Eliana 7 Months

Here she is...

(and just for fun, to compare)

My little punkin head. I adore you sweetie! You are really movin' now and nothing is holding you back. You crawl all over the house and get excited to reach the door mat. If you see something you really want, normally something of Alex's, you can really go fast! You quickly mastered crawling and moved on to pulling up already. This is really rocking mommas world sister! You want to pull up on any and everything! But you are not very good at staying up yet so I have to be there to spot you. That's what you prefer anyway- you are starting to be very attached to me. This means me sitting by your side pretty much all the time if you are awake! How that works in my schedule, I don't know! At least you are cute! Cuter than cute!! :)
Still not a fan of food, you still take several shorter naps a day, still sleep pretty good at night though (typically one waking), and still nursing well (when you aren't distracted; I have learned that you just take breaks and then come back for more in a minute, annoying but I understand). You are very patient for the most part and very good about sitting and "playing" while we all eat or play around you. You seem to really like a rubber Tigger toy best for sucking/chewing on. You love this mirror toy (highly recommend this one- check your Christmas list!).

And you really love tags- you can find one on anything- and you will study study it! I have been told babies love tags but Alex was not in to them so I didn't get it. But now I do!

I have to include this series because it is too funny...

I dont know how or why.

um let me see ellie

that a girl ;)

and another make out session, oh alexYou adore brother! He is the best at cheering you up and loves to make you "so happy". I know you are dying to be able to play with him. I see yall have little moments together and it warms my heart. I can't wait to see your relationship grow. Alex can't wait for you to be able to play football so he can tackle you without getting in trouble.

We finally went in for your 6 month check up and here are your stats:
15.5 lbs (10-25%), 26.5 in (50-75%), and head is 43 cm (50%)
Doc was happy with it all and all your growth. Gold Stars!

bundle up cupcake

until I have time to do some big posts...

...and the money shot. yep, he is licking her face. nice.

a little drama for the momma

Well, I have several posts that need to be done. Ellie is 7 months (and just had her 6 month check-up). Alex is officially 2 1/2. We had a fabulous weekend at the lake for Uncle Matt's birthday. Among all the other cute stuff my kids do :) But first I have to post about our most recent adventures.

Alex started having a runny nose on Wednesday. Nothing big, probably just a little cold. Seemed fine. My Dad played with him on Friday and didn't even notice a thing. Saturday he woke up coughing. I didnt think too much of it but he was coughing a lot through the morning. Travis was concerned and gave him Benedryl to try to help with his drainage. It really didnt help. Travis was leaving for San Antonio for his race on Sunday morning but I had him run to CVS to get some cough suppressant before he left. Alex was so tired for his nap but couldnt stop coughing to sleep. Well, it didn't seem to work either and Alex was not having the nap. I started hearing Alex wheezing that afternoon and it was just getting worse. My dad came over and Alex just started freaking out. It was weird. He wouldn't stop crying for no reason but I knew he was so tired. Well, the crying made it even harder for Alex to breath. After some deliberation (thats putting it nicely and shortly) we decided to take him to the urgent care. I was so glad I did because it got worse and I was really worried about him as we walked in the waiting room. The doctor saw him right away and put him on the nebulizer. We did three back to back treatments (thats about 5 min. a peice). Alex did so well and I was so proud of him for being so cooperative. That is so not like him these days. My dad and Eliana came too so it was a party in there! :) I was so thankful that my dad was there to support me and help me stay calm and entertain Alex during the treatments! Who knew that Ellie could do the Hokey Pokey!?! Thankfully, we had enough progress from the treatments to not go to the ER. Basically he was diagnosed with acute bronchitis. We headed home (after some much needed french fries!) and tried to get the kids in bed. Ellie was a trooper and was pushed to the max. I still had to get the meds (steroid and antibiotic) and nebulizer and while I was gone Alex freaked out again crying and had another scare. We quickly got the nebulizer set up and calmed him down and he fell sleep. I was so scared. I didn't want to leave his side. I am so thankful that my parents could be there to help me. Oh, and Travis was on his way back home and got here as fast as he could. He slept with Alex so that I could be free to care for Eliana in the night if I needed to. We got through the night and then did more treatments in the morning. He seemed to really respond to them and seemed to be all better the rest of the day. Today we are totally breathing great! We will meet with the doctor later on in the week as a follow up. I am so scared that this is just the beginning of what could be asthma. It tends to accompany kids with food allergies. And just for the info, I have now realized that my epi pen would have worked for him if he couldn't breathe (just like if he was having an allergy attack). I felt silly not realizing that at the time but its good to know now.

But it gets better.... Alex busted his chin open this morning on the tile! The crazy part is that he wasnt playing sports inside like the wild child that he normally is, he was just watching TV and was resting his head in his hands (laying on his belly, elbows propping it up), slipped a little??, and hit it on the tile. I could see immediately that it was an open cut with gushiness coming out (sick, I know). I tried to stay calm and the good news was that there was minimal bleeding. Alex calmed pretty quickly and we got a big band aid on there. After some deliberation (and yet again, this is saying it nicely), I thankfully just took him to see Dr. Vinnie, my brother in law, the surgeon. He "taped" it up in a jiffy! Alex was yet again awesome! Hopefully it will heal up nicely. Thank goodness no stitches, no ER, no big drama, no cost! I LOVE Vinnie!!! He made my day!! Oh, and yet again, thanks Nani for coming to my rescue and watching Ellie for me! What would I do without family?!





To top it off, Eliana has been sick too. She had the cold and then after her vaccines she got really sick. She is happy but I know she doesn't feel well. She's got some junk in there and it doesn't sound good. :(

So thats whats been going on in our neck of the woods. I need a drink. with an umbrella in it preferably. And can I just wrap my kids in bubble wrap and make them sit on the couch all day?!

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly

I love Shutterfly.com! Always have! and now they are doing this really great promotion for their Holiday Cards!
I have already been eying a few for this year...like this one. Its so classic and warm. And I could use the collage to highlight my lil darlings ;)


or this one... it's just cute and makes you smile!
or this one! I love the snow, I guess because we normally don't get any here! And who doesn't love little kids all bundled up!?

Its a tough decision! They have so many cute and modern designs!

Of course you know that Shutterfly has more than just Christmas cards...
I just ordered a photo book of our Fall photos and it turned out so cute! And I will be ordering photo calendars like I do every year too! They are a family favorite Christmas gift! How fun would these invites be for a holiday party!

Oh how I would love to host a holiday party (well, in theory!) This invite be just the motivation I need to make it happen this year!

And I might just have to get a couple of these precious ornaments because I do have some precious ones to put on them! ;)

You too can get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly fellow Bloggers!! Check it out!

** Even better! I just ordered my cards and used several coupon codes! They let you use as many as you want so be sure to get 'em all! I saved about $50!!

Pumpkin Pumpkin...

Round and Fat...

Turn into a Jack-o-lantern...

Just like that!


totally stole this from Amy :) props girl

stand up sister

look who was standing when we went to get her after nap!!! watch out!


and here are a few other sisters that deserve shout outs...

1) Miss Kristen over at Gohean Crazy has been making some super cute Bento lunches for Annie. She has been loving the blog Another Lunch and I have to admit I love the idea! At first I was disgusted at the cuteness and creativity and the time that they put into these. Who are these moms?! But I do realize that its a great idea so I do my half way attempt for Alex's school lunches. I will say that it is nice because the teacher just puts the lid on at the end of lunch and I get to see how much he ate everyday. The rest of the kids all throw their lunch stuff away. Anyway, Kristen is really good and has done several really cute ones. She features them on her sidebar. She is my inspiration! She has also inspired me to do a craft everyday with Alex. Little ones, but just something!



2) Miss Ann Marie over at the Fredland Post is a Party Queen throwing her little one Andrew the coolest Trash Truck Birthday Party ever!! LOVE this idea!! and LOVE this girl! She is a wonderful writer (I think its all in the details maybe, if you have ever talked with her she tells stories the same way!) and one of my best friends (across the miles). We were roommates in College and actually she roomed with Travis for a little while too! :) She just started the blog and I could not be more excited!!

With a neigh and cluck cluck cluck

I was so excited to dress the kids up in coordinating costumes this year for Halloween. I found Eliana's at the consignment sale for $2! Add some precious leggings and done! This lil chick was too cute!!



I kept thinking how my mom has said that when I was little my super hero name was Cock-a-doo Baby while my sister was Wonder Woman and brother was Superman. Don't know where it came from but its funny!

So back to my little uns...I wanted to do Alex in a farm animal too but it felt silly to do a cow considering he is allergic to cow's milk. I don't know, maybe I was over analyzing this. Alex has always liked horses and loves to run "like a horse" saying the funniest "tic-a-tic-kah-tickah". I dont know where it came from but its funny! So horse it was! Got his costume on ebay for cheap but it needed a little doctoring...turns out it was supposed to be a giraffe. Momma got out her needle and thread and went Sally Homemaker on it! I think it turned out pretty good! :) Alex didn't seem to flinch when I said it was a horse.

We had a fabulous night hanging with the Hoyts...they had a little party in the front yard to kick off the night including a rambunctious jumpy house! I think Alex wore himself out before we even set out to Trick or Treat.

My sis came with her in-laws and a precious lil ladybug to join in on the trick or treating! I love it! Some of my fondest memories are trick or treating with my cousin Brie every year!
Alex did great going to the houses and doing the whole bit! Had a blast and didn't want to stop! He just wanted to keep up with Evan! He was sweating in that costume and didn't even care! He doesn't even know about candy (well, he does like lollipops) but I think he just like the idea of gathering to put in his bucket- the thrill of the chase! Today I "traded" him some candy for mini marshmallows and he couldn't have been happier!

I was fading fast lugging around a fat chicken around the neighborhood! I knew I should have grabbed the stroller! But she was just as happy as could be all night! A real cool chick!

On a side note, I did love wearing my trusty old overalls from high school. Yes, I saved them just in case of a situation just like this! :) They felt just the same and oh so wonderful. You know you are just like me and dream of a day that they come back in style!

Because Ellie took an early evening nap and because the party made things a little more hectic I didn't get a picture of the two kids together (blasted!) and this was all I got of the 4 of us. It was the end of the night and it was the best we could do. At least my child is eating raisins! One of the pros of a kid that can't have chocolate.

Happy Halloween from our little funny farm!

Fall Festival

I have been wanting to do a little school update so I will get to that first...

Alex has been getting better and better about going to school! Thank Heavens! :) He doesn't cry anymore and barely looked back to wave goodbye the other day! Its really unbelievable! And it makes it sooo much easier on me. He fusses a little when I tell him we have to get dressed and ready to go but he does that daily, even when we are going somewhere fun. The kids wants to live in his pajamas and I cant say that I blame him. And the converstation is about the same everyday when I pick him up. "Hey Buddy, how was school?!" "I cry. I cry for Mommy." (Said in a pitiful FAKE sad voice with a big bottom lip). I think he is just trying to get at me though because I am pretty sure he doesn't cry anymore. He doesn't tell me a whole lot about it but he has started eating more of his lunch, singing songs that he learns there, and he brings home art work. That makes me so happy because he is not in to crafts. at all. And it tells me that he is having fun whether he will admit it or not. :)

His first art that came home. The muddy pig! I loved it!! and you can see he is in to "minimalism". It's funny how something so silly made me so proud.

I think he is pretty good for the teacher. I am surprised because he can be quite the toot at home. But we had our first day with only one stamp on his hand the other day. They get stamps in "music and movement" for good behavior. They get two stamps unless they have problems and then loose one stamp at a time. I was always so happy and proud that he kept coming home with two stamps. But I knew that it was bound to happen one of these days. We told him that we were "disappointed" and he needs to always try to get two stamps! :) He is two and a boy- what can you expect during a "movement" time!

I have been up to school twice now. The first time was for the school fundraiser- book fair and cookies. It was fun to see them in their class and sitting at the tables. Its the little things. Alex was beyond happy to see me and even happier that I had Golden Oreos (his all time fave! He can have regular ones but he just prefers the golden).

not sure why he looks so scared

And then I volunteered to come to help at their fall festival. I am so glad that I did. I loved meeting the kids in his class and I was glad I could be there to monitor with the treats (because of his food allergies). This was our first experience with something like this and I just didn't want Alex to feel left out at all. Overall it was great and there were only a few times that I felt bad for him. Like when the other kids kept shoving M&Ms in their mouths even though they weren't supposed to. Alex doesn't really know what he is missing so he didn't seem to care but he did want a snack because he was hungry. It was funny because there was probably at least one kid crying at all times- his poor teacher (and aide) has her hands full. 13 two year olds is a lot!! It was fun time and Alex was happy to have mom there!

the butterfly class

parachute station

waiting (there was a lot of that) with his bud Evan S the scarecrow :)

my little horsie- I was so glad he decided to put on his costume. It took him seeing the other kids inside before he would let me put it on him.

When Alex saw this picture he said "walk on the sidewalk!" like he was stating the rules.

I am so proud of you Alex. You are doing a great job! I know this has not been easy on you but you seem to have risen to the occasion! You have come SO far and you are learning so much everyday!!