My Girls

I haven't updated on the girls in a while, so I thought I would list some new things that have been happening.

Gracie Claire...

• can now order her own food at Chick-fil-a. She says, "Hello. I want chitten nuggets, spute (fruit,) Sipe (Sprite,) & cocklate mulk (chocolate milk.) Taint you! Bye-Bye!"
• is a sugar addict. She asks for candy everyday.
• sings a lot. Her favorite songs of the moment are "Jesus Loves Me" and "Twinkle, Twinkle."
• has completely given up naps, except for when she's at school. I do make her have a "rest" time where she lays on her bed and looks at books and listens to music. It's not her favorite time of the day.
• is obsessed with princesses. The Disney ones are her favorites. If I let her, she would watch Cinderella and Beauty & The Beast everyday. She now has Disney princess pajamas (thanks to my mom) and slippers (thanks to me...I couldn't resist!)
• loves to color, play with puzzles, and "read" books. I, as a former teacher, especially love the fact that she loves books. She would let me sit and read to her all day.
• likes telling me to be careful. When I pick up Sydney, clear the table, bump into something, I hear, "Be caresul Mommy!"
• also likes to give me praise after using the restroom. Sorry if there are those of you who are really private about the potty, but there are times when she walks in the bathroom while I'm using it and there's not much I can do. When the job is done, she says, "Good job Mommy!"

Sydney...

• is pulling up on everything and starting to cruise a little bit. Fun times are in the near future!
• is still trying to get rid of that crazy ear infection...she is now on her third antibiotic.
• is waving and clapping. I love that when she waves her hand, it's usually turned backwards, so she is waving at herself.
• loves other babies. When she is around my nephew, Sam, you can hardly keep her from smothering him.
• has become quite the little dancer. She especially loves swinging her arm and rocking back and forth to Christmas songs.
• has about four teeth that are going to pop through anytime. Her gums are swollen and bumpy, but she teeths like Gracie Claire. No fussing at all! (I know, I'm blessed!!)
• loves playing with her big sister. She gets a huge kick playing chase with her. The giggles that come from the two of them are the best!
• can throw like a baby athlete. If they had the baby Olympics, I think she could be a real threat in the discus competition.

They are seriously the funnest, sweetest, most precious girls ever! I love being their Mommy!

Ear Infections

Sydney has been dealing with getting over a cold, or so we thought, for the past 2-3 weeks. My poor baby had junk oozing from her nose for a while before she developed a crazy cough. When she woke up on my birthday after her nap with a fever of almost 103, I decided the doctor needed to get involved. I've told a little of this story already, but to refresh any memories who might care, the doctor said he was hoping it wasn't RSV before he even checked her only to find out it was an ear infection. If I were a doctor, and I truly do love our doctor, I wouldn't be walking into a room, with a slightly worried/irriated mommy, talking about RSV and how it would most likely hospitalize a baby Sydney's age before I checked her. My opinion! Anyways, he put her on an antibiotic, which, long story short, didn't work. So, at her nine month check, he put her on another antibiotic, which I thought wasn't working either, only to have Sydney acting herself these last couple of days. I so wish that we could take pain and sickness from our babies. It is, as I know all of you know, one of the worst things to see your baby sick. I am so thankful that we live in a time that the doctors know so much more than they used to and that we have access to medications that make our babies better. All in all, ear infections stink! This was our first experience with one, and I definitely don't recommend them! :o)

This picture was taken in the midst of the ear infection. Only babies can give a serious smile when they feel so yucky. If you look close enough, you can see some junk oozing from her nose...

Mmmmm...Thanksgiving

My contribution to Thanksgiving dinner...

Baked Mash, Roasted Asparagus, & Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie

Thanksgiving Crafts

I definitely don't claim to be crafty, but since Gracie Claire is old enough to understand what's going on around her now during this time of year, I decided that I wanted to try to do a fun craft and one that would be more meaningful as we are trying to talk to her about being thankful. I will not take credit for coming up with the idea for the pinecone turkey, but I thought it was super cute and easy enough for her to help out with. She stuck all of the parts on after I shot the pinecone with glue. She keeps carrying it around by the feathers.

I got the idea for the fall wreath off of the internet too, but I decided to turn it into a "thankfulness wreath." We traced her hands to make the leaves and wrote something that Gracie Claire is thankful for on each "leaf." She did pretty well coming up with things on her own. Some of the things she said were the park, bugs, her birthday, lions, crayons, and of course Mommy, Daddy, Sydney, and BigPa and Gigi. We talked about how the most important thing to be thankful for is Jesus. Her big thing right now is saying, "Jesus likes me!" Love it!

(The Indian headband and feathers came from school. She has worn them all week.)

Sam

I love being an aunt! My sweet little nephew Sam came to stay with us during the day for a week a little while back, and I have to say that he is one of the calmest, most content babies ever! The only time I ever heard a fuss out of him was when he was hungry or needed to be changed. It was interesting having two babies so close in age to take care of at the same time. But, I'm not complaining one bit because it's like they made a deal to take it easy on me. Sam was so sweet about being a patient for our little 2 year old doctor, waiting on Aunt Amanda if I was dealing with other baby issues, and not having any diaper explosions while he stayed with us. The hardest part about having two so close in age was getting out and running errands. For the most part I stayed home, but there were times when I had to get all 3 of them out of the house. I think it's having 2 carriers. Overall, it was a fairly normal week with my buddy Sam joining in on the fun. I loved getting to take care of him! Sweet Sam is such an important part of our family and I thank God for giving him to us!

Yeah...I know

I should be spending my evening doing more productive things than watching "The Bachelor." But, if you're a viewer like me, you will understand when I say, "Whatever!!! Wack!!! Uncool!!!"

Don't worry, I'm not really that upset about it.

My Birthday

My birthday was almost 2 weeks ago and, as usual, it wasn't normal. It was great, for the most part! Paul and the girls made it a very special day. Paul had taken the day of my birthday and the day after off, so that was a present in itself. He isn't one to prepare ahead of time, but the day before, he went out into the garage to do a "project." First he took Sydney out and then Gracie Claire, so I knew it had to be something to do with them as well. After GC came in from her turn, she told me, "Daddy painted my hands!" The next day, when I opened my gift from the girls (which is what the project in the garage was) I was excited to see the imprints of their hands with 2 great poems that Paul had put with them. It was such a sweet surprise.

Gracie Claire went to school that day, so while she was there, we went shopping. We do this a lot for birthdays. Which I enjoy! After we picked GC up from school early, we went and had sushi to eat at one of our favorite little places. Then it was home for naps. After Sydney's 3 hour nap, I went in to get her and knew as soon as I picked her up that she had a fever. Poor baby!! Since she had developed a little bit of a cough and GC had bronchitis the week before, I called the doctor. So how did I spend my birthday evening you ask? Waiting in the doctor's office for an hour and a half before he saw her while comforting my sick 9 month old. I was thrilled to find out that it was not RSV, which I hadn't even thought about until he came in talking about how he'd sent 2 babies to the hospital with it that day. Thankfully it was an ear infection, which is awful for my Syd, but can be fixed with antibiotics.

My overall good day ended by finally getting home to Paul, GC, my parents, and my brother Caleb and nephew Sam who all came for pizza. We were going to go eat out, but in the end, this was just as fun! In my 29 years, I am so blessed to have been given a wonderful husband, two precious daughters, the best parents, a great brother and sister, great in-laws, and sweet nephews. But, most importantly, I've been given a precious Saviour who has given me the sweetest gift of his mercy and grace!

My girls and I before opening their special present.

I loved GC's reaction and expression to this card. Such little things can make a 2 year old so happy!
I loved this one for the expression on Sydney's face. It's like she's saying, "I'm going to take my moment with the camera while y'all are busy."
How could I forget to mention that we had a princess party that night?! We had crowns, princess plates, napkins, cups and table cloth. Gracie Claire was beyond excited!

I'm Behind

on my blogging. This post isn't really for anybody else. Just a reminder of what I want to blog about the next couple of days.

1. My Birthday
2. My Nephew
3. Thanksgiving Crafts
4. Ear Infections
5. Bitterness
6. Catching up on the Girls
7. Low Rider Cars