The Princess and the GIANT

Dax had his four month check-up this week and he weighed in at 16 lbs 1 oz! He measures 25 1/2 inches long, and his head circumference is 17 inches. He is in the 75th percentile for all three! In comparison to Liala at his age, he is a GIANT!

There was a couple in the waiting room of the pediatricians office who were asking me about Dax and how old he is. They were amazed that he is only 4 months old and were making comments about how large his hands are and I think they called him "an adorable brute"! He is a happy, healthy boy and we are so happy that he's ours!

We took Princess Liala to see a local high school play this past weekend. It was so much fun because she got to dress up and even meet Cinderella at the end. We waited in the crazy line and when it was finally our turn, she froze. I think she was super tired from having missed her nap that day. And she was coming off of a sugar high as well. But I think she and Sienna enjoyed it!

That same weekend, we happened upon a Cinderella dress at the Disney store and we bought it for Liala. She wakes up every morning, and the first thing she does is put on her dress, gloves, and princess shoes! So adorable. These are some pictures to show you how adorable it is! I just wish it was glitter free. I am finding glitter in the fat rolls on Dax's legs!!

Christmas Day and the Princess Kitchen

All Liala wanted for Christmas this year was the Princess Piano Vanity that she saw one day during a commercial break. We, being new at playing Santa Clause, waited until the week of Christmas to purchase the vanity. To our surprise, it was SOLD OUT. HUH?! What other kid in the world wants a bright pink princess piano vanity?

Apparently, every other 2-5 year old girl in the nation did! Ryan spent many early mornings waiting in the parking lot of Toys R' Us to be the first one in the doors checking to see if they had a shipment come in the night before. Ryan even checked in West Virginia while he was on a business trip to see if they had the dumb thing. NADA, nothing, zero. So we ended up getting Liala a BRIGHT PINK Princess Kitchen instead! And she loved it! She even called Santa on her pretend phone on Christmas Day and said, "thank you Santa for my beautiful princess kitchen." How sweet!

The one thing about getting to Toys R' Us early is you get your pick of popular toys that DO come in on shipments. The ZuZu pet she got was a hit! Liala really enjoyed the little hampster she named "Hammy". We really enjoyed watching Liala enjoy Christmas this year. We even stuck to our new tradition and sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and ate some cupcakes in his honor. Christmas just isn't the same unless you have kids to watch. The joy on their faces makes the day perfect. It was a great holiday! Can't wait for next year when Dax will be crawling around getting into everything!

Just some pictures of Dax over the past few months. He is getting so big and he is a very happy, smily baby! Don't let the pictures fool you though- he is not a very good sleeper. At least since he got the swine flu. We've had trouble getting him back on a regular routine. At least he's not a cranky baby though. I will count my blessings. We just love having him in our family!

Just a few pictures from the beginning of December. We are big on traditions and have tried to implement a few good ones with Liala around the holidays. As you can see, we did the gingerbread house and Liala spent most of the time just eating the frosting. We never really got a good picture of the finished product. We also tried reading "The Night Before Christmas" book everynight before bedtime. We also got Liala her own Little People Nativity so she can have one that is not "off limits"! She really enjoyed setting Baby Jesus in the manger with Mary and Jospeph. We also took time to just relax during the month and we tried not to make it so hectic- so we could really help Liala understand the true meaning of the season! More pictures to come!

Emergency Room Regulars

Instead of spending our early morning hours sweetly snoring away, we were in the Emergency Room- AGAIN. We woke up with Dax around 1 am and his fever was 104. The pediatrician sent up straight to the ER for follow up. While there, Dax was tested again for the Swine Flu. He also had to have a cathedar to take a urine sample to test for a Urinary Tract Infection. While we waited for the results from the tests, he was given another breathing treatment to open up his airways. The ER doctor said he has "baby bronchitis" and then she returned with the diagnosis...... SWINE FLU.
We thought we were so good about keeping germs away. Seriously. We have been hibernating for the past 8 weeks! Sadly, we can't prevent everything. So we had to cancel Liala's surgery because the anesthesiologist does not feel comfortable doing surgery when her recovery would be in a home with the virus. So it has been rescheduled for later in the month. Agghhh. Have I mentioned that I HATE WINTER TIME?!! When will summer be here again. I need it to come quickly.

Rough Weekend

What a weekend! After taking Dax to the doctor for the 2nd time this week, our pediatrician sent us to the Emergency Room to have a chest Xray, some blood work, and the swineflu test done. It broke our hearts to hear that she thought he needed to be seen in the ER. We thought he just had a little cold like everyone else has had.

To our surprise, Dax has been put on nebulizer treatments to clear out his bronchial passageways and to help his cough become more productive. It is so sad to see a 2 month old being zapped by radiation for a chest xray. :( It is hard to be a parent sometimes!

We go in for a follow up tomorrow for both kids. Dax will be seen for his cough and fever. And Liala will be seen to make certain she is okay to be put under anesthesia on Tuesday for her surgery. We pray that she okay so that we can FINALLY get the ear tubes put in and get the ear infections under control. I now know what people mean when they say "without your health you have nothing". These are just minor things, but it sure has been a busy November full of doctor visits, tissues, sneezes, and coughs. We will be glad when everyone is better!

"Mommy hurt my arm"

I feel like a horrible mother. Yesterday we had to take Liala into the ER because I had picked her up by the arm/wrist and the leg to move her into another room because she was throwing a fit. After a while, I noticed she was still crying and she was clutching her arm to her chest. So we decided to take her in to have her looked at because everytime she let go of her arm, she would cry and she acted like it was very painful.
So the whole way to the hospital, I am bawling my eyes out and apologizing over and over to Liala for hurting her arm. She asked me a few times during the car ride "Mommy, why did you hurt my arm?" Talk about heart breaking! I was so mad at myself for being so careless and I could not believe what I had done. And for her to ask me why I had done what I had- made me feel even worse. I take the prize for crappy mother of the year award for this one!!
Luckily, the ER Doctor we had was a very nice man and he fixed her right up. I had dislocated her elbow and he just popped it back in and gave Liala a red popsicle to make her feel all better. It did the trick!!
So this is a warning to all you moms out there- always, always, always pick them up under their armpits. Never by their wrists or their arms. Lesson learned. The hard way unfortunately. :(
As for an update on Dax.... the little man is growing like a weed. I swear her is already weighing in at 13 lbs or so. We go to the Dr. soon for his 2 month check up. I can't believe he's already almost 2 months old. He is smiling, cooing, and is a fairly happy baby. Last night he did a 6 hour sleeping stretch!! I think we're on our way to a full 8 hours in the next few weeks!! HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!
And Liala will go in for surgery on the 2nd of December to have ear tubes put in and have her adnoids taken out. If anyone has experienced this already with their kids, let us know your thoughts on the matter. We are kind of nervous about the whole thing because it is surgery and she has to be put under anesthesia. We'll update on that later!