The Flu STINKS!

Yep, the flu has struck my home....and it's HORRIBLE. It started with William last Wednesday. He started running a fever and not sleeping at all! At first, I thought it was just a fever virus and was treating it with Tylenol, but he continued to run a fever and developed a runny nose and cough, so on Friday I decided it was best to take him to the doctor. FLU TEST WAS POSITIVE. Of course, I felt horrible for not taking him in sooner but he really didn't display the usual symptoms of the flu. The doctor put him in some Tamiflu and by Sunday afternoon I could tell he was feeling a little better. Enter Ellison....she begins running a fever early Sunday afternoon. I called the doctor and they called her in some tamiflu, also. She starts it that afternoon and by Tuesday night she is fever free and I think we are finally over it. Jokes on me! Friday morning Ellison wakes up with 101.1 fever. Back to the doctor we go. FLU TEST WAS POSITIVE! Are you kidding me? Was she not just on tamiflu? Isn't that supposed to take care of it? So, we are now back on tamiflu and she is pitiful. She is definitely acting like she has the flu, unlike William did. She basically wants to lay on me or on the couch. Anyone who knows Ellison knows this is not the norm for her. I am hoping that William doesn't catch it again. That would be horrible. I am thankful that haven't gotten it. Only by the grace of God have I stayed healthy. Two babies with the flu breathing and laying all over me and I have felt fine. I guess God knows that sick babies need a healthy Mommy! Hopefully, this flu will be gone in a few days and I can disinfect my house....I am sure the germs are lurking everywhere!

On a side note, I am posting a couple of pics of William. I just thought they were cute and shows what he likes to do now....
He loves to play in his room while looking out of the window. He was so amazed watching this cement truck the other day. He is ALL boy! Any type of truck or car makes him very excited!

This picture makes me laugh. This is the fridge farm. You are supposed to match the animals (ex. horse head to the horse body) and then it plays a cute little song. It also plays Farmer in the Dell. It is a somewhat educational toy which is why I like it so much. William doesn't play with it to learn. He thinks the only reason it is on the fridge is so that he can take it off and throw it so that it makes a loud crashing sound and the song starts skipping. Then he laughs hysterically. Like I said, ALL BOY!

Same thing with the letter magnets. :)

The Birthday Girl is 3!

On February 11, Ellison turned 3 years old! Seriously, did I not JUST have her? Will and I spent the day with her doing all the things she wanted to do. She decided that she wanted to go to Imagine That ( a bounce house in Southside) and then go eat lunch at her favorite restaurant, Pruett's. It was so much fun spending the day with her and devoting all of our time and attention just on her. William stayed with his Gigi. He'll get his turn in April.


The next day was her birthday party. We decided to have a kindermusik birthday party this year. It was so much fun. We hired Kelly Carr (she was fabulous) to come and sing songs and play music with all of Ellison's friends. It was so cute and they all seemed to have a lot of fun! After the music, the kids ate chick-fil-a nuggets, chips and dip, and some fruit. I had to at least have something somewhat healthy. We then sang happy birthday to the birthday girl, watched her blow out her candles and ate some really good cake! The cake was shaped like a guitar and was frosted in pink. Ellison chose the colors and the flavor of the cake (CHOCOLATE)! It was really cute...

Annie, Ellison and Cate

Singing songs with Annie, Cooper and Avery

Dancing! Her favorite thing to do!

We decided to open her gifts at home since little ones tend to have the attention span of a fly. I like that we did that this year because it allowed all of her friends to just have fun and not have to sit while she opened her gifts. Plus, she was able to really see what everyone got her and not be distracted with craziness of the party. She got A LOT of princess stuff. She is all about being a princess and was very excited! She got some books, clothes, and barbies too. Her favorite gift was the disney princess trunk that Will and I got for her. It is full of disney dress up clothes. We also bought her a crown, because every princess needs a crown, and some shoes because we all know an outfit isn't complete without some cute heels!

Princess Ellison

I still can't believe my baby girl is 3 years old. I have heard that 3's are harder than 2's....I am sure I will find out soon! :)

Ellison's 3 year and William's 9 month check-up

William had his 9 month check up last week. He is actually closer to 10 months, but I kept forgetting about his well baby check up. I tend not to think about it when they aren't sick. Everything looks great. He did have an ear infection in his right ear, but I wasn't surprised because he had a cold and he usually develops one if he gets snotty. Anyway, he is weighing in at a whopping 20 lbs 5 oz. He is 49 1/2 in long. He is no longer rolling everywhere. He actually decided that crawling is the best way. He is pretty good at staying where I put him, but he definitely likes to get into things. His new thing is taking all that he can get off of our entertainment center. He is definitely all boy! The more noise he can make the better!

Ellison had her 3 year check up a few days later. She was such a big girl. She did everything that Dr. Snell asked her to do. She was completely healthy! She weighs 30 lbs 2 oz. I didn't catch her height but I do know she is in the 80th percentile. She is a tall girl. She is taller then some of her 4 year old friends! Will had an uncle who was 6'8, so it is in her genes. Hopefully, she will be tall and lean, but not freakishly tall ;) She is getting smarter by the day. Will and I are convinced she has a photographic memory (her grandfather does). We can read a book to her and she can almost immediately "read" it back to us. She knows all of her ABC's and all of the letter sounds. She can count to 20, sometimes higher depending on her mood. She LOVES school. She goes 2 days a week and will continue to go 2 days next year as well. I have a love/hate relationship with how independent she is becoming. She is so sassy! She keeps us laughing and on our toes at all times.

We are very thankful that both of our children are healthy and happy!

9 months old. Am I happy or sad???

William turned 9 months old on January 22. I cannot believe that it has been nine months since I gave birth to him. It literally seems like I was just pregnant with him. Will thinks I am crazy because I get sad the older he gets. It is the same way with Ellison. I just want my babies to stay babies and it amazes me how fast the time flies.

William is the best baby. I am not just saying this. He really is. He is very laid back and good natured. He's not fussy or demanding. He is most happy in his walker following his sister around or in his room playing in the floor with his cars and his basketball goal. He loves to be outside and when it is too cold to go out, he loves to sit in front of the window and watch the cars go by. He is definitely ALL boy! He is not crawling and instead prefers to "roll" everywhere. He does get up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth, but will always decide to lay on his belly and roll to wherever he wants to go. He weighs around 19 lbs. I have been bad and not taken him to his 9 month well baby visit. I forgot the day we had an appointment. I really should get on that! Anyway, he now has 2 teeth. He got them both within a week of each other. He wasn't too fussy but we had a couple of sleepless nights. He says "mama" and "dada". He has started to wave bye-bye but will do it at random times. He loves to play peek-a-boo and will laugh hysterically if his sister plays it with him. He also likes to throw all the ABC magnets on the floor from the fridge. He LOVES food! He is still on baby food and takes 2 8oz bottles a day. He has had some table food, but not a lot. He loves to eat sweet potatoes from our plate. He thinks they're yummy! He puts himself to sleep at nap times and at night, which is really nice. He still takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap. His morning nap is getting shorter so I am thinking he will cut those out before too much longer. He loves to hug and kiss on me and Will. He gives me more kisses! I think his Daddy's beard tickles him :). He is the sweetest little boy and I am so blessed that God gave him to me. I can't wait to see the new things he will be doing by the end of this month.

Here are a few 9 month pics that my sister took of him...

A Spring Day in January...

Saturday was an absolute BEAUTIFUL day! It was sunny and 73 degrees! The kids and I decided to spend the day at my parents house with my sister and her 3 kids and Luke, my brother's baby boy. It was Eric and Adrienne's anniversary so Mom and Dad were on babysitting duty. It was so pretty that we spent the majority of the day outside. Ellison and Jacob had a blast running around playing and I think William and Luke enjoyed just watching them in the sunshine. My nieces were a huge help, too. They ran after the kids a lot and played with them so that Laurie and I could visit with Mom and Dad. It was a GREAT day! The weather has now turned cold and dreary again, so we are stuck inside most days. We are really looking forward to springtime!

Poppy with his 4 youngest grandchildren. As you can probably tell, William isn't very good at sharing his Poppy! ;)

Sweet Luke! He is such a good baby!

William at 9 months old! He looks like such a big boy!

One of my favorites! He makes this little face all the time!

Ellison being silly at the park. I can't believe she will be 3 in a couple of weeks!

Monkeys in a tree!