Goodbye, daycare cooties

Today is Ellie's last day of daycare! Well, last day until September 1st. She is spending her summer at home with Tom just like last summer. If all goes according to plan, I will be home with them next summer.

I baked my famous (or infamous) homemade chocolate chip brownies for the infant room teachers. As much as I gripe about Ellie always getting sick from daycare, I really did luck out in finding this place. It is inexpensive yet the quality of care is superb.

Anyway, I am hoping that we can go more than a month without a trip to the doctor's office this summer. Fingers crossed.

Our night away

We're back! Our first night away from Ellie went very smoothly. I think my parents had a much more difficult time with the devil-dogs than with Ellie. Tom and I called no fewer than 6 times in 24 hours, but we still enjoyed our time away together. We strolled hand-in-hand along the River Walk, made out in the hotel elevator, enjoyed a leisurely dinner, and best of all...slept until 9:00 this morning!

We grabbed a bite to eat along the Riverwalk this morning before heading home. It seemed so serene and peaceful compared to the bustling crowds from the day before. We couldn't wait to get home to see Ellie, but she was sleeping when we arrived. We both kept going into her room, none too quietly, to check on her. We spent the rest of today just playing with Ellie and enjoying her fun little personality.

When I put her down for bed tonight, she smiled peacefully up at me and then proceeded to snuggle in with her soft pink blanket. When I went to check on her a few minutes ago, this is what I found:

Notice all the pacifiers? That is because she will sometimes throw them out of the crib and then cry until someone retrieves them for her. I like to keep the place well-stocked.

Ellie at the library

I had to work today so Tom brought Ellie up to the library to visit me. She had a grand ol' time in the children's section. I borrowed the library's camera to capture it on film, but all the pics are blurry. As always, I blame the camera.

Tomorrow I will be sure to have my own camera as it is Olivia's baby blessing! My mom and dad are flying in from Aruba tonight and we are having a big, fun, family dinner tomorrow after church. Then, Monday morning Tom and I are leaving for an overnight trip to San Antonio and my parents will be watching Ellie. This will be the first time Ellie has been away from both of us overnight. I know she is in expert hands (if 7 kids and 18 grandkids doesn't make you an expert, then I don't know what does). I am really looking forward to getting away with Tom. A nice hotel right on the Riverwalk, sleeping in late, enjoying a leisurely dinner...what a great way to celebrate our 5 year anniversary!

Rough night

We had such a rough night last night. Ellie was up crying every two hours. And she wouldn't take milk or her pacifier. You know she is miserable if she refuses a pacifier. We even busted out the old bottle to try to get some fluids down her because she has been refusing all food and drink. Motrin and Tylenol do not seem to help either. This strep throat thing really sucks. But look how funny Ellie is sleeping in this picture! And look! Tom shaved his head completely bald!

Um, yeah, Tom is pretty tired here. Don't think he hates you or anything.

Strep throat, ear infection, blah, blah, blah

Ellie has been a little off this week. She has been waking up once or twice during the night, not eating her food with her normal gusto, and being a bit more clingy than usual. I chalked it up to the two new teeth that are erupting through her gums right now and didn't give it much thought. However, I did make a doctor appointment for this afternoon just in case it was yet ANOTHER freakin' ear infection. Sure enough, her ears were "a little red." But she also has a side of strep throat to go with that ear infection. I am sure Rosie and the girls really love me for dropping off my contagious child at their house every day this week.

She's no Carrie Bradshaw

Ellie loves going into her closet and playing with her shoes. She always attempts, unsuccessfully, to put them on her feet. I find little shoes in the oddest places these days. This morning, she dragged out her pink slippers and demanded that I put them on her feet. They are pretty puffy, even on the bottom, so I thought they would be difficult to walk in, but she kept them on all morning!

Why I can never find my shoes

5 years going on 50

Today is my five year wedding anniversary. I first met Tom my freshman year of high school when he and his friends sat at the other end of our lunch table. Flirtations soon ensued and by the summer after my freshman year, Tom asked me if I wanted to "go out."

Last night, when Tom and I were lying in bed, I mentioned how I have loved him for half of my lifetime. That I have been "Tom and Holly" for half of my life. Then, of course, as I am wont to do, I flashed us forward fifty years and informed Tom that one day we would be sitting in a nursing home together and I would be reading large type books and he would be sitting too close to the television watching sports. I don't like the thought of growing old, but I love the thought of growing old with Tom. He is my best friend, my lover, my confidant, the father of my child, and I cannot imagine my life without him.

Eating and speaking

As I was getting Ellie dressed this morning, I tried to take her toy away from her so I could put her arm through her shirt sleeve. She jerked her arm away from me, gave me a stern look, and yelled "Stop!". Seriously? Did my sweet, innocent baby just tell me to stop?

Despite the attitude, I love that Ellie is learning new words every day (tree, tickle, toes, nose, diaper). She surprised me last weekend by calling her cousins by their names (Mia and Aidyn. Still can't say Leilani). She also is finally calling me mama more and I so love hearing her call for me.

This morning when I dropped her off at daycare, one of the other mother's was marveling at how Ellie just eats whole foods. I usually will sit her in a high chair and hand her a bagel and a thing of string cheese without breaking it up. Even though she only has two teeth on bottom and two 1/2 teeth on top, she is pretty good at biting into foods. I didn't tell the mother that I do this because I am too lazy to actually sit and feed my daughter.

Ellie has been really showing a desire to feed herself with utensils lately so I have been trying to give her new things she can eat with a spoon or a fork. She does well stabbing pieces with a fork, but the spoon foods usually end up all over the place. Oh well, as long as she is having fun (and is not wearing a really cute outfit).

Ok, sorry about the boring list of Ellie's achievements. I like to document these sort of things so I can remember them. Tomorrow will be an even worse entry as it is our 5th wedding anniversary and I am sure to write something sickeningly sweet.

Goodbye Gilmore Girls and...Ellie?

Last night was the series finale of Gilmore Girls. Now, I am not a weepy sort of gal, but I totally teared up during this episode. Especially when Lorelai goes into Rory's bedroom to watch her sleep and she is so sad because her daughter has now graduated college and is leaving for an undetermined amount of time. I kept thinking about Ellie growing up and leaving home. I found Tom in the computer room and cried, "Ellie is going to leave us someday!" He just nodded his head, unconcerned, and went back to doing whatever it is he does. But each night, when I go into Ellie's room to watch her sleep, I notice that she is taking up more and more space in her crib. It won't be long before she won't fit in that crib anymore and I have to move her to a toddler bed...then to a real bed...then to her dorm room in college. See what I mean? Tears.

Sleeping though Mother's Day

I am typing with Ellie on my lap right now. It is hard because she keeps typing and I keep erasing.

Yesterday was a busy day for us. Not only did we celebrate Mother's Day, but we celebrated Mia's birthay as well. Of course, I forgot to get my camera out of the diaper bag til everything was almost over. Typical. But Mia scored big time. She now owns more Little Pet Shop stuff than any kid on the planet.

Tom started the day off great by letting me sleep in and fixing pancakes for breakfast. He also took Ellie in the afternoon so I could do whatever I wanted. It was so great. I'd like to say I took advantage of that time to do something worthwhile, but really I just laid on the couch and watched Scarlett and then went and laid in bed for a snoozer. Yeah, I did a lot of sleeping for Mother's Day.

Ok, so Ellie is going through this phase now where she chews on her fingers. I think it is a teething thing, but she gets these sores on her fingers and they look painful. Yet she just keeps chewing! So, any ideas?

Hope my fellow mommy-bloggers all had a fabulous Mother's Day!

Stories from the crib

Whew! I have been feeling so overwhelmed lately. Work has been super busy as I am trying to get all of my summer programs planned and organized. Plus, I have a few other "things" I am working on that I can't really blog about. I have just been feeling like there is not enough time in the day.

Ellie has been just as cute as ever. Each morning, I go into her room to find her standing up in her crib, crying out for me. In the past, she would reach out her arms and demand impatiently to be picked up. Now when she sees me, she drops back down in her crib, pops one pacifier into her mouth, picks up two more (one in each hand), and cradles her blanket in between her shoulder and her ear. Only then will she let me take her out of her crib and as I am lifting her out, I see her surveying for any items left behind. It reminds me of when our devil dog, Kali, was a puppy and she slept in her crate. Whenever I would let her out in the morning, she insisted on bringing all toys and blankets out with her.

Ellie's nighttime routine has changed recently as well. Whereas she would once go down at 6:30 and immediately fall asleep, she is now staying up an hour later. And when I put her in her crib around 7:30, she plays and talks for another 30 minutes. I will peek in the door and see her practicing her new Frankenstein walk from one end of the crib to the other, chortling the whole way. She really loves walking and is oh so proud of herself.

I just love, love, love this stage. Temper tantrums and all.

For fun

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A walkin' fool

After weeks and weeks of just a few steps at a time, Ellie is finally a full fledged walker! Even now, as I'm typing, she is walking all over the house. So fun!

Sunday best

Today was a perfectly delightful day. Ellie and I went over to Mark and Rosie's house after church for dinner. Rosie's sister-in-law, Rachel, is visiting with her two adorable girls. I have gotten to know Rachel through her blog (which has now gone private due to some crazy Nazi who had issues with her marrying a Japanese guy), but she is even more fabulous in person! Anyway, it was a very chill Sunday afternoon full of yummy food and fun family time. My aunt and uncle are also in town and I haven't seen them since my wedding five years ago. For the past two years they have been missionaries in Korea. Now, they are traveling around the U.S. looking for a place to buy a home and settle down. Keeping my fingers crossed that they choose Texas because they are a lot of fun!

Baby Olivia is still in NICU, but they have taken her off the tubes and she is breathing on her own. Also, all the tests came back looking good so we are hoping she is able to come home tomorrow. Still waiting on those pictures. I hear she is GORGEOUS, but I can't go see her since I still have a cold and am coughing up a lung.

And finally, I have to give a shout out to my pal, Cody, who purchased the dress Ellie is wearing in these pictures. He has such great taste!
Update: Olivia is home! Yay! Now Daniel and Sabrina can once again enjoy many sleepless nights.

Ear infection #5324853

Ellie-belly and I are home sick today. I got a call from her daycare at 3:00 yesterday saying she was running a fever of 103. Since she has been all crudded up (doesn't that just sound so eloquent?) for the past two months and coughing up a lung for the past two weeks, I decided to take her straight to the doctor. Sure enough, she has an ear infection in one ear. Sigh.

I, too, have a massive cold and all I want to do is stay home in my pajamas and not shower and just be a big lazy loser, but, alas, Ellie is down to two diapers and just a few diaper wipes. So...we sickies are going to Target (where they not only have super cute clothes, they also have lots and lots of lovely cold medicines)!

Update: The antibiotics have kicked in so Ellie and I went outside to play. Even though she can walk (7 whole steps today when she thought I wasn't watching), she still prefers to crawl. But outside she does her gorilla crawl...I love it!


I even let her play in the filthy garage. You should have seen her hands afterwards, totally black...don't worry, she licked them clean.


She even found some garbage to play with...

Other dirty things my child did today:
1. Played with a dirty diaper that I had left on the floor after I changed her.
2. Found an old sippy cup of curdled milk and drank some before I could wrangle it out of her hands.
3. Ate 3 pieces of dog kibble.

Thank heavens Tom is home now to save her from my attentive parenting.

Baby Olivia

Baby Olivia is here. When Sabrina arrived at the hospital yesterday, she was already dilated to 5 1/2. The delivery was very quick and relatively painless (thanks, epidural!). Unfortunately, Olivia inhaled quite a bit of fluid mixed with meconium during the delivery. She still is unable to breathe on her own because of all the fluid in her lungs, so it looks like she will be in the NICU for a couple of days. I feel bad for Sabrina, not being able to really hold her baby and having to go home without her. But we are so thankful that Olivia is here and that she will be fine in a few days. I can't wait til I get to hold her...I miss the feel of a tiny little newborn (but not enough to produce one of my own)!
Pictures to be posted soon!

The good with the bad

About three years ago, we had to put our family dog to sleep. The day my mom took our old dog to the vet for that final time, I was feeling really depressed. I remember sitting at my desk at work and fighting back tears. Then, I got a phone call from my brother Mark telling me that my niece Aidyn had been born. My mood instantly lifted. While I would miss my beloved pet, I knew he had lived a very long, good life. And now a new life was entering our family.

On my way to work this morning, my mom called to tell me that my grandma's colon cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and stomach lining. In short, my grandma is dying. As soon as I hung up the phone, I felt that familiar black cloud hanging over my head. I have just been going through the motions at work today, trying not to dwell too much on the bad news. But just a few minutes ago, I checked my voicemail to find a message from my brother, Daniel, telling me that my niece, Olivia, is going to be born today! And, again, I am reminded that with every death, there is also life.
p.s. My lil sis writes her own version here

Monday, monday

I didn't have to work yesterday so Ellie and I went to the dentist (aka Mark's office). Ellie played with the office staff while I got my teeth all shined up. Ellie also got a brand new toothbrush. The kid has 4.5 teeth and no toothbrush...I am a terrible mother. I don't know why it never occurred to me that those sharp new teeth might actually need to be cleaned.

Anyway, after leaving Mark's office, we picked up Kolby for an afternoon playdate. I love how excited Kolby and Ellie get about seeing each other. The whole ride home, they were in a fit of giggles. Once we got back to my house, the kids had lots of fun playing in between Ellie-tantrums. As much as Ellie loves Kolby, she does not really like sharing me with Kolby. Or her toys.