Can you believe your eyes?

This is Emily, Bethany's sister-in-law posting for Bethany since she is in the process of cooking us a fabulous dinner. It has been 7 months since I have seen Little Miss Marley and I cannot believe how much she has changed! One of the biggest changes is that Missy is about ready to start walking! She is taking up to 6 steps at a time! We have been attempting to get it on video and this clip is after she had been doing this for about 20 minutes and is pretty tired but you can at least see a few steps! I cannot believe that this little one is going to be walking at 9 months! She is such an amazing little one...ok so maybe I am a little biased being the proud Aunt but she really is AMAZING! Please enjoy and we will post some pictures of all the girls soon!

Sorry the video is so dark but there isn't a lot of light in the living room at my parents house!

Finally

So, after a long and somewhat trying few days of trying to get to Texas, we have finally arrived. All of the excitement started on Friday night when we finished packing, loaded the car and headed up toward Dulles Airport Holiday Inn since our flight was SUPPOSED to leave early Saturday morning. We should have known, and I think deep down we did, as we were driving and the snow was heavily falling that the weather forecast was indeed accurate. In our defense however, when we woke up Saturday morning our flight was still scheduled on time. To make a VERY long day a bit shorter we taxied to the runway once, loaded and unloaded the plane 3 times, were de-iced 6 times, worried about running out of diapers and food, and waited for 2 hours in the airport after unloading for the final time before they actually canceled our flight. So it was a race to the desk to reschedule everyone's flights. We chose to fly out of Norfolk since it was the earliest flight we could catch and because after talking to my mom all day we realized they didn't really have any snow. A serious contrast to the 2 feet that was in fact on the ground up at Dulles and our house in Fredericksburg.

After riding the shuttle from the airport back to the hotel to get the car, we decided that with such precious cargo, we needed to stay another night up north before trying to get home. We left for Fredericksburg early Sunday morning, got home, shoveled some snow, played with the dogs, did some repacking and then left for Williamsburg. My mom was gracious enough to let us crash for the night and then take us to the airport in the morning and after some delays, we were off on yet another adventure.

And now, we are finally here. As many of you noticed in May when Emily, John and Kaley came to visit, Emily and I, along with my mom, enjoy (probably way too much) going shopping and picking out matching (or coordinating) outfits for the girls. And now, we have cousin Jaelynn to add to the mix so it was even more fun. The first outfit was the Leopard print. Unfortunately, I changed Marley at the beginning of our last, which also happened to be our 3rd, flight and she exploded a diaper which I had the pleasure of changing in the airplane bathroom, the poor child hanging her head off the toilet, so we only have the one photo of Kaley and Marley when we first arrived at the house. No pics of cousin Jaelynn and no pictures of the 3 girls so we will have a wardrobe change later this week to put the leopard print back on.

Kaley and Marley checking each other out on Aunt Bethany's lap.

Cousins enjoying bath time!

Kaley washing Marley's hair.

Fun times in the bath!

No peeking!

Check out my darling niece Kaley reading to Granny before bed!
Nice glasses!

More to come later...

As Promised...

...Here's the cute pic of Cousin Scott and Marley. Like their matchig hats? That was just by coincidence!

Thanksgiving and This and That

"AHHH...Mommy I can't believe it took you so long to post these adorable pictures of me!"

"Did I mention it snowed today so you should have had plenty of time...it's not like we left the house..." Yes, yes, okay Marley, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post your Thanksgiving pictures...not to mention the others we've taken since we've been home...but I'm about to remedy the situation...



Last week we trekked to New York for Thanksgiving! It was a wonderful time spent with family. We love hanging out with Uncle Mike and Aunt Chris, Cousin Scott and Marley got to meet Cousin Greg for the first time! Not to mention Fancy, Granddad and Aunt Sarah. Here's Marley with Uncle Mike, Aunt Chris and Cousin Greg. There is a great picture of Marley and Cousin Scott but I have yet to get it. As soon as I do though I will post. And I spent so much time taking pictures of Marley with those she doesn't get to see that often that I didn't get any with Fancy, Granddad, or Aunt Sarah...we'll have to remedy that when we go to Williamsburg after Christmas.



We drove in LATE Tuesday night (or more accurately, EARLY Wednesday morning) to beat the holiday traffic. A big thank you out to Granddad and Aunt Sarah for taking care of the driving. Marley and I slept most of the way...I don't think Fancy slept much because it was raining most of the drive.



On Wednesday my Uncle Jim and his wife Keri drove in to visit and to meet Marley for the first time. It was a wonderful visit! Jim's son Matt is getting married in May and we look forward to seeing everyone at the wedding! Here's Marley with Jim and Keri.
And Marley with Aunt Chris and Uncle Mike

Here is Marley thoroughly enjoying her Thanksgiving dinner! She ate turkey, corn, sweet potatos, and A LOT of cornbread. Little did I know this would be the beginning of the end...the end of baby food that is. While little miss is still perfectly content with her Puffs and Crunchies, she now outright refuses any other baby food. SO, we've ventured into table food and it's going well so far...except that we have to avoid dairy which really limits some of her options. No grilled cheese for instance, which is one of mommy's favorites and sure to be a hit when she can tolerate it...After dinner, of course, was desert. Here is Marley and her daddy at the desert table. Marley decided she wanted the chocolates...she's going to be hard to please when she starts dating...Good Luck boys!After dinner was the Cowboys game so here's Marley during the game. She figured out that the lid came off the ottoman so we thought it'd be fun to put her inside...notice how her pants are unbuttoned? Well, it was Thanksgiving after all...I think we all may have over ate just a tad...Aunt Chris, Fancy, Sarah and I did go shopping at mdinight on Black Friday but alas, I took no pictures of the event. It was fun, and not all that crowded (compared to what we encountered last year), but we didn't do it up like last year. Maybe the light rain had something to do with it.

Now here is where I would insert all of those darling pictures of everyone bundled up headed in for Marley's first trip to New York City. Unfortunately that didn't happen. We originally thought about going in on Friday but then we quickly realized that even if we went in the afternoon it was still Black Friday, plus the weather called for rain. We then decided it would be better to get up early and go into the city on Saturday morning but Friday night, late, was when Marley started running a fever again. She woke up still running a fever, that climbed throughout the day, plus it was REALLY windy (even though the temp was beautiful) so we punted the whole idea all together. I was really bummed, but what can you do. What kind of parents would we have been if we had taken her in sick. We did go out to dinner on Friday night though and she did exceptionally well...

So, due to the illness, that was in fact another ear infection as previously blogged about, I have no pictures until we got home on Sunday morning. Believe it or not, when these pics were taken, that ear infection was raging. If you recall it was so bad we had to do Rocephin injections...3 to be exact and we still aren't sure it's cleared. She was pulling on her ears again today and when I put her to bed she was feverish but hopefully it's nothing...anyway...here are the pics from Sunday...

And a few more from earlier this week. These were Wednesday night...after injection #3. She was feeling much more herself. Plus I think she was really happy she got chicken tenders, mixed vegetables and fruit for dinner.

From yesterday...this is what happens when daddy changes her diaper...her pants get put back on and pulled up REALLY high...

And these are from today

I think she smelled (or tasted) just how stinky her feet can get!

It's this one just lovely?

So, that's that! Sorry it took me so long to get it done. I hope to be better now that she's feeling a little bit better. It's exhausting when she's sick because she doesn't sleep well at all and that means I don't sleep well either.

Oh and I can't publish this post without the obligatory "HOOK 'EM HORNS" but to said Horns I have this to say...If you EVER, EVER do that to me again...I don't know what I'll do...but it won't be pretty! However, as I say (most often after Cowboys games) a win, is a win, is a win...but we've got work to do before January! Onto the National Championship we go!

To Hold You Over

Here's a little something to hold everyone over...I've been working on a Thanksgiving post but I'm making more of those collages so it's taking a little longer. PLUS, Marley is on ear infection #4 right now...one so bad we had to go to antibiotic injections. She had her third and final one today, so after 3 doctor appointments in 3 days we now get to wait to go back until next week. We have an ENT appointment scheduled for after Christmas...

Happy Viewing Amanda, We can't wait for you to come back!

Just Had To...

I just had to post these pictures this morning...doesn't she look like such a BIG girl?

Sicky Update Then Back to the Bows

Apparently my pleas to the sickness Gods last Monday fell on deaf ears. It's been quite the week, hence my blogging absence.

An update...after taking Marley to the doc. on Monday only to find out she had an ear infection, she then decided to stop taking fluids. She took a bottle on Tuesday morning then promptly vomited up half of it, then didn't drink much for my mom the rest of the day. HOWEVER, she did seem she was feeling much better so my mom headed back to Williamsburg and it was off to daycare on Wednesday.

Tuesday night though, she didn't take any of her bottle, and wouldn't take any juice or water (or solids for that matter) either. Wednesday morning I sent her to daycare with a full bottle because she refused to drink it at home. I called to check on her around 9 am only to find out that she had only had 1/2 an oz. So the fact that she had had less than 5 oz. in 24 hours and minimal wet diapers prompted yet another call to the doc. (I swear, we've financed the office this month).

They wanted to see her right away because they were concerned, as were Brett and I, about dehydration. We went in and they had to do a urine catheter :( because she was so "dry" and then, because her white cell count was up, they sent us for blood tests to see just how dehydrated she was and to figure out if whatever it was that had her down was bacterial or viral.

That afternoon I got a call back saying that she was dehydrated but not so severly that she needed IV fluids, her blood work did not indicate any bacterial infection so whatever was keeping her from getting better had to be viral.

Thankfully, and I don't think I could say 'thank you' enough, my mom was able to reschedule anything planned and come back up Wednesday night to watch Marley for us on Thursday and Friday so I didn't have to send her back to daycare. I wanted her to have the best opportunity to get better and I didn't want her to get anyone else sick. Plus, we had to syringe in fluid and I figured that might be recieved better coming from Fancy as opposed to Bethany at daycare. Well, luckily for Fancy, after the first few times of me shooting Pedialyte down the back of her throat, Marley decided to start drinking juice again on her own. It was just recently though that we were able to get her to start taking the same amounts of formula that she had been taking prior to being sick. She still doesn't have the best appetite but we are much more ourself these days, talking up a storm, crawling into everything she shouldn't be into, and cruising the furniture.

And playing with things that Daddy gives her...does anyone know what this is? ANYHOW, that's that...Now back to the Bows

I decided I would just update again with all the pictures, even ones I've previously posted...

Bowtie Bows $4 a set

Boutique Bows $6 and Up



Pinwheel Bows $3 a piece or 2 for $5

Korker Bows $4 a set
This is a Flower Bow that I made for cousin Jaelynn so Auntie Em could put it on her headband. I haven't priced these out fully yet, partially because I'm waiting on headbands. But, I can put a Flower Bow on a clippie for $4

Ribbon Lined Snap Clips and Small Bow on A Clippie both $3 a set So that's that...see anything that strikes your fancy? Leave a comment...

We're headed up to NY tomorrow night to spend Thanksgiving with Aunt Chris and Uncle Mike. We're going to introduce Marley to all of her NY friends, take a trip into the city and of course Midnight Shopping on Black Friday!

I'm so excited I can hardly stand it...I just hope they heeded my warning and baby proofed a bit...