Landree talking

Today has been a big talking day for Landree. Her new favorite thing is to say is come on. Of course her version is a little different, now you here, "Mawn, Peypey, Mawn Mama, Mawn Buddy," everytime we go from room to room. This morning she was on the phone with Nana and she asked Landree how she was doing and Landree actually said, "Good." It was very exciting. If you call her name she now responds with, "Huh." Of course my immediate response is Mam because I am so used to correcting Peyton and Landree just gives me a blank look.
If you ask Landree where her shoe is she will go get a shoe but she has been calling all shoes- foots for many months now. Yesterday she started calling them feets. Today I picked her up and her shoe fell off and she said, "Oh, my feets, oh my feets." I laughed so hard. It was very cute and her first 3 word combo.

The girls are still in Landree's bed together at night. I think it is really bonding them. Yesterday morning and this morning I have spent 10 minutes listening to them through the monitor talking and playing together before I have gone in there. I have heard Peyton telling Landree that she is the best baby sister in the world and yesterday she was telling her, "Your my baby sister, mine, mine, mine, no one elses, just mine." Anytime Peyton is crying for any reason Landree immediately goes to her and hugs her and pats her back. Today Peyton was sitting in my chair next to me and I was reading her a story. Landree crawls up and sits in Peyton's lap, sticks her thumb in her mouth and listens to the rest of the story. Very precious and I knew I couldn't get a picture of it.
I was really looking forward to staying home to spend time with the girls. I never thought about how much closer they were going to be as sisters. It is so neat because I feel like I am getting to watch Melon and I grow up all over again. The only difference is my rule follower is the oldest and my Wild Child is the youngest.

You know life is a little different when you spend a car ride discussing EKG's and heart ultrasounds with a 4 year old. Of course Peyton's version is, "Mama when I go to the doctor tomorrow am I going to get a shot?" No, Peyton, "Are they going to make me lay down and put the sticker wires on my chest (EKG) and are they going to put that wand with that blue stuff on it and take video of my heart (ultrasound)?" I don't know Peyton. "If they take video you should put it on your webpage so my grandparents can see my heart like my turkey tango." We'll see Peyton. "Oooh Mama, suddenly I just saw Landree's pink shoes we were looking for in the back of the car. They have been hiding there from us all day." It's never a dull moment around here. I'll update tomorrow on how her cardiology appointment goes.

Thanksgiving Weekend Wrapup

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We went to church and Brian was baptized. It was really nice and we all went up to the font together. Landree started hollering for a snack about half way through and kept losing a shoe. Pastor Barz let Peyton hold the lit baptismal candle which of course Landree wanted. After the baptism, Pastor Barz announced that he was including a song about Baptism that was not normally part of the service but that our daughter Peyton sings this song at Preschool and he thought she would enjoy it. So he played guitar while we sang the song. Peyton was beaming and sang every word. Afterwards we took pictures (I forgot our camera so Mr. Fitz who works at the church took pictures for us and I'll post them as soon as he gets them to me). We went to our friends, The McDonalds who are from Little Rock and ate lunch with their family. We were lazy all day and had a great time. Landree passed out before we even got out of their neighborhood and we put her to bed as soon as we got home.
Brian stayed home with the girls while I went shopping. I started at Target and made it to Office Max, Walgreens, Best Buy, and the post office and was home at 8:30. It was so not the same without my sister or mother in law. Brian was getting Landree out of her bed when I got there. She was very upset and shaking. We think she may have been dehydrated, she drank 2 cups of water the first 15 minutes she was awake. She stayed in Brian's lap most of the day and even took a nap on him. You know that so hurt his feelings. We suffered through the LSU game and Brian was cranky the rest of the day. We cleaned some on Saturday and caught up on some of our DVR shows.
Today we went to early church and came home and finished our cleaning and worked on laundry. It is amazing how messy a house can get when you don't clean for 3-4 days. We then started working on our Christmas decorations. Peyton helped me with the ornaments. Landree helped herself to the ones she liked and keeps taking them off the tree. I'm wondering if she is doing it just to annoy her sister. I put out my Little People Christmas sets. One is the nativity scene and I have two Christmas villages. The girls love them and it was very exciting when Peyton saw baby Jesus in isolation and immediately knew who it was. Landree has been walking around carrying baby Jesus and Joseph and kissing them. I am so glad I got them on clearance last year. Yes Grandma, we put together the Advent tree and Peyton is anxiously waiting for the first to get here.
Peyton is excited that it is her snack week at school. She is supposed to have a cardiology appointment this week depending on whether they have her holter monitor results. Landree has an allergist appointment this week also. I am anxious to get her new testing results. I think we are going to get Landree's first haircut on Saturday. Her hair is so scraggly. Peyton oh so spoiled me with her head full of hair. We are supposed to go to the USAA kid's Christmas Party and the ladies and I are going to go shopping for clothes for the adult Christmas party for the next weekend. I can't seem to get a good picture for my Christmas card. Oh the holiday whirlwind has started.

It's all about the Pooo

Why do most of my craziest days as a mom seem to be about pooo. So Landree woke up from her nap with diarrhea, okay this can be a reaction to the mm or it could be a bug. No problems for the rest of the night so no big deal- until 3:00AM. She woke up screaming and of course the smell hit me as soon I opened the door. I tried to change her and she was covered in diarrhea. She was screaming because it hurt and she wouldn't let me clean her up. So at 3:00 in the morning she was getting a bath and at 3:30 she was ready to play. She finally got sleepy at about 6 that morning. Luckily Peyton slept until about 8 so we got some sleep. No rest for the weary, I had to start my Thanksgiving cooking. Peyton and Landree were running around like banshees and then I heard, "Mama, Landree pulled her diaper off." Next thing I heard, "Mama, Landree pooped on the floor," and yes there was a big spot of diarrhea on the carpet behind my chair. She had hidden to go so she knew what she was doing was wrong. I then chased Landree down, I hadn't used my nice Mommy voice so both girls were crying. When I caught Landree I noticed she had red spots all over her bottom and back where the diaper was touching her. So she is allergic to the Huggies Pullups I bought at Target probably while she was eating the mm. Then the alarm starts beeping like a door has opened so of course my naked daughter goes running to the front door hollering for her Daddy. The alarm keeps beeping so then Buddy goes beserk and Landree starts crying for Brian and then my timer for the oven and for the stove top both go off at the same time. Calgon take me away. It seems like most mini-disasters revolve around one of my daughters pooo.

Landree's latest food allergy escapade

On Tuesday I ran by Target to get a few things before Thanksgiving and we found shoes that Landree and Peyton loved but they only had Landree's size. So on the way home we ran into another Target (I have 4 within 10 miles of us) to see if they had her size- they didn't. Of course we found a few other things we needed and went to check out and then I saw red on Landree's face. She had a peanut M-M in her mouth but hadn't gotten through the shell yet. Of all the kids to find a loose one- it would be my Wild Child and unlike her sister she would never think to ask before she put it in her mouth. I got her to the car and dosed her up with benadryl. I do love those new perfect measure dosers. We got home and I let Peyton sleep with her to watch her for me. Who knew trying to buy a pair of shoes would end so crazy.

Bed Partners

Landree has a new bed partner. Peyton wanted Landree to sleep with her so we tried it- it didn't work. Peyton asked if she could sleep with Landree. Okay no school the next day so we will try it. Shockingly it worked. Here is the proof. Notice the sleep mask, she doesn't think she can sleep without it.
Could they get any cuter?


A week later and Peyton is still in the crib with Landree. It was this time 2 years ago we evicted her and now she's back in it. They tried to sleep together at nap time but they just played and giggled. We haven't decided how long this will go on but we'll just have to see. This was another night and they cracked me up by switching ends.

Did you know a Turkey can Tango?

At Peyton's Thanksgiving Feast I learned that a Turkey can Tango. Peyton's class did the Turkey Tango and the Turkey Pokey, You put your left wing in and shake it all about, you do the Turkey Pokey and you turn yourself around that's what its all about- Gobble, Gobble. Both of these songs are now permanently stuck in my head.

This is a little clip of her performance. Their main teacher was out of town and I think they were a little nervous. Their teacher's assistant had to step in and help them. The ending is my favorite.

Here is my little Pilgrim.

After their performance they had their Thanksgiving Feast. This is Peyton and her friend Jaden.

Their centerpieces were Apple Turkeys they made and their teacher made turkeys out of Oreos and candy.

She is a two fisted eater.

She had a great time and then they played outside.

Surely no one expected her to pose normal did they?

She kept losing her sunglasses and would holler for her friend Lily to bring them to her. Lily would stop what she was doing and run over to give her glasses to her. Her teenage years will be interesting.

No More Fussing

Okay, okay I have heard the fussing about not seeing any Disney World Pics. I am waiting to get my CD from Disney of the pics we took while we were there. I will start my day to day blog of our trip when I get it in.

!!!!!!Yeah Announcement!!!!!! Our Weight Watchers Buddy, Haley received her 10% loss award Tuesday night!!!!!!. Brian is very close to his, he has lost 28 pounds so I joke with him that he has lost a Landree. I have lost a little over 15 so it's going slow and steady. Whooohooo Haley!

Mystery Hives solved- Last week Landree got a round of mysterday hives. Despite the frantic little call to Melon I stayed calm and prayed that she had just found something she was allergic to and ate it when I didn't notice instead of the alternative that she was allergic to something new. The next day another round of mystery hives. I tried to make a few calls to talk to a family member but of course they were all busy at work and couldn't answer- how dare them. I then figured them out. Peyton had a dried milk mustache and had kissed Landree's cheek when we were doing Landree Kissing Sandwiches. So now I have to wipe Peyton's face off after she drinks milk.

Yesterday was a busy day for us. Peyton needed to go to the cardiology office to get her Holter Monitor. We are seeing a great pediatric cardiologist here in San Antonio. Everyone knows I was worried to leave Children's because they are known worldwide for their cardiology department and it certainly didn't help when the first week I was here there was a news report of a child being sent there for treatment. Well God blessed me when we received several recommendations for Dr. Bloom. We have seen 3 other pediatric cardiologists and he is the first one to actually explain what is happening in her heart complete with drawing pictures and he is just wonderful. He told us to come back in 12 months but then he called with the results of the holter, yes you read right, he called himself, and told us to come back in 6 months because they were happening a little more often then he liked. A little bit of a downer because it means she a little worse than we thought but still good because she's still okay enough to not be seen for 6 months. His office is in the medical center which is about 25 minutes from here and a butt load of congestion when you get there. On Wednesdays he is in an office over on our end of town. Peyton was supposed to get her holter there yesterday and then two weeks from now go for her appointment. They called and asked if we could come down to the Medical center or reschedule so off to the medical center we go. Two turn arounds and 1 phone call later I finally found it. Peyton was such a big girl. I think this was her 7th or 8th holter to wear and in the beginning she cried when she got them, then she started being okay just a little nervous and whiny. Yesterday she was even laughing saying the alcohol tickled. $475 later (thank goodness for insurance) we were leaving. I kept a surprise from Peyton and finally told her that we were going to eat with Daddy at work, it's only about 5 minutes from the doctor's office. At first she was very excited but then got nervous about going there with her monitor on. She got over it and we went and had a great lunch with Brian and some friends. Thank goodness for the Subway there, a non drama lunch out for Landree. We left there with just enough time to get to Peyton's school if I hadn't had to stop for gas, $84.75 later, (trading in for a mini-van is sounding even more appealing) we made it to school about 5 minutes late. Gave the rundown on her holter with her teachers, luckily one of them had worn one before, and found out the 15 apples I needed to buy for their thanksgiving feast were going to be for centerpieces.

Landree and I ran to the store and of course I then had to sit there and pick out perfect apples. I didn't want a kid to have a bruised centerpiece to take home. Landree is hollering because she wants an apple and I am having to pick out 18 perfect ones- a few extra for mistakes. We did find that they now carry snack packs of Strawberry, plain, and chocolate marshmallows that Landree can eat, pure sugar but hey a quick snack that is safe for her is worth a little sugar. We got home for an hour and 15 minute nap for Landree and then headed back out.

We went and picked up Kacy and Abby at daycare- I so love those kids. We went and got Peyton and then went to change for gymnastics. Peyton decided she was too worried about her holter so she chose not to do gymnastics. So Peyton, Landree, and I got to watch Kacy and Abby. It was very neat to watch Kacy go all the way to the top of the rope without knots. I then audibly gasped when she was jumping off a bouncer onto an elevated mat while doing a flip and she didn't use her hands and her head was coming off the mat- I know I didn't paint a good visual but let's just say she scared the crap out of me and her coach. Later she was doing crunches and it was hillarious to watch those skinny little legs flying around when she was trying to get up. Abby is always great to watch. Perfection she is not but pure determination and all out she is.

I then took all four girls to Alamo Cafe to meet up with the families and Louise and Ann who used to work for Brian and who are here on business. Alamo Cafe has the best tortillas ever and they are safe for Landree so we love going there. Brian's last basketball game of the season was supposed to be at 8 and he wanted us to come. So we loaded up and went to USAA for the second time yesterday. Over the evening the temperature had started dropping and we really weren't dressed for the dramatic change in weather because I didn't know Brian wanted us to come to the game. I had Landree's jacket in the car and Peyton used Brian's dress shirt. Gerald's wife Kentonia came and my girls love her. So we sat together huddled up in Brian's shirt, the wind was unbelievable. The previous game ran into overtime so Brian's didn't start until late. Landree started fussing and I decided it was probably time for us to go and of course Peyton was begging to stay. I looked at Kent and told her that my mother in law would die if she knew I had her grandchildren out at that time of night without proper clothes on. Landree ended up finding my phone and was happy as a clam the rest of the night. Brian's team lost by 2 points and we called it a night. We made it home at 9:40 last night and got the girls in bed. I had been holding onto some sleeper pajamas for Peyton that I had gotten on clearance earlier this year. They worked out great because they completely covered up her wires and the monitor was able to fit underneath them. I also knew that for the 3-4 hours she would have to wear it this morning I would let her stay in her pajamas so Landree wouldn't see it and mess with her. So we are having pajama day.

Peyton woke up cranky this morning from getting to bed so late and she was tired of the monitor. Here is a picture of her before I took it off of her. Tomorrow she has her Thanksgiving feast at school so look forward to pictures of that. Landree is currently walking around in footed pajamas and snow white dress up shoes. One day when she is on Oprah or in People magazine I am going to say it all started here with this picture (the crazy hair was from wearing pigtails the day before). She absolutely loves my high heel shoes, she only picks out high heels out of my closet. Here are her and Peyton on the pillows that Grandma made them. They stay in the playroom but they drag them into the family room to watch TV. We do get tickled at Landree because when she wears her shoes or Peyton's shoes she puts them on the wrong foot every single time. If she was just doing it by chance statistically she would get them right at some point but for some reason she likes them wrong better. I am refusing to leave the house today so hopefully I can get caught up on my laundry- yuck!

We're still alive

Okay so I know it has been awhile since I have updated. I was busy the week before Disney World so I didn't update then and of course I didn't even think about it during our wonderful week there and then I was so busy unpacking this week that I didn't even worry about it. For those of you who know me you might not believe it but I didn't even turn my computer on until Thursday.

We had a wonderful time in Disney and I think I will try to do a day by day blog on our trip so look forward to that. We got back Monday night and we were glad to be home. Tuesday I woke up on a mission. By the time Brian got home I had all six of our suitcases unpacked and half of my laundry done. We went to Weight Watchers to see how much we enjoyed our trip. I wasn't bad and had gained a pound and a half. Brian was a little worse but I think that it was more from lack of water because it is falling off of him this week. Wednesday morning I finished up the laundry and got the girls ready and took "Violet Incredible" to school. Landree and I came home and she took a short nap. I took her to KidsKare and went to Peyton's Costume party at school. She had a great time. They started off with ice cream and worm dirt.

The meeting of the superheroes.

They played musical tombstones and Peyton gets mad at me every time I say that and keeps telling me that it was musical chairs.

Class picture outside. I get tickled when I look at her room because it is very multicultural. When they were released from the party she went straight to the playhouse with Lily and Garrett. I think they have done this before.

Not much here but her picking up gravel but I love the look on her face.

We went and picked up Kacy and Abby and went to gymnastics where the girls got very personal attention because half the people weren't there. We left there and picked up Landree and made it home to change for Halloween. Here is Baby Loulou.

She wasn't in the best of humor for some reason. Here is Mr. Incredible showing his great strength. We had the girls ready a little after six and realized that we hadn't seen any other trick or treaters yet. Being new to the area we really didn't know what time they would all come out. Peyton was very impatient and kept look out, Landree was looking too. Who knows what she was looking for.

We finally saw another neighbor and the girls were off with Brian.

I stayed home and gave out candy to about 40 trick or treaters. Brian ended up meeting up with Trey and Scott who live in the two houses on the right of us. They were assigned to take their kids out too while their wives were handing out candy. Brian said that Landree trick or treated a few houses and then was happy to sit in the wagon with a sucker and let Peyton do all the work. We finally got the girls home and in bed. I went through and made three piles of candy: Candy Landree could have, could not have, and what I wasn't sure about. There was actually a really good pile of candy she could have so I was excited. Brian and I then ate out of the chocolate and peanut filled stack of candy she couldn't have and then cleaned up.

On the way to school Friday my transmission made a horrible noise and I lost the top gears in my suburban. I limped it to school and lucky ran into Pastor Barz who gave me the name of a mechanic. I got it to the shop and found out that the transmission needed to be rebuilt. When I get it back on Monday I am going to put a big red bow on it because it is mine and Brian's Christmas gift.

Saturday, Pastor Barz came to our house to make up our bible study we missed. We discovered that Landree loves red beans and rice. I had beans and sausage in the crockpot all day. She ate two bowls. We then agonized over the LSU game. We went to early church today. No one was in the nursery so Landree came to church with us. Needless to say it was hard work to keep her occupied during the service. Luckily I had lots of snacks with us and stickers in my purse. We made it through and had a lazy afternoon at home.