America's Top Baby Model... and other news

Well, Ellie is not exactly America's Top Baby Model but I did convince a friend of mine (Caroline Bagley Black) to use her as a model for her new business, Bows to Go. And, since, I made their banner, Caroline pretty much had to say yes. So, thanks for being a sport, Caroline! Check out the Bows to Go blog at www.bowstogo.blogspot.com They carry cute bows and other personalized items at very reasonable prices.

Other news:
1. Ellie has ear infection #6 and we are scheduled for tubes on Fri.
2. I am exhausted from a youth retreat and feel like crawling in my bed for a few days
3. Everett killed 6 pheasants on his trip w/Matt Grenfell to South Dakota. He says I should decorate our house with pheasant feathers... I didn't know hunting and interior design had so much in common
4. Funny Story - The other day Ellie bit me and I spanked her. I then showed her the bite mark and said "You hurt mama." She looked down a minute, lifted her dress, and spanked herself!

Tailgating

Here are a few pics of Tailgating at the MSU game last weekend. Notice my mom's beautiful pumpkin display... it was a hit! She and my sister-in-law, Christy, got tons of compliments on it.

Ellie now has another ear infection. We are up to about 4 in 5 weeks. It has been a tough fall for our little one (and her parents :). One funny story. The other night, she woke up around 2 am because her ears were hurting. I was not feeling well and Everett was up trying to get her back to sleep. Nothing was working, so I suggested her give her a few crackers and some juice and put her back to bed. Well, the next morning when she woke up, I went to pick her up out of her crib and their were crushed crackers EVERYWHERE - on her, on her sheets, blankets, etc. I looked under her blanket and there was an entire sleeve of crackers in the bed with her... that was not what I had in mind when I said "Give her a few crackers".... :)

More Party Pics

Clayton's 3rd bday...

Happy Birthday Clayton!

My favorite nephew, Clayton, turned 3 Sunday. He is now my favorite nephew for two reasons 1. he is my only nephew and therefore automatically the cutest, funniest and sweetest

2. he told me I was tall this weekend (the first time I have ever gotten that compliment! :)

Here are a few shots from his party!

Emily's Baptism

We went to Starkville this weekend to see my neice, Emily, be baptized. It was really sweet. Clayton, her 3-year-old brother, somehow managed to get a pencil from the pew and draw on his face/hands/clothes during the whole ceremony... aren't Emily's blue eyes beautiful?

Ellie and Carter

I promise we do not torture them when they play together... they always look so miserable in the pics.

Clayton's right

Here is a conversation my nephew, Clayton (3 yrs old), had with his mom (Christy) about a month ago:

Clayton: "Mama, I am a big boy"
Christy: "Yes, Clayton, you are a big boy"
Clayton: "Emwee (his baby sister, Emily) is little. She is a baby"
Christy: "Yes, Emily is a little baby"
Clayton: "I'm big boy, Emwee is little, but Ellie is huge"

Well, today I took Ellie for her 18 mo check and she proved Clayton right... She continues to be at the top of the chart. In fact, he did not even put percentages because her head circumference (49.5 cm) and height (35.5 in) were both over 100% for her age. Her weight was in the 90%'s (27 lbs & 15 oz). When did my baby grow up?

I got tagged...

Okay, so Lauren tagged me and I am trying to be a sport about it so I am going to give this survey a go while Ellie naps - who really likes cleaning their house anyway?

1. What were you doing 10 years ago? October 1997.... let's see. I was a Senior in high school and loving every minute of it. I was probably at "Lunch Bunch" with 3 of my friends who had Senior dismissal for lunch. We would go eat lunch off campus and return for 5th period. One time we had to get the waiter to write us an excuse on our receipt bc we were so late. He wrote "Im sorry the Brick Oven was very slow today" ... funny.

2. What were you doing 5 years ago? October 2002. Well, I was enjoying my second Senior year of college or as my brothers-in-law call it, my victory lap. I was living with Liz, Tammi and Kim in 114D - SO MESSY AND FUN! I was probably watching them do weight watchers and wonder why they thought eating cool whip sprinkled with Fiber One was a good idea. We also took road trips to almost every away State game that year - fun adventures. I still remember Liz making us listen to the audio version of Harry Potter on the way to the University of Florida. Everett and I were LONG distance dating - he was in his first semester of law school at LSU.

3. What were you doing one year ago? October 2006. Well, I think Everett and I were in the hospital with food poisoning in Oxford. I have never felt so helpless. We could not get anyone at the hospital to help us take care of Ellie and we were both so weak we could not even stand. I distinctly remember opening the door (with visible signs of digested food on my clothes and my wheel chair) and yelling down the hall that we needed help and a nurse coming and shutting the door in my face.

4. What were you doing yesterday? Catching up from being out of town - unpacking, cleaning, cooking and taking a little nap. Ellie managed to spread shredded cheese all over our kitchen and den - so much for the clean up.

5. Snacks I enjoy... White Cheddar Cheetos and a real coke. Anything sweet - right now I am muching on a batch of Coffee Toffee brownies - yum!

6. Things I would do with a million dollars.... where do I start? I would do some nice things like probably give my church or people there some money, etc but when I got down to the selfish part, I would go on vacation to a tropical location where a masseuse would be waiting. I would definitely get some shopping in, probably purchase a Honda Odyssey (not glamourous but practical), get Everett some new golf clubs, and probably purchase a couch (ours is really too big for our den)... I might also take another trip and go skiing.

7. Locations I would run to.... not sure exactly what this means but probably my parents condo (so relaxing - I love the balcony)

8. Bad habits I have.... eating too much sugar, being too sensitive, being negative, getting too angry when ellie pulls my hair... compulsively clean things out and organize... I could go on and on

9. Things I like to do... go walking with a friend, get out of the house, watch Ellen, have a margarita, read a good a book, catch up with friends, go on a real date with my husband, play with ellie, kiss her fat lips, hear ellie say mama...

10. Ellie and my sweet hubby who is nicer and more patient than I deserve

The Beach

We had a great time with the Grenfells at the beach this weekend... Caroline has all the pictures of Ellie aggressively hugging Sparks. I will have to get them from her. She just LOVES him.

Orange Beach

Thank you, Target and Aaron's

Well, a big thank you goes out to Richard (Target employee) and Aaron's Locksmith service (both in Gulf Shores). We went to the beach this weekend and I ran to Target. Ellie managed to lock herself in my car at Target with my keys, my cell and my purse. After a moment of panic followed by a moment of sanity (she is okay, she is strapped in, she has her juice, she is watching elmo, she is not upset, its not hot outside, this is like the movie theater to her), I went and enlisted Richard's help (he talked to the Locksmith while I stayed outside with Ellie). Everett and Matt were unreachable on the golf course and Caroline was in the condo but I had no phone numbers without my cell... The locksmith came and rescued her and didnt even charge us... very sweet!

Rough Week - well, month

Since I last posted, Ellie has had 2 more ear infections, three shots, and a terrible diaper rash. Poor thing.... that is a total of 4 ear infections, two oral medications, four shots, and two diaper rashes... we're hoping October will be a little less eventful...

At the Drive In

Ellie loves to watch Elmo in her cozy coupe.

It's been awhile...

Apologies to my faithful readers... life has been a bit crazy. Ellie had double ear infections and we went to the pediatrician 3 times in four days because her medicine didnt work, then she had to have shot, then her ear drum burst and blood and fluid came out... we have had more than a few sleepless nights around here, and I have been scrambling to catch up on everything, but she is finally getting well and we are getting back to normal...

Other news:

1. All you JA Class of '98 grads, mark your calendars and watch your email. Our reunion is set for the weekend of May 10, 2008. Am I really old enough to have a 10 year reunion?

2. I joined Facebook. I am not addicted as everyone seems to think I will be but maybe that is because I dont have many friends. I am going to give it awhile to see if I like it better. I basically joined for work - all my youth are on there... I think I am just a blogger at heart. I love to see pictures and hear people's stories...

3. Ellie has many new words: "tar tee" (car key) "tow" (cow) "taaaacker" (cracker), bowie butt (belly button). She also thinks that the buttons on elevators are called belly buttons. It is really cute when she pushes them and says belly button...

4. One funny story. Last night, we were at a potluck supper at our church. As Ellie and I were going through the line, Ellie's pediatrician came up and spoke to us. Ellie took one look at him and screamed as loud as she could. The whole cafeteria turned around as our pediatrician backed up, assuring Ellie that he had no needles or instruments...hilarious... poor guy... last time we were in his office, he repeatedly tried to tell her that he was not the devil.