Playing Hooky...

pictures from my two days off...

My little girls are changing daily. I want to capture everything they do. I wish they'd slow down...just a little.

H1N1

So, two Fridays ago Matthew comes home from work and tells me he doesn't feel well. Ugh, I think as I grab my pillows and head to the spare room to sleep on the crappy bed. This didn't sit well with Matt as he wasn't happy that I didn't want to sleep with his germy self. Oh well, it was a wise move on my part. Saturday morning Matt woke up feeling really bad and had to go to work. By Saturday afternoon he was running a fever and made to finish his shift at work. My parents were gracious enough to keep the girls Saturday night since Matthew came home with a fever. His fever remained Sunday morning and by early Sunday afternoon I was driving him to the health clinic in Canyon to see the doctor.

I got as far as the door tot he clinic with hubby only to see a sign saying I'd have to wear a mask beyond that point. I wish hubby good luck and pertly returned tot he car to browse Facebook posts and play Bejeweled 2 on my iPhone. Whoo-hoo for some source of entertainment! Around an hour later Matt returned to the car to inform me that he has Type A Influenza, or H1N1, or the Swine Flu, whatever you want to call it.

I called my parents to inform them of the bad news. They were fantastic in telling us they would keep the girls until Matthew was fever free for 24-hours. We also wanted to make sure I didn't get it. Which, by the way, I didn't! I think that's because I sprayed enough Lysol to taste it for a week in the back of my throat, and I wouldn't let Matthew sit in the same room as me.

Matt's fever was up over 101 until Tuesday afternoon when it finally broke. He spent most of that time sleeping. I've never seen him look so bad and so pale. Poor guy. I did take care of him. Made him stuff to eat and kept his meds on a schedule for him. On Wednesday I called my parents and asked them to keep the girls one more night for us so I could go home and disinfect the house. I took Thursday and Friday off work so I could bring the girls home. I knew Matt wouldn't be up to keeping them on his own. I missed them so much! I took like 100 pictures on Thursday! I am glad to say that Matthew is feeling much better! Thanks Mom and Dad for helping us out and keeping our little girls away from all those nasty germs! We are so thankful!

8 months

Wow, I'm behind! Addilyn and Ella turned eight months old on October 9. Life is busy juggling two little girls and working full time, so forgive my delay! Anyhow... Here's what they are up to.

Addilyn

* becoming more talkative (still only says momma when she is upset)

* not a big fan of baby food meat (not that I can blame her) but still manages to gag it down!

* can sit up all by herself

* is getting her first tooth (and is thankfully taking it well)

* able to turn her entire body around in every direction and roll from one place to another

* claps and is starting to get the hang of waving

* gets up on her hands and knees for a split second before toppling over

* loves to watch Ella and talk to her (and squeal!)

* doesn't care for noodles!

* loves her bath seat

* just started wearing size 3 diapers, but they are still a little too big

Ella

* I can't even keep up with the noises coming out of this kids mouth! everyday is something new.

* loves food! she will eat anything you give her!

* sits up by herself

* waves and claps (a lot!)

* is also rolling and turning all over the place

* has not gotten up on her knees yet

* loves to squeal back at Addi

* loves her bath seat and splashing Addilyn

* is also getting her first tooth (and doing okay too)

* also wearing size 3 diapers

Both girls are wearing 6-9 month size clothes, but they are still a little too long and a bit big in the waist. Six month size outfits still fit them best, but I can tell it won't be long before they are too long.

Both girls had their flu shot last week. Matthew and my mom took them and claimed they were troopers and barely let out a cry.

They are both sleeping well through the night. Their usual bedtime is around 7:00-7:30 and they sleep until 8:00-8:30.

They are both very happy little girls!

Sleeping Arrangements

This picture was taken about a week ago when we had our first overnight temperatures in the 30s. Horray for fuzzy, warm footies...AND...sister's foot just in case Addilyn's nose got cold!

Shopping!

Yesterday the girls and I did a little shopping, mostly just to get out of the house for a little while. We went out looking for Halloween costumes, which I did find! I'll keep that my little secret for now. I also found the cutest bows! I bought Addilyn a new bow that says: "Big Sister" and Ella got one that says: "Lil Sister." They are HUGE, but so stinking cute! Here's the proof...

The girls seemed to really enjoy our outing. They didn't fuss once and liked looking around in the stroller. We attracted a lot of attention as a double stroller is like pushing a bus through a crowd of people! Two cute little girls also attract a lot of attention. Our days are numbered for outings though. I don't think we will be going too many places as I worry about them getting sick from someone's cooties.

the BIG 3-oh

Yes, that's right. I turned thirty about a week ago. It was a rough birthday. Maybe because thirty always seemed so old to me. Anyhow, it doesn't anymore. I'm glad it's over and the next time I reach a milestone birthday I'm not going to work!

Here is a picture of the beautiful flowers Matthew and the girls sent me at work:

Cuteness!

How could you not fall hopelessly in love with these two little faces? These girls have my heart.

Bottoms Up!

Ah yes, Addilyn gives new meaning to the phrase "bottoms up!" This picture was taken last night after I put the girls to bed. It was too cute to pass up a photo opportunity! Fortunately for me, the flash on my camera didn't bother either of my girls!

7 months

My little doodlebugs are seven months old! It seems like time is flying by these days. Here's what they are up to...

Addilyn

• Addi is rolling all over the place! Front to back and back to front, and can turn herself around on her tummy.
• Addilyn is really trying hard to get her knees under her. The result of all that trying is a cute little baby booty sticking up in the air!
• She sleeps on her tummy or side mostly, and goes to sleep with her snuggly.
• Addi loves to play in her exersaucer.
• She also loves to eat!
• Addi can't quite sit up on her own yet, but she is getting really close.
• She loves bath time and getting her hair brushed afterwards.
• Addi has also developed a very bad habit. I don't think it's one we can do anything about. She poops every time you put her in her carseat! She gets all talkative when she does this.
• Addi is pretty quiet, unless she feels like talking. Sometimes she gets really excited and you can tell she wants to say something but isn't sure how to get it out!
• She loves books and being read to.
• Addi also likes to snuggle.
  

Ella

• Ella is also rolling all over. She finally got over her fear of rolling from her tummy to her back. She also turns herself around in circles on her tummy.
• Ella lovers her bouncer! She bounces in it like a maniac!
• Ella just started sleeping on her side and tummy about a week ago.
• She loves bath time and really likes you to turn her over on her tummy and let her splash! Momma needs a raincoat when she gives Ella a bath!
• Ella is doing a pretty good job sitting up by herself and is only a little wobbly.
• Ella also like books and being read to.
• Her vocabulary is also increasing. Ella says: momma, dada, and nana.
• Ella likes to eat too. She will eat anything you give her!
• She laughs when you tickle her.
  
  

Both girls are wearing size 2 diapers and just started wearing 6-9 month size clothes (mainly because they are getting long). They are both eating stage two baby food in fruits and veggies and just started meats a week ago. They get three meals per day, morning, afternoon, and evening of solid baby food. In between the morning/afternoon and afternoon/evening meals they get a regular bottle of formula. Addi and Ella talk to each other and hold hands often. It's so neat to see how much they love each other. Addilyn and Ella are great sleepers! I put them to bed between 7:30-8:00 p.m. and they sleep until 8:00-9:30 a.m. That is wonderful for Matthew since he gets up with them during the week and fantastic for me when the weekend finally rolls around!

I have learned to write down my grocery list if I plan on going to the store and taking these two with me. I get stopped at least 5-10 times which makes it impossible to remember what you were going to the store for in the first place!

It's Been About a Year...

...since I've had to battle a snake around the house. Well, Matthew and I woke up with one IN our house this morning. I was in the kitchen getting bottles ready for Addi and Ella and Matt was in the nursery changing diapers. In no way was I awake and had somehow managed to slip flip flops on my feet as I rolled outta bed this morning. Thank goodness for something on my feet! As I was walking back into the living room for the kitchen, I noticed the cats out of the corner of my eye and saw Chloe jump. I thought this was weird, so I walked around the table to see both of our cats staring at something on the floor.

At first I thought: "oh great! who yacked on the floor?" But then I got a better look and saw that it was a snake and that it was ALIVE! I said to Matthew: "Can you put the baby down and come in here please?" I can't believe I was so calm. He walked into the living room and asked what was going on. I said: "There's a snake in the house." I thought my hubby was going to lose it right then. I don't think he's a big fan of snakes! I grabbed the broom while Matt put on his shoes and found the shovel in the garage. I got behind the snake and swept it onto the shovel and wached my freaked out hubby run through the kitchen, utility, garage and all the way down our long driveway with that snake. I tried not to giggle, but it was pretty funny! He tossed it in the road!

After a Long Day...

...this is what I have to look forward to coming home to:

They are such happy little girls. I love them so much and miss them like crazy while I am at work all day.

Eye-Okay

All went well with Addi's eye appointment! We are so thankful. The eye doctor is going to share her thoughts with the girls' pediatrician so she can still check it when we go in for appointments, but as long as there is no change in the spot, we won't see the eye doctor again for six months.

Addilyn and I went to the appointment alone. We were sceduled for 9:45 and didn't get out of there until 12:30. It was nice to have some one on one time with little Addi even if we were sitting in a doctor's waiting room. She was such a good girl!

A Bit Behind...

Addilyn and Ella went in for their six month check up on August 12. They received 3 shots each and one oral. Addilyn weighed 14.7 ounces (25th percentile) and was 25.75 inches long (50th percentile). Ella weighed 13.11 ounces (25th percentile) and was 25.50 inches long (50th percentile). They are growing so fast. Their pediatrician found a small spot on Addi's cornea and scheduled an appointment with a pediatric opthomologist just to be on the safe side.

Here are pictures of the girls at six months...

Life has been insane since I had to go back to work full time AND be a full time momma! I'm still trying to figure out how people do it! Anyhow...

Watch Out Boys!

Addi is as "Cute as a Cupcake" and Ella is a "Future Heart Breaker!"

Really, I tell my girls every day that the only boys they are allowed to like is their Daddy and Papa....and MAYBE their uncles....as long as they keep my girls out of trouble. I tell them they can't like boys until they are out of college. Think brain washing works this early? Ha!

James, The Crab

My friend Jon recently posted a status update (on Facebook) about his daughter's fish dying. Apparently she paid it more attention after death than when it was alive.

For some reason this incident made me think of James, the Hermit Crab that I inherited the first year I taught kindergarten. As it happened, I took over for a teacher that was moving to Austin, TX. She left her hermit crab in my care. That was a huge mistake. I was new to teaching and that crab was the last thing on my mind. I was preoccupied running around trying to plan and teach lessons and get my feet underneath myself. I should have given up then. That was the hardest year ever!

Anyhow, James came into my care, and not having the time to take care of the poor thing, he suffered greatly. One of my kids was assigned to soak his sponge each day so he had water, but no one knew what James ate and I was not briefed before the teacher moved that left him in my incompetent hands. Maybe if I hadn't been so preoccupied with all the things that come along with my first real job, I would have thought to look up the care of hermit crabs on the Internet. But no, poor James starved to death in my classroom. I did sprinkle fish food in his cage, but apparently crabs don't dig fish food because James crawled out of his shell and died.

My kids learned about democracy that year and what it means to vote. We voted how his body should be disposed of...by land or sea. A kindergartners logic is this: "he should be flushed so he goes back to the ocean." How does one argue with that? Poor James was carried very carefully on a paper towel across the hall to a neighboring teacher's classroom. (I didn't have a bathroom in my room.) We disrupted her class to pay our final regards to James and flushed him in his watery grave with hopes he would return to the ocean. Poor James.

I learned a lesson that year...NEVER accept a classroom pet you know nothing about. Stick with fish, they are the safer bet!

Calling All Golfers...

I have my own personal driving range. Here's the proof...

Are you jealous?

It's a shame there's a shed right in the middle of my driving range, but I make it work. However, there is a perfect dent with countable golf ball dimples in the side of that shed! It's too bad I can't train the horses to retreive my balls! (I don't hit balls into the pasture when there are horses out there! I would feel horrible if I hit one, and knowing me, I would!)

Long Overdue Update!

So I've been a little busy lately...I can't imagine what keeps me so busy (note my sarcasm), but I'm finally around to updating and promise to be better about keeping our blog current!

Addilyn and Ella are five months old now. Here's what they are up to...

Addilyn...

Addi is up to 13 pounds 3 ounces and is 24 inches long. She rolls from her back to her tummy, but usually has one arm pinned under her because she won't take her hand out of her mouth. If you help her out, she tries to get her knees under her and scoot. She has no problem rolling over to her back. Addi loves to suck on her fingers and makes a big drooly mess! She grabs her toys on her playmat and likes to put them in her mouth. Addi LOVES bathtime! She can be tired after a busy day and still find the energy to kick her little legs and drench me with water! I gave up bathing the girls in their little tub a long time ago. She loves swim time during her bath! Addi also says "hi". It's so cute! She has such a little voice! She's been saying hi for about a month. Addi is pretty outgoing. She doesn't care who holds her or feeds her. She loves to look around at the park or restaurant or store.

Ella...

Ella is up to 12 pounds 14 ounces and is 23.5 inches long. Her chubby cheeks make her look bigger than she really is! Ella rolls over to her tummy almost immediately, but doesn't like to roll back to her back once she's on her tummy. I think it scares her and she usually cries. Ella is a little more timid about bathtime, but seems to enjoy it more every day. Ella is getting a mind of her own. She is trying very hard to hold her own bottle and will pull it into her mouth. Sometimes she misses and gets her nose! She is also a chatterbox. She wakes up talking in the morning, talks herself to sleep at naptime, and says "mama" when she is upset and wants her mama! Ella is a little more reserved around people she doesn't know than Addilyn. She has to warm up to you first, but generally does okay if you give her enough time to decide that you are alright!

Both girls are in bed by 9:30 p.m. and sleep until 7:30-8:00 a.m. They eat first thing in the morning, at noon, 3:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. We start bathtime around 8:15 every evening. At their 3:00 feeding the girls get veggies before a bottle. So far they like green beans, sweet potatoes and squash. They are not a fan of carrots and peas. I've been mixing peas with green beans to get them to eat them and saw carrots mixed with apples in the store, so I might try that. We will start fruit when they are eating all their veggies good!

The girls take about 4 short naps during the day. I don't let them sleep longer than an hour at a time. If I do then they don't sleep good at night and I am up and down putting pacifiers in mouths! I like to avoid that! The girls are funny at bedtime. They scoot until they are touching each other before they will fall asleep at night. They sleep with their heads touching! They are both in size 1 diapers and still able to wear their 3 month size summer outfits. Last month I started putting them in 3-6 month size sleep n' plays but we still have to roll the sleeves up.

Here are pictures over the last couple of weeks...