Our first trip to the ER

We made our first trip to the ER last night. After dinner, our little monkey girl stood up on a kitchen chair and took a tumble, managing to hit both the front of her head on the table and the back of her head on the hard tile floor. At least, I think that's what happened. I was in the other room, and Daddy had turned his back for a split second. That girl is quick! She's had plenty of head knocks before, but shortly after this one, she had an exorcist-style stomach purge. We thought that warranted a trip to the ER for a check-over. So first I jumped into the shower with her to hose her off while Jay cleaned up the mess, then she proceeded to pee all over me, so I jumped back into the shower. Then it was off to the circus!

As you can probably guess, the ER was more traumatic for her than the actual injury. But after a mere two hours, we got a thumbs up and were sent home, totally exhausted from trying to keep her out of trouble in the tiny space of our room that contained way too many interesting and dangerous and/or expensive objects. Of course, the best part was when we were told to wait so they could send someone to take "pictures". We both assumed this was some sort of child abuse protocol, to go on file just in case. Perhaps we watch too much TV. After about 30 minutes Jay went asking when the photographer would be coming around. After some blank looks of confusion, it was revealed that "pictures" were actually xrays. And let me tell you, it isn't easy pinning a 16 month old to a table and holding her still for those! But everything looked fine, according to the doctor. Jay had a moment of serious guilt/fear when he thought he saw two fracture marks from across the room, but it all turned out well. We're hoping to not repeat that little trip again any time soon.

Coyote turned monkey

Today our little coyote is more like a little monkey. She climbed out of her crib for the first time in protest of taking her afternoon nap. After much crying (just hers today, though I was tired enough to join her), I went into her dark room to tuck her back in, and was quite surprised to not find her in her crib. I looked around and there she was, sitting on the floor. I was simultaneously concerned that she may have hurt herself in her daring escape, and annoyed that I could no longer count on her remaining safely enclosed after being placed in her crib. I knew it was inevitable, but I was hoping we had a little more time. We'll definitely be shutting her bedroom door at night now, to at least keep her from wandering around the house while we sleep, should she decide to pull her Houdini in the wee hours.

We're completely moved into the new house, though nowhere near completely unpacked. My big sister was such a big help. There is no way I could've done it on my own with child in tow. It was also nice just to have her here. We keep in touch pretty well, but it's not the same as spending time together. And getting to watch her with our little girl was great for my heart. It makes me sad when I think about how little Madison gets to see her extended family. With my sister's impending move to Hawaii, the frequency of visits will certainly thin down. On the up side, it gives us a good reason to consider taking a trip to the Big Island. As much as the husband is traveling for work these days, surely we'll rack up the frequent flyer miles in no time. The long flight is still somewhat daunting, though. Our last lengthy car ride was challenge enough, and we could at least pull over when needed. Not to mention we were only torturing ourselves, not a bunch of strangers forced to sit in close proximity. Something to think about.