Gross Kids

Our treadmill was delivered yesterday. What a beast! It is pretty big. Probably a good thing that we can fold it up when we are not using it, but it is pretty large even when folded up. So far Ellie has not been really in to hanging on it, but time will tell with that. Daniel and I each had our own workout yesterday. I about died, but that will improve. It is really nice doing it while Ellie naps and even nicer to wear whatever I want because I am enjoying the privacy of my own home. Working out doesn't have to be a huge production because I don't have to get dressed up and load the kids in the car and drive somewhere to workout. It is nice. I think we will have no problem working out everyday now that we have our own workout equipment.

The kids have been battling another cold. I am not sure, I think it might be allergies, but whenever I mention that to our pediatrician he assures us that allergies don't manifest themselves this early. I like to think that I know my kids pretty well and can tell, but I am not a doctor. So, we have been wiping noses like crazy! Ellie keeps yelling "Booger! or Kleenex!" whenever her nose needs to be wiped. Oh, the things that girl picks up! Yesterday was particularly embarrassing when she made a little noise in her diaper and exclaimed, "I farted! hahahah, I farted!" Isn't that sweet.... grr.

Owen has been performing his Riverdance in his jumperoo. He even does it in his exersaucer which is pretty fun to watch. He is now really playing with his toys and enjoying holding and sucking on them. I think he has made his way into the drooling stage. He is usually pretty soaked by the mid-day. Haven't felt any teeth or anything (thank goodness) but he drools a lot and spits a lot.

Yesterday we went to the grocery store and I had Owen in the snugli and Ellie in the cart. Owen started coughing like crazy and I just knew he was about to throw up. What could I do? I just held my hand in front of his mouth and he threw up in it and all over my shirt!!! Luckily, the grocery store wasn't crowded. I just took out a spare diaper and poured the throw up in the diaper and grabbed some wipes and wiped my hand, Owen and my shirt off. I managed to get everything cleaned up so it just looked like he was drooling on me a lot. There wasn't a whole lot I could do with a whole cart of groceries so I just applied some hand sanitizer and finished up shopping and got out of there! The thing is, while I was pretty mortified by the experience, I know all moms go through it. I have been thrown up on, spit up on, pooped on and snotted on more times than I can count. In fact, now that I think about it, I get at least one of those at least once a day!!! (something to look forward to Linds!)

This weekend should be fun for us. We are going down to Houston for one of the first Astros games. Owen has a little Astros outfit and Ellie has an Astros shirt, so they will be looking pretty cute. I am excited about it since we haven't been to a game in a long time... we didn't go at all last year. Today we are going to a play date. It should be fun. It usually takes up a large chunk of our day and I get to interact with adults, which is nice from time to time.

I feel like I should talk about Daniel a little bit... He is really busy. That is pretty much his story this semester and I imagine it will be the case from here on out. I think he is feeling like he gets one thing done and ends up getting 10 more to do. He is a little dissappointed that he didn't get a fellowship he applied for. I guess the comments he received stated that they were looking for more service that had been done, but Daniel didn't know that that was the thing he needed to emphasize in the application, so he feels like he should have received it. It doesn't really have an effect on the income he receives, his money just comes from somewhere else, but it would have helped his professor's research dollars.

Rough Night!

Rough night last night!!! Owen was up from about 11:00 to 5:00 a.m. screaming!! It was a cry that I have never heard from him before. I am pretty convinced he was in pain of some sort, but there was absolutely nothing we could do to console him. He was so upset that he kept throwing up. Daniel and I were taking turns calming him down and cleaning up the puke. It wasn't a lot of fun and as a result, we are both just dragging today. I was going to take Owen to the doctors, but after sleeping for about an hour and a half (from 5-6:30) he woke up happy. I don't get it.

Of course the angelic picture above, you would never know he was capable of such a horrific episode as he exhibited last night.

Before anyone starts thinking I got a somewhat decent amount of sleep, Elise woke up at about 10 and crawled into bed with me and kicked me around until I finally got up with her and put her back into her bed. I had just gotten her back to sleep when Owen woke up. Grr.. Such is the life of a mother I suppose.

Ellie has been particularly cute the last couple of days. When we were at WalMart Ellie was sitting in the cart and then said on her own, "I love you, mama!" I about lost it… I was tearing up right there in Walmart. When we were in the car driving home from picking up Daniel, she was saying, "I love you Dada, I love you mama, I love you BoBo, I love Papa, I love Grammy, I love Evan, I love GG…." Pretty much I love you everyone! It was so cute. Just wait until she tells each of you she loves you!! You WILL melt!

Our treadmill is being delivered tomorrow. I am pretty excited about it. I was going to join the gym up the street, but they moved locations and in doing so, no longer have a daycare to watch the kids. I needed to be able to go workout during the day because it just doesn't happen at night with getting dinner going and getting the kids to bed. So, we got a treadmill (thanks mom and dad!). We are going to put it in our bedroom (our bedroom is turning into the everything room). I think we are ready to pump up our workout. We have been eating really great since Christmas and have both lost some weight, but we are both now stuck and need to do a little more.

Here is Ellie's new chore chart. Not sure if it is going to work real well yet, but so far she really likes playing with the Velcro. Hopefully she will pick up on how it works quickly. All of the chores are things she already helps me do (no, I don't make her do all this stuff by herself…. Would be nice though).

I Do It!

Ellie has this need for everything to be done a certain way. She will only allow us to help her when she asks for it. If we try to interfere or help her before she asks, she will usually say "I do it!" This phrase (along with "Mine" and "All Mine") seems to be her favorite lately.

Mom has been having trouble getting good smiles lately. She'll say "show me your teeth" or "smile" and this is what she gets. More of a grimace than a smile, if you ask me.

Erin and Ellie enjoy playing with the kitchen set (aprons and everything). As long as Erin follows Ellie's rules, they have fun.

We got the walker down from the attic yesterday. Owen will outgrow it before he develops the motor skills necessary to use it.

Of course, Ellie has to show Owen how to play with this toy as well.

Vacation Let Down, Chore Charts, Rice Cereal and a Great Big Sister

Well, it has been a week filled with a bit of vacation let down. I have just been a little down because we are no longer on vacation and aren't spending 24/7 with Daniel anymore. Plus, it makes me want to go on vacation again, but realizing we can't afford it.

On the positive side of things, the vacation really gave me a break and I have returned home with a renewed vigor for spending time with my children. I have been much more patient, more eager to teach things to Ellie and have been concentrating on doing more things with Owen as well. All in all I have really enjoyed my children this week.

We started Owen on rice cereal. He has done pretty well with it actually. He eats about half of what goes in his mouth and spits about half out... which is pretty good for this early on. Ellie wanted to try a bite of it, so I gave her one and she about threw up. I just mixed the rice cereal with formula. Some people mix it with breast milk or water. I didn't do breast milk because some children won't tolerate it at all... they must know they are being tricked!! Plus I am trying to introduce a little formula to Owen because I want to transition him to a bottle so I can stop breast feeding him at about 6-9 months (or whenever he has teeth!). So far, he hasn't taken a bottle though.

Owen is growing up to be such a cute little boy! He is mister personality and is so happy. I definitely appreciate it after having Ellie who wasn't the happiest baby most of the time. Sure am glad she has grown out of that! Owen still is working on rolling over... Ellie even squats down on the floor with me and tries to talk him into rolling over.... not effective.

Yesterday we had a play date at our house. Ellie had a blast and was really tired when everyone left. So was Owen and they both slept for over two hours. It made me mad because I never lay down on the days when they take long naps. I always try to nap when they wake up after 5 minutes. Urgh. I am in the process of making Ellie a chore chart. Since she is really into chores right now, I want to continue them and hopefully she will do them on her own soon.
Ellie continues to be a great big sister. I know a lot of moms probably say that, but she really is a good one. When Owen is sad in the car she will reach over to him and say, "It's okay, Owen, it's okay". (Because that is what I say to soothe him) It is so cute! She also brings him toys and kisses him all on her own. She entertains him a lot and likes him to sit next to her in his exersaucer whenever she watches her toons. Ellie helps with Owen's diaper duty and plays with him during tummy time.

Off the Charts!

Our little Owen is growing so fast! This first picture is of Owen and his favorite person in the world!!! Really, Owen will smile at anyone or anything. We have this blow up lion that has a smile on its face. When I need to get something done, I can always put it in front of Owen and he will just giggle at it for awhile.
We went to Owen's 4 month appointment today. He weighed in at a whopping 18lbs 11oz. This is over a pound weight gain from a week and a half ago when I took him to the doctors. I thought he was slowing down, but from the growth chart he is still growing at the same rapid pace. Owen got shots as well. He was smiling at the nurse until she started in with the shots. However, even though he was hurting and crying after the shots, he still gave her a big ol' Owen smile. Such a sweetheart!

Elise has still been having a bit of a cold. Last night was pretty rough for me and the kids. Ellie wasn't feeling too great so kept waking up (I think like 8 times!). And Owen has been waking up constantly. Hopefully tonight will be better. The doctor said we can go ahead and start Owen on rice cereal. There has been some debate of whether to start it at 4 or 6 months, but because Owen is so big and seems to be a little advanced in other motor skills, the doctor thinks he will do just fine with it. I just hope he is able to fill up a little more and can let me get a good night sleep!

I forgot to mention that Owen got his first haircut a week or two ago! Nothing drastic, we just trimmed up his little mullet. Below are the before and after pics. The before is on the left and the after is on the right. Owen also took his first shower with dad, but I won't include those pictures!

Spring Break

We had a wonderful Spring Break! We decided to leave on Sunday night instead of Monday morning since we were already set to go. It ended up being a good thing because there were horrible storms in Austin right after we left and for the next couple of days. We spent Monday and Tuesday preparing for our trip to the beach house. Monday night we were able to go out to dinner with Daniel's dad and show off the kids a little bit.

Wednesday, we piled in the cars and caravaned down to Surfside. The house was beautiful and set up really well for little kids (surprisingly). They had toys already there and kid's dishware. Kyra and Ellie played together everyday, which was nice. They played a little rough sometimes (probably mostly Ellie... she usually is the shrimp on her play dates so takes it out on Kyra when they are together... working on that). Owen was a little crabby the first day or so because he had not done his "business" since Monday. Once that was taken care of, he was great.

There were three rooms but the place could sleep up to 16! My parents had the master bedroom, of course. Kim and Ryan had the queen bed bedroom and had Kyra in the closet so she would sleep ok. We volunteered for the bunk bed room. There were two sets of bunk beds. Daniel was on the top and Ellie on the bottom of one and I was on the bottom of the other with Owen's pack n' play right above me so I could get him in a hurry so not to wake Ellie. It was a few interesting nights, but all in all it was fine. Ellie wanted to climb into bed with me a lot but that was ok and Owen had a hard time staying asleep. Luckily, I was able to have plenty of naps!

Mostly the trip was just a "hang out" trip where we all just relaxed. The house had a huge flat screen which was nice to present our video that Daniel and I made. It also had karaoke which we didn't discover until the last day-- I rocked karaoke. The house had a hot tub. All the kids enjoyed it. Ellie especially.

The beach was lots of fun. We built sand castles, blew bubbles, flew kites, waded in the surf and even went body boarding. The water was pretty cold, but once you were numb to it, it was fine.

Yesterday we made the long drive home. We stopped off at my parent's house to break up the drive and also saw Daniel's dad one last time. The kids were surprisingly good the whole entire trip home! It was nice. Today we are just trying to settle back into life at home again. Any kind of trip is always a bit of a disruption in sleeping patterns and Owen gets held way too much (so he expects it all the time) and so we always need to get back into the normal routine again. There is a lot of laundry and things to do around the house as well.

My SICK Babies!

It has been a hard couple of days for us. Everyone is sick. Well, everyone except for me. I was sick last week and now everyone else has it. Ellie was also sick last week but still has some sort of lingering virus. She threw up all over our bed last night, which was really fun. She seems to be in good spirits and isn't really acting sick but has continued to have a fever most of the day.

Owen looks the sickest. His eyes are all red and has been having a drippy nose most the day.
Owen has been the saddest sickness this weekend. He got really sick on Sunday. Having problems breathing, all stuffed up, fever, horrible cough... it was so sad! I called the 24 hour nurse line as well as the pharmacist and they both said that I couldn't give him anything except for Tylenol and Saline drops. I took him to the doctor this morning and he stated the same thing. So, unfortunately, poor Owen has had to suffer through most of it without any medication. We will continue to do Tylenol when he has a fever, saline drops when he is stuffed up and use the humidifier at night. He is actually looking much better in this picture than he was last night.

Now, this one is the most pitiful of all. Daniel has been whiny all day long. Poor guy, he stayed home from school today (even though he has A LOT to do). He has had a fever all day long. Complete with sore throat, stuffy nose and aching body, he just hasn't felt real well.

Lucky me, I get to take care of all of these sickos! Owen kept me up pretty much all night long. When I finally got to sleep, our smoke detector started beeping because the battery was low. I had to get a stool to climb up and take it down, but I couldn't reach it so I had to wake up sick Daniel to do it. Even though we took the battery out, it still beeped so I buried in some pillows.

In all this, I would like to note for the record... when I get sick, I don't get a day off and don't get naps and no one makes me chicken noodle soup or tucks me in. Just wanted to note that for the record. Moms don't get days off.

North Country

We made a weekend trip up to Lewisville to help Kim and Ryan unpack. Considering they helped us move into and out of our third floor apartment, we were anxious to at least begin to return the favor. I think our trip was largely successful. We didn't manage to get everything unpacked, but the major rooms are in order. Their house is very nice, but we'll leave it to them to tell you about it.

This was right before we left on our road trip. You can feel the excitement.

Ellie was happy to have a playmate that could actually keep up with her.

Owen was just happy to be there.

Even from far away Austin, Owen follows his Cougars, who yesterday won the MWC regular season championship. March Madness here we come!
Ellie knows all of the animals (and the sounds they make, if any) in her book, including the mole.

I'm sick of being sick! So's Ellie.

It has been a sad few days here. I have been pretty sick. Yesterday was the worst of it and now I think I am on the mend. Ellie has caught the cold or something else. She is feeling pretty lousy today. I gave her some Dimatapp so she has been walking around like a little zombie- poor thing. Now Owen is starting to sound stuffed up. I think he will be ok though. He gets antibodies through me so I think he might be getting something different or is just kinda stuffy.

Despite feeling horrible, we went to the park yesterday. It was at least nice to get outside and have some fresh air. Plus being outside I am less likely to breathe all over people and get them sick.

Hopefully we feel better in the next 24 hours because tomorrow we are heading to Dallas! We will be helping Kim and Ryan in their new place. They have already moved stuff over and now just need my organization expertise to assist them. Daniel is going to be a little worker bee, he says, and just do what he is told. He is a smart boy. I am looking forward to the trip up and getting to see their first house and also to see my favorite niece!

As you can see these babies are cuter than ever and are still being taken care of even though their mother has felt like she was not going to live through this cold.

Owen is easier and happier than ever. He is becoming increasingly interested in Ellie and what mischief she is up to. It seems that they will be good playmates as Owen gets older.

Like I said earlier, Ellie is feeling a little under the weather. I have been spoiling her today and holding her much of the day. She is being pampered with lots of kisses and I am allowing her to watch a little bit extra of "Miska Mouse and Donold" as she says it.

You can kind of see in the picture above that Ellie's bicuspids are coming in (I think that is their name). Basically the rest of her teeth are coming in so she should have her whole mouth full before we know it. I think this is also not helping her sickness. This picture was taken earlier this morning before she started feeling too bad.

Earlier this morning we ventured to the grocery store to stock up on Kleenex and other necessities that I am sure we would not make it if we didn't have (goldfish and pudding being the highest priorities of course). I have gotten a good hand on taking two kids to the grocery store. This is exciting because I have to go to the grocery store a lot and it is a good time for us if everyone is behaving. Ellie really enjoys it.

Daniel continues to be very busy at school all day. Though he stays later these days, he is always home by 5 and I am very grateful for that. He is always a great help to me in the evenings and loves to play with the babies. Below is Dan and Ellie coloring-- poor Daniel, he hates sitting in those little chairs but Ellie wouldn't have it any other way!