Vivian update - just chillin

I haven't written any updates on Vivian's hearing situation lately because frankly, there hasn't been anything to update.  We are still waiting for the hearing aids to get to the audiologist.  Here is what our sweet Vivi has been up to in the meantime...

Chillin on the couch watching Saturday morning cartoons with her big sis and big bro

(They must be watching Peep, our favorite)

Chillin on the baby activity mat gazing at her favorite light-up star

Chillin on the boppy watching her reflection in the mirror

Chillin in the bouncy seat charming us with her adorable smile.

"Home-made" microwave popcorn - who knew?

We have family movie night every friday night at our house.  For refreshments, we always have the same thing: popcorn and orange julius's (apparently not a word).  

Growing up, we always used one of those yellow air-popper machines that melted the butter in the cool little tray on the top.  I loved the flavor of that popcorn, but I got hooked on microwave popcorn in college.  I guess I just liked the ease of throwing in a bag and not having any appliances to clean afterwards.  However, now that we have kids, I've started to worry a little about the extra ingredients in the bags.  

A few years back I remember reading about a guy who got some weird disease from opening too many bags of microwave popcorn.  We've got enough to worry about without having think about our kids getting "microwave popcorn lung."  

As it turns out, there is a healthier and more affordable alternative that is just as easy.  Who knew!?!

•  Buy regular popcorn kernels -- this jar was probably around $4.50
•  Brown paper lunch bags - $1.99 for 100
•  Pour 1/4 cup of the kernels into the bag
•  Fold the bag over at the top two times so that it is tight
•  Microwave until you hear the popping slow down - about 1 min 45 seconds in our microwave
•  Top with whatever makes you happy - melted butter, salt, something spicy
•  Enjoy!  

So true

I received an email forward from my co-worker, Brenda, today.  It was meant as advice for parents-to-be, but I thought this part summed up exactly what Mr. Yost and I have been feeling like this week.

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.

3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.

4. Set the alarm for 3AM.

5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.

6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.

7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.

8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.

9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

It would just be easier

It would just be easier

to stay home, clean the house and not drive through Yellowstone Park on a September Saturday.  

to stay inside, do laundry and not get two kites stuck in a tree on a Sunday afternoon.

(The little white dot right in the middle of the sky is the second kite which flew out of Stella's hands,  got tangled with Hudson's and then ended up tethered to a tree 500 ft over the subdivision)

 to let them watch TV and not get down on the floor to build and create with them.

It would just be easier

but no one ever said it would be easy.  

Who knew hard could be so fun?

Yesterday was my last official day of maternity leave.  I had visions of taking Vivian for a nice leisurely stroll in the September sunshine, having lunch downtown with Keely and maybe even squeezing in a nap. Instead, I got:

Half an inch of rain

Two clothes-staining diaper blowouts

A trip to urgent care with a streppy kindergartner

A subsequent trip to get antibiotics in the downpour with a fussy baby and the other with a 104 degree fever.  

And for lunch..wait, did I even eat lunch yesterday?

Yep.  I think it is time to go back to work.

Fitted for hearing aids

Yesterday we had our first appointment with the audiologist in Bozeman.  She will be our go-to lady for Vivian's hearing aids from here on out.  Her recommendation was for a mid-level pediatric hearing aid made by Oticon called the Safari.  You wouldn't believe the things you can do with these things.  When Vivi is older she can have them connect directly to an iPod, cell phone or TV.  Too cool.

You can check them out here:
Safari hearing aids

At this point though, we just need to get her hearing better so she has the best possible chance to develop her speech and language.  The first step was to get the impressions for the ear molds.  This is the part of the hearing aid that actually goes into her ear.  It is essentially like when I got impressions of my teeth when I had braces.  The audiologist put a little tiny sponge with a string in each ear first.  Then she mixed up some pink goo and used a big syringe to squirt it into hear ears. After a few minutes of drying, she pulled them out, put them in a little box and shipped them off to the hearing aid company.

Since she is so little, we will need to repeat this process about every 3 months for the first two years.  We've been told that the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind will pay for the cost of the new molds.  The hearing aids themselves have a lifespan of about 4-5 years.

We thought that she might be fussy, uncomfortable or scared during this process.  Nope.  She just sat on Aaron's lap and looked around.  What a trooper.

So now, we wait for a call that her hearing aids and the ear molds have come in.  In one or two weeks we will get to see what this technology can do for our sweet baby.

And so it begins...

Against my better judgement, I've decided to start a blog.  I know, I know, just what everyone needs, another blog to follow.  Actually, the real reason for the blog is to give updates on Vivian's hearing situation.  It seems hard to find just the right form of communication to update everyone.  Facebook...too "statusy", email...too "who did I forget to add to the distribution list", twitter...okay, I have to admit that I haven't ever tweeted (shhhh, don't tell anyone).  So, I've decided to try the blog form of electronic communication.

I'd planned to post tonight about Vivan's appointment at the audiologist today, but I really wanted to include a picture.  It seems our camera cord is lost in the abyss that is my husband's classroom...more on that subject later, I'm sure.  So for now, this will just have to be the introductory post until I can get some real content together tomorrow.