His first ear infection (and throw in pink eye for fun!)

Yesterday I received a call from daycare informing me Jack had pink-eye. This is how Jack and Ellie looked yesterday morning before I took them to daycare. Does he look like a child with pink eye?

So, I reluctantly took an unpaid sick day (all my days were used for maternity leave) and scheduled a doctor's appointment, the whole time sure that I would be told it was just allergies. Imagine my surprise when I was informed Jack has a double ear infection AND pink eye? How's that for top notch parenting? Really, you can't blame me, Jack is too darn easy-going. He never gave me a hint that his ears were hurting.

Sunday Best: Preppy edition

Jack looked so cute in this hand-me-down outfit from his cousin Levi. I imagine him saying, "Care for a round of golf?"

For every somewhat normal picture I have of Ellie, I have 5 more that look like this:

Truthfully, I prefer the fun ones because they capture her personality. She told me this morning that she doesn't want to be called Ellie anymore because Ellie isn't fun. She told me to call her "Cactus" from now on. Yeah, because nothing says fun like "cactus."

Mock Campout

Daniel and Sabrina wanted to go camping for Spring Break, but since Sabrina is swollen with child and Daniel had a garden to build (literally, I'm talking bricks and mortar here) they decided to do a mock campout instead. What is a mock campout you ask? All the good stuff...dutch oven dinner, warm chocolate cake baked over coals, and roasting marshmallows over an open fire. But NO sleeping in tents...whoohoo!

Sabrina thoughtfully brought bubbles for everyone. My daughter not so thoughtfully poured them all out thus incurring her second time out of the night.

Daniel imitating Chris Farley's "Fat guy in a little coat."

Ellie's first taste of roasted marshmallows.

If Tom had been able to accompany us, Ellie would not have been allowed to lean over the fire like that. He calls himself the responsible parent. I call him the party pooper.

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

I love the Rodeo! Back when Tom and I were dating, we used to just go in the evenings for the concerts, so I really had no idea what all the Rodeo has to offer for kids.

This year we met up with Rosie, Mia, and Aidyn. We hit the petting zoo first. Those animals acted like they were starving even though they had like a million kids feeding them. As soon as I would pour a little feed into Ellie's hand, some deer, llama, goat, or pig would be right there gobbling it up before I could snap a pic. Ellie was in heaven (and I actually was, too).

*Ugh, Google keeps turning this picture sideways. So irritating)

We wandered around Agventure for awhile, looking at all the baby animals that had just been born and collecting the fact cards. Then we went out to the carnival. I had promised Ellie a pony ride, but found out that they also had camel rides. Ellie quickly chose the camel over the pony. I always feel a bit bad for the animals at these places, but I was pleased to see that they rotated the camels out quite frequently to give them a break.

Tom couldn't resist buying Ellie a pink cowgirl hat as a souvenir, which she only wore for about 5 seconds.

We hit a few of the rides, but the lines were so long that we had to go before even using up all of our tickets.

Now Ellie is standing at my elbow asking, "Can we go to the rodeo again?"

Next year.

Spring Break at the Galleria

Lately I have been feeling like all I do is get after Ellie. All she hears these days is:

"Pick up your toys."

"Be quiet, Jack is sleeping."

"No, I can't play, I am feeding Jack."

"You do not talk like that."

Monday night, I almost started crying when I was telling Tom about it. So we decided to have a day just for Ellie. Yesterday, I took her to get her hair cut short, something she has been begging me to do for weeks now. Then, we drove to the Galleria for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and to take Ellie to Build-a-Bear. We have never taken Ellie to the Galleria. She was in awe at the tanks of fish, the bungee trampoline, and the indoor "rain." Tom and I also didn't realize she had never been on an escalator before. Tom climbed on and Ellie followed him and then promptly grabbed the railing and started panicking! Tom had to climb back up to her and hold her all the way down. So funny! But by far, the highlight of her evening was Build-a-Bear.

Ellie loves stuffed animals so much. She hardly ever plays with her dolls, but her animals are so real to her. You walk into her bedroom at night and you will find the floor covered in stuffed animals, each one carefully covered with a blanket. She also makes sure Tom and I each have a stuffed animal to sleep with. So, I knew Build-a-Bear would really impress her. She picked out a dog, named him Chef, and dressed him in a Tinkerbell outfit. And even though Jack didn't get a stuffed animal, he still though Build-a-Bear was pretty cool, too...

Go Western Day

Full Disclosure: I actually purchased Ellie a new outfit specifically for Go Western Day. How lame is that? I don't even like "western" attire! But I didn't have anything that applied this year and I have always dressed her up for Go Wester Day! Plus, I figure she can also wear it to the rodeo next week.

Dear Jack - 5 Months

Dear Jack,

Today you are 5 months old! The past 3 weeks have been rough for you (and for us) as you have been teething. About three weeks ago, you became very congested and started coughing a lot. You started waking up almost every hour during the night and your appetite diminished. All classic signs of teething but since your sister didn’t get her first tooth until 8 months, I just ignored the signs and worried that you had your first cold.

Nighttimes have become a big blur with your dad and me taking turns comforting you. I am no longer able to keep track of how many times we get up during the night or what time(s) you woke up. I am hoping once you are done with this nasty teething business we can go back to your once a night schedule.

This past week your appetite returned with a vengeance. Whereas you used to take 4-5 ounce bottles, you are now scarfing down 6 ounces and still begging for more. We also started you out on rice cereal a few weeks back. You were not having it. Probably because you were teething and your mom is too dumb to realize it. Either way, you are now enjoying a nice bowl of rice cereal every day and we recently offered you sweet potatoes as well. Sadly, you are no longer breastfeeding. Tuesday was your last nursing and you are now a formula-only child. I think I will miss it more than you will.

You are smiling a lot more frequently now, but you are still stingy with the laughter. I always have to find new things that make you laugh because once you find something funny, you will only laugh at it once and then I guess it just loses its humor for you. You like to make us work for those adorable chuckles.

Even though you are currently waking up all night long, you are still the easiest, most mellow baby. I can take you anywhere and know that you will be content as long as your belly is full. When you get tired, you just close your eyes and drift off, regardless of what is going on around you.

One of my coworkers recently commented on how whenever I talk about you, my face just lights up. I feel all lit up on the inside, too. Even when life is really hectic and I am feeling sleep-deprived, I still have this deep-rooted sense of contentment and happiness. And that is partly due to you, little man. It is hard not to be happy when I have a sweetheart like you to call my own.

I love you forever,
Mama

Track Meet

I have taken Ellie and Jack to several track meets this season. My hands are usually too full of Jack (and chasing Ellie) to take some pictures. But today I decided that I needed to capture the exhausting fun on film so I pulled out the ol' camera phone and snapped a few.

Ellie LOVES watching Tom's team run. She loves to wear her track shirt and scream "Daddy!" from the sidelines. But it pains her that she is not able to go run with his team so today one of the girls came and raced Ellie on the sidewalk. Ellie won. She is that fast.

Daniel's team happened to be participating in this meet as well so Sabrina brought the kids and met us there. We were having a good time until Ellie put her finger in Jack's teething mouth. When she removed the finger, it had a whole lot of drool on it. So what did my lovely daughter do? Walked over to the person sitting near us and wiped her finger on the lady's pants! Horrifying! The people behind us witnessed it as well and really got a kick out of it. Yeah, real funny when it isn't your child wiping drool on complete strangers!

Jack though it was funny, too...

Sunday Best: White Shirt and Tie edition

Jack went with the classic "white shirt and tie" look for church today. Ellie was in the room when I was getting him dressed and she looked at his clothes and said, "That's just like Grandpa and Uncle Daniel!"

Ellie wore this beautiful hand-me-down dress that Rosie made. With her own two hands. Is there anything Rosie can't do?

Also, check out how it brings out the best in Ellie. She is standing normal instead of striking her trademark rockstar pose. Like this... Or this...

Or this...

For journaling purposes only...

I think I already mentioned that Jack doesn't get much floor time. I love to hold and cuddle him and if I am unable to do so, I need to put him somewhere where he will be happy for an extended period of time. Flat on the floor doesn't cut it. Like right now? He is in the swing next to me. And if I am cooking dinner or washing dishes, he is in the exersaucer watching his sister play or watching me work from his high chair. But I was tired today and crashed on the floor almost as soon as I walked in. I put Jack on the floor next to me and he quickly flipped from his back to his stomach. But apparently he forgot to flip from his stomach to his back so he soon started fussing. Every time I would put him on his back, he would flip over again to his stomach with ease. For all I know, he may have executed this maneuver days ago in daycare, but my policy is "if I didn't see it, it didn't happen." So, yeah, for journaling purposes...Jack rolled from his back to his front for the first time today. Why was this so much more exciting when Ellie did it?