Bow Head

Yikes! What happened? I all of a sudden feel like something is knocking me off balance....

Ha Ha! You think you are soooo funny putting this gigantic thing on my head!

Ok...jokes over. Now, take it off.

Seriously, take it off.

That is more like it. Whew...my head is spinning from the weight of that thing.

WHAT? You have one bigger than that? Not possible....and NO WAY can my head handle it!

Two Giggly Girls

Cutie!

Happy 9 Months to Ellie!

Miss Ellie turned 9 months old on the 14th. Unfortunately, she wasn't as excited to take pictures as I was! :) I couldn't get her to smile for anything! Justin even tried to help me and we were both unsuccessful. Here are a few things that Ellie is up to these days:

* You are such a peanut...still wearing size 2 diapers during the day and size 3 diapers at night. You wear 6-12 month clothes or 9 month clothes.

* I think I can finally declare your eye color as brown. We thought they were brown, then maybe green. They didn't seem to want to pick a color. However, they just recently seemed to get darker to me and I think they are definitely going to be brown. I am so excited to have a blue eyed, green eyed and brown eyed baby! So fun!

* You just got 2 new teeth this week. You have your bottom two and just added the two top teeth on either side of what will eventually be your front top teeth. It is funny to me that you got those before your front two top teeth! :) So cute!

* You have graduated from your duck bathtub to the big bathtub and love it. You look like such a little peanut in that big bathtub though.

* You eat two jars of baby food for breakfast, lunch and dinner and nurse 3-4 times a day. You really aren't picky anymore and will eat just about anything we feed you. Let's hope you stay this way!

* You will lay on your tummy and reach for toys or roll for toys, but you still don't scoot or crawl.

* You love to stand up by the sofa and play with toys. However, you don't stand long before you lose your balance and fall down.

* You are the best little sleeper. You go to bed around 6:30 or 7:00 p.m. You sleep until around 8 the next morning. You take a long morning nap and a decent afternoon nap. I feel like you sleep all the time! :)

* You still smile with your tongue sticking out. It truly is the funniest thing and such a precious quality that I will always remember about you.

* You will lay your head into my neck and give me a "hug" before I lay you down to bed at night. It melts my heart every time you do it!

* You are still our little baldie, but you did seem to grow a little hair this month. I still can't decide if it is going to be brown or blonde. We will see!

* You want me to hold you all the time. If I walk into the room, you immediately start crying for me to hold you. For some reason, you don't do this for anyone else. As I have said before, I think I may have spoiled you a little too much!

* You love to hear me and your sisters sing songs, and you love to dance as well. You will smile so big when we all dance and sing together.

* You are a little daredevil. You love to be thrown in the air or to swing around. It doesn't scare you a bit! You always did bring out the "wild side" in me while I was pregnant with you! :)

You are just pure joy, Ellie! I can't believe you are 9 months old. We just love you more than words and enjoy every single second with you. Happy 9 Months, Baby Girl!

Strawberry Shortcake Birthday

I told Emmie that she could pick out any cake that she wanted for her birthday. We went to the grocery store earlier this week so she could look through the cake book. She loved the Strawberry Shortcake cake and definitely wanted it.

As I said before, we had big plans to have everyone over for cake and ice cream Saturday night, but that didn't happen. We ended up just eating it as a family this weekend after dinner one night. I literally sang "Happy Birthday," took these pictures and went back to bed. It really was pitiful. Emmie was so sweet though and loved her cake! She also loved the Strawberry Shortcake gifts she received from sweet friends and family.

Thanks to everyone for helping her feel special this weekend. She is one lucky and very loved birthday girl!

The Big Birthday Gift

When Justin and I went shopping for Emmie, we originally thought we would get her a tricycle. Lainie's birthday is next month, so I thought it would be fun to get Emmie a new tricyle and then get Lainie a new bicycle for her birthday. As soon as we walked in the store, the girls immediately ran for the train table. I told Justin that while he had them occupied there, I would walk back to look at the bikes. I found two that were really cute for the girls, so we walked them back there to see what they thought. If they showed no interest, we would keep looking for something else.

Lainie rode and rode and rode the cutest Tinkerbell bicycle and Justin even found her a matching Tinkerbell helmet that was adorable. I was sold! Emmie, however, just wasn't all that excited about the tricycle. She rode around a little bit, but was more interested in the motorized cars that she could sit in. We asked her what she thought, and all she wanted to do was go back to the train table.

We went back to the front of the store so the girls could play trains again. Justin said, "Why don't we just get her a train table?" I thought about it, and thought about the cost involved as usual! It was a little more than we had planned to spend. However, the girls both love, love, love train tables. They are always wanting to go to the toy store, the book store, or the library because they all have train tables.

After thinking about it and talking about it, we decided that is what we would get for Emmie. After all, why can't a house full of girls have a train table amidst the pile of pink?!




They LOVE it!

Alive Again!

Last Thursday, as I was with my husband shopping for a birthday gift for Emmie, I got that "oh no, I am getting sick feeling." You know the one...your skin hurts when you touch it, you feel strangely tired, and your body is a little achy but you have no explanation for it. I tried to will the feeling away and continued on with our shopping. Afterwards, I took the girls to Chick-fil-A for lunch, ate half of my fries and was so full I felt sick. I had not even started on my chicken yet. That, my friends, is NOT normal! I knew then that things weren't good.

I got home and took my temperature. It was 100.5. Ugh! I did not want to be sick on Emmie's 3rd birthday. We had plans to take her out to eat and for ice cream. On Saturday, we were going bowling with family, taking her to her favorite restaurant, and then going home to eat the Strawberry Shortcake cake that she had picked out. Well....none of this ever happened because I got sick. I still am sad about it.

To make a long story short, after 5 days of high fevers, chills, aches, coughing, lying in my bed wondering if I would make it another day, and two visits to see the doctor, I was finally diagnosed with bronchitis and pneumonia. What? I thought it was the middle of July! I honestly think this is the sickest I have been....EVER! I was miserable.

Today is a new day. My fever broke last night (finally) and I am starting to feel like myself again. I will post pictures of Em on her birthday and the pitiful celebration that it was. :( I also need to post on Miss Ellie since she turned 9 months old today! First though, I need to go take another antibiotic to make sure this stuff is long gone!

Happy 3rd Birthday to Emmie!

She is our little blondie with green eyes. The child with a strong will, an independent nature, a mind of her own. Her laughter is contagious, and she will melt your heart with her smile. She is the snuggle bug of our family, the one who will initiate a hug before anyone else. She always wants a "big, squeezy hug" before she goes to bed, leaves the house, or before someone else leaves the house. She loves to read, loves to sing, loves her bunny and blanket. She will melt your heart one minute and test your patience the next. She is our middle child. A great big sister to Ellie and the sweetest little sister to Lainie. She loves big. She has high aspirations to do whatever Lainie does. She can throw a tantrum with the best of them. She loves shoes, loves fingernail polish, loves "lipstick." She is our girlie girl. She loves to swing, play outside, ride in her car, and go on walks. She is sweet, she is stubborn, she is loving, she is Emmie. She is three today.

Happy, Happy 3rd Birthday precious Emmie! We love you SO much!

PT and I don't mean Part-Time

It is Tuesday, the day after the 4th of July. This week is going to be a slow week. Friends are out of town, we are recovering from a fun, long weekend, and I decide it is time. I stumble into her room and grab the pair with Nemo on them. A part of me laughingly thinks, "well, at least he can swim." I call her over to me and explain what we are starting today. She doesn't necessarily agree with the decision, but decides to put them on anyway.

She stays dry for a little while. I drive her crazy in the process with my constant questioning and nagging. "Emmie, do you need to go potty?" "Emmie, don't tee tee in your panties." "Emmie, do you need to go poo poo?" "Emmie....." It isn't long after one of my nagging questions that she takes off running to the bathroom saying, "I need to go potty!" I run after her, get her in the bathroom, and she doesn't make it. Nemo is swimming just as he probably feels he should be.

I walk upstairs and grab the pair with the Cars on them. I wonder if I bought the boy pack instead, but continue on. She puts them on and does really well for a while. However, it isn't long before we are right back where we started. The Cars are in the midst of a downpour and drive themselves straight to the laundry room. It is naptime, so we put on a diaper and call the process off for a few hours.

She wakes up, and Wall-E is next. Poor thing! He braces himself to be rusted in the future. However, to our surprise, she gets it! She needs to go potty and asks to go potty. I take her in the bathroom, sit her on the potty, and she actually tee tees in the potty. I probably paralyze the child with fear over my ecstatic reaction. She DID it! I throw a mini party in the middle of my bathroom. She stays dry the rest of the night and we then put on a diaper before bed.

Day 2 rolls around and Jessie and Bullseye are up. I grab them, put them on her, and they feel confident that they are in the clear. Emmie goes to the potty, stays dry all morning, we throw a mini party everytime she succeeds at her PT, and I am feeling good about the process. A friend calls and I decide to chat with her for a moment. Lainie is playing at a friend's house and Ellie is sleeping. Emmie is playing in our office and I check on her periodically. As I hang up the phone, I see her run behind our desk. I know...I know in my heart what has happened. The hint of brown that I see as she takes off in front of me give it away. I know Jessie and Bullseye didn't make it. I ask Emmie to come out from behind the desk, and my gut feeling is proven to be true. We go to the bathroom, take Jessie and Bullseye off, and lay them to rest in the trash can. The scene is not pretty...AT ALL! I explain to her what happened and she listens. However, I don't know that it bothers her one bit. On to the next pair....

We are on day 3 now and she is doing really well. Staying dry and no more characters have been put to rest in the trash can. I feel like she has accomplished something, but I also feel like I have accomplished something. We still have a long way to go, but the process has been started. There are all sorts of trials and tribulations in parenting. Potty training definitely is not my favorite. However, I would do it again and again and again for a precious face like this!

Fourth of July

We had a very low-key Fourth of July this year. Sunday night, we went to a BBQ picnic with our church. It was held at a farm and the girls loved it. They were able to run, run, run, play with bubbles, watch the cows, swing on an old tire swing, and meet new friends. We left right before the fireworks because it was late and Ellie was ready for bed.


Monday, Lainie, Emmie and I went to the pool while J stayed home with Ellie. Once we got home, Emmie ate a cookie and crashed in the process. She literally fell asleep in the middle of the den floor! Poor baby girl!

Aunt Kimie, Uncle Dane, Aunt Ooey and Uncle Mick all came over that afternoon to cook out.






The fireworks in our neighborhood are amazing. I have never seen so many individual families do fireworks like our neighbors do. Needless to say, it was the perfect way to watch them. We were able to put Ellie to bed and then take the other girls outside on the back porch to see them. Lainie actually fell asleep watching them.

We had a great 4th and are so thankful for the reason we celebrate!