Miss congeniality

Since day one Ellie has attracted much attention, and this has not decreased in her nearly 11 months around. At first we just attributed it to her being a baby, and that people just like babies. This is not the case. We have been in a restaurant that had many babies and Ellie stole the show...I know I know....I'm just bragging because she is mine, but you will have to go out with us one time and witness the Ellie show for yourself!

This weekend we decided to stop in at Red Lobster, and Ellie drew her fans in almost immediately. The waitress LOVED her and ( as is usually the case) was kind of to the detriment of our service. She would stop and talk to her any time she passed....gave her unsolicited snacks....showed Ellie (just Ellie) pictures of her kids and told others to come by our table to see Ellie. Patrons walking by would stop and talk to her ..... She would turn on her smile...then wave...and now she says "hi" along with her wave. A little girl, about 4 or 5 yrs old, exchanged waves and smiles with Ellie.

Ellie did meet her match in a 2 yr old little boy who was interested in the lobster tank and not so much in Ellie. He was a flat affect, snowman sweater, corduroy pant, loafer wearing little Asian boy. Ellie saw him and it was the most adorable thing I have ever seen. Her eyes lit up and she tried her darndest to engage him. He was having none of it. At one point he seemed as if he was going to be yet another victim of her charm. He slowly approached her and then stood staring. She broke out all of her tricks...she waved...nothing...she whispered "hi"....nothing......she loudly said "hi"....nothing .....she clapped....nothing ....then she looked at me as if to say "i've done all I can do."

It was the first time we have really seen her social side fully come out. Sure, she engages people routinely, but this time it was purposed, she initiated it, and it was absolutely adorable. Justin and I were smiling and laughing and just enjoying watching the girl.

Ellie bellie, it was his loss.

Christmas time

Merry Christmas!

We love this girl

10 months and counting....

Ms. Ellie Bo Bellie,

You are 10 months old now. Almost a year but not quite. You are getting older and we are just getting old.
We love you. You love us. It's a get thing we have going....
 
Here are the highlights of YOU at 10 months:

* You are still getting into everything. Now you crawl faster. You stand on your own. You take some steps.    You are a mobile maniac!!

* You can feed yourself with a spoon - very messily however the food gets from spoon to mouth and that is all that counts.

* You wave and smile to people. People love it.

* You dance. People love it.

* You shake your head from side to side when you get excited - it is the cutest thing!

* You  still LOVE LOVE LOVE to jump but now you prefer to try to jump on your own. You accomplish this by bouncing while you stand or jumping while on your knees....It's the best thing!

* Your STILL smile lights up a room!!!

* You HATE: having your diaper changed, getting dressed/undressed, going in your car seat, bed time (but you are getting MUCH better), being in your stroller for more than 3 minutes, sun in your eyes, when your dad feeds you too slow, not getting attention, being told "no"and loud noise.

* You are a superb eater!! (Loves) beef w/vegetables, lasagna, sweet potatoes, bananas and strawberries, mixed vegetables, peas, carrots, cinnamon oatmeal, carrots, turkey and rice, chicken and apples, puffs and lil' crunchies (Dislikes) nothing.

* You eat a lot of big people foods now ...you LOVE crackers, graham crackers, potatoes (you are my daughter!), whip cream, turkey, green beans, carrots, peas, bread (you are your father's daughter!) and pretty much whatever we give you....

* You have toys you LOVE: your Dr. Seuss character stuffed animal, lids, spoons, water bottles, plastic bowls, your squishy ball, DVD/VCR, Wii Remote, TV remote, the power button on the TV, books and basically anything that you can put in your mouth. AND you now love Baby Tad

* Things you love to try to play with but shouldn't: Electrical cords, leaning shelves, the laptop, the TV, the Wii

* Personality: Charming, Stubborn, Inquisitive/Nosey, Loving, Joyful, "too smart for your own good," - these have not changed...ever.....Soooooo I think this means something :)

* Things we are working on: not yelling, learning what "no" means consistently

* Favorite things to "watch": Dora the Explorer, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Umizoomi, Special Agent Oso

* NEW archenemy: the hair dryer, the bread machine, the mixer, and the food processor

* Things you have broken: my IPhone, my laptop (shhhh!), and your dad's laptop cord (nothing new since last month -- thankfully!)

* Biggest "Places" you've gone thus far: Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Disneyland, Tuscon

* Holidays you have celebrated: Halloween, Valentines Day, Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving

* Nap times: 1pm and 4 pm

* Bed time: 930 pm

* Sign that you are getting sleepy: You start making a moaning noise, you start rubbing your eyes, you lay your head down, and you start acting "wacky"

* Favorite blankie: Flower print one with your name embroidered on it (this has not changed)

* You LOVE to go swimming

* You LOVE to play chase

* You are now ticklish

* You have mastered playing peek-a-boo and initiating playing it (you put the blanket up to your face and bring it down yourself -- you started this at about 8 months old)

* You still love to splash around in the bath tub

* Fav sleeping position: on your side and on your back

* Big upcoming trips: San Diego!! Las Vegas!! San Francisco!! Disneyland!!

* Favorite song: The ABC's as sung by mom, Ellie Bellie Bo Bellie as sung by mom and dad, Ellie Bo Bellie as written and sung by mom and dad.


*Everyone loves you. Everyone. No, seriously.....everyone.

* Nicknames: "Ladybug" "Lady" Ellie Bellie" "E. Sophia" "Bug" "Bugz" "Ellie Bo Bellie"

*Things you "Say": dada, mama, baba, gaga, nana, papa

* When asked "where's dada?" You look at your dad and when asked "Where's mama" you look at your mom

I think these are the highlights of you Ms. Ellie Bo Bellie!!

Wow.....

.......my eyes tell me that I have not posted a blog in about a month!!

Things have been so hectic around here this past month and I am actually pretty surprised that we have survived. Justin and I have had SOOOOO much homework due in preparation for the end of the semester! The day before Thanksgiving I has consumed with writing a paper for my health policy class, and I had 20 marvelous pages done when I realized (at 9 pm) that there was an 8 page limit. Super.

We just got back from Tuscon where I went for a conference. We stayed at the Westin La Paloma Resort and all of the trip was free because the conference was for school. We headed to Phoenix the first day and did a little shopping (bought some more Sprinkles cupcakes!) and ate at our favorite Phoenix restaurants. The next 2 days were conference days, and then we headed home on Friday.

Justin has several final exams pending along with some lengthy homework assignments. This past week I had another major paper due (the exemplar papers were 30 and 60 pages long) which had me a wee bit stressed out. I have a statistics presentation due next Tuesday and then another major paper for my health policy class....then it is VACATION!!

Vacation means that we can celebrate our first Christmas together as our own little family, we get to go back to California (but this time for longer), and best of all --- sleep.

I am going to sign off because I have to go start/finish our Christmas cards -- which are completely pimp!!

Happy Holidays everyone......and a blessed New Year!

Explosions

WARNING: THIS TOPIC IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART - you have been warned...

For about the last two weeks now Ms. Ellie has been having what amounts to diarrhea, but is really more of a middle ground between diarrhea and formed stool. We are guessing that it is because we have begun introducing some new foods into her diet, but I fear that this theory is growing old and tired. She is now eating "regular" foods that are diced, her formula, and some jar foods - perhaps it was too much of a change for her tummy but I am now doubting it is the culprit.

It started with her waking up with her jammies a total disaster, which made getting up in the mornings a particular treat!! I know there were days Justin and I laid there pretending to be asleep and hoping that the other would finally get up to go and fight the battle.

This morphed into a mid-day treat and finally an around 8 pm treat -- this has resulted in SOOOOO much laundry being done and SOOOOO many extra baths being given. It's pretty much all we do....wipe/gag/re-bathe/gag /re-diaper/gag/change her clothes/gag/clean up diaper/gather dirty clothes/hose off dirty clothes/launder dirty clothes/gag/hose ourselves off --- AND repeat!

This Monday she had her 9 month well child check and so I figured we'd ask her pediatrician about it. It was a cold and rainy day so I bundled her up in a cute pink outfit with pink elephants - very fetching. We drove to the office and arrived around 20 min early and I smelled a funny smell so when we parked I decided to change her before she had an accident. I was too late.....


I lifted her up from her car seat and her pink sweat pants were brown in color....I laid her on her back while I removed the soiled pants only to find a mess of astronomical proportions....There was poop EVERYWHERE...thick poop that resembled spaghetti (given that this is what she'd had the day before - the jarred kind). It was on the outside of her onesie...which then got on her legs...which then got on her socks...which then got on the seat....which then got on her hoodie...which then got on the diaper bag...which then got on her spare shirt....which was, of course, now all over me. I wanted to cry.....and it smelled....bad.





And as luck would have it....we were nearly out of wipes in the diaper bag. Great.


I cleaned her off and then used some antibacterial hand wipes to tend to the car.....


I looked down and we were late to her appointment...but she had only a spare pair of pants that were unscathed....so I got her pants on (which was no small feat given that I really had no un-pooped place to lay her) and took my hoodie off to wrap her in and rushed her inside. A few people were staring at me and I figured they were wondering why Ellie was wrapped in a hoodie, however I then remembered that I had put on a thin white T-shirt under my hoodie. Great.

We finally made it to see the doctor, and as usual (her pediatrician is not easily worked up given that she's been around a while) we were told the diarrhea was no big deal. The girl is not dehydrated, no change in diaper status (wet ones that is), she's eating well, drinking well, and no fever. So the doc just told us to give her some Activia and see what happens...

She also got 2 shots....and was told that her scream was the loudest the doctor has heard in all of her career - which means something given that the doctor has been around a while....At least now I know it's not just me being sensitive. I believe the descriptor was a "calling the dogs" scream......Great.

PS: I'm sorry Ellie that I reported this story about you.....one day you will understand....(Drum roll please....) when you have kids!!

I have nothing interesting to say....

I feel as if I only have things to say about Ellie...

.... but she's just so darn interesting......and cute!

Ellie Bellie Bo Bellie Banana Fanna Fo Fellie Me My Mo Mellie ---- ELLIE!!

It is just impossible to believe that 9 months have passed since we first laid eyes on little Miss Ellie. After 9 months of carrying her in my own belly she arrived and she has been the center of our existence since the day she was born. Many people have children and have those children fit into their lives, however we wholeheartedly agreed that when we had a baby we would fit into their life. This has definitely been the case, and what a blessing it has been.

Ellie has and is such a delight. We recently went out to eat and Ellie was the center of attention at this place. People coming to talk to her, people at other tables waving and talking to her, telling her that she made their night with her smile....and on and on as usually happens when we go out with Ellie. -- The waitress told us as we walked out, "You are a very blessed family. I am sure you know that, but I just felt like telling you that. You are very blessed."

Indeed.

Here are the highlights of Ellie at 9 months:

* You get into everything....EVERYTHING! You crawl, you stand, you climb....you exhaust us :)

* You can feed yourself with a spoon - very messily however the food gets from spoon to mouth and that is all that counts.

* You wave to people. People love it.

* You dance. People love it.

* You shake your head from side to side when you get excited - it is the cutest thing!

* You  still LOVE LOVE LOVE to jump --- and you could still jump for hours if our arms and shoulders could keep up!!

* Your STILL smile lights up a room!!!

* You HATE: having your diaper changed, getting dressed/undressed, going in your car seat, bed time being in your stroller for more than 3 minutes, sun in your eyes, when your dad feeds you too slow, not getting attention, things with strong odors, and loud noise. (This has remained unchanged from 8 months old)

* You are a superb eater!! (Loves) beef w/vegetables, lasagna, sweet potatoes, bananas and strawberries, mixed vegetables, peas, carrots, cinnamon oatmeal, carrots, turkey and rice, chicken and apples, puffs and lil' crunchies (Dislikes) nothing.

* You have toys you LOVE: your new Dr. Seuss character stuffed animal, lids, spoons, plastic bowls, your walker, DVD/VCR, Wii Remote, TV remote, books, Goldie Brown - Private I and basically anything that you can put in your mouth

* Things you love to try to play with but shouldn't: Electrical cords, leaning shelves, the laptop, the TV, the Wii

* Personality: Charming, Stubborn, Inquisitive/Nosey, Loving, Joyful, "too smart for your own good," - these have not changed in several months....Soooooo I think this means something :)

* Things we are working on: not yelling in restaurants, learning what "no" means consistently, and drinking from a sippy cup while sitting up

* Favorite things to "watch": Veggie Tales,Dora the Explorer, Arrested Development and Disney movies with lots of singing

* NEW archenemy: the vacuum and hair dryer

* Things you have broken: my IPhone, my laptop (shhhh!), and your dad's laptop cord

* Biggest "Places" you've gone thus far: Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Disneyland

* Holidays you have celebrated: Halloween, Valentines Day, Easter, 4th of July

* Nap times: 12 noon, 430 pm -ish

* Bed time: 930 pm

* Sign that you are getting sleepy: You start making a moaning noise, you start rubbing your eyes, you lay your head down, and you start acting "wacky"

* Favorite blankie: Flower print one with your name embroidered on it (this has not changed)

* You LOVE to go swimming

* You still love to splash around in the bath tub

* Fav sleeping position: on your belly with your little behind up in the air and now you also sleep on your back and side (or as your dad says, "Like a little adult")

* Big upcoming trips: Tucson!! San Diego!! San Francisco!!

* Favorite song: The ABC's as sung by mom, Ellie Bellie Bo Bellie as sung by mom and dad, Ellie Bo Bellie as written and sung by mom and dad.

* Nicknames: "Ladybug" "Lady" Ellie Bellie" "E. Sophia" "Bug" "Bugz" "Ellie Bo Bellie"

*Things you "Say": dada, mama, baba, gaga, nana, papa

I think these are the highlights of you Ms. Ellie Bo Bellie!!

  Of you, I still approve.

Happy Halloween!!

Our plans for this year's Halloween was going to be to take Ellie to the Zoo Boo at the Albuquerque Zoo, which is scheduled for October 30. This unfortunately is the day that we are moving out and therefore Halloween 2010 /Ellie's first Halloween was going to be ruined for all times. Her "dada" couldn't live with the thought of this.....so he came up with an ingenius plan - take the girl to Disneyland for Halloween!! I, of course, did not disagree with this plan and exactly 3 days after this thought we packed up and headed for sunny California.

We drove part of the way Tuesday after his class and stayed in Flagstaff at a really really beautiful Marriott, and it there were some snow flurries and it was just so beautiful. We headed out Wednesday morning for the rest of the trip, and checked into a Fairfield Inn (which is also a Marriott subsidiary) and after a few hours we packed up and left. This place was OLD and the pictures online did not tell the true tale of its age. It smelled weird (like dirty socks), there was a dog barking in the room next door, it was VERY close to the freeway (like walk onto it from the parking lot close) and the doors opened to the outside.

We ended up at a Marriott in Fullerton which was older but very updated and nice. This move moved us closer to Disney and was around a lot of major places. We then headed to Bubba Gump's and then called it a night. The following day we headed for, you guessed it, the outlet malls where Justin picked up a new watch (his dream watch to be exact!). 

We then spent some time switching over from AT&T back to Verizon (that's a story for another day and time), and then headed off to the Pumpkin Factory. This was a pretty cool little pumpkin patch that had a petting zoo, pony rides, face painting and other fun games.

 

Ellie did the petting zoo and had a ton of fun....she then spent some time in the pumpkin "patch" area and picked out a cute little baby sized pumpkin for herself. We were all pretty tired so we headed back to the room to relax for the big day!!  

Friday was Disney day, and we had purchased tickets to Mickey's-Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party which allowed us free parking, admission into the park at 4 pm (The park closed to non -party-goers at 7 pm) free candy, a fireworks extravaganza and party time until midnight!! Prior to heading out we stopped in at a little hole in the wall restaurant called The Hungry Bear which was a steakhouse. It was ok, but not really the wow we were hoping for, and Justin was pretty disappointed that his sandwich didn't come with cheese. We got to Disneyland around 430 pm and the park was packed out!! We made our way to the Pizza Port where we picked up a few slices of pizza since we were still hungry after our Hungry Bear experience ($30 for 2 slices and 2 drinks and 2 soggy breadsticks) and we hung out until 6:30. They had begun checking wrist bands (which indicated you were a party goer) and if you didn't have one you couldn't ride or get candy. We headed for the It's a Small World Ride and after a short wait Ellie was on her first bonafide ride!! She LOVED it!! She rode 7 rides in all!! She did not get candy (1) She can't eat it (2) The lines at the candy stations were soooooo long (3) Justin said he'd rather buy her 10 bags of candy than wait in the line. We took advantage of the long candy lines and rode rides to our hearts content. Ellie rode: It's a small world, Mr. Toad, Peter Pan, The Haunted Mansion, the Carousel, Teacups, and Pirates of the Carribbean (which nearly summed up the rides that were open that night and didn't have a height requirement). She didn't get scared or freaked out - she cried once but she was hungry so that didn't count.

It was so great to see her little face light up, and to see her on those teacups was something special!! She was so excited and her face just beamed of utter joy!! It really made it worth the crowds, the 20-something year old girls dressed like naughty Disney characters, the adults walking around the PACKED crowds (many of them children) with burning hot LIT cigarettes, and overpriced Disney garb. We left after the fireworks, which was around 1030, and headed for the room. The girl was wiped out and we hit the room and she was out like a light. She slept all through the night and even was asleep after Justin and I had both woken up and gotten ready.

I just know she was dreaming of all the fun she had.....

Pain in the arse...

We have been thinking about moving for some time now....Actually every year right around this time we get the itch to be somewhere different. When we moved from Las Cruces to Rio Rancho it was this time of year...and a few years ago we almost moved from this home and...yup it was this time of year. A couple of months ago we began a semi-extensive search of different areas we wanted to live and Justin even began applying to several jobs. We looked in the Phoenix area, around San Francisco, Southern California (which is Justin's dream area!), and Salt Lake City. The Phoenix area proved to be a complete bust in terms of employment....the other areas all produced job offers which we were excited about. Justin even had job offers in Farmington, NM but ultimately we decided it is in our best interest to stay here. Justin recently took on a PRN job on the geriatric psychiatric unit where he had been a social worker, and he is continuing to do the psychiatric consult liaison job (which is an on call gig). Full time/day time nursing gigs are really hard to come by in this area and there really are not a lot of jobs to be had unless you have connections already established within the unit. Neither of us really wanted to work as a "nurse" so the PRN thing gets Justin some experience as a nurse without the full time job of a nurse. We are both continuing on with our respective school programs which is plenty of work in and of itself!!

Given that we planned to move we began looking into renting this house to a good tenant!! This has been a complete pain in our arse....People are so flaky!! It has been hard to have people come in your home - look around - evaluate it - and then there is just the creepy factor!! We had a few people set up times to come see it and then they didn't show up, we had a few that I think came to see it out of sheer boredom, some who totally flaked out, a few that called and inquired if we did background checks or credit checks (uhhh BIG red flag, right?!?) and then a few that were genuinely interested. We've had one man calling/emailing 6 or 7 times a day asking to come see the house....ummm no ...you are creepy. We had quite a bit of interest so we are hopeful that this home is getting a wonderful new occupant!! We are going to miss this house so much!

This meant that we had to look into housing at whatever destination WE headed to - so we headed to Phoenix (because that was our first choice of where to move) to look around and they had so many great options in Gilbert and Scottsdale unfortunately the job situation there was not good. Farmington had very few viable options for housing and so we ultimately decided that Farmington was not a good choice. Salt Lake had some nice housing options but we were not sure about the weather there year round. We just kept coming back to how nice it is here in Rio Rancho! We get nice summers, mild winters, beautiful fall weather, we are close to an airport, we are within short driving distance to snow/rivers/camping areas/large(r) cities, the cost of living is soooo affordable, New Mexico is VERY nurse practitioner friendly, and we have professional connections here.

So we decide to stay here.....we've started looking for someone to rent our house....soooo it's time to MOVE!!! We found a 5 bedroom house just a few blocks from where we are (because we love the area we live in) in the Cabezon housing subdivision. This gives us TONS of space - a master bedroom, Ellie's room, an office, a play room and a guest room! There is a huge back yard that is landscaped, comes with an island grill, has an very oversized jacuzzi that can be used as a pool or jacuzzi, the kitchen has an island/double oven/huge refrigerator, and is just in general what we've been dreaming of come each year in October! This house also gives us the option to expand our family without cramping our style in terms of housing space. We are stoked....

I know Ellie will love having a lot more space as she gets older....and I think it will save all of our sanity!

Ellie Bo Belly is almost 8 months old!

In a few short days Ms. Ellie Bo Belly you will be 8 months old!! I know this isn't a "birthday" people typically make a big deal over however 8 months is a BIG deal! The time has flown by so fast and getting to watch you grow has been a true joy and one of the greatest successes of our lives.

You can do SOOOO many things now - lets recap what 8 months means (this list was made several months ago and I'm updating it to see what has changed/stayed the same):
* You crawl like a jet!! You can get places in a few seconds flat!!

* You now sit up without any assistance and can sit up in a chair or on the couch.

* You stand - at first this was super wobbly but now you pull yourself up and stand like a champ!

* You walk holding on to things - put you at the edge of something and you can go and go and go.

* You LOVE LOVE LOVE to jump --- gosh you could jump for hours if our arms and shoulders could keep up!!

* Your STILL smile lights up a room!!!

* You HATE: having your diaper changed, getting dressed/undressed, going in your car seat, bed time being in your stroller for more than 3 minutes, sun in your eyes, when your dad feeds you too slow, not getting attention, things with strong odors, and loud noise.

* You eat "food" without a problem -your food choices have now expanded and while your ultimate love is still sweet potatoes you now love turkey & sweet potatoes, chicken & rice, apples & blueberries, mixed vegetables, chicken & apples, green beans, oatmeal...oh and paper! Also you have taken to licking walls?!?
your not favs: bananas, apples, rice cereal, and carrots (These also have not changed)

* You have toys you LOVE: your cell phone, photo book that crinkles, your "dollar bill," monkey keys, DVD/VCR player, DVD cases, plastic cups, plastic lids, straws, wipes packaging, our work/UNM badges

* Things you love to try to play with but shouldn't: Electrical cords, leaning shelves, the laptop, our iPhones

* Personality: Charming, Stubborn, Inquisitive/Nosey, Loving, Joyful, "too smart for your own good," - these are the same!

* Things we are working on: not yelling, learning what "no" means, using a spoon, and drinking from a sippy cup while sitting up

* You've outgrown 2 BIG plastic tubs of clothes, your lamb swing, your bouncer, and your crib is nearing its retirement (You are simply toooooo tall and VERY soon it will have to go)|

* Favorite things to "watch": Veggie Tales, Romy and Michelle's High school reunion and Pushing Daisies

* NEW archenemy: sliding glass doors -- sometimes the glass is still confusing!

* You have resumed letting me hold you and rock you to sleep - mostly because you've been teething and not feeling well - but I will take it!

* Biggest "Places" you've gone thus far: Salt Lake City & Phoenix

* Nap times: 12 noon, 2 pm, and 5:30-ish pm

* Sign that you are getting sleepy: The area around your eyebrows turns red, you start rubbing your eyes, you lay your head down, and you start acting "wacky"

* Favorite blankie: Flower print one with your name embroidered on it (this has not changed)

* You LOVE to go swimming

* You love to splash around in the bath tub

* Foods you've tried that are not doctor authorized: whip cream (+), sour cream (-), chicken broth (++), mashed potatoes (- -), bean juice (-), coconut popsicle (+), rice (+) [note: this you tried on your own after you grabbed it off of my plate but we will still count it]

* Fav sleeping position: on your belly with your little behind up in the air and now you also sleep on your back and side (or as your dad says, "Like a little adult")

* Big upcoming trips: Disneyland!! Tucson?!? San Diego!! San Francisco!!

* Big trips we planned to take but had to cancel: New Orleans

* Favorite song: The ABC's as sung by mom

* Nicknames: "Ladybug" "Lady" "Woman" "Ellie Belly" "E. Sophia" "Bug" "Bugz" "Ellie Bo Belly"

I think these are the highlights of you Ms. Ellie Bo Belly!!!
 
And....
 

Of you I still approve

Big easy....Big no no

One of the perks of getting my Ph.D is that it has come with so many blessings! I applied with the anticipation that I would be selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow which would afford me, essentially, an all expenses paid doctorate degree. I get my tuition, fees, books, and equipment (computers/printers/ink) paid for and another great perk is a travel budget. Yes, a travel budget. I have to attend a few health policy related conferences per year but its all on the RWJF dime - free conference fees, airfare, hotel, food, and per diem.

Justin and I have always wanted to go to New Orleans but, for some odd reason, never have gone. We found a conference there the first week in October and so we were super excited. All of the arrangements were made - we were staying at the Marriott on Canal Street - we selected our flights - researched all the super cool things we were going to do......

.....and.......

then......

The girl got sick....she's been teething and acquired a really bad ear ache --- therefore we definitely could not fly. We decided to drive....this did not pan out either....a 20 hour car ride with a teething, earache-ing 7 1/2 month old  is NOT a good idea. I think the following picture shows evidence that she did this on purpose (just kidding - she's been miserable poor thing)

So the Big easy was within our grasp....and for free nonetheless.....but it ended up simply being a big no-no.

ummm....duh!

A while back we decided that we were going to take Ellie's car seat in to see if it was properly installed. Justin had heard of an organization that does this throughout the state and so we found their website and located a time/place to get this done. We drove up to the Albertson's parking lot and it was packed out with people getting their car seats checked. Grant it most of them were doing this BEFORE their kids were born, but hey we plead ignorance! Finally we get through to the check in desk and are directed to an "bay" where two ladies are waiting to help us. We, of course, had Ellie with us and so they were able to see what a horrible job we had done installing this thing AND that we dared to have put our child in it!

They inspected the situation thoroughly before having us take Ellie out of the seat and then began "educating" us. We were there for a while....

Our handy technicians were super nice and one was a local pediatrician (Sexy Lexi - as I dubbed her) and her "sidekick" (I say this because Sexy Lexi pretty much just bossed her around, had her fetch various items she needed and treated her like her personal assistant although I'm sure in this setting they were equally qualified). Sexy Lexi proceeded to tell us, "You know how when you drove up your baby's neck was flopping forward....(me: "Yeah")....well we don't want that....that's bad." I knew this. I did. Hence why we brought the car seat in, waited in line, and so forth. She is ALL up on the car seat and telling Justin that THIS is how you have to do it to get the car seat in securely enough. She then instructs us that the car seat should be in the middle (which we already knew however it doesn't fit in the middle because the car seat is too big) and proceeds to take it out completely and attempt to put it in the middle. After much effort she proclaims, "It doesn't fit!"

Back out this car seat goes...back to where we had it. She once again is doing everything short of sitting in the car seat to get it secured. She sent her "sidekick" for a Noodle (one of those ones kids bang each other over the head with in the swimming pool) to properly tilt the car seat. She then has Justin demonstrate that he understands how to put in a car seat correctly. As they are doing this she notices a rather cute puppy mirror (plastic mirror) that is strategically placed so that I can see Ellie while I drive. She stops short in her tracks and says to Justin, "This is a hazard," and she surveys more, "I know it says crash tested, but has it been crash tested with this vehicle and this car seat?" Ummm....no...the puppy mirror has not been CRASH tested with this car and this car seat?!?! She urges us to take it off lest it fly off during an accident and hurt Ellie. I look in the back of the Explorer and see a million and one things WAAAY more dangerous that could hurt Ellie if it flew during the course of an accident. It made me think but NOT about the puppy mirror.

Finally, after a good hour, we are safe and approved to drive!

This service is awesome and it really showed us that we needed guidance in installing the car seat. Did you know that an estimated 3 out of 4 car seats are installed incorrectly?

To find a station next to you go to: http://www.nhtsa.gov/cps/cpsfitting/Index.cfm

Thanks to Sexy Lexi, her side kick and the Safer New Mexico (http://www.safernm.org) staff for this great service! Thanks to them Ellie's future siblings won't have to ride with flopping necks!! (Sorry Ellie)

Survival

I can't even really tell you what date it was any more and I cannot even remember if it was a Monday or Thursday. I have intentionally placed some distance from the incident and writing about it because I still get a little emotional about it and admittedly a few tears still show up in my big brown eyes.

One evening a few weeks ago Justin and I were sitting in the living room and working on homework stuff while Ellie played on the floor. She had been wandering up to the coffee table to grab a few sweet potatoe puffs and then she'd crawl off to her perch on the floor. She was literally a foot away from me. A few moments into this routine she grew rather quiet and then we heard a sound - the sound of choking. She was grasping for air and Justin ran over to her first and scooped her up and starting surveying the situation. She was indeed choking on what we presumed to be one of those darned puffs. He looked in her mouth and saw nothing, and quickly began back blows however shortly into the process  (and after moments of Ellie not responding to the back blows) he realized "what" was happening and to "who" it was happening to and just began crying. It was simply one of those moments when fear took over, and seeing a helpless baby gasping for breathing is one of those moments my friend.

I took her from him and  looked down and her lips and mouth were a purple/blue tinge and I just thought to myself - "don't look - just do." I began back blows and after a while she let out a loud cough and then even louder cries. I turned her over to look in her mouth but there was nothing in her mouth and nothing came out. When she breathed in and out it still sounded raspy in her throat and we knew that whatever it was was still lodged. She was still struggling for air but was able to get breath and she was in major distress. We packed up in the car quickly (me without shoes - which Justin tells me goes down in the books as the most ghetto move of all times - in restrospect, of course) and headed to the ER which is only blocks from our house. By the time we arrived she seemed to have caught her breath more consistently and was calming down, and so we sat in the parking lot just to make sure things were copasetic. She then started again not being able to catch her breath and the raspy sound returned, and this time she began vomiting. We were hopeful this would help her rid herself of whatever was blocking her throat, but after several episodes the vomit had blood in it and still no choking item.

We took her inside and we were seen rather quickly and while the doctor was examining her she began throwing up again and this time I spotted something in her mouth. I took a look inside and found the culprit. It was one of those stickers that come on a laptop - the ones that say "Windows 7" or "Intel". Those stickers, in case you never inspected one, are a thick (almost plastic) material and are VERY sticky. Even after all the hoopla this sticker was still incredibly sticky. The doctor said he was concerned about an infection which could cause her throat to swell, given the bloody vomit and that this item likely scratched up her throat pretty well, and so he wanted to admit her downtown (this ER does not have inpatient capacity). We felt confident that we could watch her through the night, both being RN's and given that the ER is so close by, and he agreed and we brought her home after a 3 hours period of observation.

When we got home the poor little ladybug was exhausted but also had a ton of gas from all the air she swallowed coughing/crying/and trying to swallow that stupid sticker. So it was a VERY rough night while then, of course, spilled over in to days. For us nothing could compare to the guilt we felt that we somehow weren't watching her closely enough or that we could have done something differently. So now we are extra paranoid....hopefully we won't ruin her for life!! She is back to her old self....crawling around....getting into everything....climbing on everything...putting everything in her mouth....and Justin's even let her start eating puffs again. I think we will be alright - another parental crisis survived.

sing song...

You Are My Sunshine

My only sunshine.

You make me happy

When skies are grey.

You'll never know, dear,

How much I love you.

Please don't take my sunshine away

Phoenix Fun...

We headed out to Phoenix for several days over the Labor Day holiday....We visited the outlet malls (of course), the aquarium, a few interesting eateries (with the assistance from new friend - the iPhone app of Yelp)....Ellie had a blast as did we....

Easy Peasy....SUPER cheesy

Here is a recipe for the easiest meal you'd ever hope to make....and quite tasty I might add :)

Ingredients:

2 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Cheese Soup

1 (8 ounce) package shredded two-cheese blend (your choice)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 cups (uncooked) fusilli pasta

Directions:1) Cook pasta as directed on package
2) Mix soup, cheeses, milk and black pepper in a bowl
3) Place past in a 1 1/2 quart casserole pan
4) Add soup/cheese/milk mixture
5) Mix all together until wet mixture covers the pasta completely
6) Bake at 400 degrees F. for 15-20 min. or until hot.

NOTE: If you desire you can also add other items that you'd like such as chicken, tuna, or veggies.

Yummy goodness my friends.

Oh the wonders....

"All grown-ups were once children... but only few of them remember it."

                                            — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (The Little Prince)