Paci-Free, Finally!

Well, folks, after 2 years, 6 months and 5 days, Abby is finally pacifier-free! We had the Paci Fairy pay us a visit the same night when Santa was visiting most of the world and the Paci Fairy took Abby's pacis and replaced them with some fun presents (and a chocolate ice cream cone, which she specifically requested). She cried a little before bed, but slept all night that first night much to our surprise. Her naps have been off (i.e. shorter or non-existent) since then, but we figure that will work itself out. She is still asking for her paci but when we remind her about the Paci Fairy, who brought her pacis to babies who need them, she seems ok with it. A small step for mankind, a big step for the Strongin family!

2009 was a pretty big year for Abby - she began speaking in sentences, started school and really grew into a little girl.

Next on Abby's (our) agenda for 2010 - potty training, getting into a big girl bed and becoming a big sister!

Happy & Healthy New Year to all!

Countdown to No More Paci

T minus 2 nights until we attempt to rock Abby's world by taking away her most prized possession, her pacifier (paci). She is now officially 2 1/2 years old and a "big girl" by many other standards (though not yet sleeping in a bed or potty trained), so we figured it was time to end the love affair between Abby and her paci. Not to mention, her dentist said we needed to do it sooner rather than later for the sake of her overbite. Granted, she only uses it at nighttime and for naps, but she is clearly attached to it, as noted at 3:30 am today when she called out to us when she couldn't find it in her crib.

I have heard many stories of success and different methods for doing this deed in the most painless way as possible. We started talking to her about the "Paci Fairy" a few weeks ago to get it into her head, but when we ask what she wants when the Paci Fairy comes for her pacis, she replies "a chocolate ice cream cone," which clearly would not be a problem to get but it won't be replacing the paci in her crib anytime soon.

So....our initial plan is to take her to Toys R Us on Christmas Eve Day (because no one else will be there then, I'm sure) and have her pick out a toy of her choice. We'll have her pack up her pacis that evening and put them in a special box for the Paci Fairy. And then we'll wait as she'll likely cry herself to sleep and then wake us up crying throughout the night. Hopefully she'll wake up and have her present from the Paci Fairy (if we all survive that night). And we'll have to do it all over again the next day for her nap/nighttime and hope that it doesn't take longer than the 4-day weekend I have from work.

Wish us luck sending the pacis away forever (or until Abby's little brother needs one)!!!!!!!

A Little....

....Brother! That's what Abby's going to have in about 5 months (or less, hopefully)! We found out last week and are very excited. Of course, everyone assumes I'm thrilled to have "one of each" but the truth is that I'm terrified to have a boy!!! I know girls and know how to play with them and dress them and give them advice. Boys are a whole different story! I am sure I'll figure it out in due time, but my initial doubts are of how I'm going to raise a little boy to be respectful, not a terror to his sister and dog and how to treat girls/women.

I am thrilled for this next chapter in our lives and am looking forward to seeing it all play out. And in the meantime, if any moms of boys want to give me some good tips/advice, I'm all ears!!

Giving Thanks

With Thanksgiving just 2 days away, I thought it would be appropriate to share what I am thankful for this year.

This year in particular, I am quite thankful for the home over my head, food at the table and for Jason and I being employed, unlike so many others. I am beyond grateful and thankful for a healthy family, from my little girl who still amazes me each day, to my husband, family, extended family, dog and friends. I am thankful that I got my H1N1 vaccine, as did Abby and Jason, so I can rest a bit easier when I am in a public place. This year, I am also thankful for the little bean in my tummy, who is growing and developing more and more each day (and whose gender I will be discovering tomorrow!).

I wish my friends and family a safe and happy holiday season and many more things to be thankful for in the coming months. XOXO!

Abby's Exciting Announcement

Well folks, in case you didn't get a phone call, email or Facebook notification, it is with much excitement that I share Abby's big announcement: she is going to be a BIG SISTER! Yes, we have decided to populate the earth with yet another little Strongin running around and we couldn't be happier about it. The estimated due date is May 1, 2010, so Abby will be turning 3 just a few weeks later.

While we know we are in for a lot of craziness and a wild ride with two kids, Jason and I are looking forward to giving Abby a sibling and someone else she can push around (figuratively and literally). After all, lately she has been Miss Bossy, telling us to "sit down, Mommy" or "stop it, Daddy" or "I want more" - all things which we are sure she will love telling her younger sibling.

As an only child myself, I am very curious and can't wait to see how the sibling relationship will play out. I hope Abby loves having a sibling as much as I wanted one when I was younger. The only person who may not be thrilled with another little person in the house is Sadie, who probably could live many more years happily without another baby chasing after and taunting her!

I'll be happy to keep everyone updated on the exciting milestones, including the gender announcement in a few weeks!

Halloween Debate

'Tis the season for apple picking, pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating. So aside from looking forward to all the extra sugar and calories we'll be consuming, a dilemna bigger than should-I-eat-the-Twix-or-Milky Way-first, is do I let Abby choose her costume this year or do I get to have one last year to choose for her?? No doubt by next Halloween, she'll have quite an opinion about what she wants to be.

Abby only really knows Sesame Street characters at this point (Elmo being her favorite) and Clifford the big red dog. Going as a red monster or a red dog doesn't seem very girly but she could probably care less if she went as a princess or Dora or a cupcake. If I take her to a store to pick something out, all hell could break loose when she wants everything. If I choose for her, am I causing her years of therapy when she looks back on pictures and isn't happy with my choice??

Ahhhh...dilemnas....if only things could be as easy as Twix vs. Milky Way!

EDITED ON 10/9/09 TO ADD:
OK, the decision has been made. My little Abby will be Abby Cadabby (the Sesame Street character, for those of you who don't know) for the big day. Her friends Maddy and Jordan will be Elmo, her friend Sammi will also be Abby and I'm hoping to convince Sammi & Jordan's daddy and Abby's daddy to go as Bert & Ernie :)
The good news is that the costume comes with a headpiece, complete with fake pigtails since it will be a long, long time before my child will have enough hair for pigtails!!!

Are You Smarter Than a 2-year-old?

It has recently come to my attention that my 2-year old is smarter than I am! I realized this fact this morning when I saw a pair of blue and white striped socks sitting on Abby's changing table. Aside from being 5 sizes too small for her, I knew she didn't own any socks like that. I asked my nanny if she knew where they came from and she said she didn't know, but they were upstairs so she washed them with Abby's laundry.

So I took a chance and asked Abby "whose socks are these?" And she replied: "Monkey's." I realized then that she was referring to her dress-up monkey (who lives in her playroom) with "real" clothes that come off - of course!!! And Abby looked at me like "of course, Mommy, duh!" Silly mommy.

She also has recently become much more aware of her surroundings - last night, for example, she claimed "I see Justin right there" and pointing to every SUV that resembled her friend Justin's car. She tells us to go "that way" when we pull out of the driveway to get to Justin's house or her cousin Matthew's house.

I just wonder at what point her homework will be over my head?!?!?

School Girl

My little girl had a big milestone today: her very first day of school for the rest of her life! Yes, it's only pre-school 3 mornings a week, but it brought more significant meaning: Abby separated beautifully and played nicely with the other kids. Today was a shortened day as the kids transition but all in all, it seemed to go really well and I could not be more proud. I was definitely more sad than she was!

Now that the official school year has started for her (and me), I am looking forward to many changes and developments for my little munchkin. I am hoping she'll become a better sharer and listener and will hopefully pick up some potty training tips from the other kids as well.

On another note, Abby's verbal development has really taken off the past several weeks, as she is using many more sentences and phrases and fewer words. We still push her to say "please" and "thank you" more, but every day she surprises us with a sentence or phrase we never heard her say before. She also now knows her last name, which is pretty cute to hear her say "Abby Strongin" and be very proud of herself!

I am so excited to see what the year brings for all of us!

The Dental Report

This past Saturday marked a first for Abby - her first visit to the dentist! I was quite skeptical about the whole process since she barely lets me brush her teeth, let alone having a stranger pry inside her mouth! But I was pleasantly surprised with the whole experience. The office was totally themed like an airport/airplane, with the hallway as a runway and the walls as cockpits. The receptionist asked if there was a particular movie Abby would want to watch during her cleaning. The assistant and dentist were both extremely patient and even sang to Abby to distract her as they counted all 20 teeth, cleaned and polished them. She even got to pick out a toy afterwards!

The upshot? No cavities (yay!) but we were told Abby's little (major) pacifier habit had to end, as her front teeth were being pushed out from it (boo). While I hate that she loves the paci, it's a great way to bribe her to do something ("if you don't come here now, you won't get your paci tonight") and of course, it's a huge comfort to her at naps and bedtime.

So for her nap on Saturday, we tried just giving her one paci (usually she sucks on one and holds one) and it wasn't too much of a fight, though we had to keep telling her the choice was either one paci or no pacis, so obviously she chose one. She's been sleeping ok so far with just one but the big issue will come when we get rid of them totally. The dentist suggested that we have her "give" them to a baby who needs them (i.e. our niece) or bribe her with a toy she wants. I know none of these options are going to go over well and I am not sure if it's best to try to get it over with sooner - this weekend - or later - closer to when she is 2.5 years, at the end of the year. Whenever it is, we know it will be difficult on all of us!!

Overtired

Having a toddler is tiring. Really, really tiring. It's tiring having to repeat yourself numerous times to get your 2-year-old to listen to you. It's tiring chasing after your 2-year-old when she won't listen to you unless you bribe her with ice cream or pizza. It's tiring hearing your own voice say "no" or "come here" or "stop it" over and over again.

Being a toddler must be tiring as well, especially when you spend half the day crying, whining, running around and NOT listening to your parents. It's also probably tiring when you decide to wake up before 7 am for 2 straight weeks and don't feel like going to bed until much later than normal.

Thankfully, there is light at the end of the very tiring tunnel. Today, my little 2-year-old made up for 2 weeks of early wake-ups with a miraculous 9 am wake-up. Presumably after sleeping for 13.5 hours, she will be in a better mood today and more apt to listen to her mother. I can only hope that the next few nights, Abby's overtiredness will not extend to me since Jason is going away for a few days and will leave me to take care of Abby, Sadie and myself all alone. I will try to hang in there but I will be rather happy when I have another set of hands back at the end of the week and I can get some much-needed sleep!!

Terrible Twos or Teething?

Whoops, it's been close to a month since I last had any good Abby updates or stories! Bad mommy! So I'll give you the download on this past weekend's events which caused me to wonder: is Abby going through the Terrible Two's or Teething (or both)??

Friday afternoon, we went to Abby's cousin Matthew's 3rd birthday party and then to a BBQ at his house. That evening, Abby was in a good mood but we came home and discovered she was running a low fever - around 99/100. We gave her some Motrin and sent her to bed, only to be woken at 1:30 am as she was throwing up in her crib. We dreaded a stomach virus - the last one was not exactly pleasant and getting her to eat or drink anything was a challenge. The next morning, she woke up with a fever but insisted on drinking her milk, which is a big no-no for an upset stomach. We took our chances and she gulped down 6 ozs and it stayed down - whew. The rest of the day was pretty low-key - she napped for 4 hours, had a fever on and off and was pretty tired and cranky.

The next day, Sunday, she woke up without a fever and ate and drank normally. I couldn't believe that this "virus" was so short-lived. After an unusual early morning nap, Abby woke up and was beyond cranky. She whined or cried at the drop of a hat, and was only happy the few minutes she was on the swing at the park, eating ice cream or in the pool that day. I figured she was just being a good ol' "terrible toddler" and chalked it up to a bad day and I went to bed early.

Monday rolled around and she felt and acted much better, though was still cranky. It finally crossed my mind that perhaps the fever/throwing up/crankiness (and a slightly runny nose, by the way) were all a result of teething, since a virus usually lasts much longer. She still had her top two molars which had not come through yet, so perhaps they were the culprits of her behavior over the weekend. Low and behold, Tuesday night as I was brushing her teeth, I saw one of her top molars poking through.

While Abby is generally a very easy-going child, I realize it is normal at her age to have tantrums and breakdowns, but I am relieved to know that this one, at least, had a good reason and now she only has ONE more tooth to pop through until she has all 20 baby teeth!

PB success!

5 days after Abby turned 2, we gave her peanut butter for the first time, and...SUCCESS! We have a peanut butter lover who is not allergic and we've added another food group to Abby's palate!
This is particularly exciting for me because I despise peanuts (or any nuts for that matter), peanut butter or anything nutty, so as a child I would eat jelly sandwiches at camp or school (which are quite delicious but not all that healthy). I am happy that Abby doesn't have any nut allergy issues, which will make her life at school, camp and playdates much easier, not to mention it's an easy and relatively healthy meal or snack. Yay!

The Birthday Weekend Round-Up

Well, my little girl is officially 2! And Abby had quite a weekend of festivities to celebrate. We started out the morning of her birthday by giving her a new play kitchen, compliments of her grandparents. We then went to Stone Hill Farms to check out the sheep, chickens and cows with her friend Justin and his mommy. Following her nap, we headed to the park with Justin where she enjoyed the swings for what seemed like forever. In the evening, our little 2-year old enjoyed a "delicious" cupcake at home and her Grammy Sheryl arrived.

Saturday was her birthday party at Little Scoops, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor in Rye Brook. She actually enjoyed being the center of attention, though I wasn't really sure she quite understood what was going on and why all of her friends and family were there! But she played nicely and enjoyed her cake and ice cream, and then promptly fell asleep on the way home from all of the excitement.

For Father's Day the next day, we enjoyed dinner at Grandma and Pop-Pop's country club, where Abby and her cousin Matthew had the best time playing together.

Monday morning started off with a 2-year check-up at the pediatrician, where Dr. E answered all of my crazy questions. Abby weighed in around the 20th percentile at 24 lbs and measured in at 32 3/4", which is about the 30th percentile. There is hope she will be at least 5'0" or taller! Whew! And we got the thumbs-up to try peanuts, etc...so if she likes it, we might have a new food group for her.

The last day of the "weekend" (because I took off work this whole time) was also Grammy's birthday, so we went to the Bronx Zoo to check out all the animals on Tuesday. Abby loved seeing the peacocks, elephants, deer, zebras, giraffes, gorillas and more. She really had a great time and it's wonderful to see how much she understands, especially compared to when we went for her 1st birthday. The afternoon ended with a cup of ice cream and a 3-hour nap - a great day for all :).

All in all, it was a wonderful birthday weekend for Abby, my mom and me. And I am thrilled that we have nothing planned for this coming weekend so we can enjoy all of the fabulous gifts she received!!

One more day of the one's

I am saying goodbye to the ones - in about 12 hours, Abby will turn TWO! What a mix of emotions I'm feeling - excitement for the next phase and seeing what she'll learn and do and nervous for the challenges this stage of toddlerdom will bring.

My hopes for her this next year (in no particular order) are:
- to love and prosper in preschool
- to become potty trained
- to sleep in a big girl bed (later rather than sooner)
- to learn colors (seriously, not everything is "red"!)
- to learn to share

These tasks seem minor in comparison to what she learned to do this year, including walking, talking, feeding and dressing herself!

In the meantime, we have her birthday party this weekend and then her big 2-year check-up at the doctor on Monday. Grandma Sheryl is coming in town and Abby's friends will all be able to help her celebrate this milestone.

Happy Birthday, sweet pea! Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

"I love you!"

I am in denial that Abby is going to be 2 years old in 10 days. She went from a 6 lb, 2 oz helpless newborn with peach fuzz and big blue eyes to an independent, curly-haired, big blue-eyed little girl practically overnight.

In the past month since my last post, Abby has increased her vocabularly and associations and is starting to put more and more sentences together. She has moments of loving kindness when she kisses everything, embraces us in bear hugs and says "I love you" (sounds like "I la you") and other times she's a typical "terrible twos" toddler, having a screaming fit because she wants something which we won't give her or throwing her food down when she doesn't want it. Fun times all around!!

In the past 12 months, Abby learned to walk (and run), form sentences which are actually understandable, count to 12, say most of the alphabet, distinguish between sandals/shoes/boots and pants/shorts, partially dress herself and her dolls and is off to preschool in just 3 months. I'm amazed and in love with her more and more each day, and while she does give me a hard time, she is the greatest gift I have ever received.

I hope her next year is filled with much more excitement (including, but not limited to, learning colors, shapes and letters), growth (physically and emotionally) and FUN!

No Want It!

Alas, as the "terrible twos" approach in just 6 weeks, Abby has a newfound favorite phrase: "No want it!" Which, by the way, she uses a minimum of 20 times a day! Sometimes it's specific: "No want shoes" but most of the time it's a general statement of defiance and trying asserting her independence. Today it was first used when our nanny asked Abby if she wanted more milk and her response was: "No more milk. No want it." Ok then! The good news is that she is also saying "yeah" or "yes" more frequently, so we are at least pretty confident when she says no, she MEANS NO!

I just hope that her learning how to assert herself early on means she'll be confident and independent later in life!

2 months 'til 2 years

As Abby approaches the "2 months 'til 2 years" mark, it is amazing to see such development verbally and emotionally (notice, not so much physically since my little girl isn't growing in leaps and bounds!).

Verbally, she has recently shocked me with several sentences that I did not expect to hear! The first was when I randomly asked her name and she responded "My name is Abby" (!!!) and the second, this morning, when Sadie and I went into Abby's room in the morning and I asked her if she said 'good morning' to Sadie. Her response: "Hi Sadie, good morning." I don't know why I keep thinking she doesn't repeat things as much as she does, but I truly did not expect her to say "Good Morning" to the dog! I am sure the verbal development will continue to amaze and shock me in the coming months (and years) and I look forward to all it brings, even though I won't be surprised when she's talking back to me!

Emotionally, Abby continues to be VERY lovey-dovey with just about everyone and everything. She gives Jason and I the biggest, best hugs and lots of kisses. She kisses random items (a pair of shoes), random pets (a dog that was 3 times her size in my in-laws' lobby), random kids (ok, friends) and of course, her dolls/babies. While she does have a tendency to give me a hard time every now and then, she also shows loads of compassion for people and it is the sweetest thing ever. It truly makes me melt and think I must be doing something right! I just hope that as she gets older and approaches her teenage years, she backs off in the kissing department and continues her compassion for others, then I'll know I am doing a great job!

Little Love Bug

I know my past few posts have been me complaining about Abby being sick, whining or acting out. This one, however, is just to say how excited I am that despite her toddler outbreaks, she is turning into a happy and very loving little girl. The past several days I have noticed she is showing enormous affection for Jason and I, as well as other kids, her grandparents, our dog Sadie and her nanny. She is giving us the best bear hugs and kissing us repeatedly. She has gone over to a few of her friends and given them kisses or hugs. Abby has been cuddly and affectionate and it warms my heart so much! And a big hug and kiss definitely goes a long way when she throws a fit or doesn't follow our directions.

Toddlerhood

Maybe I deserved it since Abby was such an easy, happy infant who slept through the night at 8 weeks and only cried when she was hungry. But this current state of Toddlerhood, where my this-minute-happy-baby is laughing and playing and the now-whiny-crying-baby is an utter mess, is taking a toll on my emotionally and physically. I am exhausted.

She used to wake up so happy, and would talk or play until we went to her room. These days, from the moment she wakes up, she lets out a little whimper which develops into a full-blown, whiny cry until we get her. Nothing is wrong, she just won't communicate with us like a normal human being and has taken to acting like a cavewoman who yells/whines/cries for what she wants. Keeping in mind that Abby's vocabularly has soared the past few months, it's very difficult to imagine why she thinks that whining uncontrolably is more effective than saying "Mommy, milk" or "book please," etc.

It is mentally exhausting trying to figure out why she is doing this, and it's physically exhausting dealing with a seemingly perfectly normal child who one minute is a little angel and the next a 2.5-foot devil.

Thoughts? Comments? Discuss amongst yourselves and let me know in about 15 years when I wake up from this state of Toddlerhood.

Updates

Bad mommy - I just realized it's been almost a month since I last reported on the happenings of little Miss Abby and family! Let's see if I can even remember what has been going on as of late!

Abby's mommy and daddy (Jason and I) recently went on a ski trip to Lake Tahoe to celebrate Jason's 35th birthday! While the 6 nights we were away was the longest period of time we've left Abby, we were sad but had a great time. We skied at Heavenly, Squaw Valley and Northstar. We chilled in the hot tub, got massages and ate (a lot)! It was a nice break but we were definitely anxious to get home.

Abby has been battling colds for what seems like forever and has a residual cough that seems to appear only at night, which has been loads of fun for us when she wakes up coughing. I can't wait for spring to finally be here soon and with that, the hope that the germs will magically disappear.

In good news, Abby has been saying quite a few sentences! Her latest are: "I did it!", "I see you", and "I catch you", which are quite adorable. Her growth and development has been remarkable, from the way she interacts at gym class to playing with her dolls at home. It's amazing that she'll be 21 months in 2 days! I can't wait to see what the next few months brings us!

Good news/Bad news

Which do you want first?

I'll start with the good news: We have a new member of the family - Jason's sister Julie gave birth to Morgan Rose on President's Day (2/16) at 12:36 pm. She weighed in at 6 lbs, 7 ozs and was 19.5 inches long. She looks EXACTLY like big brother Matthew and is cute as a button.

Bad news: Unfortunately our side of the family has had a very rough start to the new year. It seems as though Abby has been sick since her MMR reaction in late December. Perhaps because she is now enrolled in two new classes - gym and music - with other toddlers, or maybe because it's winter and everyone is sick, or perhaps I'm a bad mommy and only breastfed for 2 months - but whatever the case, we've had a rough few weeks.

Now it seems Abby caught a stomach virus from her friend Max. Day one included a lot of vomiting and no eating/drinking and day two has been a little better but now she has a fever. I'm so sick of calling the doctor and I'm sure she's sick of me, too!!

All in all, I am hopeful that after this bought with a bad virus, she is back to her normal, healthy, happy self!

The Talk of the Town

It is simply amazing to me that in the past 6 months, Abby's vocabulary and talking has skyrocketed. She went from saying "mama, dada, Sadie, hi, bye-bye" 6 months ago to saying her very first official sentence at 19 months old! Almost two weeks ago, Abby woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't find one of her pacis so she was whining and I went into her room. I asked, "Abby, what happened to your paci?" And her response, in the middle of the night, blew me away: "I threw it out." And low and behold, there was her paci, in the middle of the floor!

Of course I woke up Jason to tell him the news that our daughter had just spoken her first sentence and I am pretty sure he grunted and rolled over. But I was so proud of her! And just last night, the same scenario played itself out and when I asked the question "where is your paci?" her response was the same: "I threw it." Turns out it was just hidden under a stuffed animal, but I was still glowing with pride nonetheless. Was it as adorable of a first sentence as my "no up, puppy"? Not really. But I certainly was proud to announce that my big girl is talking up a storm. I am sure we will be able to share many more cute (and not-so-cute) phrases and sentences in the coming months and years...but for now, I'll gladly take "I threw it out."

A Rough Month

As the first month of 2009 approaches its end, I am quite relieved. This month was a bit rough for our family. It started out with Abby getting over her bad reaction to the MMR shot, Jason catching a cold and giving it to me and Abby and a whole lot of snow and cold weather.

Abby's cold turned into a bad cough, which she is still getting over from close to 2 weeks ago. It's so hard to hear her cough but at least she is in good spirits. And just when I thought her sleeping was back to normal....this happened and she's been waking up at night coughing. Needless to say, we all need some rest if we're going to make it through '09!

On a positive note, we watched in amazement as Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th POTUS. I am thrilled that I got to watch history happen and even happier that Abby will have the next 4 years (hopefully 8!) to watch and see how the world is a better place because of him.

Hopefully February will bring some great things - including a new niece for us/cousin for Abby, a healthy, sleeping Abby and some warmer weather (who am I kidding??).

Sleepless in Surburbia

Since 2009 started, the Strongin family has not gotten a lot of sleep. It seems that Abby's MMR reaction had an effect not only on her skin, but on her sleep as well. When she didn't feel well, I was a sucker and went in and held her/rocked her to sleep. Once she felt better, she was used to that comfort and was waking up crying for us to come in to her room. We knew she wasn't hot/cold/sick, etc.. because she was fine when we were there and would scream when we'd leave.

Needless to say, she is now in the habit of waking up at all hours of the night and screaming until we come to her room. She is crying before bed, before naps and generally not getting any sleep or letting us get any. We are all very tired and very cranky!!!

We were very lucky that when Abby was a newborn, she was able to put herself to sleep easily and we didn't have to use any cry it out methods. But Abby's pediatrician said we have to stop going into her room and let her cry herself back to sleep - it will probably be brutal for a few nights, but better in the long run. We are also probably going to invest in getting a video monitor so we can actually see what sort of distress she's in vs. going in. I just know I'm looking forward to getting some zzzz's after this all shakes out and she's back on track! I hope my next update is that we are well-rested....