A *brief* explaination of the craziness

1. Wed - peds appt, Patrick's eye appt, Cayman's vet appt, church
2. Thurs - day at the park, planting flowers in the garden, playing with the neighbor's dogs
3. Fri - Gram and Pops come into town, Patrick's sister Karen comes in town for a few hours from VA, Mallory is VERY sick, Ethan starts on Amoxicillan for his 4-week-old cough
4. Sat - Mallory is VERY sick again: 104.4 temp, won't drink/eat, lays around all day very lethargic; deciding we won't take her to the ER after talking to an RN at 2 separate times; keeping Ethan and Mallory separate; trying to have fun with Gram and Pops; photo shoot
5. Sun - staying home from church AGAIN with the kiddos while Patrick teaches his first Sunday School lesson (hate that I missed it!), Gram and Pops leave (after helping me with the kids after naps: big help!!), Mallory is feeling better but still very needy, sorted through a BUNCH of Mallory's clothes and separated them into keep/give away boxes (want some girl clothes, Kelly & Shannon?)
6. Mon - work on photos from photo shoot, Mallory is feeling better but still very needy, dealing with the stress of a decrease in my milk supply but have seen some positive results from suggested methods from handy, dandy lactation consultants (hope it continues...)

I could go into so much detail about each one of these things, but I have to leave it at that. But, I will say that we think Mallory had some sort of food poisoning. Patrick found a VERY old cup of milk in her closet that we think she may have partaken of. YUCKO!

Craziness!

Well, we're back from Elberton. We actually arrived home on Tues, but we've been SOO busy ever since. I'll have to post all about our happenings at a later time; Gram and Pops should be here any minute!!! Mallory is a bit ill, so keep her in your prayers. I think she's having a reaction from her MMR shot she got on Wed. Anyway, she's just not her normal, jovial self. And let's just say I've never dealt with her throwing up before...

Anyway, more posts and pictures later...

Having Fun!

We're still at my folk's house in Elberton...having a great time! Right now, the kids are in bed, Patrick and Dad are fishing, Mom's running some errands and I'm enjoying a quiet house...well, Mallory's crying right now, but at least she's in bed.

Here are a few pics from her birthday this past Saturday. We had a great time, which I'll detail at a later time. I just wanted to post a few pics from her birthday....

Making her birthday cake with Mommy and Grama

Her "2" shirt that I made for her (rather than spending like $20 for a b-day shirt. This only cost me $3 and it was fun to make it!)

Talking to Gram and Pops (she missed you guys, but we're looking forward to seeing you later this week!)

Here and there; comings and goings; odds and edds...

E is still a little crusty around the nose, but he's slept well the last few nights. I've started to cut back on some of his food intake since I read an article in the current Parenting magazine that caused me to believe I was leading my son towards a life of obesity with all the food I've been shoveling in his mouth. The boy is a vacuum cleaner when it comes to food. And I was under the impression that rice in the bottle would help him feel fuller longer, thus helping him sleep. But after reading this article, it is apparently a myth and the only thing that it really does is add more calories to his diet, causing him to crave food that he doesn't really need. So, after I read the article (Monday night after I put him to bed with a rice bottle- Ethan woke up 4 times that night), I stopped putting rice in his bottle and he's slept through the night since (well, it's only been two nights, but I'll take it!). Go figure. Anyway, he eats a little more than a normal 5-month old, but he'd probably eat as much as a 12 month old if I let him...Anyway, here is a shot of Ethan right after his 3.5 hour nap yesterday. Imagine me saying in a sing-song-y voice "Eeee-than":













Mallory is changing so much. In the past month, she's added about 30 words to her vocabulary (which only consisted of about 7 words) and is starting to use her imagination so much more. She's so cute and I LOVE watching her discover that Spunky (one of her 5 stuffed dogs) loves to share her snack and that she plays peak-a-boo with Blue (yet another one of her dogs...). I love that she now says "oops" when she drops something. She'll SAY "please" rather than sign it. She eats her cereal with a spoon. She loves to drink the milk from her cereal bowl. She loves to look at her clothes and play with the tags on the ones that are still new. She calls her brother "E Pice" (for Ethan Price) and will give him kisses without me prompting her. She'll even have Blue and Spunky kiss, though she still doesn't like it when mommy and daddy kiss. She's a sweet one. A heart breaker. A Mommy lover. A Daddy's girl. And she'll be 2 on Saturday *sniff sniff*.












"Mallory, whatcha doin'?"













We're heading to my folks house this weekend for a little birthday celebration and some MUCH NEEDED r&r for us! Patrick and I have about reached our limits with our own responsibilities at work and home. We're maxed. Patrick is off all next week, too, so I'm PRAYING that we'll use that time to regroup, rest, and re-focus our minds on Christ and what he's blessed us with, not just materially, but spiritually as well (grace, peace, sufficiency, love, meekness...shall I go on?).

Our view is about to change

There's been more construction going on in our neighborhood and there's a house being built behind our neighbor's house, which is the one that could potentially block our view of the gorgeous mountains. The basement is complete and they started framing today (this was taken yesterday). The same guy who built our house is building this one and he SAYS that it shouldn't mess with our view. Hmmm...

We think that the valley will be obstructed, but I'm HOPING the roof won't be high enough to block the mountains (the house will be a ranch style). Anyway, I'm ready for construction to be complete already, since Mallory's window is on the back side of the house and the power tools can be CLEARLY heard. She's been napping well despite the noise, though, thank the LORD! Anyway, I'll have to post the progress...

Home Again

Well, Ethan and I are skipping church again in order to give the boy some rest. He's been battling a cold for a week and since church interferes with 2 naps and since he was up for a little while last night, I figured it would be best for him to get his rest. He does not sleep well at church and since he's sick, he shouldn't go to nursery. He's been sleeping for an hour already. He needs it. I need him to feel better, too! I'm hoping that his snotty nose and cough will dwindle with a few days of good rest...though I've been saying that for a few days already! I can hear him breathing through the monitor I have set up next to the computer. I love hearing him breathe. What a sweet sound of life.

So, I'm at home. I'm currently listening to the end of Piper's message from last week. Very good. Challenging. This is the 19th message in a series...maybe I should listen to the first 18!

I took some pictures of Mallory playing in the backyard on Friday. I figured I'd capture some of Patrick's landscaping efforts as well. He's done a great job in the yard: seeding, fertilizing, mowing, planting, watering. He's planted a white dogwood, a pink dogwood, a redbud, 2 crape mertles, some azaleas, almond bushes and red roses. We're enjoying the beauty of the dogwoods right now...and, of course, the green grass. We love our yard and are looking forward to many outdoor days and evenings in the coming months!

The Office is Back!!!!

We'll be watching...LOVE IT!

Fun at the park!

I took the kids to Willow Springs park yesterday with some of the ladies from my playgroup. Didwe have a good time, you may ask? Well, Mallory had a great time. E and I, on the other hand, weren't as delighted as she was. I won't go into all the details (pooping out the diaper, no back-up clothes, naked boy in the sun covered by the blanked used to clean up the pooping-out-of-the-diaper mess, screaming boy b/c there wasn't enough milk in his bottle, naked boy not enjoying being strapped in the carseat (where he pooped out of the diaper), and on...), but Mallory loved being free of my hovering. A few of my friends watched her for me as I tended to Ethan and they weren't as strict I usually am around the playyard. She enjoyed her freedom while I sat on the sidelines with my heart in my throat as she climbed to the top of a BIG slide with a big smile on her face, all the while trying vainly to calm a screaming baby while my friends watched on (trying not to have pity). Anyway, this picture captures how much fun Mallory had yesterday.

5-month old Gator Baby

I was hoping to get some shots of Ethan outside for his 5-month, but I honestly haven't gotten around to it. I took these shortly after he turned 5 months, so I guess these will do. I'll try to get some pics of him outside around Mal's birthday. It's just so hard luging my camera, making sure E's not blinded by the sun, arranging him, watching Mallory (since she's a speed-racer, these days)...but enough with the excuses. I'll feel better and have more enjoyment out of it if I had help (i.e. DAD!). Anyways, how can you resist this blue-eyed boy. His eyes are just about gator blue...

And this shirt is a 12-month shirt, by the way. It was a bit of a tight squeeze around that gut!

More on homemade baby foods...

So far Ethan has tried acorn squash and bananas. Oh my gosh, the boy practically INHALED both. I didn't even get a "what-are-you-feeding-me" face.

So, I had a lot of comments from you moms who made your baby's foods. Do you have any combinations that you'd like to share? Let me know of some of your favorites...or I should say your baby's favorites...

Here is a video of Ethan's first taste of Pears. Now, this video is not as interesting as Mallory's first taste of fruit, but I mainly posted this one for the grandparents (and aunts, of course).

First Fruit. Already???

My little man is growing up so much. I can't believe he's already 5 months old (yesterday!). For his 5-mo mark, I decided to give him some pears, his first solid other than rice and oatmeal. It was fun to reach yet another milestone, but it saddens me to think how quickly these past 5 months have passed and how it somehow forshadows our life with the kids. I can't believe Mal will be 2 in a couple of weeks...

Anyway, I've decided that I'm going to have a "go" at making Ethan's baby food rather than continue with store-bought. It's not that I'm opposed to it, I just think it would better for him, cheaper, and fun to make. This evening, I spent about an hour an a half steaming and roasting veggies and fruit and then processing them into a puree to put into ice cube trays for future use. I made about weeks worth of food for about $2 and not much time. And I had a good time doing it! Patrick had left to hang out with a friend and the kids were asleep, so it was just me, the food, small kitchen appliances, and my radio. It was relaxing yet fulfilling at the same time. I'd like to continue...maybe it can become a Sunday night ritual? I dunno...we'll see.

Mallory's new shoes

Mallory has started having an interest in her mommy and daddy's shoes. She likes to wear them and has, actually, amazing control in them. This video is from today.

Ethan's First Giggles

I happened to capture Ethan's first giggle on video. He was so cute!



You can see some of Mallory's first giggles here. Do you notice that in the background of both videos, you can here Cayman barking? Such is life...