It's fall and we have been enjoying some beautiful color changes in the foliage. This is my favorite time of year when the air is cool and crisp. Light jacket and sweatshirts weather! So long as it stays dry, though.

Fall festivals, pumpkin patches, hay rides, and corn mazes are abundant this month and we have been out to enjoy a few of them.

Two weekends ago, my parents and I took the girls to a local family farm out east in Elizabeth, CO. We got to go on a tractor-pulled hay ride to see llamas, horses, and cows. Abby and Kayleigh then got to hold and pet some rabbits, see goats, donkey, geese, and pigs. We saw brand new baby bunnies and went through a straw maze in one of the farm buildings. Finally, the trip concluded with all of us plowing through their pumpkin patch trying to find an Abby-sized pumpkin to cut off the vine. We eventually did find one small enough!

Cavities.

We're doing things right, but Abby's just a bit prone to cavities.

Luckily, we have found an amazing pediatric dentist and Abby was able to get 2 fillings and a crown done with no problems. She was so brave. Just look at all the stuff happening around her head - sunglasses to protect eyes from the gas and splatter, headphones for the movie she was watching, gas mask, "raincoat" in her mouth for the drilling work, and stretcher to keep her mouth open.

The dentist did the right side of her mouth 2 weeks ago. This past Thursday, he finished the left side. The first visit required a brief break when Abby started crying in the middle of the filling, but she was able to calm down and the work was finished with Abby still willing to go back again. The dentist kept reassuring us that even with the breakdown, she did surprisingly well for a 3 year old. The visit was just too long, requiring x-rays, analysis, then the actual procedure. This past Thursday, she was calm and did not resist anything. Not a single whimper, flinch, or cry of objection. We were very proud and impressed by her composure.

We very much liked that they treated her with respect and was so good at explaining every single step they did to her to help alleviate any fears, constantly reminding her that if she wanted to ask anything to please do so. The words they used to help her understand were also carefully selected not spawn fear. So, drilling away the decay was explained as brushing away the sugar bugs!

Abby seemed to be pretty happy about getting a "Princess crown" for her tooth, as the dentist called it.



The next day, Abby went to National Jewish Health Clinic for an allergy evaluation. She is very prone to developing upper respiratory infections which leads to wheezing, bronchitis, and trouble breathing. When cold season hits, she ends up with an infection once a month it seems. So, her pediatrician recommended that she see an allergist and National Jewish has the leading allergy and asthma specialists in the US.

A skin prick test was performed and once again Abby showed us how brave she can be with medical procedures.

It turns out that she is allergic to cats (a bit) and dogs (a lot), plus grass and weed pollen. She is on an inhaler of the corticosteroid, Flovent, twice a day and Zyrtec at bedtime.

Unfortunately, I'm not comfortable with the dosage of antihistimine being prescribed and I'm concerned about giving her Flovent for long. For the antihistimine, the doctor is prescribing 5 mg, which is twice the recommended dose for a kid her age. At the normal dose, during an allergic reaction, she already gets drowsy, meaning the dose is too high. We've been able to nullify her allergic reactions by giving her less than the recommended dose. So, I am definitely not comfortable about giving her twice the dose when she's not even having an allergic reaction, especially at bedtime when it's much more difficult to monitor her! Flovent has a side effect of making her susceptible to bronchitis. The whole reason we visited the allergist was to figure out how to PREVENT her from getting bronchitis. Needless to say, I'm a little confused, so I'll be calling the doctor on Monday to get a detailed explanation of this recommended treatment.

Kayleigh is now 6 months old!

She's starting to be able to play with Abby more and older sister is very much enjoying that. However, at times, Kayleigh is still just a doll to her.

Kayleigh is sitting up very well now and can look up and down and all around without falling over as easily. She is still wobbly when cats come close because she gets very, very excited and loses concentration.

She has 2 teeth at the bottom now and with copious amounts of drooling, the doctor and we all believe she will be getting her upper 4 quite soon.

Kayleigh is still not sleeping through the night as much as we would like. She goes to bed at 8PM and wakes at 11:00PM, 3:00AM, and 6:30AM for feedings. We're trying to work on having her drop the 3:00 AM feeding/waking, but it's a lot easier said than done. We have tried every recommended method for dropping feedings, prolonging sleep, and eliminating any sort of night-time sleep issues. Nothing is working so far! Fortunately, she's still the happiest baby we could possibly ask for.

Immunization shots this time included DTaP, Hib, Prevnar, Rotavirus, and half a dose of the flu. The second dose of the flu shot will be given in 4 weeks. She had a slight fever the night she got her shots, but it was quickly remedied with a dose of infant Tylenol drops.

"You will all get the opportunity to hug and take pictures with Knuffle Bunny and at the end of the night we will give it to........the Centers for Disease Control because it will be a petri dish brimming with good stuff!"


"We are in a book!" - "THAT IS SO COOL!!!!"


Mo also read "Knuffle Bunny Free"


Hugging the giant Knuffle bunny and Pigeon. We ended up having to bring that pigeon home with us and Abby insisted that Kayleigh got a mini Knuffle Bunny.

See if Mo Willems will be heading your way on his world tour at http://www.gomo.net.

We are extremely blessed with a child who at 3 years old understands letting mommy and daddy sleep in.

Even though Abby may get up early, she finds something to entertain herself if everyone else is still asleep. Usually she'll read in her room or play outside our bedroom. Many times she'll even go back to her room, tuck herself back into bed, and sleep for awhile longer.

At 7:45 AM yesterday I was woken up by the sound of Abby whispering something in the distance then thump thump thump thump thump, shuffle shuffle, pause, thump thump thump thump thump followed by more whispering.

"Abby?" I called out, still groggy.

She is just outside our bedroom and pokes her head in, smiling.

"Abby, Kayleigh is still asleep, do you want to come in the room and play quietly?"

Whispering, "Um, no thank you. My giraffe is trying to sleep, so I have to stay with him. You can sleep in."

I don't argue with that! So, I closed my eyes and listened to her chattering quietly with her giraffe for a good 20 minutes before guilt pulled me out of bed for good.

When I took Abby to get dressed, this is what I found at the other side of our bedroom door. She had been running back and forth from our bedroom to hers to gather blankets for her giraffe.

More than 10 years ago, the Cherry Creek Mall in Denver opened their indoor play area, which consisted of soft, giant, breakfast items where kids can climb, jump on, crawl under, and basically have a great time.

So, for as long as I could remember, hopping on sliced bananas, skipping on the waffle squares, and sliding down bacon strips was the huge attraction for me at this super chic mall where the only thing I could afford was a Cinnabon.




In August 2010, they had pulled all of the breakfast items and created a new "Looney Toons in Colorado" themed play area and we went to check it out yesterday.






Kayleigh is finally old enough to get in on the action, with lots of help, of course.


"Look, Mama! I'm on fire!"

I am thrilled with Playtime Creations, which is the company that designed this play area, which is creative, fun, and safe for the little ones.

Wouldn't you love to have some of their Classic Elements in your backyard? Prop your feet up on a ladybug or read a book while leaning against a baby bigfoot turtle? I definitely would!