Friday, October 30, 2009

Show Us Your Life- Halloween Costumes

I can't believe tomorrow is Halloween already. Where has the time gone?

Tomorrow will be Elliana's first Halloween!

I bought this costume online and I was a little disappointed in it. I guess that's what you get when you buy costumes online huh?

Anyway, the costume may not be the best, but I think our little Ellie is the CUTEST bunny (I'm not biased or anything).

These aren't the greatest pictures, but we are going to be gone almost all day so I just had a little time to snap some pictures before we left for the day.

Here is our cute little bunny:





Happy Halloween everyone, and be safe!

Photobucket

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Where To Start

For the first time in a long time, I find myself with so many topics to blog about that I don't even know where to start! Life has been good, and quite busy lately.

First of all, we just took our little Elliana in for a follow up appointment with the Dr. The Dr. said she looks great! She is still fighting a cold and is a little congested, but it's not in her lungs and she's breathing really well. Praise God!

On a side note, the Dr. did tell us that Ellie is getting a lot of teeth. I wasn't at all surprised considering she was showing lots of signs of teething lately.

In very exciting news, I'm happy to announce the "birth" of a new blog! When you get a chance, take a look at our new blog, What's For Dinner.

What’s For Dinner?


I think Courtney did the best job of describing how the idea came about in her blog. Once the idea was born, all four of us sisters got excited and worked on it together.

Jenn, my oldest sister and blog designer, did most of the designing. Alli, Courtney and I helped though. :) By helped, I mean we gave our opinions as to what we did and did not like. Ha ha, we're opinionated like that.

Although we may not all be great cooks, we come from a family of amazing cooks! We have lots of delicious family recipes from over many years on this blog. Even if we four sisters don't come up with anything new and delicious, I promise you, our old family recipes are oh so yummy! Check them out!



Caleb is on Fall break this week so we were able to get away as a family. We spent Monday and Tuesday at our new mountain get away. His parents had been dreaming of a family cabin for many years. They bought some land a few summers ago and this summer they finally got to see their dream come true! This is the beautiful new cabin that was built over the summer.



We had a wonderful time and we hope to have many family memories at the cabin!





Doesn't the sight of that fire make you feel all warm inside? :)



Ha ha, from the look of these pictures, I don't think Elliana enjoyed our little hike.



Finally, last but definitely NOT least, I am SOOOOOO excited for the upcoming weeks watching Caleb and his volleyball team! They're regular season is officially over and they won their league!

This has been one of his best teams for sure and they are so fun to watch this year! Friday they play in Districts, then the week after that is Regionals, and the week after that is STATE. They are definitely expected to not only be at state this year, but to do really well.

I'm going to be spending the next few weeks nervously watching and routing them on. GO COUGARS!





Sorry, these pictures aren't that great because I scanned them from the newspaper.

Whew! That was a long one.
Photobucket

Friday, October 23, 2009

Our First Scary, Bad Day

Wednesday was the first day since becoming a Mom that I found myself feeling very scared and inadequate. Let me explain how the day unravelled.

Wednesday morning started out as any other day. Elliana was happy and appeared to be 100% healthy. We enjoyed our typical slow morning together.

After feeding her lunch I noticed something very odd. Her lips and hands were somewhat blue and she was shivering. I watched her very close. Since she was acting completely normal, still happy and bubbly and active, I figured she must be a little cold.

I put her in some warmer clothes, then in her car seat (we were headed to my Mom's house so Ellie could spend some time with her cousins) and then I put a warm blanket on her.

By the time I got up to Mom and Dad's house, the color in her lips and hands had returned so I thought all was well. Little did I know how fast things were about to change.

For the first hour she played like normal and then I realized it was time for her nap so I picked her up. She fell asleep in my arms right away (which is unusual for her, she usually fights naps). I thought she must have been really tired.

During her nap I noticed she was beginning to feel very warm. Her head was really warm too. My mom and I took her temperature and it read 102. We thought she felt warm but not that hot.

This is when I noticed the biggest change. My daughter is one of the most active, independant, bubbly, happy babies I've seen. She doesn't like to sit and be held. She likes to move around and play. Suddenly, she wouldn't move from my lap. She could barely keep her eyes open. Her face was red. She just sat in my lap and was fighting to even stay awake.

So I took her into Urgent Care right away. Of course there were a lot of sick people at Urgent Care and there was a long wait to see the Dr. We waited for 45 very long minutes. Even while waiting to see the Dr. she slept in my lap.

She was finally seen and was very soon diagnosed with H1N1. They gave us a prescription for Tamiflu and a dose of Tylenol to begin getting the fever down and sent us on our way.

By this time it was getting late into the evening. Ellie was beginning to act like herself again and she had a big appetite so we fed her a big dinner. After dinner, we gave her her first dose of Tamiflu and then put her down for bed.

She woke up within a half hour so I picked her up and her head felt very hot again. I decided I would hold her until Caleb and I were ready for bed.

Caleb and I were ready for bed and it was time for another dose of Tylenol or ibuprofen for her fever. Just as we were about to give her that dose, she vomited all over herself and Caleb. I have NEVER, EVER seen that much vomit come out of such a small person.

Right after vomiting, she was having a hard time breathing. I think maybe it's because it came out of her nose too. I had the phone in my hand and I was ready to dial 911 as we waited for Elliana to take in a breath. As she gasped for air, Caleb, Elliana and I all exchanged looks of fear. That was it, no way was she going to sleep in her crib that night.

We cleaned everything and everyone up and called the on-call Dr. She said to give her stomach a rest. No more medication or food for the night. Just a little water and some rest is what she really needed.

Caleb went to our bedroom to sleep and Ellie and I stayed in the guest bedroom. We set a bucket by the bed "just in case". Since Caleb had to work the next day and I didn't, I would sleep next to her and care for her and wake Caleb if I needed him for anything.

I barely slept at all that night. It was the worst night of my life. I cried as I stroked Ellie's hair. Throughout the night I kept feeling her hot head, putting my hand on her chest to make sure she was breathing, and praying that God would heal her.


It was the first time I ever felt like I couldn't do this "mom" thing. I wasn't a nurse, I didn't know what to do or how to make her better. I hated feeling helpless.

I'm happy to report that Thursday went much better. Although Ellie is not completely in the clear, she is doing much better and we think she's going to be okay. She's been back to her active, loud, happy self.

I know I have a lot more days and nights like this ahead with other illnesses and other children. I just hope there aren't too many.

My sister Jenn dealt with this a few weeks ago. Except she was taking care of herself, her 3 kids, and her husband and I just don't know how she did it!

I'm hoping and praying that the worst is over!



Photobucket

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Show Us Your Life- Fall Decorations!

This is the first time I've done a "Show Us Your Life" from Kelly's Korner. I don't know why I haven't done one before because I've wanted to.

Anyway, as I stated in this previous post, I absolutely LOVE fall! You would think that I would have a lot more fall decorations because of this. I've wanted to get a lot more fall decorations, but I just haven't had the the time or money to lately.

I have a fall welcome sign on our door that I didn't get a picture of because it's not that exciting.

I just wanted to show our mantle because this is the only fall decoration in our house that I really like.

Every year I decorate our mantle this way. I put fake leaves, pine cones, and real pumpkins. I just love it because it brings the outdoors inside and it makes me want to go out and play in the leaves.






I think next year I will definitely get more fall decorations up!


Photobucket

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Our Little Entertainer

These days we spend a lot of time watching Elliana. She has become quite the entertainer. I know we're biased, but we think she's so funny and SO adorable!

Recently, she has started mimicking us a lot. It's amazing, almost anything we do, she'll do right back to us. For example, if we laugh, she fake laughs. If we clap, she tries to clap. If we wave, she tries to wave back, etc.

Here are two videos of Elliana that I taped this afternoon. You'll see what I'm talking about. Enjoy!





Photobucket

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Elliana at 10 months

I stole this idea from Kelly at Kelly's Korner.

I think it's a great way to document Ellie's first year of life though.


Elliana, this is your life at 10 months old:

~I don't know exactly what you weigh, but I would guess that you are about 15 pounds and 6 ounces now.

~You are still wearing 6-9 month clothing.

~You have two bottom teeth. No new teeth this month, but you seem to be teething again.

~Your eyes are still blue.

~I still can't quite tell what color your hair is. In some lighting it looks blond, and in other lighting it looks light brown. I'll need to see more of it to know for sure.

~Your hair is just barely long enough that I can put a bow in it now!

~Your nap schedule is starting to change. Some days you'll have two naps, and some days you're doing fine with just one nap.

~You are crawling so well now and you are into EVERYTHING!

~You have started standing on your own for short lengths of time now. I think cruising or walking is just around the corner.

~You are still using everything in sight to pull yourself up. You use chairs, couches, cabinets, the bathtub, walls, and even Mommy or Daddy's legs.

~Your favorite place to play right now is the living room.

~You're not really interested in toys right now. You are such an explorer and you just love to explore. You still really like the laundry basket and you have started losing interest in the walker. You'd rather be free to roam around.

~You LOVE your baths!

~You still LOVE to eat!

~You have started feeding yourself finger foods. You get this really cute, proud smile across your face when you feed yourself. Your favorite thing to snack on are those flavored puff cereals.








~You still have a very happy, bubbly personality and you smile at everyone you make eye contact with. You make everyone around you smile.


~You babble all the time and you can say "Mama, Dad-da, and Hi". No new words this month.

~Your current nicknames are Ellie, Missy, and Kiddo.

~Since you are so curious, and you love exploring so much, we've had to start telling you "NO" on a daily basis now. You aren't quite sure what to make of this yet. :)

~You've also started putting many objects into your mouth that don't belong there. In the last few weeks I have retrieved the following items from your mouth: a paperclip, small pieces of pine cone, a staple, and a granola bar rapper. You scare me sometimes sweet girl, but to my knowledge you haven't swallowed anything you shouldn't have. This is why I need to watch you like a hawk!

We love you Ellie, and we love watching you grow! We are enjoying watching your personality come out. Happy 10 months!

Photobucket

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

My New Job

Yesterday was my first day as a stay at home Mom!

It wasn't too different from my Thursdays and Fridays that I always had off. I did a load of laundry, balanced the checkbook, made Brownies, took Elliana with me to Walmart for some grocery shopping, made a few phone calls, cleaned the kitchen, and of course, chased Elliana all over the house! Taking care of Ellie took up most of my time. :)

It's funny, I always have a long list of things that I want to get done, and I end up finishing about half of them. Overall, I mostly enjoyed my first day with Ellie.

The reason I only mostly enjoyed it was because Elliana refused to nap.
I tried putting her down several different times and in several different ways and she simply would NOT nap! Arrgh!

She finally fell asleep (under her own terms of course) late in the afternoon when I didn't want her to nap. I let her take a short nap anyway so I could get some things done (like my bible study for one).

I'm learning that she is such a determined and stubborn person. She cracks me up! When she has her mind set on something, there is no stopping her. The napping was just one example.

I've been trying to work out in the mornings. For those of you that have never seen our house, our exercise equipment is in our unfinished basement along with our couches and TV. It's hard to explain, but the exercise equipment is behind the couches and TV. Every day before getting ready to work out I make a barricade with the couches, the gate, pillows, whatever I can find, I'll use it. I do this so that Elliana is safe to play and I can watch her while I work out.

It never fails! So far, EVERY single time I have done this, she sees it as her mission to find a way to break through and get to me and the exercise equipment. I don't know how, but she has succeeded EVERY time! So, my work outs aren't nearly as long as I'd like them to be. (Sigh)

She also made it her mission to learn how to climb the stairs yesterday. No matter how many times she fell, or how many times I pulled her away, she would make a bee-line for the stairs. She tried over and over and finally succeeded! She made it up several stairs. I think I'm in trouble.

These were taken with my phone so they aren't very clear.





Oh dear, I love my daughter but she is going to be a hand full!

P.S. Here's some pictures I took of the two of us at the park today. I had fun playing with them. These are some of my new favorites!















Photobucket

Friday, October 2, 2009

I Made It!

SO, the day that I never thought would come is finally here! When I put in my notice 6 weeks ago, I was told that September would be the longest month of my life- and it was!

Wednesday was my last day at work and I found myself feeling very nostalgic and I was a little teary. After all, I literally grew up at that job. When I started I was single, 19 years old, and living with roommates. That job saw me through dating Caleb, getting engaged, getting married, the struggle of my infertility and miscarriage, my pregnancy, and finally, having Elliana and becoming a Mom. The last year or two wasn't the greatest of my years at work, but I do have many good memories and I had many good years while working there.

I wrote a farewell email and sent it out to the entire office thanking them for the years and the memories. I couldn't believe how sad I was to write it. I got many very nice cards and emails in return. Tonight they are having a goodbye dinner for me and I'm really looking forward to it.

So now here I am, a full time stay at home Mom. It's what I've always wanted and I am SOOOO excited! I don't know yet what my daily, or even weekly routine is going to look like. All I know is, I don't have to worry about struggling to get Ellie and myself ready to get to work on time, or what to do if Elliana is sick, or how I'm going to make it through the day when Ellie was up all night, or pleading to have time off for Holidays, or missing out on any of Elliana's milestones, etc. I have a lot to figure out still but I know I'm going to like this. :)



Here is a video of Elliana that I took last week. She is getting around so quickly these days. I'm sure a lot of my time will be spent chasing her around. :)



Sorry, the video's not the greatest. The lighting isn't good and there's some background noise (that's the dryer).

Photobucket

About Me

My Photo
I am a daughter of the King. Saved by grace. Follower of Christ. I love my God and I believe that he is faithful and true to his word! I'm still figuring out and trying to follow his plan for my life. I am a wife to my best friend Caleb, a mother to my miracle babies (they are my greatest joy and challenge), a sister and best friend to 3 passionate women, and a daughter to 2 amazing parents that continue to teach me what it is to be real and faithful to God and his word. I am lucky to get to be a stay at home Mom (thanks to God's provision). I love music, singing, coffee, cooking, baking, traveling, our beautiful state of Colorado, and mostly being with the family and friends that I love!

Husband, Caleb

Husband, Caleb
Caleb is an amazing husband and father. He is always so good to me. He is my best friend. He is the romantic one. We love to laugh and spend time together. We've been married for 7 years and I just love that I get to spend the rest of my life with him.

Our 1st Miracle

Our 1st Miracle
Elliana Faith... God blessed us with our first miracle little girl in December 2008. She is sweet, smart, spunky, funny, strong willed, precocious, extremely outgoing, vocal and so full of life! She brings us so much joy.

Our 2nd Miracle

Our 2nd Miracle
Ethan James,.. God blessed us with our little boy in March 2011. Ethan was a bit of a surprise and an even bigger miraclle. Ethan is ALL BOY! He is very active, into sports and running around. He is also sweet, introverted, affectionate, and laid back. These days he often has us laughing, he's starting to show a little bit of "clown" in him. He makes our hearts happy too. :)

Our 3rd Miracle

Our 3rd Miracle
Emsley Jeannette... Our surprise baby girl was born on June 11th, 2013 and came into the world 4 weeks early. Her first 2 weeks of life were spent in the NICU, but due to God's hands and the prayers of many people, she grew quickly and came home to join our family! She is an easy, sweet baby and we are enjoying getting to know her personality.

Sisters

Sisters
We fight one day and then the next day we're fine. We're always loud and crazy when we get together. We're very passionate. We've been through it all together, lots of ups and downs. We're eachother's biggest supporters.

Followers

Designed By:


Munchkin Land Designs


Credits

 
Designed by Munchkin Land Designs • Copyright 2013 • All Rights Reserved