Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas all! Yes, I'm late...but we had 5 Christmas celebrations in 3 days...so I'm a little beat!


Let me rewind, and I'll start on Christmas Eve morning...Matt got off of work and headed home, and when we were ready to have our Christmas, I had him go and play with Kellen in Kellen's room while I set out all of the presents for he and Tatum. Then Matt came out to video Kellen's reaction to the gifts, and we called him out into the living room...it was GREAT! He was so surprised, because we hadn't told him that we were going to be opening any presents. Tatum just played and played with her LeapFrog table, and Kellen was a big helper to her, opening all of her presents for her. :) She just hasn't and didn't figure out the opening presents thing, so I guess it was good that she had some help, huh? Kellen played all morning with his LeapFrog reading writing system and his Sit N Spin, and begged and begged to watch Shrek the Third. Then we got ready to leave for Matt's aunt and uncle's house in Houston for our Christmas Eve celebration there, and were delayed slightly in our departure due to a lovely garbage disposal issue. Despite being told I can, my mantra is now, "I will not put potato skins down the disposal. I will not put potato skins down the disposal."

We got there for our annual venison chili and cold-cuts dinner (yes, it seemed strange to me, too...but I married into it and now it just seems normal), and Kellen played with his cousin's rugby wheelchair...he had a BLAST running into the curbs and flying down the driveway into the street. Wait, that sounds bad...it's a cul-de-sac and there were adults present, so it was supervised fun, really! The kids were really well behaved, save for Kellen's continual attempt to get the dog to let him pet her...we tried to tell Kellen that when she went into her crate, that was her telling him to LEAVE HER ALONE...and that the growling was her way of telling him that. I think he got it, but he continued to try to pet her (outside of the crate) all night long. I don't think it ever worked. Lots of fun was had by all there, then we loaded up and went to Maw Maw and Paw Paw's. We opened just a couple of gifts there from family friends, and the adults PJ's (Matt, Brenna and I all got new PJ's to wear for Christmas Eve...the kids had already worn theirs the night before because we had already started their celebrations), then called it a night.

Christmas morning was just lots of fun. Luckily for us, both of the kids slept in because it had been such a long day on Christmas Eve. Fortunately, they're BOTH doing the "catching up" sleep thing that they've NEVER done before. Let me just say that it's really nice...We opened up the presents, and Kellen's favorite - by far - was the pirate ship from the VeggieTales Pirates who Don't do Anything. Ohmygosh...He was so excited - thrilled - about that present it's almost indescribable. I got a new digital camera...that is SO nice! Now I just have to figure out how to use all of the various functions...It even has a manual fuction, which is something that I've really been wanting so that I can experiment more with pictures of the kids. Yay!! I get to play around with it now...Matt's big present he had already gotten - tires for his Trailblazer. He's thrilled about it - I guess it's a guy thing? LOL We then had a big lunch there, which was just wonderful, and then the kids went down for their naps.

Afterwards, we loaded everything up and went down into Houston for the other side of Matt's family...more family, more presents, both kids are STILL behaving remarkably well for having two full days of this intense action. Tatum just charmed everyone...and is walking better and better by the day (why am I encouraging this again? I forget...) We stayed down at Gary and Glenda's for quite a while, and didn't leave there until 10PM...got back home shortly before midnight, then got the kids down in bed, finished unpacking from that trip and getting things ready for the next and final Christmas celebration....for my side of the family on Wednesday.

I made two pot roasts in the crock pot (two crock pots, actually), with potatos, carrots, and mushrooms, and let that cook all night long. Wednesday morning we slept in until a little after 8AM (yay again for the kids sleeping in!) and Grandma and Grandpa got here shortly after 9. Most everything was ready for this group, so I finished up the last of the gifts, got lunch ready, and Michael, Jonathan, Tammy, Joey and Allyssa got here shortly after noon. Dad and Matt had run to finish up a couple of the gifts and get some things from the store (darn that missing sugar!) and made it here shortly after the rest of the gang arrived..It was almost perfect timing...I think they had to wait about 15 minutes on the green beans, corn and noodles to finish up before we were able to eat. We ate lunch...lots of lunch, and then opened presents. Kellen and Allyssa (and Joey - although he was more like a babysitter) played a LOT in their room. It eventually looked like a tornado had gone through there, but man...they were having fun!

So today has been a rest day...we ALL lounged in our PJ's until about noon...Tatum was the first to get changed out of hers just because she was getting frustrated while trying to crawl and/or walk in PJ's that were too long (18 month PJ's fit her really well except for being too long...12 month PJ's are getting too tight in her legs - my big girl...), Kellen stayed in his all the way through naptime, and I showered while they were both napping after lunch. It was a GREAT day today...both kids were well behaved, Kellen colored and played with his sticker books, played with his toys and Tatum, plus HER toys (they must be more fun for him now that he's older...dunno...). After we all woke up from naps (unfortunately, mine was just a short cat-nap on the chair), we ran errands in town. A trip to Once Upon a Child to sell some outgrown clothes and toys landed up just enough money to buy the large Shrek and Donkey stuffed toys and a Shrek 2 puzzle they had there for Kellen...I think I made 50 cents or something...but since Kellen is currently sleeping with the Shrek and Donkey and put the puzzle together all by himself almost as soon as we got home, I think it was well worth it.

Maybe tomorrow we'll get more done around the house, but it was really fun just to play with the kids today. Tatum decided that she wanted to walk - really walk. I think I lost count of the number of steps she took...if I had been counting, I guess. I was in shock that I couldn't really get my brain to count steps! Our highest outside of today had been 4 steps...I think this was at least 8...

Blur...

That's what life feels like right now!

Friday I had the day off, and Matt and I got some MAJOR errands run...then he took a short nap while I picked up the kids from school, and it was off to Houston by way of Conroe to drop the kids off with his folks for our date-night...The Nutcracker, performed by The Houston Ballet! Tickets to the show were my anniversary present, and WOW! Well, it's us...so is anyone surprised that we were running behind schedule? Quick dinner of Sonic on the way to Conroe, get them dropped off - when we realized there was a complete 24-hour miscommunication about which day the ballet was anyway...luckily MawMaw and PawPaw were actually at their house - WHEW! So they were all set to watch the kids, quick changes for Matt and I and we're off to Houston. In bound traffic was a little heavier than Matt had expected, so we knew that we were cutting it close on the start time...Get there, park, and walk (luckily, I DO know how to power and race walk) to the show, get inside, one guy tells us they're still seating people and the next lady...well, you can see where I'm going with this, right? The next lady stops us and tells us that they have stopped seating. According to my watch, it was 7:37, but we missed the door by less than 2 minutes...and were the first ones turned away...surprised? I didn't think so.

So we got to watch the first act on the monitor - a VERY nice TV hooked up to a not-so-nice feed. Ahh..There were others that joined us, and Matt and I saw a glimpse of our future in some of the families...adorably dressed little girls and oh-so-handsome little boys...doing combat rolls towards the glass and bear-crawling so as to not get in the way of people. It was hilarious!

After intermission, we found our seats and really enjoyed the show quite a bit. But what would a night out be without some drama, at least where we're concerned?

Saturday morning we get up and rush to get ready so that we can make it back to town in time for Kellen's Little Dragon class that starts at 10 AM. At about 5 minutes till we pull into the parking lot...the EMPTY parking lot. Apparently neither Matt nor I had realized that the holiday schedule began on Saturday, so we high-tailed it back to town for a non-existent lesson. Poor Kellen. He was so excited about going to his class, too. Anyway, we were able to get a lot more stuff done around the house on Saturday, and Matt really went through all of our Christmas decorations, finished decorating, and reorganized the decoration storage boxes. The house looks really nice!

We discussed yesterday that we still needed to get Santa pictures, so we looked on the mall website and saw that the mall was opening up at 7 AM today. So this morning, I got up, got ready, got the kids all decked out in their gear, and was determined to be one of the first in line for the Santa pictures. How true, how true. When we arrived at the mall and went to the castle, there was a sign on it indicating that on Sunday, the pictures were from 12 - 6 PM. And this was at 9:30 AM, mind you. So, I decided to try and finish some of the Christmas shopping that I needed to do at the mall, and just get that done before the pictures opened up...we shopped for a while - let me just interject here that Kellen inherits his non-love of shopping from me - he was not the happiest of campers at the mall - then at about 10:45, went to the food court and got an early lunch. I decided to let them eat, then go wait by the castle for Santa...smart plan, right?

We finish eating about ten minutes after 11, then walk over to the castle, only to see hustle and bustle there....Apparently, they started taking pictures at 11 AM today, not noon as the sign on their stand indicated. So instead of being EARLY, people are already there and getting their pictures made. Oh good gracious! However, the line wasn't bad, and I had been prepping Kellen quite a bit about showing Tatum that she didn't need to be scared of Santa, etc...He went first, and did just WONDERFULLY! He went right up to Santa and sat on his lap, talked to him, smiled great for his picture, everything! Then I put Tatum on Santa's other knee, and reminded Kellen to show Tatum not to be scared of Santa. I let them both sit there for just a few minutes, and Tatum was NOT happy about the big buy in the red suit. Kellen was GREAT, though! He was trying to make her laugh, and calming her down, then I got him off of Santa's lap and he and I tried to make her laugh and smile so that she could get a good picture with Santa. It turned out ok, but she isn't smiling and cheerful in the picture, which is her "normal" face and attitude. All-in-all, the pictures are ADORABLE.

Back to the house for naps, then after naps we hit Wal-Mart and then Kroger for the remainder of our items. Kellen helped me wrap a lot of gifts tonight, and he had so much fun being my helper! He was disappointed that we didn't get a chance to make any cookies or the cupcakes we had talked about, but we just ran out of time today! Maybe we'll get to that tomorrow...he's pretty insistent about making cookies for Santa.

The Shrek Song

So on the new "Shrek the Halls" show, which we have DVR'ed and watched a zillion times (I have committed it to memory, Kellen has committed it to memory, heck, I think TATUM has committed it to memory), there is a particular song with a lyric that goes,

"Bah humbug, but that's too strong...it's my favorite holiday."

Well, Matt did a search for that song - as it does have a good beat - and we found it. We've been listening to this stop nonstop, or at least it seems nonstop, since Matt found it. I can't get it out of my head! I'll say a small phrase out of it, then Kellen will finish the verse and ask to listen to the Shrek Song on the computer.

In fact, if the web site is up, he'll continually click the play button just so that he can listen to it over and over again.

Check it out...http://youtube.com/watch?v=bP_WH4heId4 - It really is cute and catchy...

Christmas Wrapping
by The Waitresses

"Bah, humbug!" No, that's too strong
'Cause it is my favorite holiday
But all this year's been a busy blur
Don't think I have the energy

To add to my already mad rush
Just 'cause it's 'tis the season.
The perfect gift for me would be
Completions and connections left from

Last year, ski shop,
Encounter, most interesting.
Had his number but never the time
Most of '81 passed along those lines.

So deck those halls, trim those trees
Raise up cups of Christmas cheer,
I just need to catch my breath,
Christmas by myself this year.

Calendar picture, frozen landscape,
Chilled this room for twenty-four days,
Evergreens, sparkling snow
Get this winter over with!

Flashback to springtime, saw him again,
Would've been good to go for lunch,
Couldn't agree when we were both free,
We tried, we said we'd keep in touch.

Didn't, of course, 'til summertime,
Out to the beach to his boat could I join him?
No, this time it was me,
Sunburn in the third degree.

Now the calendar's just one page
And, of course, I am excited
Tonight's the night, but I've set my mind
Not to do too much about it.

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
But I think I'll miss this one this year.

Hardly dashing through the snow
Cause I bundled up too tight
Last minute have-to-do's
A few cards a few calls'
Cause it's r-s-v-p
No thanks, no party lights
It's Christmas Eve, gonna relax
Turned down all of my invites.

Last fall I had a night to myself,
Same guy called, halloween party,
Waited all night for him to show,
This time his car wouldn't go,

Forget it, it's cold, it's getting late,
Trudge on home to celebrate
In a quiet way, unwind
Doing Christmas right this time.

A&P has provided me
With the world's smallest turkey
Already in the oven, nice and hot
Oh d#$%! Guess what I forgot?

So on with the boots, back out in the snow
To the only all-night grocery,
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
In the line is that guy I've been chasing all year!

"I'm spending this one alone," he said.
"Need a break; this year's been crazy."
I said, "Me too, but why are you?
You mean you forgot cranberries too?"

Then suddenly we laughed and laughed
Caught on to what was happening
That Christmas magic's brought this tale
To a very happy ending! "

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Couldn't miss this one this year!
Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!
Couldn't miss this one this year!

Written by Chris Butler (c)
1981 Future Fossil Music, BMI

A day of firsts...

Today was Kellen first dental appointment - ok, ok...I know what the "official" recommendation is...but it was a good visit - no cavities and he even let them clean and floss his teeth - don't judge me :) - We had been talking about the visit and I had been prepping him for it...we had a lot of time to just hang out in the dentists office (more than Mommy would have liked, actually), but it worked out ok because I was able to play with him a lot and get him really comfortable in the surroundings. He didn't like the bright light shining on his face - specifically his eyes - when he was getting his teeth examined, but can you really blame him? He did a decent job of getting the x-ray done, but moved during the second part of it, so half of them look really interesting. We opted NOT to redo them. He's 4...we didn't think it was necessary. The part that I think he dislikes the most was them rinsing his mouth out with the spray water...he just couldn't understand that and the suction...that part freaked him out a little, but ultimately, not a big deal. Then he called his Grandpa Gerren to share the good news and tell him about the "trophy toothbrush" he got as a present. At what point in time the toothbrush morphed into a trophy toothbrush I have no idea, but whatever!

As a reward for doing such a great job at the dentist, he went back to my office with me and played the part of a helper elf , handing out Christmas presents around the office, telling everyone "Merry Christmas!" along the way. It was adorable and he enjoyed it so much! Since he had helped make the cookies, I wanted him to be able to help hand them out, so it was really nice that we were able to make that work. He even helped "assemble" the gifts...a Christmas tub, chocolate no-bake cookies, hot chocolate mix, and some chocolate candies (yes, yes...we are a chocolate family). The folks at the office got a big kick out of him handing the gifts out, too.

Then we headed back to school in time for lunch and there ya' go!

When we got home today, he asked if we were going to make more cookies, apparently because , "It's my most favorite thing to do in the whole world!"

Really? Make cookies? I had no idea.

As for Tatum, 3 steps is our max. That's where we are at this point in time. She gets SO EXCITED when she thinks about walking and tries to walk that she's leaning more than her legs are moving...or she gets those 3 steps and then gets too excited to coordinate the rest of the movements. It's too cute to watch her try and figure this out, it really is. I still haven't figured out why I'm encouraging this development, other than I want to help my kids develop to their full potential - but walking at 9 months? I think she'll have it down pretty well by Christmas, or at the latest by the time she turns 10 months old.

She had a very vocal day today, and was apparently sharing her opinion with everyone...Opinions about what, we aren't all that sure, but she was sure letting everyone know that she was around! She is just too funny...

Decorating for Christmas...

Well, we're getting there! Kellen and I put up some of the Christmas decorations last night, and then we all went to pick out a tree this afternoon. The boxes you see in the background are decorations still waiting to be put up...most of them are for the tree, so we're still working on it!

Tatum was desperate to hug her brother, and was doing everything that she could to get close to him...it's still so cute how much she just adores him and how good he is with her!



Kellen actually found "our" tree, and did a much better job (in my opinion anyway) than the actual tree guy with picking out what we wanted and needed. We're trying to be practical this year, and needed a thin tree, because we're putting it in the corner, sandwiched between the couch and loveseat. It's our attempt to keep a little, ever-so-mobile someone (or two) away from the tree. We'll see how that works.



Kellen and Daddy trimmed the end of the tree when we got home, and we decided that we're going to start keeping the ends as a keepsake. We'll put our name and the year on them and have them to remember the Christmas and trees...


So in the midst of our holiday afternoon...we got into some singing and playing around. And we re-discovered Kellen's GREAT memory...especially when it comes to music. He was showing his skills of to me, but it took a little convincing before he would let me video him...but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity!! Enjoy the video...it's Kellen singing "Something Beautiful" by The Newsboys. He was also singing "Sing" by The Carpenters, "Pride (In the Name of Love)" by U2, various Toby Mack songs, and some others. Obviously, since Mommy and Daddy have varied tastes in music, he's picked up on some of that and enjoys it quite a bit!

In other news, Tatum is eating more and more off of the "big girl" menu. She ate (and LOVED) peach yogurt today, cheese squares, and bananas (a HALF of a banana - seriously). She also enjoyed some pancakes as well this weekend (from the freezer, but compliments of Grandpa Gerren). Oh my, oh my. She's just doing GREAT (if we could only figure out naps with any consistency...)

Goodness...what a week

Well, let's see where to start. This has been a pretty crazy week! To try and sum up...

Kellen went to visit Maw Maw and Paw Paw's while Daddy was at work on Tuesday, spent the night, and then he, Paw Paw and Daddy went to storytime at the library on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tatum is getting better and better at walking, and is successfully taking one step at a time...then progresses to three whole steps on Thursday! Whoa buddy!

Despite our good intentions, we still haven't gotten our Christmas decorations up (ARG!). That's REALLY high on the priority list for tomorrow (after the Little Dragons class and a birthday party...oh, and nap).

I got my new phone (yay!) and am trying to take a crash course in it. *grin* I have just spend the last hour and a half transferring my contacts from my old phone to my new one. Sigh. It wouldn't take the update from my old phone, and because it's being synced with my work computer, it would have erased those contacts anyway. So...I now have my phone numbers (or at least I should when the server pushes the next sync tomorrow morning).

Oh, and did I mention that I spent the hour before that transferring my calendar items from my old palm (which no longer communicates or syncs with my work computer) to my work calendar? BIG sigh.

But...good news is that once the next sync push happens, I should be all set up! Whoo hoo!!

I'm so looking forward to a nice family weekend!!

Christmas talk

We've been watching all of the nightly Christmas specials...many of which I grew up on and am more than happy to share with (at least) Kellen right now.

Here are some tidbits of our conversations from tonight...

Watching Frosty the Snowman
(As the opening credits are rolling and it's in the very early stages)
Kellen: Where's the hat that makes the snowman talk?
Me: Sweetie, just watch the show, ok? (HOW DOES HE KNOW THIS? I DON'T REMEMBER EVER WATCHING THIS WITH HIM BEFORE!!)

Watching the "other" Frosty that came on afterwards (which I don't ever remember watching and is kind of freaky if you think about it from a kids point of view...the adults vaporing the snow and snowman...huh? what's THAT about?)
Kellen: MOMMY, FROSTY IS GOING TO GET DISAPPEARED! Is someone going to spray Frosty?!?
Me: I'm not sure, honey.

(later)
Kellen: MOMMY, FROSTY HAS A BIG HOLE IN HIS STOMACH AND HIS LEGS ARE WOBBLY AND HE'S GOING TO MELT INTO A BOWL!
Me: Really? (Thinking...why oh why did they make this into a KIDS show? He's going to have nightmares about snowmen with holes in their stomachs melting now!)

After both of the shows are over while he's stalling to finish getting ready for bed.
Kellen: Mommy, we don't have a chimney.
Me: You're right sweetie, we don't.
Kellen: Then how can Santa get into our house to bring us presents?
Me: Kellen, do you think Santa is real?
Kellen: Yes, he's on TV.
Me: (Arg, I wanted to go along with the Santa thing but didn't want to actually "train" either of the kids to actually buy into and believe in it). Well, we have that special Santa key that we hang on the door so only Santa can use it and get into the house. But why does Santa bring presents at Christmas, Kellen?
Kellen: Because some boys and girls don't have any toys.
Me: Ok, but why else do we give presents at Christmas? What happened a long time ago at Christmas?
Kellen: I don't know. I forgot.
Me: Because God gave Jesus to us as a gift so that we could be saved and live with God in Heaven and we remember that by giving presents to other people, right?
Kellen: Right.

While being tucked into bed:
Kellen: Is tomorrow stay at home day? (Say "stay at home" very quickly and it DOES actually sound like Saturday)
Me: Yes, it's Saturday.

(later)
Me: Kellen, how did you get to be such a good big brother?
Kellen: 'Cause that's how God made me.

Spreading the Christmas Spirit...

Matt and I talked weekend about Kellen's current attitude toward Christmas "What's on my Christmas list?" and "I want that for Christmas!" and decided that we were going to HAVE to do something about it...we are going to have to put MORE emphasis on the REAL meaning of Christmas, we are going to need to downplay the "Santa" thing, gift and gift-talking aspects of Christmas, etc.

So Kellen and I have been talking more every day about what Christmas is REALLY all about.

Also, on Saturday we "cleaned" his room, and went through about half of his toys, and talked about little boys and girls that didn't have toys and made choices about giving some of the toys he didn't play with very much or like to those little girls and boys. We had a box there in the room, and he would actually go over and put things in there (not very many, mind you, but he did actually do it). We'll have to find some other place to take it where I think it will "mean" something to him to drop off the box.

He actually put one of the Percy push trains in the box..and told me, "We can give this away to a little boy that doesn't have toys because I have a little Percy that goes on my train track at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's." (Progress, right?)

If he threw too big of a fit about a particular toy that I thought he should get rid of, then we talked about whether or not he could share the toy with Tatum. If he decided he could (and it was a toy that could actually be shared), we went and put it in her room.

But he's still in the "I want it" mode (most of the time), so it's obviously a work in progress. At least we're working on it!

Oh my...her 1st one...

I completely forgot to update you all there in internet-land that Tatum had (has) an ear infection! Aw man...She had been coughing quite a bit, and last Wednesday afternoon I took her in to the doctor, thinking it was some kind of chest cold, bronchitis, or something. Well, it was certainly something, but something I didn't expect - she has an ear infection in her left ear. We go back in tomorrow for her 9 month well-check (yes, I typed that correctly...she's officially 9 months old today) and the doctor will check her ears for a follow-up.

Poor baby!

Her nose had been alternating between running like a faucet and being altogether stopped up, but I was really getting worried when it was so stopped up that she couldn't breathe while nursing. Aww!! So we started antibiotics last Wednesday night, she seems to not mind the medicine, so that's a good thing! Now she actually gets excited when I come toward her with the syringe full of medicine for her to swallow.

Crazy girl!

Peek-a-boo

So I figured out something that Tatum apparently really likes...soft and fuzzy blankets! Saturday afternoon...I was needing to do something, and she DID NOT want to be confined. AT ALL! So I started waving this blanket over her head, and she just loved it! So then, in my infinitely creative way, I decided to see if I could manage to get just a few minutes of chore time if I created, as Kellen would call, a "house" using this blanket over her jumperoo. And it worked like a CHARM! Except that I was so busy watching how much fun she was having that I didn't actually do the chores that I was needing to do. Oh well!

She doesn't get fussy all that often, but now that she's oh-so-much-more mobile, she really gets irritated if she's confined and doesn't really want to be. I guess I can't say that I blame her, can you?

She also figured out the peek-a-boo game during this little adventure as well...she's such a hoot and learning so much every day!

Christmas Parade Fun

Considering a 2:00 PM start time and no naps (for either kid), they did a FABULOUS job of behaving prior to and during the parade. Apparently, the parades in BCS are pretty long...and by 3:30 (with the BRIGHT December sun - seriously - followed by a few scattered raindrops here and there) we were ready to go. It did actually take Kellen a little while to get into it, but he ended up enjoying himself. Tatum was just the little tropper...she hung out just watching everyone for quite a while, then played and finally took a nap shortly before we decided to leave.

What a fun family afternoon!

Kellen's afternoon

I got a call from school at ~ 3:45 letting me know that Kellen had closed his hand in the door (the one from his room to the playground). They told me that he had a pretty bad cut on his finger, but that it wasn't gushing blood...and that they were icing it and suggested that we come and look at it.

Considering what Matt does, I called him and asked him to get to the school to check things out (in enough time to get to the dr's by 5 if we needed). Well, at 4:30 he calls me and tells me that he STILL can't find his keys and suggests that I get over to daycare (oh boy - Matt and his keys!). So I hightail it out of work and get to daycare. On the way there, Matt calls to tell me that he found his keys, so he just ends up meeting me there.

Kellen's finger has stopped bleeding by this point, has a long cut, but the cut isn't deep - so no stitches. However, the finger is SWOLLEN and if you cup your hands around his finger (without touching it) you can feel the heat radiating off of his finger. Matt tried to get him to squeeze his fingers, and he did it, but after Matt tried to get him to squeeze "good" he started crying because his finger hurt so bad.

Poor guy!

So...come to find out, he was first in line waiting to go outside and must have bumped the door. He got that finger in the door (the space between the door and the wall near the hinges) and the door must have shut. Luckily, it didn't shut completely, or his finger would have more than likely broken.

On the way home, he wanted to call his Grandma, Grandpa, MawMaw and PawPaw to tell them about his boo boo on his finger...He even left messages for them!

He's not using his right hand much at all tonight, but did show me that he could bend his fingers earlier. His finger is still oh-so-swollen, so we'll see how he's doing tomorrow.

She ate from the menu

Tatum ate from the menu at school today. Oh my, oh my.

Chicken and rice, green beans and applesauce...I'll hear more about it tomorrow I'm sure, but apparently, she fed herself the "dry" items but didn't want to touch anything that was moist...but ate it if someone fed it to her with a spoon.

She's growing up too fast!

He could stand it!

We got home from work and school today, and Kellen was watching Tatum in the living room while I was changing clothes...all of the sudden I heard an incredibly loud thud - and crying. Loud crying. Tatum had pulled over one of the TV trays...Kellen was crying because he thought Tatum was hurt and he couldn't stop her - stop it - and she was crying becauase she was scared and she HAD actually hit her head...Poor thing! She had a huge red knot on her head - so Kellen ran to get the boo boo ice, and we tried to get her to sit still long enough to put the ice on it, but well...

So I not only had to comfort Tatum because she had actually gotten hurt, but I had to comfort Kellen because Tatum had gotten hurt! He just couldn't stand to see her hurt...really...he was almost inconsolable.

She's ready, but I'm not.

I walked into daycare today to feed Tatum, and had BOTH of the teachers tell me how she KNEW it was lunchtime and how she had been eyeing the lunch that two of the older kids were having. (They get the daycare lunch at 11, I get there to nurse her ~ 12:15 or so...- trust me, she isn't starving) So apparently they're thinking (and they're probably right) that she's ready for the table food for lunch.

*sigh*

I'M NOT READY FOR HER TO BE EATING TABLE FOOD YET!

I gave her a teeny tiny bit of our spaghetti noodles the other night, and she gobbled them right up.

Where did eight and a half months go?

And Kellen...wow.

He's SUCH a GREAT big brother!!! And such a good helper!

He's transformed from my little angel to a little boy. When exactly did that happen? I can't put my finger on it, but it certainly happened. I'm excited to see the boy he's growing into, but I think I'm just having a sentimental day...

The sick saga continues

Well...despite our best efforts to avoid it, apparently it was inevitable. Kellen got the tummy bug. He made his way into our room sometime last night, and I was awoken to the sounds of sickness at about 12:30 this morning. Poor guy! His little body didn't even give him any warning...he was getting sick in his sleep! What a way to wake up. I grabbed him just as quickly as I could, ran him to the bathroom, and helped him continue to get sick...by helped of course I mean I pointed his head in the correct direction toward the toilet. When he was all through - bless his heart - we got all cleaned up, I stripped and made the bed, started a load of laundry, and we tried to go back to sleep.

That lasted for a little while until the next go-round. Luckily, the next one wasn't quite as bad as the first. But still...his poor little body isn't giving him any warning at all!

So, he is sequestered to our bedroom for the time being. (We'll see if we can manage to keep him and Tatum apart so that SHE doesn't get it again) So far this morning he's watched cartoons and has had some water. I made him some toast, but he didn't want to eat it, so I didn't force the issue. Now, at 9:30 - yes, you read that correctly - 9:30 AM, he is back asleep.

We'll see how the rest of the day goes. From the other parents with multiple kids that have gotten this, I've been told that the older kids take much less time to get over this than the younger ones. Maybe we'll just be dealing with this today and be on the recovering end of it tomorrow.

Oh, and did I mention that Tatum threw up again yesterday afternoon at daycare? AHH!!! She hasn't shown the slightest bit of this bug since early this week! I am hoping and praying that this was just a fluke. A fluke - really...can it be just a fluke?

Funny man

So Kellen came back from MawMaw and PawPaw's today. Although he got back in the state yesterday, we felt it was better for him to stay out of the "funk" of our house until we had given this junk another day to get out of Tatum and my system.

Anyway...so he walks in and I ask for a hug, he comes over, starts to give me a hug, then stops.

"I can't give you a hug because you're sick. We don't give hugs to people when they're sick because then I'll get sick. And if I get sick then EVERYBODY will be sick and that will be bad. Mommy, did your heart stop beating when you were sick?" [Note: you have to read this while NOT taking a breath to get the full effect. Really.]

My oh my...

Trying to get him to finish his dinner, which was a peanut butter sandwich, 2 fig newton cookies, a slice of a peach and a cup of milk....

"I'm full," he declares after eating his 2 fig newtons. "If I eat everything then my belly will be full and I will eat too much and it will be round and I'll be a ball like Lilo and Stitch. 'Cause they ate too much and then went bouncy, bouncy, bouncy."

I have NO idea what he was watching and when Lilo and Stitch ate so much that they turned into bouncing balls, but whatever.

Apparently he had a really good time on his trip, even thanking God during his prayers for letting him go on the airplane.

As for his sister, she was completely asymptomatic today, so I think we'll try daycare again tomorrow and see how it goes.

Relapse

-Relapse-

I took her to daycare today. She hadn't gotten sick since yesterday at 7AM, so silly me thought it was actually safe to do that so that I could actually try and get some rest (BIG kudos to those of you who don't have that daycare option for when you get sick...wow!). Anyway, I was trying to take it easy and re-hydrate myself...and got a call at 2:30...she had thrown up and they were going to watch her closely...if she threw up again I would need to come and get her. Sure enough...another phone call at 3:30...and mind you she hadn't had anything since her bottle at noon and then solids ~ 2.

UG! Poor thing! I REALLY thought that she was over this thing! But apparently I'm not the only one that this bug is tricking...several of the kids have been out, been asymptomatic, come back, and gotten sick again.

On the mend?

Tatum seems to be...she hasn't gotten sick since this morning at ~ 7 AM. Yay! That makes me SO happy...I called and talked with the nurse at the pediatrician's office this morning and she confirmed that we were doing all of the correct things for her...nursing as often as she wanted, checking her hydration levels, output, etc. She also said that the cases that they've seen recently (and they have - which confirms that there is something going around) have cycled through in a few days, depending on the baby, its immune system, age, etc. I'm hoping that tonight and tomorrow continue along this path. Maybe we really are at the tail end of this with her. Oh wait. Should I have typed that? I certainly hope I didn't just jinx myself there.

Matt seems to be doing well - he actually ate some and seems to be doing better.

Me, on the other hand, I'm just weak. Perhaps it's because I haven't eaten anything - quite literally - all day long. I've managed to drink three cups of hot tea (decaf) today. That's it. I've been trying to stay hydrated, but that's all I could make myself drink.

I'm going to try some toast now. Wish me luck!

Wellness, it's a beautiful thing probably most appreciated when it's missing. Even for a short time.

Tatum's sick

Friday
Oh goodness...she threw up at school on Friday - twice, and enough that they called me. I went to pick her up early, she didn't get her 3:30 bottle, she was gagging and turning red - like she couldn't get a good breath and/or enough force to push up whatever it is that she needs to push up. She nursed twice - about 5 minutes each time and threw up the entire bit of it seconds later...I checked her diaper later on Friday night and it wasn't wet. And I hadn't changed it since I picked her up from school at ~ 4:30.

Oh man. She's not lethargic, but is definitely not acting like herself.

She nursed earlier like she wanted some milk, then snuggled next to me and threw it all up less than 2-5 minutes later.

She slept...and I just watched her VERY closely. When she isn't having a "spell" (don't know of a better way to put that), she's acting almost like my Tatum...still talking, cooing, but I can tell that she doesn't feel well...she's way more snuggly than normal, is more pale than normal, etc.

I did take her temp and she isn't running a fever at all...so I guess that's one good thing that we have going for us. Apparently there is something going around daycare...there were just a handful of the kids there Friday (out of the class of 10) and the rest of them were out with a stomach bug and/or cold/cough stuff.

Great.

Saturday
Well...Friday night went pretty well...Matt brought her in to me at about 4 and she nursed then - and kept it down, and fell back asleep in bed with us...woke up again around 7:30 and nursed on the other side...again..it stayed down. Apparently Matt changed her diaper at 4 before he brought her to me and said that it was wet - and full. She played for a little bit and then went down for a nap...woke up with a HUGE poopy diaper (runny since she hasn't had any solids), but at least she's getting some output. She played well since she woke up and has nursed again, so we'll see how the rest of the day goes...Hopefully it was just a quick little bug.

No "incidents" on Saturday.

Sunday
Well, she didn't throw up on Saturday, but Sunday she was just "off" and ended up throwing up on me when I got back to the house after going running an errand - and that was ~ 2 hours after she had eaten.

*sigh*

And then a little later I felt of her and she felt a little warm...took her temp and she's running a very low grade fever. Not high enough to be considered a real fever (i.e., I could still take her to daycare in the morning) but elevated such that I think her body might actually be trying to fight something. Poor baby.

I'm going to play tomorrow by ear...see how she's feeling in the morning. But I might be taking a day off is she still isn't feeling well!

Monday
Well, Tatum decided to share with Mommy and Daddy last night. Isn't she sweet? Matt and I were both up getting sick - I'll spare you the details except to say that's it's a good thing we have two bathrooms in the house. And that I never thought they would both be used at the same time - in the middle of the night - by people getting sick.

I took her temp first thing this morning and she's not running a fever at all, and so I was going to get her dressed and take her to school so I could lounge at the house in misery. (Poor Matt, he actually went to work this morning and I think is going to try and find someone to cover at least part of his shift for him). Anyway, as I was getting ready to put clothes on her, she starts coughing and then throws up...lots. This was ~ 2 hours after I had fed her - since her body is still on the "old" time system.

Oh my, oh my. I think I'm calling the doctor's office this morning...at least to speak to the nurse about what's going on and if I should take her in.

Things I've learned

Things I've learned since having two kids:

• I wasn't really that organized before. (Laugh - go ahead - Laugh all you folks whose mouths are now on the floor...)
• It is possible to take two kids to a festival in downtown Bryan - by yourself. And carry the 35 lb 4-year-old back to the minivan - that's a half mile away - while pushing the stroller when they get tired and are ready to go home. Or when they're not.
• It is possible to nurse child #2 while shopping with child #1 in Toys R Us - and even manage to be discrete. And push the stroller in which no one is riding.
• It is possible to take both kids to an after hours social - and carry them both out (20 lbs & ~ 40 lbs), along with their stuff, when #1 decides that he's too tired and just doesn't want to walk through the parking lot to the car...It just makes everyone you work with think that you're supermom. :)
• Math is wrong. 1 kid = 100% love; 2 kids does NOT = 50% love/each...somehow, each kid still gets 100% love out of 1 heart. It is possible and truly amazing.
• It is possible to make your baby food without completely (and I'll stress completely) losing your mind. And it's even kind of fun and somewhat addicting.
• It really IS easier to cook everything at once, freeze and then reheat dinner rather than trying to "cook" every night.
• You really CAN'T imagine life without the 2nd, just like you couldn't remember life before the 1st.
• It is possible to leave a nursing child for 5 days (It's not fun, but it's possible) and still manage to pump some amount of milk for that child (assuming said child takes bottles, which mine does). Oh, and TSA has now changed their guidelines so that nursing moms can bring any amount of breastmilk with them on the plane - with or without their child. Go figure.
• I care even less about being discrete with #2 than I did with #1. Really. And even less as time goes on.
• Children of both sexes can squirt urine at you during a diaper change. Seriously.
• Projectile poop is not fun. Need I say much more about this one?
• When your child(ren) throw up on you, you'll comfort them, strip the sopping wet clothes from your body & put on more, AFTER you clean them up, of course, just so they can do it again.
• My house will never again be pristine (not that it was pristine a large amount of time anyway), and it doesn't bother me as much as I wish it did. (Shouldn't I be striving for that? :) )
• I love that my son loves and adores his sister, and that my daughter thinks her brother hung the moon!
• Watching your husband melt with your child really does make you fall in love with them all over again - all over again.
  

Happy Halloween!

So we went trick-or-treating tonight...down what I refer to as sorority row. And the kids had a good time! Here is Kellen all decked out and ready to go.....And Tatum just hanging out...

And several of the houses actually had stations set up where the kids could come in and play games and stuff...too cool!

Kellen had a blast! At one of the houses, they even had a station where the kids could decorate their own cookies. Kellen was all over that one! Anyone surprised? Really? Tatum, on the other hand, just chilled out. I don't know that I expected much more from her for this year anyway. We did go into one of the houses with a "grown-up" Snow White, so we just HAD to get a picture of the big Snow White and the little Snow White...it was so adorable!

Kellen wanted to call it quits this year MUCH earlier than last year...so all we did was sorority row. We ended up not going to the mall or any of the community game places like we did last year, which was OK by me! He still came out of the deal with a bag FULL of candy - more than I'll let him eat in at least 6 months.

I think he was just so excited about going to Maw Maw and Paw Paw's tonight and leaving for his trip tomorrow that he was ready to get on with it. They're flying out tomorrow morning and going to DC and then to Delaware for the pumpkin chunkin' contest. He's going to have so much fun!! (And I think Maw Maw and Paw Paw might need a vacation from their vacation when they get back!)

Oh

"Oh" is Tatum's new word. She started saying it last week at daycare, I guess, and her teachers were telling me all about it. She's getting "bye bye" down pretty well...managing to say it after I've closed the door to daycare on many days - primarily after lunch. She also understands, at least a little bit, that bye bye has something to do with the door at her daycare. After I leave and tell her bye bye, she'll go over to the door, bang on it, appear to look for me, and say, "bye bye" to the door. When her teachers told me that it was almost enough to make me cry. Really.

She's also apparently pretty good at mimicking some sounds (except momma, of course). So, I thought I would try and capture some of her utter cuteness on video (thanks again Maw Maw, for letting me borrow your camera for a brief time). Here are her vocal talents after dinner last night. My goal was to catch her and her new "oh" sounds, which I did, but I also seem to have caught her saying "da da" and Kellen chatting with her as well...Too cute!

She's also figured out that when someone says, "Yay!", that you're supposed to clap. I've been trying to capture that on video as well, but have only been met with marginal success. She does; however, do this quite well and quite often - I'm just not that good at managing to capture it!

I think that she's still working on those teeth (well, she must still be working on them since we don't have any additional teeth), but she doesn't seem to be hurting quite as much. I wonder how long these ones will take to come through? Another 4 month teething process for 2 teeth perhaps? I certainly hope not!

Pumpkin Patch Pictures

Grandpa Gerren came to visit today, and hung out with me and the kids. We had a really good time, and it was very helpful to have an extra pair of hands to entertain the kids while I was trying to continue to get things done around the house - nevermind that the kids thoroughly enjoyed playing with their Grandpa! Things are really starting to take shape around here, Tatum now has baby food (bananas, pears & squash at least) and I can say that almost all of the laundry is done. Almost. Which is actually saying quite a bit.

Tatum also had her first taste of meat today...in the form of a meat stick. I think she really liked it! She ate almost an entire stick! And I think that she's trying to cut some more teeth, but not the "normal" next set...it seems like she's skipping the top teeth and going to another set on the bottom. And they really seem to be bothering her. Poor thing! We did the triple threat tonight...ibuprophen, teething tablets and orajel, then I let her chew on a toothbrush just to see if that made her feel any better. It must have, because it gave me enough of a reprieve so that Grandpa could hold her while I scarfed down my dinner. Whew!

We decided to go to the pumpkin patch after Kellen woke up from his nap, and try as I might, I just didn't get that "perfect" shot of the two of them, but I do have a few that turned out rather nicely, I think. Kellen couldn't get past "holding" Tatum during the shots of the two of them. It was really very cute...he just wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her for the pictures. Adorable!!! He's SUCH a good big brother, my goodness!!

And of course, Kellen had to pick out a little pumpkin to bring home, but what's new?

Baltimore trip, part 1

OK...so we had a great trip to Baltimore, with a side trip to DC, and here are some of the pictures from our trip..(part 1)

The first day we were in town (Baltimore), we went to the top of the World Trade Center to the observation deck, and were able to see some great views (which, on an observation deck, should go without saying, right?). Well anyway, we were there for maybe 45 minutes or an hour, then decided to go ahead and leave. So we push the button for the elevator...repeatedly, only to find out that the fire alarm had gone off in the building and all of the elevators had been called back to the first floor. We could leave if we wanted to go down the stairs. Did I mention that we were on the 27th floor? Which was really 30 flights of stairs because of the mezzaine levels? Well, we decided against that, waited for about 15 minutes, then changed our mind and had them folks open up the stairs.

Yes, we had decided to brave the stairs. All 27 (we didn't know about the mezzaine levels yet) flights.

We did it...and FELT it for the next 2-3 days. That started our trip off very well...with a great, entertaining story. What would a trip with Matt and I be without a story like this, huh?

Update on Life & Come on Ags!

I'm currently watching the Aggies play Kansas...and we're in the 3rd quarter with zero scores. Unbelievable! It's been ages since I've been able to update, so I have much to say...however, since it's the middle of the game, I'll try to update in spurts. With pictures if I can...

Update on household makeover...
Well, the living room has been rearranged several times. During my last post, I indicated that I had moved the living room furniture and hoped that Matt had liked it. Um. Nope! So we moved it again, and again, and again, and ...well, you get the picture. I *think* that we now have it the way that it will stay...and I really like it. I think Matt needs to "live" with it just a little more before he gets used to it, but I think it's be best arrangement for the furniture we have to work with. The computer is now in the living room - on a different computer desk - so it's really nice to actually have it out in the living room rather than in our bedroom.

Kellen's "new" room is all set up...we just have to figure out what to do with a few pieces of his clothes, but he absolutely LOVES it! We should have video taped his reaction when he saw it...it was great! He has so much more room to play, and it looks like a little boy's room...not an infant room, or even a toddler room - but a little BOY's room. *sigh* He's growing up.

*stinker...Kansas finally scored with a fieldgoal - score is 3-0*

Tatum's room is set up...with her bookshelf in as well (that was the last piece of furniture that had to make its way BACK to our house from storage). The room is just adorable - and childproof (why wouldn't it be?) - but she loves just playing in there. And she LOVES pulling her clothes bin from underneath her bed and throwing out her pants and shirts all over the room...and getting into her shoes. She's obsessed with shoes - truly a girl, I guess...although she seems to be quite the tom-boy...beating Kellen's record of boo boo's by about 3 months already.

As for her, she's crawling - crawling FAST, and using anything and everything to stand up, and is able to balance herself while standing up for longer and longer...today was actually the longest that I've ever seen her do it...maybe 10-12 seconds. Oh boy. We're in so much trouble. Kellen wasn't doing that until he was about 10 months old. Yikes! As for her beating Kellen's record for boo boo's...well, there is this certain toy at daycare that she just loves...perhaps it's because it's immediately in front of the mirror? Who knows? Anyway, it's a cute little toy that she loves playing with, and lends itself easily to her using it to stand up, which she does quite frequently. And she also falls down onto this particular toy...landing on her face on the corners of this toy quite often. I had actually thought that she would have already had a black eye already...several of her boo boos have looked like they should have been bad enough to actually be black eyes, but they just haven't lasted that long or turned into a black eye yet. I emphasize yet. It's bound to happen. She's fearless...just like her brother was at that age.

*Crud...Kansas just scored...10-0* Come on Ags!!!!

Ok, so Matt and I went to Baltimore last week for a work conference for me...we flew out of Houston on Thursday and got back on Monday night. I had three presentations to give at the conference, one group and two individual - and in my opinion, they all went very well. We left the kids - yes, both of them - with Maw Maw and Paw Paw and they all had a good time. I'll post more about that trip in another post...with pictures.

Anyway, I got back in the office on Tuesday, and then Wednesday took the kids to the MSC Hospitality Halloween party...they had such a good time! Here they are going into the MSC at the beginning of the program...and then Kellen playing one of the games and Tatum Elizabeth Snow White (as Kellen is now calling her) just being cute!

Household makeover

We're in the process of a household makeover...say a quick prayer that we can get it done in a reasonable amount of time!

What we've decided to do:

*Rearrange the furniture in the living room and bring the computer desk and computer from our bedroom into the living room, take the glider & ottoman into Tatum's room and the game cabinet into Kellen's room

*Switch Tatum and Kellen's rooms - (Which requires disassembling and reassembling both Kellen's bed and Tatum's crib - nice, huh?)

Right now, Tatum is in the "old" office/guestroom...which is the larger room because it had the BIG desk, futon, etc. So, since we aren't sure how long we'll be in this particular domicile, we decided to switch the kids rooms and give Kellen the larger room.

I already feel like I've gotten a TON of stuff done tonight (nevermind that the kitchen is a wreck - why is it that when you clean up one room you inevitable dirty another?). Anyway, after everyone except Tatum and I left for the game, I moved the glider/ottoman into what will be Tatum's room and the game cabinet into what will be Kellen's room and have COMPLETELY rearranged the living room. Let's hope that Matt likes it. If not, we'll just keep moving it around until we find something that works. I didn't take the computer and computer desk out into the living room...he'll have to do that and wire it up, but I DID leave a spot (and measured to make sure that it will fit) for it.

Did I mention that I've almost gotten about two weeks of laundry done too? And not just washed and dried, but actually folded and put away!!

As we're doing this, we're BOTH actually willing to GET RID of stuff...which is GREAT, too..I've decided that unless I really love it, it makes me smile, or I use it LOTS, I don't need to keep it...

Not quite sure what's gotten into me (both of us, actually)...but I hope it stays around until we get this project DONE!!

She's not supposed to be doing that...

"Mom, Tatum's got __________!" is a common phrase spoken by Kellen nowadays.

Tatum is mobile. Very mobile. And she's getting into everything it seems.

Kellen is so sweet...and tries so hard to make sure that she doesn't have anything that might hurt her. He watches to make sure that she doesn't grab "his" toys (because they have small parts and could choke her when she puts them in her mouth - we've discussed this), shoes (because my daughter is a shoe fiend), plastic pieces, and random other items that Kellen feels are inappropriate for his darling sister to play with. If she wanders (excuse me...race crawls) to any of the above items (or even farther away than Kellen wants her to) he goes to try and pick her up and move her back to where they were playing.

Did I mention that Tatum is now weighing in at almost 20 pounds?

So the sight of Kellen trying to (and successfully, I might add) picking up and moving Tatum to where HE thinks she needs to be is quite funny (at least most of the time). It's a good thing that infants are resilient. Tatum sometime resembles a puppy or kitten being carried around during these moments.

*sigh*

We're working on getting Kellen to actually STOP picking up his sister, but I think he's just so excited now that he can PLAY with her and hold her without the "real" fear of hurting her that it's overwhelming for him.

Did I mention that he just ADORES her? And that the feeling is completely mutual? Tatum thinks her brother hung the moon! When she is fussy, he just has to look at her and make a face and he'll have her laughing the most adorable belly laugh that you've ever heard.

It just makes my heart melt. I have to preserve these memories, because while I am hopeful that they will continue this oh-so-sweet relationship, I am also realistic....and a product of a big brother-little sister relationship myself. I KNOW that they won't always feel this way about each other...sibling rivalry is bound to happen...even if for a short time...but I trust that they will come around to this loving each other place again when they're older.

At any rate, I want to capture the essence of this relationship now...so I'll have something to look back on when they're telling me and their dad that they don't like each other - or worse.

Teeth!!!

It finally happened! Tatum got her first tooth through last Thursday, and I confirmed that she got her second one through this weekend (I'll write it in the book as yesterday, 'cause I SURE thought I felt it, but she wasn't letting me confirm it). That might explain why she was so incredibly fussy on Saturday...so much so that I wanted run away, huh? *grin*

Anyway...we had another incredibly busy weekend...Astros game (yes, the ENTIRE family, including Aunt Boo, Maw Maw and Paw Paw), then the Baylor game on Saturday (I stayed in Conroe and watched the kids - see above for the running away impulse), then Matt and Aunt Boo went back down for the Astros game on Sunday afternoon.

The kids has LOTS of fun at the game...Tatum was in awe of the fireworks and of course, Kellen has his ears covered the entire time because, "they're REALLY loud!" and he sometimes shies away from super-loud noises. For being a 7:05 start time, and ending up being such a late night, BOTH kids did REMARKABLY well at the game. Tatum just got hot and overtired, but I sweet-talked a worker into letting me into the "cush" boxes to cool down...finally got her to sleep (note to self: wearing a 20 lb almost 7 month old in a Snuglie NO LONGER WORKS on Mommy's back)...then went back to my seat to watch the rest of the game...Even the cheering and yelling didn't faze her too much (ok...so she would open her eyes, move her head, and then plop it back into my chest each time, but hey...she stayed asleep until the fireworks!).

Biggio, Biggio, Biggio...

Hurry up and wait

Saturday's recap:

So I was trying to get both Kellen and Tatum, along with myself, ready to leave the house for a road trip yesterday to Fairfield to see my buddy who has decided she and her husband are supposed to now be in Arkansas for him to preach...:) (I'm so excited for them but sad that she's moving that far away!)...My goal was to leave my house between 9-10...and I was doing OK on that goal until...

I got a phone call from the casting agent telling me that Kellen was for sure going to be in the video, she just didn't know if he was going to be a principle or not. She told me that they would determine if he would be a principle based on how he and the kid he was up against did when they got there in the morning. Which, she continued, was going to be at 5:00 AM. YIKES! Seriously? Trying to start a shoot with 2-4 year olds at 5:00 AM? OH man. Needless to say, this phone call changed by plans ever so slightly. She then goes on to say that I'll receive a call no later than 2:00 PM from the wardrobe consultant, who will instruct me on the types of clothes that Kellen will need for his part. Um...ok, but I won't even be at the house at that point in time. So, I decided to pull all of his"cool" t-shirts, shorts (denim, black, cargo, etc.) and pants and pack them just in case. I didn't think I would need solid color t-shirts or what we refer to as his play or sleep shorts (gym shorts), so I didn't bother to pack those.

At this point in time, it's WAY past my "goal" departure time, Matt thinks I'm crazy for trying to still make the over 1 1/2 hour trip to Fairfield and then the over 2 hour trip to Conroe to try and get this ALL done today but hey...when has craziness ever stopped me before?!? :)

At about 11, I finally get them all loaded up, and Matt had put the bags and stuff that we needed in the van. Nursing side-stop in Buffalo aside, we had a very good trip. Matt had burned the music that we were supposed to be practicing onto a CD, so we have travel music and we're practicing our songs (which are really fun, by the way)...and Kellen was getting them pretty well!

As I'm pulling into Fairfield, I get the phone call from the wardrobe person...and Kellen needs solid color t-shirts and gym shorts for the shoot,preferably turquise, if I have any. See above for the listing of clothes that I packed and rationale for an explanation of why my stress level jumped about a million points during and immediately after this phone call.

Anyway, we're in Fairfield, have a great visit, and then we're on the road again (a little later than I had planned to leave, but oh well!!! I hate cutting visits short!) by about 5 PM...got to Conroe a little after 7 (luckily, Tatum decided to adjust her normally rigid 'I must eat by 6:30' thing she does), so we were doing pretty well. By this point in time, I've already called Judy about the clothing issue, so she's been to virtually every store in Conroe trying to find the "right" clothes for Kellen...and ends up finding some things that we think will work at Wal-Mart. Whew!

Now we're at their house, we try on the new clothes, and we think we have something that will work for him. YAY! I made a few lists of things to take, etc...but it's off to a (somewhat) early bedtime for Kellen. As I'm unpacking the van, I discover that I have all of the necessary bags save for one...mine. So I only have the clothes on my back, none of my medicine, no make up, nada. Sigh. After the kids were in bed, Judy and I took a very quick trip to Old Navy. Bless those folks heart...they stayed open a little after their normal closing time so that I could actually purchase a couple of days worth of clothes.

Today's recap:

Down to the Children's Museum of Houston where they're shooting the video before 7:00 AM (did you know that the Conroe Starbuck's doesn't open until 6:00AM??? and the people are really nice when you catch them at opening time and they aren't ready to actually take your order...just a side note) ...go in, put our stuff down, show the wardrobe lady our selection, have an outfit approved, get a pair of their shoes instead of Kellen's tennis shoes. Then it's a lot of hurry up and wait.

At some point in time this morning, I was handed a script with "Simon" written on it for Kellen, which made me think that he was going to be a principle character. I couldn't really get anyone to definitely confirm that until late this afternoon, though. Surprising really, considering the fact that despite practicing the songs and him really liking them, he WOULDN'T SING OLD MACDONALD FOR ANYTHING!!! All he wanted to do was milk the cow. Yes, the Houston Children's Museum has a cow that you can milk...and water does actually come out of it...as the little girl that Kellen squirted in retribution can attest to. I'm sure that there is going to be a LOT of film end up on the cutting room floor because of that milkable cow.

Anyway...did the Old MacDonald song with the cow scene, them moved on to a chicken scene where again, he wouldn't sing. He did; however, decide to "act" in this one and followed their direction...playing with the stuffed chickens and roosters for the camera. Nice. He even pecked it in the mouth.

Again...a lot of hurry up and wait. And despite what I feel is him being uncooperative, he's apparently thrilling the daylights out of them. Whatever! As the day goes on, I come to realize that we're one of the few children (if not the only child there) that doesn't have an agent. And some of these kids have been going to audition after audition to get "extra" slots. Go Kellen!

Then comes lunch…and let me just say that they fed us very nicely. My only “negative” comment might happen to be that I don’t necessarily consider meatloaf, sautéed grilled chicken, stroganoff, salad, assorted steamed vegetables the best choice for a “kid friendly” lunch.

After lunch we move from the museum to Hermann Park…and shoot in the hot sun in the afternoon. We’re told to let the kids play, but then to not let them get dirty. Wha? Kellen, of course, plays on the railroad tracks and immediately gets black all over his hands, face, and yes…his shirt. Come to find out, they’re about to play in dirt and “plant” flowers, so no biggie!! Despite the heat, he did a really good job at the park, too.

When the park shoot was finished up, we went back to the car and then traveled to the studio. We were told that someone had gone to get some wardrobe items and that they really wanted us to stay until they arrived so that we could do a fitting. So, we hung out there for an hour, only to then be told that they weren’t going to be there by 4 PM, so they let us go ahead and go for the day.

Call time at 12:15 PM on Monday…and they’re planning to shoot until about 9 – that’s what we’re told. If that plan changes, they indicated that we would receive a phone call.

Guess what…I just got that phone call. The call time has been moved from 12:15 PM to 8:30 AM…So, I officially have to go now…we have to make lists for snacks that we’ll need for tomorrow and go to the grocery store.

He got it!

Boy, it's an early morning! So glad that the call time got moved back from 5 AM to 7 AM...

Yup...Kellen got it! We just don't know what "it" is yet...he's competing with one other kid for the lead role, so we'll see how he does when we get down there.

Yesterday was quite crazy, but I'll have to recap later, as I need to finish getting ready, get him up and ready, and blah, blah, blah.

Wish him luck today!

Still waiting...

1. Kellen's interview went well on Wednesday afternoon...he didn't want to dance for the camera, but oh well. The interviewer told me that she really liked him for this, but I don't know if she tells that to everyone or not. They're shooting the video (it's a video, not a commercial, if I'm understanding things correctly) on Sunday and Monday, so despite me thinking we would know something definitive by now, we're still unsure. However, we heard back from them today and the lady that interviewed Kellen wanted to be sure that he was available for the shoot and is pitching him to her client...

We shall see...

2. Tatum's teeth still are STILL not in yet. They disappeared last week and are now back...with a vengeance.

So I get a phone call yesterday at 3:30...Tatum is inconsolable...she's running a low grade fever (not bad enough to be sent home, but noteworthy - especially considering that I gave her Tylenol myself when I was there at lunch yesterday); will NOT drink her bottle, and is completely inconsolable. For those of you unfamiliar with my dear sweet Tatum, this is NOT LIKE HER!!!

I KNOW (at least as much as any mom can know) that it's her teeth.

HELP ME, HELP US, HELP HER!!! She's been trying to get these things through for 4 months!!!

What else can I do!?!? I've tried it all (I think):

-Teething tablets
-Tylenol
-Orajel
-Zweiback toast
-Teethers (cold and room temp)
-Cold food (i.e., her fruit that I've made taken from the freezer and thawed just enough to mix with cereal, but still VERY cold)
-Rubbing her gums with my fingers
-Vibrating teethers
-Washcloths frozen for her to chew on
-And today's newest addition, Motrin (since she's now old enough for it)

WHAT AM I MISSING???? By all means, if you think of something, post a comment...

That's all for now! I don't want to discuss the Thursday night debacle otherwise known as the Aggie game, so we won't go there.

Callback / interview

Well, I got a call from Paw Paw this morning and apparently Kellen's been called for a call back / interview. So we're off to Houston later today for this interview / callback to see if he'll make it into this commercial. Fun stuff!

Boogie Man

I was reading Kellen his bedtime story tonight (Veggie Tales Thankful book), and was singing part of a Veggie Tales song to him.

"God is bigger, bigger than the boogie man.
He's bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV, whoooaooo.
God is bigger, bigger than the boogie man.
He's watching, watching, watching....
Watching over you and me!"

Anyway, there was a picture in his book at the back advertising the "God is bigger" book, and it had a picture of Frankenstein in it. So he asks me, "Is that the Boogie Man?"

Me: "No sweetie, that's Frankenstein. He's part of the song, too, remember?"

Kellen: "Oh yeah. What does the boogie man look like?"

Me: "I'm not sure sweetie. I don't know what he looks like."

Kellen: "Oh I do!"

Me: "You do?"

Kellen: "Yes! He looks like me!"

Me: "What? What do you mean 'he looks like you?' "

Kellen: "The boogie man looks like me. Sometimes I pick my nose. When I pick my nose, I'm the boogie man, right?"

I could hardly contain myself...really...

My budding star?

Will Kellen be a star? If left up to Paw Paw, possibly. (Ok, so Mommy and Maw Maw are getting in on the action, too...) Paw Paw has a connection to some casting call folks in Houston, and apparently there is a call for 2-4 year olds for a commercial and they need some pictures ASAP. So we're working on picking out some pictures and should hear something back VERY quickly. I'll post the pictures that we chose and update when we find something out!

ETA:

Tatum's new milestone

Tatum has been trying to pull herself to standing, but today she REALLY did it. *sigh* We're in SO MUCH TROUBLE over here.

Maw Maw, Paw Paw, Tatum and I got back from dinner tonight and I was in the process of putting away her bulk boxes of diapers. So tere were two packages of diapers in the living room, and she decided that she wanted to get a good look at them...from a different vantage point. So she used the box to pull herself to standing up.

And I have witnesses. Both Maw Maw and Paw Paw saw it too...but they may not tell you because I think they're in denial that their little 6 month old granddaughter is already doing these feats of physical strength.

Boys night out...to the Aggie Game!

So Kellen, Daddy, Jason & Braden & Adam all went to the game this afternoon. Kellen was SO excited about this - and more specifically - about Braden coming over!

I'm hopeful that Matt's taking/took lots of pictures, so I'll update with those later.

Final outcome...Ag's Won...54-14
WHOOP!

More numbers

So I'm really getting into this homemade babyfood thing...here are some additional calculations..

Bananas:
...Ok...so let's ignore the fact that of the bananas I bought, I actually ate two (I don't know how much they weighed and the price is per pound, not banana, but still...)

$0.39 per pound, bought 2.21 lbs
Total spent = $0.86
Made 14 oz
Cost per oz (overestimated) = $0.06 per ounce

Stage 2 jar = 3.5 oz, purchase in sets of 2 = Total of 7 oz;
Average cost = $1.00 APPROXIMATE COST PER OZ = $0.14

HUGE SAVINGS HERE...and this is even an overestimate! YAY!!

Pears:
$0.77/lb, bought 1.22 lbs
Total spent = $0.94
This made 11 1 oz cubes...so
Cost per oz = $0.085

I finally did it!

Ok...the paper and matching envelopes were bought when Tatum wasn't even a week old. They were designed when she was about a month old, printed when she was about 9 weeks old, stuffed and addressed when she was about 2 and a half or 3 months old...and they've been waiting since then.



I FINALLY got the stamps I needed on Thursday, affixed them and mailed out her.....................................birth announcements!!!


Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!


Nothing like a little procrastination, right? If you're reading this and think you should have gotten (or should get within the next week or so) a birth announcement but do not, it's very possible that I have your address incorrect in my mailing list. So feel free to make a comment and/or email me with your correct mailing address ('cause the Christmas letter is just a few months away, right!?!?)

And I also finally mailed back Kellen's recalled Sarge today, too...feeling somewhat accomplished since these two things have been sitting on our desk at home just mocking me. *grin*

Good night...

Well, now there's more...I went to pick her up at ~ 5:15 at daycare and she had thrown up again a little before 5. However, she was acting normally BEFORE and AFTER she threw up....one of the teachers said that she didn't get a very good burp out, so maybe that had something to do with it, I don't know.

Like the dr and I discussed yesterday morning...the throwing up symptom is rather vague...how many times, how much volume, at what point in time should you be concerned??? None of these things are quantified or well spelled out. However, the pupil dilation, lethargy, obvious signs of head injury or trauma are ALL things that you should watch especially closely for...none of which she exhibited yesterday.

So...long update short...I continued to watch her closely onceI got home (she ate her dinner and nursed just fine), monitored her throughout the night (it was a light night for me), and reassessed this morning.

AM Reassessment:
Tatum had a good (read = uneventful) night last night and seems to be doing very well this morning!

She's acting like herself, nursed great, is cooing, talking, playing, etc.

Whew!

He's DONE with his class..

I just wanted to update...as of yesterday, Matt is DONE with his Paramedic class. He called me, told me that he had sent me an email (had sent me his verification of course completion email to my work email address), I read it, and just cried right there in my office.

Now he has to take the National Registry Exam. He's looking at the test dates with open spots at a testing center in Houston, comparing those with his work schedule and a trip that we're going on next month, etc. He's going to try and take one of the first ones that he can, so I'm guessing within the next month he'll sit for this test.

YAY!

Pretty eventful morning...before 7 AM!!!

So Matt took Kellen with him this morning and dropped him off at Maw Maw and Paw Paw's on his way to work, and I snuggled with Tatum (Matt brought her to me before he left with the "she's hungry" message) and fed her.

Our day was off to a good start.

A quick (maybe 30 sec) trip to the potty for me, after building a pillow fence around Tatum, didn't fare so well. I heard a thud...ran to the bed to see no Tatum. She had fallen off....on my watch! I rush to pick her up, check her head, snuggle and comfort her...all of those Mommy things. I sit down on the bed with her in my lap, and she proceeds to throw up...LOTS...

So I desperately try to get in touch with Matt for medical advice.....several calls and messages to his voicemail and a couple of texts later, I finally get in touch with him to let him know what's going on. By this time, Tatum has calmed down, she hasn't thrown up again, and she's acting like her normal self...eyes aren't dilated, she's tracking my finger and me with both of her eyes, grabbing for objects, etc. So I give Matt the update...he tells me he's going to make a quick phone call and will call me back.

Calls me back and tells me to go to the ER.

So I'm at the ER before 6:30 with Tatum to get looked at...the doctor and I have a lengthy discussion about CT, hospital admission, how they normally treat head injuries, etc...he and I decide NOT to do a CT scan, but to watch her for the rest of the day to be sure that she's still acting "normal" - no lethargy, no throwing up, etc.

*Sigh* Please pray that she's ok and that she's acting like herself for the rest of the day!

Peaches for you, Peaches for me

Ok...I just made my first batch of homemade peaches for Tatum. I feel so accomplished right now! So, I thought while it was fresh on my mind, I would do some quick calculations and share.

Stage 2 jar = 3.5 oz, purchased in sets of 2 ( Total of 7 oz); Average cost = $1.00
APPROXIMATE COST PER OZ = $0.14

Two peaches (1.79/lb) = $0.936 / ea. = Total spent, $1.87
Ice cube trays, each cube = 1 oz = Total of 12 oz, (This batch filled the ice cube tray, with about 2 oz left over - 14 oz)
APPROXIMATE COST PER OZ = $0.13

And with the Magic Bullet, it really took NO TIME at all to puree the peaches..and they're really smooth too. (Thanks again, Mom...I keep finding ways to use this thing!)

Yay!

Aren't they cute?

Strong Kellen...
Can I pick her up???
Oh, but I can...So now what?? (Don't worry, both Mommy AND Daddy were by the bed just in case...)Kellen the entertainer...

She was giggling...just not for THIS shot...And to top off the day, she tried some of big brothers peaches...her way. In the net! I think I have a fruit lover on my hands here!And last but not least...look out world, here she comes! Little miss Tatum! Ain't no stoppin' her now...might as well not even try, Kellen! Now aren't they just the cutest pair?
I'm off to try my hand at some homemade baby food...Based on how Tatum ate tonight, I think it'll be peaches, I believe...Wish me luck!