May Days

What a wonderful two weeks we've had! Well . . . in Alaska anyway. During the second half of May Nick was busy doing his second National Guard class in Missouri. This was a Master Class for Non-Lethal Weapons training and he is now a certified Instructor! The good news is that he is the only instructor for the State of Alaska, he passed the class with a 95% GPA and he's eligible for promotion to E6 - which is a big deal! The bad news of sorts is the 'training' that Nick had to go through for this. Poor guy was tazed, pepper sprayed and beat up all on top of full days in the classroom, complete with tests and oral presentations. Ok more great news . . . no more big guard trips for awhile! He still has the weekends once a month here in town but by comparison that's easy peasy!

So proud of my hubby and what better time than over the Memorial Day Holiday to say 'Thank You' to my soldier who does so much for his family.

Back in Southeast Alaska Colette and I had a special visitor from Arizona - Grandpa! It was completely last minute and we somehow managed a mileage ticket that got him here just in time to start the Little Norway Festivities! We watched the parade, gorged ourselves at the All You Can Eat Shrimp Feed, wandered through the 'husflid' of downtown Petersburg and even gave in to the chili cheese dogs and fry bread. Grandpa and Colette spent a lot of fun time together and did lots tummy time looking out the window every morning. For me, I got to spend about an hour extra in bed most of those mornings and that was such a treat!

Colette was a little unsure of the furry Vikings, our friend Bucky Eddy

 

 Checking out the brand-new Fire Station

 Playtime in the sun

Now of course my Dad didn't just come and sit around, he had to find some projects to do! Lucky for him, our house is full of projects just waiting to be started . . . or finished. He installed a new stove hood, a garbage disposal, took care of some electrical cord issues, installed bathroom hardware AND built us some awesome platform stairs/walkway and railing out the side door.

Don't worry, I didn't work him too hard. We did get 'out the road' a few days just to see what there was to see. We drove all the way to the 'end of the road' and checked out different points of interest along the way. We also took a little trip out Three Lakes Loop Road and stopped at the first lake, Sand Lake, and took the paddle boat out a little ways.

The view from Green's Camp on the southern end of Mitkof Island

Boomer is interesting enough to justify rolling onto her tummy.
From here she scooted all the way back to the far couch, and then got mad when her legs got stuck underneath.

Out on the water at Sand Lake

Nick returned from Missouri on the 27th and the next day (Memorial Day) we all went out to our favorite little spot which we call the Shmickem's Club. Since it was drizzling on and off we stayed under the tree cover where we built a fire and cooked a meal. We stayed out there most of the day, Colette took two naps, we did some wandering and Nick and Dad built a survival shelter.

Oh the things we do for fun in Alaska!

Getting the grill ready for 'brunch'

A Grandpa Swing - I think she likes it!

If you couldn't tell, Colette Loves Boomer. He's still a little unsure of sharing our attention but I think he'll be okay with it once he and Colette can play together . . . and when she starts throwing food on the floor.

All in all, a wonderful visit with my Dad and a time that I think we will both cherish.

And back to the business of baby updates, Colette is just about as happy as can be. This morning we had a little diaper leak so the first 20 minutes of her day were spent as naked baby, in bed with me. After finishing 'first breakfast' she chatted up a storm, talking all about her dreams, playing with my fingers and face. She is continually exploring the world of vocal sounds and has developed quite the repertoire! My favorites include the spontaneous uber-high pitched squeal, the growl and the new vibrating "b-b-b-b-b-b" complete with bubbles. Yep, pretty sure her first real word is going to be "Boomer"

She seems to be stronger everyday and is interested in pulling herself up, over, and every which way. We had a short visit with Niccole and Declan over the weekend and Colette launched herself at Declan twice. Only once were we able to capture it on camera, the second time they we facing each other and she sent them both toppling over and Dec didn't really appreciate it.

The biggest news just appeared today . . .  a tooth! Her bottom right tooth has just broken the surface. For weeks now we've been able to see white gums and the outline of those little teeth but they've taken their time actually coming up (fine with me!). Today I saw a little flash that looked different and wouldn't you know, it was that little tooth and a great big grin on Colette's face like she was pretty proud of her handywork.

We've also been battling with eczema. Colette has had it in little patches on her elbows for several months and after our trip to Arizona it got a little worse. I tried out every remedy under the sun; olive oil, flax seed oil, coconut oil, aloe butter, petroleum jelly, aquaphor, eucerin, bag balm, oatmeal baths, t-gel . . . just to name a few . . . seriously. I had to give in and we got a corticosteroid cream. It worked. Quickly. In less than a week her patches had cleared up nicely and while they were still slightly discolored the bumps were gone and it seemed like the itch was too. Well then the real trouble began. It came back and with a vengeance. Her elbows flared up, spots on her legs grew and it spread to her face. What started as one little spot on her jaw bone, then become one little spot on the apple of her cheek and within 3 days both of my poor baby girl's cheeks were bright red and raw. (of course this happened right over May Festival so we were out and about seeing everyone else who was out and about and each one of those people had a story and remedy to share. However, I'm still up for any suggestions you might have!) With renewed vigor I slathered every cream, oil and ointment I could get my hands on, hoping to find the one that would do the trick. I even got a new prescription called in but stopped using it after a few days because I wasn't seeing results. Through all this Colette was the perfect patient. She was mostly happy and very patient while I washed/spread/soothed/dabbed her skin. Finally on Tuesday we went back to the doctor and got a second opinion that it is "textbook eczema." Well okay then. We were prescribed a new regimen; Two times a day I apply a gentle antibiotic ointment and then a new corticosteroid. An additional two times a day the antibiotic is applied, but we're almost done with that part! After one day we saw very positive results and now three days later those cheeks are kissable and smooth again, just a little pinkness to go. I am beyond relieved to have it under control again yet still disappointed that we are relying on a steroid cream as treatment and don't have a solution. At the last appointment, we talked about potential triggers, both food allergens and environmental but unfortunately it's a wild goose chase that may or may not give us some answers. With Colette being so little we can realistically hope that she will outgrow it but we also may need to dig pretty deep and find what aggravates it.

Whew.

At one doctor visit our nurse, who always comments on how lovely and adorable Colette is, stated "Oh well. Perfection is for the Gods." This little comment has stayed with me and I found it very touching. As a new mom who of course does think her child is perfect, it's humbling to remember how blessed we are to have a happy, healthy baby. While I may stress and fret over this challenge, Colette is OK and she will be OK. She is full of smiles and love everyday and for that I am grateful.