Stand-by....recovery in progress

Over this past week I would often find Molly just lying on the floor. Poor baby!

Yes, my friends and family, we have survived the worst of it, I hope. The stomach virus somehow bypassed our other two children....praise God for that. As for this last week, I've had my share of poop, vomit, and syringe feeding pedialyte. Whatever this was took its toll on our sweet Molly. She went a whole week hardly eating or drinking. However, at 4am yesterday morning, her appetite came back in a big way and wanted to make sure we knew it. She sucked down a full bottle and wanted more. Did I say it was 4 am????? On one hand, I was glad to see her eating....on the other, well, you know....sleep is important. So we are fully "in" for the Halloween festivities tonight.

In other family news, Mary Ella had "Red Ribbon Week" this week. On Wednesday, she had to dress western. Don't let the cowgirl had fool you. There is a rhinestone crown on the front of it....princess through and through. The same day she had to draw what she dreams of being when she grows up and, of course, she drew a princess and even tried to spell it, "prnss". Addy didn't want to miss the photo-op. In other Mary Ella news this week, she learned how to tie her shoes and snap. These were big moments for her. She was so proud of herself!

Say in Ain't So!

Well, I hope the first week of our honey bun's second year is not indicative of what is to come. The night of Molly Kate's birthday (Sunday) I started hearing the familiar sound of dog barks coming from her room....Croup. The poor child was on her way back to recovery when a tummy bug hit her on Thursday. She has hardly eaten since. I thought Saturday and Sunday were better, but Monday morning she awoke with upset tummy again. Scott was on call Friday and Sunday...boo hoo! On top of that, Mary Ella and I have some viral chest thing (how's that for medical terminology???). So we are not feeling up to our best either. THEN, last night as we were going about our bedtime routine, Addy fell off the bed and busted her nose. Yes, bloodied it up and everything. Poor baby! Uh oh, as I was typing this, Scott just came in and said he'd just gotten sick!!! UGGGGHHH! Calgon, take me away!

*****Warning*****the Burlison clan will now be quarantined until further notice!

Sharing the Love

I was just going through some our pictures and realizing all the things I haven't shared. Anyways, I came across these pictures of our girls when Molly was Baptized by our loving Pastor Sione' at Grace Community UMC. I think these pictures capture the bond between these three girls. They love each other so much. What a blessing they are to us.

And yet another example.....on Saturday morning Addy made her way down to our room and climbed in to bed with us. Not long after, Mary Ella joined us to snuggle in. As I put my arm over Mary Ella, I brushed my hand down her arm to find her hand. When my hand reached hers, I found that Addy's hand was already in her palm. It brought a smile to my face (even though it was very early in the morning). Don't get me wrong, they have their differences, but that sweet moment was a reminder that their relationship goes far beyond "who goes first" and "who got to the toy first". What a great way to start a day!

You're ONE honey bun!

As always I'm a bit teary eyed as I write this. As each one of our girl's birthdays approaches, I become a bit nostalgic. I reflect on the year gone by and anticipate what the year ahead will bring. The first birthday, I've found, often brings more emotions than the others. Perhaps it is because when October 19, 2007 came around last year I held a little 7lb 11oz bundle of complete joy in my arms. This day I'm holding a 20 pound stair climb'n, squealing, wiggling, bundle of energy in my arms. Where does the year go? Molly Kate has encountered unrelenting kisses, hugs, and goofy behavior from all of us.

Molly, I love the fact that you can't wait for your food and that you already stand up for your rights. Most of all I love how you seem to balance it all by squealing and wiggling with complete joy when your daddy or sisters walk into the room and how you press your cheek against my lips when I'm holding you to receive my endless supply of kisses. Your cheeks are a soft, mushy heaven words could never describe. God knew you would make our little "Burlison" family puzzle complete. What a gift it has been to watch your first smile, first bites of food, first teeth poke through, first giggle, first clap and so on. We look forward to watching another year of many "firsts" and seeing that sweet personality of yours continue to evolve. I am honored to be your mother and completely humbled by the trust God has placed in us to raise you and your sisters.

Que Pasa?

We've been on a quest....a Mexican food quest. We LOVE Mexican food and have set out to find a regular spot that we can satisfy our urges. Scott and I have been to 3 different places. I'm not sure what seasoning they are using, but I've left two of the restaurants in a sneezing fit that lasts for a couple of hours. A mexican food allergy...you gotta be kidding!!!???? I'm eager to go back to my regular places in Houston to see if I sneeze there. Anyways, here is the run down



1. Place #1- not bad, a lot like what we used to get in Shreveport

2. Place #2- Are these the tortillas we buy at the grocery store???? The fajita meat was only edible if you saturated it in cheese. Did they really mess up the guacamole??? How can you mess up guacamole???

3. Place #3- "I'm sorry, we can't wrap the enchiladas in flour tortillas. They can only do corn." What???? Did they really say that? Yes they did. The flour tortillas wouldn't have helped anyways.



Another thing I've noticed on the menu....Cheese sauce (aka Queso). Do I really need to explain the problem this presents for the crediblity of Mexican food establishments? Any ideas???? Maybe I just need therapy as I think I might be suffering from Mexican food snobbery.

Playground kisses

Two weeks into school we were all sitting around the dinner table and out of nowhere Mary Ella begins this conversation"

Mary Ella: Joe (not his real name) kissed me today
Me: (nearly choking on my food) What????
Mary Ella: Joe kissed me today.
Me: (receiving a very nervous, "are you going to say something?" look from across the table.)
Mary Ella: He just kissed me when we were standing in line (ok, way too vague of a question)
Me: Where did he kiss you?
Mary Ella: Right here on the cheek
Me: (Whew!) Why did he do it? (Still not sure where I'm going with this)
Mary Ella: Well, Nick (also not real name) whispered in his ear to kiss me and he did it.
Me: What did you do? (Please say it was disgusting and awful and that you ran away)
Mary Ella: (Scott is still silent by the way) I just laughed and stepped away (with a slight shrug of the shoulders) .

I'll spare you the rest of the details, but oh-my-goodness! I guess this just goes to show, you never know what is coming next from these kiddos and some things you just can't prepare for :).

OK, the UPS guy just knocked and rang the doorbell in the middle of nap time (GRRR!). Now Molly is screaming. Guess I better go for now.