Playing Catch-Up

Finally got some pictures uploaded from the last few weeks. About a month ago Mimi and Pops (aka Chris' parents) were so gracious to take Ella Kate for a weekend and give us a couple of baby free days! I was heading to Charlotte to visit with Amy-Chris and met Linda, and her sister Deanna, in Asheville where we traded off Ella Kate and a whole trunk load of her stuff!

Ella Kate did really well, and Chris and I were so grateful to have a weekend free of bottles, diapers, crying, and pureed food! We missed her, of course, but we knew she was in good hands, so we weren't worried. The only thing to worry about was whether or not Mimi and Pops would give her back!

Amy-Chris and I had a nice weekend husband, baby, and fiance free! It was nice to catch up and have some quality time. We spend most of that Saturday contemplating bridesmaids dresses, colors, fabrics, lengths, flowers, reception decorations, menus, and lots more wedding details. Of course, we had to take an obligatory self portrait-- just like the ones from college :)

Then at the beginning of the month was Shay's birthday and another fun girl's night. We had dinner at Bonefish and followed with drinks at Table 15. Happy Birthday, Shay! We all had a great time!

Thursday we did Boo at the Zoo and Ella Kate got to get dressed up in her very first Halloween costume. Those pictures are on the other camera, so I'll have to upload them later. This one is from the aftermath-- the fairy costume has been removed and our little pumpkin is now playing in a big pumpkin bowl. She loves all the little Halloween do-dads-- stickers, cups, mini pumpkins, and straws. Isn't it amazing the things they can be entertained by?

On Friday Ray, aka Pops, came by to do a little work on Chris' storage building/workshop. He got a few minutes of quality time with his favorite "Little Buddy" who was attempting to take some first steps.

I'll upload the ones from the other camera soon-- they are from the pumpkin patch, the hay ride and pumpkin patch with the Simpsons, and Boo at the Zoo.

Blogging catch up

So, again, I lost that stinking cord for the camera, but thanks to the wonders of ebay I have a new one! But, even though I have the capability of uploading photos, I thought I'd just give a quick update on what's going on in our lives here in Ella Kate's world. The main thing we've been working on is food. EK is in that in between place where she's past baby food puree and not quite to table food (only 2 teeth!). They provide lunch and snacks at her school and we've been happily taking advantage of it, but recently we've started to re-evaluate the menu options. Especially the day last week when her daily report said she had corn dogs for lunch and fruit loops for snack!!! Not my idea of health food! That's not to say that they don't offer veggies and fruit and some days the food is just fine, but the pizza, corn dogs, hamburgers, and bologna & cheese sandwiches just had to go. For one thing, EK was getting to be pretty picky about what she'd eat at home. She was pretty much down to cheese-- sure, it's dairy and protein, but a child can not survive on cheese alone! So after calling on my baby experts (Mom, Kristen, Leslie, Melissa, and Google) Chris and I made a list of possible healthy menu options (realistic ones that we knew we would actually make) and then made a big trip to Sams & the grocery store! Here are some of the fun and random items we bought: 5lbs of whole wheat spaghetti noodles, 6 lbs of tri-color spiral veggie pasta, spinach and ricotta raviolini, a case of diced fruit (in light syrup), a case of canned mushrooms, a 5lb block of sharp cheddar (we do love some cheese around this house!), 2 loaves of whole wheat bread, whole wheat tortillas, chicken breasts, a rotisserie chicken, broccoli, edamame, black beans, refried black beans, chopped spinach, ricotta cheese, corn, spaghetti sauce makings, and more and more. And, Mel, if you're reading this, yes, we even got humus. She loved it, but it did make her breath stink, which also prompted the purchase of toddler tooth paste!
The first day at school with her own lunch was not a huge success, but she's been getting better-- I think the weekend helped. Since a lot of what we're working on is finger food and possible introduction of utensils we started with things like the rotisserie chicken pieces and diced veggies followed by some fruit. We also had chicken, cheese, and broccoli quesadilla (with Kristen's suggestion of preparing it with butter in a skillet not just in the micro like we usually do!). She had humus mixed with chicken and veggies (stinky breath day), grilled cheese and broccoli on whole wheat, the veggie pasta and the raviolini, and we've done lots of cottage cheese with fruit, and yogurt (yo, Baby!). These have all been a hit, but the craziest one of all was what I made for dinner yesterday. I decided to crock pot some veggies in some frozen chicken stock we already had. Then I started looking through the pantry and freezer to see what else I could possibly add. When it was all said and done my creation included corn, black, northern, and green beans, carrots, and cod fillets. By the end of the day the house smelled like fish and I hate that smell! I thought this was gonna be a disastrously gourmet meal for the doggies. I offered a small bit to EK and..... to my surprise....she gobbled it up!!! She ate 2 helpings of the "stew" and seemed to enjoy the whole event! We even used forks and spoons (all moms will recognize the plural use of the utensils). I sent it to school today for her lunch and they said she did great with it! Yipee! Next creation: spinach and ricotta "pizza." Probably have to try that on Thursday as I'll be out of town for dinner tomorrow night.
So, anyway, that's what we've been up to. EK's been relatively illness free, although there was a slight stomach bug going around the school last week. Thanks, again, Kristen and Phil, for your advice on the BRATTY diet to use during a bout of any GI upset. And because we live in East TN it's a given that she'll wake up congested every morning. We love those flowers and trees, but it's hard raising a child who is already prone to allergies in the Asthma Capital of America. Since there's not a lot out there indicated for children under 2 we have done a whole lot with menthol and a humidifier.
Here are some handy websites I've discovered over the last week or so:
Motherhood Uncensored
Adventures in Babyfood
Wholesome Toddler Food
Heavenly Homemaker
Any good suggestions on foods that have worked well for your kids in this phase are very much welcomed!!!

PS To all you believers in the miracles of Vicks Vapor-Rub, check out the suggestion from motherhood uncensored about rubbing Vicks on baby's feet and covering them with socks to cure a cough. I have never been a big Vicks user myself, but I tried it on EK tonight, and so far not a single cough has come across the monitor!! Kristen, tell Tammie she's on to something with her Vicks addiction!

Ella Kate at the UT Gardens

We took advantage of the BEAUTIFUL weather this weekend and had a photo shoot with our favorite model at the UT gardens. She did SO well. We were there for almost 2 hours and she had 3 wardrobe changes! She really was perfect, just perfect, and the pictures were absolutely wonderful! Maybe if the government job doesn't work out Chris could have a second career as a photographer!

Go Dawgs (Whew!)

Well the Dawgs managed to eek it out by the skin of their teeth. As long as we got one for the W column..... Anyway, here's Ella Kate getting ready for kick off.

Learning about windows....

She was watching Daddy mow the lawn.

Getting ready to use every piece of furniture as a jungle gym!

Studying the coffee cup (empty) and "reading" the paper. As a true GA Bulldog, notice the beat up Gator in the background. She flipped him on his back and moved on! Maybe that will be a good sign of things to come later in the season. Fingers Crossed!

Do I look like I spent the day at Children's Hospital?

This is not exactly the look of a child who spend the weekend with a high fever and most of Sunday at Children's Hospital, but it is!

Friday evening EK started running a low grade fever. She cut her first tooth (yeah!) last week and several of the kids at day care were sniffly so I figured it was either teething or a cold. Well, by Saturday am the fever was up to 101.7 and by Sat evening 102.7. She was so warm and lethargic all day Saturday that I compared her to a warm gummy bear. I knew something was wrong when she wanted to cuddle-- she's not a cuddler! I'd been on the phone with the pediatrician (thanks Rachel!) all day and she said just keep pushing the Tylenol/Motrin rotation and watch the fluids. So I did, and by Sunday am her temp was 103.4! Call me an over protective first time mom, but I headed on over to Children's with that one. Anyway, they pretty much assumed it was a virus, but decided to run some tests: urine, blood, and chest x-rays. All of these tests were made impossibly harder than usual by little things like: she had that urine bag on for 3 hrs and never peed! I had to run her hand under cold water and finally we got a "sample." 2) couldn't find a good vein for the blood tests. When they did find one it didn't give enough blood so they still had to prick her finger and "milk" it for more blood to test. 3) new students couldn't even manage to get her temp taken-- one time it even took 3 tries! 4) blood pressure cuff never would read accurately. Not to mention that every time she was moved she screamed-- even to change her diaper. Scream Scream Scream. So, 5.5 hrs and a gazillion pokes, prods, blood lettings, urine collections, and pictures of the inside of her lungs later we got a definite answer: big fat UTI. She got a big bolus shot of the antibiotic Keflex , some more Tylenol, and lots of printouts on what to do next. Even with all that hassle I'm glad we went on rather than waiting another day with those high temps.

Now the challenge is getting her to take her meds. She will not take any liquid meds-- spits 'em right out. She'll even hold her breath and then spit it out. We've tried forcing her, to no avail-- all it does is make her really really mad. We even resorted to Fever All, perhaps the greatest infant medicine ever created. If you haven't used it, click on the link. It brought her fever down almost instantly, thank goodness!!! This afternoon, after several wasted attempts, I finally got her to take her antibiotics by mixing it with some yogurt. I tried mixing it with oatmeal, applesauce, and spoon feeding nothing worked until the yogurt. I guess we'll be doing that twice a day for the next ten days. Geez!

Sorry, no pictures from the hospital, but here are some of her playing that night. It was amazing how much better she felt once that fever broke.


We were all exhausted and were so very happy when she started yawning. She slept great all night, what a relief. Chris and I are still catching up on our sleep, so on that note.... G'nite!

First Day of Pre-School!

Last Tuesday was Ella Kate's first day at pre-school. She was ready for a new adventure!

Mommy was way more nervous about that first day than EK was. I was a wreck all day anxious to go and pick her up ans see how she did. Of course, she was fine and had a great time playing with her new friends.
EK and Miss Sarah. She wanted to get down and play from the minute she got there!

Ella Kate immediately started playing and didn't even notice when I left!! I guess that's good-- no crying made it easier to function while I was away from her, and she didn't cry either! Don't worry, Wednesday was much better :)

Anna Claire Turns 2!

Holly's little girl, Anna Claire, turned 2 last week! Her party was a lot of fun and all the kids had a blast!

Holly's twin, Heather, was there (of course!) with her little one, Abby Kate, whose 1st birthday party was the first party Ella Kate ever went to! We always have a great time with these girls and we look forward to many more years of birthday parties!

Abby Kate and Ella Kate attacking Jim, Heather and Holly's dad.

Ella Kate showed the most personality when she was being pushed in the swing. The higher she went the bigger her smile and the happier her giggle. We may need to start investigating play sets!

The mini-bounce house was a big hit, and when the big kids weren't around Ella Kate got a chance to try it out, too. She was a little unsteady at first, but she really seemed to like it. Another kiddie investment we may have to look into! What ever happened to tire swings and sand boxes?

Toward the end of the afternoon EK was getting a little fussy and tired. She crawled over to the baby bed (little antique doll bed) and I put her in it. At first, I think she thought that Cabbage Patch Kid was a real baby b/c she smiled really big at it, then she just chewed on its foot. She is about the same size as the doll, so I can understand the confusion!

How did I get ready for the party? Well, while trying get some laundry done and attend to EK and get dressed myself I discovered this little trick (which I'm sure has a limited time warranty!). Put the baby in the basket with the laundry and give her a makeup brush and you may get enough time to do your own makeup!!

Baby Julianna

Sweet Baby Julianna has had a rough last couple of weeks. I won't go into the whole thing, you can check out her blog to see it all, but suffice it to say, she's a very brave little girl. Basically she's been sick for about 2 weeks with an unidentifiable fever that landed her in the hospital on Friday. Kristen noticed a knot on her neck which turned out to be an abscess in the lymphnode. After many tests, several days of IV antibiotics, and some wait-and-see, they finally realized she had not one but three infected abscesses. Two behind her tonsils an d the one on her neck. The two behind her tonsils were a result of untreated tonsillitis, which is what caused the fever in the first place, but was not initially diagnosed. These infections were "closed off" and not responding to the antibiotics so she went in to have them surgically drained. Here's an example of how bad it had gotten-- at one point they noticed some greenish discharge from her left ear and it turns out that one of the abscesses in her throat had ruptured and was oozing down her ear canal! The relief from that pressure release actually made her feel so much better that she actually smiled for the first time in a few days.

Thankfully she's doing much better now that the infections have been removed. She'll be on IV antibiotics for at least 2 more days, but hopefully she'll be back home by the end of the week.

We're so sorry you've had to go through all this, sweet baby girl, but we're also thankful that you're on the road to recovery! We'll be thinking about you and sending you big hugs and Get Well Soon wishes!

All good things must come to an end

Saturday: it definitely figures that the weather was beautiful on the day we left! Oh well, at least it made for good driving weather. The trip home was much less eventful than the way down, and we were grateful for that b/c we were worn out! Vacationing with a baby is so much more work than pre-baby, but we wouldn't trade it for the world :)

Ella Kate was very happy to be back home, out of that car seat, and in familiar settings. She slept great that night, for the first time since we left for the beach.