A Peek Into the Future (21/365)

We never got around to celebrating Izzy's 100th day alive like we did for Alice, to be honest I completely forgot about it, but I have a feeling that Izzy might just follow in her Grandpa's footsteps and become an engineer. She's SO into figuring out how things work that she's bound to be one of those people who takes things apart just so she can figure out how to put it all back together again. We've seen many examples of this over the past few months, but the most obvious incident that has occurred to date happened today at the doctor's office.

She had to have blood drawn for a standard lead test. The nurse and phlebotomist really thought she was going to freak out, so nurse Jean decided to hold her while it happened. Know what the little stinker did? She stared at the little needle and tube the whole time with such inquisitive eyes. Not one peep did she make (until she had her shots, that is)! I really can't believe just how different she is from Alice. We made the comment that Izzy was going to be our little doctor or engineer, and Alice, being the drama queen that she is, is going to be our actress.

So while we're talking about doctor appointments I thought I'd share how Izzy is doing since her last visit to see Dr. Dan. She's currently 28.5 inches (75th percentile) and 17.2 lbs (15th percentile)! She definitely had quite the soggy diaper at the cardiologist the other day, so I'm not surprised that her weight is lower than what it was last week, but since she was weighed naked today it's a more accurate view of how she's really doing. Slowly but surely she's gaining the weight and going from the 10th percentile to the 15th is AWESOME! I'll say it again, I'm so glad that we pushed for the Zantac. I can't even believe the difference it's made. She's even started to sleep through the night now that she's eating more!

As someone who really values her sleep, not having to get up with her twice a night has been VERY nice!

What To Write Wednesday (20/365)

So I've been sitting here for nearly a half hour trying to think of something good to share with all of you, and the one thing that keeps coming to mind (due to the pain in my throbbing legs) I'm not exactly sure I want to share. But then I think back to the post a few days ago where I pretty much admitted that I have a hairy chin, and so I thought, why not?

It's no secret that Matt and I are overweight, and to some it's not a secret that as of January 4th he and I have been in a friendly competition with family members to see who can lose the biggest percentage of our starting weight by May 3rd. So far we've both done great - he's lost 10 lbs and I've lost 9 lbs. The major change in diet has been an easy one, all the salads and fresh fruits and veggies have been a breeze to get used to. Eating less has been a piece of cake to (mmmm...cake). Now the thing that is embarrassing to admit is just how freaking out of shape I am.

On Monday I decided to lap our stairs for my workout - if you've seen our stairs you know that they are quite steep! I wasn't able to do them as long as I had hoped, but what I did accomplish made me feel pretty darn good. Fast forward to yesterday morning when I nearly fell getting out of bed because my legs were like JELL-O and they were on FIRE! It was hell trying to get my legs to do anything, let alone try and work out again. Even walking or trying to sit down hurt like I'd done a thousand squats - and all I had done was walk up and down the stairs for 7 minutes! I thought for sure I'd feel better today, but I see no improvement. I've been trying to move them as much as I can, keep myself hydrated (which is so hard for me because I have never been one to drink enough in the first place), ibuprofen or muscle relaxers in my system, and now as I type this I've got a hot pad on them, and so far I'm still miserable.

Here's hoping tomorrow they finally start to get better. I don't want to push myself to injury, but DAMMIT this was only the start of my exercising! I'd like to get a chance to get into the habit of doing it before I start slacking off due to laziness. I have a freaking wedding to stand up in come July, for goodness sakes!

Oh, yeah, and I'd like to not be a fat ass anymore too.

Talk About a Rockin' New Years Eve (19/365)

I'm temporarily lifting the moratorium on Christmas/New Years posts to share this gem of a picture Matt took with his phone on New Years Eve. Maybe my New Year's resolution should have been to unplug more often.

Nah!

Where the Heck Did Seven Years Go? (18/365)

It seems like just yesterday. I love you 10.

Izzy's Been Hittin' the Bottle (17/365)

With all the toys we brought to Uncle Fred and Auntie Kathy's house,

the thing you couldn't pry from her hands was the empty 2L bottle!

And just because it had to be shared:

Daddy: What was your favorite part of Uncle Fred and Auntie Kathy's house?

Alice: The cake.

(Almost) Seven Years, and Not an Itch in Sight (16/365)

Thursday night Matt and I got a babysitter (thanks, Annie!) and went out for dinner and a movie for our seven year anniversary. It's technically on Monday, but this weekend was full so we opted to celebrate on Thursday instead. There is a dinner and a movie place just a few minutes from us that we've been meaning to check out for ages now so we decided to give it a go.

I was skeptical about how it was going to work. Would the waiters going in and out the whole time bother me? Would everyone and their mother treat this like they were at a show and be quiet, or at dinner and talk the entire time? I was pleasantly surprised on all of those counts. No one was disruptive, if you don't count the woman and her two SMALL children who probably wandered in because The Princess and the Frog was sold out, the waiters were fantastic, and the only parts of the movie we missed we missed because WE were talking.

What would make me not go back though was the food. It was pretty good, but there wasn't much selection unless you wanted bar food, pizza, or burgers. Oh and don't forget the full two pages they had dedicated to alcohol. I'd personally rather go to a place that had a whole page, hell why not a whole MENU, dedicated to dessert, but maybe that's just me. Anyway, my sandwich was pretty good, but I would have rather had the option to have a lighter meal, then time to let my belly rest, and then chow down on movie foods. So in the future I'm sure we'll skip the all-in-one place and opt instead to do dinner separately.

Oh, I do highly recommend seeing Up in the Air, by the way. It was a FANTASTIC flick.

We sat in the most comfortable rocking office chairs.

I was pleasantly surprised that I liked watching a movie this way.

Ask Matt, I was concerned.

The place was absolutely STUFFED with this kind of stuff.

I could have looked around for hours at all the memorabilia.

Just for Alice:

"Everybody was Kung-Fu fighting! HIGH YA!"

Things a Kid Should Never Say to Their Mother #459 (15/365)

"Mommy, you have a beard.
Just like Grandma Cindy's."

I'll be the one in the bathroom, plucking every last damn hair from my
chinny chin chin.

7,881 Grams (14/365)

That's how much my baby (plus soggy diaper) weighed today at her last cardiologist appointment until July! If you're not a Communist and therefore don't know metric (I kid, really), that's 17lbs 6oz in Imperial Units. Which means she's put on enough weight since her surgery to move from the 10th percentile (where she's been at since about 1 month) to the 19th!! All the more reason for me to want to send flowers to the makers of Zantac. We'll get a more accurate weight next week (sans urine soaked diaper) when she goes in for her 9 month check- up, but for now I'll take it!

Another great bit of news we got today I already mentioned - she doesn't have to go back to see Dr. G for six months! We are so relieved and I, for one, feel so much more confident we did the right thing in deciding on surgery for her. Even her doctor is amazed and happy at just how well she is doing and what a difference it has made for her.

I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but her scar is very minimal. Not only is it on the small side for this procedure, but there is just an ever so slight hint of pink to it. Keep in mind she'll only be two months out next week! I have every hope that by the time she's grown there will be nothing more than what looks like a cat scratch scar on her chest - and only pictures to remind her of what she went through when she was oh so tiny.

She's Obsessed (13/365)

The first time Alice ever heard this song was on an episode of Glee. Yes, I've let my three year old watch Glee - don't judge me. Anyway, she's been absolutely obsessed with this song ever since. I don't know what it is about this song that makes her go bananas, but Alice definitely isn't the only one. See if you can catch her new dance move - the ijuststeppedonatoybutimnotgoingtoletthatstopme.

She learned it from me.

It's the Little Things They Say (12/365)

That make a hard day go away.

Scene 1

Lying in ALICE'S bed with both of my girls after ALICE'S nap.

(IZZY, who is pulling up to stand a lot lately, grabs ahold of my shirt in an effort to stand. Not only does she grab my shirt, but she also manages to pinch and claw the heck out of my chest and arm for the 900th time today.)

MOM: OUCH, IZZY! You're killing me, kid!

ALICE: Izzy don't kill Mommy! Mommy, I don't want you to be killeded - I love you!

I, for one, am throughly relieved to know that my darling three year old would be devastated if her sister killed(ed) me (like there was ever any doubt), but it makes me feel bad for wanting to strangle her. All. Day. Long. ;)

No kids were harmed, I promise. It's just been one of those days...

Alice Finally Got Tired of the Cheshire Cat (11/365)

And made a dress out of him. Lately I'd like to skin a cat or two myself.

Alice decided it would be a good idea to have her hair done up like

Kaylee's was the other day on Uncle Mike's blog.

She looked pretty damn cute, but definitely

emphasized how badly she is in need of a haircut!

My Girls Are Geeks (10/365)

Both of my girls crawled for the first time towards laptops. I had no doubt Izzy was a geek, what with her immense love for the iPhone, but now I have the proof on video. Enjoy.

By the way, the song is a video that was playing on YouTube called The Elephant Song - by Eric Herman. We first heard of it because it's also a free app for the iPhone and Izzy just can't get enough of it.

Blah, Blah, Christmas, Blah, Blah - Part 4 (9/365)

Click to enlarge to see the pretty starbursts - thanks for the tripod, folks.

I'm sure you're probably sick of reading about Christmas as much as I am about writing about it, so this will be my last post on the subject. In all fairness we did have about 12 days of it so 4 posts worth of content seems about right. Today is also the day we are finally taking our Christmas decorations down so the post seems even more fitting. I'm not looking forward to breaking a certain three year old's heart - the kid definitely has her Grandma Susie's love of Christmas.

So, to continue, after Christmas we packed our bags and headed south. Unfortunately our destination wasn't the southern part of the country (unless you're talking to my in-laws, or any other Chicagoland native) where it was most assuredly warmer, but I could deal with the chill with family near. And boy was there LOTS of family near - at one point there were 14 of us at the house at one time! Thankfully we didn't all have to sleep at the same house. James, Mike, Rae, and Kaylee were of course missed, and I'm sure we all long for the day when we can all be under the same roof together again. I know I do.

Ryan wasn't able to stay long, but most of us were together for about a week - and we enjoyed every last minute of it. Most of the trip we spent simply enjoying one another's company. Charles and I made foldovers (ok, I made them, he watched and we chatted), Matt fixed computers, Tori and I ate "must haves" before starting our diet on the 4th, Cindy DIDN'T work, Dad DID, we took down Christmas, Alice threw many a tantrum (ahh, gotta love age 3), we saw movies, Tori got smashed. Oh, and don't forget the turkey with all the fixin's. All in all it was a pretty damn good trip home.

Ry, Izzy, and Erinn cheesin'.

Izzy loved playing with Ry's dog tags.

Erin's younger sister and her Mom joined us for Christmas dinner and gifts.

The reaction from the 'rents when Matt brought in their real gift.
OK, so the story goes I ordered a rather large canvas
of the pic of the girls I used on our Christmas card.
Well I wasn't 100% satisfied with how it turned out
(something that would only bother me),
so I had the printer fix it. When I asked them about sending
the first one back to them, they told me to just give it to someone else!
Mind you, this sucker is huge, and not cheap!
So the logical choice was to give it to Dad and Cindy.
Merry Christmas from Canvas On Demand!
(whom I HIGHLY recommend, by the way. Their work is AMAZING!)

Izzy and Tori chillin' on the blow up bed.

Precious moments caught on film flash card.

Izzy "eating" a lil' smokey. Auntie was teaching her
early about the Carlson's favorite breakfast food.

Thank goodness for Grandmas.

I know, this post is exhausting!

Snow Day (8/365)

Well, not really, but I wish it had been. Yesterday and early this morning mother nature dumped a ton of snow on us. Part of me wished that the big snowflakes that made everything look like we were inside the world's prettiest snow globe stuck around through the day. Partly because I wanted Matt to have to work from home (I'm selfish like that) and because I really wanted to break out the extension tubes and do a macro or twenty of the snowflakes. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do that yet this winter.

click to enlarge

Izzy & Cher (7/365)

Just call her Cher.

click to enlarge

This is Izzy's new smile. I don't know where she got it from, but we came home from vacation and this is how she's been smiling, for the most part. It's damn cute, but let's hope she doesn't start strutting around air craft carriers with little more than a strip of duct tape covering her naughty parts. :)