Over the Hump

(What an appropriate title for Hump Day, right?)

Tree Faerie's RSV seems to be clearing up. She still has some rattling and wheezing, but she slept better last night, which means I slept better last night. Of course, DTTF fell asleep on the couch, so I put Tree Faerie in bed with me at midnight, put her back in her old car seat at 2AM, then back in bed with me at 4AM. She slept pretty well next to me. DTTF said he tried to come to bed but there was no room for him. Since I'd turned off the lights at 2AM while he was still crashed out on the couch, I know it had to be after 4AM when he tried to come to bed. Thankfully he enjoys sleeping on the couch, so I don't feel too bad about us taking up the entire bed.

Tree Faerie has been sleeping in her old infant car seat for the last few nights to help keep her more upright. She could breathe a lot easier when she wasn't laying down flat. When I tried putting her in her bed a couple of nights ago, she kept waking up coughing and choking. At least when she's in the car seat she can catch her breath during her coughing fits.

I took her back to the doctor this morning as scheduled to get clearance to return to daycare. She'll be going back tomorrow since she was still running a fever last night. I really appreciate DTTF taking the time off to stay with her. He's handled it beautifully, and this has given them plenty of bonding time. He really is a great daddy.

While we were at the doctor's office, Tree Faerie was practicing toddling in her shoes. She does most of her walking barefoot, and up until this morning she had not built up the confidence to try it in shoes. When we go to the doctor, I sit in the floor of the examination room while we're waiting so I can more easily field what Tree Faerie plays with. Toys and books are okay, but I don't want her tearing up the books or playing with the trashcan or its contents. This morning I was sitting in the middle of the floor while Tree Faerie checked out the room and rearranged the books. After a few minutes, she crawled over to me and used me to help her stand. When she let go, she stood there and gave me a look that seemed to say, "Do you think I can do this? I'm not so sure about these shoes..." I encouraged her and told her she could do it. She took a couple of shaky steps, then plopped down giggling. For the next 5 minutes or so, she would hold my finger while she walked to the end of my reach, then she would let go and toddle back to me, collapsing into a giggly hug.

This is just one more thing that convinces me I really do have a wonderful daughter. I've decided I'm really not in a hurry to have another. I do still want another, but I'm really enjoying this time with Tree Faerie.

I think our next adventure will be to break out the crayons Grams got her for Christmas. I just have to find my big drawing pad. I also have a plan for broken crayons now, because I know we're going to have broken crayons. I came across this post over at Peapod Squad Stuff about melting down the broken crayons in a muffin tin and love the idea! The woman has triplet toddlers she calls the Peapod Squad - Sweet, Snap, and Split. Their antics and dialog are absolutely adorable! And they have plenty of broken crayons, of course. I'm wondering if I could melt down crayons and pour them into chocolate candy molds to make cute shapes. I'll let you know if I try.