Until next year WOOK

We received "Elf on the Shelf" for Christmas season last year.  With Andy only being 1 1/2, we didn't welcome a new elf into our family.  This year, we DID.  As you may or may not know, the tradition of Elf on the Shelf begins with reading the book about who the Elf is and how he has a role in helping out with Christmas.  You see, the elf watches over the house and then returns to the North Pole to report to Santa on whether the little girls and boys have been naughty or nice.  Then, the elf returns to a new spot in the house the next morning and watches for Santa from this new spot.  Well, Andy didn't get the whole "talk to Santa" bit, but he LOVED trying to find his elf in the morning.  Another piece of the story is naming your elf.  Andy took a long time figuring out a name for his elf, but finally decided on Wook.  We're thinking it's because the elf "works" aka "wooks" for Santa.  Or maybe because you "look" aka "wook" for the elf in the morning.  But Wook has been part of our daily routine all month.  Looking forward to when he returns next year!

Some GOOD news

Hooray!  After spending Christmas at the hospital with Katie and having to cancel our flight to Palm Desert, we received the good news that both kids were sounding better.  Does it make complete sense to jump on a plane with two kids with RSV, one with a broken leg?  Maybe not - but we NEEDED to get out of the house - all of us.  We needed to just get out of town and welcome 2011 with a fresh perspective  So...here we are, cozied up next a fire in rainy Palm Desert.  Are we complaining?  Not one bit!  Massages are booked and we look forward to some time away from the realities of home.

Christmas Day

Katie and I spent the day today at Children's while Andy and Kyle stayed home and took down Christmas.  When Andy woke up, I asked him if he thought he was naughty or nice this year, and Andy promptly responded - "naughty."  Santa thought differently : ) 

Katie has been battling a little cough.  The past 24 - 48 hours she has been wheezing - so with a trip to California planned for tomorrow, we thought we should get her checked out.  After we checked in at Children's - Katie was given her score of 7.  That's with a 0 being healthy, 10 being admitted to the ICU.  I started to panic.  It's amazing how helpless you feel with your 6 month old baby struggling to breathe.  We were told to wait to hear if we were going to stay the night or if we should go home to keep a "close eye" on her.  So here we are, at home, keeping a "close eye" on her.  That means one thing - a worried mom.

We have been to Children's 4 times this month - twice for Andy and twice for Katie.  It's not how I imagined spending Christmas 2010, but all in all, I am thankful to be home keeping a close eye on my kiddos.

Merry Christmas

Pretty happy - and pretty cute in her hospital gown 

Poor little girl!

Happy Thanksgiving...

Yep - you read that right.  I am about one Holiday behind on this thing.  Oh well, better late than never!  We had a great time in Palm Desert with the Warme family and Ka and Bapa.  We missed the snow storm at home, and although it was "cool temperatures" for the Desert, we enjoyed the reprieve from Seattle.  We had a daily routine of morning walks, afternoon pool time, naps, and dinner to accompany our wine : )  It was a great trip and we feel so fortunate to have the Desert as an escape!

I giggle every time I look at this picture.  These boys sure do love their swings!

While the big kids were playing...Katie slept away

First date night since Katie was born - WAY overdue

Getting ready for pool time

Family picture time

Turkey Dinner

What happens when you leave two little boys to wander...

Playing in the arroyo

Santa

We planned ahead, went during the weeknight to avoid the line, and successfully saw Santa (only an hour wait on a Tuesday night).  Andy wasn't so sure, but Katie was great!

Rice Cereal

It's hard to believe that Katie almost is 6 months.  At her 4 month appointment, we decided that there was no need to introduce solids since my milk seemed to make her content and she has been sleeping 12+ hours since she was about 6 weeks old.  I know, I know...I shouldn't even say that out loud...trust me, I am appreciative of her sleeping patterns.

Since Katie will be 6 months on Thursday, I decided that rice cereal needed to be added to the Amazon Fresh order and that we would try it out at some point.  With Andy needing to be off his leg, we have been doing a lot of sitting around the house - so why not try the rice cereal, right?  Today was our first attempt.  Not sure how much actually went down, but she seemed to take to it okay.  She has been very interested in me when I have been eating lately and moving her mouth like she is chewing - so I guess it's time.  Sigh.  Katie also has been quite interested in biting and chewing my nipple too.  At least she doesn't have teeth yet.

Henry was waiting and watching the whole process and was ready to lick up any morsel that was dropped.  Who knew he liked rice cereal so much : )

Where has the last month gone?!?

I have been a horrible blogger.  This month has been filled with ups and downs and everything in between.  At some point I will catch up, but for now, I will start with what is going on this week.  Okay, I will start with last night.  Andy fell down the stairs.  It's the worst sound.  Sadly, it's happened a couple of times - but I guess that's pretty good considering he goes up and down the stairs many times all day long.  Last night he decided to either ride, follow, or throw his bumble bee scooter down the stairs.  Ultimately, he followed his bee down the stairs.  Normally Andy cries for about 10 seconds and then gets distracted and brushes things off.  Last night he just kept crying and then ASKED to go to bed.  I knew something was wrong.  We poked and prodded - and finally tried to get him to walk.  He wouldn't walk.  After a call to our pediatrician - we headed to Children's.  We are so thankful to have them in our neck of the woods.  They were AWESOME.  We spent 5 hours there and Andy was a trooper.  He had two rounds of x-rays and a lot of observation.  Nothing conclusive, but a guess that he sprained his ankle.  Poor guy.  We spent the day today watching shows and laying low.  He has been so sweet and patient and has milked a lot of sweets out of his mommy.  He is in a lot of pain still, but we are hoping he feels better soon. 

Andy back home with his boot on

So sad - with cherry popsicle stained lips

Today, enjoying lunch in bed