House Update

In my last post I boldly declared that Elynn had not been sick...ever. I hit the "post" button and she immediately started running a fever. A fever that lasted 3 solid days and got up to 103 several times. It started on Tuesday afternoon. I took her to the doctor Wednesday afternoon. It wasn't the flu, strep, or an ear infection. The next thing to eliminate was a UTI or bladder infection. They wanted to do a catheter to get a urine sample. Elynn, when you read this one day, you can thank your mother because I was in no way going to allow that to happen. Adam didn't think a catheter was a big deal for one simple reason: HE HAS NEVER HAD ONE. So we left with a little bag she had to wear the next morning until she tee teed in it. (Also when we left I ran slap out of gas on the side of the road. Seriously got to get that gauge fixed.) So Thursday morning she had her little bag on and we headed back to the doctor. On the way, she grabbed her diaper. I asked her if she tee teed, and she shook her head yes. Thankfully, when we got there I checked it, and she was right. She had tee teed in the bag. She ended up getting a shot and an antibiotic. So we got ourselves another vacation day and stayed home again on Friday because she ran a low fever throughout the night Thursday night. (Personally, I still think it was all because she is cutting several teeth in the back of her mouth. I ran very high temps as a baby when I cut teeth- they even did a spinal tap on me one time trying to figure out what was wrong.)

Adam also took off that Friday to install our cabinets. We took him lunch and she got in a little loving while we were there. 

 The painting is about to be done, and the floor guys are laying tile. At the rate the tile people are going, we might be in before Christmas.

Adam will be putting down the hardwood once the paint is complete. I'm feeling pretty confident he will be asking his main squeeze to help him with that. We've put in a floor or two in our time and didn't even say a cuss word in the process. Well... Maybe one or two. In our defense, putting down hardwood ain't no joke.

Here's the living room, and exactly where I plan to plop my big self down and watch my babes grow up for the next 18 or so years.

Speaking of my babes...this one here is growing so fast. When she has a wet or dirty diaper she comes to us, and turns around for us to check her. I will tell her to go to her room so we can change her, and she walks right in there and waits at the changing table. And when she says "tant chu" (thank you)...y'all.... makes me want to have at least 2 more. Then I sit myself down until THAT feeling passes. 

Reese practically begs not to go up to the new house anytime we mention. Nothing for her to do, but get herself in trouble in the sand pile outside. Which is exactly what usually happens.

They are both going to be so disappointed when we move in and they realize the cabinets are not for hide and seek.

 A meeting of the minds, y'all.

If I need to go help Adam with something, I load up the Volkswagon for their entertainment. 

I hesitate to put this picture because it isn't a good one. The tile in the kitchen looks like old barn wood, but I'm not thinking this picture shows that very well.

All of the doors with holes in them along the top will have glass.

The kitchen sink arrived yesterday, and provided endless entertainment. This was just after Reese backed her bare bottom up to a little space heater in the bathroom. There are now burn marks on her booty that look exactly like the front of that heater. Once the aftermath of that was over, she ran to the bathtub to wring out a washrag and flipped right off into the tub still filled with Elynn's bathwater. She was soaked wet, and all I could do was laugh. Before bed, she also stumped her toe and pinched her finger with my sunglasses. She told me this morning, "I kept gettin' beat up last night."

 

 I'm hoping to be moving in the week of Spring Break even though Adam is confident we will already be in by then.

Elynn: 15 months

 I haven't done a monthly update on Elynn since she was 12 months, and that makes me so sad because I love to go back and see what Reese was doing at certain ages and I want to be able to do that with Elynn. Just file me under the looser category lately cause momma is struggling to get it all together. I am blaming that on the new house, but all that should be over within a month or so, and I've got big plans of being back on my A game. (I feel sure something like wiping booties, fixing sippy cups, or trying to keep them in clean clothes will probably interfere with my A game.)

Weight: 17lbs.
Height: no clue. Somewhere around the area of my knees.
She has 4 teeth across the front bottom, and 4 across the front top. She has 2 coming in on the top back, and 1 on the back bottom left coming in.

Elynn loves to eat. The only thing she turns down is mashed potatoes. She loves everything. If we are eating something she comes running with her little mouth wide open. Her favorite thing to get her hands on is Reese's cup because she knows it has strawberry syrup mixed in with it. (Terrible habit, but I didn't start it. She came home from daycare requesting strawberry and hasn't slowed down since.)

Saturday night Reese wanted to eat at "Chick-A-Lay"

 

Elynn loves her big sissy. Most of the time Reese is the only one she will hug or kiss. She loves to sit in her lap and she lets Reese tote her around like a rag doll. Which usually leads to Reese falling and Elynn's head getting hit on something. 

 Elynn usually goes to bed around 8:00. I know I will get some criticism for this, (since people seem to believe the general rule is to stop breastfeeding at the absolute latest- 12 months) but she still nurses at night some. (I will be cutting her off once the cold and flu season is over. Dr. Cabellaro convinced me to keep going through the winter instead of quitting when she turned 1. I will say she has been very healthy. Knock on wood. I choose to believe it is the breast milk and Jesus smiling on us.) If we don't have anywhere to go, she will sleep until around 7. Then she will nap for about an hour around 10:00. Then she likes to get an afternoon nap around 3:00 or so. She starts off at night in her bed, but we go get her when she wakes up and she sleeps with us the rest of the night.

 She can show us her eyes, nose, ears, mouth, belly button, and little piggies. She also thinks it is hilarious to smell her little piggies. (And anybody else who has their piggies exposed in her presence.)

 She can say: mama, dada, "Eese" (Reese), ball, baby, hot, bye bye

 She. Is. A. Terrible. Rider. Cries everywhere we go. Unless, of course, I am lucky enough that she falls asleep.

 She loves to carry around her baby.

 And I love this picture because please look at how Elynn is looking at Reese. Complete adoration.

 New Years Eve we went to Allison and Jared's (we lasted till 10:30- middle of the night, people). Elynn got real upset when Lawson wouldn't return all the love and affection she was showing him.

Allison and I went straight from an A+ in motherhood to a D- when we turned our backs on these two (because I am sure we were in a deep discussion about important things like sleeping all night and the nightmare known as trying to lose the baby weight) and Elynn did her very best to get Pate out of the swing. 

 I'm not going to give you the details of the morning leading up to this picture at church because, honestly, it is too painful. I bought these matching dresses for pictures in the Fall, and I was determined that they wear them to church one time together. Reese had other plans, but momma prevailed. Was it worth it? Absolutely not. 

 Child labor right here, people.

 And here's Uncle G, the real live carousal.

I will say again that it is amazing how quickly the second baby grows up. I try my best to soak up every second of Elynn being this age. It is one of my favorite times. Mainly because I now know what being 2 and 3 look like. It isn't always pleasant. But for now, she is sweet as pie!

Some more Christmas...at the end of January

Christmas at MeeMaw and PeePaw's.

 Elynn loving on Coozie.

 Elynn was interested in helping PeePaw with his gifts, but did not open one of her own during the entire holiday season.

 MeeMaw and PeePaw give the kids boots every year (until you turn 18, then you pretty much just get money and deodorant and soap. Growing up ain't what it's cracked up to be.) This girl has worn her boots every single day since she got them. 

A washing machine was on her Santa list, but Santa had already secured a "car with a wurkin' radio" so I handed that request off to the grands. Adam had to put it together which led him to announce that if it has to be put together MeeMaw and PeePaw have to do it, or she ain't getting it. Which brought up the fact that my daddy's least favorite part of Christmas was having to get out in the cold on Christmas Eve night and drag a bunch of junk out of the shed. Of course, that comes from a man who likes the house to stay somewhere between 85 degrees and hot-enough-to-roast-a-pig. This is also the man who started drinking Mt. Dew to cut back on his caffeine intake. His theories aren't always reliable.

 There is not one picture of Elynn opening a gift because she was too busy for that non sense. Here sister was more than happy to open them for her. This was her favorite gift of the evening. 

 And this was my favorite picture. She has since then asked Jesus on multiple occasions to "give me a big brother like Clay cause I love him so much."

 We played the annual money game and after another year of straight up luck we came home with the jackpot. And thank goodness cause momma may or may not have gotten another speeding ticket and this will contribute to the payment of that little dandy. (That's 3 tickets in the past 5 years for those of you keeping track at home.) I told everybody they should just take one for the team and let me have the money anyway strictly out of sympathy.

 Monday night we went to Adam's Aunt Bec and Big Horn's house. I've always got the crying kid. But the best part of this is the disgusted look on Reese's face.

 Christmas Eve Eve Santa sent a note with Sophia and Sparkle that Reese and Elynn could play with them that one day. Of course, Reese was so excited and spent the day having tea parties with them.

 Christmas Eve lunch at my PaPa's.

 We went home from there to make Christmas cookies for Santa...

 Then out the door again to Adam's Granny's. And I lied. Here she is opening a present.

 We had front row tickets to this sold out event....

 Then we rushed home, got in bed by 9:30, and waited for the big man to arrive.