My ears hurt.

 

The Mister escaped the family flu, but picked up a double ear infection instead.

Oh, he was just miserable. So sad. Nothing made him feel better. He was jacked up on ibuprofen and acetaminophen and amoxicillin. He napped like a champ because he didn’t sleep at night. It was a rough way to end the long holiday weekend. And actually the third week in a row that I didn’t make it to work due to illness. Enough already!

And then, last night at about 9pm, there was a glimmer of my sweet little boy. It was so nice to see him again! He was laughing and cooing and chatting. Obviously feeling more himself. Isn’t it funny that at just six months they have little personalities already? And his is so laid back and happy and the last few days he was none of the above.

And today, finally a routine day: the kids at school and the parents at work. And then I saw Daycare on caller ID. Nothing is worse than seeing Daycare on the caller ID! My heart was in my throat, waiting to hear that he had to be picked up.

No need to be picked up, just alerting us of a new full body rash and that Ethan was more than likely allergic to the amoxicillin. Ugh, poor baby! Off to the pediatrician he goes. (Andy is allergic to penicillin, so it seems fitting.) I’ll report back on the doctor’s visit.

And there you have it. The Fellows household is hopefully on the up swing of the spring infestation.

 

Bedtime

Bedtime with my girl.

It’s my favorite thing. Well, the pre-bedtime part is my favorite…not the post good-night-I-love-you race to the potty, needing one more book, needing daddy etc. But the part leading up to all that…it’s good.

Since we moved Emmie to a twin bed, bedtime is like a little sleepover every night. We put on our jammies and snuggle in bed. We lay with our heads on her pillow and talk about the day. I rub her back and she brushes my hair. It is one of the only times I can get this busy body to be still and 100% present. We “do colors” and say the colors of everything we see in her room. We do prayers and then we say our “thankfuls.” Emmie is always thankful for Mommy, Daddy, Ethan, Nana, Papa and Date Damma (great grandma) in that order…unless something really cool happened that day and then she’s thankful for new shoes or something equally meaningful.

I find it hard to pry myself from her bed each night. I just want to lay there and take it all in. She is so funny and silly and loving. And little! I know this girl of mine is growing up but every one in a while, I catch a glimpse of what a teeny little person she still is. So much to learn, so much growing to do.

And I know these moments are fleeting and soon enough she’ll be having sleepovers with friends and mom will take a backseat to the friend next door.

So the bedtime routine is a little long these days and that’s okay with me.

(Last night Emmie helped me read her Elmo book and was more than intrigued with the flash on my phone, I didn’t realize until later that the light was ridiculously bright.)

It's a hot mess over here at the Fellows house.

We had one* puking. One with an ear infection. And one crying it out.

The week started out fantastic…we were still in Vegas. The kids were spending time with Shana and Nana. All was well.

The rest of the week however has been filled with lots of crying, vom and amoxicillin.

Em had a touch of the stomach flu on Wednesday morning. So vacation was extended a bit while I hung out with the Miss and watched a mind numbing amount of Dora.

And we had already committed to Ethan crying it out, so we couldn’t exactly switch up the new routine on the guy. The crying. Oh my gawd this kid can cry! One would assume he is missing a limb from the blood curdling screams coming from his room (and he’s not, I checked, all appendages in tact). But, after only about fifteen minutes, he put himself to sleep! Fingers crossed the following nights are as easy or better! Andalso, let me say thank you to the Gap. Who apparently is the one and only company that believes a six month old might still need little mitty sleeves to cover his hands. Without said mitties, Ethan would scratch his entire face off during the night. So, again, thank you Gap!

Oh, and did I mention that it’s MY ear infection? Seriously. I headed to Vegas with a cold and came back in rough shape. Apparently the liquor didn’t kill the germs, as much as I tried. Under advisement of a trusted professional, my mother, I headed to the walk in. Yeah, an ear infection. I believe the first in 32 years. Awesome.

So that’s the recap of my week…hope yours is going better!

*strike that, typing commenced before I heard the hubs getting sick. Another one bites the dust. Please oh please let Ethan be safe from this mini flu!

The weekend.

There was sun. There was fun. There were no kids.

#vivalasvegas

Pics

 

Are you allowed to hijack a photo session with your phone? Well we did. We had Ethan's six months photos taken (at Tiny Sprout) and of course we had to have a couple sibling and family shots.

 

I about died when she busted out this bed full of ruffles and white pillows.

 

My sweet babes.

 

Spoiler alert, the proofs are back and they're fantastic.

 

The chair redo



 

Ah, the Pinterest inspired chair redo.

 

At the entryway of our house, we have no where for guests to put their stuff. In general, that's a whole other blog post. In which I complain about building a house and staying on a budget. And really wanting cubbies at the front and back door and not getting them...but like I said, that's another post.

Anyways, there is a perfect little corner for something...like a chair and that way you can at least put your purse on the chair and hopefully Tucker will not go snooping. Or Emmie, which I didn't know was a problem until she brought me receipts and cash from Alicia's purse. Nice score Em, nice score.

I went out of my comfort zone and hit up the thrift store! I figured I could paint a chair for cheaps and if I liked it, great, if not, no big loss.

 

Here we go:

 

Sad little chair, nicked paint and all.

$6.99! SOLD!

Then it was off to Michaels. Paint and paisley stencil. Check. And then...while searching for a paint brush I found this magical little device. A spongy thing that just screws right on the top of the paint bottle. Um, genius much?! God they just make crafting too easy these days!

 

 

And the stenciling began. 

 

And it took everything in my being not to paint the rest of the chair yellow or aqua, but considering those colors are a little overdone in the Fellows' house, red I went.



And then I sandpapered the seat, to give it a weathered look. I also put a light stain over top, to make it a bit more muted.

There you have it. Purse central. The longer term plan is to put together a little coat rack area and then maybe move this chair to the front porch...and make a matching one. Now, I just need the motivation to get those projects done. Wish me luck!

1/2 a year!

My boy. He's 6 months old today!

 

Where does the time go?

 

He's not so much doing any tricks yet; as in sitting up, rolling over, getting teeth or sleeping through the night. But what he lacks in motivation in those departments, he makes up in charm. He'll win you over in a heartbeat with those big ol' brown eyes and smile. He's happy and wide eyed and so easy going.

 

He is a dream come true.

 

 

so.big.

 

 

 

The baptism

Finally posting pictures from Ethan's baptism.

Sunday, a somewhat warm day compared to the foolish temperatures we've been having this week. Baptized at the same church as Emmie, we knew the routine. However the routine was a bit different with two toddlers in the pew. Thankfully the girls were both really well behaved and there were seven adults in the mix...and a bag full of coloring books and goldfish.

Emmie was loud as always, very concerned about when exactly she should be standing and when not. And trying to take her pants off...because Livie wasn't wearing pants. And asking "that boy's name" over and over, that boy being the pastor.

Ethan was his laid back self and Olivia was curious as to where God was exactly, wise beyond her years that girl.

Godparents Dave and Kristy.

The boys

We both needed naps by this point. Baptism takes it out of  kid. And mom. And sister.
We all took awesome Sunday afternoon naps.

Oh, was someone taking a picture and not including Emmie? This would be the result.

Em and Liv playing in Ethan's jumparoo.