Welcome to Toddlerville

Ellie: I am all sweet and innocent.  Give me anything I want.

Still do not believe I am innocent?  Look at my smile.

Little sweet cheeks is on the mend and thank you to everyone for the well wishes.  The antibiotic appears to be working, but unfortunately we are still pushing the Motrin as she wakes in the middle of the night with pain.  The good news if that we have our regular ENT appointment this Monday.

Yep, she is eating a fake carrot.
She then offered it to Sophie dog.

Okay, I admit it.  I have absolutely no idea what she is doing here.  I just think it is hilarious that she has herself splayed on top of the laundry basket with her little tootsies in the air.

Chick-a-boom's toddlertude is starting to show through.  She is trying to proclaim  the"me do" thing, but of course she adds her big smiles and happy kicks when the squealing for what she wants does not work.  For instance, it she does not get her yogurt fast enough, she yanks the spoon our of my hand and then proceeds to shake yogurt everywhere.  Or, she grabs the yogurt dish, thrusts her hands inside and then, well you know where I am going.  It is rather funny, albeit messy.  Very messy.

Chick-A-Chick-A-Boom-Boom, the fastest crawler in Texas.
We have these fake play foods and when she crawls, she leaves a trail of fake food in her wake.

Diaper changes and getting clothed are becoming rather interesting and almost impossible.  For those of you who have had the pleasure of caring for her or witnessing the above events, you know what I am talking about.  Now multiple that by 10.  Ellie inch-wormed/army crawled for the longest time.  She is now extremely fast at regular crawling.  Down the hall she goes to get toys or play with Sophie.  Without clothes on.  All the while I am chasing after her with PJs or pants.  I try to distract her with a toy, but that only works long enough to get the diaper off.  A different toy to get the diaper on. . . Maybe we should join a nudist colony and then I would not need to worry about these things.

Ellie uses me to stand a lot.  She sees the camera.  Crawls to me.  Then pulls to a stand.
My camera has trouble when the subject is THAT close.

Yes, that is my leg she is licking.  Ellie is actually giving me a kiss.
She licks because Sophie licks.  

The Bear. Must. Stand. All. The. Time.  All. The Time. Yes, yay standing!!!!, but there reaches a point where standing is dangerous such as on the changing table or in the high chair.  I remember when just a few short months ago, we were padding Ellie into the high chairs at restaurants with blankets and towels.  Now she can get out of the straps, turn around, stand, and then lean over to look at the floor.  All of this in a matter of seconds.  Ellie is that fast. This kiddo is giving me daily heart attacks.  You know about the whole incident at The Noble Pig sandwich place?  I cannot recall if I told you all.  Ellie Bear does the above and Andrew reaches across the table to grab her.  I reach across the table and in the process I knock a full, yep full, cup of coffee onto myself and the floor.  The Ellie Bear was saved, but my coffee was not.

Insulated Mildew

Rather than bombard you with sad pictures of my sick little Bearity Bear, I shall instead show you pictures of our ever so nasty master bathroom ventilation system.  Exciting huh?

Just hurts my little mama heart

Many of you know that I refuse to use the Master bath.   Yep, it is that bad.  I moved in and there was a huge mildew problem.  Oh and I think a mold problem.  Multiple, several, too many to count scrubbings using various household cleaning and homemade products did not fix it.  The cleanings made it bearable, but then I just gave up and moved into the Ducky (aka guest) bath.

I have long assumed it is because the previous owners didn't clean it.  Then because my husband who lived here before me didn't own a scrubbing brush.  Now, however, I have a strong belief that our non-functioning ventilation system played a huge role.  Do not get me wrong, I am sure the lack of scrubbing didn't help, but when the ventilation systems doesn't work in a very damp environment, the mildew and mold flourish.

Am I back to using the master bath?  Goodness no!  I do, however, want one of these new, quite, pretty ventilation systems in the ducky bath.  Drew Drew????

Clean, shiny, quiet, new, working system

One thing about buying an older house is you never know what truly went on behind the scenes.  Of course, you might find that with a new house as well.  The thing is, Andrew is a Mr. Fix-It-Right Perfectionist Holmes on Homes kind of guy.  Upon removing the nasty vent cover and hanging out in the attic, he discovered that there was insulation installed in the duct work.  Does anyone see a problem with that?

Hello nasty!  Look at all of that rust and grim.

Hum, Andrew doesn't look exactly thrilled with me taking photos

Old vent cover--covered with fiberglass insulation

Vanity--I cannot stand unorganized mess.  I hid from this area of the house the whole time.  I was completely stressed just looking at it.

Then, when checking out the wiring, he found a random live wire that went to nothing in the bathroom.  Again, problem?


He fixed all of these issues, installed the new, QUIET, WORKING system, and then . . . are you ready. . . ready. . . cleaned up.

Oh, just one more Bear Bear shot.

Bear Bear with Tylenol in her system

A Snotty, Febrile Tuesday

The Bear Bear is feeling rather punk today and that means I am having dig deep into my peds nursing background.  Did I really get my degrees that long ago?  Oh yes, I did. Okay, starting to feel rather old.  Why is it if someone else's kids are ill I know precisely what to do, but when the ill kiddo is my own bambino, I panic?

What amazes me is the Ellie Bear can be all febrile, snotty, hoarse, nasty sounding breathing, and moaning with pain and yet she still smiles?  She is such a sweet little girl and my little mommy heart just wants to absorb of her pain and make it better.  Yet, the only thing I can do is force fluids, shove Motrin and amoxicillin down her throat, and hold her.  Holding her during her moans and crying and hoping that just maybe her mama holding her will make her feel just a little better.

I do not know about you, but I rather see happy, healthy, Ellie Bear photos so here you go:

Do you see how long her hair is?

Note: We did take her to the after hours clinic at our pediatrician's office yesterday (everything always happens after 5pm, of course).  She was checked for flu which came back negative.  Thank goodness!  I would hate to think that she got the flu shot for nothing.  He wanted to check a CBC but their rapid CBC machine was malfunctioning, of course. There was a whole lot of restraining while the doctor tried looking and cleaning our her ears.  After some torture, I mean, cleaning, he was able to see just a small part of her ear drums and both looked dull and red.  Redness can be the result of crying as there is increased blood flow to the ears, but the dullness suggested possible ear infections.  Anyway, we are thinking bilateral ear infections, but it is not definitive given the small portion of the ear drums he saw.  If she is not improving by tomorrow, we get to go back to the pedi office.  Goody.

The sad thing was, she originally had her ENT appt for ear cleaning yesterday morning, but Dr. Z had to reschedule for next week.  Oh and I fear we just bought ourselves another set of tubes.  Boo!

Happy 16 Months!

Dear Ellie Marie,

Sixteen months ago you came into our lives and changed us for the better.  I know that many people only mark the traditional 12 and 18 months, but why not celebrate each month?  Each month you accomplish so many things.  Your sweet smile and laughing eyes bring joy to everyone around you.  Even at random places such as the grocery store line and at Hancock Fabrics you engage even the grumpiest of people.

Your determination and perseverance have enabled you to breech huge milestones.  You are now trying to spoon feed yourself.  No, it isn't very elegant and you are quite messy.  Your toddlertude is definitely shining through at times!  This past month you received almost a full set of teeth and a few stragglers are still trying to poke through.  You more consistently refer to me as "Mon Mon".  Your very first word!  You are standing for longer periods of time without holding on.  Then just recently, you took your first independent steps!

My dear Bear-Bear, you amaze me everyday and have taught me the importance of embracing the now, unconditional love, acceptance, and patience.  I love you, Ellie Bear.

Mon-Mon

Practicing her Leg Raises

Kicking those feet up.  Toddler Pilates.

Did I mention how much I love tutus?!

The following photos are just because I think it is amusing that all of my animals where captured with their tongues hanging out.

Amelie must smell chicken.  Licking those 4 little canines.

Both of these turkeys have their tongues out.

 Ha! Tama, I finally caught you on camera!

Happy Hearts

I revamped this post because I wanted to share with all of you a beautiful video that again, had me sobbing as I watched it.  Yes, it is Kelle Hampton again.  I do not know how she does it but I am always crying with her most recent posts.  It Begins With Awareness.

http://www.kellehampton.com/2011/01/it-begins-with-awareness.html

Anna's Happy Heart Blog to Ellie Bear:

Happy Heart Bear

In motivating Ellie to walk independently towards me, Jan suggested wearing silly hats.  So when I was at Target doing my grocery shopping (it is a SuperTarget so they have produce and stuff) and Miss Ellie Bellie Bear was turning into a Miss Fuss Pants, I hit the dollar bins and found a crazy heart headband.

Oh yes, the headband must be investigated by the Puppy

There was I was wondering around the Target with a wacky headband on my head while doing shopping. I am certain that I received some interesting looks or maybe people just thought I was really into Valentine's Day, but hey, I had a nice, quiet well-behaved toddler Bear.

Care Bear = Ellie Good Heart Bear

Plus, for a dollar, I got a silly "hat" to motivate Ellie.

"What's Up?  Why are you all looking at me?"
Look!  It is working its magic heart-ness already.
Stands-With-Hearts Bear

Aunt Beth, you also deserve a lot of credit--I got the headband idea from your crazy Santa headband.  Thanks!

Blog Backgrounds

Many of you have commented on the sock-monkey background.  Thanks!  The credit actually goes to:

Simply Blog It Backgrounds

http://simplyblogitbackgrounds.blogspot.com/

As for my handmade sock monkey. . .well, Ellie managed to remove an ear and I believe Sophie either ate the ear or hid it.  Looks like I need to practice my hand-stitching skills!

Mouthful of Pain

A fashion magazine for the fashionista toddler

My friend Jessica once told me in frustration that she wished we did not have teeth.  At the time, I thought it was funny and perhaps just the rantings of sleepless mommy-hood (sorry Jess!).  After the past few days, and nights, I agree.  Do we really, I mean really, need teeth?

I loathe all of the pain and suffering of our little darlings must endure as they cut teeth.  Then they lose the teeth and we as parents are required to dole out $$$ under their pillows.  Then, more teeth come.  Grown up teeth.  Cavities.  Braces. Wisdom teeth.  Removal of said wisdom teeth.  Root canals.  Or you can be like me and get an odontogenic tumor (read here).  Then there are dentures.  I am thinking that we really do not need teeth, but if say, it is absolutely necessary, there are always dentures.  Perhaps evolution should listen to the mothers everywhere who just want to ease their child's suffering.

See all of that drool?!  Take a wild guess what Ellie is getting.

Amelie was a rescue kitty that Andrew and I adopted the day after returning from our amazing honeymoon in Germany (Tama and Rodeo were not thrilled about this).  We were out of cat litter and dog food and thus made an emergency trip to the pet store.  I walked out with an adorable kitty with huge ears.  I am not allowed near a pet store again.

Anyway, where was I?  Amelie's mother was malnourished while pregnant with her litter and that can lead to all sorts of problems.  Autoimmune gingival stomatitis is something that Amelie has been fighting since birth.  One of the main treatments is the removal of the inflamed tissues of the gums and throat as well as the removal of teeth.  Amelie only has her canines left.  She is happy.  She has a luxurious, shiny, soft coat.  She eats solid foods.  She has finally gained much needed weight.  She clearly does not need teeth.

MeYOW

In several health articles related to DS and according to other health care providers, I was told that Ellie would teeth late. . .late as in at 2 years of age.  Ellie did teeth late.  She got her first tooth on her birthday and the 2nd tooth the day after.  A few days ago, at almost 16 months of age, a molar popped out.  Three days ago, she got her upper two front teeth and a lower incisor.  Yesterday, another molar.  Today, yet another molar.  Come on!  What is with all of the molars?  Strange teething pattern for sure.  I suppose we should be thrilled they are all coming in at once rather than stretching it out.

Hi there!  Can you see my molars?

Even though I am in the medical profession, I am not big on medications.  However, I see my little Bear-Bear crying in pain.  She is waking up in the middle of the night.  Eating isn't really happening.  I find myself thanking the Oragel inventors and shooting liquid ibuprofen and Tylenol down Ellie's throat.  It works for a while and she has a few moments of peace and sleep.  Hurray for infant analgesia!