Hey, Stranger

We're convinced that Adeleigh will someday be the Mayor of Fort Collins. Every time we leave the house, she makes it her mission to greet, hug and converse with every single stranger, and animal that we pass. 

We went out for dinner at El Monte the other evening and ten minutes after sitting down, Adeleigh decided there would be no more sitting. So, Nana took her outside to run around for a few minutes. When they came back inside, Adeleigh was ready to make some friends. She started out by walking up to the table behind us where two little boys sat with their parents. They were a nice family, but they were busy eating instead of socializing, so she quickly moved on. 

At a booth nearby, sat a couple without their food. To a toddler, this is perfect friend-making material - No prior commitments. Free to give their undivided attention. She walked right over to their booth and smiled at the pretty lady and her husband. The lady said, "Well, hello, happy girl!" which translates into "Come sit next to me!" because that is just what Adeleigh did. I hurried and stood up to make sure Adeleigh wasn't being too forthcoming. 

Me - "I'm sorry. She's not shy at all."

The lady and her husband - "Oh my gosh. This is just too cute. What's her name? How old is she? Is she always this happy?"

I answered, introduced myself and we all officially met.

Then the lady, Tiffany pulled out her iPhone to show Adeleigh pictures of her dog and horse. Adeleigh started flipping through her photos like a pro. Tiffany asked her, "Do you want to play with my phone?" 

Me - "Just to warn you, she won't want to give it back."

Tiffany - "Oh, she can play with it all night. I don't mind. I just can't believe she knows how to flip through the photos!"

Before Tiffany could finish her statement, Adeleigh had her phone in hand and was off to share it with the rest of the town.

She walked up to an older couple at the next table, pulled herself up into their booth, and sat down with Tiffany's phone.

Adeleigh - "See? A puppy."

Gentleman - "Oh wow! Is that your puppy?"

Adeleigh - "No.........See? A horse?"

I walked a few feet over to go apologize and see if she was bothering them. They said, "Oh, don't even worry. She's such a social butterfly!"

I stood there, chatting with Tiffany and her husband, Yurane, while Adeleigh went back and forth between her four new buddies. Yurane said, "You realize that when she's fourteen, and you tell her about the time she went to sit in a stranger's booth, she's not going to believe you, right?" 

I laughed. 

Then, I told them a story ------

Recently, in Old Town Square, we were all sitting and splashing our toes in the fountain. Across the plaza, sat a family with an empty stroller, watching their toddler play at Bear/Fish Park. All of a sudden, Adeleigh bolted from where we were sitting. She ran across the plaza, bottle in hand, elbows out like a mini-football player, and landed in the empty stroller. Phaeton and I ran after her, embarrassed and laughing. As we approached, I started apologizing to the dad. I could tell that he was trying to figure out who this little girl was and where she came from. 

Me - "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry.....Adeleigh, let's go, sweetie. That's not our stroller."

He smiled and said, "Oh, she's fine. I don't mind."

We all waited awkwardly, thinking Adeleigh would get her fix and jump out to resume playing at any minute.

But she didn't. She would get down for a brief moment, then jump back in and get comfortable. She was perfectly happy staying put.

Then the dad laughed, "Well, I guess we're her family now!" 

Here's a picture of Adeleigh with her new family -

________

Tiffany and Yurane laughed and gave Adeleigh high-fives for her initiative. Then, their food arrived. Adeleigh, feeling completely comfortable with her new friends, reached out to grab Tiffany's salmon off her plate. I stopped her. "Okay, Adeleigh. Let's let them eat. Tell them thank you." Adeleigh generously gave back Tiffany's phone and we said our goodbye's. 

Then, before she would allow us to leave, Adeleigh decided she had to say goodbye to every single person in the restaurant. 

And she did. 

And every single person said it back with a smile.

_____________

She'd make a cute Mayor.

Toddler victory

The other night, I went against Daddy's wishes and let Adeleigh eat her yogurt sans highchair, sans bib, and in front of the TV.
Phaeton - "You know that yogurt is about to get all over the carpet, right?"
Me - "Yeah, I'll clean it up when it does."
Three minutes later, Phaeton jumped up from the couch as we watched in slow motion - - - - - -
Adeleigh scooped up the majority of contents in her bowl and as she slowly brought the heaping spoon up to her mouth, the cats on the Meow Mix commercial started singing, instinctively forcing Adeleigh's head to turn to watch.....Adeleigh's peach yogurt was not just all over the carpet, but strategically spread across her feet and her chubby little belly. Phaeton wasn't fast enough.

Adeleigh - 1; Daddy - 0

Adeleigh said, "Uh, oh!" and looked down.
I started giggling.
Phaeton leaped to grab the paper towels, bent down beside her and started scooping up the yogurt.
Phaeton - "So, you'll clean it up?"
Me - "You beat me to it."
Phaeton - "I'm going to have to shampoo the carpet again." (Disclaimer: Phaeton had already spot-shampooed our carpet three times in the last three days - 1 milk spill, 1 red wine spill, and 1 really big red wine spill.)
Me - "Nah. Don't pull out the shampooer. Water will do it."
Phaeton - "It's milk, Honey. It'll stink if I don't shampoo the carpet."
Me - "Oh come on. A little bit of yogurt is going to be the last thing that makes our carpet stink." (Referring to Rico & Nubi here...)
Phaeton - grumbling indistinctly while wiping the carpet
What happened next was textbook for toddler victory-
Adeleigh, spoon in hand, scooped the remaining yogurt from her bowl and slopped it against the side of her Daddy's face.
My mouth dropped.
Phaeton calmly stood up and went to go be alone for a few minutes.

Adeleigh - 2; Daddy - 0

Phaeton came back all cleaned up. Adeleigh apologized and gave him a big hug. I promised to never let Adeleigh eat yogurt without her highchair and bib again. And then we busted out laughing at how that scene couldn't have played out more perfectly.

Oh, and then Phaeton shampooed the carpet.

Our little trouble maker

Mike Tyson Butterfly

A few weekends ago, we met up with Chad, Shay & Avery at the Pateros Creek Brewery & Waffle Lab benefit for the High Park Fire. The Waffle Lab line was approximately 2.5 hours long. I didn't care how long we had to wait in line because I knew a gluten-free waffle (which I had been craving for weeks) was waiting for my hungry belly at the other end. Plus, I had a delicious beverage which reminds me of a gluten-free version of Sunshine keeping me company the entire time :)

So, for the first half-hour, I chased Adeleigh around. For the 2nd half-hour, Phaeton chased her. For the remaining time, Melody with Best Face Painter, painted our child and kept her entertained.

.....so serious.....

She got a "Mike Tyson Butterfly" (as Phaeton calls it) and after Adeleigh strongly encouraged Melody to keep painting, an arm heart.

Instead of just looking down at her body art, she wanted to look at it through Melody's mirror.

Yes, the 2.5 hour wait in line was worth it. Not just for the delicious waffle. Not just to have found possible inspiration for a little girl's birthday party. Not just to have spent time with good friends. But to have contributed to an event that raised over $7000 for the Fire Relief. Well worth the wait.

This community is awesome.

~~~~~

The next weekend, we were in Old Town with Chris, Christy & Ella. Adeleigh spotted someone in the Square and high-tailed it directly onto her chair.

...so serious...

Ella patiently waited her turn while Adeleigh strongly encouraged Melody to keep painting.

Everyone patiently waited while Adeleigh looked in the mirror for a few more minutes...

I don't have a picture, but after this, Adeleigh ate all of my Ben & Jerry's icecream. 

She's not spoiled.

~~~~

Melody goes to Old Town most summer weekends, sets up shop, paints kid's faces, paints kid's arms that won't leave her alone, loans out her mirror, and smiles the entire time. Plus, she does it all for free.

She really is awesome.

And if I haven't said it enough, so is this town.

A Break from our Annual Phobic Fourth

This is the first 4th of July since Rico's birth eight years ago, that he won't be hiding in the bathroom for the next two days. This is the first 4th of July in eight years that we won't have to think of creative ways to lure him outside for a tinkle. We're hoping so, at least. They've banned fireworks this year, and we hope for many reasons, that our neighbors respect that. We hope they show respect for our vulnerable, scorched earth most importantly, but also that they show a little respect for our aging dog's bladder.

There are two things Rico's afraid of - baths and loud noises. We find it ironic that when he hears any loud noise, he curls up in a ball next to the bathtub. Keep in mind, when I say 'loud noises' I'm referring to - fireworks, thunder, garbage trucks, smoke alarms, hail, screaming babies, baseball bats hitting fly balls, the Hulu jingle at the end of any episode we watch, slamming doors, airplanes flying overhead, and driving over cattle guards on mountain roads - but for the sake of Rico's dignity, we'll just throw all of that into one 'thing to be afraid of.'

It's funny what we choose to be afraid of. Growing up I, like Rico, was pretty much afraid of everything. Around the holidays, I would sit on the stairs for hours staring at our real Christmas tree, making sure that it wouldn't erupt into flames from a faulty bulb. One of the happiest days of my life was the day my parents bought a fake tree. That was one less hazard for me to worry about.
Anytime it was thundering, I would patrol the house and make sure that no one was near any windows or electrical devices. If they were, I would remind them of their increased odds of being struck by lightning and pester them until they gave into my persistent pleas.
Anytime I heard any unusual footsteps, I was sure to report to the 9-1-1 dispatcher that there was an intruder in our home, even if it was just my Mom. On the occasion where I didn't call 9-1-1, I was sure to lock myself in my parent's room armed with hairspray and a razor. Then, when Mom or Dad came looking for me, I'd make them inspect every corner of the house before exiting.
I was an odd one. It's kind of a miracle I found a husband. I could go on and on about my childhood fears, but for the sake of my own dignity, I'll move on.

I just asked Phaeton what his fears were as a child. "Spiders" he said. Then he told me a horrifying story of a time when his Mom sprayed a black widow with ammonia and the spider came screaming, flying with eight knives towards his face. With a fear like that, it's kind of a miracle that he found me. Because one of my criteria in choosing a husband was marrying someone that would willingly eliminate any spider at my beck-and-call. So now, anytime we find an eight-legged creature, other than just screaming at the top of our lungs, one of us needs to get our act together and just grab a shoe. For the sake of Phaeton's dignity, I'll inform you that 100% of the time, it's his shoe.

We just learned one of Adeleigh's fears the other night. Phaeton had to print something for work and while the printer fed the paper through, Adeleigh came strolling into the room with her doll. She immediately stopped, looked over hesitantly toward the printer's face, dropped her doll, then slowly started backing away while yelling out "Mommy! Mommy!" I knelt down beside her and she curled up in a ball on my lap and clutched onto me tightly. Then, when Phaeton grabbed his paper and turned the beast off, Adeleigh made sure everything was quiet, relaxed her grip, and went on her happy way.

She's not afraid of strangers. She's not afraid of bugs. She's not afraid of lightning, or thunder. She loves Christmas trees. She's not afraid of loud noises or baths. She's not afraid of climbing onto high surfaces. She's not afraid of falling. She's not afraid of the dark. She's not afraid of Barney. But, put her in front of a wheezing, one-eyed, paper-eating, paper-bruising printing machine -
Absolutely. Terrifying.

~~~~

Taken last Halloween -
This is Adeleigh not afraid to go say "Hi" to Bill on one of his not-so-good days -

The chores can wait

This evening after work, I pulled a bed sheet out of the closet, intending to use it on the bed. Then, Adeleigh grabbed the sheet out of my hands, reminding me that instead of doing chores, I needed to immediately partake in playtime. She grabbed one side of the sheet, threw it up in the air and in her baby talk lingo that only her Daddy and I seem to understand, told us both to do the same. We held either end of the sheet and started throwing the bed sheet up in the air. Then as it ballooned toward the ground, Phaeton and I would run underneath. We did it a few more times until she caught on and started doing the same. Then, we'd huddle under the sheet as a family, making sure that no light got in, and then we'd giggle. Even the dog found joy in this for a little while. The best part was while us girls hid from the boys underneath. As she and I ran to meet in the middle, Adeleigh looked up at me, with the biggest smile in her eyes and said in her sweet little voice, "It's fun!" Then, while we sat under the sheet which was blanketed on top of us, she crawled over onto my lap and gave me not one, but two kisses, right on the lips. Then, she bounded up and screamed in laughter as her Daddy tickled her from the outside.

~~~

As we get ready for sleep, the sheet still lays on the ground beside the undressed bed. And even though it's late, and I'm exhausted, I'm glad that I didn't make the bed when I intended to. Because that spontaneous playtime, and those kisses, and seeing the joy on Adeleigh's face, was the best part of my day. And I love that everyday, that little girl that's sleeping in the next room, reminds me of what's most important. She reminds me that the cleaning, the bed-making, the chores, the getting online - they can all wait. But my time with her, which is already passing by so fast, shouldn't have to wait for the bed to be made. Not when she's changing so quickly and adorably.

So, when life gives you an over-sized, neatly folded, slightly faded, clean bed sheet - and before you make your bed with it - look underneath with your little one. It could be really fun :)

Daddy

Just read a blog post about all the wonderful things we hope our partners will do with our children someday. So sweet. Gives me the warm and fuzzies. You can read it here.

It makes me want to share a few of the things (and there are many) that make Phaeton such a wonderful father.

I love that he picks her up from daycare, on time, everyday, even when his work isn't finished.
I love that he splits taking time-off from work with me when Adeleigh gets sick.
I love that when I can't figure out what she needs, he can.
I love that he encouraged her to walk up our 2 flights of stairs instead of being carried, even when I didn't think she was ready.
I love that he made me promise that when Adeleigh is in the car with me, I won't talk on my cell phone.
I love that he gets up to calm Adeleigh back to sleep in the middle of the night. I love that he's a light sleeper.
I love that he feels comfortable taking her grocery shopping, even when I don't.
I love that even after a long day of work, he somehow manages to cook dinner while entertaining the Little One, before I even get home.
I love that when we don't have a babysitter, and our friends are going out, he tells me that he'll stay home and watch Adeleigh and that I should go out "because you deserve it." I love that he went out with them last night. Because he deserved to.
I love that at the end of a long day, after Adeleigh is down to bed, he either pours me a glass of wine or gets me a bowl of icecream. Sometimes both.
I love that he's bookmarked her favorite Sesame Street episodes.
I love that he can get her to do things I can't.
I love that when he walks into a room, Adeleigh yells "Daddy! Daddy!" and gives him a big hug.
I love that he talks about having more babies someday.
I love that he lets Adeleigh play with and teaches her about bugs when I'm not around.
I love that he makes her giggle the loudest I've ever heard.
I love that he talks about helping her with her Math homework someday.
I love that he lets me get as many Adeleigh snuggles as I need before she lays down to sleep, even if it means I'm hogging the baby.
I love that he tells me I'm a good Mom. It's something I like to hear every once in awhile.

I love that every day, he tells her that he loves her.



He's a good Dad.

Happy Father's Day, Phaeton. You give me the warm and fuzzies.

Tonight, I am grateful

I'm sitting here, having just turned off the news, listening to both my husband and dog snoring - loudly. It sounds a little bit like a freight train in here. But I don't have the heart to nudge them to stop. Because at least they are sleeping soundly, and peacefully. I wish that was the case for more people in our community tonight. But so many people who live just a few miles to the west and north of our home are probably having a difficult time falling, or staying asleep. So many of them aren't even sleeping on their pillows, or in their own beds tonight. Many of them don't yet know if, or when, they'll even have a home to go back to sleep in.

It's hard not to be consumed in all of the media coverage of the High Park Fire, burning about 15 miles west of town. It's just so sad. Hearing the stories of people who have lost their homes, all of their belongings, their animals - the stories of people who don't know if they'll even have a home to go back to. Hearing that so far one life has been lost, and that many other residents are refusing to leave. It's hard hearing that with such an unpredictable path of destruction, it might take weeks until it's under control. Who knows the damage it will cause by then? It's hard breathing in the fumes, and even worse, seeing our beautiful skies flooded with ash and smoke. It's hard to think that when all of the brave people fighting the fire have put out the flames, when all of the news cameras are gone, what our beautiful landscape is going to look like....
These are places we've all been to - Trails we've hiked - Roads we've traveled while Adeleigh naps in the car - Neighborhoods we've visited and dreamed we would someday live. These are people who we all might know - People who we work with - Professors we've had - People that sit out on our favorite patios at our favorite restaurants in Old Town - People who play at the same Splash Park and get ice cream at Walrus when they're all done. These are our neighbors. And while we might not know each of them by name, this is our community. And it's hard to watch a part of your community go up in flames.

I remember when I was considering getting my undergrad here. I made the solo drive to meet with an advisor and tour the CSU campus. I'll never forget the moment I pulled up to the Administration building. I stepped out of my car and it smelled like flowers! Really really sweet, good-smelling flowers. It was the moment I look back on, when I realized that this was where I belonged. And I can guarantee that it wasn't just because I'd been living in Greeley for the previous year and had grown used to the smells of that city. Even after over nine years of living here, I still think it smells like flowers. I've always said that Fort Collins is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. I love the people, the culture, the sense of community, the small-town feel. When Phaeton and I have talked about other places we'd like to live, our conversations always lead to how we know we'll both grow old here. Then our discussion ends because this wonderful, charming town is our home. And we love it here.
So, while our place here is small, and crowded, and gets messy really easily - and even though there's a giant dead bumblebee right outside our front door that my husband killed but refuses to dispose of - and even though my husband and dog are still snoring in "the other room" which is less than 5 feet away from me -  and even though the smoke from the fire is causing my asthma to flare and our throats to dry and our eyes to water - tonight I am grateful for the roof over our heads. I am grateful for the certainty in knowing that our home, and all of the memories we've shared here, will still stand tomorrow.

~~~~~

Our hearts and prayers go out to all whose homes are threatened, and to those who are courageously fighting to save so many homes and lives.

View of the High Park Fire from the east side of Horsetooth Reservoir 

Monday 6/11/12 

(We had to get out of the house with all of the maintenance going on at our building today, so we took a scenic drive up the Res. The smell of smoke was really bad, so we were only outside for 2 minutes to get a few shots. I felt selfish for being up there at all. Because so many evacuees were there just waiting, watching their homes on the other side of the Res, wondering if the fire would reach their properties. )

Keeping our sanity

What do you do when your child has a highly contagious virus and is forbidden to be around other children?
Here are some things that have kept the Gaglios sane and entertained the last seven days of confinement:

• Car rides around town with the windows down. 

• Drive-thru coffee shops.

• Arts and crafts. We didn't have food coloring to make an edible fingerpaint recipe I found on Pinterest, so I mixed in fruits and veggies instead. The texture was really weird and it didn't really work as paint, but it at least provided a few minutes of goopy entertainment while providing an afternoon snack :)

• A visit from Grandma and Grandpa.

• Playing dress-up in Mommy & Daddy's clean laundry that no one wants to fold.

• Katie Herzig music videos. I don't know what it is about her music, but Adeleigh stops everything to either sit and stare or dance to Katie Herzig music. She's got good taste :) Here's one of our favorites to dance to -

Hey Na Na

• Walking around the lake and birdwatching. 

Last night on our walk, we ran into some old neighbors of ours. As they approached, the woman said, "Uh oh. Is someone getting over the chickenpox?" My response was, "No, she actually has Hand, Foot & Mouth disease." We'd never seen two people walk so fast in the other direction. Phaeton and I, still standing in their dust, turned to look at each other. I said, "I should've just said she has chickenpox." Phaeton's response, "I guess since that's more familiar, they probably would've stuck around." He waved a "Bye, guys!" wave but they didn't see. They were already in Denver.

• Indoor picnics.

• Ring Around the Rosie. Anyone have any advice on how not to get dizzy playing this one?

• Lots of tickling and Eskimo kisses.

• Car washes. We thought it'd be a fun activity to get us out of the house and let Adeleigh experience her very first car wash. When she started crying in fear, Daddy turned and said, in an attempt to calm her down, "Hey, Adeleigh, look! It's a giant Elmo!" She cried louder. I think she thought her giant friend was eating all of us. Oops.

When the Little One gets sick

When Adeleigh gets sick, she gets sick. None of this 24-hour bug stuff. We're talking 120- to 168-hour bugs that like to float around our home. I know how much you want to come meet them all :)
After the last few bouts of baby illnesses, the day that The Husband and I don't call out for work due to a sick child, is usually the day that one or both of us has just caught the latest nasty virus. We try to justify her exposure to germs as helping to build her immune system. I promise we wash her hands regularly. And we keep a clean house. But when she gets sick, I can't help but replay the previous few days and consider all of the things we should have done differently to prevent this from happening. But, too much of that just drives me crazy. And Phaeton always says "should" is a dirty word. Either you "did" or you "didn't". But none of this "should have" business. So, hopefully she can get all these viruses out of her system early on and be one of those immune phenomenons that never gets sick anymore. That would give me one less thing to stress out about. So, with every new illness, Phaeton and I are better prepared and equipped to combat it and help our little girl find relief.
Here are some things we've learned:

• Many liquid meds, like Benadryl and antibiotics, taste absolutely awful and don't stand a chance of staying down unless drizzled over strawberry icecream. Our favorite is Breyer's. Be sure to get yourself a bowl too (sans medicine). Because you deserve it.

• Sometimes allergies won't show up until a child's second round of taking a drug. We learned this with Amoxicillin. Last month, Adeleigh broke out into an allergy rash on top of a viral rash she had, her second time of taking the drug. On top of that med, she had to start a new med to treat an ear infection, plus take a few doses of Benadryl to calm the allergic reaction. That's a lot of meds to have to feed a sick baby.

• You are not a bad parent if you have to force-feed your child fluids or medicine. I have to keep reminding myself of this one. As brutal as it may be for everyone in the house, sometimes it's necessary. Sometimes, for us, the force-feed method isn't effective unless both parents are present though. When I try it on my own, both Adeleigh and I tend to end up both in tears, covered head-to-toe in thick, gooey medicine. So, we time our medicine feedings for when we'll have help. 

• Don't exhaust yourself looking up your child's symptoms on the internet. It's absolutely terrifying what you will find. Online, almost every symptom "may lead to death." Last month, when looking up Adeleigh's Adenovirus diagnosis online, almost every article I Google-searched called it "The Killer Cold." You can imagine the panic that started to creep in. Save yourself the heart palpitations and call the doctor, even if it's 2 a.m. And don't hesitate to ASK A TON OF QUESTIONS. 

• If it's been hours and you're still anxiously awaiting a call back from the doc, call a pharmacist. Depending on your question, they may be able to help. (Michael, the pharmacist for our local Walgreens, and I have become great friends! Well, at least on my end. I probably annoy the hell out of him. But hey, at least I'm at ease.)

• It's possible (in our house, probable) that with each new illness, comes a new round of sleep-training. When Adeleigh gets sick, we either bring her in our bed to snuggle or stay in her room all night. So when everyone is back to healthy, we usually have a few more nights of getting her used to sleeping by herself again. 

• Utilize your friends and family for advice and support as much as possible. Sometimes hearing other's experiences and advice helps to ease whatever stresses and worries you may have. Also, after a few days of having a quarantined sick baby, finding a gluten-free ButterCream cupcake on your doorstep might be just what you need to power through a few more days. (Thanks, Shay!)

• If you asked me, I'd say it's okay to let your sick child do things you wouldn't normally let her do - such as, watch PBS cartoons all day long, pull the cat's tail, or play with your keys until the Panic button goes off. If anything, you would have allowed for a few extra giggles on an otherwise mopey day.

• The #1 remedy for making a sick baby a little more comfortable is to snuggle. A lot. As heartbreaking and difficult as it is for everyone when she's unwell, snuggling always makes us slow down our busy lives and really focus on what's most important, which is a little reminder that all of us need from time to time.

If anyone has any advice to pass along, please share. I know we'll be crossing this bridge at least a few more times :)

~~~~~~~~

After nearly a week of resisting the temptation to go spread the love of Hand, Foot & Mouth disease around town, all of the Gaglios can't wait to get back to the outside world and go play with this guy -

Rosie

Just last week, we bought Adeleigh a stuffed kangaroo to honor her "Grandma Great" and her Aussie heritage. We named her Rosie. Adeleigh's been carrying Rosie everywhere, snuggling tight as she sleeps, getting splashed with milk as she drinks, holding Rosie while we walk Rico. She loves Rosie more than any other stuffed toy we've bought her. She must understand her special purpose.
Just this morning I'd been thinking of my Grandma and had decided that I would call her this evening to give her our love and let her hear Adeleigh's voice. And then an hour later, I found out she was gone.

We'd always wanted our Adeleigh Rose to meet the wonderful woman she was named after. And then I remembered this...

Our sweet baby girl is there, 3 months along in my belly. 

We love you, Grandma Rose. You are already missed.