Snow Day

I should really say "Snow Morning" instead of "Snow Day" since the snow we got here this past Saturday was pretty much gone by noon.  But, we don't get much snow around here so, like the rest of the South, it was a Really Big Deal.  Actually, at our house, it was only a Really Big Deal for about three minutes, as Katie Wynn wasn't the biggest fan.  We coated up to go play in our 1.5 inches of white fluff and I grabbed my camera for the obligatory snow day pictures, but our girl wasn't so sure about all the coldness and she certainly didn't like that stuff being on her little white Keds.  Can't say I blame her there.

She carefully inspected the snow with her Daddy, but had zero desire to actually touch it!

My two favorites!

Our house looked pretty nice in the snow!  But really, what house doesn't??

Sadly, our really tall hedges were not a big fan of all the ice and snow.  The ice just got way too heavy and they gave up and laid over.  Sad.  We really hope they bounce back as it warms up.

This picture from the side shows a little better how they just kinda leaned over.  I really love these hedges so I will be majorly bummed if we have to cut them down!!

Like I said, it was all pretty much gone around noon and we were able to go about our regularly scheduled plans for the day.  Now that we've had a day of snow that somewhat stuck, I officially give Old Man Winter my permission to move on.  I'm ready for spring!

Weekend Wrapup

Even though today is dreary and rainy and our little girl woke up with a fever, I'd say this was a great weekend!  And KW's fever is forcing us to wrap it up with a lazy day inside, and I can't say I'm complaining!

Here are some pics from my phone over the last several days.

You know you're bathing at Mimi's house when your bath toys are empty thread spools.  Who knew they could be so much fun, though?!

Lately, I've had to keep a close eye on my new house shoes.  I got these for Christmas and it seems Katie bug loves them as much as I do.  If I accidentally leave them unsupervised, she steals them from me!

Poor baby girl saw me throw her pink blankie into the dryer straight from the washing machine and, when I wouldn't let her have it, had one of the biggest meltdowns I've seen.  It was a rookie Mom mistake; I now know better than to let her see it going into the laundry!

She has done such a good job of taking care of Baby Doll lately that I think she's going to make a great big sister.  Friday she made sure Baby Doll didn't go hungry and even let her drink her orange juice straight from the jug!

Will I ever stop taking pictures of her sleeping?  I'm not sure that I will...at least not any time soon.

We had the big kids at our house this weekend.  It's funny how often we catch them playing with Katie Wynn's toys.  :)  After dinner Saturday night, I created our own version of Supermarket Sweep to justify their fascination with KW's grocery cart.  They were super excited about it as we laid out all the rules and defined the course.  I created shopping lists for them both, which would be waiting for them on top of the tiny pantry, and then we tossed a coin to see who would go first.  Anna was up and got set at the starting line.  She made her way quickly around the course and shopped pretty fast, but ended up getting a 15 second penalty for a banana falling out of her cart.  Rats!

Wyatt saw Anna's banana snafu and made sure to hold on to his fruits.  I just knew he was going to get penalized for leaving stray groceries on the ground, but he picked them up at the last minute.  He did get a 5 second penalty, though, for not closing one of the pantry doors.

After the penalties were calculated in, Anna was announced as the winner of Round 1 of Supermarket Sweep!

Now, you know we couldn't let them have all the fun.  Matt and I decided to go head to head so Anna and Wyatt worked together on our grocery lists and the game course.  I won the coin toss so Matt had to go first.

He completed the course with no penalties but...so did I.  :)

It was a close run but, well, my dear husband got beat by his sweet wife.  :)

Before calling it quits, we had another round that all four of us competed in to see who the real winner of the night was.  

Y'all.  I smoked them all.  That's right, this five-months-pregnant mama blew them away.  Matt was the closest coming in at 6 seconds slower than me, but Anna and Wyatt weren't even close.  I guess we know who plays with the groceries the most.  :)

If you're wondering how we could spend all evening playing with Katie Wynn's toys and not even include her, let me just say that the original rules involved her riding in the cart during each round, which definitely would've changed the way we were able to turn corners. :)  Unfortunately, she wasn't really feeling it.  She was much more content to just sit and watch all the excitement.

Don't be surprised if you're ever over for dinner and we ask if you want to play a little Supermarket Sweep!

Sadly, our fun came to a halt this morning when Matt noticed Katie Wynn was burning up during breakfast.  Poor little sweet pea was rocking a good fever.  I knew she didn't feel well when, after getting out of her high chair, she just laid down on the floor beside my chair while I finished eating.  Bless her heart!

We sent Matt and the big kids off to church and the two of us settled in to spend the morning resting.  Katie bug ended up sleeping on me for about three hours!  I hate that she didn't feel well but I sure did love getting to hold her all morning, even if both my legs and hands fell asleep and I thought my bladder was gonna burst.  :)

After a couple doses of Tylenol, I think we've gotten her fever under control.  She has spent most of the day asleep, but maybe she needed that to recharge.  I just hope she doesn't feel recharged around 2:00 in the morning and want to play!

Matt just told me that it's Superbowl time.  Guess that means I'll head out to the living room and at least be in the same room as where the game is on.  Don't worry, I have a list of things to work on in between the commercials so I won't get bored.  :)

16 Months Old

It's crazy to me that Katie Wynn is already 16 months old.  What happened to my little baby?  Everyday she becomes more and more of a little girl with thoughts and opinions and ideas all her own.  It's so fun to get to watch the wheels turn in her head while she discovers new things.  I just love getting to be her mama.  It is, hands down, my very favorite job.

This past week we had her 15 month checkup.  Yes, we were a month behind.  We didn't get to see our usual doctor but we loved the one we saw in her place.  And Katie Wynn got a great report!  She weighed in at just 21 pounds, only 1 pound more than at 12 months.  I was concerned but Dr. Campbell didn't seem to be at all.  

(Barefoot in the dr.'s office = gross, I know, but at least we were the first ones there for the day?)

After just a few minutes of observing Katie Wynn, Dr. Campbell commented that I had a little independent one on my hands.  I wanted to say, "Tell me something I don't know," as we battle everyday when it's time to get dressed.  Sweet girl, for the love of all things good and holy, as soon as you learn your left from your right and top from bottom, I will let you put your shoes on yourself every. single. day.  But until then, just let mama help, mkay?

I commented to my mom today that Katie Wynn has probably cried more during this month (January) than she has her whole little life!  Poor girl has just had it rough lately.  Between starting daycare, a bad cold, what seems to be a case of separation anxiety, and just run-of-the-mill toddlerness, we are all about ready to close the books on this month!  

Today was a good example of one of her out-of-nowhere breakdowns.  We had a mini Valentine photoshoot scheduled for 3:00.  After church, we had a quick lunch and I put her down for a nap so she'd be in good spirits.  She awoke in a great mood, had a snack, got dressed easily, and laughed the whole way in the car.  But when we got to the shoot location and I put her down in the little rocking chair, massive amounts of tears!  Screaming and bawling!  For no reason at all!  Her mimi and I were both there trying to cheer her up.  We even got Lolli out of the car to calm her but nothing would work.  The photographer had a giant lollipop for her and even that didn't do the trick.  We stayed and watched the next session - a friend of ours - hoping that would help her see that it was ok, but nothing was going to get her to smile for the camera.  

Then we got home and she was all about that giant lollipop and sitting for the camera.  What a little toot!  I only had my phone camera handy but I have saved the lollipop so we can try again with my real camera on another pretty day.  So much for that paid-for photo session.  :(

Two lollipops in one picture!  Har har.

We are definitely getting some good glimpses of the terrible twos, but we have some really, really good moments too.  There is no better feeling than when she runs towards me to give my leg a good squeeze, or when her face lights up after I walk in the room.  And the times when I say, "Can I have a kiss?" and she actually stops what she's doing to come over and plant one right on my lips?  That's when my heart just melts into a giant puddle.

I texted the picture below to her daddy to show him that I tried to curl her hair.  :)

Just so I have it written somewhere, here are some current K-dub stats.  She can say Mama, Dada, no, more, bye, woah, night night, ball, and I'm sure a few more words that I'm forgetting.  She can give fives and high fives, wave bye-bye and blow kisses, give hugs, find her belly, belly button, toes, and nose.  She knows what a hairbrush is for and can help put her toys away.  She knows all the supplies needed to change a diaper and where to find them (though we've since had to childproof that cabinet since she was wasting them all on Baby Doll).  She can use a pencil to scribble on paper.  This week she has also tried to scribble on cabinets and walls.  When I ask her if she's stinky, she'll grab her bottom if she is.  She can sign for more, all done, and please.

She went on a crazy teething spurt and has a good mouth full of them now.  I think there are about 12 in total, but she doesn't like for me to take a look.  She drinks whole milk and, unfortunately, still prefers it out of a bottle.  We are trying hard to push the sippy cup (she will drink juice out of a sippy cup though).  She still sleeps with her paci and, thanks to daycare, keeps it in her mouth a lot during the day too.  She LOVES to drink whatever I'm drinking, especially fun things like smoothies, slushes, and icees.  I've found myself hiding from her when I have something I don't want to share.  :)  

As far as food goes, she could live on fruit alone.  She devours mandarin oranges and bananas like crazy.  She also loves blueberries, strawberries, and peaches.  Crackers and bread of any kind are always a hit.  Any flavor of yogurt or applesauce makes her happy.  She will eat any vegetable in pureed or baby food form, but doesn't really like them in their real form.  We really have to work on that one.  I probably shouldn't admit it, but she has a bit of a sweet tooth.  She can spot a powdered donut or nutty butter bar from across the room and knows exactly what kind of wrapper a Hershey kiss comes in.  As with most toddlers I'm sure, everything else just depends on the day.  One day she likes ham, the next she doesn't.  Sometimes string cheese is the best thing ever, other days it's the worst.  A lot of food gets thrown on the floor as we try to determine what kind of food day we're on.

Even during the most trying moments, I can't imagine wanting to spend my time with any other little girl.  She keeps my heart full (and my house a complete wreck).  I think she is going to be a very caring and sweet big sister.  But then as soon as our little boy is old enough to hold his own, I have a feeling she's going to be a bit bossy too.  :)  

Matt is traveling this week so it's just me and Katie Wynn.  I'm just praying that we survive, but some good days at daycare would really be icing on the cake!  Here's to only a few days left in January!

What. A. Week.

Sunday evening we picked up the weekend's toys and straightened the house to prepare for a busy week.  After two short work weeks due to the holidays, we knew it'd feel like a long week.  On top of that, Katie Wynn was starting daycare for the first time which we knew would take some adjustments.  We went to bed early feeling prepared and ready for the week.  Little did we know just how stressful this week would turn out to be...

Monday

• Up early, Matt is dressed and gets Katie Wynn ready to leave.  His front driver's side tire is low and needs airing up.
• Katie bug is excited about her new backpack but doesn't know where she's going.

• Katie Wynn bawls and screams at daycare drop off.
• I hurry to get ready in time to drop Lolli off at the groomer's before work.  My hair dryer starts smoking mid-blowout.
• Lolli is dropped off at groomer with a request to clean up her matted fur but not to completely shave her if not necessary.
• After work, Matt picks up Lolli.  All of her fur has been shaved off on the coldest day of the year.
• Katie Wynn bursts into tears when I arrive to pick her up.  She has not eaten a single thing all day.
• I leave Matt with a fussy baby to go have dinner with friends.  Enjoy dinner, but am so uncomfortable from pregnancy indigestion that I stop at a gas station for medicine on the way home.
• Climb into bed, thankful to have made it through the day.

Tuesday

• Katie Wynn breaks down again at daycare drop off.
• Matt drops his car off for scheduled service.  After waiting for 40 minutes, he finally receives a loaner car and can head in late to work.
• Hear from a friend after dropping off her child that KW's tears had stopped and that she was eating her breakfast.  Feel relieved.
• At work, realize that I need to come in the next day (my normally scheduled day off) in order to meet a deadline.
• Matt's car is not ready to be picked up.  He heads home in the loaner.
• Katie bug cries again when I pick her up but her daily report says she ate both breakfast and lunch.  
• Due to no afternoon nap, we still have a very tired, fussy baby on her hands.  While Matt cooks dinner, I entertain her with selfies on my phone.

• After our selfie session, my little mama runs to her room to get supplies to change Baby Doll's diaper.  Within moments, she has opened the butt paste and smeared it all over her face and in her hair.

• Despite the car service frustrations, fussiness, and butt paste incident, we call Tuesday a good day.

Wednesday

• Matt is up early again.  Because the loaner car doesn't have a car seat, he takes my car to drop of Katie Wynn and then has to drive back home to switch cars.  He is running late to work.
• While getting ready for work, I realize that Lolli has not been outside yet.  I pick her up from her bed and notice that something is not right.  She is limp in my arms.  I put her down and instead of standing up, she flops over.  I cannot get her up to her feet.
• Panicked, I throw on clothes and head to the vet.  Send text to coworker that I will be late to work.
• Lolli lets me cradle her like a baby - something she usually hates - and lays her head on my chest to rest.  She is lethargic.  I start to have flashbacks of Minnie's last days almost exactly three years ago.

• The vet can immediately tell that something is very wrong.  I leave her with him for bloodwork and x-rays and drive to work, forcing myself not to think of the worst.
• I have a very busy work day.  
• Mid-morning, I hear from the vet.  Lolli's glucose levels have bottomed out, she is dehydrated, and her body temp is dangerously low.  She is too dehydrated for an IV, so he has given her medicine rectally and has her laying on a heating pad with hot water bottles to bring up her temp.  She will need to stay overnight.  I beat myself up for having her shaved when it's so cold outside.
• Matt's car is still not ready to be picked up.
• I work late to meet my deadlines and so I don't have to come in the next day.  My mom picks Katie Wynn up since Matt will also be late getting home.  KW did not eat at daycare.
• Matt has dinner with the big kids so Katie bug and I eat over at my parents.  She scarfs down some cheese tortellinis and we discover that she's a big fan of cucumbers.  
• We are late getting home and don't get Lil Bit in the bath tub until well after bedtime.  She is cranky but finally dozes off to sleep.
• We call it a night.  It is weird without Lolli in the house.

Thursday

• Katie Wynn is exhausted from three days at daycare and sleeps past 8.  I force myself to get moving but despite my best efforts, don't get us out the door until nearly ten.
• Thanks to poor planning on my part, we arrive at daycare right at nap time.  Katie Wynn wails as I leave her.
• I call the vet.  Lolli's levels are getting better but they want to keep observing her throughout the day.  She should be ready to go home late in the afternoon.
• I spend the day working at my mom's house and am able to complete several embroidery machine projects that I'd been putting off.  I'm amazed at how productive I can be without my tiny helper.
• Around 4, I make the rounds to pick up my girls.  Once again, Katie Wynn did not eat her lunch.  I am thankful that I had given her a good breakfast.  The vet is on the fence about letting Lolli go home.  Her levels are still borderline but he thinks she'll perk up in her own elements.  We leave the vet with medicine, special food, and instructions to feed her karo syrup three times a day.
• Back at my mom's house, Lolli greets everyone with tail wags but then settles in on the couch.  She is weak and cannot stop shaking.  We let her nap.
• Finally, Matt's car has been completely serviced and he returns the loaner.
• Matt watches Wyatt's basketball game after work so he is late heading home.  Mom has already cooked dinner so we eat over there.  Lolli will not eat but, using a syringe, we manage to get a dose of karo syrup in her.
• It's another night off-routine for Katie Wynn.  After a quick bath, she settles in for a story with Daddy and then falls right to sleep.

• We try to get Lolli to eat again.  She has zero interest in the special food, so we try her regular food.  It's a no-go too.  I get out cheese, her favorite treat, and though she wags her tail and acts excited about it, she will only lick it.  She continues to shake.
• Unsure of what to do, I call the vet.  He instructs us to give her another dose of the karo syrup and see if she will eat in the morning.  "Don't hesitate to call at anytime tonight," he says.
• We are both nervous about going to sleep.  Instead of curling up in her bed, Lolli stays in the chair in our room.  I make sure she has plenty of blankets.  We put a heating pad under her bed in case she ventures over to it, and keep her food and water close by.
• Katie Wynn is teething and wakes up several times.  Each time we get up to check on her, we check on Lolli too.  She stays put in the chair all night.

Friday

• I am determined to get KW to daycare before nap time, so I don't let her sleep late.  (I took her all five days this week to hopefully help her adjust to it.)  We make it there by nine.  She cries when I drop her off.
• I have Lolli bundled up in the car and we head to my mom's house for another day of working on projects.  She still has not eaten and continues to shake.  Mom and I wrap up her pill in cheese and try to feed it to her.  She spits it out three times.  The pill finally starts to dissolve to where she can't spit it out and it makes its way down.
• She spits out every piece of cheese we try to force her to eat.  We get the syringe and give her more karo syrup.
• Worried that she's not eating and aware that the weekend is coming, I call the vet.  He will be out of town for the weekend so wants me to go ahead and bring her back in so he can check her out before he leaves.  I bundle her up and drive over.
• The vet and I talk about how weird it is that she seems to want to eat but won't.  He's concerned about blockage and wants to put barium in her to watch it go through.  I sign more paperwork and leave her with him.
• At Mom's, I spend the day working on an art project for my niece's room.  I am exhausted and take an afternoon nap on her couch.
• I wake up panicked that I have not heard from the vet yet.  I call to check on Lolli and she's getting ready to have one more x-ray done.  
• Katie Wynn did not eat her lunch yet again.  But, she doesn't cry when she sees me there to pick her up and she waves bye-bye and high fives her teacher.  I take it as a small sign of improvement.
• We head straight over to the vet's and are led back to their workroom.  Lolli is in a big cage that's low to the floor and Katie Wynn runs straight over to her.  She waves and talks to her.  
• The vet and I look at her latest x-ray together.  He sees a big mass that hasn't been passed; could be hard feces, could be something else.  I start racking my brain for any missing toys around the house.
• He needs to give her an enema and wants her to stay until she uses the bathroom.  He thinks once she does, she'll feel like eating again.  He is leaving to go out of town, but his staff will take care of her overnight.
• Katie Wynn is precious and leans against the cage to give Lolli a kiss.  The vet melts.  In typical mom fashion, I wish I'd gotten it on camera.
• A very big dog that's fresh out of surgery is laying on the floor (under covers).  As we leave, Katie Wynn gently pats him on the head.
• We meet Matt at home and have dinner together as a family.  I have to clean KW's crumbs off the floor since Lolli is not there to do it for me.
• Bath time is slightly delayed as our naked baby takes off running through the house.  She's found the butt paste again and doesn't want to surrender it or Baby Doll in order to get in the tub.

Clearly, not eating at daycare is having zero effect on her big belly.  :)

• We survived the week!  We drift off to sleep thinking this saga is nearly over.

Saturday (Today)

• I wake up hungry and text my friend Emily to see if her family wants to meet us for breakfast.  Our first restaurant choice is not open so we end up in two booths across from each other at Huddle House.
• On the way home from breakfast, our favorite vet tech, Sarah, calls.  Lolli is not doing well.  I tell her we're in the car and will come straight there.
• Back at the vet, we're led to their work room again.  While we wait for Sarah, I get Lolli out of her cage so we can pet her and love on her.

• Sarah updates us on what has happened since Friday afternoon.  Lolli did use the bathroom (no hidden toys, thank goodness) but then passed a lot of blood and sloughed some tissue.  Sarah is concerned that she has developed pancreatitis.  Because they still can not get an IV in her dehydrated veins, they have been injecting fluids under her skin.  Her body is quickly absorbing it.  Sarah tells us she needs more care than they can give over the weekend and recommends her going to the emergency animal hospital.
• Luckily, Sarah also works part time at the hospital and has a shift today from noon to midnight.  She takes Lolli and her paperwork over with her and gets her admitted.
• I am teary all day.  Had we not chosen to admit her to the hospital, the other option was having her put down.  Obviously we did not want that, but Sarah was also clear that she may not even make it through the weekend at the hospital.
• I occupied myself with projects in the woodshop while Matt hung out with Katie Wynn at home.  Around three, we got cleaned up and ready to go to the animal hospital.  My parents kept KW since we didn't know what was in store for us at the hospital.
• At the hospital, Sarah greeted us at the front desk and told us there was a bit of good news.  In an exam room, we met with the vet on shift.  She was incredibly nice but also incredibly scientific and over my head.  Through tears, I tried hard to keep up with what she was telling us.  She had gone through all of Lolli's files from the week and had done more bloodwork.  All of her symptoms were pointing to one thing: Addison's disease.
• Addison's disease is an autoimmune disease where her body has attacked her adrenal glands until they are no longer working.  It is very rare and the vet told us she was lucky in catching it only because she'd had a case of it come through her office this past week.  Because the symptoms can also be so many other things (see everything else from this week above), it's often called the Great Imitator and is misdiagnosed or not caught quickly enough to treat it.  Poodles are one of the top three breeds susceptible to it (Lolli is a maltipoo so she has poodle in her) and it is more common in females.  
• There is a test that can be done to prove the diagnosis of Addison's disease, but because it is so expensive, the emergency hospital does not keep the supplies required for it on hand.  We will have to have the test done Monday morning at our regular vet's office to be sure.  But since all the symptoms line up, the vet at the hospital is going ahead and treating her for Addison's.
• While we're thrilled to have somewhat of a diagnosis, Lolli is still in critical care.  Normal sodium to potassium level is around 27.  Sometimes a sick dog can go down to 26 or 25.  When Lolli arrived at the hospital, her level was 12.9 which the vet said, multiple times, is not even equal to life.  By the time we got there, she'd been receiving the correct fluids (finally in an IV) for two hours and her levels had already started adjusting but were still not where they needed to be.
• She will continue to have fluids pumped and receive steroids every two hours.  If she continues to respond well, they'll start tapering off the dosages or spreading them out.  We hope that by Monday morning, her levels will be much, much better.  Going forward, she will have to have a monthly shot and possibly take a daily pill to treat the Addison's disease.
• We were thrilled when all the talking and paperwork was done and we could finally go back and see Lolli!  She was laying pretty lifeless in her incubator until she heard our voices and she immediately picked up her head and pulled herself up to her feet.

• We left the hospital feeling much better than we did on our drive there.  She still has a long road to being fully recovered, but we are thankful that a full recover is possible.  
• At nine tonight, I received an update from Sarah.  Lolli has been moved out of her incubator because she is maintaining her temp and her bloodwork  is improving.  Yay!  She still is not eating yet though.  I know that's ok right now while she's on the IV, but we've got to get her eating before she leaves there.  We plan to visit her again tomorrow after church and will be taking treats with us.

This roller coaster ride has just about done me in this week!  I am emotionally drained.  Please keep Lolli in your prayers.  Fellow pet owners know how much dogs (and cats, etc) can become a part of the family and we are ready to have Lolli home with us where she belongs!

Lately

I'm so behind!  Here's an attempt to play catch-up on what we've been up to so far in December.  Prepare for random picture overload!

• We met Mr. Ronaldo of Ronaldo Jewelry.  I have three of his bracelets that I wear often, and Katie Wynn received a tiny one for her birthday.  The last time Mr. Ronaldo visited our town, I heard that he gave away bracelets to all the little girls that visited the gift shop.  I was planning on visiting anyway since I had a Christmas gift to buy, but I made sure to bring my cutie pie along with me in hopes of a new bracelet to add to her collection.  Sadly, she did not get a freebie.  I learned later that other little girls did.  I'm trying not to be bitter.  

• I can't take her shopping with me if I don't plan on letting her carry my bag.  It doesn't matter how big or heavy it is, she thinks she has to have it.  And she still loves admiring herself in the mirror.

• We've run into Santa Claus a couple of times and so far, Katie Wynn does not seem too impressed with him and his red suit and ho ho hos.

• We tried to switch the side her hair parts on and we both agreed that it made her look really weird.  It makes more sense in the back for it to go this opposite way thanks to her "swirl" but it just looks backwards (to us) in the front!

• One Sunday we had a birthday lunch after church.  Bren and Katie Wynn had on coordinating Christmas outfits so I had to snap a couple pics.  Bren loves to get to feed Katie Wynn!

• Who doesn't get excited about getting to stick their hand into a box of cheerios?  Also, I love this outfit.  The other leg of her pants (hidden by the box of cereal) is polka dotted like her shirt.  This outfit plus her straight-up pony tail makes her look like she's straight out of Whoville.  :)

• Anyone who's ever been around a toddler knows they like to help with ev-er-y-thing...even screwing on new door hinges!

• Two totally unrelated photos below.  On the left, our girls test out our new mudroom bench.  We still have one small thing left to do in there and then I owe you all a LONG post about how it came together and looks now.  Spoiler alert: we love it!  On the right, Matt and I recently got to enjoy a night out at a wedding.  I helped direct the wedding but then we were free to eat and dance all night long at the reception.  Turns out "all night long" isn't very long for me anymore.  :(

• These days, our girl plays so hard during the day that she'll sometimes crash before dinner.  On the left is her passed out right on the floor in our room.  She just couldn't make it to dinner time!  Sunday mornings, our bathroom turns into a beauty shop, as seen below on the right.  With the cold weather lately, we've had to dry her hair a couple times before leaving so she wouldn't freeze.  Daddy makes a great beautician!

The next pics on my phone start Christmas celebrations, and I think I'll save those for a post of their own.  Do you have your gifts wrapped?  I've been wrapping mine in shifts as I needed them.  We've cleared out half of them but I've got to get busy finishing them up tomorrow before Christmas Eve on Tuesday!  Hope you aren't a procrastinator like me. :)