A Beautiful Lord's Day Afternoon

Perfect for sliding and swinging 

(it was jacket weather but we left our coats in the church building)

 Imagine my surprise when this happened...

It was back down to single digits the very next night.  Crazy.

Neither here nor there

If I don't go to Target at least once every few weeks I feel like something is missing from my life.  Or as Phillip says, a little piece of me dies on the inside.

Lilly is as enthusiastic (which I love) as she is demanding.  It's easy to confuse the two sometimes.  Lilly is also a runner (she has a quick first step).  She typically chooses flight over fight.

After several leaky nights in a row we are back to using night time diapers.  We may just need to go up a size on her regular diapers but we have a lot of 5's to use up before we make the switch.

We are officially a 1% milk family.  All of us.  Lilly finished her last gallon of whole milk a couple of days after turning two.  So far no complaints :)

I watched Blue Jasmine Thursday night.  It did not disappoint.

Phillip does not like sharing any kind of snack mix with me (mixed nuts, trail mix, chex mix, etc.) because I tend to eat only the things I like (cashews are always the first to go) leaving him with the picked-through leftovers.  In the words of Stephanie Tanner, "How rude!"

A co-worker regarding Google:  "It holds the answers to the world."

I may have spoken too soon regarding Ellen's glasses/frames not being the ones.  We went back to the eye doctor today and they were able to do some trimming (not sure exactly what or how) and they fit a little better than before, so we are going to stick with these for now.  Ellen is happy - she did not want to get new glasses.

Guess who baked two dozen muffins this morning for the ladies brunch at church only to discover breakfast was provided.  I felt dumb.  (I know what we will be eating for breakfast and snacks for the next several days.)

A little Valentine's Day humor...

Ellen prefers her middle name, Catherine, over her very lovely first name (her explanation was not very clear but it has something to do with Ellen starting with an 'E' and being too short).  She sometimes refers to herself as Catherine when playing around the house. 

It seems so strange to say two and six when someone asks me how old my children are.

Is anyone else concerned about the safety of the athletes (ours specifically) who will be competing at the Olympic Games in Sochi?  And the safety of the fans who will be in attendance?  Should we even be doing this?

If I bring multiple snacks to work (for throughout the day or even extra for the next day) I will eat them all before 9:00 a.m.  No matter what.  For this reason I only bring what I plan to eat for breakfast.

Daycare called yesterday afternoon to report Lilly had a temperature of 102.  We knew she wasn't feeling 100% but this came as a surprise (we thought the fever was gone for good).  Phillip took her the doctor where she tested negative for RSV and the flu (based on her symptoms Dr. Frank did not test her for strep).  Diagnosis: sinus infection (she was prescribed amoxicillin).  Lilly was fever-free today and seems to be doing better.  What a week!

Glasses

Not the glasses but the current pair

Frances Ha

One perk of being home with a sick child - if the sick child takes a long, albeit restless, nap - is all of the "catching up" that can be done around the house... dishes, laundry, cleaning, organizing, etc.  These naps are a step above regular weekend naps because there is a good chance I will get to do some of these things alone.  No offense to the rest of the family.

The sky's the limit!

Or you can do what I did on Monday and push all of that housework aside (what's one more day?) and silence/justify the guilt (you deserve this) and watch a movie on Netflix.  One you have been wanting to see for a while now.

"Don't treat me like a three-hour brunch friend."

I like watching movies about people who don't have it all together.

I can relate.

[Update:  Lillly went to daycare today so it's pretty much business as usual around here (she ended up staying home again yesterday, this time with Phillip).  She had a low grade fever but nothing compared to the last few days.  Fingers crossed we can make it to the weekend.]  

Not our typical Monday

Today ended up being a stay-at-home day for me and Lilly.  And Ellen, kind of.  We had made arrangements for her to go to Hannah's house since school was out and SACC was closed due to the holiday (MLK Day).  One thing we had not planned on was Lilly not being well enough to go to daycare this morning.

She started feeling bad Saturday afternoon, the very afternoon we decided to drive to Nashville West for a little shopping and a late lunch at NY Pie (this alone was worth the trip).  Over the next few days she developed a bad cough and a runny nose to go along with the fever that started it all.  After a day and a half of alternating Tylenol and Motrin and giving her the only cough medicine we could find for her age group (everything is labeled 4 years and up) we thought she was on the mend.

We were wrong.  She needed more time.

Ellen ended up going to lunch and to the park with Hannah (they went hiking!) so she didn't totally miss out on what was going to be the best day ever (she had really been looking forward to being with Hannah ALL day).

She also got her glasses today.  They either need adjusting (not sure what more can be done) or else we may need to find different frames.  These fall down way too easily.  (I am so disappointed!)

The good news is she can see.  The gift of sight is not one I take for granted.

Unrelated but noteworthy:  Lilly looks super cute (and so big!) in her newly acquired white camisole/undershirt (I think it came from Savannah?)  She knows it too :)  (I need to get her picture.)

Lilly's 2 year stats

Height - 34.65 inches (81%)

Weight - 31lbs (91%)

Personality - Off the charts

So you're saying there's a chance

Challenge acknowledged and accepted.

Astigmatism

Ellen needs glasses.  I have mixed feelings about this.  I hate wearing glasses!  But she is very excited and she does look really cute in them (vanity for the win) so maybe this will go better than I thought.  

She did great at her appointment.  I was so proud.  And she had a lot of fun trying on glasses (I don't have a picture of her in the frames she chose but they will be ready early next week).

So many choices...

"I hope they have to use this thing."

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As you can see Ellen lost another tooth.  And not just any tooth, one I consider to be a milestone tooth.  I wasn't ready for that to happen.  I told her she wasn't allowed to lose either of her front teeth, even went so far as to tell her the Tooth Fairy wouldn't accept them, but she went and lost one anyway.  Kids.  (Don't worry the Tooth Fairy did honor her tooth and gave her an extra dollar to boot.)

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"You never keep a professional waiting."

To Lilly as she was waiting on her to come downstairs and be a part of one of her performances

"Big hole for a tiny tooth."
Regarding the tooth she lost last Thursday and the rather large space if left behind (top, front... you can't miss it)

"You might be stronger but I am tougher."
Said to Phillip during a tryst

"I want a front row seat for this!" (as she dragged a chair closer to the action)
While watching Matt assess our electrical problem (he was on a ladder looking at the florescent light in our kitchen at that point)

"Besides, you turned 34 first..."
Part of her argument as to why I should be able to make Phillip change the channel on the big TV (as in you are older than Daddy so you can override any decision he may make)

"I didn't know babies were like that until I met Lilly."
Lamenting the fact that Lilly isn't as receptive to hugs and kisses and her attempts to coexist; she thought all babies were supposed to be sweet :)

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Ellen had her 6 year check-up this week.  Only 4 four months late.  I know, I know.  She weighs 50 lbs (68%) and is 46.5 inches tall (57%).  She also got the flu mist.  Better late than never, I suppose.

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Right now Ellen in into watching Pound Puppies, My Little Pony, Horseland and Berenstain Bears (she'll watch just about anything really), dancing and singing along to Taylor Swift (or any catchy pop music) and making up her own songs (Lilly is her back-up singer and dancer), making pretend cell phones using paper and markers, dessert, Rainbow Looming (although not as much), play dates with Hannah, reading, drawing, Gymnastics, fashion and here lately, watching figure skating (she is ready for the Olympics!)

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We are honored to be raising a daughter as wonderful as Ellen.  She's our cherry on top.  

Paint by number

Ellen got a lot of neat artsy-craftsy presents for Christmas.  She loves to paint so this cupcake paint by number from Nana and Grandpa is right up her alley.  She also got a headband making kit from Aunt Diane that was a big hit.  Santa brought new markers, pens, colored pencils, sketch pads and puffy paint.

She's set for life.  

Which is fine with me.  I enjoy watching Ellen create using whatever medium is at her disposal.

Two

We celebrated Lilly's 2nd birthday yesterday afternoon (today is her actual birthday).  (We hoped to also celebrate a Panthers playoff win but they lost to the 49ers by 13 points.)  The birthday girl fell asleep on the way home from church (we have ourselves an early napper) so the party was in full swing by the time she woke up (and she woke up much too soon).  She didn't know if she should be happy or sad or scared or mad.  She went with cautious indifference.  (Phillip and the girls have been dealing with a variety of cold and sinus issues for the past few days so it's no wonder she wasn't quite herself.)  She perked up when she saw her Elmo cake and had a lot of fun opening presents and playing with her new toys.

Elmo!

This is what I mean by indifferent

Ellen trying to get Lilly to blow (she told Lilly to make a wish)

 One more...

Poor Elmo was never the same after this

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

Offline, briefly

Earlier this week, one cold, unsuspecting night, right after Duke beat Georgia Tech, we experienced sudden yet selective power loss.  And by selective I mean it affected the outlets in the living room, two out of three lights in the kitchen and our back porch light, but the outlets in the kitchen (including the refrigerator, thankfully) and the light over the sink worked just fine, as did and the overhead lights in the laundry room, living room, hallway and stairwell.  We blamed the small space heater we had plugged into an extension cord which was then plugged into a power strip, the same power strip as our TV and modem.  We flipped all of the breakers before calling my dad for assistance (he knows stuff) but it soon became clear we needed professional help.

Two days later Matt Potts (from church) came to our rescue.  The culprit ended up being a burnt cap in one of our switch boxes (the space heater was the straw that broke the camel's back).  He fixed us up in no time at all (it was only a matter of minutes once he found the problem).

Not having internet access for a couple of days was a bit of an inconvenience but on the bright side Phillip didn't have to reset the router, which is always a pain, and we got to enjoy a couple of candlelit dinners.

Polar Vortex

Ellen was supposed to go back to school yesterday but due to the extremely cold temperatures here in middle Tennessee she scored an extra day off (and an hour delay this morning).  She was not ready to go back but all good things must come to an end.

And speaking of things coming to an end, we are finally out of the single digits.  It is currently 25 degrees here in Nashville.  It is supposed to be significantly warmer the rest of the week (especially over the weekend) so hopefully we will be back to doing more of this soon...

Christmas Day

January 2014

 

January 4th - Ellen Returned from North Carolina (with our new TV!)

January 7th - Ellen's First Day Back to School after Christmas Break

January 10th - KFC Service Activity (Ellen)

January 11th - Ellen First Eye Doctor Appointment (rescheduled from October)
                     
                        Nancy's (Nana) Birthday

January 13th - Lilly's Birthday

January 15th - Soup Night at The Children's Academy

January 16th - Lilly's 2 Year Check Up

January 19th - Teacher Appreciation Luncheon at Southern Hills

January 25th - Ladies Brunch at Southern Hills

January 30th - HES Talent Show

January 31st - Nashville Children's Theater Field Trip (Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse)

Pleasant Acres

The day after Christmas we (5 kids and 5 adults) caravanned to Fairmont, West Virginia to visit Grandma at her nursing home.  We had a lot of fun and Grandma looked great!

Toll booth (loved these as a kid)

 McDonald's in Summerville

Grandma!

Grandma last saw Ellen when she about a month old

The kids colored and put together puzzles while we visited

Showing Grandma their latest masterpiece

 Double bed all to herself :)
(Ellen slept with Cade and Ashling in Andrea and Caleb's suite)

 Warm enough?

Outside of our hotel in Morgantown

 Grandma playing with her namesake

So glad we made this trip!