Now our pool is up and running. (The patches didn’t really work, but it buys us enough time for the day.)
more
Standard
Physical therapy
We had to start physical therapy today because Beckham was diagnosed at his 2-month appointment with plagiocephaly and torticollis. Basically his head kind of tilts to one side and he ends up laying more often with his head turned to that side. This has led to a flat spot on the right side of his head, and it also kind of shifted his ear forward and made his forehead protrude a bit on one end.
Now we have to really concentrate on strengthening his neck muscles. It’s all very overwhelming, though, because I have to constantly pay attention to which way he is looking — whether he’s laying down or sitting up — and make adjustments accordingly. A lot of the new positions they showed me to hold him in feel so awkward and unnatural. We also have to get in as much tummy time as we can, but at a minimum of 10 minutes for every hour he’s awake. And then there’s a ton of exercises and stretches that I am supposed to do with him at every diaper change. As if babies aren’t already a lot of work!
From here on out, we’ll also be going in to the clinic once a week for additional physical therapy sessions, which in normal times may not be so bad, but in the era of COVID it adds a whole new level of stress. It’s not socially distanced (we are right up in each other’s faces) and it’s a lengthy period of time (1 hour). And who knows how many different families our physical therapist interacts with each week. Ugh, not fun!
more
Standard
Hairdresser in training
Now it was finally my turn for a haircut! It had been more than a year since I last got it cut, and I just got so sick of it that I finally decided to just go for it and chop it off myself.
After watching a YouTube video for some tips, I put my hair in two pig tails and then snipped them off one after the other. Literally, two cuts and I was done!!!
The video did show how to even it out and add more texture, but I didn’t want to bother with that. It seemed close enough, lol. (I just wear a ponytail everyday now anyway. Plus, who is even going to see me?! I’m not going anywhere soon.)
All in all, I think I cut off 7 or 8 inches!
more
Standard
Dinosaur Adventure: Part II
A drive-thru dinosaur exhibit was coming to town, one with life-size replicas that move and make sounds, too. It sounded pretty cool for a socially distanced event, but after the mess at the library I was worried Jackson would be terrified and it’d be a waste of money.
But seeing as we don’t have very many options for outings this summer, I figured we should give it a shot. And the dino event at the library was good preparation — now we know what to do better the second time around.
And this time, Jackson was super excited and had a lot of fun. He was scared at first when he saw the dinosaurs from far away, but quickly warmed up to it. Plus this time I sat in the back next to him (somehow I was able to wedge myself in between two car seats!), and I also took Beckham out and onto my lap so he didn’t fuss either.
Aside from a terrible blowout and having to put Beckham on the console to change/clean him/me, the day was a success!!
more
Standard
Our new reality
Jackson finally got his first mask. And kept it on for all of two seconds…
In Illinois, anyone age 2 and over has to wear one in public when you can’t socially distance. Seems soooooo young!!
more
Standard
Happy birthday, Justin!
Jackson made a fantastic cake out of play-dough, while I picked up some chocolate cake slices via the Portillo’s drive-thru. Another quarantine birthday party!
more
Standard
Barista in training
Check it out — a homemade vanilla latte!! Doesn’t it look sooooo yummy?!
By now you all are familiar with my longstanding struggles to get my much-needed caffeine fix, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.
As a belated birthday gift to myself, I bought a milk frother on Amazon. By far one of my best nursing-baby-in-the-middle-of-the-night purchases! (Which, btw, is a very serious problem…I really need to find something else to keep me awake.)
Now I can enjoy a latte — or a cappuccino — every morning.
more
Standard
Sheltering in place…
…while sheltering in place!!
The tornado sirens sent us into the basement for cover as 100 mph winds hit the area. Several tornados ended up touching down, including one in Wheaton and Lombard. It was crazy to look at its path later because it was west of us and heading right towards us but then hopped right over us only to land again just a bit farther east.
Our street didn’t get too much fallen debris, but later when I drove through town there were massive, massive trees ripped out of the ground and tons of damage everywhere.
First an infectious disease spreading around the world, then out of control wildfires on the west coast, and now tornados in Chicago… this year is crazy!
more
Standard
Jurassic Drive-Thru
Our library had a super cute dinosaur event, COVID-style in the parking lot. They had various stations set up and you could drive by each one without getting out of your car. Something new and different to go experience, yet safe enough for even my comfort level.
But it went about as poorly as it could go.
First there was a bit of a line, and once the car stopped moving, Beckham started screaming. I ended up getting out to rock him and walked alongside our car at the same time.
Then, at the very first station, they had someone wearing one of those blow-up T-Rex costumes. Jackson totally freaked out. He was terrified when it was our turn to pull up and the guy started coming towards our car (he didn’t even get that close before realizing what was happening).
“Roll the window up!!” Jackson was yelling in between sobs.
We tried to quickly go to the next station but Jackson couldn’t really recover. There another worker asked him if he wanted to play a toss game. Jackson said no, still crying. He did manage to get out a little “roar” when this guy asked him what sound dinosaurs make, but again we quickly sped off to the next station.
The next spot had various dinosaurs on display, although I don’t think Jackson could really see any of it since he was still in his car seat. Off we went again.
At the next stop, a lady read a dinosaur story to Jackson (six feet away, through the window). This section went the best, as Jackson had calmed down. (The orange dinosaur — the T-Rex — had made Soldier Teddy Bear nervous, he told us.)
But then the book ended abruptly with the dinosaur eating the main character. It was very odd. Why they chose that book is beyond me!
Finally the last section was another display but we didn’t even bother stopping. By this point we all couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
It was a neat event in theory, just didn’t work for us this time around, haha.
more
Quote
C’mon people. Even a toddler gets it.
Jackson: “Mommy why do you have a mask on your face?”
Me: “Well, we wear masks now to help protect people.”
Jackson: “Oh. I want to wear one, too.”
more
Standard
Take #2
We visited the Metra station again, and this time Jackson moved to the front with me — so he definitely saw the trains this time!
more
Standard
Socially distanced wedding
People have gotten pretty creative in safely celebrating birthdays, graduations and other special occasions throughout the pandemic. Making front yard signs, having a parade of cars drive by your house, having local police/fire vehicles drive by and honk, etc. I’ve even heard of people renting food trucks to come to their driveway or special construction vehicles for kids to explore.
Weddings, of course, are no different. I know of some people who had their ceremonies live streamed online for guests to view. Others have postponed their event entirely.
My cousin Bobby and his bride Jenny opted not to wait. They had a small ceremony with just immediate family outside in the gardens at the Morton Arboretum, followed by a drive-by reception!
I had no clue what to expect, but it ended up being a lot of fun. And it will certainly go down as one of the most memorable weddings I’ll ever have been to!
My side of the family met beforehand on a side street and we all decorated our cars to make it extra festive. I brought musical instruments for us to play, and grabbed some “fancy” costumes from our costume bin.
The bride and groom and their immediate families were all dressed to the nines in typical formal attire and stood outside in the yard, greeting everybody as us guests drove by.
Unfortunately, by the time our car made it up to their house, Beckham was screaming (he doesn’t like it when the car isn’t moving fast) and Jackson was also crying and whining (I forgot to bring his water bottle).
Just like at real weddings, we should have left the kids at home…
more