Yikes! I didn't realize that it's been almost two weeks since I've posted. Things have just been a little busy around here!

Ellie has been having some rough bouts again with her DGE and reflux. To top it off, she's most likely allergic to her rice cereal. Blah. We got her meds adjusted and don't go back to GI until January (hopefully).

We got a new car! Yay! We broke down and got a van. No, it wasn't our first choice but there just aren't any practical 3 row SUV's. It's really nice and we love it. We got a 2008 silver Kia Sedona. We got an awesome price and rate and best of all, they weren't totally annoying.

Emme is on break this coming up week from school for Thanksgiving. I'll say it will be nice to not have to rush around like a mad man next week. I'm sure she'll miss going but we'll have fun at home.

We attempted to celebrate Josh's birthday last night with some friends and coworkers. We went to Matsu (a sushi and Japanese restaurant in Westport) and had a great time. We were then headed to Power and Light but when we parked Josh realized he didn't have his wallet. By the time we'd get home to get the wallet and get back downtown it would be almost midnight, so we (really Josh) opted to stay home. I know he was a little disappointed. Darn it! :(

We got a lot of our Christmas shopping done. Well, all of the kids are done at least. Emme, Ellie, Karson, Kennedy, Leah and Tommy. We got Emme a really cool dollhouse. I can't wait to see her open it!

We've got a few busy weeks coming up. 'Tis the season, right? We had Josh's thing last night, a drama writing thing at our house tonight, a haircut and dinner with a couple at our house tomorrow, Thanksgiving next week, Josh's dads birthday next Friday, Josh's family dinner next Sunday, Josh's actual birthday on Monday, two Christmas parties the next weekend (5th and 6th), work Christmas party and a wedding. Whew! I'm tired just typing it all out.

Well, I need to get off here. I've gotta make the grocery list and my weekly menu!

Here is Emme's super cute Winter coat from Chocolate Soup. Thanks, Sharon!

This was our happy girl first thing this morning. Something happened throughout the day and she is having a horrible reflux flare. We're praying it's not due to a sickness (flare ups are usually caused by sickness or learning a new skill). If it is, oh well, we have our monthly GI appt. next Monday. I'm getting so excited thinking about giving her cereal next month. But I'm also filled with reservation because of a whole new battle solids will bring. (There are certain fruits and veggies that are very acidic and with her delicate tummy it can cause horrible things. :) ) I can't believe she's already 5 months. Where, oh where, does the time go? I swear they'll be getting married next week.

Emme is obsessed with Christmastime already. She doesn't even know what Christmas is! (Or I don't think at least...) Every 5-10 minutes (literally) she says, "Almost Christmastime, Mommy? Getting there? Snowing, Mommy? Almost?".

Things I'm thankful for:

- My hard working husband who truly desires to make our lives as enjoyable as possible.
- My beautiful girls.
- Josh got a significant raise! Woohoo!
- We get to keep our fantastic health insurance (his company got bought out last year so they thought we might switch).
- I'm able to do hair from the house.
- My friends.
- My warm home with warm clothes and food to eat.
- Slobbery kisses, sweet I-love-you's, and big wrinkly nose smiles.
- My life.

Emme is currently 2.5 years old. She's got the darkest brown eyes and beautiful golden hair with perfect large corkscrew curls. She has Daddy's dark Cherokee coloring. She really likes watching baseball with Daddy, Sesame Street, Dora, The Wonder Pets, and anything Disney and Pixar. She's Mommy's Girl and can be very sweet. Can being the key word. She's full of energy and usually happy. She loves to help cook and feel important. She loves to make you laugh. She sings at the top of her lungs (so sweet!) and can recite two memory verses already. She can count to 11 and knows her ABC's. She's very sensitive and dramatic (I have no idea where she got this from ;) ). She hates to disappoint you. At the same time, she is 2.5, and can be extremely testy. She has an extremely large vocabulary and talks as well as a 3.5 year old most of the time. She's bright, smart, and hard working. She can get easily frustrated with a task (something we're working on). She's a nurturer. She loves playing with her sister and her babies (who are all named "Daughter"). She's a true joy, my sweet sunshine, and the light of my life.

Ellie is almost 5 months...already! She's been doing so good lately. She is "talking" more and more each day. She's recently discovered her tongue. Every time I look at her she's got it out wiggling around. She's trying to blow raspberries. She loves, loves, loves watching her big sister. She is a Daddy's Girl- flirting with him whenever he's around. She just learned to roll over. She hates the carseat (usually). She loves to be in the midst of all the action. If I'm in the kitchen with Emme and she's in her bouncer in the living room, she'll throw a fit until she's brought into the kitchen. She's got the sweetest chubby cheeks and the most beautiful long eyelashes (like her Daddy!). Her eyes are hazel right now and she's got dark brown hair. She has Mommy's light coloring. She's simply perfect.

And then...

Josh had a dream last night that we had a boy. Dundundunnnnn!

No, I'm not pregnant. Don't bother emailing to ask.

Ellie has learned to roll over!  I went to get her up Monday morning and she was on her tummy. She was a little frustrated because she wanted to go back to sleep and she couldn't manage to get her thumb in the proper position to suck. Hehe. I can't believe it's already that time! From now on I'm sure she'll start doing new stuff each week.

Emme has been...well...a little testy to say the least. Wow. I feel like we've spent the last week in major correction mode. I guess it's better to do it now than later. 

I enjoyed a fun girls night last night. We (Me, Meg, Missy, Mel and Angela) went to Teocali by Children's Mercy. Now, I'm not one to be easily impressed with Mexican food but W-O-W. This place was outstanding. By far the best fajitas around. Mmmmm...And for the price you get sooooo much food. It was nice to catch up with the girls (Meg was my old co-worker and roommate, along with Mel). I won't mention how many chips we ate. It's way too embarassing. All that to say, you need to go and check it out. Yum!

Of course I went and voted today. I got up and was ready to go by 7:10. It was semi crowded but not too bad. The whole process took me about 45 minutes and Josh 15 or so. Since Josh is a total politics junkie, I'm trying to get all I can done around the house while Emme is at school so we can just relax and watch MSNBC tonight. Hopefully Ellie will cooperate and take good naps so I can get the touch up painting done that I've been needing to do. 

I'm so proud of myself. Although the house was still kinda cluttered yesterday when Josh got home, I felt like I got so much done! I took our couch slip cover and our down comforter to the laundry mat yesterday to wash them in the gigantic washers. I patched all the little nail holes that were left on the trim all around the house. I washed our shower curtain and painted the spots where the curtain rod rubbed off. It was just a bunch of little stuff like that. I hope I can get a lot of it done before this weekend so we can work outside. We need to touch up the paint on the house and boring stuff like that. We're also getting family pictures taken...finally.

I should run. Ellie is getting fussy and is ready for a nap. Hope everyone has a great week!