Bath Junkies

Right now we are all recovering from a nasty cold virus. Scout came down with it first, then Sawyer, followed by Matt, and it saved me for last. Chills, fever, congestion, sore throat that feels like razor blades, swollen lymph nodes and a general blah-ness and cough that last for about two weeks. Right now Sawyer and Scout are on week two, but still with runny noses and coughs. Matt's finishing up week 1 and I'm only 4 days into it. One thing that has helped all of us though has been taking baths! I've been putting epsom salt and lavender essential oil into the water and it is super soothing. I've never been a huge fan of soaking in the bath, but lately after work I've been known to relax in the tub after the kids have gone to bed. I put my laptop on a chair next to the tub and watch a Netflix show while I soak. Matt even brought me in a bowl of ice-cream to eat the other day while in the bath when my throat was starting to get sore. What service! I could get used to that :) 

Another reason that there has been a lot of bathing going on around here is that Sawyer has developed eczema in the past 6 months and after taking him to the allergy clinic last week we found out bathing for 15-20 minutes a day helps to lock in moisture and keep the dry skin at bay.  I noticed a nickel size patch of red, dry skin behind his left knee during the summer.  We tried to keep him slathered in coconut oil or lotion, but the patch just got larger and larger as the fall and winter months rolled in. Soon the whole area behind his knee was raw and sore and other patches were popping up in his armpits, his groin, stomach and back. I was worried it might be a food allergy so we had him tested, just with a skin test first at his first allergy appointment. We were both relieved AND surprised when only two things came up as an allergy: cats and dogs! We both never would have guessed those. Looks like the Koprowski household will continue being pet-less, at least as far as hairy animals go....I hear bearded dragons are quite affectionate pets though :)

And the third reason we are always running water for baths is because of Miss mess we call Scoutty. She loves to eat and she loves to feed herself so each meal turns into quite the clean up afterwards. Sometimes it's just easier to fill the sink and give her a bath in the kitchen after dinner.

The photo below you can see her four top teeth and her three bottom ones. They make me laugh every time I see them! And this photo especially cracks me up because she looks like a little gremlin.

Sawyer took the bottom two photos with filters on and I thought they turned out pretty cool.

And lastly, I had to snap a pic of this frame I saw the other day because I love cheesy play on words. And it pretty much sums up my feelings on our little bathing buddies....

Scoutty Stats and Christmas Vacation

This little girlscout is already 10 months old!! She started crawling around 6 months and has been unstoppable ever since. She loves to stand and walk around the ottoman or along the couch trying to grab Sawyer's legos and toys that he attempts to keep out of her reach. She is a curious little thing, always trying to grab what you are holding or see what is going on around her. Her favorite past times include emptying the shoe bin one shoe at a time and emptying out her daycare diaper tote that we keep in the kitchen. She is super smiley and hands smiles out like candy to anyone who catches her eye. Lately she loves to mimic sounds or copy you if you blow bubbles or do fishy lips. She loves bath time and we usually have Sawyer and her takes baths together by having her sit upright in a laundry basket in the water next to him. Sawyer still absolutely adores Scout and she literally worships the ground he walks on. He can get her laughing like no one else can, especially at night when we are trying to get them ready for bed. She has seven teeth already! Her bottom two teeth came in first and then her top four, that's right FOUR, came in all at once, followed by a lone straggler on the bottom right. Her top four teeth crack me up and I call them her "grill" when she smiles. It's hard to believe sometimes that in two short months she will be a year old and then other times it feels like she has been a part of our lives for as far back as I can remember. 

2014 was a very busy and long year for us! I ended up getting a nursing position in August with a family practice physician and started working four days a week, thus the kids started going to daycare four days a week. It was a big life transition for all of us. Late November we decided we needed a legitimate family vacation after such a whirlwind year we all had, so on a whim we planned to go to California to visit Matt's mom and spend Christmas Day at Disneyland! We had such a great time! The park was so crowded that they reached max capacity and wouldn't let anyone else in for four hours, but despite the masses it was still a completely magical day! I think we may have started a family tradition to do a Destination Christmas somewhere new every three years. 

Wearing her Minnie Mouse hoodie we brought from Idaho. 

All smiles getting ready to ride Space Mountain with daddy. Those smiles were quickly replaced with a perma worried expression once the ride began. He told me afterwards the he screamed, "Mommy!!" while on the ride. Poor guy!

We spent one day down at the pier in Santa Monica and even though we didn't have our suits with us we had to take a dip in the ocean! Scout was not a fan, but Sawyer and I played in the waves and had a blast. He was giggling like crazy when the waves would hit us, it was hilarious and one of my absolute favorite moments from the trip.