Well, Hello There!

I know, I know. It's been forever. I haven't had much access to a computer, and that makes blogging a bit difficult. Today I unhooked the computer in our room that serves as our media center and hauled it into the dining room just so that I could say hello to everyone out there in blogland.

First things first, I uploaded a few new pictures to the Photo Site.
And Here and Here are some pictures from Marlee's class.

Now, for the updates.

E~L~O~I~S~E

Eloise seems to be much better these days. We've got her allergies pretty well in check, and her skin has started to clear up. On a not-so-great note, we recently found out that she has kidney reflux. This basically means that urine backs up into her kidneys. Normally, it's not a problem, but because she has had two urinary tract infections, the infected urine is getting to the kidneys, which could potentially cause kidney problems. It's fairly common and the sort of things kids often outgrow. We're meeting with a pediatric urologist soon to determine course of treatment.

Now that she's feeling better, Eloise is walking and running all over the place. Her vocabulary is growing daily, and this week she put two words together..."Eat Baby!" She said while feeding her doll, not as a command, but in telling me what she was doing. She meant "feed baby." So cute.


M~A~R~L~E~E J~U~N~E

Marlee has become quite the sassy silly little thing. She cracks me up on a daily basis. I usually post her witty comments on facebook, so if you're a friend there, you know what I mean. In the past couple of months, she started reading short words and can write her name beautifully without help. She wants to write lots of words and is always asking how to spell things. Her art has also undergone a metamorphosis, from fun abstracts to detailed drawings.

**Cute anecdote: When Marlee draws balloons, they always have a little red square at the bottom of the string. This is because our favorite Mexican restaurant ties on a bag of Teddy Gr@hams to weigh them down.**


R~E~N~E~E and M~I~C~H~A~E~L

We are going to see Harry Potter tonight. So excited :)

I continue to be ridiculously busy, but I recently crossed my breaking point and will be cutting back a bit. There are only so many hours in the day, and I only have one me. I'm looking forward to a few weeks of playing, crafting, baking, and snuggling with my girls. They are, after all, my number one priority!

Michael started running about a year or so ago, but he's been doing really well recently, and has beaten his previous best time in the last two races he ran. He's training for a marathon now. I'm so proud of him...I can't even run to the end of the driveway!

That's all for now, but I hope to be back soon!

Portrait Slide Show

CLICK HERE!

The password is our last name, all lower case.

One Year Stats

Eloise had her one year check up today!

Weight 19 pounds, 12 ounces>> 29th percentile
Height 29 inches>> 47th percentile

She is just about the same size Marlee was at that age.

We were referred to an allergist/asthma specialist. Eloise's chronic eczema, respiratory infections, and suspected food allergies are the "allergy/asthma trifecta" according to her pediatrician. She'll be tested for food and environmental (though not seasonal) allergies. Hopefully we'll get some answers as to what is irritating our little one!

Stepping and Spelling

Sweet Eloise is taking steps! She takes about four at a time before she decides that crawling is more efficient. She can, however, walk a long way holding just one hand. I wonder how long until we have an official walker?

Big Sister Marlee June also has a new skill...spelling! She has been spelling three letter words all afternoon, after an epiphany at the mall:
from my facebook:

marlee june, after being asked to press the "one" in the elevator: wuh- uh- uhn. wuh- uh- un. i know it, mommy! it's w-u-n! one! w-u-n!.....f-u-n fun! s-u-n sun! one, fun, sun...i'm spelling rhymes! she was giddy with laughter and SO proud. me too :)

So proud of my girls!

Sneak Peek!

We had the girls pictures taken on Saturday. We haven't seen all of them yet, but we do have a sneak peek!

Birthday Party Pictures!

Uploaded to the photo site. Remember, password is our last name. :)

Marlee June's Three Year Stats

Weight 34 1/4 lbs>>>59th percentile
Height 38 1/2">>>76th percentile
Awesomeness>>> 100th percentile

Here she is, not wanting her picture taken with the poster we made for her celebration at school.