Life Lately

• Erin was diagnosed with her first ear infection today. Poor girl! Starting this past weekend, she has had little energy, a runny nose, a cough, and not eating well. Today her babysitter texted me to let me know she was tugging at her ear. The doctor said she may have RSV as well, but I decided not to test for it because they wouldn't do anything for it anyway. It would just have to run its course.

• Drew is sick too. And I'm getting sick. Yuck.

• We are going to paint the living room and bathroom! We have a little prep work to do first though. Drew took out and patched over the cable and phone jacks. He's also been switching over our cream colored outlet covers for white colored ones! We're painting both rooms "White Kitten" from Diamond Vogel. Here's a link for it. I'm hoping for a white/gray color, so I'm hoping this fits the bill!

• I'm almost done reading The Read-Along Handbook by Jim Trelease. Excellent read. Erin and I have been to the library twice getting books from his treasury list for infants/toddlers. My goal is to read them all with her! Unfortunately, our library doesn't have many of the books though, so we may be looking at other (bigger) libraries to help us out. (Thank you for the thoughtful gift, Amanda!)

• I am working on decluttering our kitchen. I've only done three drawers so far, but I managed to clear out a few things!

• Drew is an ambulance driver and he's been called out quite a bit the last couple weeks. Erin and I are learning to be adaptable and Drew's learning to live without much sleep!

• I'm trying a new crock-pot recipe tomorrow...Slow Cooker Coke Chicken. Fingers are crossed that it turns out well. (Thanks Dad for the pop to use!)

• Drew made Edible Egg-less Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough tonight. Thumbs up for a quick sweet treat!

• I'm a third of the way through the Bible Study using the Made to Crave book. God has been humbling me greatly! 

• Our tax appointment is set for mid-March, so I officially have to get in tax-prep mode! Peachtree and I will be having lots of quality time during the next two weeks.

• Earlier this month, Drew went snowmobiling in Wyoming for about a week. He and a few guys got caught in a blizzard and couldn't get back to their cabin because of the blowing snow and poor visibility. They found a big drift, dug a hole into it, started a fire, and waited there in the freezing cold for 6-7 HOURS!! Finally at around 1:00am, the wind died down and they snowmobiled back to their cabin. I'm praising God for his protection and safe-keeping!

Little Miss E: 15 Month Update

Baby Erin is not much of a baby anymore! She turned 15 months old on January 30th. Crazy, crazy, crazy!

Height: 30 inches

Weight: 20 pounds

Teeth: Just got her fifth tooth on January 30th (lower lateral incisor). Looks like many more are on their way too!

Diapers: Size 3

Clothes: Size 12-18M. Erin is long and lean! 12 month pants are too big around the waist, but are quickly getting too short. 18 month pants are huge around the waist, but are perfect for length.

Mealtimes have been really hit and miss lately. One day she eats everything on her plate quickly and happily. The next day she'll refuse to even try her food. I'm hoping this is teething related and will pass shortly! Favorite foods include: graham crackers, cheese, spaghetti, pizza, pancakes, grapes, cottage cheese, and applesauce. She prefers to drink out of a straw and has struggled with a normal sippy cup. After much effort though (mostly thanks to her babysitter), I think she's finally figuring out how to lift up a cup! I hope to switch to a regular cup when it's not so freezing cold out. Hurry up spring!

Erin loves reading her books, playing with blocks, putting away toys, walking (more like running) around, giggling, climbing, sitting in her new chair from Gpa Oelrich, finding and petting the kitties at Gma & Gpa Camp's house, and playing with stacking toys and puzzles.

We try to give Erin a bath every 2-3 days after supper and before bedtime. She seems to enjoy baths as long as she has a toy or two to play with! She shivers and giggles getting out of the tub, refuses to let go of whatever bath toy she happens to have, and looks mighty adorable in her new hooded towel from Gma Oelrich!

Erin will say dada, mama, briskee, kitty, uh-oh, whoa, yeah, what's that, (basically the same as last month). She has excellent non-verbal communication by pointing, making faces, gasping in excitement, pushing something away, etc. She makes the funniest faces and sounds!

Sleep continues to be great, thankfully! Her bedtime is usually around 7pm and she usually wakes up on her own around 7:30am. She usually takes one nap (2-3 hours) after lunchtime. We still use the sound machine and the light projector and Erin still uses a pacifier (but doesn't use it at all outside of her crib except for the sermon at church). We also read a couple books and say a prayer before she goes to sleep at night.

We've just started working on identifying body parts. So far she only understands nose. She waves bye. She has started to give her stuffed animals and dolls hugs which is so cute. She can take off her mittens and hat and put her mittens IN her hat so that they can be put in her coat sleeve. She'll oftentimes take off her mittens, hat, and socks (if we don't have shoes on her) during car rides. This is rather inconvenient during our arctic winter!

Also, Erin is usually great during church (thankfully). She normally plays and reads quietly during the service. Every once and awhile she'll start fussing and one of us will have to carry her out, but so far it hasn't been bad at all. There are other little ones at our church, so Erin's little noises kind of blend right in :)

Sweet Erin, you are awesome and oh so loved!