Spooooky House

We're still on lock-down as the last of us recover from the dreaded swine-flu. Since children are such petri-dishes anyhow, and have yet to master the art of covering their mouths(hell, some adults still haven't mastered this!), we've had to stay indoors for the past week. We're all getting a bit stir-crazy, but it's for the greater good! To help entertain the wild animals, Mimi brought over this super-fun gingerbread house kit for us to make today. Ben and Emily had so much fun decorating this thing that I wish we had more things to cover in royal icing and candy. The finished product was very spoooooky, as you can see=)



Emily was so proud of herself for doing a good job. She kept saying, "My being a good girl, mimi!"

She really liked putting the candies on.

Ben loved this project, too. He got to help use the hand-mixer to make the icing and
really loved choosing where to put his candies.

The Little Chick loved watching her big brother and sister in action. She's started really watching and interacting with them this week and we've even gotten a few laughs from her! It's very cute and I can't wait to get a video soon!Ain't she a beauty? I frosted the windows. Pretty crappy, huh!

Tinkerbell and her bed

Who's a dazzling blond imp that looks smashing in green, flits around on her tippy-toes and is known for her sassy attitude? No....not Tinkerbell! Emily(aka Tinkerbell's biggest fan)!! TinkerEmmie, as she likes to be called, discovered Disney's Tinkerbell a few months ago and has gone gaga for all things fairy. She is the proud owner of THREE Tinkerbell dolls, two Tink outfits, a Tinkerbell costume with custom Tinkerbell bow(thanks, Rinny! We love it!), several Tinkerbell cups, a Tinkerbell book and, the newest, fabbest addition: a Tinkerbell BED! Our big girl now sleeps in her very own big-girl bed and it's just as lovely as she is. Mimi gifted her with it as a housewarming present and Emily is gaga over her sweet nest. She is forever saying, "My Tinkerbell bed is soooo beautiful!". Below are some pictures of our little pixie in her costume, showing off her new bed!



Is this not the cutest fairy you ever saw?

And is this not the most fab toddler bed on the planet?

Putting her kitty to bed, and showing off the wings

"Good-night, kitty! My wuv you!"

Nursing Strike

Ever since Callie came down with the swine flu, she's been on a nursing strike. She went from reluctantly taking the occasional bottle to point-blank refusing to breastfeed. If I even try to get her into position to nurse, she starts wailing. As soon as I reposition her and show her the bottle, she audible sighs with relief and goes to work. Miss Independent even held her own bottle for Dan, as evident below. The odd part is that she'll still nurse at night, probably because she's only half awake. I'm not quite sure how to handle this, so I'm just goin' with the flow and waiting it out. Thank God for pumps and formula is all I have to say! Any ideas on how to get her to nurse again? Or have we crossed over from nipple confusion to bottle-preference?

A Plague Upon Both Our Houses

The good news is that we moved out of Mimi's house earlier in the week. The bad news is that we brought H1N1 Swine Flu with us. Before I could even weigh the pros and cons over getting them the H1N1 vaccine, the virus has swept through our family like a hurricane. H1N1 is a nasty little virus, as nasty as the swines it comes from. We're all feverish, coughing, runny-nosed and achy and it's no fun at all. Even Miss Callie has it, with the addition of a double ear infection. Mimi has it, too, so there's no one to even help us, not that I'd want to expose anyone to this! So, if you want my opinion about whether or not to get the H1N1 vaccine...just look at these sad, sick little faces and then decide:(

Three Months Old!

Um, what-the-hell?! How has it been three months already? I could swear I went to bed in the hospital just last night and woke up this morning with a three month old. Callie continues to be the sweetest baby on the planet. We're all enjoying her so much. It's been magical watching the lights turn on in her, so to speak. She notices and interacts with everyone, especially Ben and Emily! We're anxiously awaiting her first laughs and loving every minute with our gorgeous girl=)


Three months old and oh-so-pretty!

Callie says, "Ok, enough with the camera".

"I'm serious, lady! Put.It.DOWN! Don't make me come over there."

Fun Fest

Ben and Emily had a great time at the church's annual Fun Fest this year. Here are some cute shots=)

Compare & Contrast #2

Here are all my babies at almost 3 months old=) I think it's safe to say that Callie is looking much more like Ben these days!