Wowzer

We had quite the week last week. Amelia got sick on Monday and perked up a little Tuesday and then worsened the rest of the week. It was my first time to have Elise while Amelia was sick. I felt horrible being unable to focus solely on Amelia and hug her and hold her while she wasn't feeling well. She wanted her Mommy and I don't blamer her! Then Elise started running a fever on Thursday, which is super dangerous for an 8 week old. We ended up having to take her to the ER on Thursday night because it kept rising. Amelia went to stay with her Aunt Jen and told me, "Get Eese better." Bless her heart. Thanks to my family and close friends texting me and asking for updates and praying without ceasing, I managed to hold it together relatively well. Elise was determined to have an infection (we are almost positive it is from Amelia since Elise hasn't gone anywhere) and she got a shot of antibiotic and some Tylenol and was free to go home after all her blood work came back great. So, on Friday morning I have two sick babies and my mom heart is breaking. My mom came up to help me take the girls to our regular pediatrician. Amelia's two year checkup was rough--she cried and cried and was so scared. :( AND I found out she had an ear infection on top of it all. BOO. She topped the scales at 24 lbs--my exact weight at 2 years old. A sucker from the doctor helped things considerably.

Elise weighed 10 lbs 13 oz at her checkup and was 21 1/2 inches long. Her fever was gone and the doctor said to just watch her for RSV. Oh, wonderful, we will just sit around and see if this cold develops into RSV. Sheesh. So far she has been fighting the congestion and is still in a great humor. Day five--tomorrow- means we are out of the danger zone.

Amelia went to stay with Mom and Dad for the weekend and Elise and I are here for a night now too. Hopefully everyone will be feeling as good as new by Tuesday. Lots of tears last week and hoping for none this week (from ALL parties involved).
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Okay, now for the good stuff. Amelia had a nap after her family party and then it was off to the gym for her friends to celebrate with her. Amy and Owen drove FOUR hours just to party with us and meet Elise. I am so thankful for her friendship!

Amelia was wound up and ready to play. The kids had such a great time running all over.Thankfully, there was more singing, lol. She was as pleased as she was the first five times.
Amy Jo made a Brobee pinata for the finale. Yes, I said made it. With her own two hands. It was such a big hit and the kids (and adults) loved it. She came up with the idea and volunteered to execute it. Another fabulous friend. The picture won't load, so I will try again next time. In fact, no more pictures will load, so I will try again later and finish the party update.

Just letting you no where I've been. As I said, wowzer.

Oh, and Ross is on nights. GAG.

Yo Gabba Gabba

Two years old. This birthday hit me more than the first. Two seems very grown up. And Miss Amelia is acting more and more grown up. So thankful that she still crawls up in my lap each night to be rocked. She had a splendid Saturday full of partying. It honestly was the greatest day ever for her. I know this because she told me :)

Yesterday was her actual birthday and she had a fever and runny nose and just was under the weather. Boo. I was so sad for her. But, I was relieved she had gotten to have all her parties and tried to focus on that as we made it through a rather sad and fussy actual birthday.

Amelia picked a Yo Gabba Gabba theme and I had her Foofa outfit made from Etsy. It turned out so cute and although the show struck me as odd at first, I have come to love her favorite characters.

Here are Buzzy's family party highlights:

Balloons. Didn't have to work too hard for that one, lol. Mom got her these balloons and she honestly has played with them for hours. She loves balloons and wants one EVERY time we go to Target, WalMart or anywhere else that might have a balloon. She loves helium balloons, latex balloons, balloons on a stick, or balloons in book. She said, "These are my friends."

Cake. Well, mainly the singing. Don't get me wrong, the girl LOVES sweets, but she was so captivated by the idea of everyone singing to her. We sang to her at least five times, lol. She kept saying, "Sing to me?" It was hilarious. She even asked me to sing it to her that night as we were rocking. Loves some attention. Family. This girl loves her family. She was so excited to be with her whole family for the day. She talks about them all the time (mostly the men, ha) when they aren't around and was tickled pink with everyone celebrating HER big day. She told me, "Everybody is here!"

Highlights for Mommy:

New Toys. This was obviously a highlight for Amelia as well, but I get so tired of playing with the same ole things, lol. Amelia is a very imaginative player and all her toys get a lot of love. But sometimes, after day in and day out of the same toys, I am ready for something else. I am super excited about these magnetic dress up dolls from Steph and DD. We have already played with them a ton in the last two days.

And, I am excited about these roller skates from Meme and Pop. When it gets nice it will be fun to go out in the driveway and practice our roller derby skills. Cue Jim Croce's song here.

Sisters. Even though this day was all about Amelia--and it truly was--I was tickled that Elise was there (nestled in her Meme's arms through most of the party). I couldn't help but think of all my birthday parties with my sister and oh how I pray these two love each other with such intensity. Soon they will be playing together and I will be begging to join.

Thanks for the sweet presents and all the clapping and singing, family. She had a wonderful party and that is largely in part to you guys.

Friend party up next...

I Just Can't Help Myself...

The matching. I seriously can't help it. Or resist. It's too adorable. Ross doesn't really get the cute factor, but please tell me you do. I mean, they have on the same outfit. Love.

Thank you Mom for coming up today and taking Amelia to storytime and then watching the girls while I ran some errands and got things ready for the party. Each day I strive to be half the mom you are. It is a pretty insane challenge and provides me with great motivation. I love you loads.

Tomorrow is Amelia's Yo Gabba Gabba party and to say she is excited would be a gross understatement. She has been singing, "Happy Birthday to me," for a week straight. Dancing. Jumping. Her excitement is so infectious. I love being her mom.

Piling Up

Steph gave me a ton of Ingrid's clothes that she has already outgrown and I was so excited to go through them all and get them put away in Elise's room. I dumped everything out and Amelia immediately started making two distinct piles. I let her work a minute and then I asked her what she her two piles were. She said, "cute and not cute," and went back to work. I laughed so hard. Mainly because these clothes are ridiculously cute and partly because she is such a little stinker.We went to the Farm Park yesterday AND Amelia's Aunt Jen came over to play. It was a fun day for her and she kept telling me, "Me so happy." I love that she is starting to express her emotions in simple sentences. Even the fitful emotions. For instance, when I told her there was no orange juice she said through thousands of tears, "But me wanted it VERY bad." I can't believe her birthday party is THIS weekend. She is turning two. Two of the most incredible years of my life.

Whew. More on that later.

Elise screamed the entire 24 minutes to the Farm Park. Joy. Really? Another car screamer? If you have been following this blog long, you know that Amelia screamed pretty much everywhere we went. But I put her in her Moby wrap and she slept the entire time. Through the excited squeals about the animals, through me yelling at Amelia to NOT pull the tail of the barn cat, through me climbing up with Amelia to do the highest slide and then deciding to slide down instead of traverse back down the ladder...asleep..through it all. Sweet cheek lady.
I love this next picture of Casiee and Lynna looking at the sheep and Amelia sprinting after that darn cat, lol.

Must go watch Idol. Because I love it again. Insane amounts.

Love is STILL in the AIr

Every day Amelia asks to hold Elise. Every day I let her. MOST days, Elise seems scared for her life. Then, there was Valentine's Day. She loved it and smiled the whole time Amelia held her.


She even smiled while getting her face smashed. Now that's love!


Ross sent me flowers--awww--and Amelia was convinced they were for her. She sat and stared at them for thirty minutes. And yelled out, "THANKS DAD, I LOVE THEM." As soon as he got home she told him, "Me love my flowers, thank you." It was so precious and so hilarious. She told me, "Sorry, not yours, mine." And, that is how my little girl got her very first bouquet delivered.

Moosh and Goosh

I am not really a big romantic. I love watching romantic comedies and reading sweet romance stories, but real life is about making it work, you know? And, my sweet husband is in this marriage to make it work and for that, I am eternally grateful. However, I do love love. And I am so lucky to be swimming in it. We got to go to Harrison and I spent the entire weekend with family--three babies equal a whole lotta love. And, I have the coolest sister and bro in law with whom Ross and I can sit around and laugh and laugh. :) This website provided a lot of laughs for us this weekend: http://www.dearblankpleaseblank.com/.

Steph got Amelia a precious sling to carry her babies in
Elise with her pretty gift

Ing with the book Amelia picked out for her (and then tried to take back, lol)
Lots of love this morning too at our Valentine Party. Amelia has SO been looking forward to this and couldn't wait for "me friends" to get here. She shared very well today and was very proud of herself, lol. She kept reminding me that she shared after they left. We made cookies and mini pizzas. I am so thankful for her little friends and for their moms. Happy Heather. And, a really happy Amelia who got her very first pair of earrings from the Hahns!
Before she went to bed she said, "I love earrings." That's my girl :)

Fifty Five Years

That's how long my Meme and Pop have been married today. Fifty five years. Although it is an impressive feat, it feels perfectly normal if you know my Meme and Pop. They have shown my family how to do love. Period.

Of all the things I could say about their inspirational love story, one thing stands out to me. They still crack each other up. Many times through the years I have run over to their house and I can hear them laughing by the time I reach the garage. I never knew just how important this was until I got married. I have spent many hours on their porch getting advice on relationships and talking through problems. How I treasure all they have to share!

My Meme is a fairly private person and quite frankly the only person in this universe I have a healthy fear of :) So, I hope she doesn't get me for sharing this, but it sums up their sweet journey thus far.

Excerpt from an email discussing anniversary plans:
"We don't make big deal of anniv, never have and had 55 of them now. We like to just be together and talk about the years that have gone by and what all we have got to do in our lives together.."

Meme and Pop, Happy Anniversary. I love you both and I am so grateful for the legacy you are leaving our family. Hugs and Kisses.

Here is a funny Amelia story for you on your anniversary:

Me: (while nursing and unable to help her) Amelia, your book is RIGHT THERE by the footstool.

Amelia: Me no find it.

Me: It is RIGHT THERE in front of you.

Amelia: Well, me no have me contacts in. (pretends to pop them in her eyes) Oh, there it is!

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P.S. Happy Anniversary to Kyle and Amy too. May you have 55 years together in your future!

Let it sNOw?

Today it is snowing again--a lot. I better be able to get to Harrison this weekend. They have no school and apparently a blizzard and I will be really if I can't see my family again. I am tired of snow playing quite frankly. Amelia never is though and we went out again this morning during Elise's nap. :) After this last round melted a little, it was in perfect condition for Amelia Claire to build her first snowman. She was tickled pink- literally.
This precious little girl who spent quite a while hugging her snowman was a pistol during our playdate yesterday. Lynna and Casiee came over and Amelia spent a lot of time telling Lynna, "NO," and not wanting to share certain toys with her. Hmmm. They usually play really well together but she put sassy into overdrive. They still had a good time, but Amelia busted out a shove at one point. Not acceptable. When they left she told me she was a little bit mean to Lynna and would be nice later. We shall see. She obviously inherited my aggressive, strong-will. I was fretting a bit about this personality type after we played and I called Mom and she said, "Oh, it has its strengths too. You can learn manners." Ok, I'm going with that, ha.

However, they did manage to have a fun time playing despite Buzzy's um outbursts. Lynna is such a sweetheart.

I am thankful that Amelia is such a good player and has such a great imagination. These two weeks could have felt much longer than they have. She will play herself silly. Only taking one hour naps these days and Elise has been up during those naps, so I have declared the time following her naps "Rest Time." She lays on couch (head must be on pillow) and watches a show or two or umm three. I just feel that she gets over-tired and that is when she ends up getting in trouble. I am taking advantage of rest time by doing the dishes and folding laundry.

Yeah right. I picked blogging and eating chocolate chips.

FIVE

Here is little miss five week old lady. Elise is awake more and more in the day. This has been a challenge and exciting all at the same time. Thankfully, Amelia has wanted to read her some books and interact with her a lot of the time she is awake and this has helped tremendously. There are the moments though when Amelia looks at me and says, "Pease put Eeese in her bed now." Lol. It hasn't really broken my heart as much as I thought it would because I know that she understands that we can't put her down and let her cry--she just doesn't like it. My sweet almost two year old knows what she wants. Just like her mama.

Elise is following Amelia with her eyes constantly. She is definitely checking out where that big sister of hers is. (probably out of fear right now, but hopefully transitioning into love) Elise hasn't done as much tummy time as Amelia did and that is mainly for my fear of her being trampled, so I am going to have to make more of an effort to do this. She can hold her head up just fine, but isn't holding chest up very often. Several nights in a row she has gone three and a half hours without eating and that is just wonderful! Of course two full nights I have been up with the Bee, but we all know that is the norm.

My little five week old is a great eater and that is such a comfort. She has had a growth spurt the last few days and wants to nurse a ton during the day and I am anxious to see what she weighs at the doctor in three weeks. I have gotten several little side smiles and Amelia has gotten several as well. Actually, Elise smiles more for Amelia than me, which is adorable. I could honestly just eat the two of them up at those precious times. Not so much when poop is spewing out of Elise and a screaming fit is spewing out of Amelia, but you know, life goes on and when the poop is cleaned up and the tears are dried up, I am back to melting.

Here she is before we went to eat on Super Bowl Sunday. Umm, that did not go well. No more restaurants, maybe ever. LOL.

My little tooter bug is pretty fussy in the evenings (just like her sister was). She usually calms down and is up from 8-930 almost every night. That is our time with her while Amelia is in bed. Here she is watching Idol with her Daddy. I love Idol so far this season. I am seriously in shock of how much different the vibe is and how much I have cried. Okay, not in shock over how much I have cried at the stories, but I so love it. Now, if Amazing Race would just get going...

Friday is my six week checkup. Incision is healing nicely. Stomach flab is definitely not shrinking nicely. Disappeared much quicker with Amelia, but I just haven't worried about it due to lack of sleep/time. However, I will get the all clear to exercise and will have to decide how in the world to fit that in. Right now I am not even fitting in my devotionals so it appears I have some prioritizing to do.

Lovey Dovey

On one of our eight jillion snow days, the girls decided to put on their Valentine shirts and work it for the camera.
That lasted no time at all when Amelia decided she needed to hold Elise. Oh dear...
We put her back on her pillow for a break :)

G and Pa braved the snow and our packed driveway to visit Saturday while Ross was on call. So excited. They were also the last people we saw---last Saturday. Amelia was tickled to see them. I was also tickled. Very tickled. Pa even took us to Dollar Tree. This was our first time to get out of the house and Amelia and I were pumped. We browsed every single aisle, ha. She proudly presented her potato print valentine.And played with the new race track they brought her. This girl loves playing cars. Hilarious.
And now a new week begins and other than not showering and wearing the same sweat pants for days, we are doing okay. Actually, we are doing good--having fun and figuring out how it works to be a family of four. I mean, I am currently breastfeeding and typing this while Amelia sleeps. Don't act like you aren't impressed.

Potato Prints

My, my I have some clever comments on that last post. Kudos to you--they were snow enjoyable to read. :)

We checked out a potato printing book at the library and it was a lot of fun. Amelia wouldn't let me help her much so the "animals" are her own. Fun was had and I didn't mind letting the control go. Pretty good for day number five snowed in if I do say so myself.
In other monumental news, Amelia walked down the stairs by herself. I always hold her hand going down the steps and she gets to go up on her own (with me hovering behind her, ha). She had the notion yesterday to walk down on her own and so we tried it. SUCCESS. She seemed so big and I documented the occasion.
Elise has slept better the last two nights (and good naps during the day), thus making things like potato printing with Amelia possible because my sanity has been in tact. So, Elise, we thank you dear little one. She really is such a sweet and precious little baby. Love her so much and her little cheeks are getting chubby. No part of Amelia was ever chubby, so I just love it.


And, it has been worked out (thanks to a very caring upper level resident) for Ross to be at Amelia's party. I am delighted. Deeelighted, I tell you. It almost makes me not want to complain about him being on call again this weekend.

Snow Problem

Too much of a good thing?

Snow way.
Too cold to play outside?

Snow way.

Too little to experience our 9 plus inches?

Snow way.


Too tired and in desperate need of a nap?

Snow way. (Well for Amelia anyway. Elise fell asleep listening to Amelia read. And, Amelia tapped her on the head and said, "Eese, pay tention." Yikes.)


Too much fun to forget that Ross was forced to drive to work in a blizzard?

Snow way.

In fact, I am even more fired up now that he is on call for Amelia's birthday party. Sad, furious, disgusted. Is it written somewhere that doctors have to be treated like crap in order to do their job? Because my husband wanted to become a doctor to help people and be sensitive to their needs along the way. So what if he is a resident---ignoring his request to be off for his TWO YEAR OLD DAUGHTER'S BIRTHDAY PARTY THAT IS ALREADY PLANNED doesn't seem like the best way to instill camaraderie and encourage one to learn important lessons on interacting with patients. I don't care that it has been like this since the beginning of time, I am calling bull crap. Ross can learn what he needs to learn without having someone blatantly disregard his need for a schedule that is set and family time. UGH. The worst part of it all is that it makes me furious with Ross. And obviously he doesn't set his own hours. However, I have been forbidden from marching myself up to the hospital, so...


The longest stretch Elise slept last night was 45 minutes. I'm a beast today.