Here are a few pics from Mary Ella's Christmas "show". So much fun!

Merry Christmas

Taylor, Aubrey, Dylan, Drew, Mary Ella and Addy Scott

We went to Horseshoe Bay, Texas for Christmas where my grandparents and aunt/uncle have lake houses. Above are all the children. My cousins and I had all of our first children within four months and all of our second children within three, so it was fun to have them all together. Watching their excitement was priceless. Unfortunately, my grandparents didn't get to join in the fun. My grandfather developed gallstones resulting in emergency gallbladder surgery Christmas Eve. However, all is getting better now and he was able to return home a couple of days ago.

The kiddos each had made reindeer food and put it out on Christmas Eve.

Take me to a happy place....Take me to a happy place....Take me to a happy place...

This is becoming an "all to familiar" sight. Addy Scott has become a "mama's girl" and would like to stay permanently attached. Needless to say, she didn't want me to put her down.

All Better!

At 5:45 am Christmas morning, Mary Ella stood up and exclaimed, "I'm ready to get up now! " We made several attempts to put her back to sleep (letting her get in bed with us, scratching her back, and snuggling)...all failed. She was ready to see if Santa came. All Mary Ella wanted from Santa was a "plain" sparkly, star wand (absolutely NO ribbon or fur) and an Abacus, so she was most excited to see Santa got her letter.

Overall it was a great trip. Hope you all have a safe New Year! We are looking forward to 2007!

Still Here!

Golly! I don't know where the time has gone since I last posted???!!! Actually, I could list a few... like the two boxes of Kleenex we have gone through in the last two weeks, or the absurd amount of holiday baking I do this time of year (in a desperate attempt to save money on gifts, but I've actually come to enjoy this tradition!), or the long feeding sessions with my darling almost 10 month old as a try to remain patient with my 3 1/2 year old (wink, wink). None of which I would say is negative, (well, I could have done without the snotty noses), just time consuming. We have had lots of fun moments and a few accomplishments which I will share....

Accomplishment#1: Addy will eat her weight in carrots and is developing her love for sweet potatoes, bananas and green beans (in that order). We decided to go straight to soft finger foods which is where she would be developmentally if we had started her at 6 months. This has worked well and is a different way for her to assert her independence. She is actually getting excited when she sees me eating a banana. Before long she is screaming for a bite!

Accomplishment#2: Mary Ella and Addy entertained each other for 20 minutes straight while I cleaned the kitchen.....no immediate rescues or refereeing were necessary. Now that Addy is learning to play "games," I'm hoping this will take their sweet relationship to a new level.

Fun Moment #1: Mary Ella's Christmas show. She was most excited to show us her moves! She sang and danced adding some of her own moves of course. I realized being able to see her and participate in her program is sooooo worth the sacrifice of me not working while Scott completes his residency. I wouldn't want to miss any of these precious moments! Scott even said while looking at the pictures...."this is so worth you staying home for."

Fun Moment #2: Addy has learned to wave and say "bye-bye". Of course, she practices this all the time. Too cute! An interesting note: Mary Ella's first word was "hi". Is that any indication how opposite they are????

Anyways, we hope you and your families enjoy a Merry Christmas and have safe travels. God Bless to all!

Whewww!

Ok, so Addy Scott is now 9 months and out of nowhere has begun to wave bye-bye and stringing every consonant-vowel combination you can think of....literally, all this was accomplished within two days. Now, I know you are not supposed to compare children, but I was beginning to worry about Addy's speech, but not now. She hasn't quit babbling since she started! She got a good report from her gastroenterologist. He still feels like she will outgrow the protein intolerance.....eventually. We just need to give her time. She was unable to tolerate rice cereal, so we are just sticking to fruits and veggies at this point. At 12 months, we will give her a "Nutramigen challenge" to see if she can tolerate small bits of protein (partially broken down milk protein) and hopefully we will have a positive result leaving the Neocate behind. This is such a relief because now we feel like there is a goal in sight. I get many questions about what Neocate is. It is an amino-acid formula where protein is broken down into it's simplest form....in other words it requires no digestion.

We have also been immersed in antibiotics and breathing treatments because Addy was diagnosed with bronchiolitis (likely caused by RSV) and two ear infections at the beginning of this week. I think we caught it early and she is doing very well.

Now, what would an entry be without a "Mary Ella story"???? Although, there have been many downright hilarious moments, I think I'll go with a sweet one. Many of you know the last 6-7 months have been a struggle due to various reasons. Many times I have wondered if I can balance it all while continuing to be an attentive mother to our children. Sometimes I have succeeded and other's I think I've failed miserably. With that said....0n with the story....We were having a day where every minute counted and struggling to make it out of the house to an appointment. Addy was placed in the car and I went around to pick up Mary Ella to put her in the car seat when she wrapped her arms around my neck, squeezed really hard and said, "your my best mommy and Addy's mommy". She looked at me and smiled sweetly....my heart melted. With that simple expression of love, her sweet thoughts renewed my spirit and gave me the Devine boost I so desperately needed. I love spontaneous moments like these.