Connect the dots?

Miss Pip has a rash. A big ugly red dot causing, looks like chicken pox rash.

She has been teething.

She has been fussy.

She is not sleeping.

And as of last night her little face was covered in red bumps.

We thought it was chicken pox, then a virus (think herpes), and then I started googling.

Yes, I am one of those mother's who self-diagnoisis according to WEBMD and BabyCenter.com.

Using the information I found on those sights and my pretend medical degree I decided Pip could have had the mumps, impetigo, or hand foot and mouth.

Luckily, we went to the real doctor this morning,

And luckily he knows me all too well and took time to rule out all of my diagnosis.

Turns out Miss Pip has a bacterial infection. Most likely from all the drool and the teething.

She is taking antibiotics and we are hoping to see a 24 hour turn around.

 In other news Pip can READ! Well, if you count reading upside down and wildly turning the pages while babbling gibberish. She is seriously the most awesome kid ever. Yes, I am biased and proud of it.

Cooper

 Mr. R.'s grandparents gave Piper an interactive book and bear for Christmas.

The teddybear, Cooper, responds to certain phrases as you read the story.

Piper is a big fan. I think it also helps that he is soft and cuddly.

Last night Cooper made an appearance after bath-time. 

He was hugged, squeezed, and drooled on right until her 7:00 PM bedtime.

Amazing Monday!

Miss Pip is still in teething mode. According to Mr. R., she spent most of today crying, whining, refusing food, and chewing on various toys and tupperware. By the time I made it home, Mr. R. was exhausted and looking for an outlet. 

A quick walk around the block with the pups. 

A trip to the bike shop. Miss Pip is now the proud owner of an infant sized bike helmet :)

We stopped in the meet the owners of a new ice cream shop, Coneheads, on the island. They are really sweet and the ice cream is divine. Try the thin mint, you will NOT be disappointed!

On the way home we detoured to Barnes and Noble to check out the picture books. Miss Pip is a HUGE fan of the Olivia series. She will sit and look at the black and white sketches for 15 minutes straight. (That is almost an eon in Piper time!) She also made friends with Curious George before we headed home.

It would have been easy to stay in this afternoon.

We were all tired. Piper was in a rotten mood.

But fresh air, a trip to the island, ice cream tasting, and a few picture books can cure almost anything around here. Piper has been asleep for almost an hour now, dinner dishes are already washed and put away, and I am feeling pretty high on life. 

Exhaustion, you are not a face I wear well.

Piper is getting her I-teeth. I hear from other Mom's out there that these are the most painful, if you don't count the 2 year old molars. She has been fussy since Thursday, but Mr. R. and I can deal with fussy.

We have spent lots of time outside, taking walks, playing on the porch, and visiting a few of our favorite local shops. On Saturday afternoon she started to feel warm. 99 degrees Fahrenheit. By Saturday night she was irritable, refusing to sleep, refusing to eat, and 101 degrees. We started the children's tylenol, but 2 AM she was willing to lay in her crib. By 3AM she was finally sleeping. 

She is back to her non-feverish, smiley self this morning. And Mr. R. and I are very caffeinated. I have been sleep deprived since Friday at 4:30 AM. Here's hoping she is willing to nap soon. If not I might be choosing a 7:00 PM bedtime for the entire Republican household.

This girl needs a play kitchen STAT!

Piper is getting more and more mobile by the day. She is an incredibly fast crawler and can pull herself up into a standing position on almost anything. She can even take a few baby steps from one piece of furniture to another if she holds on to the furniture or us with a white knuckle death grip.

That being said, her new found mobility often leads her into the kitchen. She loves to play inside the refrigerator, she rearranges shelves, pulls out containers, and opens drawers. The dogs are in heaven as most of the time a scrap or two of food escapes the fridge and takes up residence on our kitchen floor.

Piper also loves the tupperware cabinet. She pulls out containers of various shapes and sizes and proceeds to crawl with them and carry our containers to various locations in the house. Last night I found two containers under the dining room table!

Looks like Mr. R. and I better start working on that kitchen set sooner rather than later.

Little Miss Giggles

Little Miss Giggles is the giggliest girl in the world. To hear our very own little Miss Giggles, play the video below.

Solar Smore's

As part of our IB unit on weather my students learned how heat is transferred from solid to liquid to gas. 

 Usually I teach this standard with notes and a worksheet, but thanks to pinterest and Disney's Family Fun Go magazine, I found something a little more interesting and a little more tasty. 

What do you need? one pizza box, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, black paper, and smore's ingredients.

Nothing like solar cooked smore's at 9:00 AM right?

In case you are wondering about the science behind this lab there are three types of heat transfer; convection, conduction, and radiation.

Radiation: The black paper absorbs sunlight 

Conduction:The black paper also heats the graham crackers which heat the marshmallows and chocolate 

Convection: And lastly the foil reflects the sunlight to keep the heat moving in the oven creating a current of air