Germs, germs go away...come again NEVER!

We have been a house full of germs the past 2 weeks and it has not been fun! Here's a run down of the sickness here...

Tues. Sept. 2 - Hannah starts a fever - can't go to school

Wed. Sept. 3 - Hannah basically spends all day on the couch w/ a high fever off and on - can't go to school (she attends preschool Mon-Wed.) Ellie and Sam seem to be doing okay, although Ellie did have a runny nose.

Thurs. Sept. 4 - I thought Hannah was getting better, low-grade temp...at approx. 2:30pm, she starts crying really hard and says that her ear hurts. I call the dr. and they get us in that afternoon...double ear infection. The doctor's reaction when she looked in her ears, "Wow, these are BAD!" I have the doctor look at Ellie's figuring they'll be the same, but they weren't...no infection, however, they did have a lot of fluid in them....infection seems imminent. Start antibiotics for Hannah...

Fri. - Sept. 5 - still layed up, but seems to be improving

Sat. - Sept. 6 - a little better, still runny noses everywhere and Hannah starts a cough

Sun. - Sept. 7 - Ellie starts a fever and is MISERABLE.

Mon. - Sept. 8 - Ellie's fever is worse, Hannah complains that her ears still hurt, 4 days after being on the antibiotic. Hmmm, that's not right. Call doctor's office, they "squeeze" us in at 5pm. Hannah's ears have not improved at all and Ellie's are now both infected. Switch Hannah's antibiotics, Ellie starts on the same. No school for Hannah.

Tues. - Sept. 9 - Ellie wakes up with one eye stuck shut from the "goop" in them. When I went in her room to get her that morning, she stood up in her crib and in the saddest voice I've ever heard simply said, "Mama, eye...Mama, eye" as she pointed to her closed eye. I was able to get a warm, wet wash cloth and convince her to let me wipe her eye. Hannah goes back to school since her fever had been gone for days and her energy level was returning to normal.

Wed. - Sept. 10 - Hannah returned to school again. Ellie wakes up from afternoon nap looking much better...you know how you can just see it in their eyes, she actually looked refreshed. Still has major runny nose.

Thurs. - Sept. 11 - girls are improving, Sam has a goopy eye and runny nose. Fantastic.

Friday - Sept. 12 - both girls are continuing to improve, although they are still more fussy than normal...which sometimes causes MAJOR issues for Mommy. For instance, when I went in their room in the morning, Ellie was standing in her crib crying and Hannah was standing right outside of the crib crying (my guess is that E hit H b/c she got too close...). Hannah would not tell me what was wrong, so I left the room (after I was very kind and sympathetic), she cried harder. So, for the first 10 min. of the morning, H cried...for NO REASON!!! Needless to say - since I am NOT  morning person and really, no one wants to start the morning w/ kids who are crying for NO REASON - the day did not start out well. Crabby kids = crabby mommy. Things did improve throughout the day w/ a little orange juice and play time...

Today, Saturday, Sept. 13 - both girls woke up happy!!! Sam seems to be doing better too. His eyes have cleared up pretty well and his nose is not too bad. (thank you Lord for the goodness of Mama's milk!) And even though it's a rainy day, I'm happy too! :O) 

Okay, as I type this I realize it probably sounds like I'm looking for a pity party...I'm really not. I just thought I'd fill you in on our life...Throughout this minor illness, I continually reminded myself that the colds/infections they were dealing with are not serious and I was thankful for that. And, now that they are improving, I realize the past 2 weeks really weren't that bad. In fact, it was kind of nice after a very busy summer, to lay low and stay home for a bit. (I was able to get out once in a while, so I didn't go totally crazy.) And so begins the cold and flu season. I'm hoping my kids got their sickness out of the way now, but I'm sure we'll have several other days like this in the coming months...

Here's a few pics from yesterday afternoon, when the girls were in better spirits... (notice Ellie's red scab under her nose...poor thing has had it wiped so much, she cries every time!)

One of my new favorite pics of the two of them...

How old is this little girl again? She looks so old to me here!!!

Sam was not to sure about having his picture taken...or maybe it was being stuck b/t his two crazy sisters!

Beach, beach and more beach...why does it have to come to an end?

We had a fantastic little vacation in MI last weekend! In fact, we didn't want it to end...it's always so sad, packing up the beach toys and chairs for the last time of the summer. (Well it was the last time for us...lucky for my parents, they get to enjoy it every day until it snows!)

Enjoy these little snippets of our trip!
*I just realized that when you play the slideshow, you can click on individual pictures and they are enlarged and the show is paused...just a little hint if you want to check one out close up! ;O)*

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Ellie's 2nd, 2nd B-day Party

Okay, I might have misspoken...I guess Ellie is really having not 1, not 2, but 3 birthday parties! Because, of course, we had to celebrate with her as a family yesterday on her "true" big day!

So to really make it a party, I tried to think of Ellie's favorite meal to make for dinner. My choices were: hot dogs, mac n' cheese, spaghetti or Life cereal...I went with spaghetti. :O) W00 Hoo, we were crazy! 

We really had a great afternoon/evening celebrating our little girl's 2nd year of life. (Or were we celebrating that fact that she's entering her 3rd year?) Either way, it was great...jumping/sliding on the borrowed water slide (which, sadly, I had to return today), eating spaghetti, eating cupcakes (this time I bought them...she didn't know), getting a new baby doll and taking cute pics of all 3 kids. We took a walk to the park after dinner/presents and it was absolutely the best night of the summer. It was perfect...for our "perfect" little 2 year old. :O)

Party #3 will be in 3 days in MI...more to come. Enjoy your long weekend!!

Taking a quick look back...

Brand new baby Ellie! 2006

Happy 1st Birthday to Ellie! 2007

2 year old sweetheart! 2008

Catching up...

I realized that I have several pictures I'd like to share about our latest summer adventures, so bear with me and check out the following few posts...

A couple of weeks ago, we drove down to the city to watch the Chicago Air and Water show...from the roof of Steve and Connie's (my mother and father in-law) building!!! What an exciting and perfect place to view the great show! 

Sam thoroughly enjoyed his first (of many) air show!

Check out that view!

Ellie, sitting safely on Grandma's lap, actually really enjoyed watching the planes. She was even more in to it than Hannah, who was more concerned about playing with Peter back in the condo!

Thank you to Jim for the amazing next two shots!

The famous Blue Angels closing out the show. 

 

Catching up Pt.2 - Cosley Zoo

The kids and I joined my great friend Mar and her little guy Jackson at the local Cosley Zoo (Wheaton). The "zoo" is home to several farm animals and is a really sweet place to bring little ones...especially because it's free! :O)

Hannah asked to use the camera to take a few pictures of the goat laying nearby...here is what she captured. I just had to add them all, b/c I thought it was hilarious that she took the same thing 4 times! (I guess she thought she was really getting a great shot!)

From the inside of the barn, another goat decided he/she would get up close and personal and poke his/her head out b/t the fence...Ellie didn't like it...

Hannah, on the other hand, would have crawled in with the animals if she could have!

The girls and the bunnies! (HUGE bunnies!)

The kiddos minus Sam...he was there, but enjoying the view from the stroller. 

Mar and the "big" kids. 

Mommy and girls...

Catching up Pt. 3 - Sam

Here are some recent, adorable shots of our growing, handsome boy!

Loving those fingers!

GO CUBS!!

Catching up Pt. 4 - Ellie's 1st, 2nd B-day Party

Yes, that's right...Ellie's had her 1st, 2nd b-day party this past weekend. That's because, she's a lucky girl and gets 2 2nd B-day parties...We celebrated this past Saturday with Brian's family and our dear friends Dan, Mar and their little guy Jackson. We were thankful that the rain held off, although the humidity didn't, and the kids could be free to get wet and sandy outside and have a super time doing it. (I'm getting a little tired after completing all of these posts in a row...can you tell?!) :O)

Our little Ellie girl turns 2 in 2 days (the 27th)...I just can't believe it! She's was a beauty when she was born (see this) and she's a beauty now. She cracks us up every day and we love her to pieces. Stay tuned for pics from her 2nd, 2nd B-day party after we return from MI next weekend. 

Thank you to my friend Lisa for letting us borrow this awesome water slide for the party! It was a huge hit, especially on such a hot, humid afternoon!

Of course, the little splash pad (usually for babies) was a hit with the kids of all ages too! :O)

Ellie and Jackson even braved the slide...and loved it! (with their Daddy's help of course!)

Little buddies...

My new favorite alternative to the birthday cake...cupcakes on a cute cupcake holder...with decorative toothpicks and papers too!

Ellie wasn't too sure what all the singing and candles were about...it looks like she's thinking, "Why is this for me?"

Make a wish!

Ahhh, now this is good stuff!

The other kids thought so too!

Hannah showing off the cute picks!

We love princess toys!! (poor Sammy better get used to it!)

Thank you family and friends for making Ellie's big day so special! She had a great time and loves you all!

Whew...I think I'm done for tonight! My fingers are sore!!! I'll try not to be such a slacker w/ my posts so I don't have to catch up all in one night again! 

Guess who's rolling over? UPDATED...8/25

SAM!!! 

He rolled over for the first time this morning! What a big boy! 

**ADDED Monday, Aug. 25**

Here's a video of our "big boy!" I'm still figuring out how to put video on here and have it look good....so sorry if it's a little fuzzy.

Oh my...

I had to write this down before I forgot it. (which happens quickly these days!)

I just overheard Hannah playing with her princess dolls say, "Oh my gosh." (I thought she said "Oh my God," which is a phrase our neighbor boys like to use and we DON'T!) 

Anyway, I asked, "Hannah, what did you just say?" 

She replied, "Oh my gosh."

I said, "Hannah, why don't you say 'Oh my goodness' instead?" (we've had this conversation many times, by the way...)

Before I could even blink an eye, she said, "Well, Ariel said it and she's 16 years old!" 

Yet another reason Disney movies are not all they're cracked up to be! Why do they have to insert sayings that adults usually use into kids' movies?! And, what does being 16 years old have to do with it?! 

Oh my word! :O)

Oh what to do...

Have I mentioned Ellie's new favorite game? Yeah, she likes to dig her hands into Gabby's food bowl and then bring handfuls of kibbles to where ever Gabby is in the house. And, of course, instead of laying them nicely on the floor in front of Gabby, she usually throws them at her and laughs with delight as Gabby scrambles to eat them up! What a character! It's become one of those mom things that I'm just not sure I want to fight. I couldn't even tell you how many times I've told Ellie not to touch Gabby's food, but then off she goes straight for the bowl. I have now come to my senses and put the bowl out of reach, but who wants a dirty dog food bowl on their counter or table? Yuck! 

I'm just hoping this is a phase that she'll get tired of soon. Then again, if the next phase she enters is clogging the toilet bowl with toilet paper, then maybe I'll take the dog food thing. Oh wait, she already did that too! Did I mention that she'll be 2 next week...now it all makes sense! 

Here you go Gabs!

I guess she does occasionally lay it down nicely for dear ol' Gabby!

The look of innocence...hee, hee, hee! 

3 Months

Happy 3 month birthday Sam!