From Seattle, if you drive, its about two hours… or you can take the Ferry over.  Thats what we did, and it was awesome.  The view of the Olympic Mountains and the whole Puget Sound and Seattle city views are amazing.  Our little girl loved the ferry and loved going outside and enjoying the sites.

The Olympic Game Farm in Sequim, Wa is super fun.  We stopped at a store and picked up some wheat bread (thats all you can feed the animals), and went to zoo.  IT WAS SUPER FUN.  All I can say is that you need to watch this video of our trip.  ENJOY

happy bottle times

Now that we got the little girl going to bed at a decent time… in a big girl bed, and sleeping all night long… the next thing is getting that damn bottle away form her.  For some reason, she has to have it at night and in the  morning.  I still haven’t gotten the balls to just take it away and let her cry… I am just super happy that she is going to bed without a fight.  We looked online for some super nanny 911 tricks, but so far have found no real winners.  There was one, that looked promising – give her a bottle with something that she hates in it…. and milk in her sippy cup.  I might try that tomorrow.

What do you do?  Any special tricks?

With Wyatt sleeping, I was free to concentrate on getting the girl bathed and tucked in to bed.  The night went really well.  Usually the boy will want demand some food every two to three hours.  But I think that this time he got really full.  He slept from 8-1:30am.  Then mom came home and hooked him up when he got up.

I have a chance at surviving two kids after all.

Wyatt

Wyatt Adler Wainscott was born on January 15 2010 .  He is a big boy.  Coming out weighing 9lbs and 21 inches long.

The day stared at 4 am.  Everything progressed nice and smooth and Wyatt was born at 3:22 in the after noon.  We left for home the next day.

Since we came home, everything has been great.  The baby breastfeeding like and champ!  He has already surpassed his birth weight and is sleeping great.  I would have to say that things couldn’t be going better.  And as for out little girl, Marley… she seems to really love having the little guy around and is realy great with him.

On my first trip out of the house since bringing home baby, I went and purchased a new king size bed.  I cant believe that we hadn’t done that sooner.  Sleeping is really good, and there is tons of room int here for the whole family.

The diaper thing is getting a little out of control… at last count, I am changing about 17-20 diapers a day, between the two kids.   Time to really start pushing the potty training.

Well back to work… check back soon!

My wife’s best friend Rachel took the amazing photos… Thanks Rach!  Email me if you want her to take some photos for you… she is amazing.

PS!!!  If you need a website or blog made, I will make one for you for free, and show you how edit and set it all up over the phone or Email.  Just call or email Josh at 253-219-7309  or newdadscliffnotes@gmail.com

So we are in this crazy princess phase right now.  At first it was just Snow White, and I don’t even know how that one started.  I have tried so hard to give this little girl cars and trucks, sports stuff, dinosaurs… it’s just not happening.  The girliness runs deep in this one.

Now were on all princess all the time.  I hope that this princess thing last for  a while because, at this point, we’re pretty invested.  We have princess sheets, chairs, dishes, shoes, dresses, books and dolls.  And for the DVDs… Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast… and a bunch more Disney movies.  She only like movies with princess singing in them.

Alice in Wonderland is in the mail… I look for ward to the change?

So a few days ago the kid started to get this really nasty cough, runny nose, and just overall uncomfort. I just didn’t know what to do,  this cough just broke my heart every time she did it.  She sounded like a barking seal.  And the coughing just wouldn’t stop.  For a while I was convinced that she had whooping cough of something, so I took her in to see the doctor. It only took the doc about five seconds to diagnose my little girl.  She said that she had croup.  I had never even herd of it but apparently it’s fairly common among kids 11mths to three years, she said.

Its kind of like having asthma, but its a viral sickness in the windpipe or larynx.  It can make their voice sound weird, affect their appetite, make it difficult to breathe right, have a super nasty sounding cough, a low fever, runny nose, and worst of all for us parents… a really, really rough time sleeping.  Croup gets really bad at night.  the kid will just toss and turn all over the place, and cough constantly.  Its really upsetting as a parent to see you kid so uncomfortable.

Symptoms of Croup in Kids

• harsh, high-pitched respiratory sound called a stridor
• a brassy, barking seal like cough
• a hoarse cry
• difficulty breathing
• low-grade fever
• rattling sounds while exhaling
• scattered crackles in the chest
• runny nose

There are a few things that you can do make it better for them.

These are the best techniques for dealing with croup that have helped my kid…

• If they are coughing lots and having some breathing trouble, try to get them into a steamy shower for as long as you can.  The steam is key. (I don’t know why, the doctor told me…works great)
• Have a humidifier running 24hrs a day in their bedroom.
• If you can get a hold of some age appropriate cough syrup, that will ease their cough.

What the experts say to do

• Administer mist therapy which involves sitting in a steam-filled bathroom, with the window open and the door closed. Turn on the hot water in the shower or tub and let the room fill up with steam. Sit with the child in the room, with the water still running, for 10 minutes.
• Bundle the child up in warm clothes and take them outside in the cool night air for 10-15 minutes.
• Use a cool mist vaporizer or humidifier in the child’s room
• Give the child plenty of clear fluids such as apple juice, water or popsicles to suck on
• Treat the fever with acetaminophen (Tylenol or Tempra)
• Avoid smoke or smoke-filled rooms.

The humidifier really helps… I think.  At least she seems to sleep way better with it on.  So I would have to say that if you kid gets croup, or is coughing lots, get a humidifier.

There are some homeopathic remedies that lots of people swear by like Aconite or Spongia.  I don’t know what this stuff is… but people say it really works.

Natural Cures http://www.hpathy.com/diseases/croup-symptoms-treatment-cure.asp

Good Croup Information  http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/commoninfections/a/croup.htm

By the way… If your you think your something is really bad… call your doctor or take them to the ER.