Halloween 2010--The Highlights

Pop saw this pumpkin in the Parade this morning and knew a "kitty" who would love it.  We stopped by to "trick-or-treat" after church and were treated with this. :o)

Our three punkins.  The Scooby isn't looking so hot now that it's been a few days.  The Scream-esque pumpkin was carved last night.  :o)

How to humiliate Holly in five minutes or less. ;o)  She deserved it.  She wouldn't stop barking at the trick-or-treaters.  I figured if we embarrassed her enough, she would run away to hide.  Alas, I was mistaken.

But, doesn't she make a lovely fairy princess? :oP

Sarah called at the beginning of the week, asking what we were doing for Halloween.  I told her we were going to do the neighborhood loop just like last year.  She asked if we minded having some company since Erin had told a friend she was "going trick-or-treating with my friend, Lily!"  Hee hee!  Of COURSE we were MORE than happy to have friends along for the fun. :o)

So, we have Mittens the kitten, a cute little fairy, and Aurora.  :o)

Have you ever tried to get a decent picture of three little girlies anxious to get out and get going?  Talk about an effort in futility...;o) 

We had pizza, and while we were eating, the kids began coming.  Ellie, goodness love her, was still shoveling the food in fast and furious (green beans, sweet potatoes, and more--all finger food) and I had to give her the bum's rush to get the girls out the door. 

She was FINALLY finished and dressed and I was answering the door to some cute little cowboys when Miss Grabby Mitts snitched a Snickers from the bowl.  What a baby.  Whew!

Sarah and I took the Ellies/LEs out and down for a few houses and then came back home to give the little girls a rest and put the baby to bed.  Brien and Erik continued on with Lil and Erin.  They did the loop and came home.  Those two made out like bandits!  Lil came home with at least three or four full-sized candy bars.  Holy cow!

Meanwhile, I erroneously purchased too little candy and still had kiddos calling.  I grabbed Lil's bag from her trunk-or-treating this morning and began handing it out.  I knew she wouldn't notice, and really, she will NEVER eat that much candy.  I actually wound up emptying out leftover candy from last year before I gave her her pumpkin this evening...

Ellie thought she was big stuff cruising the neighborhood after dark.  LE thought she was big stuff cruising along with her big sister and Lily.  :o)  She's 16 months now and SO cute! :o)

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Today's Sparklies:

Sprinkled throughout the day. :o)

Milestones:
You would think holidays would get easier with each passing year.  Yeah, notsomuch.  I keep waiting.  :sigh:  I wonder what she would have been this year.  Would she have gone with us, or traipsed off with neighborhood friends?  Would she have eaten any of the candy, or given it all to us as was her wont?  What would her jack 'o lantern have been?  I just miss her.

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I have a prayer request please.  My friend Julie's father is very ill and in the hospital.  They aren't sure what is wrong with him.  Please pray for a diagnosis and solution.  Thank you!

An Unplanned Adventure

Brien will be traveling next week (in NOLA, the lucky sot) so he decided to take his floating holiday to spend today with us.  :o)  We decided we would head east on 64 and just see where the road took us.

Because Ellie loathes her car seat with such passion, we decided to try a "big girl" seat.  We moved Lil's seat over and installed it rear-facing and then moved her Marathon from B's car for her to use.

Neither girl could have been happier. :o)  Lil liked being able to sit a little higher in the car (the True Fit is quite deep) and Ellie was (I swear I am not making this up) laughing(!!) as we drove down the road.  She could see some of what was going by outside her window, and she could see her big sister.  Nothing could be better for a nosy girlie.  (To that end, I have placed an order for another True Fit, this one for the Bean, so Lil can have her True Fit back in Daddy's car and El can have one in the van.  Her infant seat will be installed in the Mazda since she still has another eight pounds before she outgrows it.) 

The van seemed to guide itself to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and we soon found ourselves on the Eastern Shore.  As you all know, I adore taking the back roads and exploring small towns, so when I saw a sign suggesting I should visit "Historic Cape Charles" (I just love those brown signs!), I took off. 

What a fun little town.  Had B and I been traveling sans baby (bless her baby heart, we love her, but you can only do so much when they are sleeping and you DON'T want to awaken them), I would have been out exploring.  As it was, I drove all over the streets and before I knew it, I was seeing pastel houses!! 

They are most definitely NOT historic.  But, boy were they FUN!  (I must apologize for the crappy photo quality--the phone can only do so much...)

I believe they are called "Marina Village" or some such. 

They are built on the Bay, and I assume they are "vacation homes".  Man.  A three bedroom, three bathroom vacation home on the Bay in a gated community?  Must be nice. :oP

We continued tooling around the area and found ourselves back on Rt. 13.  I was determined to view as many towns along "13 Business" as possible (old downtowns are so intriguing!) and we eventually made our way to Chincoteague.  Lil and B wanted to see the Atlantic, Ellie was ready to eat, so we headed on to Assateague.  While the Bean nursed, Lil and B checked out the gulls and the waves. 

It was WINDY today!! The gulls were all hunkered down on the beach.  

I attempted to snap some pictures while Beanie ate.  She is one GRABBY girlie.  :shakes head:

Then, while B sat with the girls (who were playing in the back of the van with the seats folded down--a great way for Ellie to move around), I took these:

Because I piddled my way along on the way up, we caught the most gorgeous, golden, late afternoon autumn sunlight.  Brien was able to take loads of photos (he's promised to share!), but this one was the best I could do.  The colors were so intense and golden hued.  It made my heart sigh with happiness. :o)  Lil kept craning her eyes for ponies, but there were none to be seen.

I did, however, see oodles of waterfowl to include cormorants, egrets, gulls and more.  :o)

B and I seriously considered getting a hotel room for the evening and playing around there again tomorrow.  But, Lil had other ideas.  She is truly a homebody and was adamant about wanting to return home.  I'm not sure why, but she experiences much anxiety if she is out and about for too long. 

Hannah had her fear of the house burning down, Lil, I think is afraid it won't be there for her to return to.  The anxiety really does worry me.  She can be very intense in her fears of something bad happening.  For example, B was crossing a very non-busy street this evening.  A car was approaching about a quarter of a mile away, causing B no worry as he sedately crossed the street.  Lily was petrified B was going to be hit, almost panting in her worry. 

Does this fear of loss stem from losing Hannah?  I don't know.  I do know it breaks my heart a little to see such panic in my Bit.  I think we are going to start venturing out a bit more now so she can see we will always return home.

And, return home we did.  While B and Lil headed inside to get some grub, Ellie had hers in the van.  She and I are quite comfortable with the front seat at this point...;o)

Alas, she was FAR more interested in moving around than in nursing.  You know Toonces?  Well, here's Beanie:

Yes, they are very high quality images, I know. ;o)  But, you can get the idea at any rate. :oP

We made it home by around 9:30, put the girls to bed, and I sat down to record everything before I forgot.  What a WONDERFUL day! :o)

Today's Sparklies are sprinkled throughout the post.  :o)

It's Official

Confirmed at the doctor's office today: The Beanie is teeny.  :o)  Ellie had her six month check-up today.  Here are her stats:

Head: 16.26" 15th percentile
Weight: 14 lb 3 oz 13th percentile
Length: 26" 53rd percentile

I make 'em small, folks.

Okay, not quite true.  For comparison, here are Hannah's and Lily's stats at six months:
Hannah:
Weight: 17 lb 1 oz
Length: 26.25"
Average length, BIG BIG girl. :o)

Lily:
Head: 16.25"
Weight: 14 lb 2 oz
Length: 25"

So, Hannah, it would seem, was my anomaly.  Gracie seems to be growing just like Lily and Ellie.  Petite babies run in the family.  Ellie is about an inch longer than Lily was, but otherwise, they are pretty much the same.  Crazy!  So the question is this, how funny is Ellie going to look when she starts walking in a couple of months?  Come on, you know with the way she's moving, she'll be up and running before we know it. 

With Lil, Dr. Jen worried a bit since Han was such a moose.  But, Lily was perfectly healthy and happy and, while she's still a peanut of a kiddo, she's as healthy as a horse.  Given that knowledge, and the fact Ellie is pretty much the same size, and falling off her curve the same way Lil did, Jen isn't a bit concerned.  The thought process is she is SO active she is burning off a TON of calories. 

What? Ellie active?  Whatever do you mean, Dr. Jen?  ;o)  The Bean was none too pleased to be lying still while Jen checked her over.  In spite of her struggles, the doctor was able to perform a thorough exam and the Bean has been declared to be as fit as a fiddle--just petite. :o)

Lily was a patient, wonderful kiddo, per the norm.  She was relieved to be able to receive 'flu mist instead of the shot (as was I, truth be told).  She was also WONDERFUL waiting while Mommy had a gab fest with Miss Teresa and Miss Patricia (the nurses).  Teresa has a baby due in January and just passed her little girl's first heaven day.  We were talking about anxiety about baby during pregnancy, how that second year goes, etc.  It's always nice to have someone to talk to who has been there before you, to know you will survive.

Right now, the Bean is sleeping off her morning--no nap makes for a rough time of it--and we'll see how well she reacts to her immunizations this afternoon.


I have RCIA tonight, so I don't know if I'll get to my sparklies, so I'll post those I've had so far today.

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Today's Sparklies:


1.  Oo, Mommy, you have a shiny phone.  I can haz shiny phone??

2.  Two healthy, perfect kiddos.  What could be better?
3.  A high school friend had her first baby yesterday.  :o)
4.  Robin is in better spirits every day.  She was able to journal for about an hour this morning and then make out a bit of what she had written.  YES! :o)
5.  Lil will be punkin' carving with Pop this evening.  Yay!  What a fun tradition he started. :o)

No milestones.

Lily's Latest School Project

Lil and I have a fairly organic approach to schooling, when we hear about something that catches our interest, we will delve more in-depth.  Such was the case with maps and map skills. 

When Columbus Day rolled around, we talked about his map-making business with his brother, and using maps to navigate.  Lily was excited, so we used that as a jumping-off point to begin our map discovery.  Well, that, and I found some fun "Lollipop Dragon" filmstrips-turned-streaming-videos online.  ;o)

When we finished learning about maps (what one is, what one can use them for, different kinds of maps, parts of the map, etc.), we used that info to create a map of her bedroom. :o)

Here's a close-up of her map key.

And, here she explains her map for you:




Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing
I'll be back later this evening to post sparklies for the day.  :o)

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Today's Sparklies:

1.  Is it wrong I found this really amusing?
2.  My house is CLEAN once more.  :o)
3.  Laundry is DONE!
4.  For those wondering, my love affair with gDiapers continues. :o)  Now that Ellie has moved into the mediums, I'm able to use the flushies inserts at night.  The velcro has held up really well, we've had no leakage issues, and now that she is eating solids, the poo just peels right off the cloth into the toilet.  And, they are still stinkin' adorable! :o)
5.  Robin sounds better and better.  Hooray!  It's going to be a slow road to reading once more (stupid brain injury), but she is one determined lady.  Joshua is now about four ounces above his birth weight.  Woo hoo!

No milestones.

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Don't forget to help out Lissie!  Those of you who have are simply wonderful.  Thanks bunches!! :o)

A Tale of Fairy Tale

It came to my attention the other day that the only "fairy tales" Lil knows are those put out by Disney.  That's not to say those aren't wonderful stories, but, they aren't the "classic" tales I grew up with, the tales are not always the most happy or perfect (no worries, I won't be reading her the true "Little Mermaid" any time soon--I was a bit scarred by that one...). 

They may not always have ended "happily ever after" for the villains, but there was still something satisfying about the stories.

Additionally, we had NO fairy tale books in the house.  None.  How in the world did that happen in this book-happy house?!?  I wanted to do a lesson on "fractured fairy tales", using books I have in the school room, and realized Lil was unfamiliar with most of the stories. 

How could that be?

So, I saved up some duckets and went to my favorite online store and found some classic fairy tale books.  Two arrived today.  One of them is nothing more than the stories collected in a paper back book, sans illustrations.  The other, well, it's simply gorgeous.  That image up there of the "Frog Prince" is from that book. 

The books arrived today and Lily sat down on the floor and buried her nose in it for the next half hour, poring over all the illustrations.  She's somewhat familiar with the stories and was able to identify most of them.  However, she's not that familiar all of them.  I'm really looking forward to delving into these stories with her. 

I have another book arriving tomorrow.  It has the story of "Snow White and Rose Red" and those other classic tales that I remember from my childhood.  Yes, they are a little more frightening than the Disney tales (although, that Shadow Man was rather terrifying if you ask me!), but to me, they are also more interesting and more detailed.  I'm choosing my tales carefully, as some really aren't appropriate for four-almost-five year olds, but I'm sure she'll enjoy the ones we do read.  :o)

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Today's Sparklies:

1.  Robin called this evening.  I swear, she sounds better every time I talk to her.  Numbers are becoming a little more automatic for her, and she is really working on that reading thing.  Her b/p is still high, but I anticipate it coming down within another couple of weeks.
2.  Joshua is continuing to thrive.  The NICU nurses were telling Robin today that he is actually quite long (the boy has some clodhoppers!) and should be able to wear standard newborn clothes by the time he's ready to go home.  Awesome!
3.  Reading those fairy tales with Lil.  :o)
4.  Simple, yet delicious philly cheese steak subs for dinner.  Mm.
5.  Sweet, earnest little Lily.  What a child. :o)

No milestones.

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For those who may have missed it yesterday (or on FB), Lissie has been given the assignment of a life time and could really use your help and input, please.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE??  You all are the experts on where you live and where you have traveled and it would mean the world to us if you could impart some of that wisdom!  Thank you SO much! :o)

Beanie On the Move

Do you see the Bean in this photo?  I'll give you a hint, look in the middle of the picture.  Under the train table. 

Yes, there she is.  She likes to crawl into spaces that are nearly impossible for her to get out of, at which point she'll yell at you so you can rescue her.  Her gear goes forward with no reverse in sight.  :shakes head:

She also likes to try to stand up when she's in those impossible places.  She grabbed the lip on the edge of that bin on the table and fussed and fussed because she couldn't stand up.  It seems the table top wouldn't give when she knocked her hard head into it...

"Oh, hi.  There you are."

"What? What did I do now?"

"I'm all that's sweet and innocent.  See?" 

Yeah right!  That baby is nuthin' but baaaaad. :oP

Seriously, she's a sweetheart of a baby.  She's just SO busy and she loathes being confined and/or restrained.  She wants to be down, she wants to be moving.  She wants to be putting her chubby baby mitts in the dog's food bowl, grabbing a handful for her mouth.  If she's down on the floor, she makes a beeline for their food and water bowls.  Woe unto me if I fail to get them up before she's there...  The good news is she hasn't actually managed to get any dog food into her mouth--yet.  :eye roll:

And, the Bit with Brien's water gun.  She wanted a larger water reservoir, so B attached a 2 liter bottle.  It was a bit heavy for her to heft using her arms, so B put it on her shoulder.

Amy, I made sure to get this one for you--it's tutu time again. ;o)

She loves to squirt the water down so Holly the water killer could attack the stream.  Crazy dog.

And, these are from today.  Remember I mentioned Ellie Bean getting herself into difficult positions?

This is under the kitchen table.  Why why why why why???  Why couldn't she still be a sedentary lump in the middle of the living room floor? :sigh:

I had to take the bowls off this shelf as she likes to grab them and try to render herself unconscious with them.

"What? You object to me sitting on my knees?" 

No, not the knee sitting so much, it's just you're growing up TOO fast.  :oS

And, I'd rather you were sitting on your knees holding on to something than sitting on your knees NOT holding on to something.  Seriously?!?

Ah.  How big is Ellie?  TOOOOOO big.  :shakes head:  I swear, she's going to be running next week...

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Today's Sparklies:

1.  Lily made a "book" using some cards she received from our ghosting yesterday:

2.  So, this is from yesterday, but it was too awesome not to share.  Did anyone else see the amazing NOVA program, "Building the Great Cathedrals"?  OMG!  It was INCREDIBLE!  I'm beyond ready to be a world traveler and to visit all the cathedrals highlighted.
3.  Lissie has a new adventure planned with the publisher she works for.  She needs your help, please.
4.  Chicken teriyaki lo mein for dinner.  Mmmm.
5.  Josh and Dana had a wonderful ultra sound today, confirming their baby is healthy and perfect.  Woo hoo!

No milestones.
BUT...I was sitting in the dark of Ellie's room a few evenings ago.  We were bonding over her last feed of the evening.  I was reflecting on my life recently, as compared to how it was right after Hannah died. 

I was given a gift of sorts when I lost Hannah.  In the wake of the horribleness that was our loss, I was given the knowledge that life is SHORT, that you are NOT guaranteed tomorrow, that you should enjoy each moment and not sweat the small stuff. 

Well, there I sat in the nursery, and realized I've forgotten those lessons.  Sure, I don't sweat as much of the small stuff as I used to, allowing Lil to go out in public in outfits I would have cringed had Han worn.  But, I have lost my patience once more.  I have lost sight of how truly truly precious my babies are.  I mean, I know they are precious, but I take it for granted. 

Once more, I'm easily frustrated with Lily and the things she does--the same things I would miss if she were gone.  I spend more time on the computer than I do interacting with my children.  Okay, not quite, but I feel that way, and if I'm feeling that way, it means it needs to change. 

I need to step back and remember how sweet and precious this time with my babies is, that it is time I will NEVER get back.  I need to be thankful for those moments that are sweet and wonderful, as well as for those that are trying.  Instead of complaining and grumping about having to get up with Ellie in the middle of the night, I should instead be grateful I have a baby to get up with.  Instead of getting frustrated when Lil interrupts me once again when I'm on the phone, I need to have patience and remember she is still learning appropriate manners. 

Life is short, my time with my girls is even shorter.  I must be better about appreciating the gifts God has given me. 

Robin...

...is HOME!!! :o)  Her b/p is stable and all three of her doctors released her--OB/Gyn, Neurosurgeon, and hospitalist.  Hooray!

I wanted to give an update on her condition, though, with her permission.  She figures the more specific prayers, the better.  The brain bleed caused a clot on the back of her brain.  As such, she is suffering from a brain injury in the form of loss of the ability to read.  She can identify letters, she can identify letter sounds, she can spell.  But, once she writes those words down, her ability to decode them is shot and she can't read them.  The speech therapist identified it as a type of aphasia without agraphia.  It is very rare, but apparently Robin has a textbook case.

The good news is she should be able to make a full recovery.  In fact, Robin is DETERMINED to recover her reading ability and KNOWS she'll be reading again.  The speech therapist and neurologist would like to wait and see if it comes back on it's own once the clot is no longer pressing on her brain. 

Dumpling (christened "Joshua Stephen") is doing amazingly well, but remains in the NICU--as was expected.  He is taking over 20 cc's of formula/breast milk a day and has gained 10 grams over his birth weight.  Woo hoo! :o)

My heart goes out to Robin and Lawrence, for this is, of course, not what they imagined when they thought about their homecoming after birth.  But, they are in good spirits about it (I swear, I had no idea Lawrence was such an optimist!), saying this will give them time to get the house ready for Joshua's arrival home. 

I'm certain Robin will be haunting the NICU until the Dumpling comes home.  I know I would.  How difficult it must be to come home and leave your baby behind.  :o(

But, as sad as that is, I'm celebrating Robin's improved health and trip home.  NOW she should be able to rest and recuperate.  :o)

The Beanie is Sprouting

 

 I had wanted to do this post on Tuesday--Beanie's six month birthday.  I wanted to take a peek at how she has grown and changed over the past six months.  Blogger was being spooty and not accepting photo uploads during my usual posting time.  Okay, FINE. :oP  Then, they weren't accepting uploads YESTERDAY during the same time. 

Ha! I beat them today!! ;o)

Goodness, look at all that crazy dark hair she had.

Still with the crazy dark hair, but a little older and a little more cognizant of the world around her.

 

 Two months old.  The hair was still crazy and standing up on end, and even more personality began to come through.

Ah, three months old and the discovery of her smile. :o)

Four months and the faux-hawk extraordinaire.  ;o) Her little personality REALLY began to make an appearance here.

Five months.  Her dark hair began to fall out and be replaced by gold fuzz coming in.  What hair remained was long enough at this point to lie down--for the most part. ;o)

Six months.  She is so busy now.  She crawls into everything, pulls up constantly, has the funniest personality and makes us laugh all day long.  Her most favorite person in the world is Lily.  I'm only a distant second in her book, and only because I provide the goods in the form of ninny.  The one sure-fire guaranteed way of making her laugh is for Lily to get tickled by something and start laughing.  Ellie has NO idea at what she is laughing, only that Lily thinks something is funny and it triggers her funny bone. :o)

She adores table food and anything we are eating, but struggles with chewing.  Therefore, dining is a rather frustrating process for her right now.  She has a jar of baby food (which she tolerates at best), some cereal mixed with fruit, and a couple of rice husks for dinner most evenings.  But, that is NOT the food she craves.  She wants what WE have and is desperate for it.  That, combined with the fact she is being restrained in her high chair really makes her grumpy and she quickly loses patience with the entire feeding process.  Once she's able to gum her food properly, and not gag on pieces of food she swallows, we'll all be much happier.

She is the worst sleeper of my three.  Lily, as an introvert, needed the time to recharge her batteries after being with people.  That, and well, she likes her own company and didn't feel like she was missing out on anything.

Hannah, my big extrovert, was always afraid she was missing out on something.  She would fight sleep tooth and nail and was always energized by crowds of people.  However, when she did go down for naps, she would sleep for two hours at a stretch, both morning and afternoon. By six months, she was up only once a night and we were working on night weaning.  Of course, she was a much bigger baby.

Then, we have sweet Ellie.  She is a terrible sleeper.  She too seems to be a HUGE extrovert, and is interested in being with people.  She will fight sleep if we are in a crowd of people, but at home, she'll go down without too much complaint (unless we have company), letting me know she is ready to sleep with a bout of fussing. BUT, she'll sleep for maybe an hour at most.  I'm not used to that!  And, at night, she's up at least twice to nurse.  And, it's actually nursing, not just waking up because it's habit.  She's killing me.  Thank goodness I stay at home now.  I'd be a wreck in the classroom! But, maybe it's not so much that she's a terrible sleeper, it's just I'm not used to babies who need so little sleep.  Hm.  And, to be fair, she'll go to sleep with little fuss once she's put down to rest.  If only she would STAY asleep. :oP

Ellie is good at keeping herself entertained, though.  I've put a number of soft toys and a book in her crib, and I'll hear her playing with her toys when she wakes up (sometimes, before she goes to sleep).  Often, she will contentedly play for a good thirty minutes before letting me know she's ready to come interact with everyone once more.

Waylen still loves to come up to her and try to love on her a bit, but she is, of course, grabby Gertie, so he's become more careful in his approach.  Holly is just desperate for someone to play with her, so she'll bring Ellie her rope bone, drop it at her and then bark for her to throw it.  Ellie, seeing a new item, immediately brings it to her mouth.  ACK!  It's a good thing I'm usually right there with her when that happens and can intercept the action. Whew!

Ellie can also sit up by herself quite well.  She can't push herself to sitting yet, but if sat up, will stay there until she's ready to move on to another activity.  I've never heard of a baby who can crawl and pull up before they sit up on their own, but, well, my kids are all a little strange. ;o)

I still question, though, how in the world did this:

Get to be this big:

Boy does time fly.

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And, speaking of time flying, it's doing so with Lil as well.  Here is her journal from the first day of school:

And, here's her journal from Tuesday.  I can't believe how much improvement she has made in just a little over a month.

You know, babies grow and change so quickly physically and preschoolers don't.  Their growth is in their brains as they are processing so much information and making connections within the world around them and we sometimes lose sight of that.  I was really hit over the head with it when looking back through her journal writings.  My baby is growing up!  Her physical growth is slower than that of her sister, but she too is growing and changing.  :shakes head:  They'll be in college before I can blink my eyes.  :oS

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Today's Sparklies:

1.  A morning spent with Lissie and Lil at mommy school.
2.  Ellie the little flirt. :o)
3.  The sun made an appearance today and it has been GORGEOUS!  Ahhh, I'm SO overjoyed it is once again fall. :o)  Jeans and sweatshirts are the uniform of the season. ;o)
4.  Brien's good doctor's appointment this morning.  Yay!
5.  Coffee--with lots of caffeine.  Ellie was up at 1:00 and then again from 3:00-4:15.  Did I mention she's not the best of my sleepers?!? oy.

No milestones.