Just For Fun

The Muffin enjoyed watching the parade on Thanksgiving morning and she fell asleep on the two minute drive home from Nana & Pawpaw's house. She held on to her flowers the whole time.

She was so excited about decorating for Christmas, so she decorated her tree on Thanksgiving night. She decided that she wanted to put it in her room on Saturday morning so that it could be near the Gingerbread Noah's Ark night light.

Big daddy kept Baby Ellie & Muff on Saturday morning so that I could go to get a few groceries to get us through the weekend. I could tell that she was getting sleepy when I came home, so I told her daddy to lay her down for her morning nap. I went to check on her a few minutes later and this is what I found. He seems to think that she sleeps better if something is touching her face.

Have you ever...

tried to put up the Christmas tree while holding a baby on your hip???

I hadn't until today. Baby Ellie and I made an early morning trip to the pediatrician's office. I was worried about a cough that she had developed to go with her runny/stuffy nose and I'd noticed that she was playing with one of her ears a lot. The doctor wasn't too worried about the cough, but Ellie does have double ear infections.

Big Daddy and The Muffin are out picking up Ellie's antibiotic and some Chinese food for lunch. Of course, the ring sling is in the car, so I'm holding Ellie. My arms are full of 18 pounds of love!!

I'm trying to get the tree ready for ornaments because Miss Muffin is super-excited! Her tree is up and she has decorated and redecorated it countless times already! I had almost all of the tree together before Ellie decided that she needed Mommy. So, I had her in one arm and I was trying to put lights on the tree with the other. I think I'll had a pre-lit tree to my "one day wish list". There are so many other things to spend money on right now like...Big Daddy's Spring tuition.

Deck The Halls

I usually decorate for Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving, but I plan on being busy.

I'll be busy on Thursday, eating and spending time with my family. ..and then more eating. I'm also praying for a nap.

On Friday, we'll be trimming the tree and of course, I'll have laundry and normal stuff to do. Big Daddy must get started on some sort of new certification thing that he wants to get before his MBA classes resume in January, so I expect him to be upstairs studying.

So...I'll be busy and decided to decorate the blog today. I usually don't even want to think too much about Christmas until then. I think I'm excited because it will be Baby Ellie's first Christmas outside of the belly and The Muffin is very excited about everything Christmas, from Santa to playing with the Nativity scene.

AND under the "Thanksgiving Miracle" category, I had my Pumpkin Bundt Cake, Sweet Potato Casserole and Cranberry Salad completely finished by 10:00 this morning. It remains to be seen if I'll be blessed with a nap today.

****Edited to add that there was a 20 minute nap for me!!****

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful

I took two girls to get groceries today. One fell asleep riding in the sling with her head on my chest, while the other one ate a watermelon Blow.Pop. I am thankful for these two sweet girls and Lord knows that I'm thankful for my sling.

I'm thankful for our big sink, so that the big sister can take a bath just like the little sister.

I just felt tooth number two in someone's mouth. Looks like that sweet, little grin will not be toothless for much longer. I am thankful for her smile even though her mouth hurts.

Both girls slept better last night, but we were all up early. Someone woke up starving every three hours. I would be so thankful for a good night's sleep, but I'm thankful that God made me a mother and gave me the superpower to go and go and go on very little sleep.

I am thankful for Big Daddy. Even though he's not always the husband or father that I'd like for him to be he's the one. I'm thankful that he works hard everyday so that I can stay at home with our girls. Tonight he's taking us out to dinner and I'm thankful that I will not have to cook.

I have talked to my two special mommy-friends (A & K), one today and one yesterday and I'll talk to both of them tomorrow. I'm thankful to have them to laugh and cry with even if it's over the phone. The Muffin and I miss these crazy mommies and their little boys so much.

I am thankful for our newest friend, almost three week old baby girl T. The Muffin and Ellie are very thankful that she arrived so that the girls will outnumber the boys for a change! Even though I've only been able to see her once on the day she was born, I am so thankful for her. She is truly an answered prayer. She will be having some testing tomorrow and we are hoping and praying for the best results possible. It's so hard for me and K not to be with A right now. I am thankful that we have phones and the internet to keep in touch with each other and to check on "our" sweet baby.

I am thankful to have a nice house that's close to my family. I'm so thankful to not be living an apartment as we get ready to celebrate the holidays.

And really, the list could go on, but I most fold these two loads of laundry in front of me. I'm thankful for my washer and dryer too.

From The Mouth of The Muffin & Caring For the Sick

The Muffin- "Is that a boy shirt?"

The Mommy- "Yes. Daddy bought it for you when you were a baby because he liked it. You used to wear it."

The Muffin- "Is Ellie going to wear that? Did Daddy think she was a boy?
Oh, it's so cute!"

Since we are staying inside all day, we pulled out the "Ringside Boxing" shirt again today.

We are all sneezing and coughing, but I think we feel pretty good considering that we were up a lot during the night last night. The Muffin always seems to behave really well when I'm under the weather. She has played well today and we cuddled on the couch (for 45 minutes!!) before her nap. As soon as she was asleep, Ellie woke up. Her nose is runny and she's sneezing and coughing, but SO happy and sweet.

I feel like I'm getting a migraine on and off so I'm keeping myself medicated. Thanksgiving Day marks the eight year anniversary of my first migraine. I hope we do not repeat that day. My cold is also messing my asthma up, so I'm sure I'm in for a little breathing trouble on top of everything else.
BUT, the show must go on...I think I'll do a load of laundry.

Sick Girls

On Friday before the sickness really hit.

It's 4 am and I'm on the computer. That's not a good sign.

Baby Ellie woke up a little after 3:00 ("singing") with a stuffy, but runny nose and a very dirty diaper. I had to clean her nose and she was in the mood to play. I've been up every couple of hours anyway, so we decided to move into the living room for a while. I decided to pull out the laptop and research "my six month old has a cold".

After reading the policy and procedure manual for The Muffin's preschool, I had decided to send her today. She doesn't have an excessive cough or runny nose and can more than participate in the daily activities of her classroom. (I think she actually has more energy than usual!) I've been up with her at least three times and she just asked (with a hoarse voice) for a sip of water and if she could wear her "Dorothy" dress tomorrow. (I agreed to both.) I think she'll be missing the Thanksgiving Feast at preschool today. I'll be nice and call the preschool to see if they would like for me to drag my sick self and my two sick kids over to deliver or contribution to the feast. Let's hope they say no.

The Muffin is always ready to go and yesterday was no exception. Even though her voice was a little scratchy and I could tell that she was congested, she was raring to go. Until...she sees that the clock says "eight three zero". Then she runs to her room to get into bed. She was a ball of energy every waking minute yesterday and totally took advantage of me and my sleep deprived state. Just look at her outfit. We won't talk about the silly look on her face. She is such a hoot!!
As for me, I feel like garbage, but still managed to do more than my usual Sunday activities. I made homemade potato soup, washed a load of diapers and a load of regular laundry so that the girls would have nice, clean blankets for the day. I also managed to take care of the kids almost single handed since Big Daddy was busy doing stuff.

It's amazing how you never get a break when you're a mom.

Firsts

Baby Ellie has her first cough and runny nose. Yes, baby has her first cold. We had a rough night last night, but she just got up from a nap and is smiling and hiccupping, but when she sneezes, you'd better watch out. Her cough is small and cute, but pitiful.

The Muffin and I are also sick and I'm trying to decide about sending her to preschool for the Thanksgiving feast tomorrow. I spend lots of time trying to decide whether or not she should go to school even though I know that someone was there sick last week. The Muffin told me that as certain child was at school with a cough and a yucky nose. As a former preschool teacher I put so much thought into the whole thing. Of course, The Muffin has been bouncing off the walls, but she sounds bad when she talks and has a little runny nose and a slight cough.

What's worse than having a sick child????

Having two sick children.

Needless to say, my thoughts turn to all of the parents out there who have really sick children.

Even more braking news...

Baby Ellie brushing her new tooth!

I'm a horrible mother. I forgot to report on The Muffin's big accomplishment from yesterday. I was so excited about Baby Ellie's tooth, that I forgot.

The Muffin wrote her name all by herself.

In my defense, it happened very early yesterday morning. And it happened on the Magna Doodle. How sweet is that!? I took a picture for Big Daddy because Muff is ready for the diary (or diarrhea as she calls it) that he promised he would buy her.

It's been a long road to get to this point.

I bought an ABC book for The Muffin's first Christmas and we read it all.the.time. She quickly learned/memorized what words went with what letters and then around the time she turned two she recognized all of her letters. I realized this when we were in line at The W.almart and she said, "Oh, an 'R', look". I acknowledged the "R" that I didn't see and continued doing whatever I was doing. Then I heard The Muffin say, "E-S-T-R-O-O-M-S". The cashier and I looked at each other in amazement and I realized that my baby new her letters!

She began to draw shapes, smiley faces and occasional write letters, but refused to practice her name. When she would practice it, she would get so upset because it wasn't "right" or "perfect". So...yesterday was a huge milestone. The best part was that she did it while she was alone in her room and I didn't even prompt her to practice.

M-a-g-g-i-e!! It needs a little work, but practice makes perfect!!

I could go into details about another disappointment with her preschool, but I'm not going to do that today. And by the way, she is scheduled to be enrolled in the other preschool for September of 2010.

And it doesn't end there! All three of us girls have runny/stuffy noses and the concrete guys are here. Looks like will be going through tissues and possibly playing in wet cement today. The fun never ends around here!

Breaking News!

The day started out EARLY and not very well. Luckily, something changed after Storytime at the Library and The Muffin's mood improved. She was dressed (not in a play dress) to go to the grocery store, but we had a long rain shower and Nana called to say that she'd go to the store tomorrow. Muff was devastated, but it all worked out for me. She decided to get the "furry brown blanket" and we cuddled on the couch until naptime. Muff went to sleep and Ellie woke up. She ate and cuddled with me and the brown blanket on the couch until she drifted back off to sleep.

After The Muffin's nap we loaded up and went to Nana's. Muff and Ellie stayed there while I went to get groceries. (My alone time for the week is an hour to get groceries!!) When I came back, my mom had some big news for me. It seems that Baby Elie has her first tooth! It wasn't there this morning, but we've been working on it for a while.

So...she sits, she stands in my lap, she rolls and now she has a tooth. My second baby is growing up way too fast!

And The Green Grass Grew All Around

This post is overdue because we've had "Emerald City grass" for a while. Of course, we still have a nice to-do list for warm weather, but right now, we have green grass and pansies and bulbs in the ground just waiting for Spring.

The Funny Life

The Muffin has kept me on my toes today! She started the day off by st.ripping down and declaring that she would wear the same dress that she wore last night for "Dancing With The Stars". (We're going through several wardrobe changes a day, so I really didn't care.) I reminded her that the "dress" was a jumper and she would have to wear a shirt and tights underneath today since we had errands to run. She said she'd wear just the "dress" and we could stay home. A few minutes later she said she'd wear the purple shirt, her new pink socks and her black Dorothy shoes (Because Dorothy wore black shoes before she wore ruby slippers) and we could run errands after all. I decided not to fight a battle over tights and shoes, but reminded her that the jumper had chocolate brown in it and that her brown shoes would be a better match. Needless to say, she wore the black shoes.

Here are a few pictures from Monday night.

The Muffin prefers to be as close to n.aked as possible, so again she's wearing the jumper minus a shirt underneath. Baby Ellie had sweet potatoes for dinner and got a little on her shirt and pants, so she's just wearing her underneath onesie, a diaper, socks and her Babylegs, because I was too lazy to completely dress her.

The Muffin spent a little time with Big Daddy looking at "pistols, guns and rifles" (so she said) before playing a matching game on the computer. Notice the difference in the way they are dressed! Big Daddy and I are always fully clothed and Muff wears as little as she can get by with.

I washed a load of cloth diapers last night. This morning they were dry and I just threw all of them in the chair since the diaper basket was already full of clean diapers. I left the room to get the inserts and came back to find this:

Looks like B.arbie has a new place to sleep...on Ellie's nice, clean diapers!

The Good Life

I'm already looking forward to the weekend which is a rarity for me! Since I became a SAHM almost four years ago, I'm not that excited about weekends. Big Daddy always has things to do and I do my usual...laundry, cooking, dishes and taking care of the kids with a side of extra family time, (can be a good or bad thing) church and maybe going out to eat. I'm pretty much living the life that I've always dreamed of ( being a SAHM to two sweet girls) but it's not always glamorous.

This weekend is going to be special because Big Daddy is taking The Muffin to see a production of The Wizard of Oz. I'm sure she'll critique it to pieces because it won't be like the "real Wizard of Oz", but I know she'll love it. I decided to stay at home with Baby Ellie so that we didn't have to leave her with my mom or sister. It will save us the cost of buying another ticket for the play and maybe it will give me an excuse to take Muff to the circus in February.

Big Daddy is also buying a new gun. I could go on and on about why we really don't need another gun, but I figure it will come in handy if there's a revolution or something like that. He's supposedly selling a gun too, but we'll see if that really happens. I'm sure he'll buy me something pretty at the gun show like...a holster, maybe, or ammunition. He's thoughtful like that.

If The Muffin is going to a play and Big Daddy is getting a new gun, you're probably wondering what Baby Ellie and I will be doing that's special, right??? We may try to wrap a few Christmas presents just to get them out of the way and maybe go shopping or take a nap or something exciting like that. We are also having an extension added to the driveway, so maybe we'll do our handprints in wet cement. Of course, that will depend on when the concrete is poured. We'll most likely just hang out at home and eat sweet potatoes while making silly faces and kissy noises at each other. Those three things just happen to be some of our favorite things to do!

The days start too early and the nights are long and sleepless, but I'm sure this is the good life.

The Weekend Review

The Muffin drew a family portrait. (I have no idea why it's sideways.)

This sweet little girl woke up every three hours during the night for some attention. She's worth every bit of the sleeplessness, but I'm SO tired of it.

The Muffin & Big Daddy window shopped at a candy store.

I wore Baby Ellie in my ring sling, while carrying my big Vera B.radley Baby Bag, holding The Muff's hand and drinking a Tall Non-fat Cafe Mocha from you know where and walking through the mall. Big Daddy was trying to get a picture of Ellie rubbing my coffee cup, but got this in stead.

We also took all of my mom's grandchildren to have a Christmas portrait taken, bought a few gifts, had lunch at P.anera again, waved at Santa, went to church and celebrated my sister's birthday.

Visiting Baby

This is what was waiting for me & Ms. K when we arrived in A's hospital room yesterday! Baby T weighed in at 6 pounds, 9 ounces and was 18.5 inches long. Even though she had to be delivered a few weeks early, she's doing great and didn't need oxygen at all.

Of course, K and I stood outside of the hospital and jumped up and down while hugging for a few minutes before we went inside! We were so excited to be together again. When we arrived in A's room it was all that we could do not to jump in bed with her for a group hug, but Baby T needed her Aunties to hold her and love on her a bit. It's funny how one of us was in the bed a few hours after a c-section and we just talked, talked, talked and didn't miss a beat. K, A and I all had to have rushed c-sections with our first babies, so it was nice to hear what a pleasant experience A had this time around with everything being planned and Baby T coming out healthy.

When I left The Muffin at Nana's house, her only request was that I bring A, K, and Baby T back with me and that I take a picture of this:

This is the infamous nurse picture that stands at the entrance to labor and delivery. The Muffin is still asking why I wasn't being quite in the "Quiet Zone". I tried to explain that sometimes when you're in labor you make noise, but I'm not sure she gets it.

Three

I have Cousin Callie for part of the day and Maggie & Ellie are loving it! So far, we've had pancakes, played My Little P.onies and A.merican Idol. We've looked at pictures from our old house and of Ellie's birth. And I've managed to clean off our 2GB memory card, move 400 pictures to disks and make plans with my mommy friend K to visit Ms. A in the hospital tomorrow. This having three girls thing is crazy! There are ponies and B.arbies and girls squealing every single time I turn around!

I can't wait to get my hands on Ms. A's new baby girl tomorrow! Ms. A and I were trying to get pregnant at the same time. She was the first person that I told (in person over the phone) and she was just as happy as I was! My only regret about getting pregnant with Ellie is that A wasn't pregnant too. She went through several rounds of C.lomid before finally finding out that she was expecting. I have prayed for this baby so much. A has a septated uterus and has had numerous miscarriages in the past and having her little boy C (also known as Maggie's future husband) was such a miracle. She had a difficult pregnancy that involved weeks of bed rest and then he was born early and not in good health. After a long stay in the NICU and lots of therapy, he's a rough and tumble three year old! This pregnancy has not been uneventful, but I'm praying for a normal c-section delivery tomorrow. K and I are beyond excited to see each other, our friend A and "our" new baby.

Of course, my main reason for going to Sanford tomorrow is my midwife appointment with Peg. I admit, I'm excited to see her. It's funny how you spend all those weeks of your pregnancy going to the doctor and then you have the baby and you no longer have to go. Peg saved The Muffin's life and I would have definitely had a c-section with Ellie if she hadn't been the attending midwife. She knew that I was adamant about trying everything possible to have a VBAC and she made sure that the doctor gave me every chance.
And in other news...Big Daddy and I are sure that we aren't ready for baby number three, but we're also sure that we can't rule out a baby number three. When/how do you really know that you're finished having babies??? If you know the answer please tell me. Looking at this little baby-body makes me think that three wouldn't be enough!

Christmas Came Early

My mom called last night and said that she and my dad were coming over. I didn't know it, but they were delivering my Christmas present. They bought me the sofa table that I had my eye on. They are so sweet and I'm not sure what I'd do without them. Now, if I could just figure out what to put on my new table!

Then, I found out about this deal from a fellow blogger for 50 free photo cards. (And if you're signing up as a new customer you also get 100 free prints!) Needless to say, I called my mom and had her bring over Maggie and Ellie's Christmas dresses and we had a quick photo shoot. The girls (including Callie) are having professional Christmas portraits taken this weekend, but I wanted a shot of them together in their little dresses for our family Christmas card.

I wanted to share this because if you're like me, your paycheck is small...or non-existent. While I always do some sort of photo in our Christmas card, I often narrow down the list of people who will receive them to save on the cost of pictures and postage. This year, I'll be able to send them to lots of people and I may even have a few left over! We spent quite a bit of money on preschool pictures this year and we will have very few to share with friends and family, so this will be a nice way to share Maggie & Ellie in their Christmas dresses.

And speaking of Baby Ellie...I think we're going to get through our sleep troubles. I should point out that I'm so concerned and trying to be proactive because The Muffin had sleep issues. "They" say that good sleepers aren't born, they're made. We'll see. So far things are going well. :-)

What I Learned This Week

Another week of life, another week of learning.

• I should trust my instincts. When I went to The Muffin's preschool in May to enroll her, I got an uneasy feeling. I decided it was anxiety about Baby Ellie's impending arrival, the big move and sending my baby away to preschool. When I went for our parent-teacher conference in September, I felt sick and like I'd made a horrible mistake sending her to this particular school. I thought I was making a great choice because Cousin Callie & Mr. Beans both attended this preschool. There is nothing really wrong with this school, but I'm not at all fond of her teacher. On the day that she had a substitute I was reminded of how I wanted her teacher to be. The substitute made an impression on The Muffin too because she's still talking about her two weeks later. I'm hoping and praying that the preschool she'll be attending next September will exceed my expectations.
  
• We need to go on dates more often. It was nice to eat lunch without trying to figure out what to order so that Muff will have something to eat or worry if the baby is going to behave. We were able to take our time doing the things we wanted to do. Although I was a little rushed when I was shopping, Big Daddy took his time looking at and test driving the car that he was interested in.
• I'm looking forward to my yearly exam. It helps that I'm going to see my extra-special midwife, get to see my two mommy friends and that I should be able to see Ms. A's new baby...also known as Muff's future sister-in-law and Ellie's future BFF. I can't wait to take Ellie & The Muffin to meet he new baby and let Muff spend a little time with her future husband, Christopher.
• Absence makes the heart grow fonder. I'm really missing my mommy friends since Ms. A is about to become a mommy of two. I so wanted our kids to grow up close to each other.
  
• I can totally handle these two crazy girls of mine. I've decided to throw caution to the wind more often and drag both Muffin and Ellie places for no good reason. Recycling center, library, Wal.mart for no reason...we're there! I love it!!
• The housework can wait, but my girls cannot. Right now the whole house is clean. It will not last. The hardwood floors will be dirty before bedtime, there will be more laundry to wash and dust will start to settle on everything. The house will not fall down if I decide not to clean everything again tomorrow. It will all wait, but Muff and Ellie will not. They are growing so fast.
  
• I can live without coffee, but I don't want to. For some reason I went two consecutive days without any coffee. I didn't have withdrawals or anything, but I like my life better with coffee in it.
• I need a good, reasonably priced age-defying moisturizer. Isn't that self explanatory?
• I love mascara. I may stray and try others, but this one is always the one I go back to and love. I really love the product and the price. I'm really frugal and "beauty" products just aren't worth spending a lot of money on since I'm a SAHM.
• Baking soda is my friend. Okay, so I didn't actually learn that this week, but I was reminded of how wonderful baking soda is. I brush my teeth with it, occasionally exfoliate with it, clean my shower with it and use it to do countless other things.
• Good jeans are great. I finally think I've found a pair of jeans that stay where they are supposed to. They have just enough stretch to hold their shape, but they don't get bigger and bigger and show too much skin when I bend down.
• The library rocks! Movies, books and Storytime make The Muffin happy!

Jump over to Musings of A Housewife to read more "What I Learned This Week" posts.

From The Mouth of The Muffin & an update on last night

The Muffin- (looking at the calendar) Wow, Sharley's birthday is really soon.

The Mommy- We need to get her a present. What do you think she would like to have?

The Muffin- Maybe a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The Mommy- Do you think she would like that?

The Muffin- Yeah...or maybe some new play dough. She really likes play dough!

I know exactly where she gets her sense for buying gifts from...her Daddy.


In other news...
Baby Ellie and I slept much better last night. I did lots of research on sleep stuff yesterday and last night. I'm doing a combination of sleep training and night weaning, but not using the crying it out method. I sort of Ferberized The Muffin at seven months old and that helped tremendously...at least for a while. In the end, we'll do what works best for us. And by us, I mean me and Baby Ellie. There's really not anyone else that's involved in this. I can assure you that Ellie will not go without food when she needs it, but she needs sleep too. She slept later and seemed happier today. I'm going to pray that tonight goes well too.

Here we go again

I could blame it on the time change last weekend, but I'm starting to wonder if it's my fault. Baby Ellie has started waking up very often during the night. I went through this with her big sister and I can't go through it again! Okay...I can, but I don't want to. I'm tired and irritable and I need more sleep. Of course, I've been researching sleep issues today and I know I'm not alone. I did this same research when Maggie was about this age and I know some of the things to do.

Please pray for me and Baby Ellie...seriously. After the sermon at church today, I've decided that I should pray about this.

And a little weekend update...
Baby Ellie and The Muffin had a great time staying with Nana & Pawpaw while Big Daddy and I spent a little time away. We looked at that car, had lunch at P.anera and then went to T.arget and Old N.avy. I skipped Star.bucks...sadly. I still have shopping to do, but Muff is taken care of.
Today, we went to church, had lunch with my family and then had Cousin Callie most of the afternoon. The weather was great so we spent time outside swinging, drawing with sidewalk chalk and riding bikes/walking.
The week ahead is looking good! The Muffin & Cousin Callie will be out of school, so I'll have three girls for half of the day. On Thursday, I'll be leaving Ellie & Maggie so that I can go to my yearly Ob/Gyn appointment. I'm SO excited about that. I'll be driving to Sanford, seeing my favorite midwife Peggy and then going to the hospital to see my sweet mommy friend, A and her new baby daughter. The baby will be arriving by c-section on Tuesday or Thursday. To top it all off, I should be going to visit A with our other mommy friend K. I'm terribly excited about seeing them, but I'll miss my two girls at home.

Baby Ellie at 5 months

Baby Ellie, today you are 5 months old!

I cannot believe it has been five months ago since midwife Peggy helped me push you out into the world. I cannot believe that it has been five months since you made The Muffin a big sister and me and Daddy the parents of two little girls.

Your sister remembers when you were "squished" in my belly. She remembers me being in labor with you and she tells me that I was being "too loud when the little girl was saying be quiet". (She remembers the picture of a little girl dressed as a nurse that starts the "quiet zone" at the doors leading to the birthing center) She remembers the day that you were born and is still so excited to see you every morning when she wakes up and she still loves you so very much.

Now, what are you up to??
You sit a little bit by yourself, but you always reach for something and fall over.
You reach for everything.
You love your keys and your little baby.
You still wake up two or three times during the night to eat.
You only take two naps during the day, and you sometimes fight sleep.
You like to squeal (wonder who taught you that?) and laugh and smile, which delights your sister.
You get so excited when someone comes over to pick you up.
After several attempts, you like to eat rice cereal and you love bananas.
You roll from back to front.

We love you Baby Ellie!

YUMMY!!

Well...the birthday cake was yummy! It didn't matter that it was in several pieces by party time. My sister said it was the best cake she'd ever had and of course, The Muffin loved it. And, I'm quite the coffee maker too, so maybe one day I can be a professional barista! Big Daddy enjoyed his birthday dinner too. He requested a certain kind of chicken and King's Hawaiian rolls. I fixed (turkey) bacon wrapped asparagus and baked beans to go with it.

We are finalizing our date plans for Saturday. Big Daddy has to decide where he wants to eat for lunch. I think he is thinking of upgrading the gift that he usually buys for himself. For several years he has purchased a new gun on his special day. This year, we are going to look at cars. There's a Lexus that he wants to look at and test drive. Does anyone remember what he bought me for my birthday???

And in other news...
The Muffin's request to try "that yummy chocolate candy", also known as Ferrero Rocher, was granted. Let's just say I'm a Rocher lover and was tickled when The Muffin asked to try it after she saw the commercial. (I think she subconsciously remembers buying the treat for Gammy Gladys at Christmas before.) She picked the traditional hazelnut as opposed to the Roudnoir. We'll try that next time!





I think she liked it!

Unfortunately, I share her love for chocolate.