Last post about vomit, I swear

I thought that my superior immune system had saved me from Vomitfest 2007, but unfortunately I was wrong. In fact I was wrong from both ends, if you get what I'm saying. And that is all I am going to say about that.

Loves and vomit

Tom starting vomiting at midnight last night. His was even worse then Ellie's. Ugh. I am just crossing my fingers that I can avoid this vomit epidemic.


Ellie was super cute this morning playing in her room and giving her stuffed frog some loves and kisses. Today is normally my 9-6 shift so I thought I had plenty of time to play. What with all the vomit and all I somehow forgot that I was asked to work 8-5 today. So I strolled into work at 8:50, so proud of myself for being early, only to discover that I am 50 minutes late.

Weekend wrapup

My field trip yesterday was surprisingly fabulous. Once we got there, everyone did their own thing. I wandered around for an hour looking at paintings and then went down to the cafe and read a book. It was a really nice, relaxing workday. I am so glad my favorite Children's Librarian and partner-in-crime convinced me to go (threw that in just for you, Cody!).

Ellie is doing much better. She has been in great spirits, but is not interested in eating. It is time to put her to bed now and she is refusing her bottle. She has only drank 10 ounces today and normally she drinks 24 ounces a day. Also, she has refused most of her solid foods as well. She isn't acting sick or fussy, but it is so unlike her not to want to eat. I am not really worried about it yet but am keeping an eye on it.

We went over to Mark and Rosie's today since Rosie's mom was visiting from Utah. When I was going to BYU, Rosie's parents fed me almost every Sunday. Mmmm...they always had lots of food, usually several different types of entrees that you wouldn't normally think to serve together, but all tasted delicious. I miss those Sunday dinners.

Ellie had fun as always. She loved climbing the stairs and playing with her cousins.

I love this pic below. Kolby was emptying out the toy drawer by chucking all the toys at Ellie's head. Being the good mother that I am, I just snapped pictures of it instead of intercepting the flying toys. Notice the blue plate hurtling through the air above Ellie's head?
Tom crashed on the couch after dinner. Don't you just love his fluffy pink blanket? That's my man!

Ever the lady

Ellie passed out from all the vomiting. I love how she crosses her legs.

Did I say daycare COOTIES?

When I picked Ellie up from daycare, the ladies looked very frazzled and worn out. The room was stripped and smelled strongly of disinfectant. Three babies remained, sitting in their high chairs in the kitchen area, watching Baby Einstein on the small television. The ladies informed me that another baby had started throwing up that morning and two other babies had followed suit in the afternoon. Not just a little spit up, but full on vomit and diarrhea everywhere. I gladly rescued Ellie from the germapalooza and loaded her up in her carseat. I hadn't been on the road but ten minutes before I heard a strange sound coming from the back seat. I glanced over my shoulder to find Ellie spewing out large quantities of brown liquid. My car instantly filled with a horrible stench...a stench which Ellie added to twice more on our 40 minute car ride home.

Now we are home, the bath is drawn, but she is sound asleep in her carseat. I am not sure what to do. Do I let her get her much needed rest even though she is covered in copious amounts of vomit? Or do I wake her up and dump her in the tub? Of course, this would all occur on the one night that Tom won't be home til very, very late and I have to wake up early the next day to take a busload of strangers on a field trip. Sigh.

UPDATE: Right after I hit publish, Ellie woke up vomiting some more. Pretty soon, we were both covered in the stuff. I gave up and we both sat in the tub for almost an hour. The triage nurse said to wait until she hadn't thrown up for an hour and then give her 1 tsp of Pedialyte every 15 minutes for an hour. I just gave her her second dose and so far so good. Keeping fingers crossed.

It's not really Friday

I cannot do my "Yay, it's Friday!" post today because today isn't my Friday. Meaning I have to work tomorrow. I hate, hate, hate working Saturdays. Tomorrow will be especially odious because I have to get on a bus full of 50 strangers and escort them on a field trip to X location. Let's just say it will be a long bus ride. I don't know what I was thinking when I volunteered to go. Actually, yes I do. I was thinking...oh, this will make my Saturday go so much quicker and will be a fun alternative to sitting at the library all day. I have a feeling that I am going to be proved very, very wrong.

On to Ellie's world. Why does my child feel the need to smother herself every night?

Ellie vs. Arnold

Ellie was exceptionally cranky this morning while I was trying to get ready for work. She hates being trapped in her exersaucer, but there is no way am I going to let her roam free on my bathroom floor. Gross! So, when I went into my closet to pick out today's outfit, I spotted Tom's Arnold Schwarzenegger mask from Halloween. The crazy person in my head thought, "This will cheer Ellie up!" So I slipped the mask on and popped out of the closet doing my best Arnold voice. Ellie burst into tears at the sight of the strange man who must have eaten her momma. I tried to reassure her by returning to my normal voice, but that just freaked her out more. So I took the mask off and tried to hand it to her to play with. She leaned back as far as the exersaucer would let her and screamed bloody murder. I can only conclude one thing from this experience...Ellie is a democrat.

When did she quit being a blob?

Did you know that Ellie can crawl up a whole flight of stairs? Because I sure didn’t. But she can. She can crawl right up those suckers. And if you stand behind her and try to put your hand on her little bum to keep her from falling backwards, she will swat your hand away as if to say, I DO IT!

Also, Ellie can now push open doors and crawl into other rooms. In the past, Ellie was always content to stay and play in the room we (meaning Tom and I) were in. But this weekend she decided to go exploring without us and proceeded to visit her room, my room, and the laundry room. The doors do not actually latch shut in our house (annoying, I KNOW) so even when they are shut, you can push them open without turning the knob. Ellie would just crawl up to the door, give it a hard push with her right hand, crawl a little bit further, hold her hand up again to prevent herself from getting slammed in the head by the door swinging shut, give it another firm push and keep on crawling.

Now I know neither of these things sounds impressive, but how did she know how to do them on the first try? It is amazing how smart they are at this age. I keep forgetting that she is no longer a helpless infant. My baby is growing up.

snotty kisses and spit up

Ellie grows more and more affectionate each day. She loves to bestow hugs and kisses to everyone she deems worthy. She has started going "ooooohhhhhh" in this really sweet voice when she presses her cheek against me in a hug. She gets that from us because we always coo "oooohhhhh" when she hugs us. In fact, it has gotten to the point where all we have to do is say "oooohhhhh" and she will proceed to press the side of her face firmly against us. So, this morning I was lying on the floor in my usual early morning haze and letting Ellie climb all over me. She kept pausing in her antics to hug me ("oooohhhhhh") and give me big open mouth kisses leaving me covered in a mixture of slobber and snot. I was enjoying all the attention until I heard a Burp! and felt the warm contents of Ellie's breakfast running down the side of my face and into my freshly washed and dried hair. Today's perfume of choice? Burberry Weekend and spit up. It goes well with the white snot marks all over my black pants.

Just pics

Playing with toys

Looking for trouble Why wear shoes when you can eat them?

Why I don't bake (or cook)

The Pooping Machine

This post is going to be all about poo. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Ellie is seriously a pooing machine. Ok, I know all babies poo a lot, but Ellie takes it to a whole other level. She was almost 3 months old before we got to the point where there wasn't poo in her diaper each and every time we changed it. I have read that it is normal for babies to go a day or so without a BM. Um, is it normal for a baby to go poo 3 to 4 times in a day? Because that is exactly what she does. At least. Today, though, she was in rare form. I heard her doing her poo grunting in the car on the way back from Target. But then she fell sleep so I didn't change her right when we got home and chose to wait an hour til she woke up. Then, I changed her and put her in her high chair to feed her. A few minutes into the feeding, she started making her poo face. So...after she was all done eating, I changed her again and set her down to play. 15 minutes later....more grunting. I told Tom it was his turn so he waited 15 minutes and then changed her again. 10 minutes later...MORE POO!

Hmmm, I don't think I have ever used the word poo more in one setting in my whole life. Oh my gosh, I have turned into one of THOSE moms. Ugh.

T.G.I.F.

Yay! It is Friday! Not much to say today so I will leave you with this picture of Ellie chowing down on Cheerios at an Italian restaurant.

Cold, cold, cold

It is freezing here, y'all, and we Texans just can't handle it. I even had to bust out my baggy, old, lame PJs with the feet. Yep...the feet.

On to Ellie-news...she is doing the funniest thing. Ok, it all started with her dancing to music. She stands holding her Sit n' Spin Zebra and she spins the toy that causes the music to go and proceeds to bob up and down til the music stops. Then she spins in again and resumes bouncing. So, Tom was lying on the floor next to her and snapping his fingers to the music. Ellie looks and him, imitates his snapping motion by repeatedly pressing her thumb and two fingers together and making a clucking noise with her tongue! She totally thinks she is snapping! It is so funny (at least to lame people like Tom and I). So we keep snapping our fingers at her and then laughing like crazy when she clucks her tongue and "snaps" her fingers back (unfortunately, I was laughing too hard to capture it on camera, but here are pics of her dancing).

6 Weird Things About Me

I have been tagged by Rachel and Ellie to list 6 weird things about me. I am such a freak, so limiting it to 6 might be a challenge.

The Rules: Each player of this game starts with the six (6) weird things about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog post of their own six (6) weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose six (6) people to be tagged and list their names.

1. I have a really bad habit of leaving every drawer, cupboard, door, etc. open when I am in a room. I don't even realize that I do it, but if you enter a room that I have exited, it looks like a poltergeist hit.

2. I watch DVDs with the subtitles on. You would be surprised about all the stuff you miss without the subtitles.

3. Any food purchased at the movie theatre can NOT be eaten prior to the movie starting. Tom really hates this. Say, for example, that we purchase a tub of popcorn. I will not let him eat one single kernel until the movie starts. I am not talking previews or even opening credits...the actual movie has to be in play. I do this at home, too, when watching a movie but I usually have my own bowl or plate so it doesn't affect Tom.

4. I make a wish every time the clock says 11:11.

5. I LOVE tomato and peanut butter sandwiches. Just toast the bread, spread some PB on it, slice some fresh tomatoes and you have one awesome sandwich..try it, you will LOVE it!

6. I have been practicing holding my breath ever since I was in elementary school. I used to watch the clock during class to see how long I could hold my breath for. Later, when I was a lifeguard and swim instructor, I would practice in the pool. My best time is 3 minutes and 12 seconds. What's yours?

THE PEOPLE I TAG ARE: Dianna, Whitney, Jodie, Karen, Tonya, and I don't really know a 6th person (what a loser I am).

Happy 9 months

Dear Elizabeth, Ellie, Choo-choo,

You turn 9 months old today. Seems like I was just writing your 8 month letter a few days ago. This past month has gone by so fast and I think a lot of that has to do with this being your busiest month milestone-wise.

At the end of your 8 month, you had just learned to pull up on things. This month, you became a lot more proficient and can even pull yourself up on the walls! You are also cruising along coffee tables, couches, us...everything. And you can even free-stand all by yourself for like 8 whole seconds! The former-mommy me is kicking myself for getting so excited about this, but I really am excited. You seem to have changed from a baby to a toddler overnight.

You also learned how to crawl this month. You started out by doing push ups. You would be on all fours and then push yourself up off your knees so you would be holding yourself up by your hands and feet. Then you started lunging forward like that...very reminiscent of how a frog looks when it leaps. Finally, you learned to do the traditional crawl, but you would do it all slow-motion like...one hand, then one knee, then the other hand, then the other knee. Now you are much faster and are getting into EVERYTHING!

Your Daddy and I were talking about your personality the other night and we decided you were a total joker who likes to tease and be teased. You love to play games and laugh all the time. You still love peek-a-boo and you have recently gotten into patty-cake. You are really good at giving high-fives and you think that is pretty darn funny. You are just so much fun to be around and I find myself laughing hysterically sometimes over just some random things you do.

This past month you got your first tooth. It was miserable for both of us. And I was ready to pull that tooth right back out. At the doctor's office yesterday, I mentioned to Dr. Nguyen how you had just gotten your first tooth. She checked and informed me that you had actually gotten TWO teeth! No wonder you were having such a hard time.

You are talking so much more now. You know Mama, Dada, dogs, and hi. You say lots of other things as well, but we have no clue what you are jabbering on about.

Ellie, I am so thankful that you are a part of our lives. You have brought us so much joy. Each night, after you fall asleep, your Daddy and I sneak into your bedroom to check up on you. We love to stand by your crib, holding hands, and marveling how big you are getting. It is hard for me to imagine a baby more loved and wanted then you. Happy 9 months, baby girl!

Love you forever,

Mama

9 month doctor appointment

Today was Ellie's 9 month doctor's appointment. She didn't cry or even flinch when she got her one shot. Just smiled at the nurse as if to say, thank you for the pretty band-aid. Her new stats are:

weight - 19 lb, 6 oz (50-75%)
height - 28 in (75%)
head - 44 cm (50%)

My 10 pound newborn keeps dropping in the weight percentile and going up in the height. But her head always stays 50%. I am a little obsessed with Ellie's head. Ok, those that know me in "real" life and are reading this and shaking their heads and saying " a little obsessed?" Because if you talk to me for more then 15 minutes, I will probably mention a concern about Ellie's head. It all started when Ellie was a newborn and I was acting a little crazy anyway. One day during Ellie's first week, I realized I could not find a soft spot. There was this kid at my church who had been born without a soft spot, or it had closed up to early or something, and his head grew to be long and flat. Anyway, I kept picturing Ellie with some jacked up head and I started bawling for like 2 weeks straight until Ellie's next doctor's appointment when the doctor pointed out this pinky-nail sized soft spot to me and said Ellie's skull was fine. But that hasn't stopped me from having the doctor check Ellie's head at each and every one of her doctor's visits...both well-baby and sick. I am just that crazy.

Old lady baby

Last night Tom and I sat down to catch up on our DVR'd shows, one of which is What About Brian. Yes, I realize we are probably the only people in the world who watch that show, but we started watching it last season because Madison from Everwood was on it and Tom has a thing for her (and can you blame him? She is hot). Anyway, we were rather shocked that it got picked up again this season, but we were already invested in the show so we just kept in on DVR. Look at me trying to justify why we watch What About Brian! It isn't like it is some embarrassing teen drama like Dawson's Creek (love, love love). Ok, back to the original point of this story. On the show, Rosanna Arquette's character gave birth to the ugliest baby in the history of nonreality television. They must have been all out of cute looking newborn actors (do you call them actors when they are tiny babies?) because this baby was rockin' the old-lady wizened face and freaky long fingers. Tom and I paused the show to comment on the ugliness of this poor baby and to give thanks that Ellie did not come out looking like that (although Ellie could be butt-ugly, I would never know it...I am just too blinded by her). Yes, we are that shallow. We would probably be materialistic, too, if we could afford it.

Who needs toys when I have a camera case?

So...apparently Ellie was good as gold yesterday for Rosie and for Tom. I guess she just reserves her cranky-times for momma. Here is a pic of her yesterday morning when she was hanging out with me. Notice the teary eyes and the snotty nose. That's my girl!

She isn't actually crying in this pic because I gave her my camera case to play with. It is her favorite thing after the remote control and my cell phone. We also used it to teach her to crawl.

See? Isn't it funny how they can have a room full of toys, but they are only interested in your stuff?

Ms. Crankypants

I am in a bit of a mood today. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Ellie was Ms. Crankypants this morning what with the clinging and the fussing and the angry yelling of "dadada." Plus, she hit her head twice by throwing herself backwards in a tantrum. Then, when I go to drop her off at Sabrina's, no one was home because they had been stuck at the college for the past two hours trying to register my brother for a class. So, I had to load Ellie back up in the car and drop her off at Rosie's instead (I know...I am really lucky to have family close by to help out in a pinch). Then, I was late for work when just yesterday we had an all-staff meeting on punctuality and everyone had to sign a memo about it. And, just to keep on whining and complaining, tonight is my late night meaning I won't get home til after 10pm. I hate my late night because by the time I get home, Ellie is fast asleep and I don't get to see her til the following morning (or middle of the night depending on what kind of night she is having).

See? I warned you I was in a bit of a mood and you just kept on reading. Nothing to read here, folks, except the pathetic complaints of a tired mommy. I don't even have any cute pics of Ellie uploaded to redeem this post.

Ah well. I have heard word that this week is delurking week. So, for all (three) of you lurkers (and nonlurkers) please feel free to leave a comment!

Sunday fun

Today was a really fun day. After church, the whole fam got together for one last Sunday dinner before my mom returns to Aruba. Well...one last dinner with my mom til she comes back for another visit...I am sure the rest of the Houston clan will be getting together for plenty of dinners in the meantime. Because we really like to eat.

Anyhew, after dinner we busted out my Pride and Prejudice board game that I got for Christmas (awesome gift...thanks Jen!). I am a bit of a Jane Austen fanatic and I love, love, love Pride and Prejudice. I have read the book a million times and own the 6 hour BBC version in DVD and VHS. So...I was pretty confident that I would kill at the board game. We formed into three teams consisting of 2 people each. We laughingly put my 2 brothers together on a team...pretty sure they would lose because Mark had never read the book or seen any of the movie versions. Daniel had seen all three movie version (BBC, Keira Kneightley, and LDS version), but he is a guy so really...who's worried? Guess who came in dead last? Me. Guess who won? The boys.

Ellie was really good at church today and she enjoyed hanging out at Grandma's house afterwards and playing with her cousins. They get a big kick out of her saying "hi" to them so they just kept saying "hi" to her over and over again. Ellie has been so cute lately. She has started jabbering away in this really sweet, high pitched sounding voice. Very happy sounding. It is totally adorable. Even with the rivers of snot, she is pretty darn cute.

Attack of the daycare cooties

Ellie returned to daycare this past Thursday. She had been staying home with Tom since December 15th and these past few weeks are the healthiest she has ever been. It has been so nice to go more then a week without Ellie getting a cold. But, alas, the daycare cooties struck again and Ellie woke up this morning sneezing and with rivers of snot coming out of her nose. I am well aware of what the next few weeks will be like...increased congestion, fever, and right when I think the end is in sight...another ear infection. Then she will go on antibiotics, we will get one week reprieve, and then start the whole thing all over again. Surely, someday, this kid is gonna have a killer immune system.

No more leaky boobs

I never questioned whether or not I was going to breastfeed Ellie. My mom did it, my sisters did it, and it just seemed like the natural thing to do. But I have never been one of those breastfeeding nazis who goes on at length about the benefits and blessings of being a milking machine.

When I went returned to work, my trusty pump went with me and three times a day I would slip into the stuffy, dark supply closet and pump away. I hated it. Really hated pumping. It was inconvenient, awkward, and embarrassing. And I wasn't a big fan of breastfeeding in the beginning either. But after awhile I got the hang of it and I started to look forward to that quiet time I had with Ellie. The days Ellie was at daycare, I looked forward to getting to see her over my lunch hour (and getting to skip one pumping session). And everything went smoothly for the first six months. But then Ellie started acting hungry in the evenings even after she had been fed. So I started giving her a bottle of formula each night. Then, I cut back the number of times I pumped and added another bottle of formula to the mix.

About 2 weeks ago, Ellie suddenly decided she didn't want to nurse anymore. No way, no how. She was all about the bottle. So, I happily put away the pump and tucked it in the furthest recess of Ellie's closet. And I thought I would just be so happy to have my boobs back. But I have to say, I miss bringing Ellie to my bed in the early morning hours to nurse. I miss the feeling her warm tummy pressed against mine, her hand playing with my hair, her happy little smiles when she would pull back to look at me (thus ensuring milk spraying all over the place). I loved that little connection we formed under the warm cocoon of my covers and I am a little misty-eyed that it has all come to an end.

Smothering herself

The first time Ellie woke up tonight crying I went in to find her standing up in her crib and she couldn't figure out how to sit back down. The second time she woke up crying it was that tired, wimpy cry so I waited it out for a few minutes then went in to check on her. This is what I found:

Ellie has been sleeping with that same boppy ever since she was 6 weeks old and I moved her out of the bouncer in my room. And, yes, I know the boppy has a tag on it that specifically says no sleeping, but it never seemed to be much of a problem until now. So...right after this pic was taken, I pulled the boppy out from under her. But don't worry, I left her monkey that is struggling to escape from under her tummy!

Wanna know what happens when a diaper gets too full?

So Ellie slept on her stomach last night. I realize that lots of babies sleep on their stomachs, but Ellie has always hated being on her stomach. I wonder if it is somehow related to her learning how to crawl?

This morning, I was holding Ellie on my lap while trying to remove her pajamas when suddenly I was showered by all these wet little plastic pieces. Yep, her diaper was so soaked that it had split and was disintegrating all over the place. Totally gross. I swear I change her right before I put her to bed at night! Anyway, I was running late to work (as always) so I didn't have time for both us to shower off again. So I just wiped us both down with (several) baby wipes and hoped that there were no more little crystal-like pieces clinging to us. Or a faint urine odor.

Time to baby-proof

After weeks and weeks of being *this close*, Ellie is finally crawling!

One last goodbye to Christmas

This picture looks very Christmasy and I know Christmas is over, but I love that my mom and Ellie dressed alike (unknowingly) for church yesterday!