More Merry Christmas!

We took the girls to see Santa again, and because I thought there was no way LC would get anywhere near him, I didn't bother getting them dressed up.  WRONG.  She sat right down in his lap and LOVED his Elf, who we called Mimi.  We have an Elf on the Shelf named Mimi that Leyton adores, so we told her that Santa was Mimi's friend... and she was totally cool.

Such a sweet girl... when she wants to be

We traded in our light jackets for coats and hats in Kentucky

Poor Ellis had to take all her baths in the sink

Leyton thanking Miss Shelia for her sweet phone

The Elf Princess

Leyton rarely cooperates for group photos

It's not your fault Grandpa... she was tired from being up all night

Leyton and Chesney started out as good friends... but after lots of sharing, they had enough of each other by the time we left

Christmas morning, she spots Tiana and Ariel

Nana and Papa gave her this fairy dress... she wore it all day

Love these sweet girls!

Merry Christmas!

After our little hospital delay, we decided to continue our Christmas plans, and head east.  We had to buy new tickets, but SouthWest did give us a credit for our other tickets that we have a year to use (thank you SW).  The flight out was uneventful and the girls did great.  Ellis didn't care for the car ride from the airport to Gramma and Grampa's though, and cried for pretty much the entire 45 minute trip.... perhaps we should have taken that into consideration when leaving.  But anyway, we had a lovely but brief stay with Gramma and Grampa, the highlight being the food and seeing Great Grandma and Grandpa Campoamor -as well as many of the nice neighbors at their Old Kentucky Home.  After two days in Kentucky, the plan was the leave around the girl's bedtime to drive the 8 hours to Virginia, and the girls would sleep all night.  Again, Ellis didn't get the memo.  She cried every 30 minutes, keeping everyone else in the car awake too.  It was a looong trip, complete with snow flurries and detours.  But we finally made it to Virginia, where we spent more time with family.  The girls were completely spoiled with all the attention and they got WAY TOO MANY gifts (seriously everyone... dial it back!)!  We are still awaiting the boxes and boxes of gifts that we couldn't possibly pack in our suitcase.  We had a lot more food and family gatherings and then we headed back to the airport bright and early (3am wake up) the day after Christmas.  It was raining in Lynchburg, so our luggage and children got wet getting on the plane but we got to Charlotte with no problems.  Boarded our plane and taxied and Leyton, who had been up for about 4 hours after only 5 hours of sleep, had an absolute fit when she had to sit in her seat with the seat belt on.  No matter though, the plane broke, we all had to get off, and end up waiting 5 more hours at the airport while they fixed the plane.  Luckily there was a very nice USO at the airport, so Leyton got to play, Ellis got to nap, and Mommy and Daddy got all the coffee we wanted.  We finally got back on the plane, took off and Leyton, who had at that point been awake for 12 hours -finally was overtaken with sleep.. and ended up sleeping for about half of the 5 hour and 15 minute flight home.  UGH.  But we made it and seeing all the grandparents, and with the exception of Grandma B in Alaska, all the Great Grandparents -made the trip totally worth it.

Elf Ellis and Gramma

Gramma and Grampa and Santa's Little Helpers

Great Grandpa and Grandma Campoamor with Chubby and Miss Tan Baby USA

Great Grandpa Brown with Leyton and what appears to be a dinosaur

Papa and Leyton performing during breakfast

Great Grandpa Barnett and cousin Chesney with the girls

Lucky Ellis got a sweet nap in Nana's lap

Grandma Terry and Papa James managed to escape the picture taking.. this time!    We also don't have any with Poppy and BB on our camera, but I know there were some taken, so we will have to post those later.  Merry Christmas everyone!

Hospital Detour

Miss Ellis decided to change up our Christmas plans this year. The night before we were supposed to depart, last Wednesday, Ellis was up all night crying and clearly in some discomfort. We decided to run her up to the ER, which is two blocks away, to get checked out. They gave her some fluids via an IV, gave her some tylenol, shot xrays, drew blood, performed a spinal tap and prepared to transition her to the Naval Hospital in San Diego. Their first guess was that she had twisted intestines or an infection because the xrays revealed swelling in her abdomen. They withdrew fluid from her spinal cord, via her lower back, to check for meningitis, which ended up being the diagnosis which we would find out later. After a few hours at the ER, they proceeded to take Ellis and Shannon to the Naval Hospital (Balboa) by means of ambulance. They strapped Ellis' car seat and base to the gurney and off they went. Ellis was noticeably better as soon as she received the tylenol and IV fluids, so that was good. They got to Balboa and they hooked her up to all the machines and continued with her IV's. They started her on some broad spectrum antibiotics and said she was going to more then likely have to stay at the hospital for 48 hours minimum to see what develops in her blood and spinal cultures. They ruled out the twisted intestines due to her not being in pain no longer and narrowed it down to either Meningitis or an infection. Her heart rate was also very high and they were slightly concerned about that too. By day two in the hospital they concluded that she did indeed have a mild case of viral meningitis. They were very pleased with how she was progressing and she seemed to be getting better. She was in good spirits with the occasional fussiness. Shannon and Ellis spent a total of 3 nights in the hospital. Dad and LC lived it up at the house. All of our stores at home were depleted - setting us up to leave and not have anything present to spoil or go bad. After we learned we were going to be in the hospital a few days, Dad and LC had to make a run to the store that night to get some "essentials." That was probably the best shopping I have done since college and/or flight school.  We grabbed chips, mac-n-cheese, apple sauce, ice cream and a few essentials like milk, eggs, cheese and yogurts. We got home and feasted on our delicatessens -- the foods which Shannon never lets us have in the house. LC and I would go up once we got up each morning to visit Mom and Ellis. We would stay until we needed to depart for nap and then be back up there after nap until we had to leave to go to bed. The hospital had a pretty decent selection of kids' toys which made LC excited to get in the car to go. She saw her first fish tank and wanted to "go" to the hospital to see "Nemo"... which she pronounces 'mee-mo". 

We were both very pleased with the Naval Hospital and their staff. In the past, Naval Medicine has been something we have always tried to avoid. There has just been a few horror stories I have heard of that hasnt set well with me. But they were really good and we both left with changed views on Naval Medicine. On Saturday morning, we were all out in the common area playing with the toys when a nurse came up and asked if we were ready. We both looked at each other and were wondering what we should be ready for. She stated that they were ready to discharge us. So we packed up and home we came. There was no meds or anything they could really do for viral meningitis due to it being a virus. The Infectious Diesease doctor and the pediatrician saw no need for us to stay any longer. The Doctors said she probably would be cranky from the soreness of meningitis and then just normal sickness symptoms to get over because she was a sick kid. She did sleep a lot the next few days but has been really good all in all. 

The doctors at Baloba wanted us to go to our regular pediatrician after a few days to get cleared so that is what we will be doing today. If all is well, we plan on attempting (again) to fly out for the East coast.
We are thinking that Shannon was the originator of the meningitis and passed it on to Ellis. Merry Christmas!  Shannon had all the same symptoms a few days earlier - sore neck, sick to stomach, and crankiness. After some heavy dosages of tylenol, she felt much better. Where Shannon received meningitis from is still to be determined. Overall, we are doing much better now and hope to continue that trend for a while. Three months old and two trips to the hospital is not ideal.

This is Miss Ellis at the ER. She was very content once she received her Tylenol and IV, which took a few tries. 

 Mom and Ellis sitting in the common area watching big sister Leyton play.

These were Ellis' digs at the hospital. She shared a room with two other (noisy) families.

Soooo tired from not sleeping any on Wednesday. Her right arm has that bulky cover on it to protect the IV and wires from being sucked and nursed on.

Resting up to get better.

Lets blow this joint!

My Cuteness and My Sweetness

Baby Ellis is my cuteness and my sweetness.  She never, ever fails to bring a smile to me and to everyone who sees her.  She had a big day last week -her first time in the church nursery.  She quickly became one of the worker's favorites, just like her sister.  I left a bottle with her... what was left of it after it spilled all in the diaper bag (even though this is my second kid, I'm still a total bottle rookie).  They said she just spit it out.  Not a fan.  Also just like her sister.

Ellis isn't EXACTLY like Leyton was though.  For one, she is a cuddle bug.  LC wanted to be on her back or sitting on her own to explore and play.  Ellis wants to be held and LOVES the Bjorn carrier.  In  fact, that is nearly always how I get her to take her naps -toss her in the carrier and she will drift off to sleep.  Another secret is tummy time.  Sometimes for her last nap, I will put her down in the pack-n-play for tummy time.  She puts her little fist in her mouth and off to sleep she goes.  I feel slightly guilty, because babies sleeping on their tummies is a big no-no these days, but not guilty enough to not have her nap peacefully.  I just check on her regularly to make sure she is still breathing.

I made her wear a 3 month shirt... she looks like a stuffed sausage and the sleeves are WAY too short.

She didn't seem to mind though

And then there is my big girl.  Miss Leyton.  Christmas is already more fun this year, because she totally gets the idea of presents.  And she knows how to open them.  All of them.  Whether they are for her or not.  Here she is opening some ornaments from Gramma and Grampa  (Notice the Halloween outfit... took these pictures after Thanksgiving).

Ooooo.... breakable!  My favorite!

My favorite thing about Leyton is that everything is a game and/or a chance to play.  Sticks from the yard are snacks for her animals.  Princess' go swimming in ice cube trays.  An upside down rocking horse is a slide for her bunny.  And whatever Ryan and I are doing, it won't be long before she is doing her own version.  So, we have to be extra careful what we do around her now.  She has the stool figured out, and pulled it up to the counter yesterday.  Luckily she isn't very stealthy about it, so I can secure Ellis in time to stop Leyton from pulling knives onto her head.  If she runs out of water in her sippy, Leyton knows to just push the button on the refrigerator to refill it.  Of course she can't take the top off her cup, so she just gets water every where.  And then there are the ever lovely tantrums.  They seems to get more extravagant and ridiculous each day.  Yesterday, for example, she wanted her milk in the sippy with the straw, not the one with the handles.  My bad... she screamed for a solid 5 minutes and added some rolling around on the floor for good measure.  It's very funny actually.  But generally she is a pretty pleasant kid and her Daddy is her favorite playmate.

Here we are goofing off for the camera

Ellis is sleeping in the carrier :-)

I've also started EC's DoDo training.  Neither girl did a paci, but almost all kids have some kind of lovey.    When Leyton was a small baby, I would give her DoDo while she slept.  Now she carts it around everywhere, and lord have mercy the fit she would have if we ever lost it.  Leyton has a zebra, and Ellis has a green dinosaur.  I will be more careful about switching between the two that I bought her, so she can't tell the difference.  Leyton still has two, but could care less about the impostor DoDo.

I've never had trouble with my girls growing up so fast... until now.  With Leyton, I always knew we wanted another kid, so it was fun and exciting to see her grow and do new things.  And when Ellis was born, those first few weeks were so hard, I don't miss them at all.  But now, Ellis is so sweet, but she is growing too fast.  Yesterday I had to put away all her 3 month outfits and I got upset, because there were some that were my favorites of Leyton's that Ellis never even wore.  Now she is in clothes that Leyton wore until her was 9 months old.  Ryan even commented that he remembered Leyton wearing a certain outfit a lot... and he was gone the first 7 months.  So that is upsetting.  Ellis is growing faster than the standard set before her.  And NO, the solution isn't to have another kid!  It's just to enjoy each day and remind myself that there is so much cool stuff coming!

These two crack me up...

Ryan finally got rid of that ugly thing on his face

This is how she smiles when you ask her to smile for the camera

Silly

Ellis is Two Months Old

Baby girl is growing like a super cute weed.  Overall she is a very good baby.  She is a great night sleeper - 6 to 8 hours, up for 20 minutes to nurse, right back to sleep until either 6:30 or 5 if I am going to CrossFit.  Plus 2 naps during the day.  I am getting better at reading her 'naptime' cues, so those are getting easier.  Generally Ellis naps from 10 to 12, then she is awake and cute til around 3, when she naps again for an hour or two.  Leyton naps from 1 til 3, which means no 'kid-free' break for Mommy, but each girl gets about 2 hours of one-on-one time with Mom, which is very important.  Ryan is an awesome Daddy and husband, covering for Mom when I need a shower/workout/nap/time to cook and clean, so it all works out.  

Ellis had her 2 month appointment with the doctor and confirmed that she is a big, healthy baby.  She weighed in at 13.5 pounds (91%) and was 23 inches long (73%)!  The doctor was very pleased and told us to keep doing what we are doing.  Always good to hear!

Big sister Leyton hasn't slowed a bit either.  She had an eval for speech therapy last week.  She will start that soon, but I can already see a HUGE difference in her speech with just the few tips that the therapist gave for us to try with her.  She also had a dentist appointment.  She hated it, but they said everything was good and she only had one more tooth to complete her baby set.  

Normally I am very much against decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving.  This year I decided we wouldn't do a Christmas tree or decorate, just because of all the time it takes to put it all up and take it down.  But then I had a change of heart and remembered how much I LOVE Christmas trees, so I decided to stop Scrooging and put up the tree this past weekend.  I wanted it up early so we could enjoy it longer.  We aren't decorating anything else, and we didn't put all the ornaments on, but it is pretty and SO FUN to watch Leyton decorate it.  She took her job very seriously, carefully placing some at the bottom, and then said 'Up' for us to pick her up so her could place some at the top.  Of course she put many all on the same branch, but that is beauty in the eye of a two year old -and her adoring parents.  

Leyton is also very into dressing herself and her bunny and other toys.  A great deal of her play is dress up.  I used to think it was silly to see a kid who had obviously dressed herself, but now I can really appreciate it.  Of course it's okay to wear your Halloween clothes all year and pink Crocs with EVERYTHING (with socks!).  I love that she doesn't care what the other kids are wearing.  She wears what SHE wants to wear and that makes me smile.  Of course this leads to some fights with her parents, like when she only wanted to wear one pair of pajamas -which Momma hadn't washed.  Or when we go visit her grandparents on the East coast and it's cold and she won't wear a hat or gloves... or shoes without holes (note to self: buy her some really warm socks).... but she WILL wear her cat ears and skirt from Halloween around.  I hope she will always disregard what is 'cool' and do her own thing (just as long as everything is  covered up).  You are beautiful Leyton, and never listen to anyone who tells you otherwise!

Speaking of beautiful....

I know it's not nice to brag, but we do make some cute kids!

This smile is what I am blessed to wake up to every day!

Cute

Two months old and too cute!

Leyton likes to hold her sister, however you must be very vigilant... she can't be trusted.  Leyton will poke Ellis in the eye (or worse!) in a heartbeat.

So sweet!

Daddy is growing a mustache for November and all us girls hate it

Mommy helped her put on the delicate ones

Not pleased to be on the other side of the gate

Rearranging to get the ornaments in just the right place

Ellis is One Month Old!

Actually, she will be 7 weeks old tomorrow, but I will be behind on posts for at least the next year and a half.  Overall, Ellis is what most would deem a 'good baby.'  She turns into a bit of a monster in the evenings, mostly because she is tired and fights sleep like a champ -again taking a page out of her sister's book on that one.  But once she does get to sleep, we are good to go.  Last week she would sleep for 5 straight hours, wake up to nurse, go right back to sleep for another 2 hours, wake up to nurse and poop and back to sleep for 3 more hours IF someone was holding her (thanks Grampa and Gramma for taking that shift!).  Last night she slept for 6.5 hours before waking up (insert Mommy happy dance here!) and again, no problems getting her back to sleep.  Daddy did the holding shift while Mommy went to Crossfit.  Her naps during the day however are still all over the place, as well as her feedings.  Now that she is a little older and it's just she and Leyton and I, hopefully we can get into a routine/schedule quickly.  

Ellis' official weigh-in isn't until next week, but I did an unofficial one on our scale.... she weighed 12.5 pounds!!!  Just like Leyton did -when she was 3 months old!  Again, Ellis will be 7 WEEKS old tomorrow.  Girlfriend has gained 5 pounds in 7 weeks.  Everyone says baby grow so fast, but holey moley!  I am no kidding going to have to pull out Leyton's 6 month clothes for her very soon.

Speaking of big sister Leyton, she had her 2 year old checkup last week.  And it was a nightmare.  We had a brand new doctor and location, but she still screamed as soon as the nurse came to get us.  Kicked and screamed and was terrified and extremely uncooperative.  She weighed in at 25.5 pounds (30th%tile) and was measured at 36 inches (97%tile) for height.  Her height was a bit exaggerated though because it took 3 of us to hold her down as she thrashed about on the exam table and crinkled up the paper.  The doctor also gave us a speech therapy referal to help us get more real words out of LC.  She communicates just fine, but not with many words.  The speech therapy is as much to teach Ryan and I how to make Leyton talk as it is for her.

I think these were only a couple of days after she actually turned one month... not bad!

She wasn't very happy about getting her picture taken

We all went Trick-or-Treating on Halloween.  We used Leyton to get candy... and then ate it all from her.  She actually liked to play with it, she put it in a bowl and let her animals and princesses pretend to eat it.  Poor deprived child.  She had no idea what was in those wrappers.

Ellis was a kitty, just like her sister

Now that she is older, she will give you some super sweet smiles

Thank you Great Grandma and Grandpa Campoamor for her very sassy outfit

If you rub her belly, it's good luck!

This last pic is from her birth announcement photo shoot that I finally did.  I will go ahead and confess here and now that I am not a newborn baby fan.  Of course I loved both of mine more than life itself, but... not a fan of the floppy neck, splotchy skin, erratic sleep pattern, non-smiley newborn.  And I don't think they photograph well either... they look like aliens.  So both my girls were announced at around 6 weeks old... with chubby cheeks, sweet smiles, and a better rested Mommy.