One sick little girl...

OK, so we did the whole crying it out thing with Reid last night, and Mom and Dad had Ellie. My mom called this morning to say that Ellie had been up in the night throwing up. Poor Ellie and poor Grandma having to mess with all this. So, to make a long story short...Ellie has been vomiting since about 4:30 am every 30 min. or so. She was brought back home around 10:30 this morning and has been sick a few more times. She is finally resting a bit now and has kept a bit of Sprite in her without being sick. That is an accomplishment. She has been so thirsty...but has just been bringing everything right back up. Poor thing. She apologized the last time she was sick, because she got her jammies yucky. So sad she thinks she has to apologize. I hate it when my kids are sick. I just heard from a friend of mine who visited us on Monday morning she was up sick, too. I bet we got this from her. Never fun for anyone. I am sanitizing like a mad woman...and hopefully the rest of us can stay well. Our New Years will be one filled with early bedtimes...and hopefully a more settled tummy for Ellie. (oh, and of course....another memory!)

Ferber....night one

Ok, so all you Bloggers that put us in your prayers last night....here is the low down.

Reid went to bed last night as usual...awake and happy around 7:30 pm. Around 1:15 am I heard him crying. I went in his room...gave him his blanket and laid him down (because of course, he was standing up looking for me). I put his music box thing-a-ma-gig on that he loves and walked out. Crying begins. One minute later...crying stops.

Ten minutes later...crying begins again. I walk in and proceed to re-do the same steps as before. Again, crying at first...done in about 30 seconds.

3:20 am....crying again. Repeat same steps as previous. Crying when I leave the room. Done in less than one minute. I was back to sleep each time easily and quickly. I slept in the guest room so I was close to him and did not have to walk the steps each time. (our bedroom is on the first floor...Reid's is upstairs) plus I wanted Brian to get as much rest as possible. Reid is happily singing in his bed now....and it is almost 8:00 am. Much better. I decided not to get up and shower early as I usually do. I slept as long as I could.....and it was FANTASTIC. We will continue tonight...and hopefully within the next few days...we will be in good shape. Thanks for the prayers....keep them coming. It's always nice to know you have a support group out there. More updates to come......

New Big Boy Haircut...

Ok....a BIG thanks to Brian. He is getting really good at this hair cutting business with Reid's hair! Since Ellie was gone tonight, we decided to tackle Reid's long locks tonight...and Brian did a REALLY great job! Reid went through about 3 suckers in the process...but sat still the whole time. Now my little man doesn't look so little.....

Even blended the sides and the back???? Wow....I am impressed by my hubby's hard work! I guess if computer programming ever gets old....we know what profession Brian can head to! : )

Stressed, Tired, and Cranky....

No....not Reid....me! Ok, I am making myself pretty transparent here and I am just going to say it how it is. Reid is being DIFFICULT with a CAPITAL D. You are all thinking, "Right...look at that sweet face..." I know....I know. Here is our stress...or mine because I try and let Brian sleep as much as possible because he has to get up and go to work in the morning.

Reid goes down to sleep beautifully for naps AND for bedtime. I put him down awake, and he just holds his blankie and sings himself to sleep. No problems. Perfect little guy. Here comes the stress....he wakes up anywhere from 3-6 times in the night from 11 pm on and just cries. He won't let up. His ears are fine...I change him if he needs it....and I have done the "get-through-it-mode-rocking-until-he-sleeps...which, by the way does NOT work because Reid wakes the moment I put him down and the crying again begins. So, tonight....FERBER begins. You know...cry it out, go in and check on them every 5, 10, 15 minutes routine. I HATE IT....but I truly can not live like this another day. I think in the last 2 nights...I have been lucky to get 2 hours of sleep total. Yeah...and then try and function normally with 2 little ones that need you. It's been rough. I don't know why the sudden switch in Reid...and what is provoking this...but it has been going on for some time now...and at almost 14 months old...he should sleep through the night. Should...being the key word there. Prayers tonight for me to be strong and for Reid to be tired. I think we are all ready for some rest. Thank goodness for my parents....they offered to take Ellie today and have her spend the night tonight. What a help...thanks, Mom and Dad! Well, Reid just went down for his afternoon nap....and I am going to go lay down, too. Maybe I can catch up a bit. If anyone out there has some solid parenting advice on sleep.....let me have it. I feel like I am grasping at air.....and there is nothing there to hold on to. I know that this will all pass....but whew....a 1 year old is winning this battle....and I am left behnid waving my white flag.....

Dance, Dance, Dance

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My heart smiled....

When I walked into Ellie's room to get her organized for bedtime tonight, this is what I found on her dresser. Something about it just made me smile. My little girl is definitely getting bigger. I love how she dotted her i on the bottom instead of the top. Love the innocence....and just finding this was a little gift to me tonight. And just think....she has no idea how she made me smile!

It's all about F-A-M-I-L-Y

We got together with my family on Saturday to celebrate Christmas together. It was a wonderful day. This is my brother, Kevin, and sister in law Carol with Ellie. Ellie adores them both so very much and loves it when they are in town from "Intucky" as she calls it.

Here is my mom with Reid who was LOVING opening more gifts. He was having a blast as you can see. (but so was Mom!)

Here is my dad with Ellie. You will notice several changes in Ellie's clothes in these pics. She got some clothes for Christmas while we were together, and HAD to change SEVERAL times....so this all took place on the same day. Actually, within several hours she had made many wardrobe changes! What will she be like in about 12 years from now??? Yikes!

Me loving up Ellie

Brian loving up Ellie....it was a great day~we are blessed!

Mommy Time

I don't post too many picks of myself on the blog...because I am always taking the pictures! But, today was a little different. Ellie took this picture of Reid and me...and I think she did a great job! She even got us both to look at the camera at the same time....a feat that I don't always accomplish at times!

Then, we had some fun and took a picture of ourselves! She thought this was really funny...and of course, she wanted to make an Ellie face for the camera! That's my peanut for you!

Santa Came!!!

Reid had fun playing with Daddy's good smelly stuff.....of course. Why would he want to play with anything he got??? Murphy's Law! He was having fun exploring through the paper and "stuff" that was laying around the living room.

Go OHIO STATE! We have a little Buckeye on our hands...and now he has the hat to prove it. Now, if he will just wear it!

Ellie ready to dive in! She was so good and really enjoyed opening things this year. It was so fun to watch her.

A PINK guitar!!!! Santa really knew what was at the top of her list! Now she can be just like Daddy....well, his guitar isn't pink, but you get the idea!

And POCAHONTAS, too???? WOW....what a special day it was!

At Grandma and Pappy's house they wrapped up an entire room for Reid and Ellie! (actually, their presents were really large...so this was the best way to wrap them up!) So smart, huh?

Here is Reid trying to get a sneak peek inside!

Yipppppeee....time to rip the paper down! What was in there????

A PRINCESS VANITY WITH MAKE-UP AND JEWELS!!!! Right up Ellie's alley! (oh, and don't forget the fairy wings she is wearing....those were what she was hoping for!!!) And Reid got building blocks with cars, trucks, and helicopters to go with them! So much fun!

Pappy and Reid watching the train go by around the tree. Reid was mesmerized....until he tried to dismantle the entire thing.

Reid and Grandma. Reid wanted to borrow Ellie's STAR glasses for a bit.

Uncle Aaron and Reid watching intently as Brian and Ellie were playing the new Wii.

Of course, Brian had to get in on the STAR action with the glasses....and the famous man point. I am sure he will love me for posting this picture! Sorry, honey!

Ellie and Great-Grandma Wilson. It's always so nice spending time with her. It was a great Christmas. We are blessed....and are thankful for the true meaning of the season. Merry Christmas to you all! We still have Christmas to spend with my family on Saturday...so I am sure there will be another round of pictures to share with you! What a fun time of year it is!

Thank you, Brower Family!

We have a BIG thank you to send out to our neighbors, The Browers! They were soooo nice to our family for Christmas. They sent over all kinds of neat gifts for the kids. (the fleece blankets were a HUGE hit!) Ellie LOVED the snowman kits that both she and Reid received. In fact, she loved them so much....she decided to wear the items around for most of the day yesterday. She is excited to build snowmen in the front yard as soon as she can! Thank you, Brower family, for all you do for us! We love you all!!!!

Merry Christmas to all.....

.....and to all a good night. Love from our family to yours.....Enjoy your blessings.....and enjoy your holiday! Merry Christmas!

Popsicle anyone?

Reid has this gunky, gross, congestion-filled, icky cold right now. So, I thought that a nice, cool popsicle may help coat his throat and make him feel a bit better. He didn't know quite what to think of this "mystery" food at first!

He was proud to just hold it. He did this for quite some time. I wasn't even sure if he knew what to do with it....but everything eventually goes in his mouth, so I knew he would figure it out sooner or later!

There we go! You like it, Reid???

And the end result.......the face kind of says it all, don't you think???? : )

What Christmas is all about...

Ellie and I went to our local grocery store this morning to ring the Salvation Army bell. It was a great morning, and Ellie enjoyed really learning the true meaning of Christmas. She was so proud to wish everyone a Merry Christmas as they walked by. I think we have a new tradition on our hands! Maybe next year, Reid can share in the ringing, too!

My little reindeer...

Ellie very excited to pose in her "antlers", and Reid....less than excited about the whole ordeal!

Looking back one year- Reid's turn

Since I took some time to look back on Ellie's Christmas pics...I thought I better do the same for Reid. Just look at one year ago! What a difference. Reid was about 5 weeks old in this picture and Ellie was just a little over 3 years old.

And Wah-la! Reid today. Quite the transformation......what a blessing he is to us!

Looking back at Christmas time...

Ellie decorating cookies with our good friends, The Boothby's (miss you all!). She still talks about making cookies at Ella's house. What fun that was for her...and she was made to feel so special which was so helpful because we were dealing with the start of Reid's medical journey. This was Christmas 2007 and Ellie was a little over 3 years old here. We are excited to add our Christmas 2008 picture soon! It sure is fun to look back!

Ellie loves to be snugly! This is her stealing Grandma's soft blanket at Christmas 2006. She was just a little over 2 here.

Myself, Ellie (15 months) and Brian at Christmas 2005. See those red cheeks on Ellie? We had no idea...but later that night she started with what was the most horrible virus/fever that she has had to date. Not fun at all!

Ellie and Christmas 2004. She was obviously, 3 months here!

Ellie...a.k.a. The Wise Woman!

Ellie had a preschool play today that Brian and I went to see and were so happy that we could. It was seriously cute! It was the Christmas story with a little twist....since there are only 8 kids in Ellie's class....there had to be some modifying! Instead of 3 wise men, there was one wise woman....ELLIE! It was really cute. Here is the cast....notice Ellie in the jeans...and all the other little girls in beautiful Christmas dresses. I wasn't going to fight this battle. She had jeans in her mind....so that's how it was going to be! Strong willed??? You betcha!
Getting ready to go onstage...and giving a little smile to Mom and Dad first.
Ellie and Sarah on the left and Rachel on the right. Star performers!
Ellie got to open a gift from her teachers, and she was so excited to get a new book.
Mrs. Claus even made an appearance! (she is our neighbor....I was so worried that Ellie would figure this out....but nope!) Ellie told Mrs. Claus that she wants Santa to bring her a pink "catar" (guitar) and fairy wings.
Daddy so proud of Ellie's big debut!
Ellie and Mrs. Harrison, one of her teachers. Ellie will be sad to not be in school for awhile. She loves going.
Ellie and Mrs. Thomas, her head teacher. Like Ellie's lips???? She got a rainbow candy cane from Mrs. Claus...and ate it before this picture. Looks a little creepy....I didn't realize this until I was posting it! What a great memory this day was for us all!

On the move and never stopping

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