This weekend Laura and I spent a wonderful few days in Red Wing, Minnesota on our first of what we hope will be many mini-vacations. With the new job and a little extra money coming in, it’s nice to be able to get away, even if it is on a terrible, rainy weekend in a city only a half hour away from home.

The picture above doesn’t really look great, because the lighting in the pool area of the hotel was not very bright, so getting a good picture was hard, and even though I pointed her out, Allyssa just wouldn’t look at mom or the camera. This picture was taken just minutes after we got in the water, and though it took her a little while to adjust to the water, she really enjoyed swimming. We did learn that that modesty at her age isn’t as important as comfort. In the photo she is wearing a shirt which we quickly found made her feel cold when the cold shirt was out of the water. The next time we took her she did not wear a shirt.

This won’t be the last time we take her swimming, but unfortunately we haven’t found a public pool in the area so we will just have to go swimming in the St. Croix River. It’s so clear and inviting we can’t wait for the weather to warm up some so we can enjoy the river. I don’t think we will be purchasing a boat any time soon though – gotta get a better car first. Driving this full size van we have is just too much on gas. Until then we can enjoy the river from one of the two beaches in town.

Allyssa’s 9 month check up was today and it went well. She is 17 lbs exactly and 29 inches long. Her weight puts her at the 18% and but her height puts her at the 91%. She’s just long and lean. She is healthy and has good color so the doctor didn’t she needed to have an anemia test. The doctor also agrees with us that she will be walking soon.

Yesterday we took Allyssa in for her two month checkup – yes, two months, she was actually two months old, yesterday. She was at 10 pounds, 9 ounces and 22 3/4 inches long, so she is growing. All was going well, but, as most of you know, two months is the first time they get their vaccinations. I’ll spare you the details of what she was given, but I can tell you it was done in three different shots. Both the doctor and the nurse warned us that she may be unhappy later in the day, and could run a fever from the vaccinations. We thought we were ready for that.

It’s really hard to see your baby in pain, and it actually made me cry to see her so unhappy. Although I realize that the vaccinations are very important for a developing child, I wish they could find a way to make them not so hard on the baby. Her leg was bruised at the injection site and we could tell that it was very painful for her.

We had stopped after the appointment to pick up some children’s liquid Tylenol, on the advice of the doctor and the nurse, but neither told us how much is safe to give her. The packaging only shows dosage for children 2 years of age or older, so we tried to call the hospital for advice. Laura was getting frustrated when after an hour or more, there was still no answer on the advice hot line. When your baby is in pain, and the only one who can give advice on how to sooth that pain isn’t available, it’s very upsetting to the entire family.

Laura did eventually get the advice she needed, and the medication must have helped, because as I drifted off to sleep last night, Allyssa was calm again and has slept most of the day away today. The photo above was taken only a few moments ago and you can see she seems a lot happier today.

Well, as you can see, I work way too hard during the day that when I finally get some time to spend with Allyssa, we usually nap together. This was how we spent our quality time on Monday, and I’ve been so busy since then I just finally took the time to post the photo.

For those of you that do not know, I am working on a social networking web site for network marketers, you know, those people that first sell you something then want you to join them in the business? Well, I found a business that I like and is going to help me get healthy so I can spend more time with my family. I have been taking the whole food supplement known as The Pops since April and it is really starting to make a difference in my life. But I shall spare you the details here for now – take a look at my Healthy Dad web site for all of those details. I’ll just share that since taking The Pops, I have more energy during the day and sleep better at night. Want proof? Look at the picture above.

Ok, you’ve seen another picture, now it’s time for me to get back to work.

Yesterday we had our two week checkup for Allyssa and everything is looking good. She’s up to a hefty 7 pounds 9 ounces, so she is above her birth weight by 5 ounces. She has been gaining weight at about 21 grams per day and they look for between 15 and 30 grams a day, so just about average weight gain. Darn, thought she was above average.

Ok, so I think she is above average, but I guess I have a biased opinion. I think it’s just wonderful when she reaches out and grabs my glasses, even if it is involuntary. Her arms get to flailing about and when her hand encounters anything, glasses, fingers, noses, hair, even the sensitive nipple once in a while, she grasps – and she has a strong grasp. If she doesn’t want to let it go, she won’t, and you just laugh and wait until something else interests her.

For me, life is getting back into normality again, if you can ever have a normal life after having children. Earlier this week we had some excitement, not baby related, but it kept me from getting work done that last couple of days. Unfortunately, the 55 gallon aquarium that WAS my baby sprung a leak. The fish were losing their home, so they were given away to the first person who was interested. All except for the large 14″ plecostomus that I had – she was delivered to Marineland in Onalaska, WI to be observed before being placed in one of the large aquariums at one of Gundersen Lutheran clinics in the area.

Well, that’s it for today – back to work for me.

For those of you who watch what you eat, here’s the final word on nutrition and health. It’s a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION

Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.