Hm. Which one?

(This was originally posted a while ago, but got partially lost in the hard drive crash.  I’m just getting around to fixing and reposting.)

The force of Apple’s iOS5 compelled me.

Yes, I’m on Twitter now.  I have a fascination with amusing hash tags, so look out for my silly attempts at making some of my own.  If you’re on Twitter, then do the right thing–follow me please!  You may just be granted a follow in return.  :)

Then, a month or so later, Samantha randomly asked me on the way to the babysitter’s house one morning, “Why is Doctor Dolittle stuck in Africa?”  I knew it was time to continue.

So, I took it upstairs so we could read it before bed.  And it wasn’t long until we finished it.

I really was amazed at how Samantha picked up on the characters (with funny names like Jip the dog, and Dab-Dab the duck).  I think she really did enjoy the story.  Somehow she knew there were more books, so she immediately asked about the next one.  Next up is The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle.  It’s considerably bigger, but we’ve started.  She doesn’t want to read it every night, but I love to curl up with it when she asks for it.  We’ll see how long this lasts.

UPDATE:

What a trip!  We stayed in the big house again, and it seemed like there weren’t as many people there as usual.  I guess that’s because there wasn’t.

Sam enjoyed the water this year, but was still a little anxious at first.  Every year, it takes less time for her to get used to the water.

Ellie didn’t mind the sand at all, but I think the heat bothered her.

I think she enjoyed Patrick’s truck almost as much as he did!  We also discovered during this trip, that she likes push toys and wheels!

Some kids:

And some family:

Luckily, my little family isn’t to that stage yet.  I can remain hopeful that it won’t happen…cough.

Right now the Birmingham Zoo has “Zoolight Safari“.  I’ve never seen so many Christmas lights and decorations in one place.  Yes, there even was an entire 12′ by 12′ winter wonderland.  They had two snow-making machines near the entrance and since it was 38º, it stuck.  Most of the animals were not available, but the petting zoo was still open and it’s always a hit with Sam.  We got in free since we’re members so we just had to buy tickets to ride the train and carousel.  Both were quite decked out as well.  There was lots of music going and some of the lights were synchronized to the music.  Janie and I had Shazam going for several of the songs.

You should have seen Samantha.  She RAN everywhere and wanted to do everything.  Well, almost everything.  She wasn’t too keen on seeing Santa Clause (who by the way was sitting on a rather spiffy Zebra fabric chair).

Here Janie and “Baby” are posing as elves.

Ellie was a good sport all night (and never took that nap).  I guess she had plenty to look at.

Some of the decorations.  I was planning on making a panorama with Hugin, but my hands were too shaky.

Jingle Bell Carousel.  Check out the video.  Sam finally spotted me about the fourth time around and from then on yelled “Daddy!  Daddy!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXY-gDeSi30

The Train Ride.  This is a big deal since Sam has been very weary of riding the train lately.

We plan on going back next week.  Anyone else want to come?

He requested Dreamland for lunch.  Then we had a man’s meal for dinner: steak, roasted corn, and mashed potatoes.  And to top it off, we had a buttermilk cake!

Some good news though: we got a contract on our house last week!  It’s contingent on the sale of the buyer’s house (and she has a contract contingent on the sale of her buyer’s house).  So, I’m not holding my breath for a closing date, but we’re moving in the right direction.  We lost the contract on the house that we wanted to buy.  However, to make a long story short, it’s now back on the market again.  It’s still my favorite house, but we are currently looking into others to see what else is on the market.  Brian found one that he likes better.  My gut says No on that one.

We are becoming a coffee drinking household.  Brian started drinking coffee a while back in order to cut out sugary sodas.  He still drinks a soda about half the time.  After my maternity leave, I started drinking caffeine because Ellie was not sleeping through the night yet.  I really try not to drink it because it’s so horrible for you.  At any rate, I got started on Diet Dr. Pepper, but now drink coffee at home on the weekends.  Ellie is still not sleeping through the night, but I’d sure love to cut my caffeine habit.  I had a headache by 8:55AM one morning because I hadn’t had my drink yet.  Too much dependence for me!!!

I finally got a ticket out to Denver!  I’ve been watching ticket prices for a year now.  Whenever I find a good deal (which isn’t often) I can’t go for one reason or another (like Labor & Delivery!).  However, a deal came up this past week and I decided enough was enough and I booked a flight for February.  I’m excited.  And nervous because Ellie will have to come with me.  Merry Christmas to me!  See you soon Lizzie and Guillaume!

Happy Halloween!

It was almost cold and pretty windy, so we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves outside.  Here’s a family picture.  (And don’t mind my hair, as I said, it was windy.)

Silly girl with windblown hair.

Look out, Little Man!  Don’t you know that you’re supposed to keep your eyes on the road?

Whoa! Here comes Optimus Prime, ready for Trick or Treating!

We decided to get the kite out since it was so windy.  The three little ones helped me put it together.

What are those two scheming about?

Let’s go fly a kite!

8:52PM – I just checked on Samantha and that little turkey is still awake. I go back to our bedroom where Brian and I are talking about how to handle Ellie during the night. She’s still not sleeping great. We have been taking turns at each outburst, but after 3 or 4 of those during the night, it’s hard to remember whose turn it is. I was proposing for each of us to take a night. For example, one night, I am responsible for all outbursts so Brian can sleep. The next night, it’s his turn so I can sleep. We didn’t really come to a resolution. I lay down on the bed, which means: game over, I fall asleep.

11:01PM – Brian wakes me up to feed Ellie.

11:38PM – Go back to bed.

1:15AM – I hear Samantha crying. She woke up crying last night too. That never happens. Last night, she must have had a bad dream about a boat. Random. I get up and walk into her room. She tells me, amid the crying, that she needs a napkin to wipe her ear. Um. What? I get a Kleenex and ask her which ear. Sure enough, there’s a nasty goop all over her left ear, face, hair and pillow. Great. An ear infection. (Here’s the original discovery that goop could come out of her ear. Beware, it’s gross.) She had a cold a few weeks ago. She got over it in about a week, so I thought we were in the clear. Oh well. I make a note to call the doctor. I ask her if her ear hurts and she says yes. I ask her if she wants some medicine and she says yes. I give her some Motrin. I tell her we’ll call the doctor in the morning.

1:30AM – Go back to bed.

3:30AM – There’s a raucous on my nightstand. What is it? Is Samantha standing by my bed messing with my nightstand? I’m confused. Molly. Molly is trying to eat my lavender lotion. “Stop. Molly. Stop.” I say as I’m hitting her rear end. She stops only momentarily. I grab her by the collar and pull her off my nightstand. Fall back to sleep.

4:08AM – What. In. The. Name. Of all that is holy. “Molly. Stop.” She’s trying to eat my bottle of lotion again. I grab her and throw her out of the room and close the door. Go back to bed.

4:33AM – “Mreow.” Oh for crying out loud. “Mreow.” Maddie. “Mreow.” She’s standing on the floor just beneath my nightstand. “Mreow.” She is staring up at me. “Mreow.” She wants to be near her beloved Molly. “Mreow.” She is persistent. “Mreow.” I get up, open the bedroom door and wait for her to bolt out. Mostly close the door. Go back to bed.

4:35AM – The air conditioner kicks on. The bedroom door slams closed.

5:13AM – Ellie wakes up. Normally, I would be happy if she slept till after 5. Brian gets up. I don’t hear her in the monitor any more.

5:15AM – Brian yells at me from the front of the house. “Jane! I need some help!” Doesn’t he know that he’s going to wake up Samantha if he yells like that? I get out of bed. I nearly walk into Sam in the hallway. She is standing with nothing on but a shirt. Ellie starts to cry. Brian is stripping Samantha’s bed. He says “Pick one.” I go into Ellie’s room and give her a paci. She falls right back to sleep. On a normal night, that never happens. I come back out and help Sam get to the potty. We sit for a while in the bathroom. She says she needs to go, but nothing happens. After Brian finishes with her bed, I put another diaper and new PJs on her. I get her back in bed and tell her to go back to sleep.

5:30AM – Go back to my bedroom. I ask Brian what happened. Apparently, after quieting Ellie, he heard some strange noises in Sam’s room. He went in and she was sitting up in bed. He told her to lay down. She said she couldn’t because her popsicles were wet (her PJs have popsicles on them). Sure enough, she and all her bedding were wet.

6AM – Ellie wakes up. Brian gives her a paci and comes back to bed. She continues to squawk. It’s not really a cry, but it usually means she’s tired or cold.

6:30AM – Alarm goes off. Like I need it. I’ve been awake since 3:30.

The end.

We have the gown that me and my siblings were baptized in. It has also been used for some Burns grandkids, including Samantha as shown below.

The slip has been embroidered with each baptism name and date. It begins with Elisabeth Noel in 1976 and ends with Patrick Jacob in 2008.

We have the gown that Brian and his siblings were baptized in. This was the gown that Ellie was baptized in. Here is a letter dated on Brian’s BIRTHday from his maternal grandparents.

Isn’t that a lovely letter? And here’s Ellie in the gown:

We have the gown that Brian’s maternal grandfather (Leonard in the above letter) was baptized in. Brian’s great-grandmother, Agnes Eckl, made the gown. His grandfather was the youngest of 5 children, so I’m not exactly sure of the gown’s age. It’s at least 83 years old.

Some Betbezes:

the great-grandchildren:

I didn’t take any pictures because my hands were full (of sand and saltwater among other things)! So, thanks to Brian, we have a few pictures to document our stay.

Little E didn’t go outside the house. Luckily, there was usually someone who would watch her for a bit so we could go to the pool or the beach.

We should have taken a picture of Samantha’s room. It was our closet! It was huge! It held a crib/toddler mattress, 2 suitcases, and had room to read books on the floor! She loved having her own space!

Brian went fishing again this year. He didn’t catch 2 sharks like last year (my dad caught the one shark and one grouper) but he had a good time catching the limit on snapper. See Alex’s fishing trip picture.

Later, when we got home, (she’s still in the exact same clothes, by the way – hooray!), she wanted to sit with Brian in the recliner.  Which, for those of you who know Sam, that is something special.  She’s not the cuddly sort.  She was saying “we’re together” over and over.  She even had to go get some covers from her room so that she and Daddy could cuddle.  (And by the way, this handmade pink crocheted blanket – made by Carol, and the white one underneath – crocheted by our friend Kris, are her favorite blankets.  I love that she likes the handmade ones the best!)  I think she had a great weekend hanging out at the house.

(And sorry for the yucky photos – they were shot with my phone!)