’t want SB anywhere near the edge, much less hanging her juicy little feet over the side.  And I swear I felt the wooden platform sway a little bit, so that was the end of my bear watching.  On to the turkey vultures, Sarah Beth, let’s hurry!

Another one of our unplanned adventures took us to Cherokee, NC.  We love the Blue Ridge Parkway and spend lots of time driving around up there, soaking in the views and the fresh air.  When SB falls asleep in the car, we tend to just drive until she wakes up, so this time, it led us close to the Southern end of the Parkway.  We decided to see what all the fuss was about in Cherokee and kept going.  Well, let me just do y’all a favor and spare you the trip.  It was downright depressing.  We pulled off the parkway and as soon as we hit Indian land it was trailer after trailer after burnt out shack after trailer.   We passed by closed up motels and broken down cars.  Other than the big “Tribal Bingo” building with the glowing neon sign, there was barely a building that looked inhabitable until we rounded the bend and saw the towering Harrah’s Casino blocking out the sun.  It was so startling to see this shiny structure in the midst of such poverty.  I wonder if the folks living there see it as a slap in the face or is it their salvation, the only money-making operation in the area.  Anyway, we cruised past the casino, past the “hourly drop-in daycare” in case you need to dump your kids somewhere while you gamble (shudder) and then reached the tourist trap of souvenir stores selling moccasins and tomahawks amongst other random items.  (I get the Indian paraphernalia, but statues of lighthouses? Really?  The closest beach is like 5-6 hours away.)  We stopped to get out of the car and get some ice cream, but that was about it.  The whole experience made us feel sad.  I’m sure there are other parts of Cherokee that celebrate the Indian heritage in a more appropriate way, but we never got that far.  We were ready to go home at that point.

Here's a few shots from our ice cream stop.

Hugs!

 We ventured into DuPont forest one day for a beautiful morning hike.

It's not a long walk to the falls, but SB always seems to go halfway regardless of length before wanting Mommy to carry her back.  Why Mommy?  Daddy is strong and she thinks he hung the moon, but apparently Mommy is the designated pack mule in her life.  Good thing she's so cute.

  

Our last adventure was something of a ghost story.  We again, were driving on the parkway aimlessly.  I was reading the Lonely Planet BRP guide, realizing we had hit every stop in the book except for a few, so we decided to go to one of the random places the guide mentioned.  The Balsam Mountain Inn in Balsam, NC.  Near Waynesville and Sylva.  So really in the middle of nowhere.  Back in the day, however, it was a bustling rail town and this hotel was a big destination resort in the 1900s.  We like historic places so off we went.  The guide described it as "luxurious" which by Lonely Planet standards could just mean you get your own toilet, but we were shocked by the condition of the place when we arrived.  You cross the old rail tracks and climb up a dirt road to see what must have been a fine hotel but is now a crumbling mess.  Peeling paint, missing siding, overgrown landscaping.  The place was in utter disrepair.  It definitely had the makings of a Stephen King horror story, but we figured what the hell, we were there, we'd get out of the car and check it out anyway.  Take a few pictures on the old porch.  

We pulled into the nearly vacant lot and unbuckled SB from her carseat.  As soon as she got out, she wanted to get back in the car.  That NEVER happens.  Kurt picked her up and walked over towards the steps of the building and she kept turning around saying "CAR CAR" which was the oddest thing.  I picked her up and carried her up the steps.  She tried to get down, I thought, to run along the porch, but she turned around and went down the steps back to the car.  Completely freaked out and demanded to go back to the car.  We were like, um ok is this place haunted or something because she has never acted like that before. Sure enough, we look up the hotel and there are a few "known" ghosts that reside there.  Including a sheriff who was gunned down at a box lunch social in the 1900s right in front of the hotel.  So maybe SB just didn't feel like getting out of the car, but I wonder if she sensed something that we couldn't see?  It was pretty spooky there.  Boo!

One Month Later...

What a wild month this has been.   

Shortly after SB’s birthday, Daddy Kurt took a 10 day business trip to San Francisco, regretfully leaving us girls to fend for ourselves.   As if it weren’t bad enough that Daddy was leaving, SB managed to get sick right before he left.  I took her to that giant Petri dish of disease, Discovery Place Kids  (a local children’s museum) for her birthday.  She loved it.  It’s set up like a little town with a grocery store, diner, farm, vet, etc etc.  Essentially it was a huge warehouse full of stuff for her to get into.  It was total mayhem.  Kids running amuck, frazzled parents in need of  Extra-Strength Tylenol or a few Tequila shots.  It was way too much noise and too many people for me, but SB didn’t seem to care.  Her friend Mimi and Mimi’s mom Sarah came with us, but the two went their separate ways as soon as we got through the door.  Mimi got head-butted by some 4 year old brute so that didn’t help matters.  Sweet, quiet SB somehow managed to elbow her way through the crowds to get the things she wanted to play with.  Anyway, we stayed for about an hour before we cried uncle and fled the place.   Apparently we took some stowaway germs with us because both SB and Mimi got sick with different illnesses.  SB’s turned out to be Roseola, which presents with a high fever for several days followed by a rash.  The night before Kurt left, she woke up with a 104 fever so we had to cool her down in the bathtub and pump her with Advil and fluids.   

As you can imagine, Kurt was not thrilled to be flying across the country with a sick baby at home.  Neither was I, since that meant I had to take her to the doctor by myself.  SB hates going to the doctor’s office.   It starts when she gets past the waiting room towards the scale and she freaks out until we are in the car on the way home.  Sobbing, heaving, choking…it’s all very dramatic.  Not even sparkly Elmo stickers from the nurses will soothe her.  It’s a train wreck.  The good news was she didn’t have Strep so it’s just a virus.  The bad news was there’s nothing to do but wait it out. 

So from being sick and Daddy leaving, SB was a hot mess the next night.  I tried 4 times to get her in her crib, but she would start crying every time.  My policy was to give her 10 minutes to settle down and if she’s still upset I’ll go get her.  Well, on minute 8 of try number 4, I hear a big thud and a scream.  Yep, she hurled herself out of the crib and landed on her head.  I ran down the hallway to find her face down on the hardwood floor.  I rolled her over to find a giant goose egg on her forehead turning purpley blue already.  Not good.  I called the dr and they said as long as she didn’t lose consciousness or vomit she should be ok, just wake her every 2 hours for the next two nights.  Awesome.  So, no sleep for Mommy whatsoever.  I stayed up all night watching movies while SB slept next to me on the couch.  

After the fall, she decided she wasn’t so into the crib anymore, and frankly I wasn’t about to let her attempt another jump so she spent the next week sleeping with Mommy.  Other than the obvious downside for me, she slept just fine, that is, until fall #2.

Fall #2 occurred a few days after fall #1 as we were getting ready to walk over to the neighbors for dinner and playtime.  She managed to trip over her own feet and fall into the doorway, hitting the EXACT same spot on her head where she landed on fall #1.  Seriously, she could not have planned it if she tried.  The bruise got even bigger and uglier, of course, but after initial crying she seemed fine.  So we went off to play without any ill effects until around 1:30 AM when she vomited in the bed.  Poor thing.  Of course, Mommy was worried so we called the nurse (again) explaining what happened.  She said if she puked again or showed any signs of abnormal behavior to go to the ER, otherwise, wake her every 2 hours, yada yada yada.

Then I called Kurt in San Francisco to inform him his daughter is a disaster area and he kind of freaked out.  Not that I blame him.  He was thousands of miles away and could do nothing to help.  He insisted that I bring her to the ER, regardless of what the nurses said, and that I needed to get someone to go with me.   So our poor neighbors got a phone call at 2AM and Morri, Mimi’s Daddy, was nice enough to offer to come along. 

The Presby Children's ER is very nice.  However, when they ask you if you want to valet or park yourself, VALET.  The parking deck is clear on the opposite side of the building and I had to carry a heavy, sad baby all the way through the hospital.

They took her temperature in a most undignified way, checked her blood pressure, then whisked us off to a room to await the doctor.  When he came in, I told him what happened.  He barely looked at SB, I don’t even remember if he touched her, and said, well, I’ll send the nurse in with some juice.  If she drinks it and doesn’t vomit you can go home.  Oh great.  Totally worth a 2AM ER visit for that advice.  I know, I know, better to err on the side of caution when it comes to our baby’s health, but sheesh, he could have faked a more thorough exam or something…

Anyway, SB wouldn’t drink the juice because she suspected is was poisoned, I’m guessing.  Finally, they brought water and ice n a Styrofoam cup with a bendy straw (jackpot) and she drank some before tossing it on the floor.  No vomiting.  So 2 ½ hours later, we were on our way home.  

When Daddy finally got home days later, our first stop was to Ikea for a brand new toddler bed.   Which leads us into our next adventure in toddlerdom.  To be continued...