Easter 2011

What a nice day it has been. We were pretty lame this year & instead of having a nice Easter dinner like I would have liked to do, we had frozen pizza. That's right. With us moving this coming Saturday, I have already boxed up our kitchen things. So I had no bowls, serving dishes or anything to use. Therefore, everything we bought for this week is pretty much frozen dinners. But it all worked out & now we are watching "The Sound of Music". Here are some pictures of Elliot with her Easter basket.

 She got stickers, an activity sticker book & play dough Easter eggs.

 We hid her eggs around the house & she got to find them a couple of times.

Checking out play dough for the first time.

Happy Birthday Lane!

Today Lane turned 32. He says he is now middle aged & soon will be 40. Yes, he's a bit dramatic. Well, we decided to celebrate by going to dinner last night. We had some yummy Mexican food. This morning we went to IHOP for breakfast. I don't know why we always go there, but we do. After that, we really just ran a few errands & then had to be back home for Elliot's nap at noon. At 2:45 I had to set up a fundraiser at church & then work it, so I was gone until 7:30pm. Luckily Lane was able to come up, so he didn't have to be at home the entire time. And that's why we went to dinner last night. Unfortunately for him, it was a pretty uneventful day. He did get some good gifts though: workout video, electric shaver, socks & shirts. Ok, so those are all pretty practical things, but that's what he likes.

Outside

On Sunday we went to my Aunt & Uncle's house and met up with my cousin & her family. They are the only family I have here in Houston & have been a great support to us over the past 4 years. This was kind of our last hurrah before we move.  

Their next door neighbor has a little pond in her backyard along with a fountain & lots of flowers. We went over to check it out and spent a lot of time outside.

She was really interested in this cat.

She loves to buckle things.

2nd Go Round at Nursery

This was Elliot's 2nd time to go to nursery at church. Her first time was like a month & a half ago. In between the 2 times, we have been out of town three times & sick twice. I figured we would be starting back at square one with her being scared, but she did surprisingly well. Maybe it was because her little friend A is now in her class. I really don't care what the reason is as long as she's happy. Lane & I actually got to enjoy Sunday School class. It was so weird. Of course in between classes we stop by the nursery & look through the window to see how she's doing. We are stalkers. Luckily, so are our friends because they took a picture through the window. It was quite cute. Here they are during singing time. Don't they look so grown up?

E is on the right & her friend A is on the teachers lap. So cute!

Fridge Finally Fixed!

When we arrived home from Arlington 2 weeks ago, we were welcomed with a horrible stench coming from our fridge. Come to find out, it had stopped working while we were gone. And judging from the damage, it had probably stopped as soon as we left. So it had been sitting for over a week. Not exactly what we wanted to deal with. We cleaned it out with bleach, but the smell still remained, so we taped it shut so we wouldn't accidentally open the doors. The repair guys came out 3 days later to fix it only to realize they didn't have the correct part. So they they said they would be back in 3 more days! At this point we were considering buying a mini fridge. We even went to a few places to check them out. But we didn't want to spend the money if it would only be a few more days. Well, it ended up being a heck of a lot longer because the repair guy wrote down the wrong part number & they weren't able to find it. Grrr. So after countless calls to this company, things were finally straightened out & our fridge is fixed. What a relief. I was tired of eating fast food & living out of a cooler. It was especially hard since we had Elliot. But all is well now, except for the lingering smell. It's nowhere near as bad as the day we got home, but still not pleasant. I hold my breath every time I open the fridge. Needless to say, we are SO looking forward to moving in 3 weeks!

Up Close

Yesterday I met my cousin & aunt at the zoo. I hadn't seen the new African section, so I was excited to check that out. Giraffes are one of my favorite zoo animals & we got to feed them! I let E hold the leafs of lettuce & she got a real kick out of it.

 Elliot also loved the carousel. She was really getting spoiled this trip to the zoo because I usually never do the stuff you have to pay for. 

Here she is with her cousins, Emerson & Landon (in the background).

New Digs

While we were up in Arlington, we decided to look around at rental houses. We drove all over Dallas and probably saw 30 different places & they were all dumps. Outdated, in bad neighborhoods, etc. Our budget doesn't really get you much. So we decided to expand our search to Bedford. That's about as close to our parents as we can be and still be close enough for Lane's work. Well we found one that we really liked. We started the application process, and after waiting almost a week, we heard back that we got it! What a relief it was to find that out. I wish I had some pictures, but they already took them off the realtor website. It's in an older established neighborhood. It's kind of an eye sore from the outside. The front yard is full of weeds, so we'll have to do some work there. It has a nice little back yard. The house isn't very attractive. It's white brick and in one spot there's a 6 ft wide column of black stone that goes from the ground to the roof. I don't know what the builders were thinking with that. BUT, despite those minor details, the inside is awesome. Everything has been updated. The walls are a nice neutral color. The bathrooms are really nice. Rooms are a good size with great closets. The master bedroom is really big. And my favorite part is the kitchen. There's lots of counter space & tons of cabinets! Finally I won't have pots & pans falling out. We are really pleased with this outcome. Trust me when I say that nothing else around in our budget compares with this place. It's really a miracle that we found it & got it. We move May 1st!

Flowers & Trains

Today we headed out to the Botanical Gardens. The weather was perfect & the flowers were out!

We also rode the train. This one was really fun because it goes along the Trinity River so you get a pretty view.

Time for a Big Girl Bed??

We are staying at my parents' house in Arlington. E has a full size crib to sleep in, so that's always nice. And we sleep in a bedroom downstairs in the basement. This morning I woke up at 5:30 am to crying. I check the monitor & see no child in the bed. So I quickly rush out of my bed to head up the stairs. And that's where I meet Elliot. She had climbed out of her crib, opened her door, walked through the living room & started crawling down the stairs to get to us. Now that she can do this. I have no doubt that she will do the same thing at home. We had planned on getting her a big girl bed once we moved, but didn't want to get it earlier for packing reasons. Plus, she is SO squirmy that there is NO WAY she would lie still in a big bed long enough to fall asleep. It usually takes her 30 minutes to fall asleep & the whole time she is changing positions. I'm not sure what to do about it.

4 Years of Marriage

Yesterday was our 4th anniversary. With all the craziness going on & us driving up to Arlington, we decided to celebrate tonight instead. We headed to Fort Worth to eat at Piranhas. It was so good. Then we took a carriage ride around Sundance Square. Yes, very cheesy, but so fun! I figured it was appropriate for an anniversary. We had planned to have dessert at Simply Fondue, but we were both pretty stuffed so we canceled our reservation. Instead we decided to grab ice cream from Marble Slab. Good choice.

Yes, I realize I'm wearing the EXACT same thing as I did yesterday, but I didn't pack any more dressy going out clothes. So there you have it.

Match Day!

The day has finally come for us to find out where we will be going for residency!

 Here Lane is getting his envelope. They have to wait til everyone has theirs before they can open them.

Suspenseful!

 Opening & reading...

 Success! We're going to Dallas!

Happy family! We are so very lucky to be able to come back home around our families.

New Family Member Coming Soon!

We are pleased to announce that we will be adding a little one to our family around October 13th! I have to say that I was a little more excited this time around when I found out than with Elliot. Let me explain before you think that's a rude thing to say. This time we were kind of expecting it & now that I've already been through the whole process, I'm not as scared. I had my first doctor's appointment last Thursday. Since I have different insurance, I had to use a different OB than last time. Let me just say I am not pleased with him. He's 73 & not very personable. I would switch doctors, but I will only see him 2 more times before we move & it's just not worth the hassle of changing. He first rubbed me the wrong way when I got up to go back with Lane & Elliot & the nurse informed me that kids weren't allowed, so Lane had to sit in the waiting room the entire time with her. And he also informed me that I would not get a ultrasound until I was 18 weeks. What?! That is crazy to me. At that point I'll be able to find out if it's a boy or girl. I feel you should always do ultrasounds in the beginning to make sure everything is ok with the baby. Needless to say that I left the office very upset. But there is a little good news. I looked up an ultrasound clinic nearby & was able to pay $65 to get one. Totally worth it for peace of mind. Lane & Elliot were both allowed to come in with me too. They had a huge flat screen mounted on the wall & a nice comfy bed for me to lay in so I was in heaven. The baby looks great! I could totally see what everything was on the screen too so that was cool. I'll scan the pictures when I get access to a scanner in about a week. Anyway, that's what's new with us.

Rodeo Time

 We love it when the rodeo is here in Houston. This will be our last year to go before we move. We went to a section called Kids Country where Elliot got to milk a cow, plant a seed, pet a sheep, pick a peach, etc. It was all fake stuff, but she loved it.

I love looking at all the bunnies. They are so cute!

 

Checking out the chickens.

Taking a peek at the chicks.

These piglets were born today! Aren't they the cutest?

I loved this little potbelly pig. I wish I could take him home. We're inside the petting zoo area & for some reason E was not wanting to be put down. She loved it last year.

I found Bambi.

After all the animals, we took a break & ate bbq sandwiches, a bloomin' onion & Marble Slab ice cream. Good thing we walked to the rodeo because we definitely needed to work it all off!

Bye Bye Binky

After reading a friend's blog about her getting rid of the pacifier, I decided to do the same. 18 months is as good a time as any, right? I really didn't have a problem with E still sleeping with her pacifier, but I knew we would have to get rid of it one day. My pediatrician suggested I look up a website called Bye Bye Binky. The first couple of days you give a pacifier with holes poked in it. The third day you cut the tip. The fourth day you cut it a little more. The fifth day you make a vertical cut on what's left. And by day 7 they should be done with it altogether. I had to make some adjustments (mainly to the timing) to fit how Elliot responded with the change. Here's how our process has gone...

Days 1-2: Holes in pacifier. Doesn't bother her one bit. Life is still good.
Day 3: First cut in pacifier. First use of new pacifier was that night for bedtime. All Hell breaks loose. She knows it's different & rejects pacifier. However, she's NOT ok with going without a good one. Cries/screams in bed, standing the entire time for an hour before passing out.
Day 4: Wakes up at 6am (too early!). Doesn't go down for nap. At bedtime she cries for about an hour & falls asleep.
Day 5: Wakes up early again! No nap. We are still giving her the cut pacifier. She'll put it in her mouth & take it out several times, but it's with her. Bed time was same as usual.
Day 6: Wakes up at 4:30am?! Won't calm down until about 5am. Attempt to give her new, regular pacifier because we're desperate for sleep, but she rejects it! Sits in her bed for about 30 more minutes & then falls back asleep. Re-awakes at 7am. At nap time, she cries (tolerable level & time). Takes a nap! Sleeps holding pacifier in hand. Goes down for bed pretty well!
Day 7: Wakes up at 5:30am (Grrr). Second cut made to pacifier. At nap time, cries uncontrollably for 30 minutes. Throws everything out of her crib, including pacifier. Falls asleep with nothing! Bedtime is successful with pacifier.
Day 8: Wakes up at 5am. At nap time screams for 30 minutes & falls asleep. Goes to bed great.
Day 9: Vertical cut made to pacifier. Wakes up at 6:45 (Finally!). Does great with both nap & bedtime!
Day 10: Fourth cut made to pacifier. Now there's just a half inch stub left. Goes down great for nap time & bed time.
Day 11: Does great!
Day 12: Fifth cut made to pacifier. There's really nothing left at this point. She can't even keep it in her mouth, so she's constantly messing with it. I decided to not even give it to her at bed time, so she wouldn't wake up searching for it. She went down great. Maybe this journey is finally coming to an end.
Day 13: Pacifier Free!

So this process was a lot harder than the website made me believe. I really don't know if it was worth all of the lost sleep for any of us. Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better to wait til she understood a bit more. But what's done is done, and now I don't have to worry about it anymore!

Sick Baby

My poor baby has been sick the past couple of days. It started off as a cough & runny nose. To me that's the worst because it affects her breathing & makes it next to impossible to sleep. Day 3 she had a fever & diarrhea. She pretty much just sat in my lap all day. Today she still has a fever, but I can tell she's feeling a little better.  Hopefully it's going away.